Tradeskills » Michigan State and Virginia was as advertised,

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. 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Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Henrik Lundqvist, New York Rangers (5) - Simply put, Lundqvist was brilliant.New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - After toppling top-seeded Virginia on Friday, the Michigan State Spartans will face the upstart Connecticut Huskies in the East Region Final at New Yorks famed Madison Square Garden. Watch Michigan State vs. UConn live on TSN with coverage starting at 1pm et/10am pt. Led by American Athletic Player of the Year Shabazz Napier, UConn has been playing above the No. 7 seed it earned in this tournament. The Huskies knocked off third-seeded Iowa State (81-76) in the Sweet 16, following a 77-65 upset of second-seeded Villanova. They are now attempting to reach the Final Four just three years removed from their surprising run to the 2011 national title. The Sweet 16 battle between Michigan State and Virginia was as advertised, with the fourth-seeded Spartans surviving with a 61-59 victory. The win was the sixth straight for Tom Izzos club, which includes their run to the Big Ten Tournament title. The Spartans are back in the Elite Eight for the first time since 2010, which was also the last time they made it to the Final Four. The 2010 trip to the Final Four was the second straight for MSU, which actually defeated UConn (82-73) in the 2009 semifinals before falling to North Carolina in the national title tilt. These teams have met twice since, with UConn winning both times to pull ahead in the all-time series, 3-2. The winner this time will take on No. 1 overall seed Florida in the Final Four next Saturday. UConn dominated in the first half and then held on in the second to pull off the upset of Iowa State. The Huskies led by as many as 17 points and shot 52 percent for the game, while holding scoring edges from both 3-point range (27-18) and the free-throw line (20-6). DDeAndre Daniels (13 ppg, 5.dddddddddddd rpg) came up big in the win, controlling the paint with a team-high 27 points to go with 10 rebounds and a pair of blocked shots. Daniels is clearly the most productive performer in close to the basket for the Huskies, who rely more on their talented backcourt. At the forefront of that game plan is Napier. The 6-foot-1 guard, who was a freshman on the 2011 national title squad, leads this years team in scoring (17.9 ppg), assists (4.9 apg), rebounding (5.9 rpg) and steals (1.8 spg). Ryan Boatright (12.1 ppg, 3.4 apg) and Niels Giffey (8.4 ppg, .514 3P percentage) provide depth and offensive punch out on the perimeter. After trading leads during the first 38 minutes of action on Friday, Michigan State was tied with Virginia at 51-51 with 1:49 to play. The Spartans then got a 3-pointer from Adreian Payne and a dunk from Branden Dawson to take control of the game, as they held on by hitting 5-of-7 free-throws in the final minute. Dawson compiled 24 points and 10 rebounds, and Payne had 16 points in the win over Virginia, as the frontcourt tandem powered Michigan State not just in that key stretch, but the entire game. The rest of the team managed only 23 points on 7-of-19 shooting. Leading the charge offensively is not a rare occurrence for Payne (16.5 ppg, 7.2 rpg), who is second on the roster in scoring, but getting such a productive effort from Dawson (11.4 ppg, 8.3 rpg) was a surprise, considering he is more of a complementary scorer. To defeat the Huskies, the Spartans will need better play from their key backcourt contributors -- Gary Harris (16.6 ppg) and Keith Appling (11.4 ppg, 4.5 apg), who combined for a mere eight points against Virginia. 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