NEW YORK – As the Blue Jays venture into Yankee Stadium for an important three-game series with their foes in pinstripes, there are a number of storylines to latch on to before considering who will take the mound for Toronto on Tuesday night. Its the first-place Blue Jays against the team closest to them in the American League East. Toronto enters the series with a four-and-a-half game lead on the Yankees. Its another chance, the second of what will be as many as six, to wave goodbye to New Yorks future Hall of Fame shortstop, Derek Jeter. Here in New York, the dulcet voice of the late, great public address announcer, Bob Sheppard, brings No. 2 to the plate. Jose Reyes is back in New York, too. He made his name over in Queens playing for the Mets. R.A. Dickey is here but wont pitch. He won the Cy Young award two seasons ago on the other side of the city. Oh, and dont forget about the Blue Jays rookies mound opponent on this Tuesday: a rookie himself, technically, the Japanese phenom Masahiro Tanaka, whos dominated the early days of his major league career like he dominated for years back home. Then there is Marcus Stroman. Its strange that this, essentially a homecoming for a young man raised in the Long Island town of Medford, is somewhat lost in the shuffle. Hes the 23-year-old who stunned general manager Alex Anthopoulos, blowing his bubble gum in the middle of his windup. The kid seems born for the spotlight, even if it will shine more brightly on others. "Im usually pretty good with dealing with things like that," Stroman said on Sunday. "I dont let anything get to me or get me overly excited or kind of get me out of my game. Im fine. Im in a good place mentally. I feel good going into it. I have kind of an off-day just to hang out with friends in the city and then it will be Game on Tuesday." Medford is a sleepy town, according to Stroman, more than an hour from New York City. Its closer to the upscale Hamptons, a drive of about 45 minutes. Medford has one high school, Patchogue-Medford High School, which Stroman attended before moving on to college at Duke University. The town will awaken this evening. Many of its inhabitants, in fact, will venture to Yankee Stadium to watch the hometown boy pitch. Stroman has purchased up to 70 tickets for close family and friends. He said hes been told by another 50 or 60 people theyve bought ducats. Hell have a throng of about 130 people here rooting him on. "Anytime you have an opportunity to pitch in front of a bunch of family and friends, its exciting," said Stroman. "I should have a lot of – a bunch of people texting me, bunch of friends from high school, college, a lot of people reaching out to me saying theyre going to be at the game so thats always exciting to pitch in front of people whove been there along the way." Stroman is 3-1 in his first year in the big leagues, 2-1 as a starter. Hes gone six innings in each of his first three starts, losing his last outing against the Twins. In two of those appearances, including the Minnesota defeat, he didnt walk a batter. He has impressed with his fastball. His breaking stuff, particularly his curveball, has baffled opposing hitters. Hes developing his changeup. Hes not developing confidence. He already has it. His coaches brag about it. "I certainly dont see him as a guy whos going to nibble and pitch around guys," said pitching coach Pete Walker. "Hes definitely on the attack. His walks have been down and I would like to think that thats going to continue with him. He certainly trusts his stuff. Theres no doubt about that." Growing up, Stroman went to Yankees games at the old stadium and saw the Mets at Shea. He didnt cheer for either team. He admired players. Like most native New Yorkers, he watched Jeter in awe. On Tuesday night, hell pitch to Jeter. He doesnt know what to expect. "I cant even tell you," said Stroman. "Im sure itll settle in once Im kind of on the mound but Im pretty sure it will be surreal." Cheap Adidas Kings Jerseys . Kamloops, B.C., the host city of this years Tim Hortons Brier, is where he won his first Canadian mens curling crown in 1996. Wholesale Kings Jerseys . Andrew Luck couldnt believe his ears. Colts fans couldnt believe the scoreboard, and the Kansas City Chiefs couldnt believe their incredibly bad luck. http://www.cheaplosangeleskingsjerseys.com/.com) - The Los Angeles Kings werent playing their best hockey before the league went on break during the Winter Olympics. Cheap Kings Jerseys China . The incident occurred at 6:28 of the first period in Anaheims 6-3 home win over Dallas on Sunday. Garbutt left the penalty box and skated at Penner before leaving his skates to deliver a check. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . The official spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday because the league hasnt announced the award. Crawford was the Clippers third-leading scorer and the NBAs top-scoring reserve with 18.PHILADELPHIA - By the time they reached the locker room after winning the NFC East title and completing a worst-to-first journey under rookie coach Chip Kelly, the Philadelphia Eagles already were thinking ahead to their playoff opponent. Theyll have plenty of time to reflect on their accomplishments later. "The way they shifted their focus to the next game just minutes after we won was most impressive to me," general manager Howie Roseman said Monday night on his radio show. The Eagles went from 4-12 to 10-6, a remarkable turnaround after a miserable ending with Andy Reid last year. The makeover started with the hiring of Kelly, the hotshot college coach who needed convincing to leave Oregon. While most people outside the organization expected this to be a rebuilding season in Philadelphia, players and coaches bought into Kellys way right from the start and accelerated the process. "It was evident to me on April 1 when I got here with these guys and got a chance to be with them for the first day that they were kind of the mind-set: Whatever it takes, what do you want us to do and where do we got to be and how are we going to do it, and thats a credit to them," Kelly said. "Thats why we are where we are, because they are the ones that play. They are the ones that go out there every single day. They are the ones that train. They are the ones that have done everything as a staff that we have asked them to do and the results are everything that they put into, and thats the great thing about this game is that you cant fake football. You get out of it exactly what you put into it and these guys put in an unbelievable effort and its paying off for them on the field." The Eagles advanced by beating Dallas 24-22 and will host the New Orleans Saints (11-5) on Saturday night in their first playoff game since Michael Vick threw an interception in the end zone in the final minute of a 21-16 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Jan.dddddddddddd 9, 2011. Win or lose, its been a successful season. But nobody is thinking that way around here. "Thats not how we are built or wired," Kelly said. "Its whats the next challenge and whats the next opportunity, and the great thing about where we are right now is if you win, you get to play again. So I think if you get caught up looking back at what happened or where you were, I think thats just not how were wired." The Eagles are 2 1/2-point favourites over New Orleans. A wins sends them to Carolina (12-4) on Jan. 12. But they have to beat Drew Brees and the Saints first. Everyone from Kelly and Roseman to owner Jeffrey Lurie have already called on fans to be loud and make it an uncomfortable environment for the Saints, who were 3-5 on the road. "I think this is big for the city and for this franchise," NFL rushing champion LeSean McCoy said. "Its amazing that this is Coach Kellys first year and we made the playoffs. Were going in the right direction, but everyone knows that each week is important. We cant get too hyped about this game. Were in the playoffs, but we should be in the playoffs. We should be the division champs. Now we have to go out there and get it done Saturday." It took some record-setting performances for the Eagles to get this far this fast. McCoy had a franchise-best 1,607 yards rushing and 2,146 yards from scrimmage. Nick Foles had the best TD-interception ratio (13:5-1) in NFL history, the third-highest passer rating (119.2) in league history and the clubs best completion percentage (64.04). The offence set team records for (442), total net yards (6,676), touchdowns (53), and gross yards passing (4,406). And, theyre not done yet. "Chip and the coaching staff have done a great job," Foles said. "The players have done a great job of buying in and when adversity happens, guys really stay together. We lean on each other." 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