Pirate Galaxy » nd moved on, Flanagan said. He wa

TOKYO -- Maran Cilic advanced to the second round of the Rakuten Japan Open with a 6-0, 4-6, 6-3 win Monday over last years finalist Benoit Paire.The fourth-seeded Cilic had five aces on his way to securing the opening set in only 20 minutes at Ariake Colosseum.Paire broke the Croatian only once, in the seventh game of the second set. The Frenchman then saved five breakpoints to take a 5-3 lead and forced a deciding third set.Cilic regained control with a decisive break in the sixth game of the third. Paire saved two match points in the ninth game before Cilic served it out.Hell meet either Japanese qualifier Go Soeda or Fernando Verdasco of Spain in the second round.Joao Sousa earlier rallied to beat Martin Klizan 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 to move into a second-round match against either top-seeded Kei Nishikori or American Donald Young. Nishikori had been scheduled to open against Nicolas Almagro, but the Spanish player withdrew because of illness. Brett Favre Jersey . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. Dave Robinson Jersey . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. http://www.shoptheofficialpackers.com/ . John Lucas, signed as a mentor for rookie Trey Burke, showed he can score if required, scoring 12 points of his 16 points in the second quarter as Utah built an 18-point lead. Paul Hornung Jersey . -- Derrick Rose shook off poor shooting early to hit clutch shots late and Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 104-95 preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. Ray Nitschke Jersey .Y. -- Sabres forward Drew Stafford has witnessed plenty of turmoil during his eight seasons in Buffalo. North Queensland have begun the mind games ahead of their NRL preliminary final with Cronulla, vowing to target out-of-sorts playmaker Chad Townsend and questioning his place in the Sharks side.Townsend will head into the Sharks date with destiny against the Cowboys on Friday night at Allianz Stadium, battling mental demons after being hooked by coach Shane Flanagan in their last outing.The No.7 was benched midway through the second half of their week-one finals win over Canberra, replaced by young gun Jack Bird who moved in from the centres to help guide the side to a memorable come-from-behind victory.Just 24 hours before the two teams faced off for a spot in the grand final, Cowboys coach Paul Green applied the blow-torch to Townsend.While Green had to fend off questions about the headspace of Cowboys fullback Lachlan Coote, after his shocker against Brisbane, he was quick to turn attention to Townsend.Green, himself a former Sharks halfback, said Townsends self-belief would have taken a beating after his forgettable display against the Raiders and warned he would be tested out.Hes probably a guy that we can target, Green said. You mentioned his confidence - that surely would have taken a hit after that game, being hooked. As a halfback, no one wants that to happen.In an attempt to rattle his opposition, Green even questioned whether Bird would start in Townsends place in the halves alongside James Maloney and said it was something Flanagan would have too be contemplating.ddddddddddddIts something that would be going through his head, they moved Bird in there and hes a great attacking player, Green said.Theyve had the Maloney-Townsend combination all year but its a big call to tinker with that.However, Flanagan said his charge was feeling no ill effects from his benching.He has dusted himself and moved on, Flanagan said. He was probably over-thinking his game too much and you will probably see a different Chad Townsend tomorrow night.Meanwhile, Green dared the Sharks to target Coote, after the custodians error-riddled display in last weeks semi-final victory over Brisbane.The Cowboys No.1 almost derailed his sides premiership defence when he came up with a number of crucial mistakes, including his failure to haul in a kick which led directly to Jordan Kahus try on halftime.Green dismissed Cootes performance against Brisbane as an off night and predicted any ploy to turn the screws on him would blow up in the Sharks faces.If they want to target Lachlan Coote with kicks, hes probably the best positional fullback in the competition, Green said.If hes not the best, hes one of the best. He had an off night against Brisbane so Ive got complete confidence in Cootey.Thats the strength of his game so, if they want to target him, thats good. Itll bring him into the game and hell respond. ' ' '