andere Teams » season on Aug. 7, when he looked to be on his way

The Queensland Firebirds are hopeful of entering netballs new era with the core of players who etched their names into trans-Tasman history in thrilling fashion on Sunday.The Firebirds became the only team to claim back-to-back titles by beating the NSW Swifts 69-67 in a double-overtime grand final nailbiter in the last - and surely greatest - match in the competitions nine-year history.It is Queenslands third crown, making them the most successful side in the trans-Tasman era ahead of next years launch of an eight-team all-Australian league.Firebirds coach Roselee Jencke believed the Firebirds could withstand an expected recruitment frenzy from cashed-up new franchises backed by AFL and NRL clubs and keep their dominance rolling.(The players) know how theyve built a really strong, tight-knit group. I think they do want to be able to keep pursuing success and excellence, Jencke said.There might be a few changes but we just need to see what happens in the off-season. We wont have long, it all starts pretty quickly.For now, the Firebirds are celebrating a second successive grand final thriller over the Swifts in what is emerging as one of Australian sports most compelling rivalries.They did it despite a bad case of the yips from their star shooter Romelda Aiken, who made just 63 of her 89 attempts on goal at an uncharacteristically low 70 per cent.Despite becoming the first player in the history of the trans-Tasman competition to surpass 5000 goals, Aiken was well below her season average accuracy of 87.5 per cent and was seemingly rattled by NSW enforcer Sharni Layton, who kept her in check.But the Jamaican finished brilliantly, draining the winning shot under the ring to elicit a huge roar from the sold-out crowd of 10,312 at Brisbane Entertainment Centre - the biggest attendance for a match in Queensland, and the third-biggest in trans-Tasman netball.Jencke said the magnitude of the occasion got to Aiken.Shes our spearhead and with that comes pressure, she said.We just needed to keep the positivity there. To finish off that way when she probably had the yips for the majority of the game, Im just really rapt.NSWs Caitlyn Thwaites (34 of 41) and Susan Pettitt (30 of 39) were, in comparison, nailing shots from all angles - but after a strong opening quarter, the Swifts never led by more than one goal.It hurts just as much (as last year), veteran Swift Kim Green said.We had our opportunities to win today and we just didnt take them.We build a season for eight months and it comes down to this one day to really perform and I think we did ... but just werent able to get over the line. Cheap Air Max 90 Online . 4 Villanova with a 96-68 drubbing on Monday. Wragge hit 9-of-14 from behind the arc, matching Kyle Korvers school record for 3-pointers in a game set in 2003, as Creighton (16-3, 6-1 Big East broke a conference record with 21 treys in the rout. Buy Air Max 90 Online . Malkin got tangled up with Detroits Luke Glendening early in the third period and his left skate took the brunt of collision with the boards behind Pittsburghs net. http://www.cheapairmax90canada.com/ .com) - The Montreal Canadiens embark on their first road trip of the season as they head out west to battle the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. Cheap Air Max 90 Canada . The next step is a better finish. Bae played bogey-free Friday on another gorgeous day at Riviera for a 5-under 66, giving him a one-shot lead over Aaron Baddeley and Robert Garrigus going into the weekend. Air Max 90 Free Shipping .Y. -- Bills receiver Stevie Johnson has a bone to pick with the NFL schedule maker. SEATTLE -- The Houston Astros still have time to atone for their September collapse last season, and they took a big step in the right direction Friday night. The 6-0 win over Seattle and ace pitcher Felix Hernandez moved the Astros (77-71) one game closer to the Mariners, Tigers and Yankees in the American League wild-card standings.The barely-breathing Astros can take push themselves further into the crowded group of contenders with a victory Saturday, which would not only win the series but would also put Houston in a tie with Seattle among the teams chasing Baltimore and Toronto for the two wild-card spots.The Astros will turn to Mike Fiers (10-7) in the second game of the three-game series with the Mariners on Saturday night. Fiers is coming off his shortest outing of the season, having allowed seven runs in just 2 1/3 innings of a 9-5 loss to the Cubs last Sunday.Big games like this, Fiers said after that performance, I need to lock it in and play better than I did.Hell get another shot Saturday night, although Fiers has a pretty tough act to follow. Friday starter Collin McHugh shut out the Mariners for seven innings, allowing just two hits, as Houston kept its chances of a second consecutive wild-card berth alive. McHugh has now beaten Seattle in all four of his starts against the Mariners this season.We just match up pretty well with them -- me, specifically, McHugh said after dropping his season ERA against Seattle to 1.36 this season. Whether its pitch mix or this venue, Ive been able to have some success against them.Seattles Hernandez had quite the opposite kind of night. Having never pitched in a postseason game, Hernandez was in the rare position of taking the mound foor a meaningful September game at Safeco Field and fell flat.dddddddddddde certainly was not on top of his game tonight, manager Scott Servais said after Fridays loss, which snapped an eight-game losing streak and dropped Seattle to three games behind co-wild-card leaders Toronto and Baltimore with just 15 games remaining.The Mariners (78-69) are hoping for better results from Saturday starter James Paxton, a 27-year-old left-hander who can be dominant but can also be frustratingly inconsistent. Paxton turned in his best outing of the season on Aug. 7, when he looked to be on his way to a complete-game win over the Angels before taking a line drive off his left elbow one out into the ninth. He returned to the mound three weeks later but hasnt been nearly as dominant; hes still looking for his first win of September.Neither team can afford a loss as the remaining games dwindle and the distance separating them from the Blue Jays and Orioles looks harder and harder to overcome. Houston did the early damage but might need a sweep just to stay in realistic contention, while Seattle cant afford to lose again Saturday.Weve still got a lot of baseball left to play, Servais said. Were still in a very competitive spot. But (Fridays performance) is not what you wanted to see.For the Astros, the momentum of a Friday win could set the tone for this series and beyond.When youre going into a little bit of a playoff push like this, having the experience of last year, and knowing what it takes, I think that can be a little bit of an advantage for us, Houstons McHugh said. ' ' '