Funkerstation » e listening and doing some talking -- just about

BATON ROUGE, La. -- Antonio Blakeney made two field goals in the final four minutes to lift LSU a 70-66 non-conference victory over North Carolina Central on Tuesday.Two baskets following offensive rebounds by Will Ransom enabled the Eagles to tie the score at 65-65 with 4:45 remaining in the game. Blakeney made the only field goal attempts by either team the rest of the way.Blakeney sank a jumper with 3:59 left to break the tie, and after North Carolina Centrals Patrick Cole made one of two free throws, hit another with 2:42 left. Neither team scored again until the Tigers Brandon Sampson made a foul shot with nine seconds to go.Coming off a 14-day layoff, we knew we wouldnt be hitting on all cylinders, LSU coach Johnny Jones said. Our guys did a good job in the second half of playing with the effort we needed. With a few minor adjustments on the defensive end, we made it tough for them.Blakeney scored a season-high 27 points, 18 in the second half. Duop Reath added 14 points and Sampson had 13 for LSU (6-2), which trailed by 13 points on three occasions in the first half.The mentality was to play defense in the second half, Blakeney said. They were really shooting the ball in the first half. We wanted to play defense and take our offense to the next level. I was just trying to be aggressive. I wanted to draw plays out and knock the shot down.Cole scored 19 points, grabbed 10 rebounds and handed out nine assists. Dajuan Graf had 18 points and Ransom scored 10 points for the Eagles (6-5).It was a tale of two halves, North Carolina Central coach LeVelle Morton said. We caught them rusty a little bit. They havent played in a while, so we kind of shocked them. We really executed in the first half. We didnt finish the game down the stretch and thats on me.BIG PICTURELSU: The Tigers remained unbeaten at home with their fifth victory. For the third time this season, LSU won after trailing at halftime.NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL: The Eagles came very close to knocking off their second Southeastern Conference team this season. NC Central beat Missouri 62-52 last month.SECOND HALF TEAMLSU continued to play much better after halftime. The Tigers outscored NC Central 34-23 over the final 20 minutes. LSU defeated Wofford and Old Dominion earlier this season after trailing at halftime. In the Tigers previous game against Houston, they outscored the Cougars by 18 points in the second half while going on to an 84-65 victory.NEAR QUADRUPLE-DOUBLEPatrick Cole, NC Centrals top scorer at 21 points per game, almost reached double digits in four statistical categories. Cole contributed 19 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists. In addition, Cole committed 10 of the Eagles 19 turnovers. Cole had a potential game-tying 3-point shot blocked by Brandon Sampson with 12 seconds remaining in the game.SOLID POST TANDEMBoth Duop Reath and Craig Victor, LSUs two starting posts, came close to registering double-doubles. Reath, who was 7-of-9 from the field, had 14 points and eight rebounds. Victor, who missed nine of his 12 field goal attempts, accounted for eight points and a season-high 11 rebounds.UP NEXTLSU: The Tigers will play Texas Southern Saturday.NORTH CAROLINA CENTRAL: The Eagles continue their two-game swing through Louisiana when they meet McNeese State in Lake Charles on Saturday. New Balance Outlet Online . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. Air Max 90 Online Store . 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. http://www.discountaustraliashoes.com/ . -- There were a lot of firsts for the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Balenciaga Outlet Store . Mitch Holmberg added a goal and three assists. Connor Chartier also scored for the Chiefs (3-0-0). Luke Harrison spoiled Garrett Hughsons shutout bid with a power-play goal at 13:17 of the third period. The Spokane goaltender finished with 28 saves, including a Brandon Fushimi penalty shot in the second period that would have tied the game 1-1. Discount Nmd . -- Matt Kuchar and Harris English ran away with the Franklin Templeton Shootout, shooting a 14-under 58 on Sunday in the final-round scramble to break the tournament course record. TORONTO -- MVP: Most Versatile Pitcher.The humble workhorse in a wipeout bullpen, Andrew Miller was selected AL Championship Series MVP after his latest spotless outing sent the Cleveland Indians to their first pennant since 1997.Miller tossed 2 2/3 innings in a 3-0 victory Wednesday over Toronto, capping a five-game series in which the lanky left-hander overpowered the dangerous Blue Jays.He had one strikeout in Game 5 and finished the series with 14 -- an ALCS record for a reliever. Miller gave up three hits in 7 2/3 shutout innings against Toronto and earned a four-out save in Game 3.At this point of the year, you just find a way. Thats all that matters. Its about winning, Miller said. I would have given up 100 runs if we won 101-100. Thats all that matters is were going to the World Series, and thats a special experience and I cant wait.After capturing their sixth pennant, thanks in large part to Miller, the Indians are four wins from their first championship since 1948.Miller was acquired from the New York Yankees for a package of prospects in a July 31 trade, and Cleveland had an interesting idea of how to feature him. Rather than restricting him to a closer role or using him only in the eighth inning, the Indians have been flexible with Miller -- especially in the postseason.Its so fun to be a part of this team, he said. I really enjoyed my time with the Yankees. Its tough when you leave a comfort zone and a place that you like and people that you like. But I knew I was coming to a team that had won a lot and had expectations to win more.Now, whenever the Indians have a lead in the middle innings, the 6-foot-7 lefty begins looming large in the bullpen -- and Miller time is near.With that nasty slider and a sizzling fastball he spots to both sides of the plate, he struck out 21 of 41 batters during the AL playoffs. He has allowed a mere six hits over 20 scoreless innings in his postseason career.Drafted sixth overall by Detroit out of North Carolina in 2006, Miller was part of the blockbuster deal that sent Miguel Cabrera from the Marlins to the Tigers after the 2007 season. Milller made 66 starts in the majors but never fulfilled his promise until switching to the bullpen.dddddddddddd His first full season as a reliever (with Boston in 2012) provided a hint of what was possible.Miller posted a 3.35 ERA in 53 appearances that year, and the following season he dominated hitters with 48 strikeouts in 30 2/3 innings.After stops with Baltimore and the Yankees, Miller ended up in Cleveland, and the Indians had an unorthodox plan for his usage.When they were upstairs in their meetings about the trade talks and they were talking about Andrew, they were actually talking -- and I was in there listening and doing some talking -- just about how he would fit into a bullpen and how you could leverage him, just like we are now, manager Terry Francona said recently. So the thought was alive before we got him. We envisioned using him like we are.There are plenty of other important contributors in the Cleveland bullpen, particularly closer Cody Allen, who had 32 saves during the regular season and hasnt allowed a run in the postseason.In fact, Indians relievers racked up 22 innings in the ALCS -- the same amount as their starters.But its Miller who strikes the most fear in opposing hitters after he whiffed a whopping 14.9 per nine innings this season while going 10-1 with a 1.45 ERA and 12 saves.In the playoff opener against Boston, Miller entered in the fifth inning and pitched into the seventh. That set the tone for an October in which Miller could be available pretty much any time the Indians need him.Miller has tossed 11 2/3 shutout innings in six postseason appearances. Its a workload that might not be sustainable in the regular season, but with off days built into the playoff schedule, this approach has served the Indians well.All that matters are outs. All that matters are wins. It honestly does not matter how we get there, Miller said. And I think top to bottom, this team believes in that.---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister ' ' '