A one-out single by Trout sent Aybar home to tie it at 1-all

It has been two weeks since WWE kicked off its self-proclaimed new era with a brand split and a draft, changes that produced a red-hot run of shows on Raw.But the WWEs flagship program came back down to earth Monday night in a big way.If the fading of the new-car smell seems quick, it shouldnt, as the timing fits in with WWEs recent history. Week 3 of the four-week structure between pay-per-view events has typically been the weakest, with the more explosive moments saved for the go-home show. Its something that bodes well for next week, just days before SummerSlam invades New York City.But the bar had been set high in previous weeks with new pushes, fresh booking and a heavy splash of much-needed PG-13 dialogue and intensity, all of which were mostly missing Monday (with the exception of some well-played jokes at the expense of Big Es injury below the belt).In its place was a noticeable void of top stars being used in prominent spots and a predictable finish to a main event match --?Rusev?vs.?Cesaro?for the WWE United States title -- that didnt start until 11 p.m. ET and had?been?hastily thrown together moments earlier.If the WWE had hopes of building two separate brands that are independent of and in competition with each other, the cheap pop from SmackDown Lives Daniel Bryan invading the final segment of Raw felt gratuitous. Cross-pollinating with run-ins from?Brock Lesnar?and?Randy Orton?is one thing and an extreme case unto itself; this one, however, was forced.But all was not lost Monday as WWE did a good job, mostly in subtle ways, of keeping the storyline moving within the major feuds. The attention to detail remained high, proving to be a good step forward from the old method of killing time with unnecessary rematches. Its something we are likely to see less of after the brand extension because of how valuable each second of real estate has become.Credit?Seth Rollins?(in-ring) and?Finn Balor?(pretaped) for strong promos to keep interest high ahead of their inaugural WWE Universal title match, even if the decision not to showcase Balor in a match on Monday felt like?a?mistake.Rollins did a nice job of teasing the fear inside of him (remember, every great heel needs a weakness or he or she wouldnt have chosen that path) over Balors hidden persona, with references to Balors last name translating to demon king in Irish mythology. Balor, meanwhile, showed hints at a possible heel turn down the road (Balor Club, anyone?) by teasing a creepier and more sinister edge. WWE doesnt usually take that much time explaining the origin of a character, but for anyone who doesnt watch NXT and will be seeing Balors face paint and unique entrance at SummerSlam for the first time, it made sense.The WWE also officially announced three more bouts for the Aug. 21 SummerSlam card in Brooklyn:?Enzo & Cass?vs.?Chris Jericho?and?Kevin Owens?in a tag team match; Rusev vs.?Roman Reigns?for Rusevs United States?championship;?and?The New Day?vs.?The Club?for the WWE tag team championships.Hits and missesA match as star-studded as Lesnar-Orton doesnt need much of a proper build to garner buzz, especially with Orton returning from injury and Lesnar fresh off the bad press of a UFC doping violation. But WWE has done well?to build this the old-fashioned way and?not?cut corners. Mondays prepackaged video?promo showcasing their history was full of trash talk, the perfect complement to each superstar trading finishing moves last week.Sasha Banks victory over?Dana Brooke?added a stipulation to Banks WWE womens championship rematch with Charlotte at SummerSlam, banning Brooke from ringside. Banks-Charlotte?is the rivalry WWE fans have clamored for since day one of last years so-called Divas Revolution (now Womens Revolution). Removing the chance of a schmoz?finish should allow two of the companys best workers to better shine.With the brand split producing a shortage of tag teams on each show, Im all for WWE getting creative in matching Jericho and Owens as tag team foils at SummerSlam for?Enzo Amore?and?Big Cass. All?four?superstars can talk and the two heels are strong enough workers to help Enzo and Cass get the extra shine and seasoning they still need in the ring.Big Cass wisecrack against Jericho and Owens (referencing Bert and Ernie of Sesame Street) came off as crass, considering the potentially homophobic undertones. Although adding some spice to the dialogue is mostly welcome in this PG era, this was an uncalled-for turn.It was a piece of cake for @WWERomanReigns to wreck @RusevBUL and @LanaWWEs post-wedding celebration. #RAW https://t.co/X4UljoY7UK- WWE (@WWE) August 9, 2016Reigns was strong in the Rusev-Lana segment, receiving huge pops on his way in and out of the ring as WWE stubbornly stays the course of keeping him babyface. Reigns twice telling Rusev to put that beef away as he took off his vest was an honorable mention for line of the night.Raw announcer Corey Graves referred to?Braun Strowman?as a walking abomination during the former Wyatt Family members third straight squash match. As far as on-the-fly descriptors are concerned, that was?perfect.Part of why?Titus ONeils?subtle heel turn against?Darren Young?is working so well is hes taking an already physical style and adding viciousness. This is the right direction.It was good to see WWE continue a trend that any formal event that takes place inside the ring needs to end in all-out craziness. Rusev and?Lanas?wedding segment was poorly written and went on way too?long, but the payoff of Lana going face-first into the cake was enough to cover all sins (even if seeing her covered in red frosting brought eerie flashbacks of the 1976 thriller Carrie).Ive never been one for forced celebrity skits on WWE television, but considering the amount of promotion for Sean Puff Daddy Combs guest spot on Raw, his brief appearance was underwhelming. Considering he had good chemistry with The New Day and Mick Foley, and his off-color joke on?Big Es?injury worked (complete with Foleys response of You cant say that on TV), I would have liked to see?more.Move of the nightNeville?made his second appearance on Raw since missing four months with a fractured ankle. He looked great teaming with?Sin Cara?(newly clad in all black) against The?Dudley Boyz. While Nevilles incredible finisher, the?Red?Arrow, had become an overused party favor ever since his call-up from NXT, nothing quite does it full justice like seeing it in a slow-motion replay. The one he landed Monday against?D-Von Dudley?was a thing of?beauty.Line of the nightIf you forget, Ive been doing this since I was 5 years old. Im like a f---ing robot. I train, I eat and I s--- f---ing opponents. Thats what I do for a living. - Lesnar, during a pretaped video promo hyping his SummerSlam bout against Orton.Campbells criticismThe use of?Cesaro?in two separate matches Monday, only to see him sent deeper into a feud with?Sheamus?that no one cares about, was particularly disappointing. Had Cesaro, an underused and forgotten player beloved?by?smart fans, surprised Rusev by winning the U.S. title in the main event, setting up an out-of-nowhere triple threat at SummerSlam, it would have accomplished three things. First, the upset win would have saved last nights largely forgettable show. Second, it would have justified the storyline push of using Cesaro twice in one night. Finally, the shotgun booking would have furthered the idea that anything can happen in this must-see new era of Raw and SmackDown. Falling back on a predictable finish, using the tease of a stipulation to hold interest in an otherwise unnecessary and poorly executed main event, instead added to the belief that Cesaro is an afterthought in the eyes of the WWE, particularly on Raw, and a superstar who could be much better off with some kind of trade to SmackDown. Marcus Allen Youth Jersey .Y. -- Leading 3-0 with only 11:25 left, the Colorado Avalanche committed a seemingly meaningless penalty to give the New York Islanders a power play. Trayvon Mullen Jersey . Burke is expected to miss two to three months after breaking a finger in the teams third preseason game. Tinsley, a 10-year veteran, spent the last two seasons in Utah, where the point guard averaged 3. http://www.footballraidersmall.com/Youth-Hunter-Renfrow-Elite-Jersey/ . The 27-year-old Scrivens will be joining his third NHL club since signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent in 2010. The move also reunites with him with head coach Dallas Eakins from their time together with the American Hockey Leagues Toronto Marlies. Art Shell Jersey . But by the time the game started, the Toronto Raptors forward felt even worse. And, for three quarters, it showed as Gay shot a woeful three-for-13 from the field. Maxx Crosby Raiders Jersey . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., has nothing but good things to say about former U.S. marine Liz (Girlrilla) Carmouche ahead of their co-main event Wednesday on the UFCs "Fight for the Troops" televised card in Fort Campbell, Ky. HOUSTON -- Angels manager Mike Scioscia called what Houston starter Bud Norris has done to his team this year a "nightmare you cant shake." Thankfully for Los Angeles, Scioscias offence woke up when Norris left the game before the eighth inning and found a way to put the Astros away for a 4-2 win on Friday night. Pinch-runner Peter Bourjos scored the go-ahead run in the eighth on an error and Erick Aybar added a two-run single in the ninth to help the Angels to the victory. Hank Conger doubled off Paul Clemens (4-3) to start the eighth. Conger was replaced by Bourjos before Aybar drew a walk. Bourjos took third on a fly out by J.B. Shuck. Shortstop Ronny Cedenos error on the play, when he bounced the ball trying to pick off Aybar at second, allowed Bourjos to dash home just ahead of the throw. Aybars bases-loaded single sent two home and extended the lead to 4-1 in the ninth. Houstons Jason Castro homered in the fourth before Mike Trout tied it at 1 with an RBI single in the sixth. The Angels had scored 33 runs on 46 hits in their last four games. But Norris, who entered the game having allowed just one run in three starts -- all wins -- against Los Angeles this season, continued to be tough on the Angels. He yielded four hits and no earned runs with five strikeouts in seven innings. "Hes thrown as well as anybody weve faced this year, probably better than anybody weve faced on a consistent basis," Scioscia said. "Hes got that fastball thats sneaky and hes mixing his breaking ball in. I thought we had better at-bats against him tonight but the results were pretty much what weve seen the first several times hes pitched against us." Conger was glad they were finally able to win a game against the Astros when Norris was pitching and extend their winning streak to four games. "Its huge," he said. "Just the fact that we were able to pull off a win facing Bud Norris, knowing how well hes been throwing against us. That was one that we really needed coming off the road trip with Detroit and bringing that momentum here was really huge for us." Los Angeles starter Jerome Williams limited Houston to five hits and a run over 6 1-3 innings. Dane De La Rosa (3-1) and Kevin Jepsen pitched 1 2-3 scoreless innings before Ernesto Frieri allowed one run in the ninth for his 20th save. The win by Los Angeles breaks a four-game losing streak to the Astros, but the Angels still trail Houston 7-4 this season. Houston manager Bo Porter was disappointed with the two errors his team made that led to two runs.dddddddddddd The Astros lead the majors with 63 errors this season. "Weve all played this game and understand that mistakes do happen and errors are a part of the game," he said. "For the most part its the speed of the game and the mental part that we definitely need to clean up." Houston had several chances to add to its run total. Perhaps the best opportunity came in the eighth inning. Jose Altuve walked with one out and stole second base. A single by Brett Wallace sent him to third but Jepsen retired Castro and Chris Carter to end the threat. Castro opened Houstons fourth with his homer to the bullpen in right-centre to make it 1-0. Williams got back on track after that, retiring the next three batters. Cedeno walked with no outs in the fifth, but Williams still faced the minimum in that inning when Cedeno was thrown out trying to steal second on a strikeout by Barnes. Aybar started the sixth with a single and advanced to second on an error by Brandon Barnes. A one-out single by Trout sent Aybar home to tie it at 1-all. Altuve singled in the sixth before Castro took a one-out walk. But Houston came away empty-handed when Altuve was caught trying to steal third before Carter grounded into a force out. Carlos Pena and J.D. Martinez hit back-to-back singles to start the seventh and chase Williams. Pena was thrown out trying to advance to third on the single by Martinez. De La Rosa struck out Cedeno before centre fielder Trout made an excellent running catch on a sharp fly ball hit by Matt Dominguez to end the inning. Barnes made a pair of nifty defensive plays in the third inning. The first one came when he sprinted and leaped to grab a fly ball hit by Conger before crashing into the padded wall in centre field and falling to the ground for the first out of the third. He then ended the inning by dashing to make a diving catch on a liner hit by Shuck. Scioscia was impressed by Congers at-bats on Friday. "Hank hit the ball hard every time," Scioscia said. "Drove the ball well to centre field; Barnes made a couple good plays on him. And then he just hammered that last one for a double in the eighth and was the start of our go-ahead rally." NOTES: The series continues on Saturday when Houstons Jordan Lyles opposes Joe Blanton. ... Houston signed ninth-round draft pick C catcher Brian Holberton, 14th-rounder LHP Chris Cotton, 18th-round pick 3B Adam Nelubowich, 19th-round pick C Jake Rodriguez and RHP Juan Santos, who was selected in the 39th round. ' ' '