all, prompting Stotts to smile and tease his counterpart. "If hes g

Almost immediately after the Toronto Blue Jays finished May with an outstanding 21-9 record, skipper John Gibbons basically said that was all well and good, but the Jays couldnt let up and had to avoid the "June Swoon". Clearance NHL Jerseys . That prompted me to go back through the years that Rogers has owned the club to see how many times the Jays have actually stumbled in June and seriously damaged their seasons. This is Rogers 15th season of club ownership. They have had three general managers, Gord Ash (inherited), J.P Ricciardi and Alex Anthopoulos. Theyve also had six managers, Buck Martinez (inherited), Carlos Tosca, John Gibbons (twice), Cito Gaston and John Farrell. Over the 14 complete seasons, they have had five winning Junes and nine losing ones. Of those nine losing months of June, I can only classify a couple of them as season-wreckers. In 2008, after a great May, the Jays stumbled in June to a 10-16 mark. John Gibbons remembers it well because he was fired on 20th of that month and replaced by Cito Gaston. Cito went on to have one of those Junes of his own two years later in 2010. The Jays went 9-17 that month, though they recovered to finish at 85-77, albeit still winding up in fourth place in the tough American League East. Cito retired from his second stint as Blue Jays manager at the end of that season. In 2002, the Jays got off to a horrible 8-20 start under second-year skipper and now Blue Jays broadcaster Buck Martinez. The team seemed to be coming around a bit and actually swept the Detroit Tigers in a three-game series that carried over in the start of June. But on June 3, Ricciardi fired Buck and promoted one of his own hires in bench coach Carlos Tosca to be manager. The Jays finished with a 15-12 record for that month. The Jays most common June record is 12-15. Four times they have hit those figures and once they just missed it, going 12-14 in 2009. The Jays best Junes in the Rogers era have been 15-11 in 2003, 16-11 in 2006 and 17-9 last season under Gibbons fuelled by that 11-game win streak. Even with that stellar month, the Jays still finished at 74-88, just one game better than the year before under John Farrell. In his four full season managing the Jays so far, Gibbons actually has a winning June record at 59-48, but I guess that une 2008 firing would make a man just a little wary. The season that sticks out in comparison to this year is 2010. The Jays, under Cito, were 31-22 at the end of May. Thats nine games over .500, exactly the same as this years edition were at 33-24. The 2010 team, as we mentioned, finished at 85-77, but didnt come close to making the post-season. So Gibbonss point is well taken. Even though, the Jays have equalled their best record through the end of May since Rogers took over they still have a long way to go - a four-month grind in fact - to try and earn their first playoff spot since 1993. - When the Tampa Bay Rays opted to keep lefty David Price in the off-season, it looked as though they were committed to winning this season. Many pundits, yours truly included, thought they actually had the talent to win the AL East. Now, thanks to injuries to pitchers Matt Moore, Jeremy Hellickson and Alex Cobb and a distinct lack of hitting, they have tumbled into the basement in the East at 23-34 after getting swept at Fenway over the weekend. Ben Zobrist, perhaps their most valuable player, is back off of the DL, as is Cobb, but now Wil Myers is on the disabled list with a sprained right wrist. It will be interesting to see between now and the deadline if the Rays put the blame for this season on the injuries or if they go into full rebuild mode and make Price the centrepiece of their wheeling and dealing. - The Boston Red Sox, on the other hand, have staged a dramatic recovery. After dropping 10 in a row and losing starters Felix Doubront and Clay Buchholz to the disabled list, as well as third baseman Will Middlebrooks, theyve turned around and won seven straight and have closed to within six games of the Blue Jays and two-and-a-half of the second Wild Card slot. - The Baltimore Orioles are breathing a huge sigh of relief. Nelson Cruz got nailed on the left hand by a Scott Feldman pitch on Sunday versus the Houston Astros and had to leave the game after just one at-bat. Fortunately, the x-rays were negative. Cruz is turning out to be the biggest bargain basement pick-up of the off-season. The 33-year-old slugger, in the wake of his PED suspension, left the Texas Rangers as a free agent and signed late with Baltimore on a one-year deal worth $8 million. Cruz leads the Bigs with 20 homers and 52 runs batted in, just ahead of the Jays Edwin Encarnacion who has 19 roundtrippers and 50 runs batted in. Cruz is putting up career numbers in a contract year. He has never hit more than 33 home runs in a season and has never driven in more than 90 in a campaign. Barring an injury, he should easily surpass both totals and help keep the Os in the East race all season long. - If the season ended today and, of course, it doesnt, the Blue Jays would play the Detroit Tigers in the American League Divisional Series and would have home field advantage in the series. That would be a dream match-up in these parts and adds a little bit of drama for their upcoming three-game set starting Tuesday night at Comerica Park. The Jays will be sending Drew Hutchison, R.A. Dickey and J.A. Happ up against Anibal Sanchez, Rick Porcello and Justin Verlander. Fake NHL Jerseys . Watching them over the past year - and in some cases, two years - has given us a starting point for this seasons Craigs List. Discount NHL Jerseys . There is no argument that the line of Pacioretty, David Desharnais and Thomas Vanek was one of the hottest in the NHL leading into the post-season, and they did combine for three goals and seven points, but it was the depth of all four lines that helped propel Montreal. https://www.chinanhljerseys.us/ . PAUL, Minn.SAN ANTONIO - The San Antonio Spurs continued rolling against the elite teams they struggled against early in the season, using a balanced attack to beat the Portland Trail Blazers for their eighth straight victory. Patty Mills scored 15 points, Tim Duncan had 10 points and 11 rebounds in limited minutes, and San Antonio trailed for only 11 seconds late in the first quarter of a 103-90 victory over Portland on Wednesday night. Since the All-Star break, the Spurs (48-16) have beaten the Trail Blazers twice and also defeated the Los Angeles Clippers, Chicago and Miami. They were 1-11 in the seasons first half against the Easts top two teams and remaining top five in the West. "Were getting a rhythm," San Antonio point guard Tony Parker said. "You dont want to peak too early, but were playing good basketball. Hopefully we can keep it going and stay healthy. The most important, like everybody knows, is the playoffs." Damian Lillard had 23 points for Portland (42-23), which lost LaMarcus Aldridge to a bruised back early in the second half. Aldridges status is unknown after X-rays on his back were negative. He was taken to the locker room and X-ray room in a wheelchair. San Antonios bench outscored Portlands 46-23, enabling coach Gregg Popovich to limit Duncan, Parker and Manu Ginobili to less than 30 minutes. The Spurs Big 3 tied Magic Johnson, Michael Cooper and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar of the Los Angeles Lakers for second all-time as a trio in total victories (490) and games played (663) as a trio. "Its remarkable," Ginobili said. "We were not thinking about that in the game and I guess were going to win a few more. But even if you didnt tell me that stat, we know were in a very unique position and situation. Having played together for 12 seasons with the same coach; it doesnt happen very often in the league and with that stat you can tell. Very proud of what weve accomplished; what were accomplishing." The trio achieved the feat using the same formula San Antonio has employed this season — aggressive defence and ball movement. Danny Green added 14 points for the Spurs, Ginobili scored 13, Kawhi Leonard had 12, and Tiago Splitter had 12 points and 10 rebounds. San Antonio had 21 assists and only 12 turnovers. The Spurs held the Trail Blazers to 38.6 shooting and was 4 for 21 on 3s. "I thought defence was good," Popovich said. "Obviously they missed LaMarcus in thhe second half. Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic. So that was a really tough break for them. I hope hes going to come back quickly. Hes a hell of player and nobody wants to see that." Portland opened the third quarter on an 8-0 run after trailing by as many as 17 in the first half, but lost Aldridge 43 seconds into the quarter. Aldridge drove the lane and rose for a running, 6-foot jumper, but tumbled backward after having his right knee hit Aron Baynes side. Unable to brace himself, Aldridge took the brunt of the fall on his left hip. He remained on the court for 3 minutes, grabbing his lower back before being helped off the court by teammates. "When a guy takes a tough fall like that, when youre airborne, you just dont know what can happen when you land," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "The longer he stayed down, you just dont know." With Aldridge unable to continue, Thomas Robinson replaced him and made the ensuing free throw. Aldridge finished with 14 points and four rebounds in 21 minutes. With Aldridge out, fellow All-Star Lillard took over in the third. The speedy point guard scored 10 points, hitting a pair of 3s and throwing down a hard dunk while shooting 4 for 9 in the quarter. His second 3 pulled Portland within 61-55 with 5:45 left in third, but the Trail Blazers got no closer. "We played small," Stotts said. "There were a couple of points in the half that I thought we were climbing back in, but San Antonio, in beginning of the fourth, hits two 3s right when were in the thick of it. It was tough to get over the hump." San Antonio was 3 for 4 on 3s to open the fourth quarter for a 79-64 lead and cruised to victory. Wesley Matthews and Nicolas Batum scored 13 points each for Portland. "The aggressor in every fight wins," Matthews said. "I dont know if youve ever in a fight before, but the aggressor in any fight wins." NOTES: Portland G Mo Williams did not play after straining his right hip in the second quarter of the Blazers game Tuesday in Memphis. Williams was injured while driving around a screen for an 8-foot jumper. Williams finished with four points in 11 minutes. He is averaging nine points and 4.5 assists as the Trail Blazers primary sub. ... Popovich yelled at official David Guthrie a minute into the game over a perceived missed call, prompting Stotts to smile and tease his counterpart. "If hes going to start yelling now, so am I," Stotts said. ' ' '