games with its starter allowing three runs or fewer, but

FIVE QUICK NBA THOUGHTS: 1. EASTS THIRD SEED (RAPTORS OR BULLS?): With Sundays Raptors win at Detroit coupled with the Bulls loss in New York, suddenly the Toronto Raptors are back in a tie for third place and hold the tiebreaker for the spot with two games to go. The opportunity to play either Washington or Charlotte rather than the Brooklyn Nets is a real possibility right now and keeps the pressure on both teams to play out the regular season trying to win outright. It should be fun to watch how both of these squads approach the urgency of that. Players always say they dont care who they play as long as theyre in the playoffs, but coaches really care because theyre the ones doing extensive prep for these match-ups and know all of the ins and outs as they pertain to the good and bad matchups. Theres still lots to play for. 2. WESTERN CONFERENCE: In the East, only two teams (Indiana and Miami) will finish with 50 wins while weve got five teams with 50 wins already in the West and another three (Golden State, Dallas and Memphis) with a chance to get to 50 in the next few days. Pretty remarkable to see how strong this conference is. Consider the fact that the ninth place team in that conference (Phoenix) will come close to 50 and be playing golf in a few days if they dont get a few breaks here. Its been a terrific year and the playoffs in the West will be hotly-contested matchups. 3. MASON PLUMLEE (Nets): He wont win the Rookie of the Year award, but the more I watch him play the more I love his game. This guy plays hard all of the time, has nice bounce to his game and can score in the lane for you. Has a nose for the ball with great rebounding instincts. With various injuries to the Nets this year hes been able to get on the floor and has taken advantage of the playing time and looks quite comfortable now. Hes earned coach Jason Kidds trust and has a valuable role off the bench for them. Good development for him and their team. 4. ANDREW NICHOLSON (Magic): His playing time and his numbers are down this season and the second year Canadian hasnt been able to get any sort of rhythm going at all. He is your classic tweener - a combo 3-4 who has good post and mid-range skills yet struggles (29 per cent) with his three-point shooting and his handle in the open court still needs improvement. Big off-season coming up for him as he needs to add a few tools to his tool kit to create a niche for himself as a pro. He had some solid moments as a rookie but theyve been few and far between as a sophomore. Hes a worker and plays all out all the time. I have no doubt that hell pay the price in the next six months and come back for Year 3 as a better player. 5. MO WILLIAMS (Blazers): Even though his career numbers are off this season, his role is smaller for him in Portland yet hes been a terrific addition to their team. Still a solid playmaker (4-plus assists per game) and can score (10 ppg) and shoot the three (37 percent) while providing veteran leadership and savvy to the backcourt. His knack for making the high percentage play and knowing/accepting his role in their scheme has helped coach Terry Stotts bring this team along and enjoy a fun season. Sometimes guys just fit and other times they dont - hes been an ideal fit for them. Custom Nike Seattle Mariners Jerseys .com) - No Sidney Crosby, no problem. Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys China . New York secured second place in the Metropolitan Division when the Philadelphia Flyers lost at Tampa Bay later Thursday. The Rangers will face either the Flyers or Columbus in the opening round of the post-season. The Rangers struggled throughout against the lowly Sabres and goalie Matt Hackett, who played in just his seventh NHL game of the season. https://www.customjerseysnikebaseball.com/custom-nike-miami-marlins-jerseys/ . On the day the club activated Casey Janssen from the 15-day disabled list, his return from a strained oblique that cost him the first six weeks of the regular season, it announced Sergio Santos would be placed on the disabled list on Monday with discomfort in his right forearm. Custom Nike Kansas City Royals Jerseys .com) - Rakeem Christmas scored 21 points, B. Custom Nike Colorado Rockies Jerseys . Viewers in the Canadiens region can watch the game on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt and listen on TSN 690. The Canadiens have won three in a row and four of their last five games and recently put the finishing touches on a 3-1-0 road trip. DETROIT -- If Justin Verlander is beginning to round into form, Detroits starting rotation may indeed be the envy of the rest of baseball. Verlander equaled his longest outing of the season, pitching eight solid innings to lift the Tigers to a 4-2 victory over the Colorado Rockies on Friday night. A day after the AL Central-leading Tigers traded for star left-hander David Price, Verlander allowed two runs and eight hits, striking out five without a walk. "I was getting some big outs when I needed to," Verlander said. "I was able to limit the damage and keep us ahead." The Tigers now have the American Leagues last three Cy Young Award winners -- Verlander, Price and Max Scherzer. The catch is that Verlander (10-9) hasnt pitched particularly well this season, but he lowered his ERA to 4.66 with Fridays effort. Joe Nathan pitched the ninth for his 22nd save in 27 chances, retiring Charlie Blackmon on a flyout with two on to end it. Franklin Morales (5-6) allowed three runs and six hits in six innings. He walked four and struck out two. The Rockies have lost five of six. Colorado right fielder Carlos Gonzalez left the game after aggravating his sprained right ankle making a sliding catch in the fifth. Detroit scored three runs in the fifth, with Rajai Davis two-run single breaking a 0-0 tie. With Verlander pitching well, the Rockies brought the infield in with men on second and third and one out, but Davis single up the middle helped the Tigers to a big inning. "We cant play it safe. Were going to roll the dice," Rockies manager Walt Weiss said. "In some situations with two runners in scoring position, you concede the one run. But in the position were in, were going to go for it. Davis found a hole. Id do it again every time." Ian Kinsler added an RBI double to make it 3-0. Verlander has won 14 straight regular-season decisions against National League teams. He took a shutout into the seventh inning Friday before allowing an RBI single to Wilin Rosario. With men on first and thirdd, Josh Rutledge hit a grounder to third, and Brandon Barnes scored on a close play at the plate.dddddddddddd Verlander then struck out the next two hitters to end the threat, and Victor Martinez gave Detroit an insurance run with an RBI single in the bottom half. Barnes struck out swinging on Verlanders 101st and final pitch. Verlander had thrown eight innings only one other time this season, on April 6 against Baltimore. DEEP FLYBALLS: Verlander was fortunate early on. Left fielder J.D. Martinez reached up and made a catch at the wall on Nolan Arenados flyball in the first. In the second, Davis ran down Drew Stubbs drive near the 420-foot marker in centre. "Its a funny game the way it works," Verlander said. "They hit a few balls hard in the first couple innings, and then in the seventh, they didnt hit hardly any hard, and got like four or five hits that inning." TOUGH LOSS: Colorado has gone nine straight games with its starter allowing three runs or fewer, but Morales was done in by that fifth inning. "All my pitches I was locating," he said. "That fifth inning my good pitches led to groundballs and thats the way it goes. Sometimes you have no luck." TRAINERS ROOM Rockies: Gonzalez slid into the wall while making a terrific catch on Victor Martinezs foul flyball, then limped off the field. He was replaced by Barnes. Right-hander Jordan Lyles (broken left hand) is eligible to come off the disabled list Monday, and Weiss says he could be slotted in to pitch at some point next week. Tigers: Detroit activated left-handed reliever Patrick McCoy from the DL, but he did not pitch. He was sidelined since July 6 because of a pulled right hamstring. UP NEXT Rockies: Left-hander Tyler Matzek (2-5) will start Saturday night against Detroit. He pitched seven scoreless innings in his most recent start, July 26 against Pittsburgh. He also made a relief appearance Tuesday. Tigers: Rick Porcello (12-5) tries for his 13th win, which would match his total for all of 2013. ' ' '