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PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. -- Speaking for the first time since receiving a full-season suspension for a second positive test for performance-enhancing drugs, second baseman Robinson Can on Wednesday offered an apology but did not provide an explanation for his positive tests.

Thats why Im here as a man, to give you guys an apology, Can said. It was tough for me this past year. Being at home, things are going through your head. Its something that you dont want to share. You keep it to yourself. But it wasnt good.

For me, I love this game. I grew up in a family that played this game. And to not be able to play the game, it was really tough.

Can was asked why he tested positive for Stanozolol but did not directly answer the question, saying only that theres no excuses. He apologized to the Mets organization, to my teammates, the fans, and you guys.

The comments came 16 months after Can received a season-long suspension for a second positive PED test, following his first in 2018. He forfeited his entire $24 million salary for the 2021 season but remains under team control for two more years at $48 million total. The Mets owe him $40.5 million of that money, with the Mariners picking up the rest.

Im just happy to be back, he said, rephrasing a comment that he repeated several times throughout the news conference. Im happy that weve got a new manager, new GM, new coaches. To be able to be back here on the team and to help this team compete for a championship, Im really happy to be back and to be able to play the game that I love.

Now 39 and entering his 17th big league season, Can has an uncertain role on the roster. Manager Buck Showalter has committed publicly to Jeff McNeil as his everyday second baseman, noting that Can will play there only on occasion. First base is an option for Can, but not a realistic one for as long as Pete Alonso is healthy. So the bulk of Cans reps will have to come at designated hitter, where he will vie for playing time alongside (primarily) J.D. Davis and Dominic Smith.

When he last played, in 2020, Can batted .316/.352/.544 with 10 home runs in 49 games, but he struggled to stay healthy the previous year, with a near-constant string of leg muscle strains.

But if anyone can bounce back from a lost season, Showalter said, it is Can, who would be on a Hall of Fame career track if not for his suspensions.

Hes got that look in his eye, Showalter said. Ive learned through the years, dont sell guys like him short. Hes got a pretty good pedigree.

To that end, Can said, he trained all offseason -- Monday through Friday -- to prove that he can be a productive player without the aid of PEDs. The Mets, given their financial commitment to him, intend to find out whether thats true.

I dont want to live in the past, Can said. I can control from now on, and just kind of focus on winning championships. Because thats the goal. The organization, and I know the Mets fans, they just cant wait for a championship.

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Can offers apology to Mets organization, teammates and fans: 'There's no excuses' - MLB.com

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Boston doctors wanted to help Ukrainians. They made YouTube tutorials on how to control bleeding wounds. - HealthLeaders Media

ST. PAUL, Minn. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Paul District, awarded a $115 million contract late yesterday to Ames Construction, Inc., of Burnsville, Minnesota, to construct the Red River Control Structure portion of the Fargo, North Dakota/Moorhead, Minnesota, Metropolitan Area Flood Risk Management Project, or FM Area Diversion.

The contract for the Red River structure is the fifth construction contract to be awarded by the federal government for the Fargo-Moorhead diversion project. The contract includes construction of a concrete control structure with three gates that will regulate Red River flows into the Fargo-Moorhead metropolitan area and is located approximately 7 miles south of Fargo-Moorhead on the Red River of the North. This shovel-ready feature is one of the first and largest contracts to be awarded by the Corps of Engineers using funds received under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2022.

The Red River structure is the third and largest gated structure needed for the completion of the Southern Embankment, said Col. Karl Jansen, St. Paul District commander. Awarding this contract is the culmination of a multi-year, highly sophisticated design effort involving the most experienced engineers from across the entire U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. With this contract, we are on-track to do our part in delivering comprehensive flood risk management for the great people of the Fargo-Moorhead region.

This congressionally authorized project is a 30-mile long diversion channel in North Dakota with upstream staging. The plan includes a 21-mile long southern embankment, 19 highway bridges, three railroad bridges, three gated control structures and two aqueduct structures.

The Corps is working in partnership on this project with the cities of Fargo and Moorhead and the Metro Flood Diversion Authority. This project provides flood risk management for more than 235,000 people and 70 square miles of infrastructure in the communities of Fargo, Moorhead, West Fargo, Horace and Harwood.

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Corps of Engineers awards its largest contract for the Fargo-Moorhead diversion project - mvp.usace.army.mil

Strict new laws mean those who deviate from the official narrative could face up to 15 years in prison.

In the official media, there's still a reluctance to state there is even a war going on, according to UNSW Honorary Associate Professor Stephen Fortescue.

"It's still described as a special operation," Dr Fortescue told 9news.com.au.

"And it's a special operation to protect those separatist republics of Lugansk and Donetsk."

If you were watching Russian television, you would be under the impression that Russian troops were not fighting on the frontlines.

Instead the Russian army was there to support the separatist fighters.

Bombings and battles in areas like Kyiv and Mariupol are getting little attention on Russian television.

"They get pretty hardcore propaganda which consists of 'The Ukrainian leadership are a bunch of fascists', or the Ukrainian people are under the control of the fascist leadership," Dr Fortescue said.

"There tends to be a little bit of condescension against Ukrainians."

An independent television network and an independent radio station have both shut down in recent weeks.

While many foreign news outlets have been blocked in Russia, the internet is still available.

That means Russians could access more reliable news about the war in Ukraine, but they would need to look for it.

They are some in Russia who are publicly opposed to the war, but there are also many others who are "hardcore patriots", Dr Fortescue said.

"A large percentage of the population in the middle who just don't want to know," he said.

"They just want to get on with their lives."

But the realities of war can't be hidden forever.

Dr Fortescue was living in the USSR the last time the nation engaged in a major war - the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan from 1979 until 1989.

"I worked with ordinary Russian people, and they were really upset their boys were getting killed and they were being lied to," he said.

"Russian authorities went to extraordinary lengths to hide the fact these soldiers were being killed."

Russia 'purposefully and cynically' destroys drama centre in besieged city

As much as polling can be trusted in Russia, it does not appear Vladimir Putin is suffering just yet.

A poll from non-government research organisation Levada-Center showed Mr Putin had an approval rating of 71 percent, his best in four years.

Another poll this week showed 58 percent of Russians approved of the invasion of Ukraine. Only 23 percent opposed it.

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'Special operation': What Russians are being told about the war in Ukraine - 9News

As the Browns' brass flew back from a meeting with Deshaun Watson, who they hope will be the team's future quarterback, its current quarterback, Baker Mayfield, posted a statement to social media Tuesday night thanking the city of Cleveland and its fans "who truly embraced who I am."

"With many uncertainties, here is where my head and heart is," Mayfield wrote as an introduction to his message, which he addressed to Cleveland and posted to his Instagram and Twitter accounts.

"The past 4 years have been nothing short of truly life changing since I heard my name called in the draft to go to Cleveland. This is not a message with hidden meaning. This is strictly to thank the city of Cleveland for embracing my family and me," he said. "We have made many memories and shared growing in this process through all the ups and downs.

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"I have no clue what happens next, which is the meaning behind the silence I have had during the duration of this process. I can only control what I can, which is trusting in God's plan throughout this process. I have given this franchise everything I have. That is something I've always done at every stage, and at every level. And that will not change wherever I take my next snap. Whatever happens ... I just want to say thank you to the fans who truly embraced who I am and the mentality that aligned so well with this city's hard working people.

"Cleveland will always be a part of Emily and my story. And we will always be thankful for the impact it has had and will have in our lives. Sincerely, Baker Reagan Mayfield."

The Browns flew to Houston on Tuesday to pitch Watson on waiving his no-trade clause to come to Cleveland, a league source told ESPN. The Browns are one of four teams, along with the New Orleans Saints, Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons, that are attempting to land Watson in a trade with the Texans. Watson has already met with the Saints and Panthers and is scheduled to meet with the Falcons on Wednesday.

Watson did not play last season following an offseason request to be traded and the emergence of 22 civil lawsuits against him alleging sexual assault and inappropriate conduct during massage sessions. A grand jury in Texas on Friday declined to indict Watson on criminal charges, signaling the end of criminal proceedings related to him in Harris County, where Houston is located.

Before meeting with the Browns on Tuesday, Watson answered questions on two of the 22 lawsuits filed against him during ongoing depositions, the plaintiffs' attorney, Tony Buzbee, told KHOU 11. Watson had invoked his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination when sitting for two sessions of depositions that began Friday.

Browns general manager Andrew Berry and coach Kevin Stefanski have publicly declared that Mayfield would remain their quarterback, up through the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis.

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"We fully expect Baker to be our starter and bounce back," Berry said in January.

But that equation appeared to change Friday when the grand jury declined to indict Watson, leaving Mayfield's future in limbo with the franchise that selected him No. 1 overall in the 2018 draft.

Mayfield has endured a tumultuous tenure in Cleveland over four seasons. He played under four head coaches through his first three seasons in the league. Despite that, Mayfield led Cleveland to its first playoff victory in 26 years during the 2020 campaign.

But in Week 2 of the 2021 season, he suffered a torn labrum in his left, nonthrowing shoulder and struggled the rest of the way. He wound up finishing 27th in the league in QBR as the Browns missed the playoffs and finished with a disappointing 8-9 record.

Mayfield, who underwent surgery to repair the labrum Jan. 19 and is expected to be fully cleared well before training camp, is entering the final year of his rookie deal, which will pay him $19 million in 2022.

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QB Baker Mayfield posts message thanking Cleveland fans on same day Browns' brass meet with Deshaun Watson - ESPN