NEWS » m and seems to be in more of a c

TORONTO -- The job just got a little bit tougher for the Baltimore Orioles as they try to overtake the Toronto Blue Jays in the race for the first wild-card position in the American League.The Orioles need to win the final two contests of the three-game series at Rogers Centre to draw even with the Blue Jays.By winning the series opener 5-1 on Tuesday, Toronto opened a two-game lead over Baltimore. Each team has five games remaining.The Orioles also must cast a look over their shoulders because the Detroit Tigers are one game behind them for the second wild-card spot.The team that finishes in the first wild-card spot is the home team in Tuesdays one-game playoff.The Blue Jays start left-hander Francisco Liriano (8-13, 4.88 ERA) on Wednesday while Baltimore goes with right-hander Chris Tillman (16-6, 3.84).Were playing with house money, Orioles center fielder Adam Jones said before Tuesdays game. A win for the Orioles opens the door for the Orioles. We win and we control our own destiny. You worry about others and you will not be that destiny. We just need to handle what we can handle, control what we can control. I know its a cliche and Im not a real cliche kind of guy, but thats just the truth with six games to go.Were playing with house money. We werent supposed to be here. ... Were playing with house money, I think thats how we all look it. Now lets go do something with it.The Orioles have a chance to take advantage of some misfortune that hit the Blue Jays in the form of two injuries that resulted from a second-inning bench-clearing incident with the New York Yankees in a wild 7-5 loss Monday.Blue Jays second baseman Devon Travis has a sore left shoulder as a result of the skirmish and is day to day. It is the same shoulder that required offseason surgery.Travis, who left the game Monday in the sixth inning after the shoulder hampered him at the plate, said he was feeling better Tuesday and hopes to play Wednesday. Meanwhile, Darwin Barney has been taking his place.Not so optimistic is the situation with reliever Joaquin Benoit, who suffered a torn left calf muscle while running from the bullpen to take part in the Monday melee. He said Tuesday that he will be out for 2-to-3 weeks.Manager John Gibbons will have to find other ways to get through the seventh inning without the right-hander, who was virtually unhittable since arriving in a trade with the Seattle Mariners on July 26. He is 2-0 with a 0.38 ERA in 25 games with Toronto.Its a big loss, no doubt about it, Gibbons said.To make up for Benoits absence, the starters might be asked to go a little longer. The solution Tuesday was to have Joe Biagini pitch the seventh and eighth innings and he was strong, allowing only an infield hit.It helped preserve an important win. Really a good bounceback game after a tough one (Monday), Gibbons said.Liriano has not faced the Orioles this season and in eight career starts against them is 2-4 with a 5.01 ERA in eight career starts against them,Tillman is 1-0 with a 4.32 ERA in three starts against the Blue Jays this season. He is 5-10 with a 5.61 ERA in 23 career starts against Toronto and 2-6, 7.51 in 12 career starts at Rogers Centre.Charles Haley Youth Jersey . LOUIS -- St. Terrell Owens Jersey . In the lead up - which seemed to begin the moment Mike Geiger blew the whistle in Houston last Thursday night - the Impact rumour mill went into overdrive. The speculation went into meltdown mode, of the golden nugget variety. http://www.cowboysrookieproshop.com/Cowboys-Larry-Allen-Jersey/ . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. Chuck Howley Youth Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. Bob Lilly Womens Jersey . Darren Helm scored on Detroits sixth attempt in the shootout and then Jonas Gustavsson stopped Andrew Shaws shot, lifting the Detroit Red Wings to a 5-4 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night.LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Sharpshooting Malik Monk chose Kentucky because he felt it was the best place to hone other basketball skills beyond his impressive offensive talents.Scoring has always come easy for the Wildcats freshman guard, who also wants to become a better rebounder, passer and lockdown defender. Even when Monks perimeter shots are falling, he wants to share the ball and encourages teammates to shoot to ensure sure hes not the only one having fun.If defenses play me to pass the ball, Im going to pass it, Monk said Tuesday. Coming to Kentucky, youre surrounded by great players and everybody doesnt have to focus on you. If the defense focuses on you, somebody else can have a great game and that feels great.Still, Monk is the focus of opponents that try to devise ways of containing the sixth-ranked Wildcats leading scorer.The Lepanto, Arkansas native enters Wednesdays 50th Bluegrass showdown at No. 10 Louisville (10-1) averaging a team-best 21.9 points per game for the Wildcats. If he continues at that pace, he could the highest-scoring college player coach John Calipari has ever had. Dajuan Wagner averaged 21.2 for Calipari at Memphis in 2001-02.Right now Monk is basking in a higher profile resulting from his 47-point explosion that helped Kentucky beat then-No. 7 North Carolina 103-100 in Las Vegas on Saturday. His point total set a school freshman record and was the Wildcats best performance since Jodie Meeks scored 54 at Tennessee in January 2009.Monks 18-of-28 shooting effort included eight 3-pointers, the last of which came with 16.7 seconds remaining to put the Wildcats up for good. His clutch jumper came despite Calipari urging him to drive and symbolized confidence the coach wont dare stifle.There are times they have a better feel than I do, Calipari said of his talented roster. You do not have to be perfect, you do not even have to be great. But youve got to play.Monk knows expectations for a follow-up performance will be high as Kentuucky travels 80 miles west for its first true road game.dddddddddddd The Cardinals have lost four in a row in the series.Louisville thrives on its defense and has had success switching defenders in the backcourt. The strategy might suggest slowing down the Wildcats, but coach Rick Pitino said on his radio show Monday night that wont be the plan for his Cardinals.However Louisville, or future opponents, try to defend Kentucky, Monk plan is to contribute wherever he can.I know they will have some kind of defensive trick for me, he said of the Cardinals, but we just have to run through our offense and let the game come to you.Monks AAU coach, Ron Crawford, wouldnt be shocked to see his former player passing the ball or rebounding instead of scoring.He went to Kentucky to not have to carry the load, said Crawford, whose Arkansas Wings program also produced former Wildcat guard Archie Goodwin. Hes consistently getting better on the defensive end and also accepts that hes not going to shoot on every possession.Hes playing with a group where theres no pressure on him and seems to be in more of a comfort zone.Monk is emphatic about improving his rebounding and acknowledges that phase of his game is a work in progress for Kentuckys backcourt. Circumstances have just created more chances on the boards for the frontcourt, allowing the guards to focus on pushing the ball downcourt and finishing.While Monk continues working on rounding out his game, hes savoring how his scoring has helped the Wildcats. Crawford warns of a falloff but knows Monk well enough that a few jumpers could produce another run.Hes proven his ability to score 40, just dont expect it every night, Crawford notes. But when his 3-pointer is on, it changes his game.It certainly has changed things for Kentucky.---More AP College Basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org ' ' '