Over 16,538,884 people are on fubar.
What are you waiting for?
(Sports Network) - The Toronto Blue Jays will send Henderson Alvarez to the mound tonight in search of his second big-league victory against the only team hes beaten before, the Baltimore Orioles. Rashard Mendenhall Jersey . The Blue Jays open a three-game series against the Orioles tonight at Camden Yards. The 6-foot-1, 175-pounder had one victory in 10 starts last season. He faced the Orioles twice overall, emerging with a no-decision in the second matchup and allowing just three runs on 12 hits in 15 innings. He was 0-1 with four no-decisions after the win in 2011 and opened 2012 with another loss and two no-decisions in three starts. Overall this season, hes given up 16 hits and 10 runs in 19 1/3 innings. Tommy Hunter will make his 10th career appearance against Toronto. Hunter entered the season having won one of four decisions in nine career meetings with Toronto, before getting another no-decision when he faced the Blue Jays in a 7-5 Baltimore win on April 13. In that game, Hunter allowed four earned runs on six hits in six innings. Four of the five total runs against him were on home runs. In 46 lifetime innings against Toronto, hes posted a 6.65 earned run average and allowed 54 hits - including 14 homers. On Monday in Kansas City, Brandon Morrow allowed just one run over 6 2/3 innings as the Blue Jays took a 4-1 decision over the Royals to complete a four-game sweep at Kauffman Stadium. Morrow (1-1) scattered seven hits and struck out three in the victory, while Francisco Cordero pitched a scoreless bottom of the ninth to record his second save of the year. Jose Bautista belted a two-run blast and Kelly Johnson added a solo shot to help the Jays earn their 10th win of the season. On Sunday in Anaheim, Robert Andino scored the winning run in the top of the 10th inning to guide Baltimore to a 3-2 victory over the LA Angels in the finale of a three-game set. Andino walked off LaTroy Hawkins (0-1) to start the 10th, moved to second on Endy Chavezs bunt and third on J.J. Hardys groundout before coming home on Nick Markakis sharp grounder off the glove of Angels second baseman Howie Kendrick. Pedro Strop (2-1) allowed one run on one hit over two innings of relief to record the win. Jim Johnson worked around a one-out double in the 10th for his seventh save of the year as the Orioles salvaged a win after dropping the first two games of the series. Toronto has gone 27-9 against Baltimore the previous two seasons, but the Orioles opened up this years season series by taking two of three in Toronto. Ike Taylor Jersey . The NL West leaders also activated Aubrey Huff from the disabled list before the game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. To make room on the roster, San Francisco put infielder Pablo Sandoval on the 15-day disabled list with a left hamstring strain and designated infielder Emmanuel Burriss for assignment. Casey Hampton Jersey . Franzen scored three goals to help the suddenly potent Red Wings roll to a 5-2 win over the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night. http://www.steelersroom.com/joe-greene-jerseys . Ebanks was fined $25,000 for his actions before and after his ejection in the Lakers 119-90 loss in Game 1 on Monday. He was thrown out for saying something to an official in getting a technical foul, then ripped off his jersey as he walked back toward the locker room. James Harrison Jersey . In this case, the journey comes with a Canadian chequebook thanks to well-heeled owner J. Paul Reddam of Windsor, Ont. And a helping hand from Vancouver, where upstart Mexican jockey Mario Gutierrez found a second home. Shaun Suisham Jersey . 1 and defending champion Novak Djokovic and five-time winner Rafael Nadal were a pair of third-round victors Thursday at the $3. TORONTO -- Another NHL lockout is beginning to feel like an inevitability. Unable to move beyond the philosophical stage of talks, the owners and players have watched another week slip by without progress. They sat down together for a quick session Thursday morning before reporting the same significant gap that has existed all along. The main issue that divides them is far from complex. "We believe were paying out more than we should be," said commissioner Gary Bettman. "Its as simple as that." Of course, the NHL Players Association doesnt quite see it that way. Executive director Donald Fehr has acknowledged theres room for some flexibility in that area -- last weeks proposal included three years with a slightly lower share in revenues for the players -- but he hasnt come to the table in a conciliatory mood after taking over a union that capitulated during the last round of negotiations. "Everybody understands that employers would always like to pay less," said Fehr. "Thats not a surprise to anybody -- its disappointing sometimes -- but its not a surprise." He went on to add that the services his constituents provide are irreplaceable. "From the players standpoint, they want a fair agreement, they want one that is equitable, they want one that recognizes their contribution," said Fehr. With both sides so entrenched, real negotiations have yet to begin even though the Sept. 15 deadline for a lockout is fast approaching. The parties attempted to make some progress Wednesday by clearing the meeting room of everyone but the key figures: Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly along with Fehr and his brother Steve Fehr, the unions No. 2 man. They soon discovered there was little common ground. Those same four men will reopen talks next Tuesday in New York during what promises to be a key negotiation session. The sides have tentatively blocked off the rest of the week for meetings as well, but they must first determine if theres anything worth talking about. Thats far from guaranteed. A league that lost the entire 2004-05 season to a lockout is in real danger of having the start of another one disrupted for the same reason. The current CBA has seen the NHL grow from a $2.1-billion industry to one that pulls in $3.3-billionn annually -- a fact that isnt lost on either side. Heath Miller Jersey. "We recovered well last time because we have the worlds greatest fans," said Bettman. The essential difference between the offers put forward so far is perhaps best articulated in terms of their impact on the salary cap. Under the NHLs initial proposal, it would fall to $50.8 million for next season. The NHLPAs would see it set near $69 million. The league is also believed to have verbally raised the possibility of seeing the players share in revenue drop incrementally rather than all at once. Theoretically, it could be done at a rate that is matched by an expected increase in revenues -- essentially keeping salaries constant over the duration of the agreement while owners take in more profit. So far, the union hasnt shown much interest in negotiating off of that kind of model. While its natural to assume the parties might be more willing to make concessions as Sept. 15 nears, Fehr pointed out that they already know whats at stake. "If theres going to be a lockout -- and thats something that the owners will choose or not choose -- then you would have missed games, you would have lost revenue, you would have lost paycheques," he said. "But that doesnt mean that the parties dont understand going into it that that would be the case." With the possibility of a lockout becoming more real, the posturing is starting to begin. Bettman lamented Thursday that the union wasnt ready to open talks a year ago -- the commissioner did say throughout the season there was more than enough time to make a deal -- while Fehr continues to point out that Sept. 15 is only a deadline because the NHL has made it one. The bottom line is that they need to make an agreement and there isnt one in sight. Seven years ago, the sides battled one another over the philosophical view of whether the sport needed a salary cap. With that out of the way, this fight is all about money, although Bettman declined to go into detail when asked why the owners were seeking such significant givebacks. "Im not going to get into a public debate on that," he said. "Obviously, if we didnt think that there were issues that needed to be addressed we wouldnt be in this type of negotiation." . ' ' '
