PARIS – Eugenie Bouchard could downplay expectations. Cheap Air Max 270 . Nobody would blame her. Shes only 20-years-old after all and playing in just her second French Open. But when asked what would need to happen to make her campaign at Roland Garros this season a success, Canadas rising star doesnt hold back. "To win it," Bouchard said, her own boldness yielding a laugh. But, make no mistake, she is dead serious. "I always expect high things of myself and Ive been working so hard for so many years that nothing is a real surprise to me and I have big ambitions in tennis. I want to achieve great things." Bouchard certainly isnt lacking confidence. She showed that during a magical run to the Australian Open semifinals in January. But Bouchard has a specific reason to have a hop in her step these days. On Saturday, she beat Karolina Pliskova in the championship match of the Nuremberg Cup, earning her first career WTA title. "Just so happy," said Bouchard describing the emotions in the moments after match point. "To go to a city and leave and not lose a match and win all the matches is something special." Bouchard almost didnt play in the tournament. Most top players will not travel to an event in the week before a grand slam choosing instead to rest, practice and arrive at the venue early. But after disappointing first-round straight-set losses at tune-up events in Madrid (v No. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska) and Rome (v No. 61 Francesca Schiavone) Bouchard was convinced that playing more was the best way to prep for the seasons second major. "We were debating whether to even come to Nuremberg and I said, You know what? I want to play matches. I want to keep trying and keep working. We got here early and practiced. It was pretty cold early in the week, it was tough practices, tough conditions, but I kept working hard and Im proud of myself for that. When you work hard good things happen. I think thats what happened this week." That Bouchards first career championship came on clay is a bit of a surprise. It is not her favourite surface. "My game is pretty aggressive, so I like to step in and control the point and the clay just slows it up a little bit, but its a good thing. It teaches me patience ... sometimes Im not so patient. "It adds different dimensions to your game and if I can perform well on clay it will show myself that I can have a well-rounded game." Last year Bouchards run at the French Open ended in the second round at the hands of eventual finalist Maria Sharapova. It was a tough loss (6-2, 6-4), but one that made the Montreal native stronger. "I think it helps for sure. I got to play on centre court, experienced a rain delay, my match was over two days and its all part of the experience. I always enjoy the chance to play one of the great players and I always learn so much. Ive learned from that match." Bouchard wont have to deal with Sharapova or any other top name early in the tournament this time around. Thats one of the perks of being the 18th seed. Bouchard will open against 86th ranked Israeli Shahar Peer, who has lost all three matches to the Canadian in her career including one in March (6-2, 6-2 in Acapulco). Waiting in the second round should Bouchard advance will be either German Julia Goerges or Portugals Michelle Larcher De Brito. Both are outside the top 100 in the latest rankings. The third round is when things may get tougher as No. 12 Flavia Pennetta would be a formidable roadblock, but far from unbeatable. But first things first: Bouchard needs to get settled in France. One negative repercussion from playing in the week before a slam is that it makes for a tight turnaround. There was a 90-minute flight from Nuremberg to Paris on Saturday night followed by a practice on Sunday. Bouchards match against Peer is set for Monday. Although theres actually a chance the short rest time may be a good thing. "I always like playing matches so, for me, the more I can play the better. I can get in a rhythm of playing competitive matches and I think it gives me extra confidence." Extra confidence? Not a fun thought for those in Bouchards section of the draw. Discount Nike Air Max Wholesale . The Calgary skip fell 10-8 to Swedens Oskar Eriksson in semifinal action Saturday and will face Switzerlands Peter de Cruz for the bronze medal  (Saturday at 10pm et/7pm pt on TSN2). Nike Air Max Sale . PETERSBURG, Florida – Its been almost seven years since the Blue Jays last won a series at Tropicana Field.NEW YORK -- Miles Mikolas earned his first win as a starter, pitching into the eighth inning Monday night and leading the Texas Rangers to a 4-2 victory over the sloppy New York Yankees. Trailing by a run with none on and two outs in the sixth, Texas got run-scoring singles from Geovany Soto, Rougned Odor and Shin-Soo Choo to go ahead in only its third win in 17 July games. Adrian Beltre drove in the Rangers first run with a fielders choice in the third inning on one of New Yorks five errors -- three by starting pitcher Shane Greene (2-1). Second baseman Brian Roberts and shortstop Derek Jeter made the other errors for the Yankees, who had not committed five in a nine-inning game since Aug. 20, 1998, against Minnesota. Mikolas (1-2) yielded two runs, including Jacoby Ellsburys homer, and four hits in a career-high 7 1-3 innings to outlast Greene in a matchup of 25-year-old pitchers getting a shot because of injury-wrecked rotations. Joakim Soria gave up a single to Kelly Johnson and plunked pinch-hitter Brian McCann with a pitch before getting Yangervis Solarte to fly out for his 17th save. Mikolas won for the first time since Aug. 21, 2012, with San Diego. He made 25 relief appearances for the Padres that year. Hes had little success this year, coming in with a 10.05 ERA in three starts. It all nearly fell apart for Mikolas in the fifth when the Yankees loaded the bases. But with a large crowd cheering Jeter on his figurine night, he grounded into an inning-ending double play. Winners of only five of their last 25 games, the Rangers then broke through against Greene in his first appearancee at Yankee Stadium. Wholesale Nike Air Max From China. Soto struck out with runners on first and third in the second -- they were there thanks to two poor throws to first base by Greene -- but came through with the tying hit in the sixth, a single to left after Jake Smolinski singled and Jim Adduci walked. Matt Thornton relieved and gave up consecutive run-scoring hits to Odor and Choo. Playing the outfield for the first time since the All-Star break because of left ankle trouble, Choo snapped an 0-for-22 skid with a third-inning double. Green was charged with four runs and five hits in 5 2-3 innings. He had given up just two runs total in his first two career starts. Carlos Beltran put New York ahead with a sacrifice fly in the first after Jeter walked, advanced to second on a balk and third on Ellsburys single. Ellsbury homered leading off the fourth to give the Yankees a 2-1 lead. It was the seventh straight time he reached base after going 4 for 4 with a walk in a win over Cincinnati on Sunday. NOTES: Rangers C Soto left after the top of the sixth with tightness in his right groin. Smolinski bruised his left foot and was lifted for a pinch hitter in the ninth. ... Rangers RF Alex Rios (sprained right ankle) missed his second straight game. Manager Ron Washington said Rios looked much better and could play before the series ends Thursday. ... Injured Yankees LHP CC Sabathia (knee) turned 34. ... Up next: The Rangers plan to activate RHP Nick Martinez (1-6) from the DL to start Tuesday against the Yankees. He has been out since July 2 with discomfort on his left side. Rookie RHP Chase Whitley (4-3) starts for New York. ' ' '

TORONTO - Rudy Gay could barely stand as he prepared to speak to the media minutes after a back-and-forth affair with the Wizards. Dick Bartell Jersey . The Raptors forward, who has been battling the flu since Thursday evening, skipped shoot around Friday morning but played 31 minutes in his teams resilient 96-88 victory at the Air Canada Centre. "I actually came here feeling worse than I did this morning, but there was no stopping me. I was going to play," Gay said, sitting down. "I was out of breath and theres other things that happen when youre sick, but I had to push through it for my team." Gays first-half performance reflected his pain and was just about the only thing that went wrong for Toronto in the opening 24 minutes. The Raptors shot 51 per cent, held Washington to 38 per cent - allowing 11 points on four-of-21 shooting in the second quarter - and took a commanding lead at home despite Gay going just two-of-10 from the field. As he missed a jumper, his team up 14 late in the second quarter, the home fans - unaware of his illness - began to boo. "He had the flu and [high] temperature and gutted it out," coach Dwane Casey said. "I was proud. He struggled a little bit, but down the stretch he came through for us." With Gay struggling, the Raptors good fortune finally ran out in the third quarter, an ongoing concern for the team. The Wizards outscored Toronto 32-15 in the period. John Wall had 18 alone. A 13-point halftime lead quickly became a four-point deficit. Gay had just six points on three-of-13 shooting. "You can see why he got paid all that money," DeMar DeRozan said of Wall, who scored 30 of his game-high 37 in the second half. Toronto had no answer for Wall. Thats when Casey and the Raptors threw the Wizards a curve ball. For the first time in four games, D.J. Augustin checked in to spell Kyle Lowry at the point. Terrence Ross, coming off a couple strong performances, and Steve Novak shared the floor as the Raptors regained control of the game with the help of Gay and their zone defence. "We had to mix it up," Casey admitted. "Our man [defence] wasnt working. We had to go to something else and it had to be our zone. It worked for us, it got them out of rhythm and it got us into rhythm. We work religiously on the zone and guys are still learning it. It worked out for us tonight." After losing his job as the back-up point guard four games into the season, Augustin got a rare opportunity. It was one that he received in an unfortunate circumstance with rookie Dwight Buycks - the acting back-up - away from the team following the passing of his father. Still, it was an opportunity he didnt waste. Augustins first shot was a three-pointer, the first hes made all season after missing nine straight attempts. His quickness and knack for the draw and kick helped turn the momentum back in Torontos favour. "Hes a pro," Casey said of Augustin. "He kind of fell out of the rotation. To his credit, the young man has worked at it. Hes stayed after practice, worked late, come back at night and worked on his shot. It paid off."  "Im a firm believer, if youre heart and your mind is in the right place good things will happen for you," said the coach. "And if theyre not, youre sitting on the bench pouting and upset because somebody is getting an opportunity, nothing good is going to happen for you. His heart is in the right place, his mind is in the right place." Augustins resiliency sparked his team and its leading scorer. Gay was a perfect three-for-three in the fourth quarter and added three of his four blocks - one of them of the highlight variety - in the final frame. "It just slowed down," Gay said. "I feel like I was trying to fight through the fact that I was a little sluggish, a little slow. In the fourth quarter, I just let it come to me and it was a lot easier." Exceeding 20 assists in back-to-back games, both victories, the Raptors offence is coming along as they continue to sit atop the Atlantic Division with a 6-7 record. Up next The Raptors will have the day off Saturday, a day of rest Gay plans to take full advantage of, and return to practice on Sunday ahead of their next game at home to the struggling Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday. Mauricio Dubon Jersey . The Montreal Canadiens goaltender has won three of his four games since returning from a lower-body injury that kept him out from the end of the Olympic break until March 15. Juan Marichal Jersey . Week 2s biggest games include Florida facing Miami and Notre Dame travelling to the Big House to conclude their rivalry against Michigan in primetime on TSN2 and TSN 1050. LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling apologized Sunday for racist comments captured on tape, saying they were a "terrible mistake." "Im not a racist," Sterling told CNNs Anderson Cooper in excerpts posted from an interview taped Sunday and set to air Monday. "I made a terrible mistake. Im here to apologize." In his first public comments since being banned for life from the NBA, Sterling said years of good behaviour as an owner should count toward his future. "Im a good member who made a mistake," Sterling said. "Am I entitled to one mistake, am I after 35 years? I mean, I love my league, I love my partners. Am I entitled to one mistake? Its a terrible mistake, and Ill never do it again." The interview came nearly two weeks after NBA Commissioner Adam Silver banned Sterling, fined him $2.5 million and urged the other league owners to force him to sell the team. Sterling said he waited to make a public apology because he was "emotionally distraught." "The reason its hard for me, very hard for me, is that Im wrong," Sterling said. "I caused the problem. I dont know how to correct it." He later added, "If the owners feel I have another chance, then theyll give it to me." Sterlings comments came on the same day ABC News posted excerpts of an interview his estranged wife gave to Barbara Walters. Shelly Sterling said she would fight to keep her 50 per cent ownership stake of the team. "I will fight that decision," Shelly Sterling said. "To be honest with you, Im wondering if a wife of one of the owners, and theres 30 owners, did something like that, said those racial slurs, would they oust the husband? Or would they leave the husband in? "I dont know why I should be punished for whaat his actions were. Gaylord Perry Jersey. " NBA spokesman Mike Bass released a statement Sunday night in response to Shelly Sterlings comments. "Under the NBA constitution, if a controlling owners interest is terminated by a three-quarter vote, all other team owners interests are automatically terminated as well," Bass said. "It doesnt matter whether the owners are related as is the case here. These are the rules to which all NBA owners agreed to as a condition of owning their team." Shelly Sterlings attorney, Pierce ODonnell, responded to the NBAs statement. "We do not agree with the leagues self-serving interpretation of its constitution, its application to Shelly Sterling or its validity under these unique circumstances," ODonnell said. "We live in a nation of laws. California law and the United States Constitution trump any such interpretation." ABC posted initial excerpts of Shelly Sterlings interview and planned to air the rest of it Monday. Shelly Sterling also said she "eventually" will divorce her husband, and that she hadnt yet done so due to financial considerations. "For the last 20 years, Ive been seeing attorneys for a divorce," she said. "In fact, I have here -- I just filed -- I was going to file the petition. I signed the petition for a divorce. And it came to almost being filed. And then, my financial adviser and my attorney said to me, Not now." LeBron James said Sunday after the Miami Heat practiced for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Brooklyn Nets that NBA players believe nobody in the Sterling family should be able to own the Clippers if hes gone. "As players, we want whats right and we dont feel like no one in his family should be able to own the team," James said. ' ' '

SUDBURY, Ont. Vans Old Skool Sale . -- Nathan Pancel scored twice as the Sudbury Wolves defeated the North Bay Battalion 4-2 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Connor Crisp and Nathan Cull also scored for the Wolves (19-9-6), who extended their win streak to nine games, and Mathew Campagna tacked on three assists. Jamie Lewis and Barclay Goodrow scored for the Battalion (18-16-2), who lost in regulation for the first time in seven outings. Franky Palazzese made 28 saves for Sudbury as North Bays Jake Smith turned away 26-of-30 shots. The Wolves went 1 for 4 on the power play while the Battalion failed to score on seven chances with the man advantage. --- 67S 5 BULLS 0 BELLEVILLE, Ont. -- Philippe Trudeau made 41 saves for his first-career shutout as Ottawa blanked the Bulls. Connor Brown had a pair of goals for the 67s (12-19-3) while Ryan Van Stralen, Sam Studnicka and Dante Salituro added one each. Brown had just three goals in 32 games this season and zero in his last 19 outings prior to his two-goal performance. Centreman David Tomasek was a team-worst minus-3 for Belleville (9-22-4) and Charlie Graham stopped 24 shots in a losing cause. --- PETES 4 GENERALS 2 PETERBOROUGH, Ont. -- Brandon Devlin scored two power-play goals as the Petes handed Oshawa its fourth loss in a row. Nick Ritchie and Stephen Nosad also scored for Peterborough (14-19-4) while Andrew DAogostini made 31 saves for the win. Matt Hore and Michael Dal Colle supplied the offence for the Generals (24-10-3). Oshawas Daniel Altshuller turned aside 28-of-32 shots in defeat. --- SPITFIRES 4 SPIRIT 1 WINDSOR, Ont. -- Dalen Kuchmey made 34 saves, including 20 in the second period, as the Spitfires toppled Saginaw. Nikita Yazkov and Steven Janes also scored for Windsor (22-12-1), who improved to 7-2-1 in its last 10 games. Justin Kea scored the lone goal for the Spirit (16-15-5), who are on a four-game slide. Saginaws Nikita Serebryakov stopped 33-of-37 shots in a losing cause. --- STEELHEADS 4 COLTS 3 BARRIE, Ont. -- Brett Foy scored twice as Mississauga came from behind to defeat the Colts. Bryson Cianfrone had a goal and two assists for the Steelheads (15-18-4), who trailed 3-2 heading into the third period, and Trevor Carrick scored the eventual winner. Justin Scott, Tyson Fawcett and Andrew Mangiapane scored for Barrie (18-14-3), who lost for the first time in three contests. Spencer Martin made 35 saves for Mississauga. Mackenzie Blackwood kicked out 16-of-20 shots for the Colts. --- RANGERS 6 OTTERS 2 KITCHENER, Ont. -- Brandon Robinson scored three times as the Rangers avoided their third straight loss by downing Erie. Justin Bailey had two goals for Kitchener (13-21-1) and Mason Kohn scored once. Brendan Gaunce registered both goals for the Otters (29-6-1), who have dropped back-to-back contests. Jordan DeKort made 31 saves for the Rangers while Devin Williams stopped 35-of-41 shots for Erie. --- ATTACK 6 ICEDOGS 2 OWEN SOUND, Ont. -- Gemel Smith had two goals and two assists as the Attack halted Niagaras three-game win streak. Tyler MacArthur, Gilbert Gabor and Kurtis Gabriel each had a goal and an assist for Owen Sound (18-12-6) while Kurtis MacDermid added a single goal. The IceDogs (11-21-4) got goals from Carter Verhaeghe and Alexandre Protapovich. Jack Flinn only had to make 12 saves for the Attack as Brent Moran faced 40 shots for Niagara. Cheap Vans Shoes . Their 9-19 record remains identical to the crosstown rivals in Brooklyn and trails both Toronto and Boston in the Atlantic Division. Raymond Felton, their declining point guard, is back on the sideline nursing his third injury of the season. Vans Old Skool Black Sale .1 million contract. The club said that Boll will earn $950,000 in 2012-13 and $1.15 million in 2013-14. The 26-year-old Boll had two goals and one assist with 126 penalty minutes in 54 games with the Blue Jackets in 2011-12.LIVERPOOL, England -- Title-chasing Liverpool overcame an attack of nerves to squeeze to a 2-1 win over Sunderland and move to within a point of leader Chelsea in the Premier League on Wednesday. Steven Gerrards free kick and Daniel Sturridges deflected shot put Liverpool two goals clear by the 48th minute, but the pressure of being a serious challenger for the title for the first time since 2009 showed in the final half-hour. Ki Sung-yeungs 76th-minute header came amid a dominant spell for the relegation-threatened visitors and Liverpool survived some hair-raising moments in the last minutes to seal a seventh straight league win. Hope has turned into expectation at Anfield these past few weeks as Liverpool -- the dominant side in England in the late 1970s and 1980s -- revives its glory days to launch a title challenge against all the odds. Its players loss of composure in the latter stages was telling, and it is set to get even more nervy over the next few weeks with seven games left. "We have had a wonderful season until now, but there is still a way to go and the message to the supporters is to keep believing," Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said. "As the season goes on, we will embrace the pressure and enjoy it." The victory lifted Liverpool into second place -- two points above Manchester City, which has two games in hand over the sides above them. But this was not as convincing as the Reds previous six victories, when they scored at least three goals every game to cement their status as the Premier League entertainers. "The game was set up for a big party, four or five goals," said Sunderland manager Gus Poyet, who added: "My friends in Uruguay didnt send me one text before the game ... they thought wed be destroyed." The game certainly looked like it would go that way when Sturridge found the net, via a deflection off Wes Brown, for his 20th goal of the campaign. That ensured two Liverpool players have scored at least 20 times in the same season for the first time in 50 years, when Roger Hunt and Ian St. Vans Shoes Sale. John were prolific in leading the line for the Reds. Luis Suarezs current haul stands at 28 goals and although the Uruguay international didnt add to his tally against Sunderland, he played a key role in the opener. Santiago Vergini escaped with just a yellow card when he hauled down Suarez when last man. Sunderland hadnt escaped, though, as Gerrard curled the resulting free kick in the 39th into the top corner for his ninth goal in 2014. Relief spread around Anfield but the nerves were to return midway through the second half, when Liverpool sat back and started to get sloppy in possession. The deficit was halved when Adam Johnson whipped in a corner that crept through a crowded area for fellow substitute Ki to stoop and head in at the far post. And Sunderland should have returned to the north east with a point as John OShea headed a gilt-edged chance wide just before injury time. Its another win chalked up by Liverpool as it seeks a first league title since 1990 and the clubs fans are starting to believe again. The way they cheered Liverpools players into Anfield before the game got Rodgers heart beating. "Our game started on the coach on the way in here," Rodgers said. "Any guys who watched Liverpool in the 70s and 80s coming in, it filled me with great pride being the manager of the club as we were driving in." Liverpool, which is unbeaten in 2014, has home games remaining against City and Chelsea. "We are in fantastic position," Gerrard said, "but we havent won anything yet." In Wednesdays other game, West Ham ended a three-game losing streak as an own-goal by James Chester secured a 2-1 win over 10-man Hull in a match between two mid-table teams. Hull goalkeeper Allan McGregor was shown a straight red card after charging into Mo Diame midway through the first half and Mark Noble dispatched the resulting penalty to give West Ham the lead. Nikica Jelavic equalized in the 48th. ' ' '

The Florida Panthers have acquired forward Brandon Pirri from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a third round pick in 2014 and a fifth round pick in 2016. Bucks Jerseys 2019 . Pirri was selected 59th overall in the second round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft by the Blackhawks. The 22-year-old had six goals and five assists in 28 games this season in Chicago. He has also spent time with the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League this season. Milwaukee Bucks Shirts . Bibeau, Torontos sixth-round pick at No. 172 overall in last years draft, was named the outstanding goaltender of the 2014 MasterCard Memorial Cup. Wholesale Bucks Jerseys .Boston beat the Nashville Predators 5-3 on Tuesday night and celebrated consecutive wins for the first time in more than a month.CLEVELAND -- Justin Mastersons health is in serious doubt. The Indians playoff chances are just as iffy. Masterson was pulled from his start in the second inning with soreness in his left side and Clevelands hitters stayed in a collective slump Monday night with a 7-2 loss to the Baltimore Orioles, one of the teams the Indians are scrapping with for the AL wild card. Masterson felt tightness in his side in the first inning, and after applying a heat ointment between innings, Clevelands All-Star ace took the mound in the second thinking he would be able to continue. But after a few pitches, his outing was done -- and its possible his season could be over as well. "It just tightened up on me," Masterson (14-10) said. "I went out to throw and it was like, Oh, boy. I couldnt get through a pitch. I was trying to sink em in there, but it wasnt going to work." Masterson will undergo an MRI and other tests Tuesday. Those results could determine whether the Indians will continue to battle for one of two playoff spots. "Hopefully its nothing serious," All-Star second baseman Jason Kipnis said. "Definitely love to have the big fella out there for us. Hes our ace." Bud Norris (10-10) stayed unbeaten as a starter with Baltimore and Nate McLouth homered and had three RBIs as the Orioles moved 1 1/2 games ahead of the Indians in the wild-card standings. Norris allowed one run -- a homer to Kipnis in the seventh -- and four hits in seven innings. The right-hander improved to 4-0 in seven starts with the Orioles, who acquired him at the July 31 trading deadline from Houston. Matt Wieters hit a two-run homer in the ninth and Brian Roberts drove in two runs for the Orioles, who didnt take any satisfaction in not having to face Masterson for more than two innings. "You hate to see that," McLouth said. "I feel really bad for him. He can go through stretches of a game where hes so dominant. It does make a difference." Masterson said its possible he could only miss a few days and that some rest will help. However, he also realizes the tests could reveal something more significant. "Its not the best-case scenario," he said. "So if it is any more serious than I think it is, we have some good guys in place that can do a lot of work. Were hoping things will be all right. We have a lot of guys coming up who can help out and do a good job. "I think youre going to see the guys really battle over the next 25 games that we got. "Thats going to show up whether Im here or not." With just one month left, the Indians arent going to take any chances with Masterson, their leader in wins, innings and just about everything else. "Its hard to quantify," Indians manager Terry Francona said when asked about Mastersons value. "Hes our best pitcher. But when things dont go your way, you can either feell sorry for yourselves or you can find a way to shine. Milwaukee Bucks Store. I hope that we are able to come back, whether it takes everybody in the bullpen or guys on the bench, keep fighting. "Thats the best way to do it." After dropping two of three in Boston and New York, the Orioles, who staggered through a 12-14 August, arrived in Cleveland needing to string some wins together. "I knew that schedule was going to be a challenge," manager Buck Showalter said before the game. "Were .500 in our last 10 games. Is it half full or half empty?" Norris provided some more optimism, striking out eight and keeping his record unblemished in seven starts since joining Baltimore. He allowed just one hit through five innings, and picked Michael Brantley off second in the second. The Indians are sliding in the wrong direction. They went 1-5 on a trip to Atlanta and Detroit, only salvaging the finale Sunday thanks to a ninth-inning grand slam by Mike Aviles to beat the Tigers. Masterson initially showed discomfort while working to Wieters leading off the second. He grimaced and flared his elbow at his side, a motion that sent Francona to the mound accompanied by a trainer. The right-hander stayed in the game, but after allowing a single to Wieters, he threw an 87 mph fastball to Nick Markakis and paused. Catcher Carlos Santana headed to the mound and shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera immediately waved toward the dugout, bringing Francona again. He took the ball from Masterson, who dejectedly walked off the field and then disgustedly tossed a cup of water in the dugout before heading to the clubhouse. "There wasnt any pull or anything like that that Im aware of," Masterson said. "Were going to get a few more things checked out over the next couple days." Preston Guilmet replaced Masterson and gave up a single to Markakis. With one out, McLouth hit an apparent RBI double to centre. However, the Indians won an appeal that Markakis missed second base, and under rule 10.05, McLouth was not awarded a hit on the play because it was a forceout. After Guilmet walked No. 9 hitter Alexi Casilla, Roberts hit a two-run double to make it 3-0. NOTES: Indians RHP Corey Kluber, sidelined since Aug. 6 with a sprained middle finger, will pitch in relief Friday after Scott Kazmir starts against the Mets. Kluber pitched a simulated game Monday, and because he hasnt pitched in some time, the Indians want to be conservative with him. Also, the club is concerned about overworking Kazmir. "I think it has a chance to help us win, help both pitchers and help the bullpen," Francona said. ... Indians OF Ryan Raburn is expected to be activated Tuesday after being sidelined with a pulled calf muscle. ... With his next homer, Hardy will become the fourth active shortstop and ninth since 1901 to record three or more seasons with 25 or more homers. ' ' '

With elite wrestling skills and a sledgehammer for a left hand, Johny (Bigg Rigg) Hendricks represents a real threat to UFC champion Georges St-Pierre. Denver Nuggets Shirts . "Ive never fought anybody like him. But hes never fought anybody like me," St. Pierre told The Canadian Press. "So were both unique. Were going to clash and see whos the best man." For those who have followed the career of the MMA star from Montreal, its a familiar refrain. As is St-Pierres comment that while the No. 1 contender poses a lot of problems, the champion has the solution. "Im ready. Im very well-prepared. Im at my best. Im the best I can be," said St-Pierre. The world will find out Nov. 16 in Las Vegas when St-Pierre (24-2) meets Hendricks (15-1) at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It will mark St-Pierres 10th title defence. He lost the first, knocked out by Matt (The Terror) Serra at UFC 69 in April 2007, but reclaimed his championship belt by beating Serra two years later at UFC 83. Since then, he has defeated Jon Fitch, B.J. (The Prodigy) Penn, Thiago (Pitbull) Alves, Dan (The Outlaw) Hardy, Josh Koscheck, Jake Shields, Carlos (Natural Born Killer) Condit and Nick Diaz. St-Pierre has won 11 straight since that 2009 loss to Serra and currently ranks second in the UFCs pound-for-pound rankings, behind only light-heavyweight champion Jon (Bones) Jones. That record and reputation has made GSP a 2-1 favourite to beat Hendricks, odds more respectful of the challenger than in many of the Canadians previous fights. A southpaw, the 30-year-old Hendricks has won six straight since dropping a decision to Rick (The Horror) Story in December 2010. And three of those wins (T.J.Waldburger, Jon Fitch and Martin Kampmann) were emphatic first-round knockouts. A former NCAA champion wrestler at Oklahoma State, Hendricks registered just three takedowns in the five fights after Story. With three of those fights being short, he did not need to dig deep into his arsenal. But last time out, he landed 12 of 15 takedowns in neutralizing the striking game of Condit. According to FightMetric, St-Pierres numbers are much better than Hendricks. The champion is accurate on a UFC-record 76 per cent of his takedowns (compared to 50 per cent for Hendricks) and is successful defending them 86 per cent of the time (63 per cent for Hendricks). St-Pierres significant striking accuracy rate is 55 per cent (50 for Hendricks) while his striking defence rate is 75 per cent (58 for Hendricks). Both men have beaten Josh Koscheck, a fighter who has also has good wrestling and power in his hands. Hendricks won a decision in May 2012 while St-Pierre earned decisions in August 2007 and December 2010. "They are similar but different," said St-Pierre. "He (Hendricks) is a leftie, he has a different style and different game. Its going to be a good fight. I look forward to it." Last time out against Koscheck, St-Pierre literally broke his face with a punishing jab and landed four of nine takedown attempts. St-Pierre landed 110 significant strikes to just 16 for Koscheck. The champion has prepared for Hendricks in his native Montreal. It has gone smoothly although his camp was forced to deny reports that he might be thinking of retirement after the fight. Trainer Firas Zahabi said his comments were misconstrued. Asked about the issue, the 32-year-old St-Pierre said he is planning his next fight rather than his retirement. "I always take it one fight at a time but Im happy with my life right now." He says there will be no shortage of challenges after Hendricks. "There are always going to be challenges," he said. "Im not above the sport. "Everybodys beatable and I always have to keep my head straight and stay humble and train hard." St-Pierre knows from experience. After dethroning future Hall of Famer Matt Hughes at UFC 65 in November 2006, his first title defence followed a truncated training camp marked by distractions that included family illness. He was knocked out by Serra in a shocking upset. St-Pierre has never made the same mistake again. As his training goes, so does his fighting. It has been a rough year for champions with Anderson Silva, Junior dos Santos and Benson Henderson losing their title within the last 12 months. "It makes you remember no matter how great you are, no matter how good youre doing, one mistake and you lose everything," St-Pierre said. He is realistic about the target on his back. "Ive been the target since I became champion because everyone wants what you have," St-Pierre said. "And its OK. "Its hard to become champion, its even harder to stay champion. I like the challenge every time. Im very motivated." Nuggets Jerseys China . At this rate, the Flyers captain is set to be remembered more for a fantastic finish. Wholesale Nuggets Jerseys . - Diego Fagundez scored his team-leading 13th goal of the season in the 76th minute to lift the Revolution to a 3-2 victory over the Columbus Crew on Saturday night that kept New Englands playoff hopes alive.NEW YORK, N.Y. - Even with a winless team coming to Madison Square Garden, there was no chance of the New York Knicks being overconfident.For us, right now, its not like we were playing great, point guard Jose Calderon said.They were good enough to beat Philadelphia.Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points, Amare Stoudemire added 16 points and 11 rebounds, and the Knicks dropped the 76ers to 0-13 with a 91-83 victory on Saturday night.Calderon made his season debut for the Knicks (4-10), who had lost consecutive games but jumped out to a big early lead and had an easy time against a team that was every bit as bad as its record for most of the game.You dont want to give a team like that no type of edge, no type of confidence, because when you do it can be a dangerous night for you, Anthony said.The 76ers are the first team to drop their first 13 games since the 2009-10 Nets lost 18 straight during the worst start in NBA history. The Sixers are nearing their franchise-worst start of 0-15 in 1972-73, when they finished 9-73 for the worst 82-game mark in league history.They played hard to keep from getting blown out but couldnt overcome three quarters of dismal shooting that had them trailing by as many as 21 points.We all are sticking together, forward Nerlens Noel said. We feel like were getting closer to our first win.Noel had the best night of his young career with season highs of 17 points and 12 rebounds.That was Nerlens best game. So everybody in Philadelphia is seeing what were seeing. Its slow but its coming, coach Brett Brown said.Calderon finished with three points and three assists in 21 minutes. The Spanish veteran strained his right calf during a preseason game on Oct. 20, and the Knicks are hoping he can help the flow of their triangle offence.New York was still without Andrea Bargnani, who was nearing a return from the strained right hamstring that has sidelined himm all season when he strained his right calf in practice Friday. Denver Nuggets Gear. The crowd was announced at 19,812, a sellout, but fans were largely silent during play, as if beating up on the dismal Sixers wasnt worth cheering.Philadelphia did manage to get it to 85-77 with under 2 minutes left, but Anthony made consecutive baskets.___TIP-INS76ers: Philadelphia trailed 25-13 after one. The 76ers had led at the start of the second quarter in three of the previous four games after not doing so once before then. ... Michael Carter-Williams grabbed four rebounds after he was averaging 6.0. His 6.2 rebounds per game last season ranked second among NBA guards.Knicks: New York played at home for the only time in a six-game span. The Knicks return to the Midwest for Thanksgiving week, visiting Houston, Dallas and Oklahoma City. ... Second-year guard Shane Larkin, who had been starting at point guard during Calderons absence, didnt play.NERLENS NIGHTNoel was the No. 6 pick in last years draft but missed the entire season after tearing an ACL during his lone season at Kentucky. His potential is one of the reasons the Sixers are encouraged about their future. I am really starting to feel like my legs are under me now, he said. (After) not playing basketball in so long, I am already starting to feel my timing is a lot better and Im feeling a lot more confident.ELEMENT OF SURPRISESome of the 76ers are young and unknown, even to their opponents. Anthony said he knew most of them, though recent call-up Robert Covington from the NBA D-League was a bit of a mystery. The kid Covington came in at the end, Im looking at the sideline, Im like, Is he a shooter? How should we guard him? Anthony said. Theyre like, Just put a hand up. He came out and hit four 3s in a row. Covingtons 14 points were a career high.UP NEXT76ers: Host Portland on Monday.Knicks: Visit Houston on Monday. ' ' '

Rafael Nadal and Kei Nishikori can set-up a mouthwatering final at the Barcelona Open if they come through Saturdays semi-finals. Air Max 90 China Wholesale . Two-time defending champion Nishikori will firstly face Benoit Paire, while top seed Nadal plays in the other semi-final against Philipp Kohlschreiber.Nadal is targeting a second successive trophy after winning last weeks Monte Carlo Masters and he demonstrated his battling qualities in a 6-2 7-6 win over Fabio Fognini in the quarter-finals. He has won 12 of his 13 previous matches against Kohlschreiber, but the pair have not shared a court since Nadals straight sets win over the German in Beijing, back in 2013.Nishikori is trying to complete a hat trick of title wins at the clay court tournament and he ruthlessly sealed a 7-5 6-0 win over Alexandr Dolgopolov in the quarter-finals.But Nishikori is fully aware of the threat posed by Paire, who has beaten the Japanese player in their last two matches. Nadal is seeking more silverware after winning the title at the Monte Carlo Masters Paire was just a few points away from defeating Andy Murray in Monte Carlo before the Brit battled back to claim victory.And Nishikori has suffered a semi-final loss to Paire before, slipping to a three set defeat against the Frenchman in Tokyo last year.You can watch todays semi-final matches at the Barcelona Open from 12.30pm on Sky Sports 5. Also See: Rafa and Nishikori reach semis Davis Cup dilemma for Murray Tennis on Sky Get a NOW TV pass Vans Shoes Cheap .com) - Klay Thompson is quickly proving he is worth every penny of his recently signed four-year contract extension. Vans Old Skool Clearance . New York City FC introduced Frank Lampard in Brooklyn on Thursday after signing the 36-year-old former Chelsea midfielder to a two-year contract.TORONTO - The once-red hot Toronto Raptors have suddenly gone cold.And while Kyle Lowry said a four-game losing streak is nothing to fret over, his chilly demeanour in the post-game dressing room Thursday night said otherwise.The Raptors dropped a 103-95 decision to the Charlotte Hornets, spoiling the teams homecoming after a disappointing road trip. And Lowry, who led the way with 24 points, was positively terse with reporters after the lacklustre loss.Tonight we sucked as a team, and weve got to figure it out soon, Lowry said. Weve got a game on Saturday, and tonight we sucked as a team, but we had a bad game, and Im sure well be fine.Lou Williams finished with 15 points on just 4-for-15 shooting for Toronto (24-11), while Greivis Vasquez had 11 points and Jonas Valanciunas finished with 10. Charlottes starters also outscored Torontos by a whopping 89-46 margin.Raptors coach Dwane Casey, who was longer than normal in the post-game dressing room, was angry at the teams lack of intensity, especially in the first and third quarters — in each of which the Raptors were badly outhustled and outscored.I dont know what it is. But weve got to find seven or eight guys that are interested in competing at a high level, Casey said. I thought the second unit came in and competed.For whatever reason, were not getting that energy at the start of the game, the start of the third quarter. Those were backbreakers. Whether its a lineup change or whatever it is, weve got to find an answer for it.Asked if he could expand on Caseys comments, Lowry replied: No, I cannot.When asked why Casey would say that, Lowry said I dont know.The game was the Raptors first back at the Air Canada Centre after a disappointing road trip that saw them win just two of six, and fall out of the Eastern Conference lead. It was also the first of a welcome six straight games at home, where the Raptors had been riding a five-game winning streak — until Thursday.But as Casey said prior to tipoff, Home wont take care of you, youve got to take care of home, and it was the Hornets that led for most of the night in front of another ACC sellout crowd of 19,800.Just frustration, disappointment, anger, said Patrick Patterson. Everyones just frustrated with the way were playing right now. Its not like were not trying. Its not like were giving up. As you see, no matter what the score is were going to continue to battle and play hard but it just seems like things just arent working for us.It seems like were in a hole and were trying to climb out right now. Hopefully we climb out sooner rather than later.Gerald Henderson scored 31 points to top the Hornets (14-24) in their fourth straight victory. Kemba Walker added 29 for Charlotte, which led by as much as 15 points before taking a 75-66 advantage into the fourth quarter.The Raptors, whove now lost five in a row to the Hornets, opened the fourth with a 7-0 run to pull within two points. But that was as close as they would come, as Charlotte answered virtually every Toronto basket the rest of the way.A three-pointer by Walker 1:555 left to play put the Hornets up by 10 and sent many fans for the exits. Vans Shoes Clearance. The Raptors fought back one last time, and a Patterson basket with 42 seconds to play pulled the Raptors to within four points, breathing some life into Torontos hopes for a victory.But Walker snuffed that out with a long jumper that put Charlotte back up by six with 19 seconds to play, and sealed Torontos fate.We knew this team was going to come in hungry, Casey said, Theyre athletic and aggressive. We had to meet that. Youre going to have nights when the shots arent going to fall. But the focus and the defensive energy need to be there. It wasnt there.This is the first real slump for the Raptors since the Rudy Gay trade just over a year ago that turned their fortunes around.It happens, its a long season. I dont know how many games weve played, Lowry said. Its a long season, so we can possibly run out 10 in a row, and this four-game losing streak will be forgotten about.The Hornets shot 48 per cent on the night to Torontos 40 per cent, and outrebounded the Raptors 46-42.Henderson was asked why the Hornets have had so much success against the Raptors.I dont know, I think we get up to play them, he said. They are a really good team, second in the East. They have been playing great this year, so we just know that we have to bring our best game to compete against them.Toronto played its 19th game without DeMar DeRozan, who had hoped to play Thursday, but instead is now targeting next week for his return. They could sorely use their leading scorer back in the lineup — theyve also dropped from ninth in the NBA defensively, to 28th since DeRozans injury — but they are playing it safe with their all-star, who is out with a torn groin tendon.When the medical people say he can come back, hell come back, Casey said prior to tipoff. His career is more important. . . Ive seen two or three players in my time in the NBA lose their careers on a similar injury, by rushing back too quick. Its going to be up to the medical people and up to DeMar when he does come back.Despite a warning by Casey to come out with a sense of urgency, the Raptors got off to an abysmal first quarter that saw the Hornets go up by 10 points. The Hornets doubled Toronto on the boards 16-8 and beat them 7-0 on second-chance points. Charlotte took a 31-23 lead into the second.Tyler Hansbrough drained the first three-pointer of his NBA career to pull the Raptors to within a point early in the second. They finally took the lead on a driving layup by Lowry with just under a minute left in the quarter, and went into the dressing room leading 52-50 at halftime.Toronto didnt get its first field goal of the third until five-and-a-half minutes in, while the Hornets went on a 21-3 run to take a 71-56 lead. Charlotte outscored the Raptors 25-14 in the third and took a nine-point lead into the fourth.Toronto is home to the Boston Celtics on Sunday, then hosts Detroit, Philadelphia, and Eastern Conference-leading Atlanta, before capping its homestand Jan. 18 versus New Orleans. ' ' '

PRETORIA, South Africa -- The chief prosecutor laughed scornfully at an answer from Oscar Pistorius during the Olympic athletes murder trial Thursday, mocking the man who shot his girlfriend. Yeezy Baratas Hombre . The judge sternly instructed the prosecutor to restrain himself and he apologized -- then went right back to trying to pick holes in the testimony of the double-amputee runner. It was a harsh day of cross-examination for Pistorius, challenged relentlessly about his account of the moments just before he killed Reeva Steenkamp, as well as circumstances related to several firearms charges against him, including the firing of a gun in a crowded restaurant. Prosecutor Gerrie Nel often sought to goad Pistorius, accusing him of being self-obsessed and hiding the truth about the death of Steenkamp, a 29-year-old model whom he shot through a closed toilet door in his home. Dressed in a dark suit, Pistorius, 27, responded methodically and in a soft monotone, and only occasionally did his voice rise. He did not break down in tears as he has previously this week in the witness box and did not look at Nel, instead facing the red-robed judge, Thokozile Masipa, on the dais. The prosecutor seized on virtually every opportunity to challenge the star athletes credibility, asserting that he had a string of unlikely excuses for why he wasnt to blame in the gun charges he faces on top of murder. In casting doubt on the Olympians honesty, Nel was pushing the prosecutions argument that Pistorius is also lying that he killed Steenkamp by mistake, thinking she was an intruder, in the pre-dawn hours of Valentines Day last year. Nel briefly erupted in laughter after Pistorius suggested that two witnesses who said they once saw him shoot out of a car sunroof had collaborated and fabricated their accounts. "I apologize for laughing, I wont do it again," Nel said after people in the gallery murmured in surprise at his outburst. Masipa sternly cautioned him: "If you possibly think this is entertaining, its not. So please restrain yourself." The judge will deliver a verdict because there is no jury system in South Africa. Possibly because of her critical role, Masipa has given away little of her thinking during the trial, interjecting only occasionally during testimony and keeping an impassive expression. In the cross-examination, Nel asserted that Pistorius will not "accept responsibility for anything." He reacted incredulously to the athletes explanation of why a gun he was handling went off under a table in a packed restaurant. The incident, for which he was charged with firing a gun in public without good reason, happened weeks before Steenkamp died. Pistorius said a friends pistol, a Glock, went off while he was holding it but insisted that he hadnt pulled the trigger. But a police expert testified earlier at the trial that the Glock could not be fired without pulling the trigger. "We have you in possession of the gun, a shot went off, but you didnt discharge the gun?" Nel said. "You are lying." "I respect Mr. Nels comment," Pistorius replied, "but I didnt pull the trigger on that firearm." Pistorius said he wasnt guilty of another charge against him, illegal possession of ammunition for .38-calibre ammunition found in a safe in his home after he killed Steenkamp. He said they belonged to his estranged father, who had put the bullets in the safe. Nel retorted that Pistorius father, Henke, had "refused" to make a statement to police on the ammunition being his. At another point, Nel said caustically: "Its the strangest day today. You just dont take responsibility for anything." Two contrasting images of Pistorius have emerged in court: the defence-led portrayal of a contrite man worried about crime who made a tragic mistake, and the prosecutions depiction of an overbearing egotist obsessed with firearms who killed his girlfriend on purpose after a heated argument. Pistorius, who faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder, said he did not intentionally fire the four shots that penetrated the toilet door. Steenkamp was struck in the head, hip and arm. "I didnt have time to think about if I wanted to or didnt want to," Pistorius said when Nel asked whether he intended to shoot. Nel also accused him of egotistical behaviour in his relationship with Steenkamp, and described Pistorius courtroom apology to her family on Monday as an insincere "spectacle." "Your life is just about you," Nel told Pistorius. He said the athlete was not "humble enough" to apologize in private to the family and away from the media glare of a murder trial broadcast live around the world. Pistorius said his lawyers had been in touch with representatives of Steenkamps family, and that he believed they were not ready to meet with him. "I completely understand where theyre coming from," he said. "Its not that I havent thought about them." Nel also pressed Pistorius about Steenkamps objection to his playing a song by American rapper Kendrick Lamar on a car stereo. Pistorius referred to the song in a cellphone message to Steenkamp that acknowledged her objections and has been included as evidence in the trial. The prosecutor asked if the name of the song was "Bitch, Dont Kill My Vibe," but Pistorius said he couldnt remember the specific song. Nel responded that Steenkamp would have been right to take offence and caustically noted, "We cant ask her." Zapatillas Yeezy Spain . The unrestricted free agent agreed to terms with the club on Thursday on a one-year, two-way deal worth $700,000. Zapatillas Nike Baratas . -- Arizona came out of its last meeting with California a bit discombobulated, hurting from its first loss and the loss of forward Brandon Ashley for the rest of the season.BUFFALO, N.Y. - Former Blue Jays ace Ricky Romero will miss the remainder of the season following knee surgery. Romero, who plays for the triple-A Buffalo Bisons, had surgery Tuesday on his left knee to clean out quadriceps tendon inflammation. Hes expected to miss six months. The 29-year-old lefty is 0-3 with a 5.50 earned-run average in nine starts with Buffalo this season. Replica Jordan España. Romero, drafted sixth overall by Toronto in 2005, was the Jays ace in 2011 with a career-best 15-11 record and a 2.92 ERA. But his performance dropped off the next season to 9-14 and a 5.77 ERA. Following that, Romero was sent down to the minors where he has struggled to regain his form. ' ' '

SAO PAULO, Brazil -- Top-seeded Tommy Haas came back to defeat Horacio Zeballos of Argentina 6-3, 5-7, 6-2 to advance to the Brazil Open semifinals on Friday. Soccer Jerseys For Sale . Haas broke Zeballos serve twice in a row in the decisive set to close the match and take a step closer to his second final of the year. The 12th-ranked German lost to Marin Cilic in the final in Croatia earlier this month. Haas will next play Paolo Lorenzi of Italy, who reached his first ATP semifinal with an upset 7-6 (6), 6-7 (4), 6-4 win over fourth-seeded Juan Monaco of Argentina. "Lorenzi has been around for a long time so this is a goal Im sure he has been waiting to achieve for a lifetime," Haas said. "He has nothing to lose and is going to try to go one more and get to his first ATP tour final. He is a dangerous player. Im going to have to try to play some of my best tennis." The 114th-ranked Lorenzi broke Monacos serve to go up 4-3 in the final set and held on to close the match in 2 hours, 34 minutes at the Ibirapuera Arena. The 32-year-old Italian squandered a match point before losing the second set, but was in control in the third to pick up the win in the ATP 250 tournament in South Americas biggest city. Lorenzi served 12 aces en route to his first pro semifinal after five career quarterfinal losses. "Im very happy to finally breakthrough to the semifinals," Lorenzi said. "Ive had a lot of opportunities before but was never able to come up with the victory at this stage. For sure this is one of my greatest weeks on the tour." The 43rd-ranked Monaco was trying to win his 200th clay-court match. He is the fifth-highest winner on the surface, behind Rafael Nadal, David Ferrer, Tommy Robredo and Nicolas Almagro. Monaco had a set point in the first set but couldnt capitalize on it. "It was a very close match, he had his chances in the first set and I had mine in the second, it was very difficult," Lorenzi said. In another quarterfinal Friday, Federico Delbonis of Argentina easily beat Alberto Montanes of Spain 6-4, 6-3 in just over an hour. He will play either home-crowd favourite Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil or Martin Klizan of Slovakia. Defending champion Rafael Nadal is not playing at the clay-court tournament this year. He chose to play at the first edition of the Rio Open, which he won last week. Replica Soccer Jerseys . Milan was held to 1-1 at home by Torino. Cagliari scored six minutes from halftime when Mauricio Pinilla blasted home from the penalty spot after Facundo Roncaglia tripped Marco Sau. The home side could have doubled its tally in stoppage time as first Fiorentina defender Stefan Savic almost scored an own goal then Albin Ekdals shot clipped the top of the upright. Wholesale Soccer Jerseys . Its like being on Broadway, everything you do matters. Id want to be good though! I couldnt play here if I wasnt very good.   #83217388 / gettyimages. RALEIGH, N.C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes hope they now have the leadership tandem in place to turn the franchise around. Bill Peters was introduced Friday as the Hurricanes new coach, the first big hire made by new Carolina general manager Ron Francis. Now its up to Peters to prove it was a shrewd move. Carolina has made three coaching changes since 2006 and has only one playoff appearance to show for it. "When I did my due diligence and went to look at rosters ... were not far off," Peters said. "I think theres lots of pieces here and its up to us and our coaching staff ... to max our group out." A few hours after Peters formal introduction, the Hurricanes made another addition to their management team, hiring 44-year-old Ricky Olczyk -- the younger brother of former NHL coach and current NBC Sports analyst Ed Olczyk -- as an assistant general manager. The younger Olczyk spent six years as Edmontons assistant GM and was the Oilers NHL liaison for all collective bargaining agreement matters. Peters replaces Kirk Muller, who was fired last month -- a week into Francis tenure as GM -- and went 80-80-27 in three seasons with no playoff berths. Instead of an established NHL head coach or a popular ex-player, Francis went with Peters -- a 48-year-old Detroit Red Wings assistant who has never been an NHL head coach but was in demand this off-season. Peters said he interviewed for two other jobs and Francis says he spoke to 10 candidates during "a pretty extensive search," narrowing that to a three-man short list before deciding on Peters and giving him a three-year contract. "You have to take the time to go through it and make sure you get the right guy," Francis said, "and thats what we did." What dazzled Francis was Peters attention to detail: He penned a booklet breaking down the team and brought it to his first interview with them, and his second one included a PowerPoint presentation, Francis said. "Hes extremely, extremely detailed," Francis said. "Hes going to communicate with our players. Our players are going to know where he stands, and theres no little detail that (will) be overloooked. Soccer Jerseys. " From the outside, his challenge looks daunting: Making the Hurricanes a consistent playoff team. Muller couldnt do it in three years. Neither could Paul Maurice, at least during his second stint with the team. Even Peter Laviolette -- the only Carolina coach to hoist the Stanley Cup -- couldnt get the Hurricanes back to the post-season. Now Peters gets his chance to try to revive a club that has missed the playoffs in seven of the eight years since the Hurricanes won their only Stanley Cup in 2006. The lone post-season berth since that Cup run came in 2009, when the Hurricanes reached the Eastern Conference final in the first year of Maurices second term as coach. Peters plan is to address three glaring problems from last season: Starting games strong, producing more on the power play and winning more often at PNC Arena. Carolina was the leagues third-worst team with the man advantage and was just 18-17-6 at home. "Weve got to become a harder team to play against here in Raleigh," Peters said. His hiring caps about two months of turbulence in the Hurricanes organization. Francis, a Hall of Fame player who has been both an assistant coach and an assistant GM with Carolina, was moved up a rung on the organizations ladder and his mentor, Jim Rutherford, stepped aside after two decades -- and eventually wound up bolting to Pittsburgh to take over as the Penguins GM. Francis first big move came a week later when he fired Muller and put the players on notice that the responsibility for turning the team around is on them, too. After a 46-day search in which some recognizable names were floated, Francis plucked Peters from Mike Babcocks staff with the Red Wings. He spent the past three years working primarily with the Red Wings defencemen and penalty killers. Before joining the Red Wings staff, he coached Rockford of the AHL from 2008-11 and guiding that team to consecutive 40-win seasons. Eight of his Rockford players helped Chicago win the Cup in either 2010 or 2013, and he also coached Spokane (Washington) of the Western Hockey League for three seasons. "This is a guy that knows coaching," Francis said. ' ' '

MINNEAPOLIS -- At the crack of the bat, San Diego Padres manager Bud Black didnt think centre fielder Alexi Amarista had a chance to get Eduardo Escobars screaming line drive. Jerry Grote Jersey Signed . Step by blazing step, it didnt take Amarista long to give Black and the rest of his team some much-needed hope. Amarista made that game-saving catch in the bottom of the ninth inning and Seth Smith followed with a solo homer in the 10th to lift the Padres to a 5-4 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday. "Then I saw Alexis route, and youre sort of watching Alexi and watching the ball," Black said. "And then in flight, you think maybe." Amarista ran backward on a dead sprint and laid out for a brilliant diving catch of the drive with two on and two outs to keep the game tied. "When he hit it, I thought game over," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "We just watched their whole outfield move way in with two strikes, and he moved way in when that ball was hit, and Esco got a hold of it really nice, we thought he had no chance to catch that ball. But the young man ran it down, and it was a hell of a play." Smith had two hits and two RBIs. Joaquin Benoit picked up his fourth save in five tries and the Padres earned a split in the two-game series. Trevor Plouffe had a homer and three RBIs for the Twins. But All-Star closer Glen Perkins blew his fourth save in 32 chances this year. San Diego trailed 4-3 going into the ninth against Perkins, but Everth Cabrera tied the game with a sacrifice fly. The Padres earlier in the day hired Texas Rangers assistant GM A.J. Preller as the teams new general manager, two people with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press. The people spoke on condition of anonymity because an official announcement had not been made. The speedy Amarista was a late-game defensive replacement, and what a move it was for Black. He raced a good 35 yards or more to track down Escobars hit and the Padres bench erupted when he hauled it in. Smith responded with a drive more than 400 feet off Anthony Swarzak (2-1) into the right-field stands for his 12th homer. "It was nice to win a game like that," Smith said. "Those are the games you need to win." Kevin Quackenbush (2-2) got the win. TRAINERS ROOM Padres: Yangervis Solarte came up hobbling in the sixth inning after sliding home to tie the game at 3. Solarte appeared to actually roll over a bat laying in his way as he made the slide. But he was able to finish the game at third base. Twins: Gardenhire said first baseman Joe Mauer and right-hander Ricky Nolasco both had successful debuts on their rehab stints with Class A Cedar Rapids on Tuesday night. Mauer (strained right oblique) was scheduled to play first base on Wednesday. If all goes well, Mauer will join the team in Houston next week. Gardenhire said Nolasco (elbow) "felt great" after throwing 51 pitches. He will make at least one more start before being activated. FOR STARTERS Padres right-hander Odrisamer Despaigne gave up four runs on eight hits with three walks and five strikeouts in 5 2-3 innings. It was his third straight outing allowing at least four runs and his third straight where he hasnt reached the seventh inning. "Hes been a little bit too up out over the plate for the most part," Black said. YONDER HEATS UP Alonso went 6 for 8 in the series to raise his average to .233. He was activated from the disabled list last week after dealing with right wrist tendinitis, and Black said he can see the difference. "Theres no soreness in his wrist," Black said. "His forearms, his hands, everything having to do with gripping the bat feels good. His timing is there. Hes one of the guys that we need to continue this hitting." UP NEXT Padres: San Diego is off on Thursday before opening a three-game series in Pittsburgh on Friday night. RHP Ian Kennedy (8-9, 3.59) will start the opener against Pirates RHP Vance Worley (4-1, 2.43). Twins: Minnesota starts a four-game series in Oakland on Thursday night. RHP Yohan Pino (1-3, 4.57) pitches for the Twins against newly acquired As LHP Jon Lester (11-7, 2.59). Jack Coleman Jersey Signed . Louis second-period goal increased the New York Rangers lead but Dustin Brown has countered for the Los Angeles Kings who now trail the New York Rangers 2-1 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final at Madison Square Garden. J.R. Bremer Jersey Signed . - The Mavericks built a 12-point lead with 2:50 to play, gave away all but two points of it, and still managed to hang on. The Calgary Stampeders remain atop the TSN.ca CFL Power Rankings for yet another week. There was movement after that, however, as the Saskatcchewan Roughriders jumped to second and the Toronto Argonauts to third. NBA Jerseys. See the full Power Rankings on TSN.ca/CFL ' ' '

SAN DIEGO -- Travis dArnaud returned to San Diego, the site of his major league debut, and recorded another memorable moment. Jordan 1 Clearance . DArnauds go-ahead single in the ninth inning lifted the New York Mets to their fourth straight win, 5-4 over the San Diego Padres on Friday night. The Mets won for the ninth time in 11 games as they began a 10-game trip and matched their longest winning streak of the season. DArnaud played his first game for the Mets at Petco Park on Aug. 17, 2013. That night he went 0 for 2 with two walks. "That was my first thought all day today," he said. On Friday he had three hits and two RBIs as the Mets picked up where they left off before the All-Star break. After a slow start, dArnaud is showing the promise that has long made him among the Mets top prospects. "Im not thinking about mechanics anymore," dArnaud said. "Im more focused in on the ball that is 90 miles an hour coming at me." And the Mets stayed hot, after an 8-2 homestand. "Thats big," dArnaud said. "We had good momentum before the All-Star break happened, and we won tonight and were going to keep it going." Jeurys Familia (2-3) pitched a scoreless eighth inning for the win. Jenrry Mejia worked the ninth for his 11 save in 13 chances. Joaquin Benoit (3-2) took the loss as he pitched the ninth inning with closer Huston Street unavailable. Street was dealt to the Angels in a six-player trade that was announced after the game. "Its tough to see guys go," Padres third baseman Chase Headley said. "I think guys know thats part of it." New York had seized a 4-0 lead but Bartolo Colon couldnt hold it and left the game after giving up four runs in San Diegos fifth inning. Colon was derailed by a sour stomach and a headache. "He didnt feel very good," Mets manager Terry Collins said. "The fifth inning wore him down a little bit. Usually as the game goes on he gets better." Curtis Granderson drew a leadoff walk in the ninth and moved to third on groundouts by Daniel Murphy and David Wright. After Lucas Duda was walked intentionally, dArnaud punched a single to right field for his second RBI and third hit of the game. "I just try to keep my eye on the ball and put a swing on it," dArnaud said. "Fortunately, it found a gap." The Mets had gotten the go-ahead run into scoring position in the eighth inning on Ruben Tejadas two-out double, but Bobby Abreu grounded out and failed to get a hit for the 18th straight time as a pinch-hitter. Colon was strong early, which was different for him. He had allowed a first-inning run in five consecutive starts, before shutting down the Padres over the first 4 1-3 innings. The Padres snapped a 25-inning scoreless skid when they scored four in the fifth. Will Venable opened with a single, Jake Goebbert walked, and they advanced on a double steal. Chris Nelson, who joined the Padres earlier Friday from Triple A El Paso, singled in Venable. Alexi Amarista, who had three hits, followed with a run-scoring single to slice the deficit in half. After Nelson and Amarista moved up on Seth Smiths grounder to first, Headley tied the game with a two-run single. New York extended its lead to 4-0 in the third when Duda scored after starting the inning with a double. DArnaud drove in Duda with his second single of the night. The Mets struck early with three first-inning runs as Ian Kennedy struggled after getting two outs. Kennedy, who had surrendered just two runs in 21 innings, allowed three hits, nailed Duda with a pitch, and walked Kirk Nieuwenhuis. "It showed the guys we are still in that zone right now," Collins said. "It was a good first inning. Hes been pitching good." The key blow was Juan Lagares single that scored Duda and dArnaud, who was aboard on a single that drove in Granderson. "Hes made some adjustments at the plate," Collins said of dArnaud. "His confidence is soaring and he is seeing the ball really good." NOTES: Padres RHP Andrew Cashner, sidelined by a sore right shoulder, will throw on Saturday. ... 2B Jedd Gyorko will play this weekend for Triple A El Paso as he rebounds from plantar fasciitis in his left foot. ... Padres SS Everth Cabrera (left hamstring strain) is expected to leave Monday for a rehabilitation assignment. ... Mets RHP Jon Niese (left shoulder strain) threw a bullpen session on Friday. ... The Mets are 4-2-1 in their last seven series. ... Mets RHP Dillon Gee (4-1, 2.56) faces Padres RHP Tyson Ross (7-10, 2.85) on Saturday night. Air Jordan 1 Chicago China . Pinch-hitter Tommy Medica singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and the Padres beat the Seattle Mariners 2-1 in their first home game since Gwynn died of cancer Monday. Fake Jordan 1 Banned . PAUL, Minn.OKLAHOMA CITY -- When asked about the oldie-but-goodie San Antonio Spurs, Oklahoma Citys Kevin Durant inquired about Tony Parkers age. "Thirty-two," a reporter answered. "He is old," Durant quipped, drawing laughter. "He doesnt play like hes 32 years old." Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili are even older. Duncan just turned 38 and Ginobili is approaching 37. The trio won its first NBA title together in 2003 and fought back Father Time to reach the NBA Finals last year. They will play in their seventh Western Conference finals together, starting with Game 1 Monday night in San Antonio. Durant, the leagues MVP, said theres more to San Antonios success than some mythical fountain of youth. It starts with the genius of Gregg Popovich, the leagues Coach of the Year. "Their system, they plug guys in and out," Durant said. "They always stick to their same system. They get guys who fit. And theyve got a great coach who gets those guys prepared." Even with an aging core and numerous injuries throughout the season, the Spurs finished with the leagues best record. They did it with consistency and teamwork that has continued in the playoffs. San Antonio is shooting 49 per cent from the field as a team in the post-season, with no player averaging 20 points. Oklahoma City counters with dynamic individual play from a pair of 25-year-olds. Durant is averaging 31.4 points and 9.5 rebounds in the playoffs. Russell Westbrook is averaging 26.6 points, 8.4 assists and 8.0 rebounds in post-season play. Westbrook, in particular, has San Antonios attention. While Durants play has been typical, Westbrook has improved significantly as a floor general during the playoffs. "Hes an incredible talent having a great playoff run," Duncan said. "Some incredible numbers. Just an impressive athlete when you try to stay in front of him. His confidence is there." The Thunder will be without Serge Ibaka, who led the league in blocked shots. The mobile, athletic forward injured his left calf in Game 6 of the conference semifinal against the Los Angeles Clippers. "Its hard, but were going to move on," Thunderr centre Kendrick Perkins said. Wholesale Jordan 1 Black China. "Were a very prideful organization and team. Were going to move on." Here are five things to watch in the series: THUNDER DOMINANCE: Oklahoma City won all four regular-season meetings with San Antonio this season, so the Spurs will take nothing for granted, even with Ibaka out. "You never get overconfident in that situation, especially against a team that we havent beat this year," Ginobili said. "We know how talented they are. They can really score in bunches. Very athletic, strong, play good defence. So, no, were not going to get overconfident for sure." IBAKAS REPLACEMENT: Oklahoma City rookie Steven Adams is the most likely to see a spike in minutes. Veteran Nick Collison will play more, too. The Thunder could go with a smaller lineup at times and play Durant as a power forward. Coach Scott Brooks still wouldnt say Sunday who would start in Ibakas place. PARKERS HAMSTRING: San Antonio was likely to have significant help on Westbrook anyway, but Parkers strained left hamstring could be a major problem against Westbrook and Reggie Jackson, two of the most athletic point guards in the league. Parker said Sunday that the hamstring was still tight, but he plans to play. Jackson said the Thunder will test Parker early. LEONARD vs. DURANT: Brooks said Spurs forward Kawhi Leonard is an All-Star in the making. The Spurs feel Leonard is the best equipped player in the league to bother Durant because of his length and energy. "As good as anybody can do it," Ginobili said. "We are lucky to have him. Nobody can guard him (Durant) 1-on-1. Thats been proven -- hes the MVP -- but you can put him in some trouble, and then the team has to respond." SPURS OTHER GUYS: One thing that makes the Spurs dangerous is their depth. Though Parker, Duncan and Ginobili are the best-known players, Leonard, Marco Belinelli, Danny Green, Boris Diaw, Tiago Splitter and Patty Mills all play their roles well and are capable of being difference makers in the right situation. Oklahoma City will need to prevent the other guys from having breakout nights. ' ' '

VANCOUVER - UFC president Dana White credits the rise of the companys flyweight division to a champion nicknamed after a cartoon character. Discount Jerseys China . "Every time he fights he gets better and better," White said of Demetrious Johnson this week. "You talk about legacies - his legacy is going to be as the guy who built this division." Known in the cage as "Mighty Mouse," Johnson will look to continue that work on Saturday night at UFC 174 when he defends his title against Ali (Puncher) Bagautinov in the octagon at Rogers Arena - the first time a 125-pound division bout will anchor a pay-per view card. "Its awesome," said the five-foot-three Johnson. "The UFC has given us a shot to headline a big pay-per view so Im pretty pumped to be the man to front that bill. Hopefully we can put on an exciting show on Saturday." Johnson (19-2-1 all-time) won the UFCs inaugural flyweight title back in 2012 and has defended it three times since, including a knockout of Joseph Benavidez in December. The 27-year-old who fights out of Parkland, Wash., said the pressure of a pay-per view spectacle doesnt add any pressure to put on a show. "My jobs to go out there and fight," said Johnson, who has a record of 7-1-1 in UFC. "If you look at all the flyweight fights, there hasnt been one boring one. Obviously theres boring fights in every single division. "But I havent sat there and watched a fight and thought, Man that was pretty boring." Johnson said the five-foot-four Bagautinov (13-2, 3-0) will pose a unique challenge because the 29-year-old Russian specializes in Sambo fighting, a form of mixed martial arts that he has never faced. "In order to keep my belt Ive just got to go out there and be myself and just fight," said Johnson, a heavy favourite in the eyes of bookmakers against the fourth-ranked challenger. "Regardless of whatever happens with this fight, whether I win or lose, the same thing is going to happen (afterwards). Im going to go home, relax and get ready for my next fight, whether its be defending my belt or trying to get it back." Saturday nights co-main event has Canadas Rory (Ares) MacDonald taking on Tyron (The Chosen One) Woodley in a welterweight matchup between the No. 2- and No. 3-ranked challengers for Johny Hendricks belt. "Its the biggest fight ever for (MacDonald) and Woodley," said White. "Saturday night is the night that both these two have got to go out and make people want to see them fight for the title." The soft-spoken MacDonald — who was born in Quesnel B.C., but now fights out of Montreal and was mentored by Georges St-Pierre - said the Woodley fight is a chance to show he belongs at the top of the 170-pound division. "Its a big opportunity. Every fight you take is a big opportunity, but this on in particular," said the 24-year-old. "Im facing a very talented opponent and Im very excited to be matched up against someone like that and challenge my techniques against his." MacDonald (16-2, 7-2) lost to Robbie Lawler in a split decision at Novembers UFC 167, but rebounded to take a unanimous decision against Demian Maia at UFC 170 in February. "Losing can be a good thing in the long run for a mixed martial artist," said MacDonald. "You learn your weaknesses and turn them into strengths." A technically sound fighter who learned his craft at the famed Tristar Gym alongside St-Pierre in Montreal, MacDonald said he believes hes ready to take his game to the next level. "I want people to talk after my fights and be like Wow thats another Rory MacDonald I havent seen. Thats the best Rory MacDonald Ive seen so far. Thats my goal for this fight." White said MacDonald needs to start turning some of the talk and hype surrounding his talents into consistent performances. "Rory has these moments where he comes out and does nothing," said White. "The fight isnt exciting. He doesnt seem like hes got that killer instinct to finish a fight and get to that next level to be everything that GSP said about him." The 32-year-old Woodley (13-2, 3-1), a former All-American wrestler, scored a technical knockout of Carlos Condit at UFC 171 in March and expects MacDonald to be the most well-rounded fighter he has faced. "Rory is a guy who started doing mixed martial arts all together," said the St. Louis native. "I think thats the biggest challenge. He spent quite a bit of his youth as a teenager training (in) mixed martial arts. Hes had a great camp to train out of, hes had a champion to train under. I think those are the threats, but in actuality Ive had other fights and other fighters whove been a little bit more threatening than Rory. "If you cant really threaten me to freakin knock my head off like certain other guys Ive fought, I just dont get that anxiety." Like MacDonald, Woodley added that he also sees Saturdays bout as a stepping stone to an eventual shot at the UFC welterweight title. "I plan on every fight from now on being me fighting for the title or defending the title," he said. "Im just mentally getting prepared for that. I know that I have to beat guys like him consistently." Its expected that Saturdays crowd at Rogers Arena should be on the side of the B.C.-born MacDonald, but his American opponent, perhaps naively, disagreed. "I really just dont think Rory MacDonald has this huge following in Vancouver like people think," said Woodley. "Hes not Georges St-Pierre. This is not Montreal. "Vancouver fans like MMA and they might like me, they might like him, but I think they respect what I bring to the table and they respect that I respect him, and I think thats enough." White called that view a little far-fetched. "I think hes super delusional if he thinks thats the case," White said with a smile. "Were in Canada, man. Let me tell you what — Canadas going to be cheering for the Canadian." Saturdays card also includes: light heavyweight Ryan (Darth) Bader against Rafael (Feijao) Cavalcante; heavyweight Andrei (The Pit Bull) Arlovski against Brendan (The Hybrid) Schaub; light heavyweight Ovince Saint Preux against Ryan (The Big Deal) Jimmo of Saint John, N.B.; welterweight Daniel Sarafian against Kiichi (Strasser) Kunimoto; womens bantamweight Valerie (Trouble) Letourneau of Montreal against Elizabeth Phillips; bantamweight Yves (Tiger) Jabouin against Mike (The Hulk) Easton; lightweight (Ragin) Kajan Johnson of Burns Lake, B.C., against Tae Hyun (Supernatural) Bang; bantamweight Roland Delorme of Winnipeg against Michinori Tanaka; and lightweight Jason Saggo of Toronto against Josh Shockley. Andy Messersmith Jersey Braves . Andrews, Scotland - Oliver Wilson fired a final- round, 2-under 70 on Sunday and he held on to win the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship by one shot. Tom Glavine Jersey Braves . -- Nick Bjugstad snapped out of his scoring slump and spoiled Drew MacIntyres first NHL start.Almost 13 years ago, the Sandra Schmirler Foundation was created by a group of the late curlers friends with the support of the Canadian Curling Association and Scott Paper. The idea came about just over three years after Schmirler was standing on the podium in Nagano 1998, signing our national anthem after capturing the Olympic gold medal in womens curling. Unfortunately, it was also just 14 months after she passed away from a rare form of cancer at the young age of 36. Much like the success Schmirler enjoyed on the ice, the foundation started in her name has been a winner at providing hospitals with funding for the care of premature and critically ill newborn babies across Canada. Despite all the big curling shots she made over the years, including the famous in-off at the 1997 Olympic Trials, Schmirler said giving birth to her only daughter at the time was her best delivery. It was clear that Schmirler never lost sight of what was important in life, which makes her name a perfect fit for the foundation, which bears the slogan Champions start small. Sean Newcomb Jersey Braves. Currently, over 30 hospitals benefit as a result of funding from the foundation and last year, almost $300,000 was made available to those hospitals through grants. And over the 13 years the foundation has been in existence, almost $2.5 million has been allocated to 34 different hospitals Also, six junior curlers received $5,000 each in the first annual Spirit of Sandra Scholarships last year, including Kristin Streifel, who skipped Schmirlers home province of Saskatchewan in this years Canadian Junior Curling Championships in Nova Scotia. Sunday is Sandra Schmirler Day at the Scotties Tournament of Hearts in Montreal and TSNs Vic Rauter will be hosting the annual telethon for the foundation. Take a few minutes to visit SandraSchmirler.org or call 1-866-210-6011 and make a donation to the Sandra Schmirler Foundation. ' ' '

WASHINGTON -- Bryce Harper will have to wait at least one more day to break out of his frustrating slump after Tuesday nights game between the Washington Nationals and Baltimore Orioles was postponed by rain. Pete Rose Jersey . The game was called following a delay of approximately 2 hours, 30 minutes. The interleague matchup between crosstown rivals will be made up on Aug. 4. The teams will continue the home-and-home series in Baltimore on Wednesday night. Harper came into the game mired in a 4-for-24 skid since his return from the disabled list on June 30. He had left thumb surgery and missed 57 games. Although the 21-year-old was 1 for 13 over his previous four games, manager Matt Williams was confident the outfielder was on the brink of breaking loose. "Looks better. Timings a little better," Williams said Tuesday afternoon. "Its a process man. Take that much time off, its difficult to maintain timing. So I think hes starting to see it a little bit better, hes a little calmer at the plate. Yeah, the results werent there, but standing in the dugout watching it, he just looks calmer. It looks like hes seeing the ball a little bit better." In spite of Harpers struggles, the Nationals started the day a half-game behind Atlanta in the NL East. For that reason, Harper could afford to be patient while waiting for a return to the form that enabled him to win NL Rookie of the Year honours in 2012. "He knows ... its going to take some time. Standing in the box he can also feel it," Williams said. "When hes starting to see the ball better he can feel that, too. So its a question of continuing to work and continuing to go out and play in game situations and see the breaking ball again and again. Hell be good, but it does take time. Ill be happy to write his name in the lineup every day." The rainout forced the Nationals to shuffle their rotation. Doug Fister, who was slated to start Tuesday, was shoved back to Wednesday. Gio Gonzalez will start Thursday, and Tanner Roark, who was slated to start Wednesday, was moved to the bullpen. Williams said Roark should start Sunday, the final day before the All-Star break. The Orioles came into the game having won seven of eight. They activated right-hander Bud Norris from the disabled list to make his first start since June 21. He had been sidelined with a strained groin. Norris will start Wednesday instead, and Wednesdays scheduled starter, Wei-Yin Chen, was pushed back to Thursday. Williams said talk of a day-night doubleheader Wednesday in Washington, then Baltimore, was never discussed. "Didnt the Mets and Yankees do it at one point?" the manager asked. "I would imagine that it was about the same amount of time to get across New York City that would take for us to get to Baltimore, but no, we had a mutual off day on the 4th of August so well determine what time that game is. Since there was a mutual off day we didnt go that far." Jose Alvarez Jersey . Calgary finished atop the CFL standings with a 14-4 record and earned the right to host the West Division final at McMahon Stadium on Nov. Phillies Jerseys China . JOHNS, N.TORONTO -- Two months after being sent to the minors following a tantrum at being pinch-hit, outfielder Kevin Pillar is back with the Blue Jays. Pillar was demoted after video showed him tossing his bat in disgust after being pulled in a game against the Yankees. At the time, Toronto manager John Gibbons explained the move by saying "there was no room for selfish play." Pillar, 25, said he had talked to Gibbons about the incident and was relieved that it was considered "water under the bridge." "Leaving under those circumstances weighed pretty heavy on me when I first went down there (to Buffalo)," the player said. Pillar said he will continue to play with emotion but added "Its just abut controlling the emotions and understanding that at this level the cameras always on you. "You cant have a moment of weakness, a lapse of judgment like I did. Its definitely a lesson learned and I went down there (to Buffalo) and just became a better person for it. And really wanted to prove to this organization that what happened was a one-time thing and it wont happen again and I learned from it." The Jays wasted little time using Pillar. With Colby Rasmus said to be uunder the weather, Pillar started Tuesday night in centre field against the visiting Boston Red Sox. Nap Lajoie Jersey. Pillar said he took his medicine in the minors. "I went down there and I did what I thought I was capable of doing -- went out there and played hard," he said prior to Tuesdays game. "I was a good teammate, tried to be a leader in the clubhouse and help that team make the playoffs." Pillar also racked up some impressive numbers. In 100 games for Buffalo, he hit .323 with 39 doubles, three triples, 10 homers and 59 RBIs. That earned him selection as an International League all-star. It also won him a third stint with Toronto this season. "Pillars been playing so good down there," Gibbons said. "We still think weve got a pretty good player there." The Jays sent outfielder Nolan Reimold to triple-A Buffalo to make room for Pillar. "Reimolds been struggling a little bit. And he wasnt getting a whole lot of playing time," said Gibbons. "It just kind of all came together." The 31-year-old Reimold hit .212 in 22 games for the Jays. Prior to Tuesday nights game, Pillar was hitting .225 in 26 games for the Jays this season ' ' '

TORONTO - Alexander Sharov scored twice and Russia beat Sweden 4-1 on Sunday to advance to the title game in the World Junior Hockey Championship. Brooklyn Nets Gear . It was a matter of scoring, Sharov said. In the first game (against Sweden, a 3-2 round-robin loss), we had chances and didnt score. Russia faces Canada in the championship game Monday night. Canada defeated Slovakia 5-1 Sunday night. Ziat Paigin and Maxim Mamin also scored for Russia and New York Rangers draft pick Igor Shestyorkin made 26 saves. Carolina pick Lucas Wallmark scored for Sweden. Our players did a great job in the defence blocking shots and capitalizing on the chances, Shestyorkin said. Before the game I had expected many more shots, but my teammates did a great job. Russia won its last title in 2011, beating Canada in Buffalo, New York. In the quarterfinals Friday, Russia beat the United States 3-2. We had a couple of pretty hard games against the U.S. and Sweden, forward Ivan Barbashyov said. We know how to play, and well be playing the same way we played today and two days ago. Sweden will play Slovakia in the third-place game. We didnt play our best hockey, captain Jacob de la Rose said. Its sad in a big game like this. Brooklyn Nets Store . It certainly isnt a coincidence that Dwight Howard has scored at least 20 points in each game of the winning streak. Custom Brooklyn Nets Jerseys . The Wizards gave up two seldom-used players — forward Jan Vesely and point guard Eric Maynor. Vesely goes to the Nuggets, while Maynor gets shipped to the 76ers. Philadelphia receives two second-round draft picks, one from the Wizards in 2015 and one from the Nuggets in 2016. The man in charge of the NCAA selection committee insists a win in November is worth the same as a win in March. Dont believe him? Check out the seeds slapped beside these conference champions: --A 4 for Louisville of the American Athletic. --A 4 for Michigan State of the Big Ten. --Yet another 4 for UCLA of the Pac-12. --A 7 for New Mexico of the Mountain West. Oh, and dont forget that 8 for Kentucky, which had the ball and a chance to beat Florida, the NCAA tournaments top overall seed, in the waning seconds of the SEC title game. Only Virginia, which wrapped up the ACC tournament Sunday to back up its regular-season title, seemed to get a significant bump from the conference tournaments that polish off resumes of teams before the start of Americas favourite office pool -- March Madness. Ron Wellman, chair of the NCAA selection committee, said the Cavaliers, considered a 2 or 3 on most mock-ups, "continued to impress us throughout the year." Asked to explain the mediocre seed for a team like Louisville, the defending national champion that has won 12 of 13 and rolled through the AAC tournament, Wellstone explained the committee looks at the entire resume, not just March. "We look at the total body of work, everything they did from November to March," he said. "Every time we scrubbed that seed, Louisville ended at the same place every time when compared to the people above them." The people above them in the Midwest region, which shapes up as the toughest, include top-seeded and undefeated Wichita State, No. 2 Michigan and No. 3 Duke. Yes, thats three of last years Final Four teams. The national semifinals are April 5 in Arlington, Texas. On the 1 line in the West was Arizona, which stayed there despite falling in the Pac-12 title game to UCLA. The Bruins are a 4, same as Michigan State and Louisville -- their fellow power-conference champions. "They pass everyones eye test," Wellman said. "Theyre playing as well right now as anyone in the country. If you look at the last three or four weeks, they probably wouldve been seeded differently. When you look at the entire season, then its a little bit different." Of course, the numbers are just that -- numbers. In an era of one-and-done, superstar coaches and unending parity, the real drama starts after the brackets are out. Thats why Warren Buffett had no problem paying the insurance premium against a $1 billion payoff for anyone who fills out a perfect bracket. "Theres more good teams and less great teams," said coach Bill Self of second-seeded Kaansas. Brooklyn Nets Shirts. "The difference between a 2 seed and a 7 or 8 seed is as narrow as its ever been." The last four bubble teams in this years draw were 12th-seeded North Carolina State and Xavier, who play in the First Four on Tuesday, and 11th-seeded Iowa and Tennessee, who play Wednesday. Left out of the tournament was SMU of the AAC -- a team almost all the experts had securely in the bracket. But not the folks in the conference room, who couldnt overcome the Mustangs strength of schedule: 129. "When I saw Louisville, I kind of figured that they didnt have a lot of respect for our conference," said coach Larry Brown. "But we only can blame ourselves, thats the way I look at it." The committee handed out only seven at-large bids to mid-majors after they took 11 in each of the last two seasons. The Big 12 led all conferences with seven teams, though winning the conference didnt move Iowa State past the 3 line. Other conference titles that didnt change much: --St. Joes was the champion of the six-bid Atlantic-10 and got a 10 seed while the team the Hawks beat, VCU, was seeded fifth. --Providence went from the bubble to Big East champion and was seeded 11th. Meanwhile, Kansas lost in the semifinals of the Big 12 but remained a 2 seed because of its ranking in the RPI -- No. 3. The Jayhawks have to get through the first weekend without centre Joel Embiid, out with a back injury, but could face a third-round game against Mountain West champs New Mexico. "Off the top of my head, I cant remember exactly what the conversation was about New Mexico," Wellman said. "I can tell you the conversations about New Mexico were very positive." In the West, Arizonas second game could come against eighth-seeded Gonzaga, which lost its second game as a No. 1 seed last year, or No. 9 Oklahoma State, which has one of the nations best players in Marcus Smart. The nations top scorer, Doug McDermott (26.9 points per game), is on the other side of that bracket with No. 3 Creighton. On Virginias side of the East bracket is one team nobody wants to play come tournament time -- No. 4 Michigan State, which hadnt won back-to-back games since late January, but strung three together to win the nations second-toughest conference. "You dont get many teams that are talented, have inside and outside, show toughness, are together, have great chemistry," coach Tom Izzo said. "Ive said three times in my career that I thought we were good enough to get to a Final Four. I thought this team was next in line." ' ' '

It shouldnt come as a disappointment anymore for England supporters. Cheap Yeezy .  They are used to this.  Losing.  It isnt underachieving when the team isnt good enough.  This is as good as it gets. Whenever Englands Brazilian journey comes to an end (they havent been eliminated, yet) the diehard support and those responsible for overseeing English football will hold on to the positive moments.  Flashes of ability and promise are what constitute hope.  "They werent that bad" is excused as progress.  The play of the likes of Sturridge and Sterling, and the futures of Barkley and Shaw will be used as evidence brighter days ahead.  Yawn. Weve heard this before.  Weve done this song and dance.  The days of a semi-final shoot-out loss in Italia 90 are long gone.  Lets not go back to 1966.  The failures have piled on, one less painful than the next.  Success would be a surprise.  Losses to more intelligent and superior football nations are the expectation.  The English should be immune from the feeling of devastation or outrage.  From a Golden Generation not good enough, to the likes of Rooney, Lampard and Gerrard who have failed to capture the imagination.  Its a vicious cycle of mediocrity.  A 2-1 loss to Uruguay is just the latest chapter.  England was poor.  Nothing new.  The how it happened is what drives home the obvious.  Too weak in too many areas and lacking true top talent to break down their competition.  Out-managed.  Out-witted.  Out-classed. Uruguay only completed a pathetic 64 per cent of passes.  The South Americans struggled in build up and were content to sit back.  It was an astute page out of Italys book from Englands opening match; sit-back and force England to break you down.  Dont get beat for speed.  And counter-attack.  Thats what Uruguay did, and credit for executing.  They got stuck in and remained organized.  Forget basic statistics telling you England dominated possession with Uruguay on the back-foot.  It was calculated.  It worked to perfection.  A basic approach against a basic team.  Simple. The game winning goal incredibly came directly from the Uruguayan goalkeeper Fernando Muslera.  A ball put on the ground and a long ball played out.  Simple to defend, right?  Apparently not.  Edinson Cavani dropped deep all match to expose long-in-the-tooth Steven Gerrard sitting on top of the England backline.  For what the England captain has in experience, he lacks in legs because of the kilometers accumulated.  Cavanis aerial challenge of Gerrard forced a wayward header backwards from the England midfielder.  Luis Suarez, as proper poachers do, tucked in behind the backline looking for an advantage.  He gambled and he won, as Gary Cahill got caught.  Suarez was clinical in finish and again showed his special talent.  A game breaker and match winner, something England doesnt have. Likewise on Suarez opener, he exposed Englands backline.  The Uruguayan number nine did well to create the needed space on the far post behind Phil Jagielka.  The ball played to Suarez by Cavani was all-world.  But it was two Uruguayan players on six England defenders.  Nobody put pressure on the ball.  And to leave Suarez lurking on the far post wasnt good enough.  Not to mention is was a missed tackle by Gerrard in the midfield, leading to the attack.  Two England centre-backs and two mistakes leading to goals conceded.  Cahill and Jagielka are experienced at the position, at least at the club level.  They are the best in the country at the position and they were exposed.  The best England has at an all-important position and not good enough.  Its the same story at the other end of the field.  Not good enough.  Wayne Rooney and Daniel Sturridge are more than fine players.  They are very good.  But they are not at the same levels of other top forwards in this tournament, let alone not the top forwards on their own club teams.  Therein is the difference.  The likes of Rooney and Sturridge require real substance around them to be at their best, and thats fine.  They are better the complimentary piece rather than the focus at this level.  When played appropriately, they can shine.  In this England team, their play often times is representative of the whole.  These are the best England has and they are not good enough. The midfield, a make-shift, comprised of decent parts with no direction on how its supposed to work.  Jordan Henderson had a fine season on a good attacking Liverpool team.  Yet something suggests he has the makings of becoming the next Sinclair, Wright-Phillips, Mills, or Parker – take your pick of the long list of players youll ask, "Did he really play for England?"  Is he really the best England really has?  The rest of the midfield is all over the place.  The left-side exposed defensively and the movement in attack not creative or consistent.  Passing the ball around without purpose wont break down a back line.  Its no surprise this area of the field is stagnant and lacks influence. And the manager, oh the manager.  Roy Hodgson saw fit to keep Englands double-pivot of Gerrard and Henderson on the field in a game begging for attacking players to breakdown the Uruguayan defensive wall.  Comically, two holding players were preferable to keeping on Sterling or Welbeck, or even throwing on a Rickie Lambert until after England went down.  The options at Hodgson arent flattering.  But neither were the tactics. The very least Hodgson could have done was shuffle the deck.  Bring off a defensive midfielder or ineffective wing-back in preference of another attacking player.  Change the shape.  Instead, the end result of a cautious approach was not good enough. Some will suggest Ashley Cole and Jermain Defoe should have been in the England set-up.  Leighton Baines has struggled and another forward option off the bench could have proved decisive.  Arguments can be made but how much of a difference they would have made most likely would have been negligible.  It made more sense to include Michael Carrick in the squad as a holding midfielder able to provide distribution.  But then again, this is a country deeming Paul Scholes not a proper fit to be an England regular over the course of his career.  The best England had, but not good enough?  Theres a pattern here.  Selection issues are nothing new.  But no matter who dons the England kit, are they ever good enough? There have been phenomenal performances over the course of the first week of the World Cup, both by individuals and team.  Honest assessment would tell the standard of football played by the true top football nations is a step beyond England.  Its all very disturbing considering important players for the likes of Chile and Colombia (etc…) are buried in the League Championship, or in some cases not deemed good enough for even that.  This should trouble the English to the core.  But it wont.  Overrating their own talent has become a past-time and feeds the beast.  Criticism and finding scapegoats has become a past time.  In reality, these are the best players they have.  And they are not good enough. The Premier League is the most entertaining league in the world and the most popular.  It is not the best.  Englands best players are not even the top talent in their own domestic league.  Taking a look in the mirror doesnt always cast a pretty reflection.  But the look in the mirror is necessary.  Acceptance is needed.  This was a day England will never have a better context to beat a Uruguay team as such on a stage made for a statement performance.  The weather was an ideal 14 degrees Celsius for the hardened English.  The opponent was missing two of their preferred back-four.  The star player was not 100 per cent. And Uruguays confidence was shaky coming off a shock 3-1 loss.  England didnt let it slip away.  They were incapable of seizing the moment. It is possible England can still advance from the group stage, even though a team losing their first two games at a World Cup has never done so.  Italy must beat Costa Rica then Uruguay, and England will need a comprehensive victory over the Ticos to have superior goal differential.  But really, would that constitute success?  Squeaking by would be as good as it gets for a team not good enough. Yeezy 700 Outlet . -- Desperate to stop Tom Bradys latest comeback bid, the Miami Dolphins sought help from a reserve safety making his NFL debut after being signed Tuesday off the San Francisco 49ers practice squad. Replica Yeezy .Y. - Alex Rodriguez paid $305,000 for evidence that could be used in the case involving the Biogenesis of America drug clinic, the Daily News reported Saturday. LONDON -- Canadian Vasek Pospisil and American partner Jack Sock earned a berth in the Wimbledon mens doubles final Friday with a 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-4 upset victory over Indias Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic. Pospisil, from Vancouver, and Sock will compete for the title against defending champions and top seeds Bob and Mike Bryan of the United States, who defeated the 12th-seeded French duo of Michael Llodra and Nicolas Mahut 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2. Pospisil and Sock are playing together for the first time and may have surprised even themselves with their progress. The fifth-seeded Paes and Stepanek had beaten Torontos Daniel Nestor and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia in the quarter-finals a day earlier. It has been a breakthrough tourrnament for several Canadian players at the All England Club. Wholesale Yeezy. Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., was scheduled to play Roger Federer in the mens singles semifinal later Friday. Eugenie Bouchard from Westmount, Que., will play the womens final on Saturday against 2011 champion Petra Kvitova. Nestor and French partner Kristina Mladenovic, the defending mixed doubles champions, have reached the semifinal and will next play Max Mirnyi of Belarus and Hao-Ching Chan of Taiwan. The Bryans did not reach the final at any of the last three Grand Slam tournaments -- after winning four major titles in a row before that. Left-hander Bob and right-hander Mike have a record 15 Grand Slam doubles titles, including three at Wimbledon. ' ' '

LAWRENCE, Kan. Edgar Renteria Jersey . -- There were moments of frustration for Kansas coach Bill Self, moments where hed angrily call a timeout or attend a post-game news conference and glumly bemoan another uneven performance. There never was a moment where he lost faith in his team. Now, after enduring the nations most brutal non-conference schedule, the sixth-ranked Jayhawks are proving to be exactly what the pundits thought theyd be: The Big 12s premier team, one that already has a substantial lead in the conference as the race nears its midway point. "We have grown, but were just now to the middle of the season. Thats whats so strange," Self said. "The big thing is that were playing with more energy and were starting to understand how were going to score -- not just running an offence to run an offence. Were not a tough team by any stretch, but are playing tougher than we did earlier in the season." Thats certainly been evident in the results. After a loss to fifth-ranked San Diego State ended the Jayhawks 68-game non-conference winning streak at Allen Fieldhouse, Kansas has ripped off seven straight wins through arguably the toughest part of its league schedule. It began with a win at No. 23 Oklahoma, and continued with wins over four straight teams that were ranked in the Top 25 -- Kansas State, Iowa State, Oklahoma State and Baylor. After a blowout win at TCU, the Jayhawks beat the No. 16 Cyclones for a second time on Wednesday night. Now, theyll head to No. 25 Texas with essentially a two-game lead in the Big 12. You catch the game on TSN2 on Saturday at 12am et/9pm pt. "Im not surprised at all," junior guard Naadir Tharpe said. "I knew it was going to be a matter of time until everybody just let water run off their back and start going out there and just playing. That is what I feel like dudes are doing right now." The most important of them may be Andrew Wiggins, the highly touted freshman. After fits and starts to begin his college career, the 6-foot-8 swingman and projected lottery pick in the June draft has gone on a tear. Wiggins scored a career-high 27 points in the win over the Horned Frogs, and then bested it with 29 points against the Cyclones earlier this week. Hes averaging more than 24 points over his past three games. "I would say I feel more comfortable on the court," Wiggins said this week. "A lot of things are slowing down for me and my teammates are looking for me." Hes also starting to create his own shot, something that he was reticent to do early in the season, prompting Iowa State coach Fred Hoiberg to say hes "oozing with confidence. "Thats scary," Hoiberg said. "With that athleticism, that length and that speed, the kids got it all. When hes knocking down shots, not too many better." There arent many teams better than the Jayhawks right now. Since the start of league play, the nine-time defending champions are putting up a Big 12-leading 84 points per game. Theyre just a half-point out of second place in scoring defence, and their scoring margin of 12 points per game is seven better than second-place Oklahoma State. The Jayhawks (16-4, 7-0 Big 12) also lead the league in field-goal and 3-point percentage, rebounding defence and margin, blocked shots, assists and, well, you get the idea. "They have a special group," TCU coach Trent Johnson said. "At every position, they have somebody who can score. They can attack you, so you really have to be on your toes." After the Jayhawks, Texas may be the next hottest team in the Big 12 heading into Saturdays game. The Longhorns (16-4, 5-2) have rattled off five straight wins, the last three coming against ranked teams in Iowa State, Kansas State and Baylor. The Jayhawks will represent the first time in school history that Texas will have played four consecutive Top 25 opponents. "Theyre young. Theyre not quite as young as we are, but theyre young and fast, probably as fast as any team well play," Self said. "Theyre obviously playing their tails off." Dennis Cook 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. Jorge Guzman Jersey . 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.WASHINGTON - Robert Griffin III runs 76 yards for a touchdown — without a Washington Redskins logo on the side of his helmet.Thats the latest visual from a group that opposes the teams name.The National Congress of American Indians on Friday released a 38-second online ad coinciding with the run-up to the Super Bowl. It shows footage of Griffins highlight run against the Minnesota Vikings in 2012, but the teams logo has been digitally removed from his helmet. Robb Nen Jersey. Then come the words: Take it away and its still Washington football and Change the mascot.The NCAI has been among numerous groups campaigning to change the Redskins name, saying it is a racial slur. Team owner Dan Snyder says the name honours Native Americans and has vowed never to change it.___AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '