nt), according to FightMetric. St-Pierre has controlled his

[blueberryjerry]

OAKLAND, Calif. . -- The Oakland Athletics are opening up quite a cushion in the AL West. Josh Donaldson hit a two-run single in a four-run third inning against Oakland nemesis Jered Weaver and the As completed a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels with a 6-3 victory on Sunday. "We played well this series," Donaldson said. "Got some timely hits and we pitched well. I definitely think its one of those series we walk away and feel good about ourselves." Jed Lowrie homered and drove in two runs and Coco Crisp added an RBI double against Weaver (6-4) to give the As their first home sweep of at least three games against the Angels since June 29-July 1, 2004. Oakland leads the AL West by 4 1/2 games over Los Angeles, its largest pre-All-Star break lead since being 5 1/2 up in 1990. "We stubbed our toe this weekend but were looking at the big picture," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "Were a good team and our pitchers are a big part of that." The big inning was more than enough support for Sonny Gray (6-1), who allowed a pair of sacrifice flies and an RBI double by Erick Aybar in 6 2-3 innings to rebound from a rare rough start. Gray has 11 quality starts in 12 outings this season for a 2.45 ERA. "We all knew coming in it was tight and they were playing really good baseball and we needed to take care of business at home," Gray said. "The way we were able to put these three games together ... that was awesome." As good as Gray has been this season, Weaver has been even better against the As of late. He allowed just two runs in 44 1-3 innings over six starts the past two seasons against Oakland, proving to be the one Angels pitcher who befuddled the As on their way to back-to-back AL West titles. Oakland more than doubled that scoring output in the fourth inning with a rally that got started when Craig Gentry hustled to beat out a potential double play. Gentry went to third on Eric Sogards single and scored on Crisps double. Donaldson added his two-run single and Lowrie capped the inning with a two-out single that made it 4-0. "This is a totally different As club," Weaver said. "They have great pitching, guys who can get on base at the bottom of the order and who can do the little things. I had one inning that got away from me. I wish we played better this series, but it is not the end of the year. Well see them again." Grey escaped a bases-loaded jam by striking out Hank Conger to end the fourth inning before allowing the sacrifice flies to Aybar and Albert Pujols in the fifth. Lowrie, who entered the game in a 4-for-30 slump, hit his solo homer in the bottom of the fifth to put Oakland back up by three and the As added an unearned run in the sixth as Oakland matched its highest scoring output ever against Weaver in 27 career starts. "I think he just left some pitches up," Donaldson said. "He tries to execute up at times, but there are times when he left some off-speed pitches up and that gives us a chance to definitely hit the ball a little bit harder." Grey was replaced by Dan Otero after Aybars two-out double in the seventh made it 6-3. Otero struck out Pujols to end the inning. Luke Gregerson pitched a scoreless eighth and Sean Doolittle struck out the side in order in the ninth for his fifth save in six chances. NOTES: Weaver allowed six runs -- five earned -- and 11 hits in six innings. ... Angels OF Mike Trout missed a second straight game with a stiff back. ... C Stephen Vogt started after being called up from Triple-A Sacramento early in the day to give Oakland another bat with 1B Brandon Moss (right calf) and outfielder Josh Reddick (right knee) day to day with injuries. ... Both teams are off Monday. The Angels open a three-game series in Houston on Tuesday, while the As start a three-game series against the Yankees in New York. . And fellow Leaf, Jake Gardiner, hiking in Whistler. . Green-Ellis was Cincinnatis leading rusher each of the last two seasons. His role was reduced last year when Giovani Bernard was added to the backfield. Green-Ellis ran for 756 yards and a career-low 3. .ca. In addition to the game being aired in its entirety on CTV Two Vancouver Island and TSN.ca, TSN2 will also have coverage of Whitecaps FC immediately following NASCAR Sprint Cup Series: Toyota Owners 400.LAS VEGAS -- Hungry. Obsessed. Driven. Professional. The epitome of a champion. UFC president Dana White was full of praise Thursday in summing up welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre, who looks to extend his MMA legacy this weekend with a win over Johny (Bigg Rigg) Hendricks at UFC 167. "When youre as rich as Georges St-Pierre is, to stay that mentally tough and to keep having the drive and the passion to win that he does, thats what separates him from all the rest," White told reporters Thursday. Asked how rich the 32-year-old fighter from Montreal was, White replied: "Hes rich. Hes very rich." And White knows rich. The UFC boss travels in a world of private jets, big bets, fast cars and the finest restaurants. Saturdays payday will likely help further pad the GSP retirement fund. St-Pierre, the organizations biggest pay-per-view draw, is likely to earn several times over the US$2 million that Zuffa paid to purchase an ailing UFC back in 2001. White has his favourites and villains in his roster of fighters past and present. Former light-heavyweight Chuck (The Iceman) Liddell is like family. Tito Ortiz, another former title-holder, was oil to Whites water. But his tribute to St-Pierre, in a lengthy scrum of reporters after the pre-fight news conference Thursday, was unparalleled. "Hes an absolute professional," White said. "No matter how dominant hes been over the last however many years, he still takes guys seriously, he still puts in the hard work. Hes a dedicated professional." White also said St-Pierre was easy to work with outside the cage. If the champion has an issue, he just picks up the phone and they hash it out. "Theres no ego with Georges St-Pierre ... Nobody has been easier and more professional to work with than Georges St-Pierre." The champion has surrounded himself with good people, he added, "There are no barnacles on that kids back. That kid is his own man. he does his own thing." And White seemed to marvel as the Canadian champions pursuit of excellence. "The thing that makes this whole thing work, this whole machine is hunger and drive ... To still have that drive and that desire to win is what sets him apart from all the rest." White was one of the early booster of St-Pierre. "In my opinion, Georges St-Pierre is the most talented fighter on the planet right now," the UFC president said in February 2006 before UFC 58. "The Canadian people ought be all over him, man. The kid is good-looking, charismatic, an unbelievable fighter, one of the nicest human beings you could ever hope to meet. Im surprised he doesnt have major blue-chip sponsors here in Canada, because people are really starting to notice him in the U.S. "It doesnt matter wheres he from," White added. "Hes a star, hes a UFC star." White has also been critical. After St-Pierre was beaten in his first title defence, at UFC 69 in April 2007, the UFC boss questioned his mental strength, "After watching that Matt Serra fight, I question Georges St. Pierres mental ability to fight." St-Pierre (24-2) has not lost since and has long put that criticism to rest. On Thursday, as Hendricks drove himself to distraction over pre-fight bickering concerning additional drug tests, St-Pierre smiled and politely answered all questionns on the topic. . In response to Hendricks sly claim that the champion wasnt as big as he used to be, St-Pierre -- speaking in French -- turned the accusation into a testimonial for his fitness DVD RushFit. He looked every part a champion, in an elegant suit and tie. Hendricks wore a garish yellow/lime green T-shirt under a black baseball cap. White noted how St-Pierre looked on the televised preview show for UFC 167 -- his nose split and face bruised from training. "Eyes so black that it actually looks like he has black eye-liner across his eye. Thats a guy whos busting his ass in the gym every day, Thats the guy whos doing everything it takes to win another title defence." These days St-Pierre is on a quest to keep adding his name to the UFC record book. He can make history by winning Saturday, becoming the first fighter to record 19 wins in the UFC. The Canadian champion is currently tied with UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes, whom he first beat for the title, at 18 victories. GSP is also tied with former middleweight champion Anderson Silva for most wins in UFC title bouts at 11. And if the Hendricks fight lasts 40 seconds or longer, St-Pierre will surpass B.J. Penns record of five hours three minutes and 51 seconds for career fight time in the UFC. St-Pierre already holds the mark for most championship rounds fought (47). He has already set UFC records for significant strikes landed (1,153), total strikes landed (2,398), takedowns landed (84), and takedown accuracy rate (75 per cent), according to FightMetric. St-Pierre has controlled his opponent for two hours 35 minutes 57 seconds in the cage, using the top position on the ground to punish or finish opponents. Those records date back to UFC 28, the first event to use the unified rules of mixed martial arts. The total fight time record dates back to UFC 1. St-Pierre is also chasing other records. A win Saturday would be both GSPs ninth successful title defence and ninth straight title defence, one behind Silva in each category. It will be his 14th championship fight, one behind Randy Couture. For his part, St-Pierre says he will savour such records when he is older. There is still work to do. White believes GSP is after Silvas records. "Georges isnt the kind of guy that talks about that stuff, but I believe if you look at the type of guy that he is and what hes accomplished, I think thats what hes doing." St-Pierre has already taken care of key business, avenging his only two losses. He defeated Hughes twice (at UFC 65 and UFC 79) after tapping out to an armbar at UFC 50 in October 2004. And after losing his first title defence to Serra at UFC 69, he won the crown back a year later at UFC 83. After losing his title to Serra, a sports psychologist suggested he threw a brick with Serras name on it into the chilly water off Montreals South Shore to symbolize getting the title loss -- and Serra -- off his back. So he did. He revamped his training staff and management and has never looked back. GSP, who underwent knee surgery in December 2011 after a training injury during wrestling, is currently riding an 11-fight win streak -- the longest current run in the UFC. White marvelled at such an unbeaten run. "Especially when you are the champion. All the best in the world are gunning at you. All the time." ' ' '

[sanpiseth40]

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