CHICAGO - Jason Motte is moving to the other side of one of baseballs best rivalries. Lamar McHan Jersey .The veteran reliever is leaving St. Louis for a $4.5 million, one-year contract with the Chicago Cubs, according to a person with direct knowledge of the deal. Motte made his major league debut with the Cardinals in 2008 and had spent his entire career with the team that selected him in the 19th round of the 2003 draft.The person spoke to The Associated Press on Monday night on condition of anonymity because the team had not announced the agreement. The contract is pending a physical and includes bonuses that could increase the value to $7 million.WSCR-AM 670 was the first to report the agreement.Motte was one of baseballs top closers in 2012, when he had 42 saves in 49 chances and helped St. Louis reach the NL championship series. But the right-hander had elbow-ligament replacement surgery in May 2013 and missed that whole season. He returned this year and went 1-0 with a 4.68 ERA in 29 games.The deal with Motte gives Chicago another big arm for its bullpen and continues an impressive off-season for the Cubs.They jumped on Joe Maddon when the respected manager opted out of his contract with Tampa Bay, and bolstered their rotation with free-agent deals for Jon Lester and Jason Hammel. All-Star catcher Miguel Montero came over in a trade with Arizona.The Cubs went 73-89 last season and finished last in the NL Central after they lost 96 games in 2013. But the productive off-season and a handful of highly regarded prospects have produced a wave of optimism for fans of one of baseballs most forlorn franchises.Chicagos bullpen had a respectable 3.61 ERA last season, good for 15th in the majors. Hector Rondon emerged as the closer with 29 saves and a 2.42 ERA, but it was his first year in the role and Motte gives Maddon another option should the righty falter.___AP Sports Writer Ronald Blum in New York contributed to this report. Gene Washington Jersey . Bookies were offering odds of 13/1 before kickoff that the home team Houston Dynamo would prevail by three goals to nil. Stanley Morgan Jersey .ca. Hi Mr. Fraser, When I was watching the Heritage Classic in Vancouver there was a play midway through the third where Ottawa crashed the Canucks net and it came off its moorings. http://www.custompatriotsjersey.com/custom-gordy-soltau-jersey-large-801f.html . Darren Collison and Blake Griffin scored 23 points apiece and the Clippers beat the Suns 112-108 Wednesday night, their fourth win in a row and 17th in the last 19 games.SAN DIEGO -- Arms waving and legs churning, Arizona is racing back into the Sweet 16. The rest of the bracket should take notice of this one. If they play like this, the Wildcats are going to be awfully tough to beat. Overwhelming Gonzaga with its contest-everything defence, Arizona looked very much like the top seed in the West, blowing out the Bulldogs 84-61 on Sunday to reach the Sweet 16 for the third time in four years. "That Arizona team we saw tonight was as good a team as we have faced, that I can remember," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "It was just too much for us tonight." Coming off a shaky NCAA tournament opener, Arizona (32-4) ended a wild first weekend of upsets and buzzer beaters with a display of domination. This was not the epic double-overtime game these teams played in the 2003 NCAA tournament. This was an eye-popping display of what one of the nations best teams can do when it gets rolling. The Wildcats overran Gonzaga (29-7) with their size, athleticism and quick hands to blow the eighth-seeded Bulldogs out of the bracket. Turning one of college basketballs most efficient teams on its head, Arizona scored 31 points of Gonzagas 21 turnovers -- 15 on steals -- and never gave the Zags a chance after racing out to a 21-point lead in the first half. Aaron Gordon had 18 points, six rebounds and six assists for Arizona. Fellow freshman Rondae Hollis-Jefferson also had 18 points and Nick Johnson finished with 17. Next up for Arizona is fourth-seeded San Diego State -- a team it beat in this same arena early in the season -- in the Sweet 16 just up the coast in Anaheim. "Tonight was one of our seasons best performances," Arizona coach Sean Miller said. "Obviously, you want to play well in the NCAA tournament and thats exactly what our team did tonight." Gonzaga has relied on its ability to control the game and take care of the ball during a run of 16 straight NCAA tournament appearances. Arizonas pressure ran the Zags ragged, leaving them trailing the Wildcats as they raced off to one layup after another. Przemek Karnowski scored 14 points and Kevin Pangos of Holland Landing, Ont., added 12 for Gonzaga, which hasnt reached the Sweet 16 since 2009. "We didnt do ourselves any favours," said Pangoos, who kept playing after turning his ankle early in the game. Steve DeBerg Jersey. "We let them feel pretty good about themselves. But they are a good team and they did speed it up a little bit." Arizona was jittery in its opener against Weber State, starting slow and allowing the Wildcats from Utah to claw their way back from a 21-point deficit in the second half to make it close. The first-game anxiety out of their system, the Wildcats played with confidence and plenty of energy against Gonzaga, sprinting up the floor after steals and defensive rebounds to set up easy shots in transition. Arizona made it look easy at times, dropping off passes for layups, flying in for alley-oops and spotting up for 3-pointers on the break. It was so good even Gordon, whose outside shot has been questioned, dropped in a 3-pointer. For good measure, he went in for what seems to become his signature move on the break, soaring up for a reverse dunk on an alley-oop from Johnson to put Arizona up 38-20. Gonzaga shot well against one of the nations best defences -- when it could get shots off. The Bulldogs struggled with Arizonas theyre-everywhere defence, playing catch-up on the break as the Wildcats snared passes and stripped dribblers for eight steals in the first half. Gonzaga had 11 turnovers that Arizona turned into 19 points for a 47-34 halftime lead that would have been more if the Bulldogs didnt make a late run. Arizona had one turnover and 13 assists on its 17 field goals -- 34 attempts -- with Gordon and Hollis-Jefferson combining to hit 8 of 9 shots while scoring 12 points each. "What we did today was push the tempo," Gordon said. "We noticed they werent getting back as well as they should and we just kept that going throughout the game." The second half started like this: two possessions by Gonzaga, two turnovers. Arizona kept the show going from there. Johnson had the defensive highlight of the half, tracking down David Stockton to block what appeared to be a breakaway layup and the ball went off a Gonzaga player, to boot. The offensive reel was highlighted by Gordon, who soared in for a rebound slam over two Gonzaga players. No chance for the Bulldogs and, if Arizona keeps playing like this, not much of one for anyone else. ' ' '