act is he got the opportunity. "I asked for the opportun

LAS VEGAS -- Gonzaga has been the class of the West Coast Conference, regular hoisting regular-season and tournament trophies for nearly two decades. Even for a team such as this, finishing off another title sweep is a feel-good accomplishment. Sam Dower Jr. had 20 points and 13 rebounds, and Gonzaga held its ground during a second-half rally to beat BYU 75-64 Tuesday night for its 13th WCC championship. "It never gets old. Never gets old," Gonzaga coach Mark Few said. "Its obviously something we start talking about it and prepare for way back in the summer. For these guys to step up and make it happen, not only in the regular season but to win here and not share, is just an awesome, awesome accomplishment." Gonzaga (28-6) raced out to a 21-point lead in the first half, taking advantage of the Cougars late overtime game the night before. Once the Cougars got their legs and started chipping away at the lead, the Bulldogs had an answer, leaving no doubt about the NCAA tournament by earning the conferences automatic bid. Gary Bell Jr. had 14 points and David Stockton dished out seven assists to send the Bulldogs to the NCAA tournament for the 16th straight year. "We came in with the mindset and us controlling being in the tournament," Stockton said. "We didnt try to think about that, just winning the next game." BYU (23-11) rallied after a dismal first half, pulling within eight with 3 minutes left. The Cougars couldnt finish off the comeback and now have a long five-day wait until Selection Sunday. Tyler Haws had 24 points and Kyle Collinsworth added 13 before leaving with a right leg injury in the second half. "They really went after us at the start," coach Dave Rose said. "But our guys battled. We battled the whole game, got it to single digits, but couldnt get over the hump." Gonzaga and BYU split two meetings during the regular season. The Zags won the first one by 15 after hitting 10 of 22 3-pointers in Spokane. The Cougars were much better guarding the perimeter in Provo, limiting the Bulldogs to 4 of 18 shooting from 3-point range. Playing in its 17th straight WCC final, Gonzaga dominated early in the rubber match with a nearly perfect first half. Offensively, the Bulldogs built a quick nine-point lead and kept pouring it on behind Dower, who had 14 points on 7-of-11 shooting in the first half. Gonzaga was just as good defensively, contesting shots inside and getting out to BYUs shooters on the perimeter. The Cougars struggled against the Bulldogs pressure, missing 11 of their first 15 shots on their way to a 9-for-27 half. Gonzaga led by as much as 21 in the first half and was up 44-27 at the break. "From a coaching standpoint, thats how you want your guys this time of year," Few said. "Its the biggest stage thus far and we were in attack mode, we were playing great defence." Dower kept it rolling early in the second half, scoring on a hard drive with a foul, then throwing down a pair of dunks to put the Bulldogs up 53-33. BYU suffered another blow when Collinsworth had to be helped off the court midway through the second half, unable to put any weight on his right leg after going down under Gonzagas basket. Playing without its facilitator and second-leading scorer, the Cougars found a way to claw their way back. Haws has had trouble getting shots to fall in the WCC tournament and had a so-so first half, scoring nine points on 2-of-7 shooting. When his shots started to fall in the second half, so did Gonzagas lead. Haws hit a 3-pointer in rhythm to cut Gonzagas lead to 13 and the Cougars kept chipping away at the lead, getting it down to eight on two free throws by Haws with 2:56 left. That was it for BYU, though, leaving the Cougars to wait to see if the selection committee believes their resume is good enough for an NCAA tournament bid. "I think we should find ourselves in that tournament," said Haws, who made all 11 of his free throws after hitting all 14 in the semifinals against San Francisco. "This has been a challenging season, but I feel like our guys have come together and done enough to get in." Kenny Stills Saints Jersey . Spains victory rendered Frances 3-0 win against Finland meaningless as Spain needed just one point to secure passage to Brazil. Franck Ribery and Karim Benzema scored either side of Joona Toivios own-goal as France advanced to the playoff among the eight best second-place finishers. Josh Hill Saints Jersey . There, I saw a teenaged boy with tears in his eyes, being consoled by strength and conditioning coach Randy Lee. http://www.shoptheofficialsaints.com/El ... ts-Jersey/. -- Ben Brust scored 19 points to lead six Wisconsin players in double figures as the No. Will Herring Saints Jersey . The 28-year-old from Rochester, Alta., was selected by the Redblacks from the Saskatchewan Roughriders roster in the 2013 CFL Expansion Draft. Tavon Rooks Saints Jersey . Wilson hit Schenn from behind during Tuesday nights game in Philadelphia, earning a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct. He has a phone hearing with the department of player safety, which limits any potential suspension to five or fewer games.TORONTO - From this there will be no going back. Dustin McGowans time as a major league starting pitcher is over. Hes off to the bullpen to reprise the role in which he was so effective last season. He knows what to expect. He no longer has to worry about the relative brevity of his starts and the effect its had on the bullpen. There will be less stress about the pain in his arm on days in between starts. He wont have to concern himself with tiring and the role elevated blood sugar levels - McGowans a type 1 diabetic - may be playing in the fatigue. Theres a feeling of relief about being a reliever. "Yeah it is, actually, to tell you the truth," said McGowan. "That was one thing, when I left the office today, I kind of felt like there was a weight lifted off of my shoulder a little bit. Like, now I know what I can go do and what I need to do." McGowan met with manager John Gibbons in the skippers office on Thursday afternoon. Hed pitched into the fifth inning on Wednesday, leading to another night of taxing work for the bullpen. The question Gibbons had: how are you feeling? McGowan, as he promised he would be, was honest with his response. "Recovery is starting to get slower and slower and I was the first one that said that I would tell them when I started feeling a little sore," he said. The problems began after McGowans start in Pittsburgh, he said, when he noticed that hed be sore for the next four days, until the day before he was scheduled to pitch again. There was mutual agreement to pull the plug on the starting experiment. "To be honest with you I think it will prolong his career," said Gibbons. "I dont know how many total innings he threw last year but hes got to be close to that number this year. I think it would be a shame for him to get hurt out there again and his careers over." McGowan agrees. "Whos to say if I tried those two more starts, what if something did happen," said McGowan. "Thats something I didnt want to happen." McGowans had three significant shoulder surgeries, which wiped out his 2009 and 2010 seasons, most of 2011 and the entirety of 2012. He returned as a reliever last June and pitched well in 25 appearances, posting a 2.45 ERA and striking out a hitter per inning. The 32-year-old can now forge a relief career in peace. Last September, he asked for one more chance to start. He got it, in large part because Toronto failed to land free agent Erviin Santana and because J.ddddddddddddA. Happ struggled in spring training and began the season on the disabled list. The reasons why dont matter, though, the fact is he got the opportunity. "I asked for the opportunity and they gave me the shot," said McGowan, whos 2-2 with a 5.08 ERA in 39 innings pitched this year. "Its been a little rocky but I got the opportunity and Im glad I did." WHO REPLACES McGOWAN? Given the Blue Jays roster volatility, its impossible to predict with certainty who will get the first shot at McGowans spot. Toronto has an off day on Monday, in between three-game series in Texas and Boston, meaning manager John Gibbons can push back a fifth starter as far as a week Saturday when the Jays are back home and playing Oakland. From the current roster, Gibbons could go young and give Marcus Stroman his first career start. He could give the ball to Todd Redmond, a noted strike thrower. Stroman, 23, has worked to mixed reviews in five appearances during his first stint in the big leagues. He got his first major league win, pitching 1 1/3 innings in an extra inning victory at Philadelphia on May 6. Following another scoreless appearance against the Phillies on May 8, however, Stroman has since eight earned runs and 11 hits in three innings over two outings. "Just got to make pitches," said Stroman. "Hitters are hitters and you can never give them too much credit. Just got to really make pitches, bear down, its the best hitters in the world so you dont have room to make mistakes and they hammer mistakes." Here are the pitching matchups for the weekend set in Texas: Friday - RHP Drew Hutchison (1-3, 4.37) vs. RHP Yu Darvish (3-1, 2.33)Saturday - LHP Mark Buehrle (7-1, 2.04) vs. LHP Robbie Ross (1-5, 5.04)Sunday - RHP R.A. Dickey (4-3, 4.53) vs. RHP Nick Martinez (0-1, 2.38) RASMUS TO THE DISABLED LIST He was hoping to avoid it but Colby Rasmus went on the 15-day disabled list, retroactive to May 13, with tightness in his right hamstring. "He wasnt healing quick enough," said manager John Gibbons. "Its tough to play shorthanded so this way he can go on the DL, get rid of the thing completely and hell be good to go in a couple of weeks." Anthony Gose was recalled from Triple-A Buffalo to take Rasmus roster spot. Gibbons plan is to platoon Gose, who hits left-handed, with right-handed hitting Kevin Pillar. China Jerseys ' ' '