Fun-Ecke » overwhelming favourite in the Eastern

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Toronto Blue Jays look to prolong the Boston Red Soxs recent slide when they open a three-game series tonight at Fenway Park. The Blue Jays start lefty J.A. Happ for the fourth time this season after hed opened on the disabled list and then went to the bullpen. He last started on Thursday and threw six innings of one-run ball in a 4-2 defeat of Cleveland. "Youre always (showing something) to somebody," Happ said. "I felt good, definitely nice to go out there and have a fairly strong outing." Happ has never started at Fenway Park, but hes faced the Red Sox four times and is 1-2 with a 5.06 ERA. Happ will be opposed by fellow southpaw Felix Doubront, who defeated Minnesota on Wednesday for his first victory since April 3. He gave up a single run in 6 1/3 innings against the Twins and has surrendered just two runs in 11 2/3 innings after a five-start skid that yielded no wins, three losses and an ERA near 6. Doubront faced the visiting Blue Jays twice in 2013 at Fenway and was 1-0 with a 2.70 ERA. On Sunday in Texas, Mitch Morelands two-run home run helped the Texas Rangers to a 6-2 win over the Blue Jays in the finale of a three-game set. Edwin Encarnacion and Juan Francisco hit solo homers for the Blue Jays. R.A. Dickey (4-4) lost for the first time in six starts as he was touched for four runs on three hits with three walks in 6 1/3 innings. "Were definitely going in the right direction but theres more there," Dickey said. "I think we all know it. Todays a game we probably should have won." The Red Sox enter the set having dropped four consecutive games, which already exceeds their longest losing streak of last season -- when they won a world championship under first-year manager John Farrell. Boston has sunk to fourth place in the five-team American League East Division, though its just three games behind the first-place New York Yankees and only a game out of third place, which is currently occupied by the Blue Jays. Toronto has won five of its last seven. The Red Sox have hit just .189 in the four-game slide and the starting pitchers have compiled an unsightly 5.73 earned run average across the last six games. They did score 16 runs in a three-game series with Toronto at Rogers Centre in late April, however, and will return to the road for 24 of the next 36 games after this series. Victor Martinez hit a two-run home run and the Detroit Tigers polished off a three-game sweep of the Red Sox with a 6-2 win. Xander Bogaerts finished 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Red Sox. Jake Peavy (1-2) allowed five runs on 11 hits over six innings. Boston took two of three from the Jays earlier in the year. Nike Shox Clearance Sale . The 49ers, 6-2 and riding a five-game winning streak following the bye week, also waived cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha and activated cornerback Eric Wright from the reserve/non-football injury list. Manningham made 42 receptions for 449 yards and one touchdown in 12 games and 10 starts last season before injuring his left knee in a loss at Seattle Dec. Nike Shox Cheap . Seth Smith hit a towering drive for a tying homer leading off the eighth and Chris Denorfia singled home two runs to give the Padres a 3-1 victory against the rival Dodgers in baseballs North American opener Sunday night. http://www.shoxoutletshoesstore.com/. He liked what he saw on Tuesday night. Not only did his team post a comeback 3-2 victory in a shootout over the Montreal Canadiens, but the rival Washington Capitals were beaten 5-1 in Buffalo. Nike Shox Clearance . - Tom Brady was upset that his New England Patriots hardly looked like a division champion in the first half. Nike Shox Nz . Both moves were announced Tuesday. The Titans had waived Matthews on Saturday when they promoted wide receiver Michael Preston from the practice squad.CLEVELAND -- Andrew Wiggins has an NBA home. Maybe a temporary one. The Cavaliers signed the No. 1 overall draft pick Thursday, a deal that prevents Wiggins from being traded for 30 days. Wiggins, from Vaughan, Ont., has been linked to a possible blockbuster trade with Minnesota for All-Star forward Kevin Love. But any deal now involving Wiggins cant be finalized for at least 30 days. The Cavs and Timberwolves have had talks about a trade involving Love for months, long before Cleveland selected Wiggins, the former Kansas standout, with the first pick in Mays draft. Those discussions have intensified lately, and the sides can still reach an agreement on a trade but nothing can be finalized until late August. Now that Wiggins is under contract, the leagues seldom-used 30-day rule is in effect. It was designed to prevent teams from circumventing salary cap rules. There have been restrictions placed on trading newly signed rookies dating back at least to the 1998-99 collective bargaining agreement. At that time, rookies were lumped in with all free agents into a rule that prevents any newly signed player from being traded for three months or before Dec. 15 of the next season -- whichever is longer. The rule was modified in the 2005 CBA, separating rookie contracts into a different category with the shorter, 30-day timeline between signing date and trade eligibility. The spirit behind the rule is that if a rookie is traded immediately after he signs, it gives the appearance that the acquiring team is the one that is in fact signing him. Clevelands decision to sign Wiggins actually makes it easier to trade him. Before his deal, he had zero value on the salary cap but his contract -- worth $5.5 million -- could allow the Cavs to clear enough room to take on a player like Love, who is sent to earn $15.7 million next season. Minnesota has received offers from other teams, including the Chicago Bulls, who reached out to the Timberwolves this week, acccording to a person with knowledge of the discussions who requested anonymity because the teams were not publicly commenting on the process.dddddddddddd With Wiggins unable to be moved by Cleveland for a month, its possible other teams may approach the Timberwolves to make a run at Love, a double-double machine and arguably the leagues top power forward. Love is entering his final year under contract in Minnesota and has said he does not intend to sign a long-term deal with the Timberwolves. Golden State has also shown interest in the 25-year-old Love. But the Warriors have refused to include guard Klay Thompson in any offer, which has been a deal-breaker for the Timberwolves. Cleveland had been reluctant to include Wiggins in a package for Love, but the team has softened its stance and may be willing to part with the 6-foot-8 forward with the 44-inch vertical leap. The Cavs are interested in bringing in Love to form a "Big 3" with LeBron James and Kyrie Irving. That trio would make the Cavs an overwhelming favourite in the Eastern Conference, and potentially put them in position to win the citys first major sports championship since 1964. Cleveland also signed rookie Joe Harris, taken with the first pick (No. 33 overall) of the second round. Harris, who played at West Virginia, averaged 7.8 points in four summer league games in Las Vegas. As the Wiggins-Love situation drags on, the Cavs continue to re-shape their roster. The team is interested in signing free agent Ray Allen, who has spent the past two seasons in Miami with James. On Thursday, the agency representing Allen knocked down a report that the NBAs career 3-pointer leader was leaning toward joining the Cavaliers. Allens agent, Jim Tanner, wrote on his Tandem Sports & Entertainment twitter account that reports Allen "intends to play for the Cavs are unfounded. He has not yet decided if he will play next season or for which team." ' ' '