The job here is to state an opinion, support it with available facts, and hope it’s right. It’s much easier to do that, and to say “thumbs up”, when indisputable evidence is discovered. Lo and behold, there is indisputable evidence that the New York Islanders are going to host playoff games in their final year at Nassau County Coliseum. Here it is - the Islanders scored seven goals last night against the Dallas Stars, and John Tavares didn’t score any of them. Furthermore, he didn’t assist on any of them. When the Islanders can score seven times without a point from their leading scorer, the guy who led the league just a couple of days ago, they’re a playoff team. So thumbs up to the Islanders and a proper end to their time at the Nassau Coliseum. Count on it, as you count the points that Tavares will surely get the next time the Isles score seven goals. --- My thumb is down to Marc-Edouard Vlasic’s statement that “there’s nothing wrong with the San Jose Sharks.” He needed to say there’s nothing “seriously” wrong with his team, because, seriously, there’s something wrong when the Sharks lose at home to the Buffalo Sabres. I know it sounds like I’m picking on any team that loses to Buffalo, because I made an unflattering reference to the Carolina Hurricanes’ loss to Buffalo, but here’s why San Jose deserves criticism - when a last-place team tours California, playing three games in four nights, and loses the first two games, it simply shouldn’t win the third one. It requires help in the form of a no-show by the home side for a team like Buffalo to beat the Sharks or the Kings or the Ducks under those circumstances. Coming as it did on the heels of a last-minute, 5-4 loss to Columbus, San Jose’s performance in the 2-1 yawner against the Sabres pretty much wipes out the glow of the Sharks’ good start to the season, and should cause some concern. Martin Prado Jersey . "Hes over there," the first baseman said. "You dont need to talk to anybody else." Indeed, Peralta did it all as the majors top team won again. JT Riddle Jersey . Teams one through twenty competing in Englands top flight are each fatally flawed. A wide-open, highly competitive and mistake-filled season has followed. http://www.marlinsteamproshop.com/Marlin...on-Kids-Jersey/. Felix Pie had an RBI double earlier in the inning, as Baltimore rallied for three runs to overcome a 3-2 deficit. J.J. Hardy had two hits and Matt Wieters chipped in with an RBI double for the Orioles, who pushed their winning streak to three games. Jose Fernandez Jersey .com) - Top seed Klara Zakopalova reached the second round, while former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone came up a loser Tuesday at the inaugural Rio Open tennis event. Lewis Brinson Jersey . - A pitch clock will be used this season during minor league games at Triple-A and Double-A, but it has been ruled out for the major leagues this year. DETROIT -- Torii Hunter hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning, lifting Detroit over the Oakland Athletics 7-6 Thursday and boosting the Tigers after Max Scherzer was denied his 20th win and Miguel Cabrera limped off with an injury. The Tigers scored four times in the ninth off Grant Balfour (0-3). A two-out walk set up Victor Martinez RBI single, then Hunter homered as the Tigers avoided a sweep. Scherzer gave up six runs in five innings. The no-decision left him with a 19-1 record. Cabrera hurt his abdomen making an awkward slide while trying to stretch a single into a double in the fifth inning. He was listed as day to day with discomfort. The reigning Triple Crown winner has been hobbled this month with a strain in his groin, abdominal and hip area. Hes also had a banged-up left leg. Cabrera got two hits before being injured, increasing his major league-leading batting average to .359. He leads baseball with 130 RBIs, and his 43 homers trail only Baltimores Chris Davis. Scherzers bid to be the first pitcher in the major leagues with 20 wins this season didnt look good at the start. Coco Crisp led off the game with a double and Lowrie hit a one-out, two-run homer on a thigh-high, 92-mph fastball. Scherzer held the As to only one hit over the next two innings, but they built a four-run cushion in the fourth on sacrifice flies by Daric Barton and Eric Sogard. Josh Donaldson hit a leadoff triple in the fifth and Brandon Moss homered deepp into the right-field seats to make it 6-1.dddddddddddd As starter Bartolo Colon was in a position to win his 15th game. He allowed only one run and five hits without a walk over five innings in his first start since Aug. 13, when a groin injury landed him on the disabled list. Prince Fielder hit a solo homer in the sixth off Jerry Blevins, who gave up another run and retired only one batter to let the Tigers pull within three runs. Oaklands Dan Otero and Sean Doolittle each followed with a 1 1-3 innings of scoreless relief, setting Balfour up to potentially pitch for his 34th save in 35 chances. He gave up a leadoff walk to Austin Jackson and walked Fielder with two outs. Balfour then got ahead 0-2 against Martinez, but couldnt get a third strike against him and that proved to be costly. Balfour gave up two hits, two walks and four runs and got just two outs in the pivotal inning that prevented the As from finishing off a four-game sweep. NOTES: Tigers manager Jim Leyland said the team has decided which players will be added to the roster when it expands to 40 players on Sept. 1, but declined to make any announcements. Leyland said the call-ups will happen in multiple groups, starting on Sept. 1 and continuing as minor league seasons come to an end. ... Moss four homers in the series were more than he hit in three of his first five major league seasons. Moss didnt reach double figures until last year, his sixth, when he hit 21 for Oakland. ' ' '