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Michael van Gerwens meeting with Robert Thornton is the highlight of a star-studded Wednesday night as the Grand Slam of Darts second round gets underway. After four days of group stage drama, 32 competitors have been whittled down to 16 with the next stage of the tournament taking place on Wednesday and Thursday evening.Of the eight BDO players who qualified five are remaining in the event that pits the best of darts two organisations against each other. Martin Adams, Scott Mitchell and former Grand Slam winner Scott Waites all crashed out in the group stages - Glen Durrant, Darryl Fitton, Jamie Hughes, Danny Noppert and Jeff Smith remain as the BDO look to win the event for just the second time.After a race to five legs in the group matches, the second round turns into a best of 19 contest with the first man to 10 legs making it through to Fridays quarter-final stage. Wednesdays Order of Play Gerwyn Price v Brendan Dolan Phil Taylor v Jeff Smith Michael van Gerwen v Robert Thornton Peter Wright v Daryl Fitton Topping the bill at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall on Wednesday night is world No 1 Van Gerwen, who is red hot favourite to defend the title he won for the first time last year.The Dutchman has won 23 times on tour this year including the UK Open, Premier League, World Matchplay and the World Grand Prix and in Robert Thornton he faces a revitalised opponent who doesnt have to look too far back for a high-profile win over Van Gerwen.The Scot beat Van Gerwen to claim the Grand Prix title in Dublin last year but since that title The Thorn has suffered a string of early tournament exits and an eighth place finish in the Premier League but he has shown glimpses of the form that has made him a two-time major winner.Van Gerwen claimed all three group games for the loss of just four legs, while Thornton needed a nine-leg shoot-out against Dimitri van den Bergh to progress having lost to Gerwyn Price after victories in his opening two matches. Robert Thornton beat Dimitri Van den Bergh in a thrilling nine-dart shoot-out, winning by just five points Also in action on Wednesday is Phil Taylor, the 16 time world champion showed that he is getting back to his best with victory in the Champions League of Darts and has his sights set an another big title.Sky Sports expert Wayne Mardle believes the leg format suits Taylor better than a sets format as there are less pressure darts.That will be put to the test against 2016 BDO runner-up Jeff Smith, who beat Simon Whitlock on Wednesday to clinch his place in the last 16. Jeff Smith edged out Simon Whitlock for the final place in the last 16. Picture: Lawrence Lustig/PDC Taylor was beaten 5-0 by Darren Webster in the final match of his group and having won his opening fixtures in routine fashion it remains to be seen whether that defeat to the Demolition Man was just a blip. Darren Webster stunned Phil Taylor at the Grand Slam of Darts in Wolverhampton Potential for match of the night comes in the final game of the evening when Peter Snakebite Wright continues his quest for a maiden major televised title against another BDO representative, the experienced Darryl Fitton.After losing to the Power in his opening group game. Fitton rallied to beat both Webster and Ian White 5-4 to quality for the second round and he will look to emulate the quarter-final place he made on his debut in 2008 to mark a memorable return to the event he has missed for each of the last five years.Kicking off the second-round action will be the clash between Northern Irelands Brendan Dolan and Welshman Gerwyn Price.Dolan beat Martin Wolfie Adams to secure his place in the knockout stages, while Price ended up topping his standings after a 5-3 win over Thornton on Wednesday night. Thursdays Second Round matches Jamie Hughes v Chris Dobey Benito van de Pas v James Wade Gary Anderson v Danny Noppert Raymond van Barneveld v Glenn Durrant Watch Wednesday nights matches at the Grand Slam of Darts from 7pm on Sky Sports 1 and Sky Sports Darts returns on December 12 with the World Championship underway from Deceember 15. #LoveTheDarts Live Grand Slam of Darts November 16, 2016, 7:00pm Live on Get Sky Sports Get a Sky Sports pass Also See: Is there a PDC-BDO rivalry? Thornton survives mis-count Nike Basketball Shoes Clearance . Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2. Nike Basketball Shoes Cheap . 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Irving scored 23 points, Tristan Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets 117-109 on Friday night.More than a quarter of the 2013 Major League Baseball season is in the books, so Scott Cullen digs into the numbers to make his picks for MLB awards to this point of the season, along with Gold Gloves, All-Surprise and All-Disappointing teams. AL MVP Miguel Cabrera, 3B, Detroit (12 HR, 49 RBI, .384 AVG, 1.122 OPS) Runners Up: Evan Longoria, 3B, Tampa Bay (9 HR, 29 RBI, .335 AVG, .981 OPS) Mike Trout, LF, L.A. Angels (9 HR, 34 RBI, 9 SB, .293 AVG, .931 OPS) Apparently the hot corner rules in the American League, as a healthy Evan Longoria moves up as the primary challenger to Miguel Cabrera, who continues to hit like no one else on the planet. Last years runner-up, Trout, is heating up, so we could get to re-live the Cabrera-Trout debate from 2012. Baltimores Chris Davis and Manny Machado, Bostons Dustin Pedroia and the Yankees Robinson Cano are also off to impressive starts this season. NL MVP Shin-Soo Choo, CF, Cincinnati (9 HR, 19 RBI, 5 SB, .303 AVG, .994 OPS) Runners-up: Paul Goldschmidt, 1B, Arizona (12 HR, 36 RBI, .323 AVG, 1.019 OPS) Joey Votto, 1B, Cincinnati (6 HR, 20 RBI, .353 AVG, 1.003 OPS) It wont be easy for one of the Reds on-base machines to distinguish from the other, but Choo gets the edge on Votto for now. Goldschmidt has become a beast at the plate for the Diamondbacks and is ahead of recent contenders like Mets 3B David Wright and Rockies SS Troy Tulowitzki, as well as up-and-coming Brewers SS Jean Segura and Braves LF Justin Upton. AL CY YOUNG Clay Buchholz, Boston (6-0, 1.78 ERA, 1.04 WHIP, 69 K, 65 2/3 IP) Runners Up: James Shields, Kansas City (2-4, 2.45 ERA, 0.96 WHIP, 62 K, 66 IP) Chris Sale, Chicago White Sox (5-2, 2.53 ERA, 0.92 WHIP, 61 K, 64 IP) A close race, that could also include Clevelands Justin Masterson as well as the Seattle duo of Felix Hernandez and Hisashi Iwakuma, is currently led by Buchholz, though not by much over Shields and Sale. Traditionalists would go off the deep end regarding Shields 2-4 record but, at this point, we know how little to value pitcher wins. NL CY YOUNG Clayton Kershaw, Los Angeles (5-2, 1.35 ERA, 0.82 WHIP, 72 K, 73 1/3 IP) Runners-up: Matt Harvey, N.Y. Mets (5-0, 1.55 ERA, 0.72 WHIP, 68 K, 63 2/3 IP) Patrick Corbin, Arizona (7-0, 1.44 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 52 K, 62 1/3 IP) Its preposterous that there is only one Cy Young for the National League, given the calibre of these pitching performances. Through the first quarter of the season, its hard to imagine pitching better than Harvey, but then theres Kershaw, who goes nearly an extra inning per game. Both are amazing. Cardinals rookie Shelby Miller and Cubs southpaw Travis Wood are early contenders too. AL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR Conor Gillaspie, 3B, Chicago White Sox (3 HR, 8 RBI, .283 AVG, .783 OPS) Runners Up: Brandon Barnes, OF, Houston (2 HR, 9 RBI, .317 AVG, .872 OPS) Nick Tepesch, SP, Texas (3-4, 3.98 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 31 K, 43 IP) Lots of time for others to get involved in this race, since the American League list is wholly unimpressive. Gillaspie and Barnes have been okay, in limited time, and Tepesch has been decent; even add Clevelands Yan Gomes or Tepeschs teammate Justin Grimm, into the mix, but none of the American Leaguers are huge standouts right now. NL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR Shelby Miller, SP, St. Louis (5-3, 1.74 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 62 K, 57 IP) Runners-up: Jedd Gyorko, 2B, San Diego (4 HR, 15 RBI, .278 AVG, .777 OPS) Didi Gregorius, SS, Arizona (3 HR, 8 RBI, .348 AVG, .964 OPS) While the AL race isnt particularly inspiring, Shelby Miller is a Cy Young candidate, showing the ace-calibre stuff that made him such a top prospect (and somehow went missing during a disappointing 2012 in Triple-A). Gyorko has been a solid contributor, only recently starting to show the power that was expected while Gregorius has been an offensive revelation, compiling a .694 OPS in six minor league seasons before raking this year. Its the kind of surge that is awfully difficult to maintain. The NL race is more interesting, though, because it could also include Braves C Evan Gattis, Marlins SP Jose Fernandez, Dodgers LHP Hyun-Jin Ryu or Diamondbacks OF A.J. Pollock. GOLD GLOVES C - Russell Martin, Pittsburgh Runners-up: A.J. Ellis, Los Angeles; Wilin Rosario, Colorado All three of those named are in the top five among percentage of baserunners caught stealing and Martin is the far-and-away leader in assists for catchers, with 37, 10 more than any other (Ellis is tied for second, Rosario is fifth). BBaltimores Matt Wieters, Houstons Jason Castro and the Cubs Welington Castillo are also strong behind the dish.dddddddddddd 1B - Brandon Belt, San Francisco Runners-up: Eric Hosmer, Kansas City; Paul Goldschmidt, Arizona A couple of young players still working on their offensive production, Belt and Hosmer, rank first and fourth in Ultimate Zone Rating, (as well as second and fifth, respectively, in Defensive Runs Saved) and Goldschmidt is merely the well-rounded one, an MVP candidate who leads all first basemen in Defensive Runs Saved. 2B - Dustin Pedroia, Boston Runners-up: Jose Altuve, Houston; Brandon Phillips, Cincinnati Surehanded Pedroia has yet to commit and error and leads in Defensive Runs Saved as well as Defensive WAR, while Altuve leads in double plays, is tied for second in DRS and ranks third in Ultimate Zone Rating, ranking just behind Phillips. 3B - Manny Machado, Baltimore Runners-up: Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay; Chase Headley, San Diego A former shortstop, Machado is the class of the position this season, leading in UZR and DRS. Headley might be ahead of Longoria with more games played, though if were playing that game, Rockies rookie Nolan Arrenado would be a challenger to Machado if he had played more than 21 games. SS - Andrelton Simmons, Atlanta Runners-up: Troy Tulowitzki, Colorado; Evlis Andrus, Texas Simmons is the clear leader at the position, but these three, along with Stephen Drew, are the top four in UZR, while Drew is just outside the top four in DRS. LF - Andy Dirks, Detroit Runners-up: Juan Pierre, Miami; Starling Marte, Pittsburgh This trio is ahead of the rest in DRS, but Dirks also leads left fielders in UZR, so thats enough to give him the nod. Notable that Vernon Wells has been pretty solid for the Yankees too. CF - Carlos Gomez, Milwaukee Runners-up: A.J. Pollock, Arizona; Jacoby Ellsbury, Boston Gomez has always been a very good fielder while Pollock is making the most of an opportunity presented by Adam Eatons injury. They are clearly the top two, with Ellsbury just edging out Texas Craig Gentry and Atlantas B.J. Upton. RF - Shane Victorino, Boston Runners-up: Gerardo Parra, Arizona; Norichika Aoki, Milwaukee Victorino must be getting to everything and then some; his UZR is best in baseball across all positions. Aoki leads in DRS and Parra is tops in Defensive WAR. (I realize there are Gold Gloves awarded in both leagues. Im just trying to recognize the best fielders at each position.) ALL-SURPRISE TEAM C - John Buck, N.Y. Mets (10 HR, 31 RBI, .224 AVG, .746 OPS) 1B - Chris Davis, Baltimore (13 HR, 41 RBI, .312 AVG, 1.070 OPS) 2B - Omar Infante, Detroit (3 HR, 14 RBI, .318 AVG, .794 OPS) SS - Jean Segura, Milwaukee (7 HR, 20 RBI, 14 SB, .353 AVG, .964 OPS) 3B - Josh Donaldson, Oakland (6 HR, 28 RBI, .315 AVG, .920 OPS) LF - Vernon Wells, N.Y. Yankees (10 HR, 24 RBI, .288 AVG, .855 OPS) CF - Carlos Gomez, Milwaukee (6 HR, 20 RBI, 9 SB, .327 AVG, .924 OPS) RF - Nate Schierholtz, Chicago Cubs (5 HR, 19 RBI, .285 AVG, .841 OPS) SP - Patrick Corbin, Arizona (7-0, 1.44 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 52 K, 62 1/3 IP) SP - Travis Wood, Chicago Cubs (4-2, 2.24 ERA, 0.93 WHIP, 39 K, 60 1/3 IP) SP - Kyle Kendrick, Philadelphia (4-2, 2.82 ERA, 1.15 WHIP, 41 K, 60 2/3 IP) SP - Alex Cobb, Tampa Bay (5-2, 2.73 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 54 K, 59 1/3 IP) SP - Justin Masterson, Cleveland (7-2, 2.83 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 71 K, 70 IP) RP - Edward Mujica, St. Louis (13 SV, 1.42 ERA, 0.53 WHIP, 18 K, 19 IP) ALL-DISAPPOINTING TEAM C - Miguel Montero, Arizona (3 HR, 14 RBI, .189 AVG, .547 OPS) 1B - Paul Konerko, Chicago White Sox (4 HR, 17 RBI, .217 AVG, .613 OPS) 2B - Rickie Weeks, Milwaukee (3 HR, 10 RBI, .167 AVG, .548 OPS) SS - Zack Cozart, Cincinnati (5 HR, 20 RBI, .206 AVG, .565 OPS) 3B - David Freese, St. Louis (1 HR, 9 RBI, .223 AVG, .574 OPS) LF - David Murphy, Texas (5 HR, 16 RBI, .218 AVG, .653 OPS) CF - B.J. Upton, Atlanta (3 HR, 6 RBI, .153 AVG, .488 OPS) RF - Josh Hamilton, L.A. Angels (6 HR, 14 RBI, .222 AVG, .655 OPS) SP - Roy Halladay, Philadelphia (2-4, 8.65 ERA, 1.46 WHIP) SP - Ryan Vogelsong, San Francisco (2-4, 7.19 ERA, 1.73 WHIP) SP - Josh Johnson, Toronto (0-1, 6.86 ERA, 1.88 WHIP) SP - Brett Anderson, Oakland (1-4, 6.21 ERA, 1.62 WHIP) RP - Joel Hanrahan, Boston (4 SV, 9.82 ERA, 2.18 WHIP) Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. ' ' '