e majors with 47 home runs and is part of the reason Gibbons c

Alabama players and fans both made some noise in Avery Johnsons first season as coach.The Crimson Tide knocked off four Top 25 teams, dramatically surpassed expectations and set Coleman Coliseum attendance records.Now, Johnsons challenge is to try to improve on that promising start with a blend of newcomers and transfers and only one returning player who averaged double figures in scoring last season , forward Shannon Hale.Then again, the former NBA head coach and player is also not having to get used to coaching a college team for the first time.This second year I am much more comfortable, but my wife says I work much harder, Johnson said.The Tide must replace leading scorer Retin Obasohan, top 3-point shooter Arthur Edwards and Michael Kessens. Johnson has beefed up the roster with transfers, plus point guard Dazon Ingram is back after breaking his left foot early in his freshman season.The transfer group includes former Memphis guard/forward Nick King and point guard Avery Johnson Jr., who played for Texas A&M as a freshman before joining his fathers team. Both sat out last season after transferring. Graduate transfers Corban Collins (Morehead State) and Bola Olaniyan (Southern Illinois) also joined the team.Alabama made it to the NIT in Johnsons first season despite being picked to finish 13th in the Southeastern Conference. The 18-15 record matched Wimp Sanderson (1980-81) for the most wins in a coachs Tide debut despite replacing the Tides top three scorers.Alabama is picked to finish seventh in the SEC this season.---Some other things to know about Alabamas 2016-17 team:KEEPING `EM COMING: Johnsons hiring and subsequent courtship of fans definitely paid off. Alabama set a school record with an average of 13,110 fans at Coleman Coliseum and the five home sellouts represented the most since 2006-07. The challenge will be keeping that excitement level high.FINDING SCORERS: Hale (10.8 points per game) is the only returning player who averaged more than eight last season. Obasohan carried the load with 17.6 points on average for a team that only scored 66.5 an outing. We dont have Retin in terms of one guy thats going to get us 17-25 (points), but we think we have eight guys that might be able to get us 15, Johnson said.INGRAMS BACK: The 6-foot-5 former high school Mr. Basketball in Alabama was an immediate starter, but only played in seven games before breaking his left foot. Ingram was leading the team in rebounding and shooting 54 percent from the floor when he was hurt.OUTSIDE SHOOTING: ArMond Davis, one of the nations top junior college recruits, could replace Edwards productivity as a perimeter threat. He averaged 17.1 points and 6.8 rebounds at College of Southern Idaho while hitting 38.5 percent from 3-point range. Every shot is a good shot for him, Johnson said. I think he took me literally when I said he could take and make shots from Southern Idaho, so he actually believes that. Maybe hell take and make some shots from western Alabama.GRABBING BOARDS: Alabama has beefed up in rebounders with the return of a big guard in Ingram and arrival of King and Olaniyan, who averaged 8.8 boards last season. The Tide ranked 242nd nationally with 9.9 offensive rebounds per game.---Online:AP College Basketball: www.collegebasketball.ap.org Wholesale Jerseys USA . The Olympic champion curler and TSN curling analyst immediately went online to look at the Halls long list of honoured members. Thats when the enormity of the honour sunk in. Wholesale Jerseys China . -- Timbers coach Caleb Porter didnt stray from his business-like approach to the season even after Portland downed the two-time defending league champion Los Angeles Galaxy to gain crucial playoff position. http://www.wholesalechinajerseysfreeshipping.com/ . It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The 10th-ranked German improved her record in finals to 3-5. Wholesale NFL Jerseys .1 million pounds ($61.2 million) on Saturday, giving the beleaguered English Premier League champions a major lift. Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys .Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner. TORONTO -- Whenever his Toronto Blue Jays face the Baltimore Orioles, manager John Gibbons has a pretty good idea what kind of game its going to be.Theyre normally slugfests, Gibbons said Monday as the Blue Jays prepared to host Baltimore in the American League wild-card game.The Orioles led the major leagues with 253 home runs this season and hit 28 in their 19 games against Toronto. The Blue Jays were fourth in baseball with 221 homers and hit 29 against Baltimore.Were really very similar teams, if you break it down, Gibbons said. We know everything about them. They know everything about us. When youre playing a team from your division, theres really no secrets.Still, with a berth in the best-of-five division series against Texas on the line, long balls might be a little harder to come by in Tuesday nights winner-take-all affair between these AL East foes.The challenge of controlling two powerful lineups will fall on the starting pitchers. Marcus Stroman (9-10, 4.37 ERA) gets the nod for Toronto, with fellow right-hander Chris Tillman (16-6, 3.77) going for the Orioles.I think Stro is the perfect guy, Gibbons said. Big game, weve seen him do it before. He did that a couple of times for us last year. You know hes going to come out throwing strikes. Were glad hes available.Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said choosing Tillman was a good, tough decision.We had probably three options, and Chris is one of those good options, Showalter said.The Orioles went 4-0 in Tillmans four starts against the Blue Jays this season. Last year, he was 0-4 in six starts against Toronto, with an ugly 11.32 ERA.I dont think Ive gone out of my way to do anything different with these guys, Tillman said. Its just the way the cookie crumbles sometimes. Last year didnt go so well. This year has been a little better.Tillman took a no-decision against the Blue Jays in his final start of the regular season. He allowed two runs, one earned, and six hits in 5 2/3 innings on Wednesday. In 13 career sttarts at Rogers Centre, he is 2-6 with a 7.dddddddddddd1 ERA.If the Orioles have a late lead, theyll like their chances of locking it down. Closer Zach Britton was perfect in 47 save opportunities this season. Given the stakes, Showalter said hed consider using Britton for an extended outing.You dont worry about tomorrow or the next day, the manager said. Everything is about that nine innings. There are some times during the course of the game that it may happen earlier than usual that you may attack it differently.Stroman lost to Baltimore in his final regular-season outing. He yielded four runs and nine hits in seven innings Thursday. He is 1-2 with a 7.04 ERA in four starts against Baltimore this season.Its an unbelievable lineup, Stroman said. One through nine, there are no easy outs. There are no pitches you can take off. You make a mistake, and they make you pay.Orioles slugger Mark Trumbo led the majors with 47 home runs and is part of the reason Gibbons considers Baltimore probably the top quick-strike offense in baseball.There are so many power threats in their lineup, Gibbons said.Power was in short supply for the Blue Jays in the final weeks of the season. Toronto averaged 3.69 runs in September and October, their worst month of the season.Even so, a pair of one-run wins at Boston in the final two games of the season gave the Blue Jays home-field advantage against Baltimore and got them ready for the postseason, Gibbons said.Theres got to be something said for experiencing those kind of games, he said. You play enough of them, you get used to them.Toronto did not put right-hander R.A. Dickey on its postseason roster. Including Stroman, the Blue Jays will have 10 pitchers available. The Orioles have not yet finalized their roster.The winner of Tuesdays game will head to Texas to play the AL West champion Rangers beginning Thursday. ' ' '