Top Rank promoter Bob Arum took a bit of a gamble when he struck out on his own to put on the Manny Pacquiao-Jessie Vargas pay-per-view card Nov. 5 without the support of HBO, Pacquiaos longtime broadcaster, which declined to be involved because of its commitment to Saturdays Sergey Kovalev-Andre Ward light heavyweight title bout.The network did not want to put on two HBO PPV events in the same month, but Arum said he had little choice but go on Nov. 5 to work around Pacquiaos time off from his responsibilities as a senator in the Philippines, a post he was elected to in May.This week, Arum told ESPN that his decision to have Top Rank produce and distribute the event on its own was successful. The Pacquiao-Vargas fight sold around 300,000, probably a little more pay-per-view buys, he said.It did about the same as Pacquiao-[Timothy] Bradley, Arum said of the third fight between the rivals that took place in April and was produced and distributed by HBO.So if it did about the same as that fight, why do I need HBO to be involved? Why do I have to pay them a percentage when we can do the same thing on our own?In the immediate aftermath of Pacquiao-Bradley III, Arum said the fight generated between 400,000 and 500,000 buys, but it will be closer to 400,000 than 500,000. Arum deemed the Pacquiao-Bradley III number disappointing, and it wound up doing considerably less.Arum said he did not have precise numbers yet for the Pacquiao-Vargas pay-per-view sales because one thing we cant do is get a handle on all the numbers as quickly as HBO can. They have that down pat, but well learn. That said, the numbers are still coming in and were pleased. We had a good show, we put on some entertaining fights, and we made money, the fighters made money, so thats good.During the lead-up to the fight, which took place at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, Arum said they needed to do about 180,000 pay-per-view buys to break even.Although Vargas was not a well-known opponent and nobody expected Pacquiao to generate the seven-figure pay-per-view sales he did during his heyday a few years ago, Arum said he thought one reason the fight would wind up doing about 300,000 sales is because consumers knew that without HBOs involvement that there would be no delayed broadcast on the network a week later. Arum also said he was aware that because fans can easily find live streams on social media, it likely robbed the event of hundreds of thousands of buys.Its always been a problem, but its gotten worse, Arum said. Its stealing, and its not just a Pacquiao fight. Its Canelo [Alvarez] fights. Its UFC pay-per-views. We have our attorneys working on things.Pacquiao came out of a brief retirement after the third Bradley fight and the Senate election to easily outpoint Vargas to regain the welterweight belt he lost to Floyd Mayweather Jr. in their May 2015 blockbuster that broke all boxing box-office records, including a record 4.6 million pay-per-view buys for the joint HBO/Showtime event. Cheap Custom Pelicans Jersey . Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions. Wholesale Custom Pelicans Shirts . -- Running backs Darren McFadden and Rashad Jennings were back at practice for the Oakland Raiders on Wednesday despite being hampered by hamstring injuries. http://www.custompelicansjersey.com/custom-anthony-davis-jersey-large-78l.html .Y. -- Jayna Hefford scored the winning goal Friday as Canada survived a scare with a 4-3 win over Sweden at the Four Nations womens hockey tournament. Custom Pelicans Jersey China . John Tavares, Thomas Vanek and Kyle Okposo were also being counted on to slow down sizzling Rangers forward Rick Nash. That plan didnt go so well early. Authentic Custom Pelicans Jersey . Collaros, 25, was solid last season, posting a 5-2 record as the starter while incumbent Ricky Ray was injured. Collaros also started Torontos 23-20 regular-season finale loss to Montreal — Ray didnt dress because the Argos had already clinched first in the East Division — but was one of three quarterbacks to play that day. HOUSTON -- In the aftermath of their extra-inning victory over the Astros on Monday night, several Seattle Mariners crowded around a clubhouse television and enjoyed watching the highlights of the Yankees-Blue Jays skirmish earlier that evening, a lighthearted moment that partially revealed their relaxed nature down the stretch.Following a slump that included 10 losses in 12 games closing August and bleeding into September, Mariners manager Scott Servais took measures to keep the club loose with tactics that were part original ideas, part inspiration from the motivational ploys of others.Despite a loss to the Astros (83-75) on Tuesday night, the Mariners (83-74) remain in the hunt for a postseason berth.The season is so long that if you sit there and grind every day after every day you just run out of gas, Servais said. And I think weve created enough distractions and kept it fun and light that even when we werent playing well guys still enjoyed coming to the ballpark.We have a close-knit group that like hanging out with each other. I think thats carried us and kept it interesting and kept us afloat when a lot of people wanted to write us off. And rightfully so. It looked like we were dead in the water, but we hung in there.Left-hander James Paxton (5-7, 3.72 ERA) will start the series finale for the Mariners. Paxton is 0-2 with a 4.74 ERA over three career starts against the Astros.In his only start at Minute Maid Park, Paxton allowed two runs on five hits and two walks while recording seeven strikeouts over seven innings in a no-decision on April 30, 2015.dddddddddddd In two starts against Houston this season, Paxton is 0-2 with a 6.00 ERA.Astros right-hander Doug Fister (12-12, 4.42 ERA) will make his eighth career start against the organization that selected him in the seventh round of the 2006 draft. Fister is 4-2 with a 4.64 ERA against Seattle, including 2-2 with a 6.86 ERA in four starts this season.The Astros got a boost on Tuesday night from the return of rookie third baseman Alex Bregman, whose pinch-single in the sixth inning pulled the Astros even at 4-4 and keyed a six-run frame that resulted in an 8-4 win over Seattle ace Felix Hernandez.Bregman suffered a right hamstring injury on Sept. 14 and was slated to miss 4-6 weeks, essentially the remainder of the regular season. He proved to be a fast healer and then, when the Astros desperately needed it, a clutch performer.Hes Alex Bregman, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. Hes sort of never out of an at-bat. His competitiveness, his readiness, hes been bouncing off the walls trying to get back in the game. He almost couldnt hold back his smile how good he felt. Now who knows when you go up there? There is a little bit of an unknown when you havent had an at-bat for a couple weeks. But hes put some good work in the cage, hes obviously prepared and ready. Hes got a youthful energy to him. ' ' '