TORONTO -- T. Nike Zoom Sale .J. Brennan couldnt have asked for a better debut with the Toronto Marlies. The 24-year-old defenceman scored his first-career hat trick and set up Trevor Smiths overtime goal as Toronto edged the visiting Grand Rapids Griffins 4-3 on Saturday in American Hockey League action. Brennan, who has three two-goal performances in 226 AHL games, was acquired in the off-season by Toronto for his offensive capabilities, but even he was surprised by his performance. "I think thats a first for me there," said Brennan about his hat trick. "I just wanted to start the season off simple. You throw it to the net and good things can happen. I got a couple lucky bounces." The Marlies (1-0-0) caught a break in overtime when Griffins defenceman Brennan Evans was penalized for closing his hand on the puck in the crease. While leading the 4-on-3 power play, Brennan spotted Smith with a pass, who one-timed it past goaltender Jared Coreau off the post and in at 2:59. "We got better as the game went on but theyre a quick transition team and you have to play good smart hockey," Brennan said about the 2013 Calder Cup champions. "We did a good job for the most part." David Broll chipped in two assists for Toronto while Smith added an assist for a two-point outing. Mitch Callahan, Riley Sheahan and Tomas Jurco supplied the offence for the Griffins (1-0-1), who opened their season Friday with an 8-1 win over the Rochester Americans. Drew MacIntyre stopped 27 shots for the win as Coreau made 22 saves in defeat. Brennan opened the scoring with a wrist shot from the slot at 5:25 of the first period, but Jurco and Sheehan scored less than two minutes apart to put Grand Rapids up 2-1 after 20 minutes of play. Brennan tied it with a power-play goal at 12:19 of the second period, and then put the Marlies ahead a little over three minutes later with another point shot. Toronto couldnt hold the lead, though, as Callahan redirected a no-look backhand pass from Jurco to tie the game 3-3 less than five minutes into the third period. "Theyre opportunistic and we turned over pucks in the neutral zone and they made us pay for it," said Marlies coach Steve Spott. The Marlies had to overcome a lack of discipline late in the third just to force overtime as Brad Ross picked up back-to-back minor penalties, followed by Andrew MacWilliam, who was served a five-minute major and game misconduct for boarding. "Im really proud of our team for killing that off at that moment of the game," said Brennan. Brennan was paired all game with NHL veteran John-Michael Liles, who was playing in his first AHL game since being demoted by the Maple Leafs last Sunday. While Liles didnt show up on the score sheet, Spott was more than pleased with what he brought to the lineup. "Hes always talking on the bench and calming guys down on the back end," said Spott. "His experience is invaluable to us right now." Toronto went 2-for-8 on the power play while Grand Rapids failed to score on six chances with the man advantage. The Marlies will host the Lake Erie Monsters on Sunday. Wholesale Nike Zoom . In a matchup of teams battling head-to-head for the final playoff spot in Major League Soccers Western Conference, the Whitecaps run to the post-season took a hard hit when FC Dallas blew open a tie game with two goals in the final minutes for a 3-1 victory Saturday night. Nike Zoom Clearance . Louis Cardinals are one of Major League Baseballs model franchises. http://www.cheapnikezoomuk.com/ . David Perron had a career high four-point night with two goals and two assists as the Oilers experienced an offensive explosion, blasting the Columbus Blue Jackets 7-0 to record a rare home win for their second victory in a row.CLEARWATER, Florida – J.A. Happ got the start in the Blue Jays rain-shortened, Grapefruit League opener against the Phillies but it was Todd Redmond who left an early impression on his manager. "Redmonds like anybody else, hes going to get hit every now and then but all weve ever seen out of him is good pitching and he gets guys out," said John Gibbons. "Hes pretty polished." The 29-year-old pitched two clean innings, the second and third, striking out a batter over 22 pitches. He got the win, for what thats worth on February 26, in a 4-3 game called midway through the seventh. Redmond is among more than a half-dozen pitchers in contention for the last starting rotation spot. While not much can be made of one outing, Redmonds performance resonated following a comment Gibbons made before the game. "Usually what happens, when theres a spot open, the guy that takes it, some of those guys have those springs where theyre good all spring and theres no doubt about it ... a lot of times that guy from day one, man, hes standing out and theres no hiccups." All Redmonds ever wanted is an opportunity. Here it is, less than three months before hell turn 29. Think hes overwhelmed? Redmonds been around too long – eight minor league cities over nine seasons – to get rattled by the best chance hes had to crack an opening day roster. "Im an easy-going guy," said Redmond. "Just give me the ball, Ill go out there and pitch. Same thing as I do every day. I pitch." Redmond made 17 appearances for the Blue Jays last season, 14 of them starts. Hed only made one previous appearance in the majors, a start for the Reds in 2012 that didnt go well. Familiarity breeds a sense of comfort. "I have a little more confidence coming into camp. Of my stuff, not of me, just of my stuff. More trusting of my ability," he said. As a starter last season, Redmond slowly earned Gibbons trust, which allowed Redmond to pitch deeper into games. If hes going to succeed at the major league level, however, Redmond will have to vastly improve his numbers facing hitters for a second and third time through the order. Batters have a .627 on-base plus slugging percentage against Redmond the first time through. Redmonds OPS against spikes to .939 when the lineup turns over and .914 the third time around. He insists durability isnt an issue. "My entire career, if you look at my minor league side of it, I dont think Ive ever thrown under 160 innings a year," said Redmond. "The workload. Thats one thing I take pride in is being able to go out there every fifth day and take the ball." Redmonds almost right. In the seven seasons between 2007 and 2012, he logged at least 160 innings five times and never through less than 145 innings. Having worked a modified heavy ball program this offseason, he would typically stretch with the one-pound or two-pound weighted ball prior to throwing, Redmond says his should feels strong as he makes the push for a job in the rotation. "Hes been a good pitcher in the minor leagues," said Gibbons. "Every year hes pretty steady and he never really had that opportunity until he came here last year. If this is his year he makes it and he goes on to have a good year, hell be a big league player and II dont think there will be any looking back. Nike Zoom Cheap Sale. " DRABEK UNHAPPY WITH PERFORMANCE Kyle Drabek was visibly upset with his first spring performance, a line that looked like this: 1.2IP/1ER/1H/3BB/1K. In his only full inning of work, Drabek threw 11 pitches but only four for strikes. A candidate for that final rotation spot, he was most bothered by the lack of command. "Ive had it so good in all the bullpens," said Drabek. "Its just frustrating for me to kind of fall back into being wild a little bit. I know what I can do and thats not me." "Kyles whole thing, get it into the zone and hes fine," said Gibbons. "Hes had a long layoff through the surgery. He pitched some last year but in a lot of ways, hes been out for so long it may be something that he can build back into." The 26-year-old has a history of control problems. Hes averaged 5.8 walks per nine innings over 169 1/3 big league innings. Returning from Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery last season, Drabek vastly improved his walk rate, issuing just six bases on balls over 43 innings. BAUTISTA IMPRESSIVE It took Jose Bautista all of three pitches to appear in midseason form. He smacked a 2-0, Roberto Hernandez fastball out of the park, literally. The drive to left field cleared the Phillies bullpen, the walkway behind the bullpen and the fence beyond the walkway. "I dont know, for whatever reason, I feel like Im seeing (the ball) better," said Bautista. "Theres nothing that I could have done different. Im not going to go to play winter ball right now. Its kind of odd because I havent played since August. But Im not complaining." CABRERA LIKELY TO HIT SECOND Its not even March, everyone is healthy, and manager John Gibbons is able to envision putting together a full lineup, something he wasnt able to do all of last season. Jose Reyes will lead off and, as the plan was at this time last year, Melky Cabrera has the inside track to bat behind him. "The only real downfall is he does hit a lot of ground balls but you look at what hes done the last few years, take away last year, and hes been one of the better hitters in baseball," said Gibbons. "We like guys there that can get a lot of hits. Hes a switch-hitter, he can manipulate the bat a little bit, he knows how to do those things. Ideally, if hes the player we expect him to be, than hed be a good guy for that spot." One thing Cabrera doesnt do often is walk, an ideal trait of a two-hole hitter and something that would get him on base more often ahead of sluggers Jose Bautista and Edwin Encarnacion. After walking 56 times in 2006, his first full year in the big leagues, Cabrera hasnt had more than 43 bases on balls in a season. A HEALTHY PERSPECTIVE Nobody wants to read about or hear about injury as an excuse for the Jays disappointing 2013 year. But a little perspective never hurt anyone, either. Last season, manager John Gibbons had these six players – Jose Reyes, Melky Cabrera, Jose Bautista, Edwin Encarnacion, Colby Rasmus and Brett Lawrie – in the lineup at the same time on only eight occasions all year. It happened over an 11-day period, starting on July 21 and ending on August 1. ' ' '