Artcorner » We hope for the benefit of the wonderful citizens of Toronto an

PHILADELPHIA -- Ryan Howard and Cody Asche homered, and A.J. Burnett threw six solid innings to lead the Philadelphia Phillies over the Washington Nationals 7-2 on Saturday night. Jimmy Rollins had four hits and Marlon Byrd doubled and drove in a pair of runs for Philadelphia. The Phillies won for just the third time in 11 games against the Nationals. Adam LaRoche and Zach Walters homered for Washington. The game was delayed for 24 minutes because of heavy rain, lightning and thunder after the sixth. Burnett didnt return after the weather cleared, having thrown 93 pitches. Burnett (2-1) gave up one run on three hits while striking out seven and walking two. The right-hander had seven strikeouts to up his career total to 2,215, moving past Jim Palmer into 52nd all-time. Tanner Roark (2-1) had the poorest start of his two-year career, allowing seven runs on seven hits in four-plus innings. The runs and innings were career-worsts for Roark, who was making his 11th major league start. Howard started the trouble for Roark by hitting an opposite-field, three-run homer in the first. The home run snapped Roarks scoreless streak at 18 innings. Asche connected for a solo shot in the second to make it 4-0. Carlos Ruizs RBI double in the fourth and Byrds two-run single in the fifth gave Philadelphia a 7-0 cushion. LaRoche homered in the sixth. He continued to have success off Burnett, raising his average to .400 (10-for-25) with two homers and six RBIs against the right-hander. LaRoche, who has been slowed by a quadriceps injury, was lifted after hitting the homer. Walters, pinch-hitting in the seventh, homered off Mario Hollands with two outs. 7-2. All three of the rookies hits this season are homers. NOTES: Phillies LHP Cole Hamels (0-2, 6.75) has been scratched from his scheduled start on Sunday because of the flu. Hamels will start Tuesday against Toronto. RHP Roberto Hernandez (1-1, 5.74) now will oppose Nationals LHP Gio Gonzalez (3-1, 3.25) in the conclusion of the three-game series. ... Former Phillies closer Brad Lidge threw out the ceremonial first pitch. Lidge converted all 48 of his save opportunities during Philadelphias 2008 World Series season. ... Third-base umpire Jim Reynolds left the game after the first inning due to an undisclosed illness and was replaced by Toby Basner. ... Rollins had been hitless in his last 11 at-bats. Qadree Ollison Falcons Jersey . -- Billy Donovans bench came up big, bailing out top-seeded Florida in a tight game against what was supposed to be an overmatched opponent. Atlanta Falcons Jerseys .I dont think it comes to mind in this business, in this game, the Philadelphia Flyers forward said. You dont try to lose games. http://www.thefaclonsshoponline.com/Calvin-Ridley-Falcons-Jersey/ . MacIntyre stopped 49 shots and the Marlies defeated the Texas Stars 5-1 in Game 1 of the American Hockey Leagues Western Conference final. "I felt in control, so that was nice," MacIntyre said. Takkarist McKinley Youth Jersey . Malone will become an unrestricted free-agent and as per the collective bargaining agreement, the Lightning will be responsible for two-thirds of the remainder of his contract over twice the length of the rest of the deal. Qadree Ollison Womens Jersey . -- Wide receiver Sidney Rice should be fully recovered from a torn knee ligament by the time the Seattle Seahawks start defence of their Super Bowl title, general manager John Schneider said Wednesday.Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has garnered more criticism Thursday, this time from the very team he was hoping to support. Ford - while wearing a Toronto Argonauts jersey - responded to allegations of having associated with prostitutes in front of the media on Thursday. His remarks concluded with an off-colour remark in regards to his lack of need to associate with prostitutes, intended to demonstrate the strength of his marriage. The Argonauts have issued a statement in return, criticizing the mayors comments, leadership and recent conduct, especially Thursdays remarks while wear teams colours. "Its well-known that the Mayor is a big fan and supporter of the game of football," an official statement read. "The Toronto Argonauts organization is not in a position to comment on the manner of dress of public officials." "The situation with respect to the Mayor and his leadership is unseemly at best," the statement continued. "These latest remarks, while wearing our teams jersey, are particularly disappointing given our organizations work in the community to help youth deal with issues of bullying prevention. We hope for the benefit of the wonderful citizens of Toronto and this great city that this situation is resolved expeditiously.dddddddddddd" Fords decision to wear an Argos jersey was meant as an act of civic pride ahead of the team hosting their provincial rival Hamilton Tiger-Cats in the CFL East Division Final on Sunday. He even went as far to mention that one of his top orders of business Thursday was to call Hamilton Mayor Bob Bratina ahead of the match-up. However, his headline-grabbing comments about his marriage almost immediately followed his Argos boasts. Ford apologized for his remarks later in the day in front of a large media gathering. By that point he had taken the jersey off. Argonauts executive chairman and chief executive officer Chris Rudge would strengthen the teams position on Ford at practice at the Rogers Centre on Thursday, telling reporters that Ford would not be a guest of the team on Sunday. "The Mayor has not been invited to the game," Rudge told reporters. "I dont know if hes coming to the game. He does come down here on occasion and like any other citizen he can buy tickets and come down and cheer for the Argonauts." ' ' '