ll be a vote next week to determine whether the club would

NEW YORK -- The New York Yankees were hit with a $28 million luxury tax bill, pushing their total past the $250 million mark since the penalty began in 2003. Andy Messersmith Braves Jersey . According to Major League Baseball calculations sent to teams Tuesday, the Los Angeles Dodgers were the only other team that exceeded the tax threshold this year and must pay $11.4 million. Boston finished just under for the second straight year, coming in $225,666 shy of the $178 million mark. Figures include average annual values of contracts for players on 40-man rosters, earned bonuses and escalators, adjustments for cash in trades and $10.8 million per team in benefits. Because the Yankees have been over the tax threshold at least four consecutive times, they pay at a 50 per cent rate on the overage, and their $28,113,945 bill was second only to their $34.1 million payment following the 2005 season. The Yankees are responsible for $252.7 million of the $285.1 million in tax paid by all clubs over the past 11 years. Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner said he hopes to get under the threshold next year, when it rises to $189 million. That would reset the teams tax rate to 17.5 per cent for 2015 and get the Yankees some revenue-sharing refunds. But following agreements Tuesday on a $2 million, one-year deal with second baseman Brian Roberts and a $7 million, two-year contract with left-hander Matt Thornton, the Yankees are at $177.7 million for 15 players next year, when benefits are likely to total between $11 million and $12 million. Their only hope to get below the threshold appears to be if an arbitrator upholds most of Alex Rodriguezs 211-game suspension, relieving the team of a large percentage of the third basemans $25 million salary. Tax money is used to fund player benefits and MLBs Industry Growth Fund. The Yankees finished with the highest regular payroll for the 15th consecutive year, winding up at a record $237,018,889. The Dodgers, in their first full season under new ownership, were just $146,647 behind after nearly doubling spending from $129.1 million. Regular payrolls include salaries, earned bonuses and pro-rated shares of signing bonuses. Los Angeles had a higher payroll for the tax: $243 million to New Yorks $234 million. But because the Dodgers didnt exceed the threshold in 2012, they pay at a 17.5 per cent rate and owe $11,415,959. They would pay at a 30 per cent rate if they exceed the threshold next year. Checks to the commissioners office are due by Jan. 21. Houston, which lost more than 100 games for the third straight season, had a payroll less than one-eighth that of the Yankees and Dodgers. The Astros finished at $29.3 million, the lowest total in the major leagues since the 2008 Florida Marlins and just $1.3 million more than Rodriguez made with the Yankees. After trading many of their stars following an unsuccessful first season in their new downtown ballpark, the Marlins lowered their payroll to $42.3 million from $89.9 million in 2012. Minnesota dropped from $101 million to $76 million. Toronto boosted spending from $92 million to nearly $126 million. The average salary increased 6.9 per cent, to $3,320,089 from $3,105,093, according to MLBs calculations, the steepest rise since 2006. The players association has not yet released its final figures for this year. Max Fried Braves Jersey . Bowditch, the 30-year-old Australian seeking his first PGA Tour title, shot a 4-under 68 to reach 12 under at TPC San Antonio. Matt Kuchar and Andrew Loupe were tied for second. Kuchar shot 65, and Loupe had a 70. Clete Boyer Jersey . FIFA said the suspension was requested by ethics prosecutor Michael Garcia, making Beckenbauer the first person to be punished as a result of the case. Beckenbauer refused "repeated requests for his assistance, including requests that he provide information during an in-person interview or in response to written questions provided in both English and German," FIFA said in a statement. https://www.cheapbraves.com/ . He made the comment at a media availability Saturday prior to Game 2 of the Boston-Montreal playoff series when a Quebec reporter said there is sentiment in Quebec that the NHL looks more favourably on Seattle than Quebec City when it comes to future expansion.WASHINGTON -- Tiger Woods is not sure whether his ailing back will allow him to play in the Masters, which is two weeks away. "For Augusta, its actually still a little too soon, to be honest with you," Woods said Monday at a news conference to announce that Quicken Loans is the new title sponsor of his golf tournament. "Thats kind of the frustrating thing about this." The Masters is the only major tournament the 38-year-old Woods has never missed. Four of his 14 major championships came at Augusta National, including his first in 1997. He last won the green jacket in 2005. This years Masters is April 10-13. Woods is off to the worst start of his 18 years on tour, and hes been troubled lately by back problems. He stopped playing in the final round at the Honda Classic on March 2 because of what he called back spasms and pain in his lower back. He tried to defend his title the following week at Doral, only for his back to flare up again in the final round, when he shot a 78, the highest Sunday score of his PGA Tour career and his first closing round without a birdie. Then last week, Woods withdrew from the Arnold Palmer Invitational because of persistent back pain. "Ive had a couple weeks off and getting treatment and just working on trying to get ready for Augusta," Woods said Monday. Orlando Cepeda Jersey. "As of right now, its still too soon, which is, as I said, pretty frustrating." This has been the longest sustained problem Woods has had with his lower back. He first showed signs of back pain at Bethpage Black at The Barclays in 2012, which he attributed to a soft bed at his hotel. He felt twinges during the final round of the PGA Championship last year, and when his back bothered him in the final round of The Barclays two weeks later, he said it was unrelated. At Mondays news conference, Woods discussed a deal through 2017 for his tournament to be called the Quicken Loans National. It will be played June 26-29 at Congressional this year. AT&T was in the final year of its contract as sponsor. The AT&T National began in 2007 with a military theme built around the Fourth of July in the nations capital. It has been held at Congressional for all but two years, in 2010 and 2011, as the course prepared to host the U.S. Open. In those years, it was played at Aronimink outside Philadelphia. Congressional is under contract through 2014, and Woods said there will be a vote next week to determine whether the club would host every other year in 2016, 2018 and 2020. ' ' '