Meister der Farbe » a 2.63 ERA in four starts since being

College basketball has become a guards game. No wonder Iowa State starts the season as a Top 25 team.Although there are serious questions about the frontcourt, the Cyclones enter Friday nights lidlifter with Savannah State as the No. 24 team in the nation for three good reasons -- Monte Morris, Matt Thomas and Naz Mitrou-Long.The three-headed backcourt will be among the best in the country, starring Morris, a first-team preseason All-America pick by some pundits. Thomas and Long are terrific 3-point shooters who can do other things, like rebound and defend.Add 6-5, 250-pound Deonte Burton, a power forward disguised in a guards body, and Iowa State will be able to attack opponents from many different angles.Those four guys are all upperclassmen and theyve got to be what makes this team go, second-year Cyclones coach Steve Prohm said. They have to be our mainstays.Particularly when one considers the holes left up front by the departure of starting forwards Georges Niang, Abdul Nader and Jameel McKay. The trio combined to average 44.5 points and 20 rebounds a game last season.Niang averaged 28.7 points during three NCAA Tournament games, capping one of the greatest careers in school history. He finished as the programs No. 2 scorer with 2,228 points and is Iowa States only two-time All-American.Prohm is hoping to get at least adequate play from a plethora of newcomers, two of whom bring extensive Division I experience. Graduate transfers Darrell Bowie (Northern Illinois) and Merrill Holden (Louisiana Tech), along with 6-8 freshman Solomon Young, figure to get the most playing time right off the bat.In Sunday nights 101-57 exhibition rout of Sioux Falls, Young scored 12 points and added four rebounds in 12 minutes, while Bowie grabbed seven rebounds in 12 minutes. Holden started and rejected four shots in 16 minutes.I thought Merrill, the first 10 minutes, his energy level was really good, Prohm said. I thought Solomon came out and did some good things. I thought Bowies energy level was good. Thats what we need from these guys.While the Cyclones are coming off a 23-12 season, the Tigers went 16-16 after being picked for a 12th-place finish in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. They qualified for the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, losing in the first round to Texas-Arlington.But Savannah State lost four starters off that team and is picked near the bottom of the MEAC again this season, as it has eight new players on its roster. However, its one returnee is 6-4 swingman Troyce Manassa, who led the Tigers in scoring at 12.4 per game while adding 5.1 rebounds.Savannah State coach Horace Broadnax, who played for John Thompsons Georgetown team that won the 1984 NCAA Championship, plans to build this team around Manassa.He can do it all, Broadnax said. He can score the basketball and pass the basketball. When we need someone to make a play, well put it in his hands.The Tigers wont be eligible for postseason play due to low APR scores.Quenton Nelson Jersey . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Josh Andrews Jersey . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. http://www.cheapcoltsjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-jihad-ward-jersey . -- Derrick Rose shook off poor shooting early to hit clutch shots late and Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 104-95 preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. Darius Leonard Jersey . Batiste, who briefly signed with the Eskimos in 2006, has spent time with several NFL teams including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins. E.J. Speed Jersey . Deulofeu injured a muscle in his right leg in Evertons 4-1 win over Fulham in the English Premier League on Saturday. Barcelona says that its team doctors will "co-ordinate" with Evertons medical staff as Deulofeu recovers.LOS ANGELES -- Knuckleballer Steven Wright dazzled in a three-hit shutout, which was a perfect homecoming performance.The Torrance, California, native befuddled the Dodgers for nine innings, Mookie Betts had one of Bostons three homers and Sandy Leon drove in four runs to help the Red Sox cruise to a 9-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday night with David Ortiz out of the lineup in an NL park.Wright was greeted with a big bear hug from Ortiz after he put the finishing touches on his first career shutout.Its definitely nice to do it in a homecoming, said Wright, whose mom, dad, sister, brother and wife were in attendance. Watching Dodgers games is what I did growing up. To have an opportunity to pitch here was fun. To be able to throw my first complete-game shutout was icing on the cake.Wright (13-5) had nine strikeouts in his third complete game this season. He retired 15 in a row during one stretch and won his fifth straight decision.Leon hit a two-run homer in the fourth. The switch-hitting catcher has had an outstanding summer, batting .467 in June and .355 in July.Travis Shaw also homered, connecting for the 14th time this season. This was a homecoming for him as well, since his dad, Jeff Shaw, was a former Dodgers closer and All-Star. The ball landed in the Red Sox bullpen and was already in his locker for safe keeping after the game.Rounding the bases was unbelievable, Shaw said. Ill remember that for a long time.Dodgers starter Scott Kazmir (9-5) has lost two straight since a 13-start unbeaten streak. He allowed four runs on five hits in 5 1/3 innings.This game was all Boston and all Wright.I was just trying to go out there and establish your knuckleball for called strikes, Wright said. I think thats the biggest thing for knuckleballs. You want to show the hitters youre going for strikes and getting swings.Betts hit his 23rd of the year in the third, and Shaw, who replaced Dustin Pedroia in the lineup after Pedroia left the game with a left shin bruise, hit a solo homer in the eighth to give Boston a 5-0 lead.I do think that with a knuckleballer, a lot of righties have a little bit more success, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. I liked our guys against him, but its still a different visual. ... The ball was moving, changing speeds, eye level. He was doing everytthing he could to be effective.ddddddddddddOrtiz was on the field as the Dodgers honored him in a pregame ceremony. Legendary broadcaster Vin Scully narrated a video tribute while Ortiz stood with former teammates Nomar Garciaparra, Adrian Gonzalez and Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.The Dodgers presented Ortiz with a $10,000 check to his foundation, The David Ortiz Childrens Fund. Gonzalez and his wife, Betsy, matched the donation.Ortiz is expected back in the lineup Saturday. Hell play first base.Pedroia was hit by Kazmirs pitch in the shin in the third inning and is day-to-day. X-Rays on his shin were negative.WELCOME TO TOWNNewly acquired outfielder Josh Reddick got his first taste of driving in Los Angeles traffic going to the stadium from Glendale, a Los Angeles suburb.For me it took four entrances and three wrong turns to get here, but I made it, Reddick said. Ill learn eventually.TRAINERS ROOMRed Sox: Ryan Hanigan was forced to leave Thursday nights game against the Mariners after taking a pitch off his left ankle. For Friday night, he was available only in the case of an emergency. Boston claimed Bryan Holaday off waivers from the Texas Rangers to solidify its catching corps.Dodgers: Ace Clayton Kershaw (back) and outfielder Trayce Thompson (lower back) will both be out until at least September. ... Bud Norris (mid-back strain) will be placed on the disabled list to make room for Ross Stripling, who will start in his place on Saturday.MINOR LEAGUE WATCHDodgers outfielder Yasiel Puig has yet to report to Triple-A Oklahoma City. Roberts said he hadnt reported yet because hes still got some loose ends to tie up, but hell be there. When asked what those were, Roberts said: I dont know. Thats his business, right? Puig was told before the trade deadline that he would either be traded or sent to the minor leagues.UP NEXTRed Sox: LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (2-4, 5.91 ERA) has a 2.63 ERA in four starts since being recalled from Triple-A Pawtucket on July 16.Dodgers: RHP Ross Stripling (2-3, 4.14 ERA) gets his first start since May 19. He had a 1.54 ERA in four appearances as a reliever since and has also made five starts and one relief appearance in Triple-A.Cheap Jerseys [url=http:a 2.63 ERA in four starts since being/url] Wholesale Baseball Jerseys ' ' '