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NEW YORK -- The latest high-priced addition to the New York Yankees stood on the dais in front of a large news conference, put on his pinstriped jersey with No. nba stitched jerseys . 19 and smiled. "Hello. My name is Masahiro Tanaka," he said slowly in English. "Im very happy to be a Yankee." After chartering a Boeing 787 Dreamliner for his trip from Tokyo to New York, the 25-year-old right-hander with the $155 million, seven-year contract was presented Tuesday not in the news conference room downstairs at Yankee Stadium, but in the Legends Suite Club, where the high rollers congregate on game days. Yankees spokesman Jason Zillo concluded the teams latest Pacific overture drew New Yorks most-attended news conference since Hideki Matsui was introduced in January 2003. Managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner said obtaining Tanaka was worth the economic pain of exceeding the $189 million luxury tax threshold New York had hoped to stay under. "We needed another starter, and when we do things, we try to do them right," Steinbrenner said. "And this guy, hes tough. Hes got tremendous ability. We all know that. And hes going to be very exciting to watch. And hes going to be great for the team, a great teammate. And $189 (million) or not, we wanted a good quality starter, and we got it." Tanaka charted a Japan Airlines plane, which seats about 200, for the trans-Pacific trip to New York, reportedly costing about $200,000. There were just five passengers on the plane, including his pop star wife Mai Satoda, plus their poodle Haru. The flight, originally scheduled to depart at noon, was delayed many hours by a snowstorm. "There wasnt many choices of planes," he said through a translator when asked about the big jet. And a lengthy commercial trip could have been uncomfortable. "I thought about my conditioning, just wanted to get here in the best condition possible," he said. For his first meal in New York, he ventured outside his room at the Mandarin Oriental hotel overlooking Central Park. "I ate a sushi," he said, "which I bought at a grocery store nearby." New York, which also added Brian McCann, Jacoby Ellsbury and Carlos Beltran during the off-season, figures to have a big following in Japan this year. Tanaka joins pitcher Hiroki Kuroda and outfielder Ichiro Suzuki on the roster, and reliever Yoshinori Tateyama will be at spring training with a minor league contract. "This would make the Boss proud," general manager Brian Cashman said in a reference to late owner George Steinbrenner. "The Yankees obviously are about always trying to acquire the best talent and a collection of talent that can compete for a championship, but he also liked a lot of attention, and this certainly represents a lot of attention. So this is Yankee big. This is Steinbrenner big." Tanaka was 24-0 with a 1.27 ERA last year, leading the Rakuten Golden Eagles to the Japan Series title. That left him with a 99-35 record and a 2.30 ERA in Japan, where he had 53 complete games in 172 starts. New York had one of the most successful Japanese players in the major leagues with outfielder Hideki Matsui, the 2009 World Series MVP. And the Yankees experienced costly flops with pitchers Hideki Irabu and Kei Igawa. Manager Joe Girardi was behind the plate for Irabus debut in 1997. "They feel a little bit more weight of representing their country than maybe players that are here on an everyday basis, because they kind of pave the way for the next guy and then the next guy," he said. Girardis advice: "Dont feel like you have to live up to the contract." On a tour of the U.S. with a Japanese high school all-star team in 2006, Tanaka met Matsui when one of the young pitchers games was rained out. During the off-season, he spoke briefly by telephone with Matsui about his pending decision. New York appealed to Tanakas desire to pitch on the biggest stage. "This is where you need to be. A great star. The biggest franchise. The biggest brand. The biggest city," Yankees President Randy Levine remembered saying during the teams pitch session with the player on Jan. 8 in Beverly Hills, Calif. "He said some other teams he had met with wanted him to transition in, and he didnt like that. He wanted to take the ball on Day One, and that told us a lot about him." Tanaka sounded prepared for the Yankees win-or-else mentality. "Ive heard that this place is -- it could be very harsh to you at times," he said. "Just wanted to put myself, though, in this environment and try to see where I can get to with my ability." Cashman is trying to lower expectations, saying Tanaka will slot in as No. 3 in the rotation behind CC Sabathia and Kuroda. "We could be getting more than a three. Maybe its a two. Maybe its even a one at some point," Cashman said. "I think that the adjustments are real, and as excited as we are to have and as much as we need a player of his capabilities, I want to make sure that people understand how difficult this game is over here and that there should be expectations of growing pains." nba jerseys china .S. -- Carl-Antoine Delisle snapped a tie in the third period with his second goal of the game to lead the Tigres past Cape Breton 4-3 in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action Wednesday as Victoriaville won its eighth in a row. cheap nba jerseys china . -- A year ago, Flavia Pennetta was close to retiring from tennis. http://www.cheapnbajerseyschinastore.com/ . After two months of mediocrity, perhaps the Washington Nationals have turned the page. Strasburg struck out 11 in seven innings Wednesday night and the Nationals kept the Philadelphia Phillies bats quiet yet again in an 8-4, rain-interrupted win.BRANDON, Man. -- Alex Moodie stopped 39 shots as the Saskatoon Blades downed the host Brandon Wheat Kings 5-3 on Saturday in Western Hockey League play. Cory Millette, Ryan Graham, Nathan Burns and Nikita Scherbak each had a goal and an assist for the Blades (4-5-1) while Cameron Hebig added a single goal. Rene Hunter, Richard Nejezchleb and Brett Kitt supplied the offence for the Wheat Kings (5-4-0). Jordan Papirny turned away 22-of-27 shots in defeat. Saskatoon went 3 for 4 on the power play. Brandon scored once on five chances with the man advantage. --- Hitmen 4 Raiders 3 CALGARY -- Chase Clayton scored the eventual winner and added an assist as the Hitmen edged Prince Albert. Brady Brassart, Pavel Padakin and Jake Virtanen also scored for Calgary (5-3-0). Craig Leverton, Reid Gardiner and Carson Perreaux each scored once for the Raiders (6-3-1) while Jayden Hart chipped in with two assists. Mack Shields made 29 saves for the win. Cole Cheveldave turned aside 22 shots in defeat. --- Pats 3 Warriors 2 (SO) MOOSE JAW, Sask. -- Carter Hansen scored the winner in the eighth round of the shootout as Regina slipped past the Warriors. Morgan Klimchuk and Boston Leier scored in regulation for the Pats (4-5-0). Moose Jaw (4-4-2) got goals from Travis Brown and Jack Rodewald. Dawson MacAuley made 35 saves for the win. Justin Paulic stopped 30 shots in defeat. --- Chiefs 3 Rebels 2 RED DEER, Alta. -- Spokane scored three times in the third period to come from behind and beat the Rebels. Mike Aviani, Mitch Holmberg and Jackson Playfair scored for the Chiefs (7-2-0) while Aviani tacked on an assist for a two-point night. Haydn Fleury and Wyatt Johnson scored for Red Deer (6-5-0). Garret Hughson made 20 saves for the win as Patrik Bartosak turned away 34 shots in a losing cause. --- Tigers 3 Ice 0 MEDICINE HAT, Alta. --Marek Langhamer stopped 21 shots as the Tigers shut out Kootenay. Miles Koules opened the scoring for Medicine Hat (7-1-1) while Chad Labelle and Cole Sanford had the others. Mackenzie Skapski stopped 18-of-21 shots for the Ice (4-4-1). --- Broncos 5 Giants 2 SWIFT CURRENT, Sask. -- Julius Honka scored once and added two assists as the Broncos defeaated Vancouver. nba jerseys china authentic. Bobby Zinkan, Colby Cave, Glenn Gawdin and Zach MacKay also scored for Swift Current (6-3-1). Andreas Eder and Joel Hamilton supplied the scoring for the Giants (1-7-2) while Dalton Thrower assisted on both goals. Eetu Laurikainen made 35 saves for the win. Jared Rathjen turned away 28-of-33 shots in a losing cause. --- Winterhawks 7 Blazers 4 PORTLAND, Ore. -- Derek Pouliot scored twice and set up one more and Nicolas Petan had three assists as the Winterhawks beat Kamloops. Oliver Bjorkstrand and Alex Schoenborn had a goal and two assists each for Portland (4-3-1) while Chase De Leo, Adam Rossignol and Brendan Leipsic scored the others. Chase Souto led the Blazers (2-7-0) offensively with two goals. Aspen Sterzer and Cole Ully also scored. Brendan Burke made 22 saves for the win. Taran Kozun picked up the loss after allowing five goals on 29 shots. Bolton Pouliot replaced Kozun and stopped 12-of-13 shots in 31 minutes of relief. --- Cougars 4 Silvertips 3 PRINCE GEORGE, B.C. -- Brad Morrison scored 1:15 into overtime to lift the Cougars over Everett. Chase Witala had two goals for Prince George (5-4-1) and Brad Morrison scored once. Jujhar Khaira, Kohl Bauml and Carson Stadnyk scored for the Silvertips (6-1-2). Ty Edmonds earned the victory by making 26 saves as Daniel Cotton turned away 38 shots in defeat. --- Thunderbirds 4 Americans 2 KENT, Wash. -- Roberts Lipsbergs scored twice as Seattle doubled up Tri-City. Adam Henry and Shea Theodore also scored for the Thunderbirds (8-2-0) while Justin Hickman tacked on two assists. Beau McCue and Connor Rankin did the scoring for the Americans (4-6-0). Danny Mumaugh made 27 saves for the win. Eric Comrie stopped 40 shots in a losing cause. --- Royals 4 Hurricanes 3 VICTORIA, -- Joe Hicketts and Logan Nelson scored in the final six minutes of the third period as the Royals came back to beat Lethbridge. Ben Walker and Keegan Kanzig also scored for Victoria (6-5-0) as Brett Cote recorded two assists. Ryan Pilon, Tyler Wong and Sam Mckechnie supplied the scoring for the Hurricanes (1-7-1). Patrik Polivka made 25 saves for the win while Corbin Boes made 45 saves in defeat. ' ' '