Nottinghamshire 173 for 4 (Smith 52, Barker 3-34) beat Birmingham 172 for 2 (Bell 80*, Porterfield 61*) by six wickets Scorecard Notts Outlaws secured their place in the NatWest T20 Blast quarter-finals with a six-wicket win over Birmingham Bears at Edgbaston.The Outlaws are through with a game to spare and assured a home quarter-final after a solid all-round display but Birmingham have work still to do to reach the last eight.After their fourth defeat in five North Group games, the Bears must now win their last match, away to Lancashire Lightning next Friday, to be sure of going through.Put in, Birmingham accelerated after a slow start to amass 172 for 2, built around a stand of 116 in 79 balls from Ian Bell (80 from 55 balls) and Will Porterfield (61 not out from 44).Notts chase was given a sound platform by Michael Lumb (34 from 25) and Riki Wessels (37 from 28). Dan Christian (37 from 23) kept up the momentum and Greg Smith (52 not out from 31), improvised brilliantly to see them home with five balls to spare.Birmingham made a sedate start with the first three overs yielding 11 singles and five dot balls. Bell upped the ante with two sixes in four balls from Harry Gurney and Jake Ball but the latter struck back by trapping Sam Hain lbw.Birmingham reached halfway on only 66 for 1, Samit Patel having bowled three overs for 20 and, as Bell and Porterfield sought to accelerate, the spinner returned to deliver the 15th over for just three off the bat.Bell reached his half-century from 42 balls with four sixes and, curiously, no fours and Porterfield followed to his from 37 balls (four fours, two sixes). Their stand equalled the Bears T20 second-wicket record, (116, set by Jim Troughton and Darren Maddy against Northants Steelbacks at Edgbaston in 2010) before Bell chipped Harry Gurney to mid-on.Porterfield ended with an unbeaten 61 but, with quite a short boundary on one side, it was a target that Notts fancied. Wessels, dropped on 7 by Bell at mid-off off Rikki Clarke, and Lumb added 74 in 52 balls before both perished in three balls from Keith Barker, Lumb blazing to extra-cover and Wessels hoisting to mid-off.Tight overs from Clarke and Jeetan Patel kept Birmingham in the game and Notts started the last six overs needing 61. However, Christian made a big dent in the required rate with two sixes and a four off Ateeq Javid and Smith timed the pursuit to perfection to take his side over the line with a 30-ball half-century.Custom San Francisco Giants Jerseys . Denis Coderre, the former federal MP who was elected mayor on Nov. 3, has drawn the ire of some Montreal Canadiens. 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And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. San Francisco Giants Pro Shop .C. -- When North Carolina freshman Ryan Switzer reported to training camp in August he was a little miffed to learn he was third on the depth chart at punt returner.MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- During the course of two blowout victories, No. 19 West Virginia emptied its bench and coasted through sloppy stretches.Only two members of the Mountaineers (2-0) played 20 minutes in each game as coach Bob Huggins experimented with various groupings, paying particular interest to the progress of six freshmen. He used all 14 available players in Mondays 107-66 romp against Mississippi Valley State, with only guard Daxter Miles sitting out with an extended illness.When you play that many guys its hard to be sharp, Huggins said. Were going to have to limit the rotation, but at least those two games were a good chance to see what players can do -- or not do.After starting 65 games the previous two seasons, Miles is not expected back for Sunday afternoons game against New Hampshire (2-1), a mid-major program coming off an erratic week. The Wildcats stunned Temple 57-52, only to come crashing down Thursday during a 65-57 home loss to Abilene Christian.Theres a right way to lose and theres a wrong way to lose, and we lost the wrong way, said UNH coach Bill Herrion.I saw it right from the beginning. We had a couple of opportunities early to attack the rim and make layups, and we were just flipping the ball nonchalantly and not going up strong.Guard Jaleen Smith (18 points, 9.7 rebounds) ignited New Hampshires second-half rally against Abilene Christian, and complements the inside-out sskills of forward Tanner Leissner (14.dddddddddddd3 points,10 rebounds).West Virginia, with its full-court press turning many possessions into scrambles, generates points from a number of angles, including forward Nathan Adrian (14 points, 8. 5 rebounds) and guard Jevon Carter (10 points, five assists). Six other players are averaging 8.5 points or more so far, though Huggins hasnt been pleased with the defensive intensity.A 64-28 halftime lead on Mississippi Valley State gave way to lethargic moments over the final 20 minutes, leaving Huggins to grouse.Id like for us to play 40 minutes, he said. What the good teams here have learned is that when you get somebody on the mat you try to keep them there. You dont let them up and say Lets try this again. This team hasnt learned that.Sundays matchup opens the NIT Tipoff, an event that will take West Virginia to Brooklyn during Thanksgiving weekend for games against Illinois and then Florida State or Temple.Huggins cautioned his team not to overlook UNH, which is building off the programs first 20-win season.New Hampshires good, he said. Theyre not Illinois, obviously, and theyre not Florida State, theyre not Virginia -- but theyre pretty good.We kinda didnt get ready for 2/3 zone a couple years ago and almost lost to Monmouth. ' ' '