ST. PETERSBURG, Florida – Its been almost seven years since the Blue Jays last won a series at Tropicana Field. Theyll have to capture both Wednesday and Thursday nights games to break the unbelievable skid, which has reached 19 consecutive series either lost or tied. Manager John Gibbons, who was in his first tenure as Blue Jays manager the last time the club took a series from the Rays in St. Petersburg, from April 6-8, 2007, has taken to calling the barren stadium his teams "House of Horrors." "Weve seen some crazy things happen here," said Gibbons. "They open the door. I dont know what it is. Its something and they expect it over on the other side. Theyve done it so many times, they expect it." The Blue Jays were waxed, 9-2, on Opening Day Monday, a game in which Murphys Law applied. Everything that could go wrong did, from R.A. Dickeys unimpressive outing to Jose Reyes pulling up lame with a recurrence of the hamstring inflammation that plagued him late in spring training. Even Tuesdays 4-2 victory, a game in which Toronto led 4-0 heading to the bottom of the eighth, was a nail-biter at the end. The Rays had the tying run in scoring position with two out in the ninth and the winning run at the plate. "You know its tough to win here and it usually takes nine tough innings," said Gibbons. While it may sound like an obvious, generalized comment, first baseman-designated hitter Adam Lind believes its important to play with the lead against the Rays and the sooner, the better. "Its hard to come from behind against Tampa," said Lind. "When youre in the lead, theyre out of their comfort zone and when youre running out of innings or wherever they want to be with their pitching staff where they can just tack on a run here or a run there. Its paramount to get a lead against these guys because even when its 1-0, theyre definitely in the drivers seat." There are teams that are harder to prepare for than others. There are teams that are harder to play against than others. "Its tough, man," said Lind. "You just tell by how they pitch, (pitching coach) Jim Hickey, its like we play them every game how they pitch us. They get excellent execution from their pitching staff and their whole defensive side of the ball is probably the best in the game." Challenges with the challenge Adam Lind offered the line of the season so far on the topic of managers challenges and the ramifications of the new rule. "Well, I know Bud Seligs worked his whole career to get the pace of play up and now were just back to square one," said Lind. "I enjoy that theyre going to have the calls right but I dont think anyone saw the whole, are we going to do it or not going to do it?" The issue is the stalling. Both John Gibbons and Joe Maddon have emerged from their dugouts to politely dispute a call – thats another problem, the intensity of the manager-umpire argument is all but taken away – while their video coaches review the footage. Theyre waiting for a signal from the dugout on whether to challenge. "I think thats just the way the game is going to go now," said Lind. "I guess the higher ups didnt think about that before the whole walk-out but youre going to do whatever you can to get outs or get people safe. Just like (Tuesday) with Gibby, if you still have a challenge left, you might as well use it." Happ throws a bullpen J.A. Happ, on the disabled list with a back injury, threw a bullpen session on Wednesday at Tropicana Field. "Hes feeling much better, definitely feeling good, played catch (Tuesday), threw a light side today and really feels no ill-effects from the issues with the back right now and hell progress accordingly," said pitching coach Pete Walker. "Well discuss now what the next step is, if its to get him in a game, when that will be, and progress him from there." Santos survives ninth Sergio Santos got the save in Tuesdays 4-2 win but not before the Rays put a scare into the Blue Jays. Tampa Bay brought the winning run to the plate with two out, in the person of Yunel Escobar, and had the tying run on second base after a double steal on the first pitch of the Escobar at-bat. Santos didnt bother with the base runners. Why? It all goes back to a conversation he had with Yankees legendary closer Mariano Rivera in 2011. "My whole thinking is Escobars the only guy that can hurt me," said Santos. "Whether there are runners on first and second or second and third, to me, in that situation is irrelevant because I know if I get my job done, which is getting the hitter out, it doesnt matter what base theyre on. "That was one of the things that Mo had stressed was not to be so preoccupied with whos on the bases and what theyre doing because the second you give some of your attention on the base runner and youre not fully with the hitter, thats when bad things can happen." Seattle Seahawks Jerseys .C. -- Eric Staal kept his focus after his apparent breakaway goal was waived off early in the third period. Alex McGough Seahawks Jersey . After a 99-97 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night, his Celtics coaches and teammates have only positive things to say about the Toronto-born rookie. http://www.footballseahawksfanatics.com/...eahawks-jersey/. Zimmermann became the National Leagues first 16-game winner, pitching seven solid innings to lead the Washington Nationals past the Philadelphia Phillies 3-2 Wednesday night. Will Dissly Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. Will Dissly Seahawks Jersey . "All he says is, its crazy," DeMar DeRozan told reporters following Torontos win over the Pistons Wednesday. The Raptors longest-serving members, Johnson and DeRozan have had two coaches and 56 different teammates in five seasons with the club, all without appearing in a single playoff game.PORTLAND, Ore. -- Damian Lillard couldnt believe when he got a clear look at the rim. With the final buzzer about to sound, he took his shot. "I got my feet squared up and it felt real good leaving my hands," Portlands point guard said. "Once I saw it on line, I said, Thats got a chance." Lillards shot fell and the Trail Blazers stunned the Houston Rockets 99-98 to take their playoff series in six games and advance to the Western Conference semifinals for the first time in 14 years. In the frenzied postgame celebration, Lillard took the public address microphone and shouted "Rip City!" The hometown crowd roared. Portland, making its first playoff appearance since 2011, had been eliminated in the first round in its last six trips, and hadnt advanced to the second round since 2000. "Its a great feeling," said fellow guard Wesley Matthews. "Im excited for Portland, of course excited for us. The grind of the season: Youre a competitor, you want to win, you want to play, you want to advance, you want to be a champion. ... Its unbelievable." Dwight Howard made four consecutive free throws to tie the game at 91 before making a bank shot that put Houston ahead with 3:04 to go. Robin Lopez scored on a tip shot to give the Blazers a 94-93 lead with 2:15 left, setting up a wild finish. Howards layup and foul shot put the Rockets back up 96-94 before Nicolas Batums fadeaway jumper tied it again with 39.9 seconds left. Chandler Parsons scored on a reverse layup with 0.9 seconds left to give Houston the lead. Lillard prevented the series from going back to Houston with his 3-pointer as time ran out. He finished with 25 points. The Trail Blazers said Lillard is the first player to make a buzzer-beating shot to win a playoff series since John Stocktons 3 that led Utah over Houston in 1997s Western Conference finals, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. "He made a hell of a shot," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said of Lillard. Portland will face the winner of the series between San Antonio and Dallas. The Mavericks forced a deciding Game 7 with a 113-111 victory over the Spurs on Friday night. There are five first-round playoff series that have gone to seven games.dddddddddddd LaMarcus Aldridge led the Blazers with 30 points and 13 rebounds. He averaged 29.8 points during the series. After losing the opening two games in Houston, then claiming one of a pair in Portland, the Rockets staved off elimination with a 108-98 victory on Wednesday night to narrow Portlands advantage in the series to 3-2. Howard had 22 points and 14 rebounds, and Jeremy Lin redeemed himself from a poor performance in Game 4 with 21 points off the bench. James Harden led the Rockets on Friday night with 34 points. Howard had 26 points and 11 rebounds as Houston -- which earned the nickname "Clutch City" back in the mid-1990s when the team won back-to-back NBA championships -- failed to become the ninth team to come back from a 3-1 deficit in a best-of-seven playoff series and advance. "It hurts," Howard said. "When you put everything youve got on the floor and somebody hits you with a dagger like that, its a tough pill to swallow." After Lillards 3, Howard went over to congratulate his friend and told him he was proud of him and to go win the title. Aldridge helped the Blazers steal the first two games in Houston, scoring 46 points in a 122-120 overtime Game 1 win, then 43 in a 112-105 victory. The Rockets claimed the first of two in Portland, 121-116 in overtime, led by Harden with 37 points. The series third OT game ended in a 123-120 Blazers win. Aldridge gave the Rockets credit for making the Blazers better. "We felt like they definitely helped us grow. Were so young in the playoffs, but they definitely helped us grow and we feel we should be better for the next round," Aldridge said. "Were happy now, but were not satisfied." NOTES: The Blazers honoured former coach Jack Ramsay, who led the team to its lone NBA championship in 1977, in a moving pregame ceremony. Ramsay died Monday after a long battle with cancer in Florida. ... A fan at the game held a sign reading: "Play like its 1977." ... Lillard has multiple 3-pointers in six straight playoff games, a franchise record. ... It was the first time that the Blazers had defeated Houston in the post-season after three previous meetings. NFL Jerseys Wholesale Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys 2020 Wholesale NFL Gear China Jerseys Cheap Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys China ' ' '