TORONTO -- J.A. Happ got his 18th win, Melvin Upton Jr. hit a two-run homer and the Toronto Blue Jays beat Boston 3-2 on Saturday, closing within one game of the AL East-leading Red Sox.Toronto stopped a four-game losing streak and avoided matching its longest skid this season. Devon Travis had three hits for the Blue Jays and is 6 for 9 in the first two games of the series.Happ (18-4) allowed two runs and four hits in six-plus innings, ending a three-start winless streak. He didnt allow a hit until Chris Youngs one-out single to center in the fifth.Upton connected against Eduardo Rodriguez (2-7) in the second for his 20th homer. Jose Bautista made it 3-0 with an RBI single in the third.Dustin Pedroia homered off Happ leading off the sixth and has a 28-game hitting streak against the Blue Jays.Roberto Osuna worked the ninth for his 31st save in 34 chances, striking out Jackie Bradley Jr. with a man on for the final out.YANKEES 5, RAYS 1NEW YORK -- Gary Sanchez homered and almost hit another while Tampa Bay was trying to intentionally walk him, leading the hard-charging Yankees to their season-best seventh straight win.The Yankees closed within three games of AL East-leading Boston, their closest to the lead since mid-April. They began the day one game behind Baltimore and Detroit for the second wild-card spot, with the Orioles playing the Tigers later at night.New Yorks Masahiro Tanaka (13-4) struck out 10 and took a shutout into the eighth inning. Chris Archer (8-18) tied the Tampa Bay record for losses in a season, set by Tanyon Sturtze in 2002.It was scoreless in the sixth when Jacoby Ellsbury hit a two-run homer and Sanchez followed with a long drive.ASTROS 2, CUBS 1HOUSTON -- Rookie Alex Bregman homered and Collin McHugh pitched five effective innings, leading Houston to the victory.Bregman put the Astros ahead with an opposite-field home run to right-center against John Lackey (9-8) in a two-run third. After starting 1 for 34 following his July 25 promotion, Bregman has eight home runs -- all since Aug. 16. He went 2 for 4 and raised his average to .274 with 31 RBI.McHugh (10-10) won his third straight decision, allowing one run and two hits. Chris Devenski, Will Harris, Luke Gregerson and Ken Giles combined for hitless relief. Giles survived a shaky ninth to earn his 10th save.Lackey gave up two runs and four hits in six innings.MARINERS 14, ATHLETICS 3OAKLAND, Calif. -- Seattle ace Felix Hernandez pitched six scoreless innings to continue his dominance at the Oakland Coliseum.Nelson Cruz had three hits and three RBI and Kyle Seager hit his 28th home run to help the Mariners to their seventh win in eight games against the As this season.Seattle batted around twice and had seven players with two hits or more.Hernandez (11-5) allowed six hits, struck out two and walked one while improving to 12-3 at the 50-year-old Coliseum.Oaklands Kendall Graveman (10-10) allowed eight runs and a career-high 12 hits over five-plus innings. Nike Air Max Outlet Belgique . Giroud, who wasnt in the starting lineup for two matches after allegations about his private life and a decline in form, scored twice in the first half. Tomas Rosickys chip made it 3-0 before half time at Emirates Stadium, while defender Laurent Koscielny scored an unmarked header in the second half. Air Max a Vendre En Belgique . Thats about all he can do right now, so hes trying not to think about when he might be able to play again for the Los Angeles Lakers. http://www.airmaxbelgique.be/ . 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. Magasin Air Max Belgique . Bradwell was scheduled to become a free agent Tuesday. Born and raised in Toronto, Bradwell is entering his sixth CFL season, with all six played for his hometown Argonauts. Nike Air Max Pas Cher Belgique .Y. -- Paul Byron and Matt Stajan scored as the Calgary Flames started a five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon. LONDON -- London has made Liverpool feel right at home.In three trips to the capital in the first five rounds of the English Premier League, Liverpool is still unbeaten after comfortably accounting for Chelsea 2-1 on Friday.Having won at Arsenal and drawn at Tottenham, Liverpool ended Chelseas unbeaten start in the league at Stamford Bridge, where the visitors posted consecutive wins for only the second time in 40 years.Liverpool, more energetic and inventive, was 2-0 up in about half an hour and controlled proceedings for an hour. Not until Diego Costa put Chelsea on the scoreboard did the match begin to feel competitive.But not for long, as Liverpool weathered Chelsea briefly coming out of its slumber, and returned to smothering the Blues.Only Manchester City and Everton remain unbeaten in the league. Chelsea dropped to third and Liverpool rose to fourth.Its a big victory, it keeps our momentum going, captain Jordan Henderson said. We defended excellently, and deserved the three points. It gives good confidence.Having already beaten last seasons league champion and runner-up, Liverpools third win makes the second-round loss to promoted Burnley even more confounding. On Juergen Klopps watch, Liverpool has been strong against Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, and the Manchester clubs, remaining unbeaten in six away games against them, and losing only once in 11 matches.Reds defenders Dejan Lovren, Joel Matip, James Milner, and Nathaniel Clyne ensuredd Costa and Eden Hazard were virtually non-entities in Chelseas first Friday night game in 14 years.ddddddddddddLovren was so comfortable that he even scored the opener. Given a free kick conceded by Chelsea stand-in captain Branislav Ivanovic on the left sideline, Liverpool eventually got the ball to Philippe Coutinho, who spotted Lovren and two more teammates unmarked at the far post.Coutinhos expertly weighted cross fell perfectly in front of Lovren to practically roll the ball past Thibaut Courtois.It became 2-0 with a cracking goal from Henderson. He accepted a poor clearance from Chelsea on the left side of the box, had time to sight the goal, and unleashed a dipping shot into the top right corner.The beginning was brilliant, Klopp said. We played football like hell.Chelsea, sure to have been blasted at halftime by manager Antonio Conte, started the second spell better, with Nemanja Matic tiptoeing along the byline, and dinking the ball inside for a leaping Costa to volley in for his league-leading fifth goal in five games.But Chelsea never threatened again, as infrequent shots clattered off the legs of Liverpool defenders.Only the relentless NGolo Kante, in midfield, gave Liverpool trouble. And the second Chelsea debut for expensive defender David Luiz finished like his first in 2011, a home loss to Liverpool. ' ' 'LAS VEGAS -- Im selfish. Ill admit it.When it comes to watching sports on television or in person, its all about me. I want to be entertained. I want heroes and villains. I want to have someone to cheer, and someone to boo. I want to laugh. I want to curse. And every now and again I want to see a moment thrilling enough to force me to get up out of my seat.Poker used to provide that for me. It was the foundation for some of my favorite reality shows a decade ago. Not only would I watch the World Series of Poker every year, but I would watch the World Poker Tour on The Travel Channel, Celebrity Poker Showdown on Bravo, High Stakes Poker on GSN, Poker Dome Challenge on FSN, Poker After Dark on NBC and Im sure a handful of other now-defunct shows.I didnt necessarily watch because of the poker; I already got my fix of bad beats at the hands of my little brother, who like millions of others briefly wanted to become a professional poker player after watching Chris Moneymaker win the 2003 World Series of Poker. I watched because of the characters I had become connected to while watching all these shows. I developed this bond because they all talked at the table and revealed a human side of themselves I either liked (Antonio Esfandiari), disliked (Phil Hellmuth) or was simply apathetic to (Joe Hachem).It was similar to my love of pro wrestling. When it comes to the art of the squared circle, Im not a purist who watches for five-star matches replete with every move from an arm bar to a wheelbarrow. I love the guys who can get on the microphone and rile up the crowd.Like many others, I started to lose interest in poker as a televised sport before it was hit with its Black Friday in 2011. The shows became stale, there was never an influx of new young stars to mix things up and there were only so many times I could hear the same jokes from the same players and commentators.But I was told the World Series of Poker main event final table was the one time where poker once again felt like it did a decade ago. For three days in the fall it was once again a spectator sport, drawing big crowds for a nationally televised event worth millions of dollars for the nine players at the table.After attending this years November Nine, I came away yearning for the characters that made me fall in love with the game as I tried to stay awake until the final hand.No tickets were needed to watch the final table, but there were times when it felt like a library card might be needed. For the better part of Sunday, Monday and Tuesday, the quietest place in Las Vegas was the Penn & Teller Theater, which has been the home of the November Nine since 2008.The characters, drama and banter (ranging from collegial to contentious), which made poker such a fun sport to watch a decade ago, were completely absent inside an eerily quiet 1,475-seat theater where ushers roamed the aisles like teachers through a classroom to make sure no one was on their cell phones.The only voice that could be heard from the stage during each hand was that of Jack Effel, the vice president and tournament director for the WSOP who doubles as the play-by-play announcer for the in-house audience. The players had their own cheering sections inside the theater, which made up much of the live crowd that diminished with each day as players were eliminated.Michael Ruane, 28, had the most boisterous section, with many of his friends dressed as pro wrestlers from the 1990s. Las Vegas resident Qui Nguyen, 39, had a ton of local support as they chanted, Who win? Qui Nguyen! each time he collected chips. And those cheering for Kenny Hallaert, 34, mixed in some European soccer chants. But people watching a crowd filled with friends and family is only interesting to a certain point.I knew I wouldnt have any real connection to the November Nine coming into the final table, but the truth is I had no real connection to them after watching them play for a dozen hours either. Its inherently hard to connect to people that dont say anything, or show any emotion.The oldest and most recognizable player at the final table, and the chip leader when play began, was 50-year old Cliff JohnnyBax Josephy, who had previously won two WSOP bracelets. While normally engaging, Josephy was mostly silent for the first two days and even went against the grain by wearing glasses and a hat on the final day, which he never does and previously said he was against.Theres more tension at the final table, Josephy said. Everyone is tense. Theyre playing for money that many people havent seen in their lives. Its understandable that people dont talk but everyone is friendly. Everyone likes each other. This is a group of guys that really like each other. Everyone is nice.Effel echoed those sentiments after the second day of play as the chips for the final three players, Josephy, Gordon Vayo and Nguyen, the eventual winner, were put away.When youre playing for $8 million youre paying attention to every little thing that you do, Effel said. Youre hoping somebody else makes a mistake so you can capitalize on their mistakes. Theyre more interested in playing poker than talking.It makes sense, of course, but it also makes me nostalgic for a time where the stakes didnt make players go into their shells. The walkway leading into the Penn & Teller Theater at the Rio in Las Vegas is lined with oversized photographs of past WSOP main event champions. I didnt recognize the past eight champions, all in their 20s, who looked more like fraternity pledges than poker champions. But I stopped when I got to Jamie Golds photo. Ten years ago Gold, who was a talent agent turned television producer, won the 2006 WSOP main event and $12 million, still a record, while outlasting a field of 8,773 entrants -- also a record. It was the high water mark of a game that would soon see a significant dip in interest and participation.Gold was an antagonist and a polarizing figure during his improbable run a decade ago, and one of my favorite players to watch. He talked big while bluffing with nothing, sweet-talked players into reluctantly folding better hands by telling them he would show them his hand and even flashed one of his cards to Michael Binger at the final table, causing Binger to lay down the winning hand. The reasons his antics were frowned upon by purists were the same reasons I enjoyed watching him play.You need to have players talking to have heroes and villains, Gold told me over the phone after the first day of the final table. Once you take away the character side of it, youre killing the entertainment value and the reason why advertisers, sponsors and viewers would want to watch. I wasnt that special, but I had an opportunity to create a character by speaking. Viewers want to watch personalities and have a storyline and an arc play out on television. For the most part, poker on television has become this mundane, mind-numbing endeavor.Even worse than the television viewing experience, however, is the live viewing experience. At least viewers at home are able to see the players hands while listening to the entertaining trio of Lon McEachern, Norman Chad and Esfandiari in the broadcast booth. But not even the personalities of the announcers can make up for the disconnect between the viewers and the players at the table.Until that connection can once again be made, my poker needs will continue to be met away from my television -- relegated instead to losing money to my little brother. Air Jordan For Sale Canada . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. Jordan Shoes Canada Clearance .R. 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Australias world-title winning women are through to the semi-finals of the rugby sevens at the Rio Games thanks to a 24-0 knockout win over Spain at Deodoro Stadium.Playmaker Charlotte Caslick showed her immense class to star as the Aussies bounced back from their earlier pool scare against USA when they salvaged a dramatic 12-all draw after the siren.Coach Tim Walsh still wasnt pleased with the four-try shutout of the Spaniards, featuring uncharacteristic handling errors, and warned his top-ranked side they need a marked improvement.Im happy with the win; Im not happy with the way we played, Walsh said. I think we can play a hell of a lot better than that.Its not where we need to be to be in contention for that gold medal.Australia took a 12-0 lead into halftime of the quarter-final with in-form winger Emma Tonegato and Caslick both crossing before the skilful five-eighth sealed the result with an 80m solo effort after the break.Winger Ellia Green showed she was over a heavy head knock sustained against the Americans by brushing past four defenders in a 60m run to put the icing on the cake at fulltime.Australia will play Canada in Mondays semi-final after the Canadians soaked up immense pressure in the quarterfinal against France before escaping 15-5.Walsh admitted his side had been nervous on day two and it was good to encounter a tough day following a scintillating start on Saturday, scoring 15 unanswered tries against Columbia and Fiji.Its almost a monkey off the back, he said of the quarterfinal.Were playing for a medal now and were not happy with a bronze or a silver, we want a gold, but most of all we just want to play to our best.Great Britain set up a semi-final showdown against New Zealand in the womens rugby sevens tournament as they remained firmly on course for an Olympic medal at Deodoro Stadium.dddddddddddd?Emily Scarratts team made it four successive wins by knocking out quarter-final opponents Fiji 26-7 thanks to Abbie Browns try double and touchdowns from Alice Richardson and Joanne Watmore.Although Britain conceded a first try of the competition - Fijis Litia Naiqato rounding off an impressive move - they finished far stronger than their opponents.Unbeaten rivals New Zealand now await on Monday, with competition favourites Australia facing Canada - conquerors of France - in the first semi-final.We are building nicely, said try star Brown.We keep building each game, and I think that is all you can ask in sevens. Weve shown we have got what it takes.This (semi-final) is where we want to be. Hopefully, we will put on a good performance.We will keep working on ourselves. The Olympics experience is amazing - it is very different to what we are used to and something we will never forget.It (a possible medal) is what weve dreamed of during the past two years, and that is what we have come here to do.Brown struck with her opening score after just 12 seconds, and despite Fiji testing them for a short spell, Britain kept their composure impressively to set up a one-sided second period.New Zealand will got into Mondays clash as favourites, but they laboured past quarter-final opponents the United States 5-0 - star player Portia Woodman scored their try - and Britains organisation and steady improvement throughout their four games so far suggests a titanic battle. ' ' '
