ad the potential for its best team ever this year, even with No. 1 draft pick Ben Simmons opting not to play and Dante Exum, Ingles teammate with the Utah Jazz, unable to make it back from

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Albert Pujols circled this date on his calendar when the schedule came out last winter. His first game against the St. Louis Cardinals was certainly a success from a team standpoint, if not a personal one. Jered Weaver earned his second win of an injury-plagued season with help from a five-run second inning, and the Los Angeles Angels extended their winning streak to seven games Tuesday night with a 5-1 victory over St. Louis in the Cardinals first game at Angel Stadium. St. Louis was the only National League club that had never played at the "Big A," having hosted the three previous interleague series between the teams in 2002, 2007 and 2010. Pujols, a three-time NL MVP, spent his first 11 seasons with the Cardinals before signing a $240 million, 10-year contract with the Angels in December 2011. Facing his former club for the first time, he went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts and a walk as the designated hitter while Mark Trumbo started at first base. "It was a little weird. But I was fine, guys. I swear. Im being honest," Pujols said. "I mean, it would have been a little different if it was in St. Louis. I mean, you cant forget the special times you had with those guys during those 11 years there. Thats something nobody can take away -- the success I had there and how those fans and everybody in the community treated me. Every time I get an opportunity to watch them, I root for them because I still have a lot of good friends there, and I still stay in touch with a lot of those guys. But these are three days that I wont be able to root for them." The first time Pujols came up, he tapped catcher Yadier Molinas shin guard with his bat and Molina tapped Pujols on the back of the helmet with his glove -- a subtle but meaningful display of affection and respect between two All-Stars who were teammates for nine seasons and won two World Series rings together. Pujols then struck out, and Molina threw out J.B. Shuck at second for an inning-ending double play. "It was cool to see him. Hes friends with a lot of us, and Im sure he was excited to see us, just like we were to see him," Cardinals third baseman David Freese said. "But I think Albert goes about every game the same way -- whether its day one of the preseason or day one of the post-season. And thats a huge reason why hes so successful." Weaver (2-4) allowed a run, six hits and no walks over seven innings. The All-Star right-hander struck out five in his ninth start of the year, working with runners on base in every inning but the seventh. "Thats what he does," Freese said. "Hes obviously not throwing as hard as he used to, but hes a gamer and he always has been. He made his pitches against a good offence. When guys get on, you have to shut the door. And he did." Weaver, who became a 20-game winner for the first time last year before a broken bone in his non-pitching arm sidelined him for more than six weeks this season, ended a streak of five winless starts that began after his 3-1 victory against the Dodgers on May 29 -- his first game back from the injury. "Coming back was kind of like spring training for me all over again, as far as building the pitch count and getting the arm strength back," said the eight-year veteran, whose 104th big league victory tied his brother Jeffs total. "I think the balls coming out a lot better than it had been, and thats just a sign of the arm strength coming back and getting over that hump finally of 100 pitches, which was nice. I feel strong again, and hopefully I can maintain this through the rest of the season." The Cardinals loaded the bases in the eighth against Kevin Jepsen. Scott Downs came in and struck out rookie Matt Adams before finishing a spectacular 3-6-1 double play, after Trumbo made a slick play in the hole on a hard-hit grounder by Freese. "Marks made some really good plays for us," manager Mike Scioscia said. "But the situation being what it was, I mean, the ball was a rocket to his backhand. And to be able to turn a double play on that was impressive." Lance Lynn (10-3) gave up five runs and nine hits in six innings, striking out eight. The 26-year-old right-hander, coming off a 4-3 loss last Wednesday at Houston, has dropped back-to-back outings for the first time in 1 1/2 big league seasons spanning 48 starts. Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday was a late scratch because of tightness in his neck, hampering a lineup that had averaged a league-best 7.04 runs of support for Lynn in his other 16 starts this season. Molina was 2 for 4, raising his NL-leading average to .347. "It was good to see Yaddy and good to see him having the year that hes having," Pujols said. "I would love for him to win the batting title. Hes like my little brother, and Id do anything for him. I dont think Ive ever seen anybody prepare himself for a game like he does." The Angels sent 10 batters to the plate in the second. Lynn gave up singles to six of his first seven hitters, including run-scoring hits by Trumbo, Alberto Callaspo, Erick Aybar and Shuck. Aybar scored when second baseman Matt Carpenter misplayed Mike Trouts grounder up the middle for an error with a chance to force Shuck. Lynn ended the inning by striking out Pujols and Josh Hamilton. The Cardinals got on the board in the fourth. Allen Craig reached on an infield single, was held up at third on a double by Adams and scored on a groundout by Freese. NOTES: A ceremonial first pitch was thrown by Stan Musials grandson, Brian Schwarze, with Pujols as his catcher. Musial, who died on Jan. 19 at age 92, was honoured with a video tribute following the first inning. "Stan was my buddy," Pujols said. "I wish I would have had more opportunities to talk to him. When he walked into the clubhouse, it was like a light that was so bright. It was amazing. Everybody would stop what they were doing." ... Shortly after Pujols joined the Angels, he took offence to promotional billboards put up throughout Southern California that heralded him as "El Hombre" -- or "The Man." Pujols requested they be taken down, saying that only Musial -- whose moniker was "Stan The Man" -- should ever be referred to in that manner. ... The Angels wore circular patches with Musials name and No. 6 on the front of their jerseys, which they will do throughout this series. The idea for the unique tribute came during spring training. "Its out of the respect that everyone in baseball has for Stan Musial and his legacy, and obviously the connection with Albert," Scioscia said. "We wanted to honour a great person and a great ballplayer in a very classy way, and were proud to wear them." Vapormax Plus Pas Cher Homme . -- Chicago Bears cornerback Tim Jennings was selected Monday to his second straight Pro Bowl, while guard Kyle Long made it after a solid rookie season. Nike Epic React Flyknit Rose . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side. http://www.airmaxpaschere.fr/nike-air-presto-pas-cher.html . NBA officials ruled the court unplayable in the Bucks final exhibition game on Oct. 25 because players were slipping, and the game was cancelled midway through the first period. Air Force 270 Femme . -- Edmontons Val Sweeting is two wins away from a trip to Winnipeg to play in Canadas Road of the Rings in December. Air Max Pas Chere Homme . Thousands of fans at Mosaic Stadium will be cozying up to each other in an effort to stay warm in chilly temperatures and block the Prairie wind that locals say can knock your socks off. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Down Under is on top in Olympic mens basketball.Now Australia is looking forward to its shot at the U.S. for the chance to stay there.Were going out there to win a game, forward Joe Ingles said. I think weve got a team that is focused on that and we believe we can do some special things in this tournament.Australia became the first team to start 2-0 here by pulling away to beat Serbia 95-80 on Monday. Patty Mills scored 26 points and Matthew Dellavedova had 23 points and 13 assists for the Australians, who have opened the Olympics by beating France and Serbia, two of the top-six teams in the world.The Aussies play the top-ranked Americans on Wednesday.We havent done anything we didnt expect to do. These are the goals we set, center Andrew Bogut said.Were not happy being 2-0. We want to continue on and go to the medal rounds.The Australians have a team built to do it. They have big bodies inside with Bogut and Aron Baynes, plenty of playmaking with Mills and Dellavedova, and something more that cant be measured on a stat sheet.I think the belief within our group is something that I dont know if weve ever had before, Mills said.The U.S. blew Australia out in the quarterfinals of the last two Olympics, part of a disappointing recent history for a team that finished fourth in consecutive Olympics in 1996 and 2000. Thee Australians have never won an Olympic medal in mens basketball, part of the reason they werent looked at as a top contender here.ddddddddddddWe havent done (anything) the last 20 or 30 years of basketball and we still havent done anything, so we got a lot to do, Bogut said. But the guys who write stories about that, predictions and all that, God bless them because its a tough job at times. But were really not buying in to that too much.Australia felt it had the potential for its best team ever this year, even with No. 1 draft pick Ben Simmons opting not to play and Dante Exum, Ingles teammate with the Utah Jazz, unable to make it back from a torn knee ligament.The Aussies still have an experienced team, with Mills, Bogut, Dellavedova and Baynes all winning NBA championships.So they obviously know how to play at this level, Serbia coach Sasha Djordjevic said.Now the Aussies want more.We set a goal to win a gold medal and thats what were here to do, Ingles said. We obviously know how hard that is, its obviously not an easy task. Weve been preparing for this for a long time, but we believe we have a team that can do something special.---Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney Black China NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys From China NFL Jerseys China Wholesale NFL Autographed Jerseys Wholesale Throwback Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Online ' ' '