Die Macht » miniscent of a Jan. 11 game that featured two lengthy stop

TORONTO -- Frustrating. Entertaining. Disappointing. The Toronto Blue Jays wrapped up yet another roller-coaster season Sunday rife with emotion. We were an entertaining team, manager John Gibbons said before the season finale against Baltimore. A frustrating team but very entertaining. I think we gave our fans some pretty good entertainment along the way. But in saying that too were all disappointed. Toronto went into the final game with an 83-78 record, tied with the Yankees for second in the AL East. The Jays were 38-24, six games atop the American League East, on June 6 -- fuelled in large part by a 21-9 May (a .700 record for the month). If May was the peak, August was the valley. The team slumped to a 9-17 record (.346) with Adam Lind, Edwin Encarnacion and Brett Lawrie missing chunks of action through injury. Every team goes into the season optimistically, all 30 of them. But realistically not all 30 have a shot. We felt we had a shot, Gibbons said. General manager Alex Anthopoulos also said the team fell short. We didnt achieve our goals. That goes without saying, he said. Its more disheartening this season, I felt like we were close. Obviously we were there the bulk of the year, he added. But he repeated his confidence in Gibbons, who has a rolling contract that kicks in every Jan. 1 Anthopoulos said he was excited about the off-season, given the team has some roster flexibility in terms of options and expiring contracts. But he said it was too early to talk about the 2015 payroll, reportedly around US$137 million this season The GM did repeat Torontos stance that it wont offer contacts longer than five years. The team will have to dig deep into its pocket to re-sign left-fielder Melky Cabrera and needs to solve question-marks in centre-field, second base and the bullpen. The bench and defence also has to be upgraded. The starting rotation of R.A. Dickey, Mark Buehrle, Drew Hutchinson, Marcus Stroman and J.A. Happ was better than expected once it came together. Aaron Sanchez, used in the bullpen, is also likely to see action as a starter in spring training. You can never have enough depth, Anthopoulos said when asked whether the team can afford to trade any of its starting talent. Anthopoulos said the team is reviewing what it can do to keep oft-injured third baseman Lawrie on the field. Cheap Jordan From China . The Bulls seem to be getting along fine without him. D.J. Augustin scored 27 points in a start for Kirk Hinrich and Taj Gibson matched a career high with 26 filling in for Carlos Boozer as the Bulls improved to 7-2 since trading the popular Deng with a 98-87 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night. Wholesale Air Jordan . -- San Francisco 49ers offensive co-ordinator Greg Roman is a finalist to replace Joe Paterno at Penn State, his agent said Monday. http://www.wholesaleairjordanfromchina.com/ . It looked like being another miserable day for Moyes when Ashley Westwood put Villa in front from a 13th-minute free kick. But Rooney headed United level seven minutes later, and the striker netted his 16th of the season for the struggling champions from the penalty spot before halftime. Cheap Jordans . Bayern led second-place Leverkusen by 10 points with a game in hand, while Dortmund was another four points off the pace. Freiburg midfielder Felix Klaus scored in the last minute as his side twice came from behind to climb provisionally out of the relegation zone. WASHINGTON -- The Washington Wizards are inching closer to their first playoff spot since 2008 and can earn a post-season berth Sunday if the Golden State Warriors beat the New York Knicks. After the Wizards sloppy 101-97 win over the free-falling Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night, they insisted theyre not looking ahead -- at least not publicly. "If the Knicks lose, Ill be more excited. Id know Id be playing in the playoffs," John Wall said. Wall scored 25 points and Drew Gooden added 16 for Washington, which is sixth in the Eastern Conference. Wall scored 13 points in the last 7:16 of the third quarter and the Wizards finally escaped the pesky Hawks, who have lost six straight and 20 of 26. Jeff Teague scored 19 points and Paul Millsap 17 for Atlanta. Washington had to overcome a slow start coming off its impressive 13-point win over Eastern Conference leader Indiana on Friday to beat the Hawks, who lead the Knicks by 1 1/2 games for the final playoff berth in the East. They also had to deal with the effects of a Saturday afternoon hockey game at the Verizon Center. Because of the Washington Capitals game with the Boston Bruins, the starting time of the Wizards game was pushed back an hour. The changeover left the floor slippery and may have caused a groin injury to Washington forward Trevor Ariza. "Good thing nobody got seriously injured, but we got to work on that. Somebody couldve really got hurt. We got to keep ourselves safe," Ariza said. "I tried to play the game as fast as I can all the time, but after I fell and slipped, I slowed down for sure." He finished with 13 points. Bradley Beal had 14. "That floor was awful tonight. I apologize for that," coach Randy Wittman said. Washington led 99-89 with 2:38 to play, but the Hawks scored eight straight including three free throws by Lou Williams and a three-point play by Teague with 39.8 to play. Teagues three points came immediately after Wall missed two foul shots. With the Wizards leading 99-97,, Marcin Gortat blocked Teagues shot with 11.dddddddddddd1 seconds left. Gooden was fouled by Teague and hit two free throws to secure the win. "We call this fatigue. We call this fatigue and too relaxed. Im glad we won that game. Otherwise, Id probably shoot myself at home," Gortat said. He had 12 points and 11 rebounds. Wittman wasnt pleased with how his team closed out the game. "Disappointed in that, but theres not a bad win in this league. Well take the win," Wittman said. Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer, whose team played well despite missing three of its five leading scorers, had been hoping for a comeback. "Its amazing how long an NBA game is and what can happen in the last two minutes," Budenholzer said. The game was interrupted countless times by the condensation, which seemed to bother Wizards players more than Hawks. It was reminiscent of a Jan. 11 game that featured two lengthy stoppages when a heavy rainstorm hit the area and delayed Washingtons game with Houston. The Hawks started hot, hitting seven of their first eight shots and running out to a 21-11 advantage, but Washington got eight late points from Gooden, outscoring the Hawks 16-7 in the last 4:31 to lead 28-27 after one. Thanks to nine points in the last five minutes by Pero Antic, Atlanta led 52-50 at halftime. Walls third-quarter offensive display gave the Wizards a 75-71 lead after going into the fourth. NOTES: Washington F/C Nene, who has missed 17 games with a left knee sprain is progressing, though Wittman isnt guessing when he may return. "Hes going on the floor a little bit, on his own, just kind of getting on his legs a little bit," Wittman said. "Where that takes us I dont know. Hes going in a good direction." ... Atlanta was without G/F Kyle Korver (back spasms) and G DeMarre Carroll (stomach virus). ... Wizards G Andre Miller was called for a flagrant foul on Hawks G Dennis Schroder in the fourth quarter, but Schroder missed both foul shots. ' ' '