CARDIFF -- Wales gave a two-time defending champions response to a demoralizing defeat by whipping France 27-6 and keeping its Six Nations title defence alive on Friday. So shaken to the core was Wales by its 26-3 demolition from Ireland, the only unbeaten team left in the championship, that coach Warren Gatland warned his British Lions-laden side that careers were on the line under the Millennium Stadium roof. The players answer was a robust performance of power, pace and poise, adding up to a third straight win over France last achieved 42 years ago. "That was the response we were looking for," captain Sam Warburton said. "We knew we had it in us." He admitted playing for their jobs was also an incentive. "We said in the week that we dont want to take our places for granted. We have probably worked our hardest in the last two weeks," he said. Stand-in centre George North scored after five minutes and fullback Leigh Halfpennys boot punished frequent French errors and a second-rate scrum with five penalties that propped up a 20-6 halftime lead. When Warburton reached out to plant the ball on the line in the 64th, the score became Wales biggest win over France at home since 1950. That margin will be vital in terms of points difference in the standings if Wales, which jumped over previously unbeaten France into second place, can stay on track and Ireland lose somewhere. The Irish are at Twickenham on Saturday. Wales performance wasnt assured beforehand, certainly not after lock Alun-Wyn Jones, who captained the Lions in their series-clinching win in Australia last year, withdrew just before the match with a foot injury. That gave a second Welshman, Jake Ball, his first test start beside scrumhalf Rhys Webb, whose zippy pass was a big factor in Wales frantic start. Five minutes in, lineout ball was spread left and inside centre Jamie Roberts drew two defenders. North gave Halfpenny an overlap and he chipped ahead. France fullback Bruce Dulin claimed the ball just before the tryline, but he was accidentally clipped in the head by teammate Jean-Marc Doussain and dropped the ball, which North pounced on in goal. Halfpenny couldnt convert. He seemed to kick only the hardest goalkicks, and France kept giving him chances, especially from a scrum that Wales eventually got on top of. Captain Pascal Pape conceded the second penalty from a ruck, and tighthead prop Nicolas Mas the third for slipping in a scrum. Wesley Fofana was milked by North in a ruck for Halfpennys fourth, and a tighthead conceded just before halftime ended up giving Halfpenny his fifth penalty. Moments before then, referee Alain Rolland told both captains the scrum was a mess and threatened to dish out cards. He upheld his promise in the 50th, sin-binning Mas and counterpart Gethin Jenkins. By then, Wales was in charge and the outmuscled French had few options. "It was a catastrophic first half, our discipline was poor, and we gave away too many penalties," France coach Philippe Saint-Andre said. "We were totally apathetic in the first half." Dulin said, "They got on top of us very quickly and we couldnt pull ourselves together. We didnt go about things the right way. "We didnt start the game well and they just gained in confidence. After their match against Ireland they really wanted to put their foot down." France had a try rightfully disallowed early in the first half for a knockon, but the backs received no ball and didnt go close again until the 50th, when centre Mathieu Bastareaud slipped North and was stopped just short of the tryline, and couldnt offload to Dulin or winger Hugo Bonneval. The French backs were more involved in the second half, but Wales defence was smothering. Frustrated No. 8 Louis Picamoles got himself sin-binned in the 62nd and Wales took advantage. From a Roberts barging run up the middle, Warburton charged off a ruck and just managed in a double tackle with an outstretched arm to put the ball on the line. With 10 minutes to go, Wales substituted Adam Jones and Jenkins, Ball, Dan Lydiate, Webb, Rhys Priestland and Halfpenny, and all were cheered off as returning heroes deserve to be. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . -- The Kelowna Rockets earned their 16th straight win with a 7-2 rout of the Portland Winterhawks in Western Hockey League action Thursday. Cheap NHL Jerseys China . -- Blake Griffin scored 32 points and grabbed eight rebounds, DeAndre Jordan had 14 points and 22 rebounds and the Los Angeles Clippers outlasted the Golden State Warriors 98-96 on Thursday night to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round series. http://www.cheapnhljerseysusa.com/. "Weve given ourselves now a tougher task," said Carlyle after the Friday practice, the Toronto head coach notably chipper and upbeat throughout. "But the bottom line is we just have to win our share of games [and] not worry about what anybody else is doing. Wholesale Adidas Hockey Jerseys . The Raptors have been outscored 88-66 in the opening quarter over a three-game span to begin the month of February. Their most recent loss, 109-101 in Sacramento on Wednesday, was eerily similar to Saturdays defeat at the hands of the Trail Blazers. Cheap NHL Jerseys Online . A player confirmed to TSN on the condition of anonymity that he received his ballot yesterday. Another confirms hes been told to expect his shortly. "The unions executive committee insists a strike vote does not mean were pushing away from the table," the player said. "But we want the league to know were serious about our position.Phoenix, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - Goran Dragic had 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists as the Phoenix Suns defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 115-100 on Monday night. Isaiah Thomas posted 24 points, five steals and four assists, Eric Bledsoe tallied 17 points, seven helpers and five boards and Markieff Morris added 15 points for the Suns, who have won three in a row and seven of their last nine games. Nick Young netted 24 points off the bench to lead Los Angeles, which lost its fifth consecutive contest. We turned the ball over a lot tonight, said Young. Thats one of the main reasons. Kobe Bryant sat out to rest for the Lakers. The game was tied 26-26 following a quarter of play and 51-51 at the half, but the Suns began to gradually pull away in the third. After a Jeremy Lin layup knotted the contest at 60-60, a 7-1 spurt helped Phoenix create some distance. Bledsoe nailed a 3-pointer and drove in for a layup and P.J. Tucker capped the mini run with a layup to stake the Suns to a 67-61 advantage. Phoenix uupped its margin to 87-77 after three and an 11-3 burst during the early stages of the fourth created more separation.dddddddddddd. Gerald Green hit consecutive triples to highlight the surge and Marcus Morris finished it off with a trey for a commanding 102-83 spread midway through the frame. The third quarter was awesome. We played hard on both ends, defense and offense, said Dragic. Two Young triples and four-point play on three straight trips up the floor got the Lakers within 105-98. He scored 16 straight Lakers points before a Jordan Hill jumper a bit later whittled the deficit to 106-100 with 2:59 to play. Phoenix, though, netted the final nine points of the game. Game Notes Phoenix is 13-4 since Dec. 17 ... The Suns won their sixth straight home game, the longest home winning streak since an eight-game run from March 14-April 13, 2010 ... The Lakers fell to 2-6 on the season without Bryant in the lineup ... The Suns scored 27 points off 23 Phoenix turnovers. ' ' '