I think it is one of those things that scared me more than it hurt, Mengden said. Those are always nerve-wracking.TRAINERS ROOMAstros: OF Colby Rasmus was out of the lineup with an ear infection. Manager A.J. Hinch said he ho

CHICAGO -- Ohio State coach Urban Meyer and Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio both strongly denied any allegations they have negatively recruited against Penn State, responding to a subtle suggestion from Nittany Lions coach James Franklin that the Big Ten football powers are continuing to use the programs past against it.Franklin has brought up the difficulty of dealing with opponents using an aggressive strategy against the Nittany Lions numerous times in his career with the program.Meyer and Dantonio were asked at Big Ten media days on Tuesday about an interview Franklin gave to the Reading Eagle last month which appeared to name their coaching staffs as using that practice, which both adamantly refuted.I know we have a lot of reporters here, Dantonio said. Everybodys got a pen. But from my standpoint, I have not said anything negative about Penn State, and hopefully our coaches have not as well. So I was surprised to read that.I dont know what happens out there on the road completely. But its not our M.O., and thats not how we do business.Meyer appeared to be caught off guard when asked during his podium session about the issue. He said Ohio State wasnt delivering any anti-Penn State messages.Absolutely not, Meyer said. And thats the first time Ive heard that. Ill address that with Coach Franklin if that is an issue. Thats a pretty strong allegation that Ive not heard yet. So thats not been presented to me until this moment. Absolutely not.Weve got a great deal of respect for every school in our conference, and we do just fine with recruiting. We dont worry about that stuff. Im glad you told me that. If thats true, Ill address that.Shortly after leaving his morning interview, Meyer confirmed that he met with Franklin to address the matter.Franklin refused to comment when reached by phone, but told Fox Sports that he didnt name who that was using the attacks against his program.He also didnt specify the types of topics mentioned by opposing coaches on the recruiting trail. But Penn State athletic director Sandy Barbour has mentioned as recently as last week recruiters allegedly bringing up the threat of NCAA sanctions tied to the Jerry Sandusky scandal, calling them untrue and a real slap in the face to this profession.The people were competing with -- Ohio State, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame -- this is just not something they have to deal with, Franklin told the Reading Eagle in June. Although we want to move on, those other schools are not letting us move on. ... Were able to tell kids theyre going to compete against the very highest level week in and week out. What makes it tricky, theyre not having to deal with some of the things were dealing with and working through, which magnifies it. Those programs as well as others know that and use that against us. We have that conversation with every single prospect. We dont usually initiate it, but its coming from somewhere.Meyer and Dantonio both made it clear they dont believe its coming from their programs.By the time media days was winding down, Meyer indicated he and Franklin had cleared the air.Theres no story, Meyer said. I read the article. ... James came up to me and said, I did not accuse Ohio State of negative recruiting. I said, Im good and shook his hand. Curry 3 Shoes Wholesale . Philadelphia is 2-0 against the Senators this season and scored five goals in each victory. The Flyers recorded a 5-0 win in Ottawa on Nov. 12 and then earned a 5-2 home decision on Nov. 19. The Flyers have claimed three straight and four of the last five encounters with the Sens overall and Philly has won two in a row and three of its past four tests in Canadas capital city. Threadborne Shoes Online . Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored shootout goals, and backup goalie Cam Talbot earned his second win in two nights as the Rangers shook off a late tying tally and beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 Monday night. http://www.outletunderarmourstore.com/cheap-under-armour-basketball-shoes-online.html . LOUIS -- Rookie Tavon Austin has missed another day of practice, lessening the odds hell be ready for the St. Under Armour Outlet Store . -- Nate Robinson has played for seven teams, so beating one of them is no longer a rare occurrence. Ua Curry 4 Outlet . Fred Couples, captain of the U.S. side, put it all into perspective. "We know whos in charge," he said. HOUSTON -- The Oakland Athletics made a big comeback in the ninth inning on Friday night, only to end up losing when the Houston Astros did the same in the bottom of the inning.Luis Valbuena drove in four runs, highlighted by a three-run homer with one out in the ninth, to lift the Astros to the wild 10-9 victory.The Athletics took the lead with a five-run ninth inning before Jose Altuve singled with one out in the bottom of the inning. Carlos Correa struck out, but reached on a wild pitch before Valbuena connected off Ryan Madson (3-3) for his homer to right field to give Houston the win.It happened pretty quick, Yonder Alonso said. Its just tough, real tough.Houston led by three runs entering the ninth before Alonso connected off closer Will Harris with no outs to cut the lead to 7-6. Pinch-hitter Jake Smolinski singled with one out before a double by Jed Lowrie chased Harris.He was replaced by Michael Feliz (6-1) who was greeted by the double from Davis that put the As up 8-7.Josh Reddick added a run with an RBI single to make it 9-7.Any time you lose on a walkoff like that, it is brutal, manager Bob Melvin said. But based on the fact that we could come back with a less than 1 ERA guy (Harris) and put together good at-bats the whole inning and give ourselves a two-run lead, things are going to happen. Ryan has been really good for us all year.Stephen Vogt had an RBI triple and Marcus Semien hit a solo homer to help Oakland take a 3-0 lead in the fourth.Correa hit a two-run homer in the fourth before the Astros went on top with a four-run fifth.Houston trailed by one run with no outs and the bases loaded in the fifth when Marwin Gonzalez singled off starter Daniel Mengden to tie it. The Astros took the lead on an RBI groundout by Altuve. Correa followed with a run-scoring single to push the lead to 5-3 and chase Mengden, who had remained in the game despite being struck in the chest by a comebacker an inning before.Correa got in a rundown trying to stretch his hit into a double and Altuve broke for home on the play. Semien threw home in time to tag out Altuve and allow Correa to reach second.Marc Rzepczynski took ovver and allowed an RBI single from Valbuena to make it 6-3.ddddddddddddHouston starter Collin McHugh allowed eight hits and four runs in six innings and remains winless since May 30.Mengden, a rookie who is from Houston and attended nearby Texas A&M, yielded six hits and a season-high six runs in a season-low 4 2/3 innings.Altuve singled with no outs in the fourth for Houstons first hit before Correas 14th homer cut the lead to 3-2. It was the 35th home run of his career to tie him with Adam Everett for most home runs by a shortstop in franchise history.Mengden was shaken up later in that inning when a hit by Carlos Gomez bounced off his glove and hit him in the chest before dropping to the ground. He picked the ball up and got it to first for the out before being tended to by a trainer. It took him a minute to catch his breath before he threw a couple of warmup pitches and remained in the game.I think it is one of those things that scared me more than it hurt, Mengden said. Those are always nerve-wracking.TRAINERS ROOMAstros: OF Colby Rasmus was out of the lineup with an ear infection. Manager A.J. Hinch said he hopes Rasmus will feel better and be back in the lineup on Saturday.NO COCOOakland OF Coco Crisp served a one-game suspension on Friday night for intentionally throwing his bat toward home plate umpire D.J. Reyburn the night before. The bat hit Reyburns foot after Crisp struck out to end the fifth inning of Oaklands 3-1 victory at Houston. Crisp apologized after the game and said he didnt mean for the bat to end up so close to Reyburn.UP NEXTAthletics: Kendall Graveman (4-6, 4.57) will start for Oakland on Saturday. Graveman has bounced back from a tough start to the season to go 3-0 with a 3.63 ERA in his last seven starts, and his three-game winning streak ties a career high.Astros: Lance McCullers (4-2, 3.57) is scheduled to start for Houston on Saturday. McCullers allowed five hits and one run with 10 strikeouts in seven innings of a 2-1 win over the Mariners in his last start. ' ' '