Updates » but nobody who is a needle over like Chael. Ch

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- It was another tough day for Chris Archer. One of his best friends on the team was traded and then his opposing pitcher nearly pitched a no-hitter.Archer gave up three runs and six hits in 7 1/3 innings in the Tampa Bay Rays 3-0 loss to the Kansas City Royals on Monday night. He struck out six to raise his AL-leading total to 161.Not good enough to win, said Archer (5-15), who leads the majors in losses.Earlier in the day, the Rays traded left-hander Matt Moore to San Francisco just before the trade deadline.It was a disappointing, frustrating, emotional day, Archer said. But Id probably say thats not the reason we lost the game. That dude (Danny Duffy) was on.Duffy (7-1) pitched eight innings of one-hit ball and had a franchise-record 16 strikeouts to lead the Royals as they broke the Rays four-game winning streak. Duffys chance for the Royals first no-hitter in nearly 25 years ended when Desmond Jennings led off the Tampa Bay eighth with a line-drive double.Jennings came off the disabled list Monday after missing all of July with a strained hamstring.Kendrys Morales 18th home run, a towering shot over the center field wall, got the Royals on the scoreboard in the seventh.Kelvin Herrera pitched the ninth for his second save.Duffy, a 27-year-old left-hander who spent the first six weeks of the season in the bullpen, walked one. He struck out seven in his first trip through the Rays lineup, and did not allow a baserunner until walking Logan Forsythe to lead off the fourth.Duffy had everything going, obviously, Rays manager Kevin Cash said. Electric fastball, just a wipeout changeup. Mixed in an occasional curveball. Obviously he gave us a lot of trouble. From the side you could definitely see why.Zack Greinke had set the Royals single-game strikeout record at 15 on Aug. 25, 2009. Bret Saberhagen pitched Kansas Citys last no-hitter almost 25 years ago.Its an honor to have a game like those guys had, Duffy said, but I understand they had a lot more of those than I did. So Im really still trying to do as good as I did tonight down the road.RAYS AT THE TRADE DEADLINEThe last-place Rays traded Moore, OF Brandon Guyer and INF/OF Steve Pearce -- all to teams that were in first place -- on Monday. We wish we were in that position, Cash said. Wish we didnt have to do that but weve got to do whats right for the organization today and moving forward.ROYALS AT THE TRADE DEADLINEThe World Series champions, coming off their worst month (7-19) in four years, did nothing at the deadline. Its good that we kept the group together. Everybodys happy about that, Royals manager Ned Yost said. (General manager) Dayton (Moore) looked at some things, but at the end of the day there wasnt anything thats going to make us better. He wanted to stick with this group. He believes in this group.TRAINERS ROOMRoyals: RHP Wade Davis rejoined the team to rehab his flexor strain. Davis and the Royals are hopeful he will be able to come off the disabled list when he becomes eligible Aug. 12.Rays: RHP Alex Cobb (Tommy John surgery) threw another bullpen session and will will get another rehab start at Class A Charlotte on Thursday night.UP NEXTRoyals: RHP Yordano Ventura will follow his first career complete game, a 3-2 loss at Texas on Thursday, in his 21st start of the season Tuesday night. He has lost five straight decisions.Rays: RHP Matt Andriese, back in the rotation with the trade of Matt Moore, will make his first start since June 10. Cheap Stars Jerseys Authentic . The Barrie Colts defenceman, who impressed many with his play for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship, is the top-ranked skater in the February rankings. He has 19 goals and 24 assists for 43 points in 45 games with the Colts this season. Wholesale Stars Jerseys . Isner, ranked No. 14, won his eighth career singles title and took the title in New Zealand for the second time after his victory in 2010. The match was similar to Isners quarterfinal victory over fifth-seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber which went to three sets, all tiebreaks and contained no breaks of serve. http://www.cheapstarsjerseys.com/ . Despite dominating possession, Schalke needed an own goal from Nicolas Hoefler for the breakthrough a minute before the interval. The Freiburg midfielder misjudged Jefferson Farfans corner and bundled the ball into his own net. Cheap Adidas Stars Jerseys . 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. Cheap Stars Jerseys China .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. Each week, Brett Okamoto provides his take on the hottest topics in the world of mixed martial arts. Hes joined this week by UFC lightweight Jorge Masvidal.1. Cris Cyborg Justino will make her second UFC appearance at 140 pounds this weekend. Should she be fighting at this weight, which is difficult for her to make?Jorge Masvidal: I definitely disagree with it. I used to see her back in Strikeforce when I was at 155 pounds, she was just as lean and big as me and I was like, Wow, how does she make 145? To the casual fan who doesnt cut weight and doesnt know, its crazy to even lose one pound. When I was making 155, that was it. I couldnt have made 153 or 154. It wouldnt have mattered how much money was on the line. I was so depleted. When I got to 160, it was like every pound after that was a fight for my life. Book her to a 145-pound fight in the UFC. People will come up to that weight. Theyll say, Man, I dont have to cut at all anymore. Its only going to lead to more fighters at that weight.Okamoto: The whole idea of having her fight at 140 pounds in the first place was to gauge whether she could ever make 135. She made 140 when she fought Leslie Smith, and has since said she wont ever go to 135. I think at this point, you take her word for it. I dont necessarily blame the UFC for some of its previous stances regarding Justinos weight and wanting her to at least attempt a cut to 135, but weve hit a spot here where I think the company needs to promote her for what she is: A 145-pound champion. Let her defend her Invicta featherweight title in the UFC. If she continues to finish opponents in the first round, her star power will only rise and with that will come options. There will be UFC bantamweights who see her as an opportunity that makes sense for them. And if at that point, the three sides need to discuss the possibility of a 140-pound catchweight, then discuss it -- but for a super fight. For a random fight like this weekend? Whats the point?2. UFC lightweight Al Iaquinta has turned down an offer to fight in New York due to a contract holdout. What are your thoughts on Iaquintas decision?Masvidal: Obviously, Ive got a sore subject with him (Iaquinta defeated Masvidal via split decision last year) and I dont know all the details, but from what I heard its pretty crazy. Not giving him any more fight night bonuses, thats f---ing nuts. I commend him. Hes got balls to do something like that. Doesnt matter if you like or dislike a person, were all fighters. We should all want the best for each other. I get happy when I hear somebody has made five million, six million, 10 million. I want to keep hearing that. Thats what we deserve. We risk our lives to put on a show and train year-round. We should be getting paid to where we dont feel like we need a second job. I dont know his contract, but hes standing his ground.Okamoto: Were seeing more and more of these. Former middleweight champion Luke Rockhold just did something similar regarding his next fight. Nate Diaz demanded specific negotiations for his rematch against Conor McGregor. Whether this turns into a full-blown trend or not, Iaquinta cant be viewed as an isolated incident and you can bet plenty of UFC fighters will be paying attention to how this turns out. Personally, Im not necessarily in favor of every single fighter feeling he or she needs to renegotiate between every fight -- but read Iaquintas statements on why he no longer feels beholden to that contract. He doesnt believe he negotiated that deal in a fair environment. Hes not the only athlete under UFC contract to feel this way. There is a big picture aspect to this to keep an eye on.3. Was UFC lightweight Michael Johnson out of line in his postfight celebration over Dustin Poirier last weekend in Hidalgo, Texas?Masvidal: I dont know. Ive done some things too when a round is over. My opponent is down and Ill stand over him.dddddddddddd We play a lot of mental games in this sport. But if the dudes already knocked out, youre not really trying to get in his head anymore because hes already done. I dont know. It was a little overboard. Maybe I feel that way because Dustin is a friend and a teammate, but its fighting, you know? Were always trying to get in each others heads. Its not like [Johnson] is a bad person. Its just, we get in there, this s--- happens. But I did think it was a little overboard.Okamoto: He apologized to Poirier afterwards, which is pretty much the end of it to me. If Johnson had a history of these kinds of celebrations, itd be a different story, but this was his first appearance of 2016 due to a shoulder surgery and his first victory in three fights. Emotions ran high. It looked like Poirier accepted his apology immediately after. There was a lot of energy in this fight -- before it, during it, after it. Ill never advocate against that. Johnson standing over Poirier and shouting at him wasnt a good move in the moment, but I think were safe to move on from it.4. UFC lightweight champion Eddie Alvarez has repeatedly stated he wants to fight Conor McGregor, while president Dana White recently stated Khabib Nurmagomedov is the No. 1 contender. Should Alvarez be allowed to pick his opponent?Masvidal: I dont want to be in trouble for giving an answer, but I think if youre the champion -- a fight like this, first time in New York, Conor McGregor is at your weight and the biggest name? Why not?Okamoto: In general, a champion needs to take on all opponents. I wouldnt advocate for a champion to call out a midtier guy and snub a very obvious title challenger. This combat sport thrives because the best typically fight the best. You dont see a world champion superstar padding his or her record. In this scenario though, I dont see why the UFC would stand in the way of Alvarezs request to fight McGregor. McGregor was already supposed to fight for the lightweight title earlier this year. The promotion gave him that opportunity against Rafael dos Anjos, but the fight fell through when dos Anjos was injured. As great as Khabib Nurmagomedov is, he has just one win in the past two years and that was over an unranked opponent. Hes worthy of a title shot, but hes not the only option that makes sense. You can make a case for McGregor as a No. 1 contender, so if thats who the champion wants -- like Masvidal said, why not?5. Is Chael Sonnen the biggest signing in Bellator MMA history? Why or why not?Masvidal: Yeah, theyve gotten guys like [former UFC lightweight champion] Benson Henderson before who have won a world title, but nobody who is a needle over like Chael. Chaels been in all kinds of controversy since he started his ride, got that Nate Marquardt fight [in 2010], started talking up a storm and really since then hes been one of the most recognizable dudes in the sport. So, its definitely their biggest signing. I would love to hear the numbers on his contract and Chael said theres more to him leaving the UFC, so I would like to know what happened. I dont know, but Bellator is paying out big bucks to a lot of fighters.Okamoto: Yes, Sonnen is Bellators biggest acquisition to date. Some day, hopefully, well look back and say thats false. Well say the promotions ability to sign potential phenoms like Aaron Pico, Ed Ruth, Tyrell Fortune, Jarod Trice, etc. I still think its crucial Bellator proves at some point it can sign and build its own talent (and draws), rather than relying on paying for established ones. But of course, considering what Masvidal said, Sonnen is one of the most absolutely recognizable fighters in the world today. This signing is huge for Bellator. ' ' '