Dein erstes Forum » Jones and Kenny Britt when he was at Tennessee

SEATTLE -- Justin Smoak had already done his part by hitting a go-ahead double in the eighth inning. Nate Archibald Jersey . But when Fernando Rodney struggled in the ninth, it was Smoak who made another huge play to keep Seattle from blowing the lead. Smoaks two-run double put his team ahead, and his diving catch of Adrian Beltres line drive in the ninth turned into a game-ending double play as the Mariners held on for a 6-5 win over the Texas Rangers on Friday night. Smoaks double was crucial. It drove in the first runs this season for Seattle in the eighth inning and sparked a four-run rally for the Mariners. But his grab in the ninth trumped what he did at the plate. Beltres ball was hit so hard, there was no time for Smoak to think. All he could do was dive, stretch and hope. "I kind of blacked out there for a second. Just jumped and stretched as far as I could stretch and it went into the glove," Smoak said. Robinson Cano had a two-run double for the Mariners, who won consecutive games for the first time since the opening week of the season. Canos double was the only time the Mariners got to Texas starter Robbie Ross Jr., but they battered reliever Neal Cotts (1-2) in the eighth inning, scoring four times to end the Rangers win streak at three games. With no outs and the bases loaded, Smoak avoided the temptation of two inside pitches from Cotts and worked the count full. Then he lined a pitch down the left-field line and just out of the reach of Michael Choice, allowing Cano and pinch-runner Michael Saunders to score the go-ahead runs. Seattle had been outscored 18-0 in the eighth inning heading into Fridays game. The Mariners had not won two straight since their three-game sweep of the Angels to open the season. The Mariners rally started thanks to Cano, who led off the eighth with a single on the first pitch. Corey Hart worked a full count before being hit on the knee by Cotts pitch -- the fourth Seattle batter to be hit by a pitch -- and Stefan Romero loaded the bases with a bunt single. Thats when Smoak came through with his fifth double. Kyle Seager added an RBI single and Smoak scored on a wild pitch from Alexi Ogando for a 6-3 lead. The Mariners ended up needing all those runs because although Rodney got his fourth save, he made it uncomfortable in the ninth. He loaded the bases with one out and wasnt helped when Smoak couldnt handle the relay from Cano on a possible double play early in the inning. Rodney then walked Choice and Elvis Andrus to force in runs and make it 6-5. Beltre hit a liner that appeared headed for the outfield. Smoak snared it and doubled Andrus off first to end the game. "Thats Fernando. Sometimes hes going to have you on the top step. In the end he gets it done," Seattle manager Lloyd McClendon said. "Probably not all his doing. We could have made it a lot easier for him if we turned the double play." Seattle relievers Dominic Leone and Yoervis Medina (1-1) bridged the late innings after starter Roenis Elias lasted 5 2-3 innings. Leones wild pitch that allowed Prince Fielder to score with two outs in the sixth was the difference until the late rally. Ross threw six innings, giving up six hits and two runs. He has gone 84 batters without issuing a walk. His lone trouble came when he hit Abraham Almonte with a pitch with two outs and then gave up a single to Willie Bloomquist. Cano followed by lining a double off the wall in left-centre, scoring both runners. It was his fourth double of the season and fifth extra-base hit. "Its frustrating because you want to get the guys before you have to face him," Ross said. NOTES: Texas C J.P. Arencibia snapped an 0-for-19 skid with a double leading off the third. It was his third hit of the season and first since April 6. ... Injured Seattle LHP James Paxton threw for the first time since straining a back muscle this month. Paxton threw from 45 feet. Injured RHP Taijuan Walker (shoulder) is expected to start throwing on Monday. ... Seattle Seahawks DE Michael Bennett threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Dragan Bender Jersey . Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, Fiorentina levelled on aggregate in the 14th minute when Joaquin Sanchez Rodriguez headed back a long ball from David Pizarro and Pasqual smashed home an angled volley. Ray Allen Jersey .J. -- Patrick Sharp is on one of those streaks. https://www.cheapbucksonline.com/866t-giannis-antetokounmpo-jersey-bucks.html .com) - Jimmie Johnson won Sundays AAA Texas 500 while championship contenders Jeff Gordon and Brad Keselowski as well as their teams were involved in a post-race fight on pit road after the two clashed in the closing laps at Texas Motor Speedway.ST. LOUIS -- Jeff Fisher has never been afraid to buck a trend, draft a troubled player or grant a second chance. The coach of the Rams stuck with Adam "Pacman" Jones and Kenny Britt when he was at Tennessee, despite their off-field problems. Britt is now reunited with Fisher in St. Louis. Fisher recently rehired Gregg Williams, the defensive co-ordinator who was given a one-year suspension by the league for the bounty scandal with the Saints. It was not a surprise that it was Fisher who helped Michael Sam make history as the first openly gay player drafted by an NFL team. "He is an amazing leader, and even better, hes a better man," said Wade Davis, the head of an advocacy group for lesbian and gay athletes. Davis currently is doing some work with the NFL. "He looks at everything from all angles and hes not afraid to take on a challenge." The 56-year-old Fisher deflects any praise for being a trailblazer, insisting it was simply a football decision to upgrade one of the NFLs top pass rushes by taking Sam at No. 249. "In our world, nobodys going to agree with what you do 100 per cent of the time because everybody has opinions, and thats fine," Fisher said. "Im concerned about whats going on in the building, with the staff and players, the direction were headed. Thats always been the case." At least on the field, Fisher can relate to the challenge for Sam. He also was a seventh-round pick, the fourth wheel of a star-studded Southern California secondary that featured Ronnie Lott, Dennis Smith and Joey Browner. He then carved out a career playing under Mike Ditka for a Super Bowl winner in Chicago and is entering his 19th season as an NFL head coach. Lott, a Hall of Famer, recalls Fisher smoothly making the switch from wide receiver to cornerback. "To me, its easy to play wide receiver because you know where youre going," Lott said. "Having to react, respond and do it with confidence and knowing youre not going to win every play, thats the mindset on defence. The determination he had then has stayed with him." Not long after Sam came out in February, Fisher said hed have no problem having him on the team, that this was an age of diversity. Turns out it wasnt just talk. Several picks before the Rams took Sam, Fisheer broached the subject with owner Stan Kroenke and general manager Les Snead. Bucks Jerseys 2019. Ditka said he wasnt surprised it was Fisher who stepped up when every other team was backing away from Sam. Ditka, who once traded all his draft picks to land Ricky Williams, called it a "pretty gutsy move." Players have fallen in lockstep with their coach on the question of picking Sam. Defensive end Chris Long called it a "football move" and so did linebacker James Laurinaitis. "I dont think it was courageous," Laurinaitis said. "I think its a calculated move by the organization. ... If you have the opportunity to draft a guy that you think is extremely productive and maybe you had a higher grade on him than where he is, you go ahead and take that. I think football-wise, it was a very smart decision." Fisher wouldnt say how far Sam slid on the Rams draft board. The coach joked that divulging that information might affect Sams rookie contract. Titans broadcaster Thom Abraham remembers Fisher in 2009 after Tennessees 0-6 start removing his sport coat, tie and shirt at the podium of a civic function to reveal a Peyton Manning jersey underneath. The punch line: "I just wanted to know what it felt like to be a winner." "Picking Sam did not surprise me one bit," Abraham said of Fisher. "Hes confident in his ability to be out front, and almost represent the NFL." Sam has had several off-season workouts and more practices are on tap this week with the veterans. Long said Sam was working hard and former Missouri teammate, receiver T.J. Moe, said the team viewed Sam simply as someone trying to make it in the NFL. "He is on the team. Theres a 90-man roster, it doesnt go 89 and then Michael Sams over there, this is the gay team, this is the straight team," Moe said. "Michael Sam is on this team and hes treated just like anybody else." And if Sam struggles, nobody that knows Fisher well doubts the coach will have any problem cutting him loose. "He doesnt like doing that part of it," said Brad Hopkins, a former Pro Bowl offensive tackle who played his entire NFL career under Fisher. "But he knows it has to be done, and that you cant make everybody happy." ' ' '