PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia Phillies manager Pete Mackanin is looking forward to Mondays series-opening game against the Miami Marlins. And its not just because he wants to quickly forget about Sundays 5-0 shutout loss Jacob deGrom and the Mets.Mackanin will finally get to see struggling pitcher Aaron Nola return to the mound for the first time since July 2. It will be 16 days since Nola was on the mound in a game when he throws the first pitch Monday night at Citizens Bank Park. He will oppose Marlins right-hander Jose Fernandez.The Phillies (43-50) elected to give Nola, their young, right-handed ace, extra rest heading into the All-Star break after the worst stretch of his young major-league career. He will return to the mound having given up at least four runs in five consecutive starts. In four of those starts, he failed to get out of the fourth inning.In total, the damage was 27 earned runs in 18 innings pitched. This after posting a 2.65 ERA in his first 12 starts of the season. His ERA now sits at 4.69.Hes ready to go, Mackanin said. He had a good side and hes anxious to get back out there. Hes a competitor and he doesnt want to sit. Im anxious to see him.Nola, 23, threw a simulated game last Saturday.I dont really think its a mental break, Nola told the Philadelphia Inquirer. Mentally, I feel fine. I just felt like the past month, I struggled. The ball was up. It wasnt where it should be. When youre elevating balls and not getting ahead of guys, they make you pay for it. That was the main part.Nola and the Phillies, though, face a daunting task against Fernandez, 23, who is trending in the opposite direction, save for a rare dud on July 2. Fernandez is 11-4 with a 2.52 ERA. He has amassed 154 strikeouts in 107 1/3 innings pitched.Fresh off his second All-Star appearance, Fernandez, in his first full year since Tommy John surgery, is having his best season. His strikeout rate of 12.91 per nine innings leads the league by plenty. His 154 strikeouts before the break are a Marlins record.I think its just making pitches and not trying to make pitches, Fernandez told the South Florida Sun-Sentinel before heading to San Diego for the All-Star Game. When the catcher calls a fastball away, it doesnt have to be 100 (mph), it can be 93 -- just down in the zone. I feel like Im getting a lot better results like that.The results, right now, are much better than Nolas.The Marlins (49-42) finished off a series win in St. Louis with a 6-3 win Sunday. They head to Philly for a four-game set. Mike Scott Astros Jersey . On Saturday night, the normally free throw-challenged centre did just that. Howard scored 18 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including 13 of 19 free throws in a 2 1/2-minute stretch, and the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 122-111. Astros Jerseys China . They hope to persuade the other team owners and commissioner Roger Goodell to put pressure on Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to drop the nickname they find offensive. "Given the way the meeting transpired," Ray Halbritter, an Oneida representative and leader of the "Change the Mascot Campaign," said Wednesday, "it became somewhat evident they were defending the continued use of the name. https://www.cheapastros.com/73o-roberto-osuna-jersey-astros.html . You can watch the game live on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The Flyers had won seven of eight before dropping their last two outings on consecutive days over the weekend. Philadelphia was handed a 6-3 loss by the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon before dropping a 4-1 decision to the Rangers the following night in New York City. Robinson Chirinos Jersey . -- When the Florida Panthers fell behind by two goals in the first period to the top team in the NHL, it appeared they were on their way to yet another loss. Astros Jerseys 2019 . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. It took a kangaroo court in Moscow, coupled with a few beers, to forge the unity in Great Britains mens Sevens side, but then it was always going to take something a little different.Bringing together three nations under one umbrella in a limited amount of time, for what they hope will be a medal charge at the Rio Olympic Games, is no easy task.The final 12-man squad who will be working together was confirmed on Tuesday, bringing an end to a seven-week spell where the original 25-man party attempted to force their way into the final cut.After meeting as a group for the first time on May 30, head coach Simon Amors immediate focus was to mould a new Team GB culture as he threw together players from England, Scotland and Wales, who were used to treating each other as the opposition on the World Rugby Sevens Series stage.It was a case of going head first into the deep end.They met on the Monday at The Lensbury hotel in Teddington and by the following Saturday they were playing, as a team, in Moscow.It was the proverbial race against time to find common ground in the game plan and an on and off-field understanding in their first tournament under the banner of Great Britain.After their two teams the Lions and Royals finished in third and fifth respectively, the coaches allowed the players some breathing room and a chance to bond away from the training field.That night in Moscow, in a bar hired out by the management, the players socialised in the old-fashioned style and any barriers over national identity were broken down.But it took the form of a kangaroo court where individuals from England, Scotland and Wales took charge and administered fines to players who had broken in-house rules.That got us closer together as a squad, Dan Bibby said. All the things you thought were on the sly came up and you found out little things about each other which was fun.In terms of the social side of it, it definitely helped. I think we have forged bonds now and that has continued. It feels like we have been together for years and its like were our own team now.Boys go out for coffee on days off or meals with girlfriends as couples.The court session was straight from the British & Irish Lions textbook on how to build bridges. The remarkable documentary which covered the 1997 tour showed one of the kangaroo courts in all its glory with Irelannd hooker Keith Wood administering alcohol-based punishments to various perpetrators, ably aided by England lock Simon Shaw and Wales fullback Neil Jenkins.ddddddddddddThere is more than just a hint of the Lions environment and circumstance about this group and outside help has been sought. Team GBs assistant coach Gareth Williams, whose full-time job sees him take charge of Wales Sevens side, picked Warren Gatlands brains over what he learned from the two Lions tours he has coached on while Amor turned to ex-England footballer Stuart Pearce to hear about his experiences of coaching Team GBs team in 2012.The approach worked, friendships have formed within the group. Wales James Davies and Englands Ollie Lindsay-Hague, according to Bibby, have moulded their own secret handshake with Marcus Watson revealing Davies refers to himself as the cub and Lindsay-Hague carrying the nickname of the swan.But then came the brutal reality of turning a 25-man party into 12. The players found out the final squad on Jul. 11 but stayed together as a group with those left out helping battle-harden those who made the cut and then came Monday, Jul. 18, where a message was sent to those players who missed out on selection asking them to hand back their training kit. Watson admits it was sad to see some of the boys go, adding everyone has got on really well.It was always going to be a hard task for Amor, given he was not given the same opportunity to draft in proven internationals from 15s as other countries to assess how fare in Sevens, but he is adamant that does not put them at a disadvantage.But their game time leading into the Games as Great Britain will be at a premium. The other favourites for the title have had the World Sevens Series together while the three components of Team GB competed separately, but despite their rushed accord, Amor has no fears over their prospects at Rio.If Great Britain could have competed in the World Series then you can test everyone at that level, Amor said. That wasnt an option for us and we have done the next best option.I am delighted with what we have done in these six or seven or weeks. I am confident this group can do something incredibly special. They are that talented. ' ' '