Stars und Sternchen! » hey host the Norfolk St

Waco, TX (SportsNetwork.com) - The 22nd-ranked Baylor Bears play their final tune-up before beginning Big 12 Conference play on Tuesday night, as they host the Norfolk State Spartans at the Ferrell Center. Norfolk State is off to a solid start, the team winning nearly twice as many games as it has lost (9-5). The Spartans are in the midst of a three-game win streak, with the latest being a 74-71 overtime triumph at James Madison on Dec. 22. Following this clash, NSU will visit Georgia and Princeton before heading to Florida A&M on Jan 10 to tip off Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference play. Baylor has been nearly perfect through the first month and a half, going 10-1. The Bears are 7-0 at home, and this bout represents the finale in their current four-game homestand. BU has won five in a row since suffering its lone setback of the season in a 62-54 verdict to Illinois as part of the Las Vegas Invitational. The Bears open Big 12 action at Oklahoma this Saturday. Baylor beat Norfolk State, 86-58, on Nov. 13, 2009 in the only other meeting between the two teams. Jeff Short poured in a career-high 30 points, and three others scored in double figures for Norfolk State as it slipped past James Madison in overtime last week. RaShid Gaston finished with a double-double consisting of 10 points and 12 rebounds for the Spartans, who shot 52.1 percent from the floor while allowing the Dukes to convert only 36.8 percent. A 38-29 rebounding advantage helped offset the fact that NSU committed 18 turnovers. Shorts performance upped his season scoring average to a robust 19.3 ppg, as he has done extremely well in hitting his 3-point shots at a 42.9 percent clip (33-of-77). Gaston nets 15.3 ppg, DShon Taylor 12.9 ppg and Malik Thomas 11.0 ppg for a team that produces 71.3 ppg while yielding 64.9 ppg. No other player on the roster average more than 3.2 ppg, which means the big four are pretty much it in terms of consistent offense. A +6.5 rebounding margin has been a huge benefit. Baylors latest win was a closer-than-expected 70-66 decision against visiting Southern University on Dec. 22, a game in which the Bears shot a rather pedestrian 44 percent from the floor, missing 10 of their 14 3-point tries along the way. Fortunately, a 22-12 edge in points at the foul line and a lackluster 40 percent shooting effort from the Jaguars played right into their hands. Johnathan Motley led Baylor with 19 points, while Rico Gather had a double-double with 16 points and 11 boards, and Kenny Chery 11 points and seven assists in the victory. Although he has played half the number of games as most of his teammates, Taurean Prince leads the Bears in scoring with 11.4 ppg. Motley is netting 10.0 ppg as the only other current double-digit scorer, but at least three others are close to joining the ranks, as Gathers, Royce ONeal and Chery check in with averages of 9.8, 9.7 and 9.3 ppg, respectively. Gathers grabs a club-best 10.5 rpg. Baylor is scoring 68.6 ppg while allowing only 55.0 ppg. The teams stifling defensive effort permits foes only 37.8 percent success on field goal attempts, and a paltry 26.6 percent from 3-point land. The Bears own one of the top rebounding margins in the country at +11.5. Cheap Adidas Rangers Jerseys . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . Following the Ford Womens World Curling Championship gold medal match that attracted record-breaking audiences to TSN, the networks exclusive live coverage of the tournament begins Saturday at 7am et/4am pt with Canadas opening draw against Denmark. http://www.cheapnewyorkrangersjerseys.com/ . Hoefl-Rieschs exit — from the downhill course into safety nets, then airlifted from the slope by helicopter — left Anna Fenninger of Austria favourite to win her first giant crystal trophy one month after becoming an Olympic champion. Cheap New York Rangers Jerseys .com) - James Harden put the Houston Rockets on his back and willed them to an overtime victory on Thursday. Cheap Rangers Jerseys .com) - The Minnesota Twins made it official on Wednesday, announcing the signing of outfielder Torii Hunter to a one-year contract.CINCINNATI – Theres a lot to say about what happened at Great American Ballpark on Friday night but Erik Kratz needed only three words to aptly describe a 14-9 Blue Jays win over the Reds. "It was awesome," he said. Coming off an ugly three-game sweep at the hands of the Yankees, Toronto found itself in a deep hole early after the Reds put an eight spot up on starter Liam Hendriks (six runs in 1 2/3 innings pitched) and Todd Redmond in the second. All seemed lost, but then the offence, relatively dormant in a stretch of nine losses in 12 games, came to life. As it is with these Blue Jays, as it seems it must be, home runs played a significant role in the comeback. Edwin Encarnacion hit two. The first was the most important. Encarnacion took Mat Latos deep for a three-run shot in the third, a comparatively meek answer to Cincinnatis eight runs the half-inning prior, but the Jays were on the board nonetheless. Brett Lawrie hit a one out homer in the seventh to cut the deficit to 9-6. Three batters later, pinch hitter Juan Francisco hit a two-run shot off journeyman Reds reliever Jumbo Diaz. The score was 9-8, officially nail-biting time for the 33,103 predomiantly Reds fans in attendance. Encarnacion sealed the deal with another three-run home run in the ninth. By that time the Jays were ahead and the second deck shot extended the lead to 14-9. Suddenly, Encarnacion is baseballs leader with 23 home runs. He has three in two games, a sign hes coming out of his slump. "I think we got the emotion back," said Encarnacion. "Everybody in the dugout felt very happy. We felt we could come back." Starting catcher, Dioner Navarro, hit a two out, game-tying double off Jonathan Broxton in the eighth. His replacement in a double switch, Erik Kratz, hit the go-ahead double off flamethrower Aroldis Chapman in the ninth. That Jays put up runs on Cincinnatis formidable one-two bullpen punch (Broxton had a 0.40 ERA entering the game, Chapman a 0.98 ERA) was a feat in itself. "His ball, it comes out of a different slot, too," said Kratz of Chapman, who consistently throws a fastball harder than 100 miles per hour. "Hes coiled up and he comes at you with the noise and thats why hes had so much success." Adam Lind contributed a pinch hit RBI single. Jose Bautista walked four times. Brett Lawrie, who missed Thursdays game in New York with a bruised hand, returned and had three hits. Lawrie was one of six Blue Jays who registered a multi-hit performance. "Yeah, wed lost three in a row," said Kratz. "Yeah, we had lost three in a row but I dont think anybody was sitting here, like, Uh, are we going to win another game? Just like when we had won nine in a row but nobody ever said we had to win 20 in a row. We tried to win our 10th in a row and I think thats something the team does incredibly well. You saw tonight, grinding ouut each at-bat.ddddddddddddEach at-bat that we grind out is just the way were going to play the game. We cant beat anybody tomorrow but we can beat them today." Manager John Gibbons wasnt aware of the specific details but hes been around long enough to know these types of comebacks are historic. "I may never see another game like that, you may never see another game like that so enjoy it and hope it leads to better things," said Gibbons. The eight-run comeback marked the second largest deficit the Blue Jays have overcome in the franchises 38-year history. Long-time fans, certainly those old enough to remember, will recall June 4, 1989 with fondness. The Jays trailed the Red Sox 10-0 at Fenway Park and rallied for a 13-11 win in 12 innings. VOTTO TALKS ENCARNACION Toronto-born Joey Votto is taking it in from a distance. Hes enjoying the success his former teammate and good buddy, Edwin Encarnacion, is enjoying in Vottos hometown. "Hes a teammate that I really am very fond of and Im very proud of him, how well hes done," said Votto. "There are some guys you tune into and you almost, I dont want to use the word awe but you watch and you think to yourself, what do I have to do to get my swing to that point? That May stretch certainly was like that and he and Bautista are two really fun guys to watch." Encarnacions 23 home runs lead Baltimores Nelson Cruz (22). His 62 RBIs also lead the Majors. So enamored was Votto with Encarnacions 16-home run month of May, he sent Encarnacion a text on the afternoon of May 29. Votto admitted the message was profanity-laced and jokingly disparaging. He called upon Encarnacion to hit two home runs in the Jays game against the Royals that night. Encarnacion did just that. "He didnt answer me back until the second home run in the seventh inning," said Votto. "He responded back that night and I asked for some hitting tips. He was kind of coy about it." Encarnacion and Votto were teammates in Cincinnati from the time Votto broke in to the big leagues, in 2007, until Encarnacion was traded to the Blue Jays in 2009. BAUTISTA AND TWITTER Jose Bautista is amongst the major leaguers most active on social media. He has accounts on Twitter and Instagram (@joeybats19) and maintains Facebook and Youtube pages. "Its part of being an athlete today," said Bautista. "If youre not taking advantage of social media and using it to interact with your fans and giving them a sneak peak into your personal life and how you prepare and what youre about then shame on you." If you give Bautista a Twitter follow, chances are hell follow you back. Bautista is closing in on 514-thousand followers. He follows almost 230-thousand accounts. "Im glad Ive been able to use it in the right way I believe," said Bautista. "Just connecting with the fans and giving them the access that theyve wanted for so long." 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