CHICAGO -- Confidence has returned to the Chicago Cubs in the form of what manager Joe Maddon describes as a couple of slices of Meat Loaf.Anthony Rizzo homered twice off Bartolo Colon, Kyle Hendricks pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings and the Cubs beat the New York Mets 6-2 Wednesday to take two of three in the rematch of last years NL Championship Series.After entering the All-Star break on a 6-15 skid, the Cubs have taken four of six from AL West-leading Texas and the Mets, who swept them in last years NL Championship Series.A nice homestand. Four out of six aint bad, Maddon said. Eating Meat Loaf twice, Ill take it.The offbeat Maddon calls winning series eating Meat Loaf, a reference to the singers 1977 hit, Two Out of Three Aint Bad.Weve played six really good games since the break, and thats the part that has really stood out to me, Maddon said.A night after the first four-strikeout game of his big league career, Rizzo pulled a slider to right for a solo homer in the third, a drive that would have traveled 451 feet had it landed at ground level unimpeded, according to MLBs Statcast program.Two innings later with a runner on, he sent a fastball into the right-field bleachers -- estimated at 436 feet by Statcast -- for the 11th multihomer game of his career.If they go out just over the yellow line, its just as good, Rizzo said. But those definitely feel good. I just put good swings on the ball.Rizzo also hit a two-run homer in Mondays victory as the Cubs rebounded from a four-game sweep in New York this month. Chicago has won five of its last seven overall.Its really nice, Rizzo said. Its just what we want to do, keep winning series.Hendricks (9-6) gave up seven hits and hasnt allowed an earned run in his last three appearances. He lowered his ERA to 2.27, third best in the majors behind Clayton Kershaw and Madison Bumgarner.It seems to go that way when things are kind of going in your favor, you get away with some bad pitches, Hendricks said. That was really the case today.With the Mets wearing 1986 replica road uniforms, Colon (8-5) allowed allowed six runs and eight hits in 4 1/3 innings while laboring on the warm, humid day Maddon described as Instructional League hot.I think mentally I wasnt all there and I paid the consequences, Colon said through a translator.Manager Terry Collins knew it wasnt Colons day when he walked two in the first inning. That led to Addison Russells two-run double, one of his three hits.There are days I havent seen Bartolo throw 15 balls in five innings, let alone in one inning, Collins said. Certainly uncharacteristic, but but youre going to have blips like that once and awhile.Javier Baez added an RBI single off Antonio Bastardo in a three-run fifth for Chicago.New Yorks Wilmer Flores hit his fifth home run in eight games, a two-run drive off Travis Wood in the eighth.The Mets, resting several starters ahead of a series in Miami, wasted chances.Juan Lagares hit into an inning-ending double play with runners at first and third base in the second. James Loney was thrown out at the plate by Jason Heyward to end the fourth when the center fielder charged Kelly Johnsons single and made a perfect one-hop throw to catcher Miguel Montero, who barely had to move his mitt.The last five or six games Ive pitched, Ive had unbelievable defense and theyre scoring runs, Hendricks said. Thats a good recipe for success and wins.AGE OF BARTOLOThe 43-year-old Colon is 219 days older than Cubs president Theo Epstein.TRAINERS ROOMMets: OF Yoenis Cespedes, who returned Monday from a strained right quadriceps, sat out. Collins said Cespedes is not close to being 100 percent. ... 2B Neil Walker and SS Asdrubal Cabrera also rested.Cubs: CF Dexter Fowler (hamstring) was to begin a minor league injury rehabilitation assignment Wednesday night at Triple-A Iowa.UP NEXTMets: RHP Logan Verrett (3-6) faces Marlins LHP Adam Conley (6-5) on Friday night.Cubs: RHP Jason Hammel (8-5) starts Friday night at Milwaukee and RHP Jimmy Nelson (6-7). Stan Smith Uomo Saldi . Those lessons were more than enough to overwhelm the Utah Jazz. Lou Williams scored 25 points and the Hawks continued their offensive upswing as they rolled to an easy 118-85 victory over the Jazz on Friday night, winning their third straight and for the fourth time in five games. Scarpe Stan Smith Outlet . The mixed zone is not a place to make friends. http://www.stansmithscontate.it/ . In the response filed Wednesday to the complaint by 30-year-old Alexander Bradley, attorneys say the former University of Florida player is invoking his Fifth Amendment right that protects people from incriminating themselves. Stan Smith Scontate . Pence singled in the winning run with no outs in the ninth inning to give the Giants a 7-6 victory over the San Diego Padres on Sunday. Stan Smith Italia . The move comes after the Canadiens were approached by the Buffalo Sabres for permission to speak to Dudley - a former Sabres player and head coach. "The Sabres called for permission and I appreciate that, Im flattered, Dudley told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun of ESPN. In his six-plus seasons as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Jason Garrett has been called a lot of things. Overmatched. Unqualified. A Jerry Jones puppet.But the way this Cowboys season is going, Garrett should have a new label when its all said and done: NFL Coach of the Year.If the season ended today, Garrett should win the award in a walk. He lost his starting quarterback and his backup quarterback (thats right -- remember Kellen Moore?) in training camp and opened the season with a fourth-round rookie under center. A Cowboys team that went 4-12 last season rebounded from that August body blow to go 11-1 so far and clinch a playoff spot on the first weekend in December.Garrett isnt just pushing buttons here, rolling fabulous rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott out there every week and hoping for the best. Part of the Prescott and Elliott story is that they landed in an ideal NFL situation for rookie success. And while the offensive line is a big and justifiably well-publicized part of that, the coaching staff under Garrett isnt exempt from credit.The atmosphere Garrett has helped create in his time as head of the Cowboys staff is worthy of note. You almost never hear about locker room strife or back-channel criticism of the coaching staff in Dallas -- not even last year, which was a miserable one. Greg Hardy was the rooms biggest malcontent, and it seems clear now (and kind of did then) that he was a volatile one-off. He didnt drag anyone else down with him, and the solidity of the room was a big reason why.That solidity is a big reason why the veterans on the team were so easily able to embrace the rookies in such positions of prominence. Its a reason why Tony Romo was so willing -- even though he admitted to wrestling with it internally -- to accept a backup role upon his return from injury. Garretts behind-the-scenes leadership is respected by players and coaches alike, and its established a foundation upon which the Cowboys 2016 success has been built.Veteran coordinators like Rod Marinelli and Scott Linehan not only defer to Garrett, but clearly respect him as their leader in spite of his being their junior. Linehan was Garretts first NFL boss in 2005, when Garrett got a job on the Dolphins coaching staff and Linehan was the offensive coordinator. But the streamlining of the playcalling and decision-making on the offensive side of the ball for the Cowboys since Linehan arrived is a big part of the stability story in Dallas, and it works because Linehan has so much respect for Garretts growth as a coach and leader.As Garrett stands one win away from his second 12-win season in three years, theres a case to be made that he has turned out to be a better head coach than he was an offensive coordinator or playcaller -- and that his skills as a head coach have flourished since he gave up those jobs. Thats not weird or even unprecedented, but its also not a trick every coordinator can pull off.The Coacch of the Year award often goes to the coach whose team most drastically exceeds preseason expectations.dddddddddddd It should more often go to the coach whose teams success most closely reflects his leadership. Garrett fits both bills and deserves to be the front-runner for this years award with four games to go.Heres a look at his closest competition:Bill Belichick, New England PatriotsYou could make the case that Belichick should win this award every year, based on the latter qualification cited a couple sentences back. You could also make the case that the award should be named for Belichick, who may be the greatest NFL coach of all time. He went 3-1 during Tom Bradys suspension, has traded away two of his best defensive players since the end of last season and has had to play a decent chunk of the season without an injured Rob Gronkowski. The Patriots are 10-2. It seems his teams are always 10-2 at this point in the season.Andy Reid, Kansas City ChiefsKansas City has won 20 of its last 24 games and is, with a huge game looming Thursday night, the biggest thorn in the side of the Raiders storybook season. The Chiefs have a quarterback -- hand-picked by Reid -- who perfectly suits Reids offense. They play with discipline, dont turn the ball over and are in every game -- winning more than a few when it looks as if they shouldnt.Jack Del Rio, Oakland RaidersWeve seen him go for two when one would tie the game. Weve seen him go for a touchdown when a field goal would tie the game. We see him at 10-2, currently the top seed in the AFC by a whisker over the Patriots. Del Rios mission this season was to take a team that looked talented enough to win and make sure it learned how -- quickly. The risky in-game moves hes made have paid off and helped deliver those lessons.Dirk Koetter, Tampa Bay BuccaneersA first-year coach with a second-year quarterback and a defense thats come together more quickly than anyone expected, Koetter has Tampa Bay at 7-5 and in possession of the 6-seed in the NFC playoff picture.Adam Gase, Miami DolphinsMiami rebounded from a 1-4 start to win six in a row before Sundays loss to Baltimore. Gases case in a microcosm is the job he did with running back Jay Ajayi, who was subject to heavy discipline early in the season but responded well enough to emerge as one of the leagues best running backs over the past couple of months. Gase appears to have the touch.Ben McAdoo, New York GiantsHey, hes 8-4 with a team that hasnt finished .500 since 2012. The Giants are winning close games they lost a year ago. McAdoo is doing something right.Jim Caldwell, Detroit LionsAgain, hes 8-4 somehow with a team that trailed in the fourth quarter of every game until Sundays win at New Orleans. If the Lions win three or four more the rest of the way, he has to be in the conversation. Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '