MILWAUKEE -- John Axford recently went to Brewers manager Ron Roenicke and told him he wanted his job back as Milwaukees closer. Wholesale Jerseys Paypal . And while neither man was willing to share the details of that conversation, the results so far speak for themselves: Axford nailed down a save for the second day in a row and the Brewers beat the Chicago Cubs 3-2 on Wednesday to complete a three-game sweep. "He came in and talked to me," Roenicke said. "I dont want to say what went on. But hes in a place where he should be." Ryan Braun hit his NL-leading 34th home run of the season, Yovani Gallardo pitched seven strong innings and Axford pitched a scoreless ninth despite allowing a two-out single. Demoted after a string of poor performances earlier in the season, Axford was happy to be back where he still thinks he belongs. "I think maybe just the reaffirming conversation that Ron and I had earlier, about a week ago, maybe thats exactly what I needed -- something myself, to say, This is me and this is what I want to do and I should be there," Axford said. Gallardo (13-8) gave up two runs and four hits, with nine strikeouts and two walks. It was another impressive outing in what has been an emotional week for Gallardo, who recently returned home to deal with an illness in the family. "Even though all the things that have happened to him lately emotionally, he looked good before the game," Roenicke said. "He looked good yesterday. So we felt pretty good with him going into the game. And after the first batter, really good." Gallardo said after Wednesdays game that his mother was ill, but is back home and getting better. "Its not easy for anybody," Gallardo said. "Its obviously still in the back of your mind. But like Ive said, youve just got to be tough. Youve got to be tough and find a way to get the job done." Braun hit a solo shot deep to right-centre field in the sixth and had an RBI double in the first. With Wednesdays homer, Braun has surpassed the 33 he hit during his 2011 NL MVP season. Although the Brewers overall season has been a disappointment, theyve been hot at home, going 9-1-2 in their last 12 series at Miller Park. Roenicke isnt fixated on trying to figure out why the team is playing so much worse on the road. "I want to just worry about playing good ball, and where it ends up, it ends up," Roenicke said. David DeJesus and Bryan LaHair homered for Chicago. Cubs starter Travis Wood (4-10) took the loss but pitched fairly well, giving up three runs and six hits in seven innings with a walk and six strikeouts. Wood, in his second stint with the big-league club this year, was making his 18th start of the season. "He did a good job," Cubs manager Dale Sveum said. "Like Ive said before, thats a tough middle of that lineup to get through." Brewers players began Wednesday by saying goodbye to veteran left-hander Randy Wolf, who was released by the team on his 36th birthday. Wolf was 3-10 with a 5.69 ERA, and said he didnt blame the club for making the move. "Its certainly unfortunate that this year was the way it was, and theres nobody more disappointed about that than I am," Wolf said. Both general manager Doug Melvin and Roenicke said they expected Wolf to find a job somewhere else -- perhaps even this season. DeJesus led off by pounding a 3-1 pitch from Gallardo over the wall in centre. It was his sixth home run of the season, and four of those have come in his last eight games. DeJesus then appeared to hurt his left hand in a collision with centre fielder Brett Jackson while making a sliding attempt at a catch in the bottom half of the inning, but stayed in the game. Milwaukees Norichika Aoki ended up with a double after DeJesus and Jackson couldnt make the catch. After a strikeout by Rickie Weeks, Braun doubled over the head of LaHair -- who appeared to lose track of the ball as it came off the bat -- and Aoki scored to tie the game. Braun later scored on a broken-bat bloop double by Corey Hart, giving the Brewers a 2-1 lead. After Braun homered in the sixth, LaHair hit his 15th of the season in the seventh to cut the lead to 3-2. The Brewers blew a chance to pad their lead in the seventh, when Carlos Gomez tried to score on a ball that got away from catcher Steve Clevenger but was thrown out easily. Notes: Milwaukee recalled INF Jeff Bianchi from Triple-A Nashville but he is not expected to available to play before Saturday. ... Brewers starter Shaun Marcum is expected to return from a rehabilitation stint and start Saturdays game at Pittsburgh. ... Brewers SS Jean Segura sat out with a sore foot. ... It was the 12th career leadoff home run for DeJesus. Wholesale Jerseys Supply . He held his composure and the Brewers hung on, too. Aramis Ramirez drove in two runs in his return to Wrigley Field, Ryan Braun got booed relentlessly and Milwaukee walked off with a 7-5 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Monday night. Wholesale Jerseys Cheap .S. Anti-Doping Agency says a representative of Lance Armstrongs offered the agency a donation in the range of $200,000 to $250,000 in 2004 and the agency immediately rejected it. http://www.unityvirtual.net/hot.html[/... . In total, TSN Canadiens delivers a package of 18 Canadiens match-ups from the 2013 NHL regular season to fans living in the teams broadcast region. [url=http://www.unityvirtual.net/hot.html]Wholesale Jerseys . Hell be wearing a No. 12 jersey, getting used to a new set of teammates and dealing with all those comparisons to a high-profile quarterback. Wholesale Jerseys USA . Several top rinks recently qualified for the 12-team competition at Kingstons K-Rock Centre. Albertas Heather Nedohin is back to defend her title and shell be challenged by Manitobas Jennifer Jones, B.LOS ANGELES -- The pieces of the puzzle that have been the Lakers confounding season so far are starting to fall into place. Kobe Bryant engineered a second-half comeback, the defence stepped up, and Los Angeles beat the New York Knicks 100-94 on Tuesday, extending its winning streak to five games. "Were .500," a smiling Dwight Howard said. "We did it on Christmas, too. I knew this day would come." Bryant scored 34 points in his NBA-record 15th Christmas Day game and Metta World Peace added 20 points and seven rebounds while defending Carmelo Anthony, whose 34 points led the Knicks. Anthony said he hyperextended his left knee, but expects to play on Wednesday in Phoenix. Bryant, the leagues leading scorer, has topped 30 or more points in nine straight games. "If youre going to play on Christmas, its always better to win. Makes it all worthwhile," said Bryant, who would soon hop a flight to Denver, getting there ahead of the Nuggets, who played the Clippers in the other half of the holiday doubleheader at Staples Center. The Lakers improved to 14-14 -- 9-9 under new coach Mike DAntoni -- and upped their holiday record to 21-18, including 13-9 at home. They returned to .500 for the first time since they were 8-8 on Nov. 30. "Its so early in the season to have turned a corner," Bryant said. "We have everybody in the lineup and were starting to see how we want to play." The Knicks controlled most of the game behind Anthony and J.R. Smith, who had 24 points. But they struggled offensively in the fourth, when Anthony was limited to seven points and Smith had five as the Lakers defence clamped down. World Peace fouled out with 1:58 to play and the Lakers ahead by four. World Peace credited his defence on Anthony to "old-school basketball." "Im back in shape and its a little tough to guard me," he said. Steve Nash said: "This is what hes been doing all year. He gets his hands on a lot of balls, pounds on the other teams best guy. You cant win without that type of effort." Smiths 3-pointer pulled New York to 96-94. After Pau Gasol made one of two free throws, Smith missed another 3 that would have tied the game at 97 with 32 seconds left. "We missed a lot of easy shots, a lot of little chippers around the basket, shots that we normally make," Anthony said. "There were some plays that we thought should have went our way down the stretch, but for the most part, we fought. Ill take this effort any night. If we continue to play with this effort, well win a lot of games." With Bryant double-teamed, Nash passed to Gasol, who dunked with 12 seconds to go, punctuating a win that sent Lakers fans, frustrated by the teams struggles and coaching change, home happy. The Lakers avenged a 116-107 loss in New York on Dec. 13. A smiling Howard called Gasols driving slam "a submarine dunk because he was very low to the ground." Gasol responded, "I dont dunk as often as I used to so it felt good. I took it right down the lane and finished strong." Nash had 16 points, 11 assists and six rebounds in his second game in nearly two months. He missed 24 straight games while recovering from a small fracture in his lower left leg. Howard had 14 points and 12 rebounds, and Gasol had 13 points and eight rebounds. "It was an important win for us as we were a little bit desperate," Nash said. "Weve gone through a lot since Mike Brown -- new coach, new offence. Its been a difficult transition." Bryant had eight of the Lakers first 10 ppoints to open the fourth during a run that provided their first lead since the opening quarter in a game matching the two teams that have played the most on Christmas Day. Wholesale Jerseys From China. They took the lead for good on Bryants basket with 7:38 remaining. Anthony and Tyson Chandler were in foul trouble in the fourth, with Chandler fouling out late. "They just were a little bit more aggressive," Anthony said. "Kobe got it going and Steve Nash hit some big shots down the stretch. When you have a guy like Nash doing that, its kind of tough. Those guys know how to play. Theyve been waiting for Steve Nash to get back, so its just a matter of then sticking it out until he did." The Knicks opened the third on a 15-5 run, with Anthony setting up on the perimeter and hitting two 3-pointers as part of his 10 points that stretched their lead to 61-53. His jumper provided the Knicks largest lead of the game, 69-60. Bryant and Nash ignited the quiet atmosphere by leading a 17-9 run that drew the Lakers to 78-77 going into the fourth. They combined to score 15 points, although Bryant missed two free throws to end the third that would have given the Lakers their first lead since early in the game. The Knicks earlier roll dissolved in missed shots and a technical on Chandler for arguing a call. "We were more determined, fought for everything," Nash said about the second half. World Peace scored 16 points in the second quarter, including eight in a row, when the Lakers played catch-up most of the way. His 3-pointer gave the Lakers their first lead of the period with 1:10 remaining. Smith tied it up with a free throw before Nashs jumper sent the Lakers into halftime leading 51-49. "Were playing really well together," World Peace said. "Kobe is really playing excellent now. Hes still being aggressive on the offensive end, but hes giving everybody a chance to be aggressive. Pau is making strong, aggressive moves." Bryant scored the Lakers final nine points of the first quarter to give them a 25-23 lead. DAntonis plan of having Darius Morris guard Anthony didnt last long after he scored five of the Knicks first seven points. "I thought hed get warmed up before he started firing," World Peace said. NOTES: Bryant surpassed Oscar Robertson as the leagues all-time Christmas Day scorer with 383 points. Robertson had 377. ... Knicks F/C Amare Stoudemire shot some before the game. Hes been out all season after left knee surgery. "Im not quite there yet, but Im making progress," he said. "Ive just got to stay patient and stay ready. Weve been doing extremely intense work, as far as cardio." ... Knicks C Marcus Camby had four points and four rebounds in 8 minutes. Hes been sidelined by a sore left foot and barely played this season. ... Asked about Bryant as an MVP candidate, DAntoni said, "You cant put anybody MVP if youre below .500." ... In their only other Christmas Day meeting in 1963, the Lakers beat the Knicks 134-126 behind 47 points by Jerry West and 27 from Elgin Baylor. ... Nash said the gift bags in their lockers with the tag, "From Kobe Merry Xmas 2012" contained headphones. "Cant ever have enough," he said. ... The Lakers were all in white, while the Knicks were all in orange down to their socks in a colour similar to Syracuse. ... Among the celebs holidaying at Staples Center were Rihanna and Chris Brown, Adam Levine, Samuel L. Jackson, George Lopez and Richard Lewis. Vanessa Bryant and her two young daughters sat courtside opposite the Lakers bench. ' ' '