MIAMI -- When the Miami Marlins went deep into their bench during an eighth-inning rally Thursday, infielder Casey McGehee was told to be on standby as the emergency catcher. Joe Francis Jersey Retro . He made sure the game didnt come to that. McGehee hit a two-out, two-run single to cap a four-run eighth for the Marlins, who flexed their newfound offensive muscle yet again to beat the Colorado Rockies 8-5. The Marlins scored 27 runs while winning three of four games in the season-opening series. It took them 14 games to score 27 runs last year, when they finished last in the majors in runs and batting and lost 100 games. Newcomer McGehee has led the resurgence, batting .462 with eight RBIs after spending last year in Japan. Giancarlo Stanton, who singled home the go-ahead run with two outs in the eighth, is batting .375 with seven RBIs. "Its definitely different than what were used to," Stanton said. "It has been fun. Were having a good time." They looked like the same old Marlins for much of the afternoon by going 1 for 15 with runners in scoring position before Christian Yelich made the score 5-all in the eighth with a two-out RBI bloop single off Matt Belisle (0-1). Yelich stole second -- with the call confirmed by a replay review -- and Jeff Baker walked. Yelich scored easily when Stanton singled after falling behind 0-2, and McGehee followed with a two-run single. "Was it perfect? No," manager Mike Redmond said. "But we got some big hits when we needed them." The Marlins used two pinch hitters in the inning, which left them without a catcher on the bench. Redmond told McGehee to be ready, mindful he has some experience as a catcher, most recently in 2008 in Triple-A. "I actually kind of want to get back there again, but maybe not in a close game," McGehee said. "Maybe when were up 15." While he might have reservations about donning a mask, he has brought a hard-nose attitude to the once-meek Marlins. He broke up a double play to help score a run and came home from second on a two-out grounder that Marcell Ozuna beat out for a hit. "Thats the kind of style were wanting to play -- aggressive, put pressure on them, kind of the old football mentality of play until the whistle," McGehee said. McGehees teammates love it. "For him to do what hes doing, it wreaks havoc with the pitcher," Stanton said. A.J. Ramos (1-0) pitched a perfect eighth. Steve Cishek followed with a scoreless ninth for his 31st consecutive converted save opportunity, and his second this year. Franklin Morales allowed three runs in 5 1-3 innings for Colorado. Miami starter Jacob Turner gave up five runs in six innings. Miami will remain home this week against San Diego, while the Rockies head to Denver for their home opener Friday against Arizona, hoping to reverse their slow start. "Its definitely not how you write it up," Michael Cuddyer said. "Now weve got to look at the Diamondbacks and win that series and get right back where we need to be." Cuddyer homered and drove in three runs. Last years NL batting champion is hitting .412. NOTES: Two calls were upheld after replay reviews that took 2 1/2 minutes and 75 seconds. ... Troy Tulowitzki tripled in the fifth when Stanton lost his liner in the lights in right field. ... Stanton broke his bat on a lineout in the fifth, and on his follow-through the barrel hit C Wilin Rosario in the back of his helmet. Rosario received a visit from the trainer but stayed in the game. ... With an outdoor temperature of 79 for the afternoon start, the retractable roof was closed for the first time this season, but the windows beyond left field remained open. ... Turner came into the game with an .061 lifetime average but doubled in the fourth. ... RHP Tom Koehler is scheduled to start Friday for the Marlins when they begin a three-game series against the San Diego Padres, who will start LHP Eric Stults. ... RHP Juan Nicasio will start for the Rockies in their home opener Friday against Arizona and RHP Randall Delgado. Alfonso Boone Jersey Retro . 22. Wade averaged 26.3 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.0 steals while leading the Heat to a 3-0 record. The 31-year-old shot 60 percent from the field and 50 percent from 3-point range en route to his 17th weekly honor. Cheap Jerseys 2020 . Ferguson told Uniteds in-house TV channel on Saturday that he has no immediate plans to walk away from the game, and that he still hungers for more trophies even after 25 years in charge of the club.ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Even coach Bruce Boudreau acknowledged the Anaheim Ducks played perhaps their most dynamic hockey of the season early in their 5-3 win over Carolina on Sunday night. The Hurricanes were suitably impressed, but they didnt stand a chance when the NHLs best were playing their best. Corey Perry had two goals and an assist in the first period, Andrew Cogliano scored a short-handed goal, and the Ducks jumped to an early 5-0 lead in their second straight victory out of the Olympic break. Frederik Andersen made 49 saves in his first action since Feb. 3 for the league-leading Ducks, who scored three times in an overwhelming first period filled with sharp passes, relentless skating and outstanding finishes. "We were as good as we can be," said Boudreau, who won his 100th game in Anaheim. Francois Beauchemin and Jakob Silfverberg also scored as the Ducks won their NHL-best 43rd game and stayed five points ahead of Chicago and St. Louis in the overall league standings. Anaheim coasted late in its third consecutive win overall, giving Boudreau plenty of fuel for practice even while he complimented his team on its start. The first 30 minutes were a beauty: Perry got his 31st and 32nd goals during his sixth multigoal game of the season, while Cogliano set a new career high with the 19th goal of his breakout season. "If we play like that all the time, well be tough to beat for anybody," Cogliano said. "I think we played really fast, moving the puck really well." Andersen was solid while earning his sixth win in his last seven starts, but the Danish goalie could be headed back to the AHL after the game. Viktor Fasth, who has been out since Nov. 18 with muscle inflammation, is due to return to Anaheim as Jonas Hillers backup. "If we play like that, were as good as anyone," Andersen said of the first period. "Weve just got to figure out a way to play like that for a whole game." Alexander Semin, Andrej Sekera and Patrick Dwyer scored in Carolinas fifth straight loss overall and its fourth in six days since the break. Cam Ward stopped 29 shots in just his second start of 2014, and the Hurricanes followed up Saturdays 3-1 loss at Los Angeles with another disappointing effort. Stitched Cheap Jerseys. "You take the little positives that you can out of it," Hurricanes defenceman John-Michael Liles said. "We did put a lot of shots at their goalie, and he made some good saves. Ultimately, getting down early against a good team is tough, and it was a tough battle to get back. But were moving the puck well and were getting opportunities. Thats the biggest thing. We just got snake-bit." Indeed, Carolina put up 26 shots and scored twice in the third period, but went scoreless on six power plays to drop into an 0-for-21 slump. The Hurricanes conclude their five-game road trip out of the break Tuesday in San Jose. "Weve been pretty sound defensively," Carolina coach Kirk Muller said. "We just havent been scoring goals. Tonight we made a couple of mistakes early in the first, and they capitalized. They have some good players." Perry put the Ducks ahead 6:39 in, punching in a loose puck after the Canes defence came unglued during a shift by Anaheims dominant top line. Beauchemin scored later in the period on a slap shot that deflected off Jiri Tlustys stick, and Perry got his second goal 1:48 later with a nasty wrist shot. Cogliano scored during a horrible Carolina power play early in the second period, beating Ward between the goalies legs to set his new career high for goals with 20 games still to play. Shortly after Carolina got a bench minor for too many men on the ice during a power play, Silfverberg dug the puck off the netting and scored his first goal since Jan. 15. Carolina avoided the shutout late in the second period when Sekera scored in his second straight game. Dwyer added his first goal since Jan. 9 in the third period. NOTES: Semin returned from a one-game injury absence, but Carolina lost U.S. national team defenceman Justin Faulk to an upper-body injury early in the game. Muller had no update afterward. ... Anaheim F Tim Jackman was scratched a day after signing a contract extension for next season. C Mathieu Perreault also was scratched after getting hurt in the third period Friday against St. Louis. ... Cogliano has eight short-handed goals in his career and three this season. ' ' '
wxyan1123
Jan 8
Discussion
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. ' ' '