Lob & Kritik » alive thanks in part to the well-bearded right-hander

CLEVELAND -- By the time Jake Arrieta threw his first pitch on Tuesday night, the Chicago Cubs were already in control of Game 6. By the time the reigning Cy Young winner gave up his first hit, a leadoff double in the fourth, the Cubs led by seven.I knew that was all we were going to need, Arrieta said.And then some.Keeping the Cleveland Indians off balance for 5 2/3 innings, Arrieta didnt let the massive cushion go to waste. He never does. The pitcher who won all 15 games in which his teammates gave him at least six runs stayed aggressive in a largely drama-free 9-3 victory, just as manager Joe Maddon knew he would when he entrusted Arrieta with the ball and Chicagos season in the balance.Maddon didnt give Arrieta any sort of pep talk. The stakes were obvious. So was the weight of history. Who better to trust than the guy whose rebirth in Chicago has come in lockstep with the clubs rise from cuddly also-rans to blossoming juggernaut?I think Jake likes to shoulder these kind of moments, Maddon said a couple of hours before the game.And own them too.Given an early boost by Chicagos suddenly hot again offense, Arrieta struck out nine and walked three to improve to 2-0 in the World Series.In Game 2, he kept the Indians hitless into the sixth to send the Cubs back to Chicago with things all tied up. Tuesday night he battled occasional control issues to move Chicago within one victory of its first championship in 108 years. Even after needing 102 pitches to get 17 outs, he plans to be in the bullpen just in case.Ill definitely be available if outs are needed, Arrieta said. Last game of the year, Game 7 of the World Series. Everybodys pretty much available tomorrow.The only tense moment came after Jason Kipnis scored on Mike Napolis RBI single with one out in the fourth. Arrieta hit Lonnie Chisenhall with a pitch and walked Coco Crisp to load the bases.Just as it appeared Arrieta was on the brink of letting the Indians back in it, he recovered. When Tyler Naquin swung and missed on a 1-2 pitch, the Cubs were out of danger and on their way.Its those bouts of temporary wildness thats taken just a bit off the edge that made Arrieta so unhittable during his Cy Young winning run in 2015, when he practically carried Chicagos pitching staff in the second half as the Cubs locked down a playoff spot and eventually made it all the way to the NLCS before falling to the New York Mets.Arrietas 16 wild pitches led the National League and his 76 walks marked a career high during a year in which he went 18-8 with a 3.10 ERA and made the All-Star team. Its a great season by just about any measure, except when the measure is Arrietas 2015 when he led the majors in wins (22), ERA (1.77) and shutouts (three).That nearly yearlong stretch of dominance ended after the All-Star break. He went just 6-4 over the seasons final 10 weeks and his ERA in September was a mediocre 4.68. His two starts before the World Series were both Chicago losses, one to San Francisco in the Division Series in which he pitched well and another to the Los Angeles Dodgers in which he did not.Arrieta saw his spot as the teams ace vanish too with Jon Lester getting the nod in Game 1 of the World Series and Kyle Hendricks -- who will start Game 7 -- leading the majors with a 2.13 ERA.Yet the prospect of living up to the outsize expectations Arrieta set for himself hardly seem to bother him. He spent Monday taking his two kids trick-or-treating. A day later, he looked at ease silencing the non-Cubs portion of Progressive Field. The only Indian he struggled with in the Series was Kipnis, who went 3 for 5 against him. The rest of the Indians combined to go 2 for 34.By the time Maddon came out to take the ball from Arrieta following a two-out walk in the sixth, the loud Chicago contingent behind the Cubs dugout gave him a rousing ovation.The dream of ending a championship drought that extends back more than a century is very much alive thanks in part to the well-bearded right-hander who makes up in tenacity what he sometimes lacks in polish.Just like his team. Custom Kings Jerseys .C. -- Manny Malhotra had two goals and an assist, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Custom Kings T-shirts . Paul Pierce couldnt believe he missed at the end. Young scored a season-high 26 points to spark a huge effort from the leagues most productive bench, and Los Angeles beat the Brooklyn Nets 99-94 on Wednesday night after blowing a 27-point lead. http://www.customnbakingsjersey.com/ . Those lessons were more than enough to overwhelm the Utah Jazz. Lou Williams scored 25 points and the Hawks continued their offensive upswing as they rolled to an easy 118-85 victory over the Jazz on Friday night, winning their third straight and for the fourth time in five games. Kings Jerseys China . PETERSBURG, Fla. Wholesale Custom Kings Shirts . Louis Blues teammates who would also be participating in the Olympics, Alex Pietrangelo felt right at home, no different in some ways to the travel experience of any old road trip – save for the length of the journey, that is. STARS-Christian McCaffrey, Stanford, ran for 284 yards and three TDs in a 45-31 win over California.-Sefo Liufau, Colorado, threw for 345 yards, rushed for 108 more and scored three TDs to help the No. 12 Buffaloes beat No. 20 Washington State 38-24.-Dalvin Cook, Florida State, ran for 225 yards and four TDs to become the Seminoles career rushing leader, and the 17th-ranked Seminoles beat Syracuse 45-14.-Zach Terrell, Western Michigan, passed for a career-high 445 yards and four TDs to help No. 14 Broncos remain undefeated with a 38-0 victory over Buffalo.-Joel Lanning, Iowa State, tied a school record with five rushing TDs and ran for 171 yards to help the Cyclones clobber Texas Tech 66-10.- Jalen Hurts, Alaba,a, passed for three touchdowns and ran for 68 yards to help No. 1 Alabama rout FCS team Chattanooga 31-3.-Deshaun Watson, Clemson, ran for two touchdowns and threw for another score and No. 5 Clemson wrapped up a spot in the Atlantic Coast Conference title game with a 35-13 win over Wake Forest.- Jake Browning, Washington, overcame a sluggish start to throw for 338 yards and two touchdowns in No. 7 Washingtons 44-18 victory over Arizona State.-Joshua Dobbs, Tennessee, accounted for five TDs and 413 yards in a 63-37 victory over Missouri.-Will Worth, Navy, rushed for 159 yards and four TDs in a 66-31 win over East Carolina.-Rico Dowdle, South Carolina, ran for 226 yards and TDs in a 44-31 victory over Western Carolina.-Trey Green, Prairie View, threw for 400 yards and five TDs in a 57-7 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff.---BUCKEYES HOLD ONBefore Ohio State could move on to next weekends showdown with Michigan, the Buckeyes had to deal with a different nemesis.As usual, Michigan State gave Urban Meyers team all it could handle.Mike Weber ran for 111 yards and a touchdown, and No. 2 Ohio State held off Michigan State 17-16 after the upset-minded Spartans missed a 2-point conversion with 4:41 remaining.Ohio State can now focus on Michigan, but only after withstanding a spirited challenge from a Michigan State team that derailed the Buckeyes national title bbids in two of the previous three seasons.dddddddddddd---LONG-TIME COMINGMatthew Wyman may have booted Charlie Strong right out of Texas.The senior kicker for Kansas knocked through a field goal to force overtime, then drilled a 25-yarder in the extra session to send the Jayhawks to a 24-21 victory over the Longhorns -- one that just might end Strongs disappointing tenure on the 40 acres.The moment Wymans field goal went through the uprights, the Jayhawks poured off the sideline and into a jubilant pile with thousands of students. The win snapped a nine-game skid, a 19-game losing streak in Big 12 play and was their first over Texas since 1938.---NUMBERS5-Career punt returns for touchdowns by Georgias Isaiah McKenzie , breaking the school record. He also has a school-record six TDs on kick returns.50-Rushing touchdowns by Pittsburghs James Conner , breaking the previous mark set by N.C. States Ted Brown between 1975 and 1978. Conner now has 53 touchdowns in all, eclipsing the old ACC mark of 52 set by Wali Lundy of Virginia from 2002-05.51-Age of South Carolina States Joe Thomas Sr ., believed to be the oldest player to appear in a game in Division I history.69-Receptions by Tennessee Techs Dontez Byrd, breaking the school single-season record .---YALE TRICKERYA fake field goal. A surprise onside kick. Even some naked revelers in the Yale student section attempting to distract archrival Harvard.And the biggest trick of all from Yale in the 133rd edition of The Game : A 21-14 upset over the Crimson to end a nine-year losing streak in one of the oldest rivalries in sports and spoil Harvards chances of an unprecedented fourth straight Ivy League title.Harvard (7-3, 5-2 Ivy) needed a victory to clinch a share of the conference championship. The Bulldogs had little to play for except a chance to spoil Harvards season.Thats exactly what they did.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '