NEW YORK -- Daniel Murphy is proud he put fatherhood ahead of baseball, and New York Mets manager Terry Collins thinks criticism his second baseman received for taking paternity leave this week was unfair. Murphy made his season debut Thursday, three days after the birth of son Noah. He called staying in Florida an extra day "the right decision to make" following wife Victorias cesarean section and said "we felt the best thing for our family was for me to stay." He learned Sunday that his wifes water broke, then travelled to Florida and missed Mondays 9-7 opening loss to Washington and Wednesday nights 5-1 defeat. He said his son was born at 12:02 p.m. Monday. Major league rules allow up to three days of paternity leave, and WFAN broadcaster Mike Francesa said on the air Wednesday that Murphy should not have skipped the second game. "One day I understand. And in the old days they didnt do that," Francesa said. "But one day, go see the baby be born and come back. Youre a Major League Baseball player. You can hire a nurse to take care of the baby if your wife needs help." A day later, Collins bristled after learning of the comments. "If youre accusing Dan Murphy of not wanting to play -- this guy played 161 games last year, wore himself out, played through all sorts of discomfort," he said. "You know, the man had his first child. Hes allowed to be there. The rules state that he can be there, so he went. Theres nothing against it. Theres nothing wrong with it. You know, he missed two games. Its not like hes missed 10. You know, when you start attacking Dan Murphys credibility, you need to look in the mirror a little bit." Murphy said he received text messages about the criticism. He was applauded before his first at-bat, singled and scored the Mets first run against the Nationals. He said his son was named after the Biblical character Noah, not for Mets teammate Noah Syndergaard. "People are going to say you named him after the monstrosity that throws like 1,000 miles an hour," Murphy said. "We didnt. Noah came from Noahs Ark. Peace and rest is what it means." Baby Noah kept his parents awake at 3 a.m. Wednesday. "We had our first panic session. It was dark. She tried to change a diaper, couldnt do it. I came in," he said. "It was just the three of us, 3 oclock in the morning, all freaking out. He was the only one screaming. I wanted to." NOTES: Murphy took the roster spot of OF Chris Young, who was put on the 15-day disabled list because of tightness in his right quadriceps. Penny Hardaway Jersey . -- Thirty years ago, the Detroit Pistons beat the Denver Nuggets 186-184 in triple overtime, a game that remains the highest scoring in NBA history. Charles Barkley Jersey . He was signed to help with depth to the receiving corps because of the loss of Shamawd Chambers to the 6-game injured list. http://www.officialsunsfanstore.com/kell...jr-suns-jersey/. Azarenka needed exactly one hour in a 6-1, 6-0 rout of Austrian Yvonne Meusburger to start the night session at Laver Arena. Sharapova had a much easier time earlier in the day with cooler conditions and took full advantage in 6-1, 7-6 (8-6) win over Frenchwoman Alize Cornet, while Radwanska had to rally for a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. Dan Majerle Suns Jersey . Louis, MO (SportsNetwork. Grant Hill Suns Jersey .? It was his second straight start for the Jets; he suffered a 1-0 loss against Minnesota Monday. So this season Hutchinson has now won games in the ECHL, AHL and NHL. He was perfect three- for-three in the shootout to nail down the win.STUTTGART, Germany -- Germany will be without defensive midfielder Lars Bender for its friendly against Chile on Wednesday, and striker Miroslav Klose is trying to overcome injury. Klose has a bruised pelvic bone and abdominal muscle problems but team doctors are trying to get him fit in time for the match. Bender has a hamstring injury. Germany is already without half-dozen players, due to injury or bad form.dddddddddddd Germany coach Joachim Loew has invited four newcomers -- striker Pierre-Michel Lasogga, midfielders Matthias Ginter and Andre Hahn, and defender Shkodran Mustafi. Loew said captain Philipp Lahm will be playing in midfield, a role he has been filling at Bayern Munich, with Kevin Grosskreutz likely to play at right back in his return to the national team after three years. ' ' '