TORONTO – Now would be a good time to start stocking the clubhouses in Baltimore, Detroit, Seattle, New York and Cleveland with extra beer and fried
chicken.
Anthony
Davis Team USA Jersey . It will take an Orioles collapse the likes of the
2011 Red Sox for the Blue Jays to emerge American League East champions. The
wild card scene, littered with the clubs mentioned above, is cluttered and
becomes increasingly complicated the more teams jump between the Jays and the
lead dog. The math is simple. Entering Fridays play, the Tigers, leading the
second wild card spot by a half-game over the Mariners, were on a percentage
pace to win 88 games. In order to get to 88 victories, likely the bare minimum
of what it would take to make the postseason, the Jays must go 23-12 over their
final 35 games. Thats a winning percentage of .657. The math is daunting. The
manager, the coaches and the players know the math. But knowing the math and
dwelling on the math, they insist, are two different things. "No, I wasnt very
good at math," joked manager John Gibbons. "Actually that was my best subject in
school but nobody knows what its going to take; just go out and win some games."
"I know that we need to play better than we have been playing," said Adam Lind.
"Its still August. There are still a lot of games left, whether it makes it
easier or not for us to get into the playoffs. There are still too many games
left to start thinking about the end." The Jays are back in Toronto for the
longest remaining home stand of the season and the second-longest overall. The
club will play nine games against three divisional rivals. First, the Rays come
to town and theyll be followed by Boston, an off-day on Thursday and then New
York. Working off the need to play at least .657 baseball the rest of the way,
The Blue Jays must win at least six of nine (.666) on this home stand. "This is
when you find out what players are made of when you get challenges like that,"
said Dioner Navarro. "Lets see what happens. Weve got Eddie back, Lindy back.
Weve got five more weeks to play hard and try to accomplish something that hasnt
been accomplished in 20-something years." Since theres no carryover in baseball,
the Jays can only hope the offensive slump which temporarily ended in Wednesdays
9-5 win over the Brewers is a sign of things to come. "Were in a pretty good
frame of mind. Thats never really been a problem with this group," said Gibbons.
"Every games important." The Blue Jays need a strong finish to make the
playoffs. Failing a postseason appearance, a strong finish and meaningful games
deep into September would set a better tone heading into spring training,
multiple players said. Another player confided to TSN.ca what should be
considered obvious when factoring in the human subconscious: its easier to want
to be at the ballpark everyday, late in the season, when theres something on the
line. The aches and pains which accumulate over a long year, exacerbated by
Rogers Centres decrepit turf, would not only be more easily tolerated but would
go ignored if a playoff spot is in reach. Questions about a starting rotation,
full of them in spring, are resurfacing now that the group appears to be
regressing. The club is waiting for the recent returns of Edwin Encarnacion and
Adam Lind to help bolster an offence thats hit only nine home runs this month.
The problem is the waiting and the fact that there isnt any time left to wait.
The turnaround, if its to happen, must begin now.
LeBron
James USA Jersey .com) - Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James will
sit out Thursdays game against the Oklahoma City Thunder with left knee
soreness.
Jimmy
Butler Team USA Jersey . Jeff Carter had two goals and an assist as the
Kings stretched their streak to seven wins in a row with a 4-2 victory over the
Edmonton Oilers on Sunday.
http://www.teamusaolympicsshop.com/Olympics-Jimmy-Butler-Usa-Jersey/ . Off-Season Game Plan looks at what the Blue Jackets may do to build upon last
seasons success to return to the playoffs again next year. LOS ANGELES -- After
being thoroughly outplayed for over 40 minutes, the Los Angeles Clippers fought
back. Leading the way was a player not known for coming up big in the clutch.
Darren Collison scored eight of his 18 points in the final 2:58, rallying the
Clippers past the Oklahoma City Thunder 101-99 on Sunday to tie the Western
Conference semifinal series 2-2. "Even though we didnt play well throughout the
game, we were able to get a win," Collison said. "That feels more impressive
than anything we did." Russell Westbrook, who scored 27 points, missed a
3-pointer and Serge Ibakas tip attempt was too late at the buzzer, allowing the
Clippers to salvage a game they trailed until the final 1:23. "It was a good
look," Westbrook said. "Just didnt go in." Blake Griffin led Los Angeles with 25
points, making 9 of 11 free throws. Jamal Crawford added 18 points.
DeAndre Jordan had 14 rebounds, helping the Clippers win the boards, 45-43 --
the first time in 11 playoff games the Thunder were outrebounded. "We just
willed this one. We found a way," said Chris Paul, who had 23 points and 10
assists. Kevin Durant scored 40 points, hitting 15 of 18 free throws, for the
Thunder. "We let this one slip away," he said. "We could have took control of
the series." Game 5 is Tuesday night in Oklahoma City. "We were almost on the
mat and we got off of it. We didnt get pinned," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said.
"Theyre seething right now. They had an opportunity to go up 3-1 and now its an
even series." It was the 14th comeback -- and largest yet -- by the Clippers
this season after trailing by double digits. They rallied from 12 points down in
the second quarter of Game 7 to oust Golden State in the first round. "This is
one of the best ones yet," Paul said. "Darren Collison was amazing. You just got
to love a guy like that who plays with so much heart and never gives up." The
Clippers had no answer for Durant and Westbrook until midway through the fourth
quarter. That dynamic duo drove the lane with abandon, drew fouls and made free
throws in leading the Thunder to an early 22-point lead. Durants three-point
play early in the fourth extended the Thunders lead to 15 points, and they were
still up by 10 with 7:44 to go. But the comeback Clippers were not to be denied.
"Everybody kept telling each other, Chip away, chip away," Griffin said.
Klay
Thompson Team USA Jersey. "That was kind of our mentality for the rest of
the game. We just kept fighting." The Clippers stole a page out of the Thunders
playbook, switching to a smaller lineup that included Collison and
Danny Granger, who helped disrupt the Thunders rebounding late. Paul willed his
team back into it, scoring six straight points to get the Clippers within six.
Griffin, who was saddled with five fouls, made three of four free throws before
Collison got hot. "The whole time Im thinking, We cant be down 3-1, we just cant
be down 3-1 going to Oklahoma," Collison said. With the game tied at 97,
Collison scored the Clippers final four points on layups. Crawford passed to a
streaking Collison for a fast-break conversion on the second one for a 101-97
lead with 32 seconds left. Westbrook scored for the Thunder, but after Griffin
missed, Westbrook did too to end the game. "Did that really just happen?" a
still stunned Crawford said. Paul missed all five of his shots in the third,
when Griffin picked up three fouls to give him five, and Crawford and Jordan
each got their third. Ibaka, who shot 9 of 10 in the Thunders Game 3 win, got
his fourth foul, along with Westbrook in the third. The Clippers came as close
as eight points before Reggie Jacksons 3-pointer beat the shot clock to keep the
Thunder ahead 75-63 going into the fourth. The Thunder had the Clippers on their
heels from the opening tip, with Oklahoma City shooting 65 per cent in building
a 22-point lead. Oklahoma City outscored the Clippers 32-15 in the first; the
fewest points theyve allowed in a quarter of a playoff game. NOTES: NBA
Commissioner Adam Silver, who banned Clippers owner Donald Sterling for life and
fined him $2.5 million after recordings of him making racist comments surfaced,
attended the game, sitting next to Magic Johnson. Johnson tweeted on April 26
that he would never go to a Clippers game again while Sterling remains the
owner. ... Johnson and boxer Floyd Mayweather have each made noises about being
interested in owning the Clippers. ... Dick Parsons, whom Silver appointed as
interim CEO of the Clippers, will be in town Monday. ... Among the celebs were
Rihanna, Justin Bieber (who got booed), Billy Crystal, Mark Wahlberg, former
Clipper Baron Davis wearing a Dodgers hat and Kenny Lofton.
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