DUBLIN, Ireland -- Marcel Kittel sprinted to a second straight stage victory in a wet third leg of the Giro dItalia on Sunday while Michael Matthews retained the overall leaders pink jersey. Kittel looked to have left it too late on his 26th birthday after losing contact with his rivals inside the final kilometre. But the German cyclist came from behind to edge out Ben Swift on the line and deny the Briton a maiden Grand Tour stage victory. Kittel finished in four hours 28 minutes 43 seconds. Elia Viviani was third in a bunch sprint at the end of the 187-kilometre cross-border leg from Armagh to Dublin. Svein Tuft of Langley, B.C., was 74th while Victorias Ryder Hesjedal finished 96th. Tuft is in a four-way tie for fourth in the overall standings while Hesjedal is tied for 156th. Matthews -- whose Orica-GreenEdge team won Fridays opening time trial -- will lead the race back to Italy and the Australian has an eight-second advantage over Italian cyclist Alessandro Petacchi. Rain fell intermittently for most of the day and wet roads caused several crashes, including two large ones, but all the riders were able to continue. Former winner Michele Scarponi was one of the riders caught up in a large crash around 60 kilometres from the finish. Several cyclists also suffered technical problems and Swift briefly dropped off the back of the peloton when he had to change his bike with 25 kilometres to go. Maarten Tjallingii, who is still wearing the blue King of the Mountains jersey, led for most of the stage for the second day in a row. He was part of an early breakaway of five riders, along with Yonder Godoy, Miguel Angel Rubiano Chavez, Gert Dockx and Giorgio Cecchinel. They had a lead of six minutes before the peloton started reeling them in with more than 100 kilometres remaining. Their advantage briefly increased as the peloton slowed to wait for riders involved in the major crashes to catch up, but the group was back together with more than seven kilometres remaining after a brief solo escape from Cecchinel. After three wet days in Northern Ireland and Ireland, the Giro takes a rest day on Monday as it travels back to Italy. The Giro ends in Trieste on June 1. Cheap Hydro Flask Sale .com) - Matt Duchene picked up the deciding goal early in the third period and added an assist, as Colorado escaped with a 4-3 victory over Dallas at Pepsi Center. Swell Wood Water Bottle . “The fact that he was willing to do the deal the way we wanted it to be done showed that he wanted me to be a part of something great," Lowry said, noting that Ujiri willingness to sign off on the proposal that both Lowry and his agent presented to the GM was the final straw that convinced him to return. http://www.waterbottlecybermonday.com/.com) - The Calgary Flames are spoilers once again. Hydro Flask Ombre 40 Oz Sale .com) - Bradley Beal deposited a season-high 33 points and John Wall posted another double-double as the Washington Wizards went on the road and beat the Houston Rockets, 104-103. Hydro Flask 40 Oz Black Friday . The judge sternly instructed the prosecutor to restrain himself and he apologized -- then went right back to trying to pick holes in the testimony of the double-amputee runner. It was a harsh day of cross-examination for Pistorius, challenged relentlessly about his account of the moments just before he killed Reeva Steenkamp, as well as circumstances related to several firearms charges against him, including the firing of a gun in a crowded restaurant.DUNEDIN, Florida – Could it be? With the Blue Jays failure to land Ervin Santana and the continuing spring struggles, to varying degrees, of Esmil Rogers, Todd Redmond and J.A. Happ, Ricky Romeros name is being brought up on an increasing basis. Its getting lumped in with that large group competing for a job in the starting rotation. Manager John Gibbons was effusive about Romeros Wednesday performance, in which the former ace lefthander allowed one run over four innings of work. "All hes got to do is get it in the zone," said Gibbons. "That ball is moving every which way too. Its tough to square him up. If he gets in the zone, he makes them swing, you add that great changeup on top of that, thats where hes had his success. Where he ran into trouble he was just scattering it. He was walking guys, things like that. Hes getting in the zone now and thats the key." Baby steps, though. Romero did walk two batters and hit another. He was the beneficiary of a beautifully turned double play and of an outfield assist on a base hit by Jose Bautista, who threw out a runner at third. If Romero was to land the starting job, at this moment it seems remote, the Jays would likely begin the season with an eight-man bullpen. The fact Romero isnt on the 40-man roster works against him, performance over the last two seasons aside, but he is owed at least $15.6-million over the remaining term on his contract and the Jays would love to get some value for it. Romero has simplified his approach. "Like Ive told Kratz and Thole, the guys who have caught me the last two times, just set up down the middle and stuff will move," he said. "I feel like Im getting that movement back with the changeup and the sinker. There are going to be times when I come out of my delivery a little bit but I think the good thing now is that Im realizing when Im coming out of it. Its just slowing myself back down and my delivery is going to be key, just finding that rhythm." One noticeable difference from last season: when Romero talks about feeling good, feeling confident, his eyes and his body language emit the same. That hasnt been the case. "I definitely feel like its in the right direction and how can you not," said Romero. "Everything Ive been through, this feels good. Im not going to get ahead of myself or anything like that but its taking it day by day and working.dddddddddddd I think if I do that, just continue to work, work, and see the little wins each and every day and remain positive I think Im going to be just fine. The rest will take care of itself." Its a long road back to being the 15-game winner from 2011 and Romero may never regain his All-Star form. But hes trying. His manager hopes the crisis of confidence is a thing of the past. "Some guys never rebound from it," said manager John Gibbons. "What hes done here this spring, we noticed it, first started noticing it, just warming up in the bullpen, just throwing their sides and in BP, before we even started playing games, he looked different. Were all pulling for him here." McGowan feeling better Dustin McGowan threw two scoreless innings in Thursdays 7-5 loss to the Astros. It was his first game action in 10 days thanks to a stomach bug. It was the same illness that affected Sergio Santos earlier this month. "I lost eight (pounds,) exactly, too," said McGowan. "I think its the eight pound flu or whatever it was. Next time Sergio needs to stay home." After years of battling shoulder problems, McGowan made 25 appearances out of the bullpen last season, posting a 2.45 ERA while striking out, essentially, one hitter per inning pitched. Hes stretching out this spring, longing to be a starter once more. He felt no side effects from his sickness-induced layoff. "I felt good," said McGowan. "For me, thats the most important thing is feeling good. Pitches are starting to come around and location i