ha had a funny way of preparing for his World Series start thats

BOSTON -- Michael Wacha had a funny way of preparing for his World Series start thats supposed to save the season for the St. cheap jerseys from china . Louis Cardinals. The 22-year-old October ace spent Tuesday afternoon on the tarmac at the St. Louis airport when the team plane got grounded by mechanical problems. It took all day before the Cardinals finally arrived in Boston, trailing the Red Sox 3-2 going into Game 6 on Wednesday night. Their flight took off about 9:10 p.m. EDT after a delay that appeared to last around 6 hours and landed shortly after 11 p.m. "Everyone is just watching movies," Wacha said from the plane, a couple of hours into the delay. "Theyve got dinner on here for us and stuff. Everyone is just walking around. Nobody is in a bad mood or anything like that. The attitude is pretty good." His teammates were probably confident, too, considering what the rookie has done this post-season. Hes 4-0 with a 1.00 ERA in four starts, including a win over John Lackey and the Red Sox in Game 2. Lackey will again oppose the tall right-hander. "I dont think anything will be much different," Wacha said. "I just try to approach every game the same. I dont think its going to be too much different. We know the next two games are must-wins. It all starts with me tomorrow night." Heady stuff for a guy who was pitching at Texas A&M less than a year and a half ago, a guy who began this season in Triple-A. Then again, look at what hes done. He came within an out of a no-hitter against Washington in his final start of the regular season, only to give up an infield single. With the Cardinals facing a 2-1 deficit in the best-of-five division series, he took a no-hit bid into the eighth inning to win at Pittsburgh. He twice outpitched Cy Young Award favourite Clayton Kershaw to win MVP honours in the NL championship series, then beat Boston with his family in the seats at Fenway Park. Quite a run, by any standards. "I think its been one of those thats been fun for us to watch," Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said from the idle plane. "Taking everything into consideration, how this kid was in school, in college 18 months or so ago, and watch the maturity, and watch the progress, too." "Not just Michael, but a group of other young players that have been able to do something very similar. But Michaels done a nice job. We just want him to really not focus on the big picture of what exactly is going on. What we want him to do is go out, make one pitch at a time. Theres time for summations later." Lackey said he could appreciate what Wacha is going through. The Red Sox righty was a rookie with the Angels in 2002 when he started Game 7 of the World Series and beat the San Francisco Giants. "Probably similar to the way I was feeling. I think I was 23 or whatever that year," Lackey said. "I dont know what kind of guy he is. But personally, I was more excited about it than anything else as far as nerves." The Red Sox are trying to clinch a World Series title on their own field for the first time since 1918. Anticipation is high in Boston, and prices on the secondary market for even a standing-room ticket were approaching $1,000. "I imagine its going to be crazy, but Im not going to pay any attention to it," Wacha said. "Ill keep going about my business the way I have been in all my starts this year. And not worry about the crowd, and just get locked in with Yadi behind the plate and just make my pitches." Star catcher Yadier Molina helped settle down Wacha in Game 2. Wacha matched a season high with four walks, but allowed only three hits in six innings. David Ortiz did the most damage against him, sending a two-run homer over the Green Monster. The big-hitting Ortiz was ready for a rematch with Wacha, provided the plane problems got resolved. "I thought I saw them leaving last night. Thats crazy. Everything happens for a reason," Ortiz said. "Me, normally, when I have a delay on a flight, I dont get mad. You dont play around with that stuff. Hopefully they get here safe." wholesale jerseys . The Bruins suffered their share of setbacks, a notable one just a week earlier. Once the Pac-12 tournament got rolling, the Bruins took off. cheap jerseys . Abreu hit his 20th homer and Adam Dunn added a three-run shot as Chicago beat San Francisco 7-6 on Wednesday, handing the Giants their fifth straight loss.ORLANDO, Fla. -- James Harden scored 31 points, including 25 in the second half, and the Houston Rockets dug out of a double-digit, first-half hole to beat the Orlando Magic 101-89 on Wednesday night. The Rockets dominated inside, outscoring the Magic 58-26 in the paint. Dwight Howard added 19 points and 14 rebounds in his second trip to Orlando to face his former team. Houston trailed in the second quarter by as many as 14 points, but battled back to win for the 13th time in 15 outings. Arron Afflalo led the Magic with 18 points. The Magic dropped to 0-2 this season against the Rockets. Orlando played without Jameer Nelson and Victor Oladipo. Nelson was out sick and Oladipo missed his first game of the season with soreness in his left ankle. Howard scored 11 points in the third quarter, connecting on five of his six field-goal attempts, to help the Rockets take 10-point lead into the fourth. The Magics second unit surged at the start of the period, and cut the deficit to three and prompted the Rockets to quickly re-insert their starters. Harden immediately scored five straight points, and Terrence Jones added a layup to push Houstons lead back up to 86-76 with 5:37 to play. Orlando never got closer than eight points the rest of the way. Orlando fans greeted Howard with a round of boos during player introductions and another the first ttime he touched the ball after the game tipped off. wholesale nfl jerseys. Howard briefly silenced them, slamming down a dunk on the Rockets first possession. It was one of his few highlights early, though, as the Magic rode hot early shooting and jumped out to a 14-point first-quarter advantage on the way to a 48-41 halftime lead. The Magic did honour Howard, with a video tribute on the scoreboard between the first and second quarter as part of the teams season-long 25th anniversary celebration. But even that was met with sporadic boos during the presentation from fans. Howard said before the game that he thought the video package could bring about some emotion. He was on the bench when it was played, but managed a slight smile as the booing persisted. It continued whenever Howard touched the ball, and he struggled at different points in the half, finishing with just seven points. Orlando started the half connecting on 10 of its first 14 field-goal attempts. That cooled to 44 per cent by halftime, with Houston holding a 26-18 advantage on scoring inside the paint, and 28-18 rebounding edge. Notes: Oladipo had been the only Magic player to appear every game this season before Wednesday. Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said the rookies injury doesnt stem from a particular incident, but is just general soreness. ... Former NBA player Grant Hill sat courtside. cheap jerseys cheap jerseys from china ' ' '