r My thumb is up to Wednesda

Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. Akiem Hicks Jersey . This week, they discuss sports off-day, the MLB All-Star game, Canadas field lacrosse team and Huston Streets comments upon being traded. Bruce Arthur, Toronto Star My thumb is up to Wednesday of this past week. Now, you probably read and heard a lot of sympathetically depressed moaning about how it was the slowest sports day of the year - no baseball, no hockey, no basketball, no football, and nothing to entertain those in search of sports except... Well, Major League Soccer, the Tour de France, and the ESPYs, featuring Drake. Thats hardly nothing, the semi-vacancy of the ESPYs aside, but you know what? Good. We could use some time with less sports. The days are packed with sports. Christmas day is basically a basketball tournament now. We could use some time to breathe, take a walk, reconnect with family, learn to make a bookshelf. Sports are fun, no question. But how can we miss them when they wont go away? Steve Simmons, Toronto Sun My thumb is down to major league baseball, the Minnesota Twins and broadcasters of the All-Star game for failing to appropriately recognize the passing of Tony Gwynn just one month ago. Its not like Gwynn was just another player. He was a 15-time All-Star, perhaps the most beloved figure in a game with not enough beloved figures, and yet somehow there was no tribute to Gwynn throughout the three hour Derek Jeter infomercial that we endured. And I have nothing but regard for Derek Jeter, who has had a storied career; but there should have been something for Gwynn. For the fans. For baseball. A moment of silence. Some words of tribute. Something. At least Adam Jones of the Baltimore Orioles had it right. He wrote in marker on his baseball cap the initials TG with the number 19. He had the sense of moment baseball didnt have. Gary Lawless, TSN Radio My thumb is up to Canadas national mens field lacrosse team for winning the world championship last night. Canada defeated the U.S., handing the Americans just their third loss in tournament history dating back to 1967. All three of those U.S. losses have come to Canada and all three in championship games, 1978, 2006 and now 2014. Lacrosse is our national sport but its box lacrosse most Canadians play, not field. In fact, Canada has never lost a box lacrosse game at the worlds. Winning the field championship doesnt qualify as a shock but more of a nice surprise. Congrats to Team Canada, who just so happened to be one of the youngest teams weve ever sent to the worlds, and will be a very serious threat to repeat in 2018. Dave Hodge, TSN My thumb is up to the refreshing comments of relief pitcher/closer Huston Street as he departed the bottom-feeding San Diego Padres for the playoff-bound Los Angeles Angels. There would be lots to say about the horrible state of the Padres franchise, but street said this; "I believe in the ownership--they want to win--theyre not satisfied with the status quo. I blame the players for what has happened here." Well, even though theres plenty of blame to go around and it does extend to the front office and to ownership - the Padres field a lineup that is not of big-league quality - Street is quite right, as a player, to let others find fault with others and to say that, of all the reasons teams lose, the biggest reason is always that players perform badly. Eddy Pineiro Jersey . Irving played 10 minutes Sunday night before going to the locker room. He had two points and four assists, missing all five of his shots. The All-Star game MVP is the top scorer among Eastern Conference point guards with 21. Duke Shelley Jersey .C. -- The Carolina Hurricanes have activated defenceman Joni Pitkanen from injured reserve. NEW ORLEANS -- Anthony Davis has come close to making New Orleans Pelicans franchise history two games in a row. Ryan Anderson has helped ensure Andersons performances dont go to waste. Davis had 22 points, nine rebounds and eight blocks, and the New Orleans Pelicans won their second straight game, 105-98 over the struggling Utah Jazz on Wednesday night. Anderson added 14 of his 19 points in the second half to help the Pelicans pull away in the fourth quarter after the Jazz, who beat New Orleans for its only win of the season last week, had rallied to take a third-quarter lead. "I always come in and Im going to shoot the open shot and try to be aggressive and score but its hard to know when youre sitting out how youre going to have an immediate impact," Anderson said. "Its been a very easy transition because of the guys. Its not a surprise, but its relieving to know that these guys can just pick that up and we can play as a group. ... The guys are getting me open and were really doing a good job of moving the ball." Anderson, who returned from a broken toe last Saturday night, has played a significant role in each of New Orleans past two victories, going 16 of 25 from the field, including 10 of 16 from 3-point range. "Ryan just gives us a dimension, not only does he shoot the ball well, he can rebound on the defensive end," Pelicans coach Monty Williams said, adding that Anderson, simply because of the threat he poses from outside, "helps so many guys without touching the ball." Jrue Holiday scored 14, Tyreke Evans 13 and Jason Smith 11 for New Orleans. Former Michigan star and first-round draft choice Trey Burke made his NBA debut for Utah after missing the first 12 games because of surgery on his right index finger. The ninth overall pick last summer scored 11 points on 5-of-8 shooting in only 12 minutes. Burke said he wanted more minutes but understood the decision to limit his playing time. "Thats how it is coming off an injury," Burke said. "Coach wanted to shelter me a little bit." Enes Kanter led Utah with 19 points and John Lucas III added 14, hitting four of five 3s he attempted. Richard Jeffersoon and Derrick Favours each scored 13, but it was not enough prevent the Jazz (1-2) from dropping their fourth straight as one of its top scorers, Gordon Hayward had an off-night. Ken Margerum Jersey. Hayward shot 1 for 17 and finished with six points. "You have to grow through it," Utah coach Tyrone Corbin said. "This is who we have and this is who we are going to be. We cant manufacture anyone else to put on the floor. We have to learn through it on the fly here." Davis defence only made it harder on Utah. In the last two games, he has nearly had his first career triple-double, narrowly missing double digits in rebounds and blocks. No player in the 26-year history of the Pelicans, formerly called the Hornets, has had a triple-double comprised in part by double-digit blocks. Moving quickly all over the court, Davis even rejected a perimeter shot by Hayward. "You just got to defend," Davis said. "Thats what Jrue tells me all the time: It starts with you. So I just try to go out there and defend, play as hard as I can and hopefully the team follows in my footsteps and we play well defensively." Utah started to find its rhythm early in the third quarter, scoring 11 straight points, including two 3s by Lucas and another by Jefferson, to take its largest lead at 57-51. New Orleans immediately responded with a 15-4 run, however. Holiday scored twice inside during the spurt and Davis added a fast-break dunk. The game remained close until early in the fourth quarter, when Anderson hit two 3s to cap a 14-2 run that gave New Orleans its largest lead at 87-73. Utah was able to briefly trim its deficit to six when Kanters inside basket made it 96-90, but Davis putback in a crowd began another Pelicans surge which Anderson highlighted with a dunk to build New Orleans lead back to a game-high 14 at 105-91 with 1:05 left. New Orleans finished shooting 51 per cent (40 of 79), while Utah hit 45 per cent (37 of 83) of its shots. NOTES: Utah, which fell to 0-7 away from home, continues its three game road trip Friday at Dallas and Sunday at Oklahoma City. ... A video review deprived Anderson of a made 3 when officials concluded a foul called on Utah occurred just before the shot. ' ' '

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wxyan1123
Jan 8
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The most under-rated team in the FBS resides in the great state of Michigan. Leon Durham Jersey . To the surprise of many, it isnt the Wolverines but their in-state rivals the Michigan State Spartans. Head Coach Mark Dantonio leads a capable offence, and one of the best defences the Big 10 has ever seen. Outside of a loss to Notre Dame back in September, the Spartans have been perfect, working their way up the BCS rankings where they currently sit 16th. With Nebraska, Northwestern, Minnesota and potentially Ohio State in the Big 10 Championship game still on the schedule, Michigan State has a chance to crack the Top 10 and wind up in the Rose Bowl. For a team you have heard very little about, the upside for the Spartans is incredibly high. And its well deserved. In their nine games, eight wins and one loss, the Spartans have given up more than 17 points just once. In their last three games theyve combined to give up just nine points total. They have allowed 11.6 points per game which is third-best in the FBS. Now paired with their daunting defence is an offence that has provided capable of keeping pace. Sophomore Connor Cook has taken over as the starting quarterback and has tossed 13 touchdowns and only three interceptions. Jeremy Langford has done a respectable job replacing Leveon Bell with 11 total touchdowns out of the backfield. The fact of the matter is the Spartans have been dismissed because of all the talk that the Big 10 is "down" and the conference is well behind the likes of the SEC, Pac-12, ACC and Big 12. The truth is while the depth in the conference is down; the top end could compete with all of those other conferences. The three-headed monster of Ohio State, Michigan State and Wisconsin is capable of hanging with the other powers. Currently Michigan State sits behind Northern Illinois, Fresno State, and two-loss teams in UCLA and South Carolina in the BCS standings. On a neutral field the Spartans would win games against all four of those teams - a few of them handily. Depending on how they perform the rest of the season, it may take until the bowl season for Michigan State to prove that their ranking has been a sham all along, and the Spartans should have been considered elite long ago. Teams dont need to score 60 points to be exciting or successful, and the Spartans are the number one team at proving that point. They have work left to be done, starting with the Cornhuskers this weekend, but keep an eye out for Michigan State as they take a run at the Big 10 Title and a berth in a BCS bowl game. Other notes from around the NCAA: -Michigan lost their first game at home under Brady Hoke, falling to Nebraska. Theyve combined for minus-69 rushing yards the last two games. -Tyler Gaffney ran the ball 45 times in Stanfords upset win over Oregon, good for the new Cardinal school record. -Auburn scored 55 points against Tennessee despite attempting only seven passes. Theyve won two straight games without attempting 10 passes in either contest. -92 points and 1,092 yards in the Texas A&M win over Mississippi State. In likely his last game at Kyle Field Johnny Manziel tossed five touchdowns and three interceptions. -Tyler Cameron completed five passes and threw three interceptions against FSU. Amazingly, he wasnt even the teams worst QB on the day – that title goes to Tanner Price who had three picks and only one completion. The six INTs by Florida State were a school record. -Pitt upset Notre Dame 28-21. In the fourth quarter Ray Vinopal had interceptions on back-to-back passes by Fighting Irish QB Tommy Rees. -The 38 points Alabama scored against LSU were the most since they put up 41 back in 1947. -UCF RB Storm Johnson had his third 100-yard rushing game of the year and the Knights are tops in the American Conference. The stat may not be that impressive, but the name Storm Johnson sure is. Kyle Schwarber Jersey . (January 11, 2014) – Once again Kevin Martin proved why he is the all-time TSN skins leader, winning $11,500 in prize money and a spot in the Travelers All-Star Curling Skins Game presented by Pintys final following a semifinal victory over Brad Jacobs earlier this evening at the Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre in Banff, Alta. Phil Cavarretta Jersey . -- The Seattle Seahawks and wide receiver Sidney Rice have agreed to terms on a deal.TORONTO -- Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Ryan Getzlaf of the Anaheim Ducks and Claude Giroux of the Philadelphia Flyers have been nominated as finalists for the Ted Lindsay Award. The award is presented annually to the most valuable player in the NHL, as voted by fellow members of the National Hockey League Players Association. The three centres are also the finalists for the Hart Trophy, awarded by the NHL to the player considered most valuable to his team. Crosby scored 36 goals and led the league in assists (68) and points (104) to capture his second career Art Ross Trophy and lead the Penguins to their second consecutive division title. He registered points in 60 of the 80 games he played in (75 per cent), including 30 multi-point performances, and never went more than two consecutive games without registering a point. The 26-year-old Cole Harbour, N.S., native also reached the 100-point milestone for the fifth time hit 700 career points in his 497th game, the fastest among active players and sixth-fastest in NHL history. Crosby won the award in 2007 and 2013 and was a finalist in 2010. Jonathan Lucroy Jersey . Getzlaf scored a career-high 31 goals and ranked second in the league with 87 points to lead the Ducks to the top record in the Western Conference for the first time in franchise history. He posted a 14-game point streak from Nov. 15-Dec. 15 (six goals, 11 assists). Getzlaf, from Regina, also set a career high with seven game-winning goals and recorded a plus-28 defensive rating. Hes a first-time nominee and is looking to become the first Ducks player to receive the award. Giroux matched a career high with 28 goals and finished third in the NHL scoring race with 86 points to help the Flyers bounce back from a 3-9-0 start to the season. After being held pointless in his first five games and not scoring a goal until his 16th, Giroux totalled 28 goals and 51 assists in his final 67 games of the season. The 26-year-old Hearst, Ont., native also compiled a career-long, nine-game point streak Dec. 11-30, (six goals, 11 assists) and recorded his 100th NHL goal Dec. 19. Hes looking to become the first Flyer to receive the Award since Eric Lindros in 1995. ' ' '
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wxyan1123
Jan 8
pionship. Kaymer missed only two fairways
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PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. Bryce Callahan Jersey Retro . -- Martin Kaymer stopped thinking, started swinging and played his way into the record book Thursday in The Players Championship. Kaymer missed only two fairways. He putted for birdie on all but one hole. And the former PGA champion finished with four straight birdies to become only the fourth player to shoot 9-under 63 on the Stadium Course at the TPC Sawgrass, giving him a two-shot lead over Russell Henley. Kaymer took advantage of a perfect day for scoring -- warm weather, hardly any wind and soft greens. There were 28 rounds in the 60s, which made the score by Adam Scott look even worse. With another chance -- his best one yet -- to get to No. 1 in the world for the first time, Scott finished with a pair of double bogeys from shots in the water and signed for a 77. It was his highest opening round at The Players since his first trip in 2002. Kaymer was flawless, hitting whatever shot he felt he needed. His final blow was a hybrid that ran through the ninth green and into a bunker, leaving a simple up-and-down for birdie. He had a 29 on the back, the first player in the 32-year history at Sawgrass to break 30 on either nine. Roberto Castro also opened with a 63 last year. The only others with 63 were Greg Norman in the first round in 1994, and Fred Couples in the third round in 1992. "Its just a nice bonus," Kaymer said. "Its only the first round of a long, long tournament. Its nice to make some history. No one shot 29 on that golf course before." Kaymer would not have seemed like a good candidate. He has not won since the HSBC Champions in Shanghai at the end of 2011. He hasnt had a top 10 all year. But the 29-year-old German has felt his swing start to come together in recent weeks. His name has been featured on leaderboards more and more. And he had a simple explanation. "I stopped thinking," Kaymer said, a former world No. 1. "I thought a lot the last two years about swing changes ... that every shot I made I reflect on it, what I did wrong, what I did right." A few weeks before the Masters, he spent time with longtime swing coach Gunter Kessler in Phoenix, and then they had another good session in Germany. "And then it just clicked a little bit," he said. "I thought, OK, I know I can hit pretty much every shot when I needed to hit it. If its a draw, if its a fade, low or high, I know that I can do it. Its just a matter of getting the confidence on the golf course and then letting it happen and really doing it." Henley, who won the Honda Classic in a four-way playoff in March, made birdie on half of his holes to atone for one big mistake. He hooked a tee shot into the water on No. 7 and compounded that with a three-putt for double bogey. But he answered with six birdies on the back nine for a 65. "I knew I was playing well and felt really comfortable on the greens," Henley said. "But it was one of those back nines where you get to 18 and I just realized that I had a putt for 7 under. So that was pretty cool." Bae Sang-Moon had a 66. The group at 67 included Sergio Garcia, who spent last year in a war or words with Tiger Woods that lasted right up until the Spaniard hit three balls into the water on the two closing holes and Woods walked away with the win. Garcia looked sharp, happy and was confident in his game. And he had loads of company. Lee Westwood, 20-year-old Jordan Spieth and U.S. Open champion Justin Rose also were at 67. The group at 68 included Ernie Els and Dustin Johnson. There were 67 rounds under par, and the scoring average of 71.99 was the eighth-lowest for an opening round at The Players Championship. But it wasnt easy for everyone. Rory McIlroy made three bogeys over his last seven holes and tumbled to a 70. That was nearly as bad as Phil Mickelson. Coming off a 76 in the final round at Quail Hollow last week, he started his round by missing a 3-foot par putt and shot 75. Of the four players with a mathematical chance to reach No. 1, only Masters champion Bubba Watson broke 70. He had a 69, while Henrik Stenson and Matt Kuchar each had a 71. Only four players had a worse score than Scott. Kaymer reached No. 1 three years ago, and then sought to change his swing because he could only hit a fade. He prefers to play by feel, not by mechanics. A swing change left him little choice but to think too much. Now, he can only hope its as simple as see the shot and hit the ball. Rod Rutledge Jersey Retro . While plenty of statistics illustrate Torontos turnaround in the second year of manager Ryan Nelsens tenure, stopping goals is not one of them. Fake Cheap Jerseys . Last year, Islanders forward Colin Mcdonald released a "Do It For Colin" campaign to promote his teammate and friend John Tavares for the EA sports honour:The most popular sports voting video ever has to go to Chris Bosh who showcased his comedic abilities in his effort to get fans to vote him into the 2008 All Star Game:You can vote for TJ and other star players for the NHL 15 cover vote here.TORONTO - Rob Hellyer scored three goals and added five assists as the Toronto Rock clinched a playoff spot with a 10-9 victory over the Philadelphia Wings in National Lacrosse League action on Saturday. Stephan Leblanc had three goals and an assist, Kasey Beirnes had two goals and two assists, Nick Diachenko scored a goal and helped on two more, and Josh Sanderson also scored for the Rock (7-9). Lloyd Harrison Jersey Retro . Kevin Crowley led Philadelphia (5-11) with four goals and two assists, and Jordan Hall had two goals and three assists. Stephen Hoad, Garrett Thul and Pat Saunders also scored for the Wings. Toronto goaltender Brandon Miller made 48 saves for his second win in three starts. Philadelphias Evan Kirk stopped 46 shots in the losing effort. ' ' '
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wxyan1123
Jan 8
cond round for the winner. Spenc
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TORONTO -- Brandon Kozun picked up the shootout winner as the Toronto Marlies edged the Lake Erie Monsters 3-2 Sunday afternoon at Ricoh Coliseum. Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Reflective Italia . Kozun faked to the forehand and beat Monsters starter, Calvin Pickard, pad side in the second round for the winner. Spencer Abbott also scored in the shootout for the Marlies (25-13-4). Drew MacIntyre stopped all four shooters he faced in the shootout and turned aside 28 shots for his 20th win of the season. Pickard made 28 saves in the loss. Stuart Percy and Jamie Devane scored in regulation for the Marlie to force overtime. Andrew Agozzino and Cam Reid had the goals for the Monsters (17-20-3). The loss was Lake Eries eighth straight loss. The Toronto win evened the season series at two games apiece. Lake Erie opened a 2-0 lead with goals five minutes apart in the first period. Agozzino opened the scoring at 10:09 of the first, on a power play, re-directing a Karl Stollery point shot past MacIntyre for his 10th of the season. Then at 15:06, Reid gave the Monsters a 2-0 lead tipping a bouncing puck past MacIntyre for his second of the season. Toronto cut Lake Eries lead in half at 18:12 of the first when Percy stepped into a shot off a face-off beating Pickard for his first of the season. Devane completed the comeback after getting his stick on a T.J. Brennan point shot, re-directing it past Pickard at 2:52 of the third. Sam Carrick had an excellent chance to give Toronto their first lead, on a power play, with 5:30 remaining, but Pickard got across with his shoulder to rob him of the chance The Marlies now head out on the road for three games in three nights beginning Thursday in Oklahoma City. NOTES: Lake Erie forward Guillaume Desbiens missed Sundays game serving a one-game suspension for instigating a fight in the final five minutes of the Monsters 6-2 loss to Hamilton Saturday night. Yeezy 350 Offerte .Patterson marked his anniversary by proving his worth — once again.Lou Williams poured in 26 points, and Patterson drained two huge three-pointers late in the fourth quarter, as the Raptors topped the Denver Nuggets 112-107 in overtime Monday. Yeezy Lundmark Uscita . New York then missed its next six shots and scored only two points the rest of the night. The Los Angeles Clippers defence and the Knicks general ineptitude both played a role in the unsurprising finish to a meeting of two teams headed in opposite directions.Phil Taylor has qualified for the Premier Leagues play-off night at The O2, but there were further twists in the battle for a top four spot. The Power has already made amends for his failure to reach the play-offs in 2015, becoming the first player to secure qualification after a 7-2 win over Robert Thornton.Second-placed Michael van Gerwen has all but guaranteed his own appearance in London after winning both games in his double-header, but the scrap for the remaining two spots could go to the wire. Taylor booked his place in the play-offs with a 7-2 win over Robert Thornton Taylor leads the wayThe six-time champion was a shock absentee from the Premier Leagues top four places in the last campaign, missing the cut for the first time in the competitions history.Van Gerwens impressive reign as world No 1 has even raised debate about whether the Dutchman can replace the 16-time world champion as the sports greatest player, but Taylor has proven his point in the Premier League. Taylor had a message for Van Gerwen after their Premier League draw After holding Van Gerwen to a 6-6 draw in week seven, Taylor threw down the gauntlet to his young rival, telling him: Lets see at the end of the Premier League. Both men will renew their rivalry in Rotterdam on the final evening of the regular campaign and Taylor will be determined to strike another psychological blow after proving himself as the stand-out performer in the Premier League so far.MVG at the double Michael van Gerwen claimed a maximum of four points from his two matches A run of four draws in the last five weeks had suggested that Van Gerwen was running out of steam following a red-hot spell which had seen him set the highest average in a televised match. Yeezy 700 V2 Geode Italia . The world No 1 slipped below his sky-high standards in last nights double-header, offering a few chances to the off-colour Peter Wright in his opening 7-2 win, while he recorded an ordinary average of 96 in a closing 7-5 victory over Adrian Lewis.But like any true champion, Van Gerwen did enough to win both those matches, and the Green Machine is learning how to close out wins when he is not at his dazzling best.Twos company, threes a crowd Gary Anderson is level on points with fourth-placed Adrian Lewis Third-placed Gary Anderson, Lewis, and James Wade are only separated by a point after last nights results created even more tension in the tussle for qualification.Anderson could barely contain his anger after being held to a 6-6 draw by Wade, while Lewis ended without a point from his two games, just seven days after he had thrilled the crowd with a nine-darter.Next weeks schedule in Birmingham could be crucial for defending champion Anderson, who plays twice - against Raymond van Barneveld and Peter Wright.And it would be foolish to write off Van Barneveld, who kept his faint hopes of a top four berth alive with victory over Lewis. All wrong for Wright Peter Wright gradually fallen down the table Snakebite Wright briefly topped the table after a flying start, but his slide out of contention has prompted even more concerns about his changing equipment.Wright has tinkered with his darts since the start of the campaign, striving for that perfect set, and the lacklustre loss to Van Gerwen was further evidence of his failure to find suitable arrows.After another disappointing showing, Wright could learn from the consistent Taylor, who is thought to have stuck with the same set of darts throughout.Ray of hope? Raymond van Barneveld moved within four points of the top four Van Barneveld produced a remarkable run to the play-offs last year, although he would need an even more dramatic sequence of results to earn another semi-final spot at The O2.The Dutch veteran with the Rocky walk-on music only comes out swinging when his back is against the wall and he gleefully struck a blow to rival Lewis.If, and its a big if, Barney can beat Anderson next week then we might yet see another late charge from RVB. Also See: Taylor seals semi-final spot Prem Table Premier League darts recap Fixtures/Results ' ' '
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r My thumb is up to Wednesda

10 has ever seen. Outside of a lo

pionship. Kaymer missed only two fairways

cond round for the winner. Spenc