lucylily's blog: "ght"

DETROIT -- CC Sabathia did his part to help the New York Yankees close a second straight series with a sweep-avoiding win. Sabathia pitched seven scoreless innings and Jayson Nix homered off Justin Verlander in the three-run second, lifting New York to a 7-0 victory over the Detroit Tigers on Sunday. "You always want to avoid a sweep and finish a series well," Sabathia said. "It felt good to get a win." Victories have been rare so far this year for the banged-up Yankees. New York (2-4) needed to beat the Tigers to avoid dropping to its worst six-game record since starting the 1989 season 1-7. "The only must-win you need is when youre about to be eliminated," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. Sabathia (1-1) gave up four hits and three walks while striking out four in 114 pitches, bouncing back from a dreadful opening-day start. "Hes one of the better pitchers in baseball and he showed that," Tigers manager Jim Leyland said. The Yankees dont have their best players in the lineup because All-Stars Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Mark Teixeira and Curtis Granderson are on the disabled list, but Leyland said it would be foolish to count them out this season. "Theyre missing some pieces, but theyre always going to be good," Leyland said. "Theyll be right in the thick of things like they always are." The Yankees got all the run support they needed in the second inning when Francisco Cervelli hit an RBI double and Nix followed with a two-run, two-out homer to give the Yankees a 3-0 lead. Verlander (1-1) allowed three runs on seven hits and three walks. Verlander said he didnt have a bad game, or inning, but lamented the high, hanging changeup he threw to Nix that ended up over the left field fence. "Poor pitch selection and poor pitch execution on the same pitch usually doesnt end up too well," he said. Yankees reliever David Robertson entered the game in the eighth and got out of a two-on, one-out jam by getting Victor Martinez to hit a fly to shallow centre and Matt Tuiasosopo to strike out. Mariano Rivera pitched the ninth, drawing some cheers after he was honoured in a pregame ceremony for his planned retirement. Rivera gave up two hits and ended the game by striking out Torii Hunter. The Tigers gave Rivera a plaque with pictures of him pitching in Detroit along with dirt from Comerica Park and Tiger Stadium. "That was pretty neat," Rivera said. After losing the first two games in Detroit by a combined score of 16-7, the Yankees put a strong performance together at the plate on the mound and in the field. "Pitching dictates everything, and CC pretty much dictated the pace," Leyland said. Detroit had won six straight against the Yankees, including sweeping them in last years AL championship series. The Tigers advanced to the World Series by roughing up Sabathia in Game 4, scoring six runs -- five earned -- and getting 11 hits off him in just 3 2-3 innings. His first start this year wasnt much better. Sabathia gave up four runs and eight hits over five innings in a season-opening, 8-2 loss to Boston, and learned from the loss. "I pitched in a lot more and a lot more effectively," he said. NOTES: Yankees SS Eduardo Nunez wasnt in the lineup for second straight day after getting hit on his right biceps, but entered the game as a pinch-runner in the eighth inning. ... The Tigers are off Monday before opening a home series against Toronto on Tuesday afternoon. ... Yankees RHP Hiroki Kuroda, who bruised his right middle finger in his last start, is scheduled to pitch Monday at Cleveland. ... The Tigers drew 127,333 fans to three-game series, the largest opening series crowd in Detroit since 1948. ... New York OF Brennan Boesch received his AL championship ring in the clubhouse Sunday morning. ... Hunter has five multihit games in his first six with the Tigers. ... Nix hit his first homer since July 28 of last year. ... Yankees RHP Joba Chamberlain shaved his moustache, saying it wasnt doing the team any good. Jed Collins Jersey . The 30-minute production features Howard, Stoughton, Martin, and Koe drafting a new third, second, and lead. The mixed teams will compete for $100,000 in prize money during The Dominion All-Star Curling Draft Show Presented by Pintys this weekend live on TSN from Casino Rama in Rama, ON. Tom Johnson Jersey . -- Steven Lenhart and Simon Dawkins scored second-half goals to power the San Jose Earthquakes to their third consecutive home victory, 2-0 over the Houston Dynamo on Saturday night. http://www.officialsaintsnfl.com/authentic-marques-colston-jersey-womens.html . Jim Johnson walked Maicer Izturis with the bases loaded in the 11th inning, and the Blue Jays beat the Orioles 6-5 Wednesday to avert a three-game sweep and end Baltimores run of consecutive extra-inning victories at 17. Mark Ingram Jersey . Alex Gordon and Chris Getz each hit a bases-loaded triple and the Royals rallied to beat Philadelphia 13-4 Friday, spoiling the Phillies home opener. John Jenkins Jersey . The fourth-seeded Cilic dropped serve only once in the match, at the start of the second set, before becoming the first Croat to reach the Umag final since Goran Prpic defeated compatriot Goran Ivanisevic in 1990. In the other semifinal Saturday, the second-seeded Dolgopolov beat Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain 6-4, 6-4.OTTAWA (CIS) – Acadia quarterback Kyle Graves, McMaster wide receiver Michael DiCroce and UBC pivot Billy Greene were announced Thursday as conference most valuable players and became finalists for CIS football player-of-the-year honours. The AUS, OUA and Canada West leagues unveiled their season award winners with the trio joining Sherbrooke wideout Simon Charbonneau-Campeau as nominees for the Hec Crighton trophy. Charbonneau-Campeau became a two-time Quebec MVP on Monday when the RSEQ handed out its hardware for the 2011 campaign. The fourth-year engineering student from St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Que., tied for the CIS lead with eight receiving touchdowns in nine conference games, topped the RSEQ and was third in the country with 854 yards through the air, and finished third in Quebec and fifth in the nation with 53 catches. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound senior guided the Vert & Or (7-2) to their best season since their return to CIS football in 2003. Graves, a fourth-year arts student from Barrie, Ont., led the Atlantic conference with 1,856 passing yards and 17 touchdown passes while being intercepted only five times in eight contests. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound senior, who added 179 yards and a major on 32 carries (5.6 avg.), was also named to the AUS all-star team as a punter after he averaged a league-high 36.7 yards on 64 kicks. He helped the Axemen to a first-place finish with a 7-1 record. DiCroce, a third-year social sciences major from Hamilton, topped all CIS receivers with 904 yards and a 113-yard average over eight matches, was fourth in Ontario (7th CIS) with six TD catches and ranked fifth in OUA (8th CIS) with 48 receptions. The 5-foot-11, 192-pound junior, who also tallied 179 yards on 18 rushes, was one of the main reasons the Marauders led the country in total offensive yards (530.5) and passing yards (329.9) per game. McMaster tied for the best record in OUA with a 7-1 mark and took second place in the standings.    Greene, a fourth-year arts student from Surrey, B.C., led the nation with 2,558 passing yards and tied for the CIS lead with 20 TD tosses, both single-season school records. The 6-foot-1, 220-pound pivot had the best touchdown-to-interception ratio in the country (20-4) and was also a major threat running the football as he gained a team-high 482 yards on 61 carries (7.9 avg.), tops among all CIS quarterbacks. The Thunderbirds (6-2) finished second in the Canada West standings and earned home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 1999. Other AUS recipients who became CIS award finalists Thursday include Acadia linebacker Tom Labenski (defensive MVP), Acadia defensive tackle Jake Thomas (outstanding down lineman), Mount Allison defensive tacckle Jacob LeBlanc (rookie of the year), Acadia defensive lineman Andrew Frazer (Russ Jackson award nominee) and Acadia head coach Jeff Cummins (coach of the year).dddddddddddd From OUA, the other CIS nominees are McMaster linebacker Ryan Chmielewski (defensive MVP), Queens defensive end Osie Ukwuoma (outstanding down lineman), Western running back Tyler Varga (rookie of the year), Wilfrid Laurier inside receiver Dillon Heap (Russ Jackson award nominee) and first-year Windsor bench boss Joe DAmore (coach of the year). The CIS finalists from Canada West include Calgary linebacker Sam Hurl (defensive MVP), Regina defensive end Akiem Hicks (outstanding down lineman), Saskatchewan offensive lineman Jordan Arkko (rookie of the year), Regina offensive lineman Brett Jones (Russ Jackson award nominee) and UBC sideline boss Shawn Olson (coach of the year). The RSEQ winners announced Monday were Concordia linebacker Max Caron (defensive MVP), Laval defensive end Arnaud Gascon-Nadon (outstanding down lineman), Sherbrooke quarterback Jérémi Doyon-Roch (rookie of the year), McGill kicker Austin Anderson (Russ Jackson award nominee) and Sherbrooke head coach André Bolduc (coach of the year). The CIS individual awards will be presented on Nov. 24 (Hec Crighton, Presidents, J.P. Metras and Peter Gorman trophies) and Nov. 25 (Frank Tindall trophy & Russ Jackson award) in Vancouver. HEC CRIGHTON TROPHY (player of the year): AUS: Kyle Graves, quarterback, AcadiaRSEQ: Simon Charbonneau-Campeau, wide receiver, SherbrookeOUA: Michael DiCroce, wide receiver, McMasterCWUAA: Billy Greene, quarterback, UBC PRESIDENTS TROPHY (defensive player of the year) AUS: Tom Labenski, linebacker, AcadiaRSEQ: Max Caron, linebacker, ConcordiaOUA: Ryan Chmielewski, linebacker, McMasterCWUAA: Sam Hurl, linebacker, Calgary J.P. METRAS TROPHY (outstanding down lineman) AUS: Jake Thomas, defensive tackle, AcadiaRSEQ: Arnaud Gascon-Nadon, defensive end, LavalOUA: Osie Ukwuoma, defensive end, QueensCWUAA: Akiem Hicks, defensive end, Regina PETER GORMAN TROPHY (rookie of the year) AUS: Jacob LeBlanc, defensive tackle, Mount AllisonRSEQ: Jérémi Doyon-Roch, quarterback, SherbrookeOUA: Tyler Varga, running back, Western OntarioCWUAA: Jordan Arkko, offensive lineman, Saskatchewan RUSS JACKSON AWARD (football, academics & citizenship) AUS: Andrew Frazer, defensive lineman, recreation management, AcadiaRSEQ: Austin Anderson, kicker, management, McGillOUA: Dillon Heap, inside receiver, business, Wilfrid Laurier CWUAA: Brett Jones, offensive lineman, science, Regina FRANK TINDALL TROPHY (coach of the year) AUS: Jeff Cummins, AcadiaRSEQ: André Bolduc, SherbrookeOUA: Joe DAmore, WindsorCWUAA: Shawn Olson, UBC ' ' '