The Maple Leafs will try to rebound

NEW YORK -- Brandon McCarthys wife had more trouble slogging through Yankee Stadium traffic than he did against the Cincinnati Reds. McCarthy earned his first win for New York with an impressive debut in pinstripes, and Brett Gardner drove in three runs from the leadoff spot to send the Yankees past the Reds 7-1 on Saturday. Told his wife, Amanda, tweeted several wisecracks about all the highway congestion that delayed her arrival at the ballpark, McCarthy could only smile. "If everybody isnt apprised of what shes doing every few minutes, God knows what would happen," he said. Carlos Beltran homered, Kelly Johnson hit a two-run single and the Yankees ended Alfredo Simons six-game winning streak in the right-handers first outing since the All-Star game. Derek Jeter had an RBI single, and New York won the first two in a three-game interleague series, leaving Cincinnati with five straight road losses. "I think this is kind of a blip in the radar, but we certainly need to turn things around if we want to get that game tomorrow," Reds manager Bryan Price said. Acquired from Arizona in a July 6 trade, McCarthy (1-0) struck out nine and walked none over six innings in his second start for New York and first at home. He said the Yankees have encouraged him to throw his cutter, a pitch he was instructed to scrap with the Diamondbacks. "Hes got top-of-the-rotation stuff, and were really glad to have him," catcher Brian McCann said. "He was doing whatever he wanted to on the mound today." McCarthy threw 71 of 99 pitches for strikes, improving to 3-0 with a 1.78 ERA in his last four outings after winning only once in his initial 16 starts this season. "Actually, that was the frustrating part about the beginning part of the season is, I felt sharp," McCarthy said. "I felt like everything was where I wanted it to be, I just wasnt doing everything I needed to to get the best out of it. So I felt like Ive thrown better this year than any year in the past, its just the results havent followed." The right-hander was 3-10 with a 4.80 ERA for Arizona before New York obtained him to upgrade a rotation depleted by injuries to four starters. His first outing for the Yankees was a no-decision July 9 at Cleveland. "You realize that youre putting the pinstripes on for the first time, but I try and wash all that away as much as I can and just focus on execution, focus on my routine, what Im doing. All that stuff I can think about later," McCarthy said. "I mean, youre pitching for the Yankees, and thats an opportunity no matter what the circumstances are. For me, its at a point in my career where I want to be challenged. I really want to be in a pennant race. I wanted to be closer to the playoffs. I wanted to be in a market that is difficult. I wanted that kind of stuff to see if I could push myself to the next level, so its a great opportunity in that sense." A converted reliever, the surprising Simon (12-4) is tied for the big league lead in wins -- but he was betrayed Saturday by a Reds defence that entered with the highest fielding percentage and fewest errors in the majors. The right-hander allowed four runs -- two earned -- and five hits in five innings, the first time he failed to finish six innings since going 3 2-3 in a 6-3 loss at Dodger Stadium on May 27. He went 6-0 with a 2.47 ERA in his next eight starts. Chris Heisey homered for the Reds, struggling to mount much offence this weekend without injured boppers Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips. Adam Warren, Shawn Kelley and Matt Thornton finished for the Yankees, who struck out 13. It was the first time they whiffed that many without issuing a walk since July 7, 2006, at Tampa Bay. Cincinnati has struck out 23 times and walked once in the first two games of the series. "Weve got to pick it up a little bit," Todd Frazier said. "Thats not where we want to be." NOTES: Simon fell to 0-3 in seven games, including four starts, against the Yankees. ... McCarthy entered 0-2 with a 14.73 ERA in two starts and one relief appearance against Cincinnati. He had a 6.89 ERA in three previous starts at Yankee Stadium. ... Before the game, Frazier and Reds President of Baseball Operations Walt Jocketty gave Jeter framed jerseys autographed by the clubs two captains, Dave Concepcion and Barry Larkin. Jeter also was presented with three photos taken June 3, 2003, the day he was named the 11th Yankees captain while the team was in Cincinnati. ... Looking to avoid a three-game sweep, Cincinnati sends another All-Star to the mound Sunday when RHP Johnny Cueto (10-6, 2.13 ERA) faces RHP Hiroki Kuroda (6-6, 4.10). Joe Crede Jersey .That sight softened the blow of what ended up as a 4-3 shootout loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday night.Knowing their teammate was fine after a scary headfirst fall in the opening minute of the game helped calm the Maple Leafs. James Shields Jersey . The Raptors have to get through the pesky New York Knicks Wednesday at Madison Square Garden and can lock up the third spot in the Eastern Conference with a win or a Chicago loss in Charlotte. http://www.whitesoxteamshop.com/White-So...ko-Kids-Jersey/. - Connor Brown and Dane Fox both scored in regulation and in the shootout, as the Erie Otters extended their win streak to 10 games by defeating the London Knights 4-3 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Miguel Gonzalez Jersey . - Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Percy Harvin has cleared league-mandated concussion protocol and has returned to practice as a full participant. Reynaldo Lopez Jersey . Bookies were offering odds of 13/1 before kickoff that the home team Houston Dynamo would prevail by three goals to nil.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Tampa Bay Lightning will have to wait until after the Olympic break to get star centerman Steven Stamkos back, but the club hopes to avoid a fourth loss in five games when it hosts the Toronto Maple Leafs without him on Thursday night. Stamkoss teammate, Lightning captain Martin St. Louis, was named as his replacement for Sochi earlier on Thursday. You can listen to all of the action live on TSN Radio 1050 at 7:30pm. There was talk earlier this week that Stamkos would return for Saturdays home game against Detroit, the Lightnings final tilt before the NHL goes on hiatus for the Winter Olympics in Sochi, but on Wednesday it was announced that the sniper has not been cleared for game action by Dr. Ira Gutentag. The decision not only postpones Stamkos return to the Lightning, but also will prevent him from representing Team Canada at the Winter Games. The 23-year-old suffered a fractured tibia in a game against Boston on Nov. 11 and has missed the last 39 games while recovering. Stamkos was tied for the NHL lead in goals (14) and points (23) before the setback. "After reviewing the CT scan this afternoon, Dr. Gutentag made it clear to me and to Steven that the tibia is not completely healed and therefore he should not be participating in game action at any time in the near future," said Steve Yzerman, who is the general manager of the Lightning and the executive director of Team Canada. "Although the doctor was very pleased to this point with the healing process, he explained that the callus surrounding the fracture site is not 100 percent consolidated, and Steven will not be cleared to play in a game until that happens. It was a pretty clear cut decision, no gray areas at all." Stamkos will continue to rehabilitate and is expected to be re-evaluated in 2- to-3 weeks. The Lightning will resume play after the Olympic break on Feb. 27 at Nashville. "Today is obviously very disappointing for me," Stamkos said. "I honestly believe that we did everything possible in order to have my injured leg ready in time for the Olympics, but I realize you cant force healing." St. Louis will be participating at his second Olympics and first since the 2006 Turin Games. The 38-year-old winger has 25 goals and 54 points to lead Tampa this seasson.dddddddddddd The Lightning have performed extremely well without Stamkos in the lineup over the last few months and they enter Thursday in second place in the Atlantic Division. However, Tampas 1-3-0 record over a recent four-game road trip has helped the Leafs and Montreal Canadiens move within three points of the Lightning for the divisions second spot. The top-three teams in each division receive automatic bids to the playoffs. The Lightning downed the Canadiens 2-1 in overtime Saturday in Montreal before losing in regulation Tuesday night at Minnesota. Darcy Kuemper stopped 34 Tampa Bay shots in the Wilds close victory in St. Paul. Valtteri Filppula scored in the loss and Ben Bishop made 24 saves for the Lightning. "We worked harder (than the last game) we just didnt work smarter," Tampa Bay head coach Jon Cooper said. "That was a big problem." The Lightning fell to 16-13-2 as the guest after its recent trip, but will play their final two games before the break at Tampa Bay Times Forum, where they are 16-6-3 this season. The Maple Leafs will try to rebound on Thursday after having a three-game winning streak halted with Tuesdays 4-1 loss at Florida. David Clarkson provided the lone goal for Toronto, while Jonathan Bernier allowed three goals on 47 shots in the setback. "The word to describe it is, we didnt have anything going except one person in the lineup is outstanding for our hockey club and that was our goaltender," Maple Leafs coach Randy Carlyle. "We didnt seem to have any jump or passion to play the game, and its kind of mind-boggling right now." After completing its two-game tour of the Sunshine State tonight, the Leafs will complete their pre-Olympic schedule on home ice when they host Vancouver on Saturday. Toronto is 20-10-1 as the home team this season compared to a sub-par 10-12-5 mark as the guest. The Leafs recorded a 3-2 regulation win over the visiting Lightning on Jan. 28, as Bernier stopped 40-of-42 shots and Nazem Kadri provided two goals for Toronto. It was the first of four scheduled meetings between the clubs this season and it was Torontos sixth win in the last eight meetings against the Bolts. The Lightning have won two straight and five of the last seven meetings in Central Florida. Cheap Nike Celtics Jerseys Cheap Nike Nets Jerseys Cheap New York Knicks Jerseys Cheap Philadelphia 76ers Jerseys China Raptors Jerseys Wholesale Chicago Bulls Jerseys Wholesale Cleveland Cavaliers Jerseys China Pistons Jerseys Wholesale Indiana Pacers Jerseys Cheap Milwaukee Bucks Jerseys Atlanta Hawks Jerseys Online Cheap Nike Hornets Jerseys China Heat Jerseys Cheap Nike Magic Jerseys China Wizards Jerseys Cheap Nike Nuggets Jerseys China Timberwolves Jerseys China Thunder Jerseys China Blazers Jerseys Cheap Utah Jazz Jerseys China Warriors Jerseys Cheap Nike Clippers Jerseys Discount Lakers Jerseys Phoenix Suns Jerseys Online Cheap Sacramento Kings Jerseys Dallas Mavericks Jerseys Online Wholesale Houston Rockets Jerseys Wholesale Memphis Grizzlies Jerseys New Orleans Pelicans Jerseys Online Discount Spurs Jerseys ' ' '