that has the potential to make a run at the whole thing, OShea said of Gonza | Forum

PITTSBURGH -- If this was the end of Ivan Novas brief time with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he went out on a good note. Wholesale NBA Jerseys .The right-hander allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings Thursday night as the Pirates and Chicago Cubs played to the first tie game in the major leagues since 2005 when rain forced the teams to stop in the sixth inning with the score 1-all.The Cubs and Pirates arent scheduled to play again this season, and the game wont be made up because it doesnt affect postseason positioning. So instead of becoming a suspended game, the stats count and it was declared a tie -- the first since Houston and Cincinnati went seven innings on June 30, 2005, before rain halted them.After losing his previous two starts, Nova limited the Cubs to four hits with five strikeouts and no walks.It was the final start of the season for Nova, who went 5-2 in 11 starts after being acquired Aug. 1 from the New York Yankees in a trade. He is eligible for free agency after the World Series.I had a really, really, really good time here and hopefully we can work it out to where I can stay, Nova said. Im excited for free agency, though, and well see what happens.Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said last week that he has been in talks with Novas representative about a possible extension.I leave that to my agents, Nova said. I really know anything about it.Pittsburgh is 78-80 and needs to sweep its season-ending three-game series at St. Louis that starts Friday night in order to extend its streak of winning seasons to four. The Pirates had 20 straight losing seasons from 1993-2012, the record for major North American team professional sports.Willson Contreras had two hits and scored for the NL Central champion Cubs, who have already clinched the best record in the majors. Josh Bell hit a sacrifice fly for the Pirates.The Cubs werent around to talk about it as they were already dressed and out of the clubhouse by the time they game was officially called following a delay of 1 hour, 23 minutes.A tie, I dont remember every being involved in one at the major league level, Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. Its definitely something different.Tim Federowicz hit a sacrifice fly in the Cubs second. Pittsburgh tied it in the third.Cubs rookie Rob Zastryzny gave up one unearned run in 3 2/3 innings in his first major league start after beginning his career with seven relief appearances.Manager Joe Maddon opted to use all relievers as he prepares his team for the postseason.FOOTBALL HEROMaddon wore a No. 12 Lafayette College football jersey during his pregame meeting with reporters. It was the same number he wore when he was a quarterback for Leopards.The Cubs traveling party planned to wear football jerseys for their flight to Cincinnati following the game.TRAINERS ROOMCubs: RHP Jason Hammel (elbow tightness) has been scratched from his scheduled start Friday night at Cincinnati but may be able to pitch in a simulated game Tuesday and be ready for the NL playoffs next week. .. . LF Chris Coghlan (sprained left ankle) did not play after being injured Wednesday night when he crashed into the fence chasing a fly ball but could return Friday. ... OF Jorge Soler (strained right side) will not play at Cincinnati but could participate in the simulated game.Pirates: LF Starling Marte (lower back strain) and SS Jordy Mercer (strained right forearm) will not play in the final series. . RF Gregory Polanco (strained neck) missed his second game in a row.UP NEXTCubs: RHP Jake Buchanan (0-0 9.00 ERA), who has made one relief appearance for Chicago after going 12-8 for Triple-A Iowa, will start Friday against Reds RHP Josh Smith (5-2. 4.77).Pirates: Rookie RHP Tyler Glasnow (0-1, 4.91) faces Cardinals RHP Carlos Martinez (15-9, 3.15) and will be looking for his first major league win in his fourth career start. Wholesale NBA Autographed Jerseys . -- Chicago Bears cornerback Tim Jennings was selected Monday to his second straight Pro Bowl, while guard Kyle Long made it after a solid rookie season. Basketball Jerseys From China . Boucher previously coached the Tampa Bay Lightning and had a 97-78-20 record over two-plus seasons. He was dismissed by the team last March after the Lightning struggled in the lockout-shortened season with a 13-18-1 record. http://www.wholesalenbachinajerseys.com/ . But when it comes to determining if Raymond will find a place on the Leafs roster when training camp concludes in a week, well, that decision will ultimately fall to the head coach. SPOKANE, Wash. -- One thing was obvious when No. 14 Gonzaga took the floor against Bryant on Friday night: The Zags were a whole lot bigger.Gonzaga put that size to good use.Przemek Karnowski scored 22 points and Johnathan Williams added 20 to help Gonzaga beat Bryant 109-70.Zach Collins added 18 points for Gonzaga (3-0), which is seeking a 19th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament.Karnowski and Collins are both 7-footers and Williams is 6-9. Bryants tallest starter was Dan Garvin at 6-6.We had a huge size advantage, Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. You take what they give you.Five players scored in double figures for Gonzaga, which shot 55.7 percent from the floor to 42.6 percent for Bryant. Gonzaga won the rebound battle 39-34, and had a 50-30 advantage on points in the paint.Nisre Zouzoua scored 22 points and Adam Grant had 17 for Bryant (1-2), which lost to Gonzaga the only previous time the teams met, in 2013.They have tremendous size, not just in the starting lineup but off the bench, Bryant coach Tim OShea said. Even on the wing spots theyve got tremendous length.I thought for the most part of the game we competed pretty good, OShea said.Despite the lopsided score, Few noted that Bryant was always in striking distance for much of the game.Gonzaga enjoyed a big advantage at the free throw line, sinking 34-of-45 free throws. Bryant made 11-of-19.Both teams are known as the Bulldogs.Gonzaga was coming off a 69-48 win over San Diego State on Monday that was the Aztecs largest margin of defeat in nine seasons, a span of 260 games.The Zags built an early lead and slowly extended it for most of the game. Bryant was undone by 23 turnovers.Our press was good tonight, Few said. It created a lot of adversity for them.Nigel Williams-Goss scored nine Gonzaga points in a row for a 20-10 lead midway through the ffirst. Cheap Basketball Jerseys From China. Collins scored seven straight points as Gonzaga pushed its lead to 27-12. At that point the Zags had made 11-of-15 field goals.Grant hit consecutive 3-pointers to bring Bryant to 34-25. But Gonzaga went on an 11-2 run to rebuild its lead to 18 points.Gonzaga led 50-38 at halftime, thanks to 16 points by Karnowski and 63 percent shooting. Grant had 17 points for Bryant in the first, including four 3-pointers, and they shot nearly 54 percent from the field.Both teams cooled off from the field in the second half, but Gonzaga relentlessly pulled away for the easy win.I think theyve got all the ingredients of a team that has the potential to make a run at the whole thing, OShea said of Gonzaga.BIG PICTUREBryant: Scrappy but undersized Bryant couldnt overcome Gonzagas size and hot shooting.Gonzaga: Taller Gonzaga had trouble putting Bryant away early despite good shooting, especially in the first half. Zags pull away in the second.UP NEXTBryant plays at Eastern Washington in nearby Cheney in the Legends Classic on Monday.Gonzaga plays Quinnipiac at the AdvoCare Invitational in Orlando, Florida, on Wednesday.POLL IMPLICATIONSGonzaga concluded a three-game home stand that featured three easy wins that are not likely to command much extra attention from Top 25 voters.NATIVE AMERICAN COLORSIn honor of Native American Heritage Month, Gonzaga wore customized turquoise uniforms. The color is symbolic of friendship in Native American cultures. The National Anthem was sung in Salish, a Native American language.VERSUS RHODE ISLANDGonzaga is 2/3 against teams from Rhode Island. 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