Funkerstation » re running a marathon? It mak

TORONTO -- The Toronto Blue Jays have always known they had the potential to break out in a big way after struggling through the first five weeks of the season. The bats have come alive over the last week and the Blue Jays are looking more and more like the team they were expected to be this year. Adam Lind and J.P. Arencibia homered as the Blue Jays crushed the San Francisco Giants 11-3 on Wednesday to extend their winning streak to a season-high four games. Ramon Ortiz worked seven solid innings for the win as Toronto (17-24) hit the double-digit scoring plateau for the third straight game. "Earlier in the year we were having a tough time scoring runs but like weve said before, theres a track record with the guys in this clubhouse," Arencibia said. "Theres too many guys that have done a lot of good things offensively for a long time to have that happen for an extended period of time." April was marked by a quiet Toronto offence, poor pitching and a freefall to the basement of the American League East. May has been more kind now that the bats are going and the quality starts are becoming more frequent. There is still plenty of work to be done and the Blue Jays remain stuck in the division basement. But the big names are starting to get the job done and it has fuelled a sense of optimism. Manager John Gibbons changed his batting order last week in Boston and it has paid off with big results. Melky Cabrera, Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion have all posted impressive numbers since forming a 1-2-3 punch at the top of the order. "We are really swinging the bats now," Gibbons said. "Were on a nice little roll." Toronto had a big first inning for the second straight night against the National League West leaders. The Blue Jays took advantage of some ugly San Francisco defence in a five-run first inning, added three more runs in the second and the rout was on. Giants starter Ryan Vogelsong (1-4) lasted just two innings, giving up six hits, eight runs -- three of them earned -- and two walks. San Francisco manager Bruce Bochy said it felt like "Groundhog Day" on the heels of a 10-6 loss the night before. "Probably the worst thing that could have happened for (Vogelsong) is what happened there," Bochy said. "Thats a lot of work in two innings." San Francisco (23-17) opened the scoring on a comfortable, breezy night at Rogers Centre. Angel Pagan hit a ground-rule double and later scored on a Pablo Sandoval sacrifice fly. Marco Scutaro and Pagan both made errors in the bottom half of the frame and Toronto made the Giants pay. Bautista reached base when Scutaro dropped a pop-up in shallow right field. Encarnacion walked and Arencibia hit a sinking liner that Pagan flubbed in centre field, allowing two runs to score. Lind followed with a two-run shot -- his third homer of the season -- and Emilio Bonifacio later added an RBI single. Munenori Kawasaki hit into a double play to end the threat. Cabrera doubled to lead off the second inning and Bautista drove him in with a single. Encarnacion flied out before Arencibia hit a rainbow blast for his 10th homer of the year. Ortiz (1-1) allowed one earned run and six hits to help Toronto sweep the two-game interleague set and record its first home series win of the year. Giants reliever Chad Gaudin entered in the third inning and issued one-out walks to Kawasaki and Cabrera. Bautista drove in a run with a double and Encarnacion cashed in another with a sacrifice fly. San Francisco put runners on the corners in the fourth inning but Ortiz -- who turns 40 this month -- escaped by getting Scutaro to fly out. Toronto added another run in the sixth inning when Brett Lawrie of Langley, B.C., scored from first base after Colby Rasmus doubled down the right-field line. Blue Jays reliever Mickey Storey came on in the eighth inning and gave up a pair of runs. He allowed two hits in the ninth before striking out Joaquin Arias to end it. Announced attendance was 32,863 and the game took two hours 54 minutes to play. Notes: Scutaro extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a ninth-inning single. ... The last time Toronto scored at least 10 runs in three consecutive games was nearly a decade ago (May 30-June 1, 2003). ... Cabrera had MRI exams done on both legs earlier Wednesday. Results revealed only irritation in the right quadriceps and left hamstring. ... Toronto batted around in the first inning for the second straight night. The last time the Blue Jays did that in the first inning of consecutive games was April 10-11, 1994 against the Seattle Mariners and Oakland Athletics. ... The Blue Jays have a day off Thursday and will begin a three-game series against the Yankees on Friday in New York. Torontos Mark Buehrle (1-2) is scheduled to start the opener against Hiroki Kuroda (5-2). ... Torontos odds of winning the World Series have changed significantly since their poor start to the season. In the pre-season, the Blue Jays were a 7-1 pick on the Bodog website to win the World Series. Toronto is now a 22-1 pick.Tracy Mcgrady Jersey . -- Teemu Selanne scored the first goal of his 22nd NHL season, and the Anaheim Ducks extended the best start in franchise history with their fifth straight victory, 3-2 over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. Toronto Raptors Jerseys . -- There were a lot of firsts for the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. http://www.nbaraptorsonline.com/Authentic-OG-Anunoby-Jersey/ . -- Mike Smith never saw his first NHL goal go in. Vince Carter Jersey . It just didnt show when he hit the ice. Berra made 42 saves and Kris Russell scored at 1:32 of overtime, lifting the Calgary Flames to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday night. Kyle Lowry Raptors Jersey . "Thank you for the warm welcome," Beckham said on an 80-degree February morning. In this case, it was soccer weather. The sport moved a step closer to returning to South Florida on Wednesday, when Beckham confirmed he has exercised his option to purchase a Major League Soccer expansion franchise in Miami.Approximately 50,000 runners took to the streets of New York Citys five boroughs Sunday for the citys 40th marathon since the race expanded from Central Park to being the worlds largest block party. The sunny fall weather brought out an even greater number of spectators, who eagerly lined the blocks for a glimpse of the wheelchair racers, elites and weekend warriors. Heres a look at a few of them, all of whom conceded that its far easier to watch a marathon than to run one.Ciara OSullivan, Jeannine Marotta, Elizabeth Marotta and Jon BarrattespnW: What brought you out today?Jeannine Marotta: Were here for the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, an amazing cause. Were here to support the runners and cyclists.Ciara OSullivan: Im just a volunteer.Elizabeth Marotta: Im here for moral support! I live in the area [Park Slope] and we come every year.Jeannine Marotta: Will Reeve is running this year in honor of his parents, so were here to support him too.Jon Barratt: Did you see that guy go by? Look how fast hes going!Elizabeth Marotta: Thats insane.Kevin Collier and Dan FinklangFinklang: My wife is running today. This is her 30th marathon.espnW: What?Finklang: Yeah, shes incredible. Were from St. Louis.Collier: My girlfriend is running it today, and Im a running coach in St. Louis. So the people that are running from St. Louis, were cheering for them. I think in our group theres five or six people running today.espnW: Whats your strategy for spectating today?Collier: Were going to watch the elites here (in Brooklyn), then well head up to mile 16.Finklang: When they come off the bridge, its really loud there. Theres so much energy.espnW: From a coaching perspective, what are the best and worst parts of the race? Collier: I think for many people, this will be their first major race where theyve ran with this many people and they are used to; I think their big thing is theyre going to get overwhelmed with the crowd support. I remember when I ran Chicago, it was the second time I ran it this year and even for me, it gets your heart beating, you get the adrenaline. The big thing I tell people is to keep your pace even, keep within yourself. Acknowledge the crowd because thats part of the experience, but keep within yourself otherwise youll blow out your energy and you still have the rest of the race to go.The other sneaky thing is because people think Manhattan is an island that its not going to be hilly, but I think there are some sneaky hills here that can take away your strength. Theyve been training for it, but overall I think its the sheer amount of runners.?Finklang: Logistics are also difficult. My wife was on the bus at 6 a.m. and doesnt start running until 10:30 a.m. With our normal training, shes done at 10:30. Its a beautiful day though, so that makes it easier. Everyone is just so excited for the race. You go to some places, they dont know theres a race going on, but here, everywhere you see, people are wearing jackets, running.Collier: As runners, we really appreciate cities that embrace the craziness that is marathon running, so its great to see all these people out.Finklang: Were meeting so many people here from all over. Were from St. Louis, but theyre from really far away.espnW: What are the celebration plans?Finklang: Were staying near Times Square, so there are many fun places to walk around.espnW: Youre going to make them walk after this?Finklang: Its oonly one more mile! We can sit down and have a drink after too.ddddddddddddCollier: I dont think it will hit them right away. Theyll be so amped up. Tomorrow on the plane ride home, theyll probably be very sore and stiff.Alexandra Jamieson and?Laken SpurlockespnW: Who are you cheering for today? Jamieson: Were cheering for everybody. We didnt have anyone in specific we came out for. We live in the neighborhood. We watched his grandmother run a couple of years ago.espnW: How did you guys get ready this morning? Jamieson: Why did I make you get up so early?Spurlock: Um, I dont remember.Jamieson: We had a big breakfast. Waffles and bacon. I want to see the wheelchair racers because it reminds me there are no f---ing excuses.Spurlock: Mom! You owe me a dollar!Jamieson: I get choked up about it! They inspire me!Spurlock: Still, you owe me a dollar. No cursing, Mom, remember?Jamieson: Sorry, I get excited.espnW: Whats the furthest youve ever run? Spurlock: Half a mile.espnW: Do you know how long a marathon is? Spurlock: 24 miles?espnW: Close. Its 26.2 miles. Do you think you could run that? Spurlock: No!Jamieson: No, just not yet!Donna and Don CaravellaespnW: Who is Jeff? Don Caravella: Hes our son and this is his first marathon. He lives in Boston, actually. We live in Connecticut. We came for the day and just got off the train. We have three planned stops. Were in Brooklyn, First and 66th and Fifth Ave and 86th Street.espnW: Has either of you run a marathon? Don and Donna Caravella: No.espnW: Do you think your son is crazy? Don and Donna Caravella: Yes!Don Caravella: He does triathlons, so this is an extension of that. Weve caffeinated, well pick up some food along the way. We got up at 4:30 this morning. Were going to meet him back at his hotel and going to eat. Hes going to be starving.espnW: Whats the Syracuse connection?Don Caravella: He went to Syracuse.Donna Caravella: We paid a lot of money to be able to wear these sweatshirts.Lorrine and John OKaneLorrine OKane: Whats going on?espnW: The New York Marathon. Lorrine: Oh! Were just visiting from Ireland. We wanted to see Central Park.John OKane: Just here for vacation. Five days.espnW: Do you think youd ever run a marathon? John OKane: Possibly. Maybe.Lorrine OKane: Oh, I dont know. We have the Dublin Marathon. But this is much bigger.espnW: Is it more inspirational to watch the elite Olympic runners? Or the everyday weekend warriors? Lorrine OKane: Definitely the everyday people. Theyre just like us. And theyre running a marathon? It makes me feel hopeful.Elizabeth MedhinMedhin: Im here for Ghirmay Ghebreslassie. He won the world championships in China last year and was fourth in Brazil. Im an American, but originally from Eritrea. Its a big day. [Note: Ghebreslassie won the race with a time of 2:07:51.]espnW: Do you run? Medhin: I used to, when I was young. Never a marathon though.espnW: How did you get into the sport as a spectator? Medhin: Its a famous sport in my country. I love watching it, and I love watching Meb Keflezighi. Im a fan of his. Hes from Eritrea. I come every year. I never miss the marathon.espnW: How many years? Medhin: Ten. And I always come to the same spot, near the finish line.espnW: How has it changed over the years? Medhin: Nothing. The fun is still there. ' ' '