in his last nine starts and has a 1.86 ERA on the road overall. "

WINNIPEG -- Life in the NHL can begin anew at 30, at least for Winnipeg Jets defenceman Adam Pardy. After 58 games this season Pardy has five assists, is a plus three and logging upwards of 18 minutes a night. "I think its gone in the right direction, where I definitely wanted it to go" he said this week of his first season with the Jets. He never has been an offensive defenceman who posted big numbers. But his responsible style seems to be what the Jets need and the six-foot-four, 220-pound native of Bonavista, N.L., brings some much-needed size to Winnipegs blue-line. "This year its been an interesting year," he said. "From sitting out 15 games in a row, being a healthy scratch, to now playing some minutes and finally getting my game going." Pardy has had more than his share of hard luck since turning pro in 2005 and admits there were times when he wondered if he would continue. "It doesnt go back to the start of this year, it goes back to the day I left Calgary and when I blew my shoulder out and went to Dallas and things just didnt go well," he said. "You start thinking that youre not good enough and its really tough to play and I think thats where I was a while back . . . last year and the year before. Confidence is a tough thing to get, and once you lose it its hard to get back." Drafted by the Calgary Flames in the sixth round in 2004, he turned professional in 2005 and began the season with Calgarys AHL affiliate. It wasnt a great start, and he soon found himself in the Las Vegas Wranglers of the ECHL. After his play improved he went back to the AHL and made his NHL debut in the Flames season opener in 2008. He finished his second NHL season with two goals and seven assists in 57 games but a separated shoulder caused him to miss the first two months of the 2010-11 season. He missed the last two months as well because of injury. The following season as a free agent, he signed a two-year, US$4 million contract with the Dallas Stars but started on injured reserve list and ended up playing only 36 games before being traded to Buffalo. Once again, Pardy split the lockout-abbreviated season between the NHL and AHL, and this season Winnipeg became his fourth team in four seasons when he signed a US$600,000 one-year deal. He also had to clear waivers and spent some time with Winnipegs AHL affiliate in St. Johns. "Its never an easy thing to deal with, being set down to the minors," Pardy said. "Pretty much every player has to deal with something like that as some point in their career. You learn from it and take whatever you can out of it to make yourself better the next day." An injury to Jacob Trouba, Winnipegs No. 1 draft pick in 2012 and one of their star rookies this season, saw Pardy brought back after only a few games. He says, in some ways, hes had to go back to that nervous kid who suited up for the first time with the Flames as he rebuilds his game. "As every games gone on, I feel a little more comfortable with the puck, a little more confident." Pardy also became the focus of attention for Winnipeg fans when he had his helmet ripped off by a Chicago fan after he was checked through the glass at the United Center, then had a beer poured over his head. "Its tough enough to get put through the glass, but then to get a beer thrown on my head, too, not a good thing," he said at the time. A radio host tried to promote a "helmet Pardy" and get fans to wear helmets when Chicago next visited Winnipeg but Jets co-owner Mark Chipman killed the stunt. For his part, Pardy not only kept his cool when he was subjected to the beer shower, he says hes tried to stop worrying about his future. 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Joe Thornton Jersey . -- DeMarcus Cousins had 25 points and 16 rebounds to help the Sacramento Kings snap a seven-game losing streak by defeating the Chicago Bulls 99-70 on Monday night.PHILADELPHIA -- With the bases loaded, Ryan Howard knew he was going to get a pitch to hit. It was just a matter of waiting for the right one. Howard hit a grand slam, capping a five-run rally in the eighth inning that lifted the Philadelphia Phillies over the Houston Astros 6-5 on Thursday night. "I knew going in he was going to bury some sliders and I had to keep off the sliders," Howard said. "Bases loaded, I knew at some point he had to give me something to hit. Hes got to give me a strike." Chris Carter hit two homers and drove in four runs for Houston, which lost its eighth straight in Philadelphia. "This was a pretty tough loss," Astros manager Bo Porter said. Carlos Ruiz and Ben Revere each had two hits as the Phillies completed a three-game sweep. Mario Hollands (2-1) pitched two scoreless innings, and Jonathan Papelbon pitched the ninth for his 27th save in 30 chances. Howard connected with two outs on a full-count pitch from Tony Sipp (2-2). "The matchup was what we wanted," Porter said. "He beat the best guy we have down there." Marc Krauss also homered for Houston. Philadelphia trailed 5-1 entering the eighth after Colin McHugh threw seven strong innings for the Astros. Houston reliever Josh Fields gave up hits to three of the four batters he faced, including Cody Asches RBI single that made it 5-2. Sipp allowed a single to Jimmy Rollins to load the bases with one out. After Chase Utley flied out, Howard homered into the seats in left-centre field. "I hit it pretty flush," Howard said. "I got it pretty good. Off the bat, yeah, I pretty much knew. But that wind started kicking up a little bit. I was happy it was enough." Howard pointed to his family after crossing home plate and then took a curtain call. It was the third homer and 11th RBI in 12 games since manager Ryne Sandberg benched the struggling slugger for three games, July 23-25. Howard has endured boos and some negative reaction to comments he had made regarding the treatment he has received. "Its unfortunate, to be honest with you, that thats what happens," Howard said. "But Im going to go out there and continue to play. I understand what it takes to play the game. It wasnt there early, but I just needed it to be there once and it was there for me, so Im going to try to build off that." Howard also drove in the winning run in the Phillies 2-1, 15-inning win over Houston on Tuesday. Sipp and the Astros werent able to keep him down this week. "I hold myself to a high standard, so I have to make sure it doesnt happen again," Sipp said. Carter hit his second homer of the game and 24th of the season, a two-run drive in the third. He leads the majors with 11 home runs since the start of July. TRAINERS ROOM Astros: Reliever Josh Zeid had the first of two foot operations on his right foot on Wednesday, and the Astros deemed it successful. Zeid will have the same surgery on his left foot in six weeks. The right-hander appeared in 23 games this season with a 6.79 ERA in 20 2/3 innings. He last pitched on July 24. ... Outfielder George Springer will rejoin the Astros in Houston on Friday, but his status will be evaluated prior to the game. He was on pace to be activated from the DL (quadriceps), but his return is in question after he left Wednesdays rehab start at Single--A Quad Cities because of discomfort.dddddddddddd Phillies: Cliff Lees season officially is over. That was the indication on Wednesday when his locker was cleaned out, and the Phillies made the announcement on Thursday that Lee wont pitch again in 2014 due to a Grade 2 strain of his left elbow. Lee will require rest but not surgery and will begin a throwing program in September or October with the hope that he will be healthy for spring training. UP NEXT Astros: Houston returns home to host intrastate rival Texas on Friday night in a matchup of the teams with the worst records in the AL West. Astros left-hander Brett Oberholtzer (4-7, 4.17) faces right-hander Miles Mikolas (1-4, 7.29). Oberholtzer, in his fourth stint in the big leagues this season, is 4-1 with a 3.08 ERA in his last eight starts. Phillies: Philadelphia hosts the Mets for the first of four on Friday night. Right-hander A.J. Burnett (6-11, 4.16) opposes New York righty Bartolo Colon (10-9, 4.12) in a meeting of veterans who are a combined 78 years old. Two-time Cy Young winner and eight-time All-Star Roy Halladay also will be on the mound for the Phillies, but in a ceremonial capacity. Halladay will throw out the first pitch as the Phillies welcome back former players on alumni weekend. Travelling MAN Phillies starter Sean OSullivan gave up three homers in six innings. He was summoned from Toledo, Ohio, where the Phillies Triple-A team was playing, after Philadelphia traded pitcher Roberto Hernandez to the Los Angeles Dodgers earlier Thursday. OSullivan had started the second game of a doubleheader on June 28 against Atlanta in his only other big league appearance this season. He was just about to take a nap around 1:00 Thursday afternoon when he got the call to catch a plane to Philadelphia. He arrived at the airport around 5:30, but it took him 30 minutes to take the short trip to the ballpark due to rush-hour traffic, giving him about an hour to get ready for a start. He wasnt deterred by the crazy travel schedule though. "I could have shown up at 7:02 and I would have been ready to go," he said. "Im just happy to be here, happy for the opportunity." TOUGH LUCK McHugh was in line for his first victory since June 3 after allowing one run and five hits, striking out eight, and walking none. He is 0-6 in his last nine starts and has a 1.86 ERA on the road overall. "McHugh did a great job but our bullpen wasnt able to hold it together," Porter said. UNUSUAL DOUBLE PLAY Philadelphias Grady Sizemore was involved in an unusual 6-5-6 double play in the second inning. Asche hit a soft liner behind second base where shortstop Marvin Gonzalez was positioned. Sizemore held up at second base to see if Gonzalez would catch the ball, but when it dropped in front of Gonzalez he was caught in no mans land. Gonzalez stepped on second to force out Carlos Ruiz, who was on first, and then got Sizemore out in a rundown. That twin killing was one of six double plays in the game, four of which were converted by Philadelphia to tie a season high. BASES IN GOOD HANDS The Phillies brought out three recipients of the Purple Heart to change the bases after the third inning. Purple Heart recipients Shawn Lees, Bryon Yoder and Carol Eggert changed the bases while receiving a standing ovation from the crowd of 26,609 fans and applause from the Astros and Phillies players. ' ' '