Chat » over 12 times. Ginobili had 20 points and made 5 of 7

Ive got to admit, when I heard Casey Janssen was going on the disabled list with a lower back strain, the first thought running through my mind was here we go again. It seemed just like the past two seasons, where an onslaught of injuries derailed both seasons. At least this time, the injury to the veteran closer doesnt appear to be that series and if there is any area the Blue Jays have depth in its the pen. For now, at least, Sergio Santos, whos had to deal with two injury-plagued seasons of his own since coming back to the Jays, will get the chance to close. I did a little digging and found out that only four of the 15 teams in the American League are starting the season with the same closer they had a year ago. That would be Boston with Koji Uehara, the Royals with Greg Holland, Minnesota with Glen Perkins and the Angels with Ernest Fieri. The Red Sox and the Blue Jays, once Janssen gets healthy, will have the same closers. The Yankees, thanks to the retirement of the great Mariano Rivera, have handed the reins over to right-hander David Robertson. Tampa Bay let Fernando Rodney walk as a free agent and then picked up former As closer Grant Balfour and another one-time closer in Heath Bell. Baltimore dealt their star closer Jimmie Johnson to Oakland and then decided to make veteran starter/reliever Tommy Hunter into their closer. For this year, at least, there is far greater closer stability. Only three of the 15 teams - St. Louis, Arizona and the Cubs - are starting with different closers than they had at the beginning of last season. The Reds would actually be a fourth, as Aroldis Chapman is on the disabled list after taking a line drive just above the eye in spring training but he will be back this season. Its no secret; if the Blue Jays are going to contend for a wild card spot at the very least, theyve got to put up a winning record against their own division. If you look at the last four years since Alex Anthopoulos took over as general manager, the Jays have only been above .500 versus the AL East once. They went 39-33 against their own division in 2010, Cito Gastons final year as skipper. That season, Tampa Bay was the only club that finished better without the division at 42-30. In 2011, they went 33-39, in 2012 they were 29-43, and last year they went 30-46, which was the worst of the five teams within the division. Over that four year span within the East, Tampa has had the best record, averaging 42 wins per season and never worse than second best in terms of wins within the division. The Blue Jays are actually tied with Baltimore for the fewest wins inside the division over the past four years at 131. I found another interesting stat surrounding the last four years - the Blue Jays less than stellar record against left handers. Three of those last four years they have the worst record in the division against southpaws. Only in 2011 were they above .500 versus lefties with a mark of 23-19. Their cumulative record against left-handers over the past four years is 76-93. So, if you cant win enough within your own division and you cant beat lefties consistently, youre not going to be a contender. One final note on the Jays and the American League East. From August 22 on this season, the Jays play 28 of their final 35 against their own division, including six against Boston, seven versus the Yankees, six against Baltimore and nine against Tampa Bay. The only respite is a three game series against the Cubs at home in early September and then a four game series at home; the final week of the season against Seattle. So this is the season the Jays just prove they can beat the East. Better luck against lefties wouldnt hurt either. This is one of the tougher seasons to try and call the American League East, but right now Tampa Bay looks like the class of the division followed by the Yankees (if Tanaka and Pineda are for real), Red Sox, Blue Jays and Orioles, though if those two flip-flopped it wouldnt surprise me either. Check me in October. I mentioned former Blue Jays catcher Yan Gomes in my last article. Cleveland obviously is impressed with the first Brazilian ever to make it to the Majors. They signed him to a six-year deal that included two option years worth $23 million. I cant ever remember a team trading two catchers as the Jays did in the same off-season - Gomes and Travis DArnaud - and have them both become number one catchers so quickly. Fake Nike Shoes .ca NHL Power Rankings, ahead of the Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks. Moving up, from 10 to seven this week, the Pittsburgh Penguins have won seven straight despite a depleted lineup. Cheap Fake Shoes . Defenceman Tessa Bonhomme was among three players released from the team Tuesday morning along with defenceman Brigette Lacquette of Waterhen, Man. https://www.fakeshoes.net/ . Sundays race will be held at the Sepang circuit, adjacent to Kuala Lumpurs main airport where the ill-fated flight took off earlier this month. Authorities now say it is almost certain it crashed in the Indian Ocean, killing all 239 people aboard. Wholesake Fake Under Armour Shoes . The deals were announced on Friday. Beckham will receive $4.175 million in base salary, while De Aza will receive $4.25 million. Beckham hit .267 with five home runs and 24 RBIs over 103 games last season, his fifth with the White Sox. Fake Shoes . Richard Jefferson scored 17 points and Diante Garrett had a career-high 15 points as the Jazz had seven players with 10 points or more in Utahs largest margin of victory this season. OKLAHOMA CITY -- Serge Ibaka pointed to the sky, soaking in the cheers from the adoring home crowd moments before coming out of a game that just a few days earlier, he never imagined he could play. He scored 15 points in a dramatic return from what was thought to be a season-ending left calf strain, helping the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the San Antonio Spurs 106-97 on Sunday night in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals. Ibaka started after missing the first two games of the series. The Thunder originally said he would miss the rest of the playoffs, but changed course Friday. His presence helped the Thunder dominate and cut the Spurs lead in the series to 2-1. Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks took Ibaka out with 3:17 remaining and the Thunder ahead by 20. "When you talk about a teammate, thats everything you want in a teammate," Thunder forward Kevin Durant said. "I gained so much more respect for Serge for sacrificing himself for the team. Regardless of what happened tonight, thats something you want beside you." Ibaka made six of seven shots and was a threat that gave Durant and Russell Westbrook relief. Westbrook had 26 points, eight rebounds and seven assists, and Durant added 25 points and 10 rebounds. On defence, Ibaka was a strong physical presence who blocked and altered shots and used his still formidable mobility to close out on shooters. He had seven rebounds, four blocks and a seemingly endless amount of energy. "Serge has put so much work in throughout the season that missing a couple of days didnt hurt him," Westbrook said. "Tonight, he jumped right back into where he was." Manu Ginobili scored 23 points and Tim Duncan added 16 points and eight rebounds for the Spurs. Game 4 is Tuesday night at Oklahoma City. The Thunder outrebounded the Spurs 52-36 after losing the battle of the boards in the first two games. San Antonio, which shot at least 50 per cent in the first two games, shot just 40 per cent on Sunday night. The first two games looked like a layup drill for the Spurs. This time, they were forced to reset numerous times. The passes were not as quick or as easy. "I was very disappointed that we didnt come out with more of a foot in the neck sort of attitude," San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich said. "t;They killed us on the boards, they beat us in 50-50 balls and thats very disappointing to me.dddddddddddd." San Antonio won Game 2 112-77, leaving the Thunder humiliated. "I knew that we were a better team than losing by 30," Brooks said. "Its not us. It was us that night, but were a much better team than that. I have a lot of respect for San Antonio, but theyre not that much better than us." Things were different from the start with Ibakas return. Brooks also inserted speedy Reggie Jackson into the starting lineup in Thabo Sefoloshas place. Jackson finished with 15 points. "We bounced back tonight. We always talk about that bounce-back ability and we had that tonight," Brooks said. The crowd roared when Ibakas name was announced during pregame introductions, and it got even louder when he started playing. He had eight points, three rebounds and two blocks in just over six minutes of play in the first quarter. Twice in the final minute of the first half, Ginobili hit 3-pointers, and both times, Westbrook answered with a 3-pointer. The last one, with 0.6 seconds left, gave the Thunder a 57-53 lead. Oklahoma City shot 56 per cent in the first half but turned the ball over 12 times. Ginobili had 20 points and made 5 of 7 3-pointers before the break to keep the Spurs close. Oklahoma City extended its lead to 83-76 at the end of the third quarter. A runner by Durant, then a 3-pointer by Caron Butler pushed the Thunder lead to 90-76 with just over 10 minutes to play. "Hopefully we realize that if were not intense, not very sharp and dont hustle like crazy, were not going to win here," Ginobili said. "They showed us reality. Hopefully we react in game four and play a much better game." Notes: Thunder C Kendrick Perkins picked up his third foul eight minutes into the game. He played just 13 minutes and finished with four points and three rebounds. Backup centre Steven Adams, a rookie, had seven points and nine rebounds. ... Thunder G Derek Fisher took a hit and was bleeding from the top of his head in the first quarter. He got six stitches. ... The Thunder shot 63 per cent from the field in the first quarter but trailed 29-28 at the end of the period. ... Ginobili scored just three points in the second half. ' ' '