ng with two outs in the seventh. Cespedes followed with a towering double off the right-centre field wall that lifted Oakland to a 4-1 lead. It was Strailys second straight scintillating start. He tossed seven innings of two-hit ball in a 1-0 win over Texas last week. "I worked a lot quicker. Rea

DES MOINES, Iowa -- Iowa, left for dead just two weeks ago, has found some life by figuring out to how play defense.Peter Jok scored 21 points in his final game in his hometown and the Hawkeyes thumped rival Northern Iowa 69-46 Saturday for its third straight win.Nicholas Baer had 11 points with 11 rebounds off the bench for the Hawkeyes (6-5), who jumped all over the slightly favored Panthers early and never let up. Iowa led 34-16 at halftime after a 16-3 run, and it pushed that lead to as much as 27 early in the second half.The win was Iowas biggest over Northern Iowa (5-5) since it beat the Panthers by 32 in 2000 -- long before the Panthers improved so much that Iowa and Iowa State scrapped their home-and-home series with them for an annual doubleheader on a neutral floor.I just feel like we bought into (defense), Jok said. We just keep talking and our chemistry has been good.Jeremy Morgan scored 14 points and added nine rebounds for Northern Iowa, which shot just 27 percent. Morgan was 4 of 13 from the floor.When those shots arent falling, weve got to have a different level of toughness, Morgan said.BIG PICTUREIowa: Iowa again looked nothing like the team that lost to Nebraska-Omaha 98-89 on Dec. 3. It harassed Northern Iowas shooters out of their comfort zone, clogged up passing lanes and turned many of UNIs bricks into transition opportunities -- which isnt what the Panthers want to do. If Iowa can continue to play like it has the last three games while incorporating talented freshman Tyler Cook back into the lineup, the impending Big Ten season wont look so foreboding.Northern Iowa: Granted, Iowas defense had a lot to do with it, but the Panthers took some awful shots early, and the Hawkeyes put them in a hole they couldnt dig out of. Northern Iowa missed the shots it should have missed and many of the ones it shouldnt have. The Panthers will almost certainly have to win the Missouri Valley tournament to return to the NCAA Tournament.THE NUMBERSIowa freshman Cordell Pemsl continued his torrid shooting stretch, hitting all four of his shots. He had 10 points and five rebounds in 18 minutes. ... Iowa owned the boards as well, with a 43-29 advantage. ... Spencer Haldeman had 12 points and Wyatt Lohaus scored 10 for Northern Iowa. ... The Hawkeyes got 34 points from their bench. ... This was Northern Iowas second game scoring fewer than 50 points. Xavier beat the Panthers 64-42 last month.INJURY UPDATECook (broken finger) might play in Tuesdays game against North Dakota. He is averaging 13.7 points and 5.3 rebounds. McCaffery will need to find ways to use Cook without disrupting his teams momentum moving forward.HE SAID ITBaer is just such a special player. Every time hes on the bench Im thinking of how I can get him back in. He has an incredible ability to come off the bench and impact right away, McCaffery said.UP NEXTIowa: Hosts North Dakota on Tuesday and Delaware State two days later to close out nonconference play.Northern Iowa: Has a big one on Wednesday at No. 7 North Carolina. Dont expect the Tar Heels to overlook the Panthers after losing to them as the top-ranked team in the country last season.---More college basketball at www.collegebasketball.ap.orgAdidas NMD R2 Ale .B. -- The Baie-Comeau Drakkar took over sole possession of first place atop the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Thursday with their sixth straight win. Adidas Gazelle Tarjous . Self was acquired from the Buffalo Bandits in a trade for Alex Hill midway through last season, and made his debut in Rochester on March 16, 2013. http://www.nmdhalvalla.com/adidas-nmd-r1-halvalla.html . -- Canadian Andrew Wiggins got the ball on the wing, made a nifty spin move and then let go with a soft floater from about 10 feet that swished through the net in Allen Fieldhouse. Adidas Deerupt Suomi . -- Jacksonville wide receiver Cecil Shorts will likely be a game-time decision whether hell play Sunday in the Jaguars home game against the San Diego Chargers. Adidas NMD Tarjous .ca. Kerry, Just watched the shootout in the Coyotes/Leafs game and I have to ask, why was the James van Riemsdyk goal allowed to count? All of the video replays we were shown on TV were inconclusive about whether the puck had entirely crossed the line or not. OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Oakland Athletics are back to following the formula that propelled them to the AL West title last season: a starting pitcher that goes deep into games, a little pop at the plate and a bullpen that protects the lead. Josh Donaldson hit a two-run homer to back Dan Strailys strong start, and the As beat the San Francisco Giants 4-1 in the Bay Bridge Series opener Monday for their fourth straight win. "That started last year," As manager Bob Melvin said. "Its just a little different feeling. You dont have to get up for these games. You dont have to find extra adrenaline." Straily (3-2) allowed four hits and one walk in six innings. Buster Poseys groundout in the sixth drove in San Franciscos lone run. Donaldson connected against Madison Bumgarner (4-3) in the fourth, and Yoenis Cespedes added a two-run double against George Kontos in the seventh to extend Oaklands lead. Sean Doolittle pitched two perfect innings and Grant Balfour recorded his 11th save of the season for Oakland, which has won nine of 10 since falling to a season-low two games below .500. "I didnt watch much of the playoffs last year, but I heard the Giants won the World Series," Doolitte said, sarcastically. "So theyre the defending champs in your building. Thats a crosstown rival. Thats a game you get up for. Packed house. The crowd was electric. It was an awesome environment." The usual sprinkling of green-and-gold clad fans mixed with San Franciscos orange-and-black following that travelled from across the bay to pack the Oakland Coliseum. The announced sellout crowd of 36,067 traded chants of "Lets go Oakland!" and "Lets go Giants!" throughout the cloudy afternoon. Straily retired 14 of his first 15 batters and looked confident and in control from the start. Bumgarner struggled with his command --matching a career high with five walks -- but didnt allow a hit until the fourth. That hit turned out to be the difference. Donaldson sent a cutting 89 mph fastball over the right-centre field wall to give the As a 2-0 lead. Donaldson raised his right hand in the air after jogging around first base, celebrating his eighth home run with a little extra flair. "He had thrown a few balls in a row there and I guess wanted to challenge me right there and try to get a double play," Donaldson said. "But I was fortunate to put a good piece of wood on it and hit it out." Bumgarner struck out six, was tagged for all four runs and allso hit a batter in 6 2-3 innings.dddddddddddd The lefty has lost three of his last four starts. "I wasnt missing by a big margin," he said. "Had a lot of walks and that cost a couple runs. Tried to battle through. The biggest thing today was I wanted to try to go deep and give the bullpen a rest." San Francisco squandered its best chance for a big inning when Posey grounded out in the sixth to score Gregor Blanco, snapping Strailys scoreless streak at 12 1-3 innings. Then Straily snared Hunter Pences grounder to strand Marco Scutaro on third. "Our offence has to get it going here a little bit," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "Thats the kind of pitching were going to need. It doesnt go down as a quality start, but he left the game with a really good start and thats what were going to need playing these good clubs. He did all he could. Their guy pitched well." Oaklands bullpen backed up his outing far better than San Franciscos did for Bumgarner, who was relieved after walking Chris Young with two outs in the seventh. Cespedes followed with a towering double off the right-centre field wall that lifted Oakland to a 4-1 lead. It was Strailys second straight scintillating start. He tossed seven innings of two-hit ball in a 1-0 win over Texas last week. "I worked a lot quicker. Really, thats the pitcher I am," Straily said. "I was finally able to break through that and be myself -- work quick, fill up the strike zone. Ive always said Im a strike thrower and not a strikeout pitcher. Thats what I truly believe." NOTES: Giants reliever Santiago Casilla said he will have surgery Tuesday to remove a cyst from inside a bone in his right leg. He hopes to return just after the All-Star game on July 16. ... Oakland RF Josh Reddick, on the disabled list since May 8 with a sprained right wrist, began a rehab assignment Monday night at Class-A Stockton. He will shift to Triple-A Sacramento on Tuesday, where he will likely be at least three days, Melvin said. ... Giants CF Angel Pagan (sore left hamstring) sat out for the second straight day but hopes to be back in the lineup Tuesday. ... The Giants optioned RHP Sandy Rosario to Triple-A Fresno after the game to make room for lefty Michael Kickham, who will make his major league debut on Wednesday against Oaklands Jarrod Parker (2-6, 5.76 ERA). Kickham takes over the spot in the rotation vacated by Ryan Vogelsong, who fractured his right hand when he was hit by a pitch May 20. ' ' '