Der Fremde » The always demanding Popovich

(Sports Network) - The Texas Rangers can thank a six-game winning streak for getting them back into the playoff mix and hope to stay in contention Sunday in the finale of a four-game series versus the LA Angels of Anaheim. Cliff Robinson Jersey . The Rangers and Tampa Bay Rays are tied for the second wild card spot in the American League and sit a game behind the Cleveland Indians. If the Rangers win and the Rays lose on Sunday, Texas will clinch the second spot and visit the Indians for Wednesdays wild card game. Cleveland won the tiebreaker. If the Rangers and Rays both win Sunday and the Indians lose, Cleveland will host the Rays on Monday, with the loser of that game facing the Rangers in Texas on Tuesday. Texas extended its winning streak with Saturdays 7-4 win over the Angels, as a four-run second inning gave the hosts some breathing room. Craig Gentry had two hits, an RBI and a run scored, while Alex Rios and A.J. Pierzynski each drove in a run for the Rangers, who took advantage of five Anaheim errors. "All this is great, and all this is fun and all this wont matter if we dont win tomorrow," Pierzynski said of the playoff race. "We still got to win tomorrow. Thats the biggest thing. To get through today, especially with the weather coming on and an 11 a.m. kickoff, it was good." The Rangers and Angels were originally scheduled to play in the evening, but a storm in the Arlington area forced the schedule makers to adjust the game time. Rangers starter Derek Holland struggled on the mound and allowed four runs and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings for a no-decision. Joakim Soria tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief for the win and Joe Nathan nailed down his 43rd save in the ninth. Yu Darvish gets the call for the Rangers Sunday. Darvish is only 1-4 in his previous five decisions and did not factor in the outcome of a 3-2 win over the Houston Astros on Tuesday, when he struck out nine and scattered four runs across 5 1/3 innings of two-run ball. Darvish, who has fanned at least nine batters in five of his last nine starts, is 13-9 with a 2.82 earned run average in 31 starts. The right-hander has faced the Angels nine times in his career, going 6-1 with a 3.83 ERA, and has won all three meetings with them this season. The Angels will close out their disappointing season Sunday and have lost three in a row and five of their last seven games. After landing coveted free agent slugger Josh Hamilton to join forces with Albert Pujols and Mike Trout, the Angels failed to live up to expectations. Now Angels manager Mike Scioscia could be on the way out. In Saturdays setback at the Ballpark, Angels starter Garrett Richards allowed six runs, three of which were earned, and six hits in 4 1/3 innings. "Were going to try to come back tomorrow and beat these guys, and hopefully end the year on a positive note," said Richards. Erick Aybar highlighted the Angels offense with three hits and three runs scored and Trout was credited with a pair of RBI. Toeing the rubber for the Halos Sunday will be Jason Vargas. Vargas ended a four-game winless drought (0-2) with a shutout versus Oakland on Tuesday. In the 3-0 victory that lifted Vargas record to 9-7 in 23 starts with a 4.01 ERA, the right-hander scattered four hits, struck out five and walked one. Vargas is 4-6 in 18 lifetime matchups (16 starts) with the Rangers and has no record and a 2.89 ERA in three starts this season. Texas is 14-4 versus the Angels this season and has won seven in a row against them in Arlington. Rodney Hood Jersey . Julien coached the Bruins to the Stanley Cup championship in 2010-11 and is the longest serving coach in consecutive seasons in the teams history. Claude is one of the top coaches in the NHL and has consistently shown a passion for winning, general manager Peter Chiarelli said Sunday in announcing the signing. Lionel Hollins Jersey . Its been a successful Games for Canada, which will finish near the top of the medal standings again. From repeat gold medal winners to multiple medal winners to undefeated teams to acts that define the Olympic spirit, there are many solid candidates who could be considered to receive the honour. https://www.cheapblazersonline.com/978i-steve-johnson-jersey-blazers.html .The seventh-seeded Raonic was scheduled to play U.S. Open finalist Kei Nishikori of Japan, but was replaced in the Group B pool by Spanish substitute David Ferrer.Raonic, who was 0-2 at the year-end event, said he suffered the injury late in the first set of Tuesdays 6-3, 7-6 loss to Murray.CLEVELAND -- They found the open man. They made the extra pass. They moved the ball with stunning efficiency. The Spurs put on a basketball clinic. The Cavaliers couldnt stop it. Danny Green scored 24 points and San Antonio turned to its 3-point shooting to shake off a sluggish start in a 122-101 victory over Cleveland on Tuesday night. Kawhi Leonard added 18 points, and Patty Mills and Boris Diaw had 16 apiece as the Spurs, running their offence to near perfection, won their fourth straight. They did it with stars Tim Duncan and Tony Parker combining for just 14 points. And, the Spurs did it by racking up a season-high 39 assists on 43 field goals. In the second half, San Antonio had 24 assists on 25 field goals. "That doesnt happen very often," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Weve been doing that really well all year long, but thats a ridiculous ratio right there." San Antonio, chasing Oklahoma City for the best record in the Western Conference, made 14 of 33 3-pointers. The Spurs scored just 13 points in the first quarter and trailed by 12 early in the second before making six straight 3s. Kyrie Irving and Dion Waiters scored 24 each for the Cavs, who have lost nine straight to the Spurs. Spencer Hawes added 20 points and 13 rebounds for Cleveland. This wasnt as easy for the Spurs as their 30-point blowout of the Cavs in November, but it was close. With the trademark proficiency that has made it a model franchise, San Antonio turned a competitive game for nearly three quarters into a laugher. The always demanding Popovich had little to gripe about afterward. "Were always trying to move the ball, good to great," he said. "Penetrate for a teammate, not necessarily for yourself. We did a really good job of it tonight. Sometimes you get an A-plus, sometimes you get an A-minus. Tonight was an A-plus in that regard." San Antonio started just 1 of 7 on 3-pointers, but the NBAs best 3-point shooting team made 12 of its next 18 to open a 17-point lead after three quarters. "In the first half, they missed a lot of shots and we caught a break," Waiters said. "With that team you cant make a lot of mistakes and we paid for it." Parker, playing his second game after sitting out six to heal up an assortment of injuries, scored seven points in 22 minutes. Kiki VanDeWeghe Jersey. Duncan also had only seven but both All-Stars were able to enjoy the final quarter on the bench. Whenever the Cavs got close, the Spurs simply ran their offence, and more times than not wound up making a 3-pointer to open some distance. "Thats a lot of fun," Manu Ginobili said. "That means everybody got involved and everybody enjoyed the game. Its great to be a part of that." Irvings three-point play late in the third pulled Cleveland to 76-65, but Mills made two 3-pointers and Diaw knocked down another 3 in the final 1:04 to put the Spurs ahead 85-68 entering the fourth. Greens 3-pointer made it 88-68, and his three-point play swelled the Spurs margin to 23 in the opening minute of the fourth. The Spurs started miserably, shooting just 5 of 21 and scoring only 13 points in a ragged first quarter. They seemed disinterested and the Cavs took advantage, opening a 12-point lead in the first minute of the second quarter. It didnt last long. San Antonio made those six straight 3s to open the second quarter, and the Spurs outscored the Cavs 37-17 in the period to take a 50-40 halftime lead. Mills triggered the turnaround by scoring 10 points in the quarter. "He got 10 points when we were struggling to make buckets," Ginobili said. The Cavaliers got Waiters back but still have some key parts missing. Cleveland centre Anderson Varejao was sidelined for the 11th straight game with a sore back, and swingman C.J. Miles sat out his seventh in a row with a sprained left ankle. NOTES: The Spurs improved the NBAs best road record to 23-8. ... Green played 20 games as a rookie with Cleveland in 2009-10, when Mike Brown was in the final season of his first stint as Cavs coach. Green was cut the following season, and released twice by San Antonio before landing a full-time gig with the Spurs. Brown has always pulled for Green. "Great guy," Brown said. "He worked his tail off to get where he is. I wouldnt wish anything besides luck for him, except when hes playing us. When he did start having some success -- because he didnt change as a person -- everybody that crossed paths with him has rooted for him." ... The Spurs have had a winning road record for 17 straight seasons, a league mark. ' ' '