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30	October 2019

huge first half, scoring 19 points on 7-of-9

KANSAS CITY, Mo. Custom Washington Nationals Nike Jerseys . -- All-Star closer Greg Holland agreed Wednesday with the Royals to a one-year contract worth $4,675,000, the final player to reach a deal among Kansas Citys players in arbitration. Holland had asked for $5.2 million in arbitration last month and the Royals had offered $4.1 million. They settled just over the midpoint rather than allow a three-person panel to pick one figure or the other, something that has never happened since general manager Dayton Moore took over the Royals baseball operations in 2006. Holland, who went 2-1 with a 1.21 ERA and a franchise-record 47 saves last season, will also earn a $50,000 bonus if hes selected for his second All-Star game. Moore said Monday that he was confident a deal would get done with Holland, who was eligible for arbitration for the first time, but that he wasnt against going to a hearing. "We havent experienced that since weve been here, but its not by design," Moore said. Moore also considered it a good sign the Royals had numerous players eligible for arbitration this year. They had previously reached one-year deals with first baseman Eric Hosmer, outfielder Justin Maxwell, catcher Brett Hayes and relief pitchers Tim Collins, Luke Hochevar and Aaron Crow. They also agreed to a deal with Emilio Bonifacio, who has since been waived. "I think its a reflection of a player, what theyve accomplished at this stage of their career, what kind of leverage they have," Moore said. "Getting a deal prior to a hearing is going to be more challenging going forward as long as we have players excelling and doing well." Pitchers and catchers are due to report to Surprise, Ariz., on Friday. The Royals first full-squad workout is Feb. 20 with their exhibition opener against Texas on Feb. 27. Holland assumed the closers role in Kansas City late in 2012, and he flourished last season, unleashing an overpowering fastball on an unsuspecting AL Central. He finished third in the majors in saves, and his strikeout rate of 13.84 per nine innings was among the best in baseball. While hes under club control through arbitration for two more years, Holland said during a recent interview that he would be open to discussing a long-term deal with Kansas City. "I love the town. I love the fans," he said. "Id really take a lot of pride in being here when we took the next step, making the playoffs and eventually winning a championship." Holland should once again serve as the bookend to one of the most dominant bullpens in the American League this season. Most of the key pieces are back from a group that went 33-24 with an AL-best 2.55 ERA and held opponents to a .217 batting average last season. "Greg is obviously one of the best closers in all of baseball," Crow said. "Whatever we have to do to get the ball to him in the ninth inning, well do. Doesnt matter whether you pitch the second inning or the eighth inning. We just want to give Greg an opportunity to get a save." Wholesale Custom Baseball Jerseys . After Andrew Romine served up two monster home runs in the inning, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said he thought Romine was one of the bright spots on the night, showing just how bad the series opener against the last-place Minnesota Twins went for the Tigers. Custom Houston Astros Nike Jerseys . For Sweed, a second round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2008, this will be his second go around in the CFL after previously having spent time with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. https://www.custombaseballnikejerseys.com/ . The three Calgary natives will compete after the sport was skipped by the Vancouver Games in 2010 but later included on the program for Sochi, Russia. The fight to include womens ski jumping prior to Vancouver went to the courts only to have the Supreme Court of Canada rule against the athletes appeal in 2009.CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Unable to get much lift off his sore right ankle, Bobcats centre Al Jefferson figured it was time to make an adjustment. So Jefferson made a conscious decision to try a new technique Tuesday night, jumping off both feet instead of just his right. He never expected the results he got. Jefferson scored a season-high 35 points, Kemba Walker had 12 of his 25 in the fourth quarter and Charlotte snapped the New York Knicks five-game winning streak with a 108-98 victory. "It worked for me tonight -- on my jump shot, on my jump hook. I just decided to try to do something different to get some lift," said Jefferson, who acknowledged for the first time hell likely need surgery on the ankle after the season. It was Jeffersons best game since joining the Bobcats as a free agent this past off-season and more of what he envisioned when he signed a three-year, $41 million contract. When he wasnt dominating in the low post, he was kicking the ball out to the wing and the Bobcats were knocking down shots, hitting 6 of 14 on 3-point attempts. It came at a great time. Coach Steve Clifford said he didnt want any doubt to slip into his players minds after theyd lost three straight and eight of their last 10 games. "Thats a professional win," Clifford said. "Thats a win you can get on a plane and feel good about." Walker was 4 of 4 from the field in the fourth quarter, including 3-pointers on back-to-back possessions. He also finished with seven rebounds and five assists. The Bobcats benefited from the return of Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who had eight points and seven rebounds after sitting out the last 19 games with a broken left hand. He also brought some needed energy on the defensive end. "You can see value of having a guy like Kidd-Gilchrist," Clifford said. "People dont always understand the energy and intensity and those kinds of things. Those are skills." Carmelo Anthony led the Knicks (15-23) with 20 points and six rebounds. Tyson Chandler returned to the lineup after missing four games with bronchitis, but wasnt much of a factor. Chandler made both shots from the field and finished with five points and four rebounds in 16 1/2 minutes. "I felt decent out there," Chandler said. "I was a little winded the first half but after that I kind of got my lungs together."t; J. Custom Chicago White Sox Nike Jerseys. R. Smith was benched for the second time in four games. With Chandler limited, the Knicks had a tough time shutting down Jefferson. "We havent been hitting the bigs," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. "Were letting our bigs play guys one-on-one and (Jefferson) got going and by the time we started to double team, he had already felt good about his game and that didnt even help either." The Bobcats led throughout the second half, but the Knicks cut the lead to four with less than 11 minutes remaining. Thats when Walker began to take over. After a timeout, Walker scored a layup on a nice one-handed feed from Jefferson, who had drawn double coverage. Walker then knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, including a 29-footer from the top of the key to beat the shot clock. Jefferson added an inside jumper to push the lead the 13 and the Knicks never challenged again. Jefferson finished 14 of 20 from the field and had eight rebounds. "You could tell from the first time he touched the ball he was on the attack," Clifford said. After giving up 23 second-chance points in a loss to the Chicago Bulls on Saturday, the Bobcats limited the Knicks to just four Tuesday night and led 55-46 at the break. Jefferson had a huge first half, scoring 19 points on 7-of-9 shooting as the Bobcats outscored the Knicks 22-14 in the paint. Kidd-Gilchrist, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2012 draft, returned to the starting lineup for the first time since Dec. 3. He missed a few layups, but provided a needed presence on defence. The Bobcats were 7-12 without Kidd-Gilchrist in the lineup. The Knicks clearly looked fatigued on the second night of a back-to-back. "Im not using that as an excuse but we were a step slow defensively in terms of our rotations," Woodson said. "We scored enough points. 98 points is more than enough points. This team averages 93 points and we gave up 108 points so our defence was non-existent. You just cant do that, especially on the road." NOTES: Mike Tolbert and DeAngelo Williams of the NFLs Carolina Panthers were in the crowd. ... Amare Stoudemire had an embarrassing turnover when he threw a pass to no one in particular and knocked over a womans drink in the front row. ... In the fourth quarter, a portion of Knicks fans on hand for the game began chanting Smiths name, but to no avail. ' ' '