The good news is that, heading into Canada Day, the Toronto Blue Jays are still in first place in the American League East. Matthias Farley Jersey . The bad news is that with 78 games left to play, they have removed almost all of their margin for error. After winning their first five games in June, injuries and a cooling offence caught up with them. They only won seven of their next 22 and finished the month at 12-15, exactly their record in April. In other words, thats two losing months out of three so far this season. Two things are saving them, the general mediocrity of the entire AL East and that brilliant month of May that saw go 21-9. If you go back to 2002, only twice have the Jays headed into July with a better record than the one they have now. In 2006, they were 45-34 and, in 2003, they were 46-37. In the latter, they tailed off to 42-41 the rest of the way and finished at 87-75, while in the former, they went 42-39 down the stretch and finished at 86-76. Both were in the era before the extra Wild Card and, in 2003, they wound up in third place in the division, 15 games back of the Yankees in the East and seven-and-half games out of the Wild Card spot taken by the Boston Red Sox. They didnt fare much better in 2006, finishing three games back of the Chicago White Sox for the Wild Card. Even if there had been a second Wild Card, they would have missed it by a game to the Angels. The Blue Jays will have to go 45-33 the rest of the way to finish with 90 victories, which figures to be around the number they will need to put themselves in the conversation for a post-season berth, division title or a Wild Card. The AL East will probably be won within the division. The Baltimore Orioles have the best record within the East at 22-16, while the Jays and Yankees are both 17-15. The trouble part for the Blue Jays is they are only 3-6 against the Yanks this season and havent won in New York so far this season or in all of last year. Seven of the Jays remaining 10 games against the Yankees are in the Bronx. On the plus side, theyve split with Baltimore thus far in 2014 and six of their remaining nine against the Os are at Rogers Centre. Boston, though still a long shot, is slowly entering the equation again, as well. The BoSox are six out in the East and six out in the Wild Card race. The Blue Jays still have 13 left with Boston, seven at home and six at Fenway. Tampa Bay is pretty much an also-ran now. The Jays still have 12 left with them, including six in September, but Joe Maddons teams arent know for packing it in in the final month. So the Jays will play 44 of their final 78 games in the East, 22 at home and 22 away. Going 26-1) over than span just might be enough to put them in the playoffs if they hold their own in their other 34 games. To break it down even further though, the Blue Jays and T-Bay have the fewest number of home games left of the teams in the East with 37 apiece. The Yankees have the most with 43 and Baltimore has 41. Although the latter two have stumbled a bit in their own parks this season, being at home and travelling less and playing meaningful games in their own facilities could be a sizeable edge in a close race. Boston, too, has a favourable home/road split at 42-38. Then there is the matter of strength of schedule down the stretch. The Blue Jays play 40 of their 78 against teams that currently sport winning records and 38 against teams with losing records. The Yankees, on the other hand at my count, play only 38 against teams above .500 and 44 games against teams below .500. Again, that gives them an edge. The Orioles, though, play 48 games against teams with winning records and only 33 against teams with losing marks. So, the Blue Jays and the Yankees get the edge there. For the Blue Jays, the next five weeks could ultimately tell the tale. In July, they play only nine of their 17 games at home, broken up in the middle by the All-Star Game. After the next two games at home to the Milwaukee Brewers, they hit the road for 10 in 11 days including four at the Oakland Athletics, three at the Los Angeles Angels and, after an off-day, three at Tampa Bay. Then, after a seven-game homestand, they go on another 10-game journey over 10 days that includes three in New York versus the Yankees,three at Fenway against the Red Sox, culminating with four at Houston against the Astros. If they are still in it at that point, the Blue Jays will at least have a shot. Somewhere near the end of that span, Brett Lawrie should be back, as well. - With Milwaukee hitting town, its interesting to compare the numbers of the two guys who were disgraced by PED suspensions that, this year, have been key factors in getting their teams into first place in their respective divisions. The Brewers Ryan Braun, coming off his 50-game suspension of last season, is batting .290 for the N.L Central leaders with 11 homers, 46 RBI, an .849 OPS and 18 walks versus 52 strikeouts. Braun also helped the Brewers cause by agreeing to move to right field this season. Melky Cabrera is having a stand-out season in his own right and has put up almost identical numbers, hitting .299 with 11 homers and 42 RBI, an .809 OPS and 23 walks to 46 strikeouts. Cabrera is playing some strong left field, as well. Both have a decent shot at being at the All-Star game two weeks from Tuesday at Minnesota. - Speaking of the All-Star game, isnt the Home Run Derby starting to feel like the NBA Slam Dunk Contest? Every year it seems many of the bigger stars opt out. This year, American League captain Jose Bautista has to deal with the fact his own teammate Edwin Encarnacion doesnt want to compete and neither does Orioles slugger, Nelson Cruz. Then, White Sox rookie Jose Abreu, who slugged two dingers at Rogers Centre Friday night against the Jays and is one of baseballs emerging stars, isnt inclined to take part either, though, he apparently hasnt entirely closed the door. Good on Jose Bautista for agreeing to be part of this again. But if most of the other sluggers the fans really want to see dont want to be part of it all, then whats the point? Andrew Luck Jersey . - UFC 178, previously announced for Sept. Erik Swoope Jersey . -- Arizona came out of its last meeting with California a bit discombobulated, hurting from its first loss and the loss of forward Brandon Ashley for the rest of the season. http://www.coltsfansshop.com/Colts-Malik-Hooker-Draft-Jersey/ . Watch the game live on TSN and TSN GO at 9pm et/6pm pt. Serge Ibaka returned to the Thunder lineup from a calf injury that was supposed to sideline him for the remainder of the postseason and the results were sparkling.MONTREAL - If the Montreal Alouettes really are better than their 8-10 regular season record, now is the time to show it. The team that finished third in the CFL East Division will get that chance Sunday when they face the second-place Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the East semifinal in Guelph, Ont. "Youre only as good as your record shows, but in our locker-room, we feel we are better than our record," linebacker Chip Cox said Thursday. "We know we still have to get better at some things and that we have to work to win games. "Theyre not going to just happen for us. But we feel were just as good as anybody." Voters for the CFL awards seem to agree. They elected nine Alouettes, more than any team in the division, to the East all-star squad. Coach and general manager Jim Popp has said repeatedly his team had talent that could easily have finished 12-6 if not for some discipline problems early in the season and lots of turnovers and mistakes. There was also the carousel at quarterback after Anthony Calvillo was injured in August that saw Josh Neiswander, Tanner Marsh and, finally, Troy Smith take turns as the starting pivot. Between the four of them, they threw a league-high 28 interceptions. And there was the upheaval of starting the season with coach Dan Hawkins, only to see him fired after five games while Popp took over at the bench. The Alouettes hope the final third of the season, in which they went 4-2, gives them momentum going into the playoffs. Winning in the post-season would erase a load of bad memories from the regular season. "You go 3-0 in the playoffs and no one remembers how we started, right?" said Cox. "Thats the goal now. "We go 3-0 and everybody forgets about this, that and the other thing. Theyll say the Alouettes are the best team in the CFL. Again." It will be the third time in the last four games that Montreal and Hamilton have met. The Alouettes dominated 36-5 at home on Oct. 20 and were up 16-0 six days later in Guelph when turnovers and a spirited Hamilton comeback gave the Ticats a 27-24 win. Montreal ended the season with a 23-20 win in Toronto last Friday, but the Argonauts had benched many of their key players. The first-place Argos havve a bye to the East final. Anthony Castonzo Jersey. . Since winning consecutive Grey Cups in 2009 and 2010, Montreal has not won a playoff game. They lost an East semifinal to Hamilton at home in 2011 and lost the division final at home to Toronto last year. Their last East semifinal away from home was a 24-22 loss in Winnipeg in 2007 during Popps last stint as coach. "Nine all-stars is great but weve got to win," said defensive back Jerald Brown. "Were focused on winning. "The only way we can prove people right is by winning. No matter what people say, if were better than what our record is, then we should show that this week. Thats what will settle that score." Its not even a real home game for Hamilton, who are playing in Guelph this season while work is done on their home ground. "I dont care where we play," added Brown. "Were going to have to play in Saskatchewan (in the Grey Cup game) and thats going to be tough. "There are no excuses. We were at home the last two years and lost." The Alouettes defence led the CFL in several statistical categories, including fewest yards per game, fewest rushing yards and fewest first downs allowed. So its no surprise that six of their nine all-stars are on defence. They include Cox, Brown, defensive back Billy Parker, cornerback Geoff Tisdale, safety Mike Edem and defensive end John Bowman, to go with guard Josh Bourke, receiver S.J. Green and kicker Sean Whyte. Cox is also the East nominee for outstanding defensive player after setting a team record of 115 tackles and leading the squad in sacks with 12. "He deserves it and I hope he wins it," said Brown. "He was supposed to get it in 2010, but hes valuable for our defence. "If you look at his stats — tackles, interceptions, sacks — he makes a lot of plays." The defence could be missing a key linebacker as Kyries Hebert missed practice for a second day with a suspected knee injury. Popp is hoping he will be able to practise on Friday to see if he is fit to play. Hebert had 68 tackles and nine sacks. Cornerback Byron Parker is highly doubtful to play with a groin injury, while receiver Eric Deslauriers is out with a cracked rib. 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