in Saskatoon. The Storm were the first tea

CINCINNATI, Ohio -- Homer Bailey fretted for a moment as first baseman Joey Votto reached to pluck the ball out of the air for the final out. What next? Raise both arms in celebration. Bailey has this no-hitter celebration down pat -- just like his idol, Nolan Ryan. Another hard-throwin Texan who wears No. 34 made some no-hit history Tuesday night. Bailey threw his second in 10 months and led the Cincinnati Reds infield celebration with arms raised after a 3-0 victory over the San Francisco Giants. There was a bit of been-there, done-that in the humid night air. "Its something Ive already done, so I knew what to expect," Bailey said of his easy-as-could-be step into rare territory. Bailey became the third Reds pitcher with more than one no-hitter, joining Jim Maloney and Johnny Vander Meer -- still the only big leaguer to toss two in a row. Bailey beat the Pirates 1-0 in Pittsburgh last Sept. 28 and got another 17 starts later. This one was at home with 27,509 fans standing and chanting "Homer! Homer!" as he finished it off in a tidy 102 pitches with one walk and nine strikeouts. The defending World Series champions had only one moment when they thought they might get a hit. "It was a pretty easy no-hitter," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "We didnt hit too many balls hard. There werent any tough plays. We only hit a couple balls decent. He was really overmatching us all night." Yes, it was reminiscent of that Hall of Famer from Texas who holds the record with seven no-hitters. And they now have more than just their home state in common. Bailey threw the last of the majors seven no-hitters last season, and now the first of 2013. The last pitcher to throw one no-hitter and then another before anyone else in the majors accomplished the feat was Ryan, according to STATS. Baseballs career strikeout king did it for the California Angels on Sept. 28, 1974, against Minnesota, and June 1, 1975, vs. Baltimore. "Obviously being from Texas and what a legend he is," said Bailey, who wears No. 34 in tribute to his boyhood hero. "To do it once is extra special. To do it twice -- I dont really have the words for it right now." Try Ryan-esque. "He comes from the state of Texas that has produced a lot of no-hitters," said Reds manager Dusty Baker, who made the final out in Ryans fifth no-hitter. "It means a lot -- and hes still got some time left." Bailey (5-6) dominated the defending champs, who are going through quite a slump. It was so tidy that there werent many close calls. He walked Gregor Blanco leading off the seventh, the only Giants batter to reach base. Blanco advanced on a groundout, then made the out that settled San Franciscos only close call. Buster Posey hit a soft one-hopper that pulled Votto away from first base. Bailey got a slow break off the mound to cover the bag, setting up what would have been a close play. Maybe Posey beats Bailey to the base for an infield hit. "That would have been a sad way to lose a no-hitter," Baker said. Instead, Votto saw Blanco break for third and threw him out. "Joey had a great heads-up play. I was almost a little late getting to the bag," Bailey said. Two innings later, Bailey finished it off smoothly. He jumped to glove Brandon Crawfords high comebacker, struck out Tony Abreu and retired Blanco on a grounder to third baseman Todd Frazier. "Going into the eighth and ninth I just said, Why the hell not? Here we go again," Bailey said. Justin Verlander, Mark Buehrle and Roy Halladay are the only other active pitchers with a pair of no-hitters. Halladay, of course, threw one of his in the post-season against the Reds in 2010. When Votto caught the throw for the final out, Bailey raised both arms in triumph, reminiscent of that grand moment in Pittsburgh last September, then hugged catcher Ryan Hanigan. This time, Baker got to celebrate too -- he was in a hospital in Chicago being treated for a mini-stroke last September. Teammates poured onto the field to celebrate and doused Bailey with a red sports drink. It was the 16th no-hitter in Cincinnati history. No Reds pitcher had thrown a no-no at home since Tom Brownings 1-0 perfect game against the Dodgers at Riverfront Stadium on Sept. 16, 1988. Bailey became the third pitcher in the history of baseballs first professional franchise to get more than one. Vander Meer threw the only back-to-back no-hitters in major league history in 1938, beating the Boston Braves and Brooklyn Dodgers. Maloney had a no-hitter at Wrigley Field in 1965 and one at home against Houston in 1969. The Giants were no-hit for the 16th time. The last three pitchers to hold them hitless were all named Kevin -- LAs Gross in 1992, Floridas Brown in 1997 and Philadelphias Millwood in 2003. Bailey was facing a lineup in a deep funk -- two runs or less in nine of San Franciscos last 12 games. Last year was the season of the no-hitter, with seven in all, which tied the modern record. By this point, five had been thrown. So far in 2013, there had been only two close calls. Texas Yu Darvish was working on a perfect game when he gave up a two-out single in the ninth to Houstons Marwin Gonzalez during a 7-0 win on April 2. Detroits Anibal Sanchez gave up a one-out single in the ninth to Minnesotas Joe Mauer in a 6-0 win on May 24. Bailey became the first to take one all the way this year. Votto had a sacrifice fly off Tim Lincecum (4-9), and Brandon Phillips hit a two-run homer for all the help Bailey would need. Lincecum had some of his best moments last season in Cincinnati. Relegated to the bullpen after losing 15 games during the regular season, he went 4 1-3 innings in relief to help the Giants win Game 4 and, eventually, their division series, the first step toward a World Series title. But there was no stopping Bailey this time. Shin-Soo Choo hit Lincecums fifth pitch deep to right. Hunter Pence jumped above the wall and had the ball deflect off the heel of his glove back into play. The umpires initially ruled it a home run, but overturned the call after a review and gave Choo a double. He eventually scored on Vottos sac fly. Phillips hit a drive into the first row in left field in the sixth inning, his 12th homer for a 3-0 lead. NOTES: Bailey became the 31st pitcher to throw at least two no-hitters. ... The Giants moved LHP Mike Kickham into the bullpen, a day after he took his third straight loss. The rookie lasted only 2 2-3 innings in an 8-1 loss to the Reds. Bochy was noncommittal about how hed reconfigure his staff again when RHP Chad Gaudin comes off the DL from a bruised elbow. Hes eligible to return on Saturday. Howie Long Jersey . Rudy Gay made the tying basket in regulation and a 3-pointer in overtime that gave Sacramento the lead for good, and Fredette scored a career-high 24 points to help the Kings beat the Knicks 106-101 on Wednesday night. Art Shell Jersey .com) - Minnesota Vikings fans would surely concede Teddy Bridgewater is not Peyton Manning. http://www.shoptheraidersonline.com/Elite-Otis-Sistrunk-Raiders-Jersey/ . This week, topics cover the Blue Jays rotation, the futures John Gibbons and Alex Anthopoulos, protecting pitchers and a bonus question on his predictions for the MLB playoffs. Jerry Rice Jersey . Off-Season Game Plan looks at the Capitals possible summer plans, with the understanding that its tough to plot a direction without a general manager or head coach around which to set those expectations. John Matuszak Jersey . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga.LONDON, Ont. -- The London Knights elimination from their third straight Memorial Cup stung because it was their earliest exit of the three. The host team of the 2014 MasterCard Memorial Cup was a true contender among the four teams in it. With seven Knights forwards who helped the Knights win the last two Ontario Hockey League championships and with a team that scored over 300 goals this season, London was a threat to win the Cup on their third try in as many years. But the hosts were eliminated by the Guelph Storm in a 7-2 loss Wednesday. The Knights went 0-3 through the preliminary round and needed a win against their OHL rival to get into a tiebreaker game. "We thought for sure wed have a better chance of winning it this year," Knights forward Josh Anderson said. "We didnt have the bounces we wanted. Its too bad it had to end this way. "We wanted to have the Memorial Cup championship. I thought our organization really deserved one after the hard work weve been putting through these past three years. Looking at it now, Im glad I got the opportunity to come here and play for the London Knights." The Knights lost the 2012 final 2-1 in overtime to the host Shawinigan Cataractes. They fell in last years semifinal to the Portland Winterhawks in Saskatoon. The Storm were the first team since the Windsor Spitfires in 2010 to go 3-0 through the preliminary round. The OHL champions had already secured a berth in Sundays championship game after their second win. "It gives us confidence to know we can beat every team in the tournament," Storm forward Scott Kosmachuk said. The Val-dOr Foreurs, 2-1, and the Edmonton Oil Kings, 1-2, meet in Fridays semifinal in a clash of the Quebec and Western league champions. The winner faces the Storm for the Cup. Kosmachuk is a Winnipeg Jets prospect and led Guelph with a hat trick. Detroit Red Wings draft pick Tyler Bertuzzi scored twice. Marc Stevens and Dallas Stars prospect Jason Dickinson added a goal apiece for an explosive offence thats churned out 18 goals in three games in the tournament. The Storms Justin Nichols held off London when they pressed late in the first period and midway through the second. He made 45 saves for the win. Anderson, a Columbus Blue Jackets prospect, and Brett Welychka replied for the Knights. London mustered just four goals in three games. Two were scored by defencemen. The Knights were stopped on two penalty shots in the tournament and they scored once on 12 power-play chances. London outshot the Foreurs 51-28 in the first game of the tournament, but lost 1-0.dddddddddddd "Its a bad time to get cold for offence and for scoring goals," Knights forward Max Domi said. London goalie Anthony Stolarz stopped 14-of-17 shots and was replaced by Jake Patterson early in the second when he inadvertently kicked the puck into his own net. Patterson allowed four goals on 21 shots. Guelph also ousted London from this years OHL playoffs on Apr. 11. The Knights had five weeks without a game, which may explain their lack of touch around the net. "Its not easy being off for that long and coming back and playing at the high level these guys have been playing through the whole thing and winning championships," Knights forward Bo Horvat said. "Weve been practising the whole time, but theres no excuses." Londons goaltending felt unsettled as well. Because of an eight-game playoff suspension in March, Stolarzs hiatus prior to the Cup was even longer. In his first game in seven weeks, he made 27 saves in the loss to Val-dOr. But the Philadelphia Flyers prospect was replaced by Patterson both Wednesday and after two periods of Sundays 5-2 loss to Edmonton. Wednesdays round-robin finale featured a pair of frightening knee-on-knee collisions, although the players in each case escaped major injury. Storm assistant captain Zack Mitchell was tossed at 6:56 of the first period for kneeing London defenceman Dakota Mermis. The CHL suspended his Storm teammate Chadd Bauman for the rest of the tournament Wednesday for the same hit on Val-dOr defenceman Guillaume Gelinas on Monday. Knights defenceman Nikita Zadorov took a tripping minor in a second-collision with Bertuzzi, who limped off the ice. But both Mermis and Bertuzzi stayed in Wednesdays game, whereas Gelinas was unable to play the following night against Edmonton. Londons frustration boiled over in the final minutes and Stevens scored Guelphs fourth power-play goal of the game on a two-man advantage at 17:14. The Windsor Spitfires of 2010 went 4-0 en route to the Cup that year. But the Spitfires opened the 2009 tournament with a pair of losses and ran the table to claim the trophy. For that reason, Guelph wanted London gone so the Knights couldnt come back to haunt them Sunday. "This team is a team that once they get this city and this building behind them, they can really do some damage," Guelph captain Matt Finn said. "We didnt want to let them back in because theyre a dangerous team. "We wanted to be the team that was 3-0 and knock London out of this tournament." Stitched College Jerseys Cheap UCLA Jerseys NCAA Louisville Cardinals Jerseys North Carolina Jerseys Stitched Kentucky Wildcats Jerseys Stitched Alabama Crimson Tide Jerseys Cheap Basketball Wisconsin Badgers Jerseys Authentic NCAA Jerseys Store Wholesale Basketball NCAA Jerseys Cheap Duke Gear Stitched Alabama Jerseys Stitched Georgia Jerseys Cheap Clemson Jerseys Authentic Authentic Texas Jerseys Wholesale USC Jerseys Stitched Oklahoma Jerseys Stitched Ohio State Jerseys Cheap Notre Dame Gear UCLA Jerseys From China Cheap Louisville Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap North Carolina Jerseys Authentic Cheap Kentucky Jerseys Authentic Wisconsin Jerseys From China Cheap Michigan Gear Cheap Florida Gear Wholesale Arizona State Jerseys Cheap LSU Gear Cheap Auburn Gear Cheap California Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Miami Jerseys Authentic Cheap Michigan State Gear Cheap Tennessee Jerseys Authentic Texas A&M Jerseys From China Authentic Wake Forest Jerseys West Virginia Jerseys From China ' ' '