Offtopic/fun » Sheppards 17 points.No. 18 PURDU

ST. LOUIS -- Tuesday nights rainout will sprout a major league debut on Sunday night.In need of a sixth starter after a Wednesday day-night doubleheader forced their hand, the St. Louis Cardinals will call up 24-year-old right-hander Mike Mayers to work the rubber game of their weekend series with the Los Angeles Dodgers in Busch Stadium.A third-round pick in the 2013 first-year player draft out of Ole Miss, the same program that produced St. Louis starter Lance Lynn, Mayers is 8-5 with a 2.62 ERA between Double-A Springfield and Triple-A Memphis.Earning a promotion after going 5-2 with a 2.30 ERA in nine starts at Springfield, Mayers pitched to a 2.94 ERA in nine starts at Memphis, particularly impressive considering how hitter-friendly the Pacific Coast League is.Hes been throwing well, St. Louis manager Mike Matheny said of Mayers. Hes had a nice season, and hes gone about it the right way.Mayers first MLB game is a potentially big one for the Cardinals (52-45), which had a five-game winning streak snapped by Los Angeles on Saturday night in a sloppy 7-2 loss. A win would cap the seasons best homestand at 7-3 and give St. Louis momentum going into a 10-game road trip.Meanwhile, the Dodgers (55-44) are looking to polish off a nine-game road trip with a winning mark. Their win Saturday night was a nice bounceback after a bitter 16-inning loss in Friday nights series opener that saw them use nine pitchers.That game was exactly what we needed after last night, Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts said. It was as scripted as we could have possibly hoped.Kenta Maedas 5 2/3-inning start wasnt as long as he wanted, but relievers Luis Avilan and Ross Stripling combined to work the last 10 outs with little opposition, enabling a tired bullpen to gain a bit of a breather.Left-hander Scott Kazmir (8-3, 4.30 ERA) hopes to pick up his second win of the year over the Cardinals. On May 14, Kazmir came within an out of a complete game, settling for a 5-3 decision at Dodger Stadium.Kazmir is coming off an excellent performance Tuesday night in an 8-4 win at Washington, where he cruised through seven innings. Kazmir gave up just four hits and a run, walked none and fanned eight in an efficient 88-pitch outing.If the past week is any indication, Kazmir might have some runs to stuff into his back pocket. Los Angeles is averaging five runs per game this week and has outhit St. Louis 27-14 in this series.Given that the Dodgers have no idea when All-Star left-hander Clayton Kershaw (back) is going to return from an injury that has sidelined him for nearly a month, they need the offense to continue their recent surge.I think were trending in the right direction offensively, Roberts said. Its nice to know you can win games when youre not playing your best. Our focus has been on the day to day, and if we can continue that, were going to be OK. Darren Helm Jersey . "I dont know that were close," said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "I just think, right now, the acquisition cost just doesnt work for us right now. I dont know if I can quantify how far off or things like that that they might be but I would say we continue to have dialogue. Terry Sawchuk Red Wings Jersey . -- Lou Brocks shoulder-to-shoulder collision with Bill Freehan during the 1968 World Series and Pete Roses bruising hit on Ray Fosse in the 1970 All-Star game could become relics of baseball history, like the dead-ball era. http://www.redwingshockeyauthentic.com/justin-abdelkader-jersey/ . Canada is now down to its 22-player limit, although but players wont be registered until Christmas Day. Changes could still be made as a result of a suspension or injury. Justin Abdelkader Jersey . Rousey will put her perfect 8-0 record and hardware on the line against another undefeated fighter, 7-0 Sara McMann in the main event of UFC 170, which will be held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas Nevada on February 22nd. Pavel Datsyuk Jersey . Still, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke thought taking him out before the fifth inning was an unusual move. "Im looking up at the board and hes got two hits given up and one run, and Im taking him out after the fourth inning," Roenicke said. PHILADELPHIA -- Jalen Brunson scored 26 points and Josh Hart had 21 to help No. 1 Villanova hold off La Salle 89-79 on Tuesday night.The Wildcats (9-0) failed to dominate in their first game of the season as the top-ranked team in the country. The national champions led La Salle (4-3) by only single digits late in the game and played little like the team that had steamrolled to the top.Coach Jay Wright had worried that Villanovas ascension to No. 1 would give the Explorers a little more incentive to go out and knock off the champs.La Salle almost came through at the famed Palestra.Johnnie Shuler and Pookie Powell made late 3-pointers that pulled the Explorers to 77-70. La Salle, which has never defeated a No. 1 team, got more late help from long range when Jordan Price popped a 3 that made it a four-point game. Powell scored 27 points.No. 3 KANSAS 105, UMKC 62KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Frank Mason scored 30 points to match his career high, Devonte Graham and Josh Jackson also had big games and Kansas rolled over Missouri-Kansas City to give coach Bill Self career win No. 600.Jackson had 19 points, 12 rebounds and five assists, while Graham was 6 of 8 from beyond the arc and finished with 18 points as the Jayhawks (8-1) allowed Self to empty his bench early again.He became the ninth-fastest coach to reach 600 wins, just behind Phog Allen, whose name adorns Kansas building. The former Oral Roberts, Tulsa and Illinois coach is 394-84 with the Jayhawks, and 212-9 at Allen Fieldhouse.Of course, their game against UMKC (6-4) was essentially over the moment the contract was signed.LaVell Boyd had 17 points for the Roos, who have never beaten Kansas in seven tries.No. 14 VIRGINIA 76, EAST CAROLINA 53CHARLOOTTESVILLE, Va.dddddddddddd -- Kyle Guy scored 13 points to lead five Virginia players in double figures, and the Cavaliers used strong perimeter shooting to beat East Carolina.Virginia (8-1) had little trouble bouncing back from Saturdays loss to then-No. 25 West Virginia. After trailing 16-15 with 9:26 remaining in the first half, the Cavaliers ended the period on a 27-4 run.The spurt included seven straight made 3-pointers, with three coming from Guy. The Cavaliers finished 9 of 21 from beyond the arc, taking advantage of East Carolinas 2/3 zone.London Perrantes added 12 points and five assists for Virginia.East Carolina (7-3) was led by Jeremy Sheppards 17 points.No. 18 PURDUE 97, ARIZONA ST. 64NEW YORK -- Isaac Haas and Vincent Edwards were both 6 of 9 from the field and had 16 points as Purdue dominated Arizona State in every phase in the Jimmy V Classic at Madison Square Garden.Purdue, which has won six of seven, took command with a 26-2 run that gave the Boilermakers a 35-12 lead. During the spurt, Purdue scored both inside and out while the Sun Devils (5-4) missed 12 of 13 shots and the Boilermakers (7-2) outrebounded Arizona State 16-5.Arizona State finished the first half 1 of 11 from 3-point range, one game after matching the school record with 18 3s against UNLV. The Sun Devils were 4 for 26 for the game on 3s and 24 of 67 overall (24 of 67).Ryan Cline had 15 points for Purdue, and Basil Smotherman had 13. The Boilermakers finished 15 of 27 from 3-point range and shot 59.4 percent overall (38 of 64).Shannon Evans II led the Sun Devils with 16 points. ' ' '