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Once the Blue Jays had made their mega-trades with Miami and the Mets a year ago and signed free agents Melky Cabrera and Maicer Izturis, they became the darlings of Las Vegas. With the World Series over and Boston winning its third title since 2004, the odds are already out for next year on various gaming sites and on Vegas.com, the Blue Jays have literally gone from first to worst in the AL East. This year they are listed at 40-1. Granted, making predictions when teams havent really done any serious off-season retooling yet is ludicrous. Nevertheless, Boston is again favoured in the East at 12-1, followed by the Yankees at 16-1, Tampa Bay at 18-1 and Baltimore at 25-1. Interesting that Arizona, the Phillies and the White Sox, who only won 61 games this season are also pegged at (40-1). By the way, the Red Sox are only ranked fifth to repeat as World Series champs. The four teams listed ahead of them are the favoured Los Angeles Dodgers at 5-1, Detroit Tigers and Washington Nationals at 8-1 and St. Louis Cardinals at 10-1. The longest of longshots are Minnesota, Miami and the New York Mets at 100-1. Bang For Their Buck The Red Sox signed seven free agents last off-season. For somewhere in the neighbourhood of $60 million, they landed rightfielder Shane Victorino, first baseman/designated hitter Mike Napoli, leftfielder Jonny Gomes, shortstop Stephen Drew, back-up catcher David Ross, righthander Ryan Dempster and set-up reliever turned star closer Koji Uehara. They didnt have to commit to ridiculous long-term contracts, they basically struck gold with five of those signings and all seven were worth the investment. The Blue Jays on the other hand, partly through injuries, struck out on both their free agents, Melky Cabrera and Maicer Izturis. Boston could lose Napoli and Drew as free agents in the off-season, but that doesnt diminish the job GM Ben Cherington did. Hes s shoo-in for Executive of the Year. Something Special The World Series clincher at Fenway really was something special. It was the BoSox eighth Fall Classic title, but only the third time they have won the deciding game at Fenway (1912 - the season the Park opened and they beat the New York Giants in eight games, 1918 - when they defeated the Chicago Cubs, 2013 - with a six-game victory over St. Louis). In 1915 and 1916, the Red Sox beat the Phillies and Brooklyn, at home in the clinchers, but those games were played at the home of Bostons National League club, since the seating capacity at Braves field was much larger than Fenway. Loss Leader If you think the Blue Jays had a terrible season, consider this: Chicago has two teams and they both finished with worse records. The White Sox wound up at 63-99, while the Cubs finished at 66-96. Thats a combined total of 195 losses. That breaks the all-time combined Chicago club mark of 191 losses set back in 1948. What About Jimenez? Here is an interesting free agent pitching possibility for the Blue Jays. Righthander Ubaldo Jimenez who, at the age of 29, seems to have his career back on the rails, rejected his $8 million contract option for next season with Cleveland and has opted to become a free agent. Cleveland can still make him a one-year qualifying offer of around $14 million by Monday. If they do, Jimenez has six days to decline or accept. If he declines and becomes a free agent, any team signing him would lose a first round draft pick. Jimenez bounced back from a 17-loss season, to go 13-9 this season with a 3.30 ERA. He also struck out 13 Twins in the Wild Card clincher that put the Indians back in the post-season for the first time since 2007. In his six years as an established starter in the Majors, he has thrown at least 175 innings every season and has broken 200 innings twice. He has also struck out at least 172 in five of those six years. On a two- or three-year deal, he might be worth the risk. Christian McCaffrey Jersey . The appointment of Boullier continues the behind-the-scenes restructuring at McLaren, who recently brought back former team principal Ron Dennis as its new chief executive. Cam Newton Jersey . HEROES Alex Ovechkin – Scored a pair of goals in Washington’s 4-0 win over Pittsburgh. With 13 goals in the past 13 games, Ovechkin now has 29 goals on the season to lead the league. http://www.officialcarolinapantherspro.com/Sam-mills-panthers-jersey/ . The world No. 1 had one of the most dominating performances in a final and was on his way to a possible shutout on Sunday until the third-seeded Berdych broke the super Serbs serve in the 12th game of the match. Custom Carolina Panthers Jerseys .J. -- Tom Coughlin doesnt have many options at halfback for the winless New York Giants. Carolina Panthers Jerseys . Jovanovski, the 2012 champ seeded fifth, will meet surprise Japanese qualifier Misa Eguchi on Friday. Eguchi, ranked 183rd, qualified for her first WTA main draw this week, then beat No.LOS ANGELES -- Bermane Stiverne completed his long journey to a heavyweight title with one more punishing victory. Stiverne stopped Chris Arreola in the sixth round Saturday night, claiming the WBC heavyweight title belt vacated by Vitali Klitschko. Stiverne (24-1-1, 21 KOs), who was born in Haiti but grew up in Montreal, dropped Arreola twice in the sixth, and he was punishing Arreola again when referee Jack Reiss stopped the fight with 58 seconds left in the round. The Klitschko brothers had held every major heavyweight title for the past six years. Vitalis retirement into Ukrainian politics in December opened the WBC belt for the 35-year-old Stiverne, a late bloomer who hasnt lost in 13 consecutive fights. After beating Arreola by decision last year, Stiverne hadnt fought in nearly 13 months while waiting for Klitschkos decision to retire. The wait was worth it. "I studied and studied," Stiverne said. "I watched my opponent. I knew I could knock him out. ... I was patient. The plan was to let him get comfortable, and he soon as he gets real comfortable, then crack him. And thats what I did." Stiverne dropped Arreola (36-4) for the first time with a sweeping right hand to Arreolas left temple, sending Arreola wobbling and crashing to the canvas. Arreola rose and kept fighting, but Stiverne put him headfirst into the ropes moments later with another combination. After Reiss stopped the fight, Stiverne wept with the WBCs green belt around his shoulder while promoter Don King celebrated at the Galen Center on USCs downtown campus. "I knew it was a wrap," Stiverne said. "The way I trained, I knew I could knock him out because Ive got the power." Stiverne won a lop-sided decision over Arreola last April, breaking Arreolas nose in the third round. Arreola, who acknowledged training poorly for that fight, felt he lost the rematch when he got hit by the same punch that finished the first fight. "He has a tremendous right hand, thats exactly what it was," Arreola said. "I felt like I was winning the fight. He just got me with the same right hand. Couldnt get away from it, and after that, its all she wrote.ddddddddddddquot; The well-travelled Stiverne, who fought for Canada as an amateur boxer and trained in Florida earlier in his pro career, worked out of Floyd Mayweathers gym in Las Vegas for this bout. He is the first heavyweight champion of Haitian descent and the first champ not named Klitschko since Samuel Peter, who was stopped by Vitali Klitschko in 2008. Wladimir Klitschko, who holds the other three major heavyweight titles, is eager to claim all four belts by fighting the winner. But before that lucrative bout, Stiverne must fight unbeaten Deontay Wilder, the U.S. Olympic bronze medallist and the WBCs mandatory challenger. "With all due respect, I dont give a damn about Wilder or Klitschko right now," Stiverne said. "Right now, its about what I won." Arreola has lost both of his shots at the WBC heavyweight title, getting pounded by Vitali Klitschko in 2009 just up the street at Staples Center. The Los Angeles-area native was attempting to become the first heavyweight champion of Mexican descent. "I could have got back up plenty of times," Arreola said. "Was the fight stopped a little early? I believe so. But then again, the referee is there to protect me from myself. But I felt like I was winning the fight." Both fighters took advantage of the small 17-by-17-foot ring at the Galen Center, which was hosting its first boxing card. Stiverne landed the biggest shots in the opening round, but Arreola dominated the second and third rounds with a withering series of combinations, trapping Stiverne against the ropes. Stiverne laughed off the punishment and allowed Arreola to keep moving forward, content to counterpunch. "I wasnt hurt," Stiverne said. "He actually punched me, my mouth was open, and he busted my lip. I was trying to find out if there was food or something in my teeth, but it was my lip. He didnt hurt me in the head." Stiverne hasnt lost since July 2007, when he was stopped by Demetrice King. He fought to a majority draw with Charles Davis in 2009, but has stopped five of his last seven opponents. ' ' '