PORTLAND, Ore. -- LaMarcus Aldridges big night against the Houston Rockets wasnt about the stats, the All-Star votes or the fans chanting "MVP! MVP!" "This was a we needed a win night for me," said Aldridge, who had 31 points and a career-high 25 rebounds in the Trail Blazers 111-104 victory Thursday. For Aldridge, it was important that Portland (19-4) come away with a win after losing to the Rockets earlier this season -- a rare blip for the Western Conference leaders. It was the first time in franchise history that a Blazers player scored 30 or more points with 25 or more rebounds. "Im blessed," Aldridge said. "(But) I felt tonight, it was needed." Dwight Howard had 32 points and 17 rebounds for the Rockets, who beat the Blazers 116-101 on Nov. 5. That was one of just two losses at home this season for Portland. The Trail Blazers led by 10 early in the fourth quarter, but Chandler Parsons hit a 3-pointer to narrow it to 93-88 with 7:07 left. Houston closed to 97-95 after James Harden made a layup and a free throw with 4:45 to go. Nicolas Batums 3-pointer pushed Portlands lead to 102-95 before Wesley Matthews layup and free throw made it 108-96 with 2:04 left and all but put the game out of reach for the Rockets. "They made some big plays down the stretch," Howard said. "It seemed like every time we would close the gap, they came down and got a great shot. This was big for them." Blazers centre Robin Lopez added 16 points and 10 rebounds for his 10th double-double of the season, a career high. Portland was coming off a 105-94 victory in Utah on Monday. The Blazers have scored 100 or more points in 10 consecutive games. Houston had won two straight, including a 98-88 victory over the Orlando Magic on Sunday. The Rockets (15-7) were without Omer Asik, who missed his fourth straight game with a bruised right thigh. Houston did get back guard Jeremy Lin, who missed the previous six games with a sprained right knee. Rockets coach Kevin McHale was not with the team because of the death of his mother. Her funeral is scheduled for Friday in Minnesota. Assistant coach Kelvin Sampson ran the club against the Blazers. "Portland is obviously really good, and theyre really good in this gym," Sampson said. "They are playing with a lot of confidence right now." Neither side was able to get in front by more than five points in the first half. Portland held a 21-20 lead after the opening quarter. Aldridge was just 1 for 7 from the floor but he had nine rebounds. Houston went ahead 32-28 on Parsons layup and Howards hook shot, and the Rockets led 44-43 at halftime. Neither team shot well, with Portland at 32 per cent and Houston at 36 per cent. The Rockets had just five first-half assists. The Blazers opened the second half with an 11-3 run capped by Matthews 3-pointer to take a 54-47 lead. Portland stretched the lead to 59-49 on Lopezs dunk and free throw. Aldridge got rolling with 11 points and eight rebounds. The Rockets closed the gap to 70-68 late in the third quarter when Howard hit a pair of free throws and dunked. Omri Casspi tied it at 70 on free throws with 2 minutes left. The game was tied going into the fourth quarter, but Portland scored 10 unanswered points to go up 86-76. "I think we go into games with a certain level of confidence, but, at the same time, we realize that were playing hard and our success is because were playing hard," Portland coach Terry Stotts said. "Our record is what it is, but its not easy. You have to compete every night." NOTES: Aldridge has four 20-20 games, making him the fourth Blazers player with that many. He is the only NBA player with two this season. ... Houstons Terrence Jones went to Portlands Jefferson High School. ... It was the opener of a three-game road trip for the Rockets. ... The Blazers embark on a four-game trip starting at Philadelphia on Saturday. ... Former Oregon Ducks quarterback Darron Thomas threw mini footballs into the crowd to promote Portlands new Arena League team, which begins play next season. . Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck of the Vancouver Giants were each charged with assault causing bodily harm on Aug. 18, according to the B.C. court services. [url=http://www.officialmlbshoponline.net/Toronto-Blue-Jays-Cyber-Monday-Justin-... Smoak Jersey .S. hockey team after paying his dues as an NHL general manager for more than three decades and giving up a lot of his free time to help USA Hockey. . A big centre with all the tools to be an elite player, Johansen paced the Blue Jackets with a standout game Saturday night. He had a goal and two assists for a career-high three points as Columbus beat the New York Islanders 5-2 to snap a five-game losing streak. [url=http://www.officialmlbshoponline.net/New-York-Mets-Cyber-Monday-Mike-Piazza... Piazza Jersey . -- Former San Diego Chargers safety Paul Oliver was found dead at his Atlanta-area home Tuesday night, and a medical examiner said Wednesday that the ex-player committed suicide.1. Jose Bautista has been shut down for the season. Thats two straight years with under 120 games played due to various injuries and a declining OPS. Should Jays fans be worried about his ability to carry the team in the coming seasons? Jose Bautista hit .302 in 2011 while slugging 43 homers and driving in103 runs. In 2010, he crushed 54 homers and drove in 124 runs. He was a beast both years. He had become a player that no one ever dreamed he could. He went from being a utility man to "The Man." Unfortunately since then injuries have limited the games that he has played. Injuries have also impacted his performance. His injured wrist last season drained some of his power in addition to costing him games. A bad hip this season has hampered his ability to rotate his hips when he swings the bat. He is starting to feel like one of those players who just cant stay healthy. But the biggest reason his production has fallen off is because he just isnt as good as his numbers from 2010-11. Those years were anomolies. He will never again hit over .300 in a season nor will he ever hit 54 homers again. He doesnt have enough quality at bats to do either. He is much more like the .254 hitter that he has been in his career than the .304 hitter he was in 2010. Bautista will still be an important contributor for the Jays moving forward but he is not a carry-the-team type of offensive player. You either have to hit 30 homers and bat over .300 or hit 45-50 homers to truly carry a team. He isnt that guy. The Jays and the fans need to reduce their expectations of Bautista moving forward to get a true read of their team offense, otherwise they will be disappointed. 2. Joe Mauer is on the DL with a concussion after taking a foul ball off the helmet. He is one of eight catchers to go on the DL this season with concussion-like symptoms -- its a growing trend. Is there anything MLB should be doing to help protect catchers more? There is a reason why catchers careers typically fizzle out by the age of 33. There is a reason why very few catchers win batting titles or home run titles. The job is brutal. It is tough on any player to go to the gate for 162 games in 181 days; it is most difficult for catchers. The job takes a physical and mental toll like no other. Joe Mauer is one of only three catchers to ever win a batting title. He won in 2006, 2008, and 2009. The first catcher to ever win the batting title was Eugene "Bubbles" Hargrave. He hit .353 in 1926 while playing for the Cincinnati Reds. The next catcher to win a batting title was Ernie Lombardi in 1938 and 1942. It is amazing to me whenever catchers contribute offensively in an extraordinary way. Their bodies get so worn down over the course of the season. I had Mike Piazza as the catcher for my Mets teams. He was the best offensive catcher to ever play the game. It was difficult to build my team around a catcher because he needed more days off than any other position to allow his body to recover. So automatically I knew I would be playing without my No. 3 hittter for 30+ games. The more serious concern, though, is that I could lose my superstar catcher to injury. There is always a risk of a catastrophic injury like Buster Posey of the Giants suffered a few years ago in a collision at the plate. There is a risk to the hands and wrists of a catcher because of the pounding they take receiving thousands of 90 MPH fastballs. Yadier Molina is currently sidelined with the Cardinals because of a sore wrist on his glove hand. And there are risks of concussion because of potential foul balls and collisions. Some catchers are worth the risks but as a GM I would love to see my guy protected as much as possible. I dont believe that there have been more concussions for catchers this year than any other year. Our awareness of concussions has grown. Our diagnosis of concussions has become more expansive and the willingness of players to speak up about their condition has grown significantly. All of this is good. The next step has to be improved technology and equipment. The NFL is continuing comprehensive studies about player safety regarding concussions. The issues for catchers are the same as NFL players. Catchers need to wear better protective gear. I know some catchers have gone to the hockey mask style helmet but I dont believe that is enough. Why shouldnt baseball catchers wear helmets like football players? Many college, high school and youth football teams in the States are making players wear extra padding outside of their helmets for practices. Why cant a catchers helmet have extra padding too? I know there are weight issues and vision issues. It is 2013; can someone please figure this out? 3. Atlanta has a huge lead. Should they be resting players or playing them to keep sharp heading into the post-season and perhaps risk injury? What is the right strategy? All teams with large leads in the standings are faced with this dilemma. Should we play our guys and keep them sharp or should we rest them so they can be sharp again? The truth is that there is not one right answer. In fact, there isnt a correct answer from team to team. It is really a question that has to be considered for each individual player. What is right for one player may not be right for another. This is where a manager has to truly know his team. Some players may need a rest and recover physically and mentally while others mayy need to keep up with the routine of playing.dddddddddddd It comes down to communication and trust. The manager and coaches need to listen to the players and how they feel. Then they have to match those words to what their eyes are telling them about a players performance. Have you ever been really tired but you ignore it because you have a project to complete or you are really busy? If at some point you decide to take a break and sit down for a bit, you can start to feel your body shut down. You tell yourself you better get up and keep moving because if you dont you know you wont be able to get up at all. That total shut down is what a manager needs to guard against when he rests his players. Typically for most teams and players some combination of rest and playing makes sense. A player can be given rest without messing up his routines and rhythm. A manager would prefer to rest those who need it prior to the last week of the season if the standings allow for it. This way the players are back in the lineup for the last five or so games before the playoffs begin to sharpen their skills. If it is a close call between giving players a rest or keeping them on the field, I would always keep them on the field. Remember; the playoffs automatically allow for some physical recovery as there are built in travel days in each series. The players have the entire off-season to rest. Writing this has made me tired. I need a nap. Fair or Foul Hip Hip Hooray! The Pittsburgh Pirates (81-58) have clinched their first non-losing season since 1992. What a thing to celebrate. I guess that is what you do when you have lost so many games for so many years. They teased us a few times over the last twenty-one years. Even just last season they were 11 games over .500 in July only to collapse and finish 79-83. I didnt want to believe this year and be disappointed again. But it finally feels safe to believe that they will have a winning record. They have to be able to win at least one more game.... Right? Actually, the Pirates have been a nice story. They sit atop the NL Central as you read. Whether they hold on or not to that they will likely make the playoffs. They have delivered hope to a hopeless fan base. The Pirates pitching staff has the second best ERA in the NL. They have lowest opponents batting average and have allowed the fewest home runs as well. Their rotation has been good while the bullpen has been even better. They have the second most wins from a pen and the second fewest blown saves. Pitching has clearly been the key to their success this year. Offensively, they are middle of the pack in most categories. They dont have extraordinary team power or speed. They dont hit well in the clutch as evidenced by their .225 batting average with runners in scoring position. In other words they have scored just enough to support their pitching and win games. This is a formula that has worked for the San Francisco Giants over the past couple of years. Pittsburgh is a blue collar town with a blue collar team. They have reenergized their fan base. They are excited. The fans think this is great. Old time baseball fans are remembering the "We are Family" Pirates from back in the day. Expectations have changed. The fans are going to get greedy now. A .500 record is no longer the goal. Now its the playoffs and soon the goal will be a World Series. I want to get excited for and about the Pirates but I know the truth. This team isnt going anywhere. They may hold on and win the division. Sure they may make a run in the crap shoot that is the baseball playoffs. In a short series anything can happen. But they dont have the type of roster to sustain success. So many of the young players have outperformed their abilities and the veterans arent this good. They have track records that prove this. I wish it was different but its not. Small market cities get excited when small market teams compete. It gives them hope. But it is very difficult for them to sustain success. Just ask the Astros. Give the Twins a call. Check out the Padres. Sure Tampa and Oakland are on a decent run. But they havent won anything. And neither will the Pirates. Plus, MLB is praying that the Pirates dont advance deep in the playoffs if they make it. They are a good story, but at some point a no-name Cinderella team lacks appeal. The networks want a Red Sox vs. Dodgers World Series. Fans wont watch the Pirates vs. Rays. So, good for Pittsburgh. It is a good little story. Clint Hurdle has done a masterful job managing his roster. Neil Huntington has made some very astute moves as the general manager. The players have played hard. All parties deserve credit. They have found some success. Unfortunately it will be short-lived and it will fall short. I hate to be so pessimistic because there is finally some hope but the facts are the facts. They dont have enough impact talent and the talent they have wont be affordable in a couple of years. So enjoy it while you can. It may be another 21 years before they do it again. Steve Phillips was general manager of the New York Mets from 1997 through 2003, helping lead the club to a National League championship in 2000 and its first World Series appearance in 14 years. wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys cheap soccer jerseys wholesale jerseys wholesale jerseys cheap nfl jerseys china ' ' '