Post-Season Picture For Sept 18

Another day, another division. The Angels beat the Mariners on Wednesday night, the A's lost in excruciating late fashion to Texas, and Mike Scioscia's team was officially able to put a bow on its long-expected American League West title, joining the Nationals (National League East) and Orioles (AL East), who clinched their divisions Tuesday. But elsewhere around the Major Leagues on Wednesday, the Postseason Picture continued to change, and the Giants had something to do with that.

San Francisco rallied late to beat the D-backs, 4-2, while the Dodgers were pounded, 16-2, by the Rockies in Colorado. That turn of events enabled the Giants to pull within two games of Los Angeles in the NL West standings while maintaining their position as the top NL Wild Card contender.



The Central divisions continued to be centers of intrigue. In the AL Central, the Royals beat the White Sox and the Tigers lost to the Twins, which pulled Kansas City to within half-game of Detroit. That left the Royals and A's deadlocked in the two AL Wild Card slots with identical 83-68 records, with the Mariners two games behind. And in the NL Central, the Cardinals shut out the Brewers, 2-0, to keep their 2 1/2-game advantage over the victorious Pirates. As a result, the Giants and Pirates remained in the two Wild Card spots, with the Brewers another 2 1/2 games back and the Braves at 5 1/2 games behind.

IF THE POSTSEASON STARTED TODAY ...

American League

Wild Card: A's at Royals

Division Series: Wild Card at Angels | Tigers at Orioles

National League

Wild Card: Pirates at Giants

Division Series: Wild Card at Nationals | Cardinals at Dodgers

In the AL Central, things are getting tighter again. The Royals beat the White Sox to pull to within a half-game of the Tigers, who lost to Minnesota, and once again that division is anybody's guess. It also had a direct effect on the Wild Card race, where the Royals and A's are tied and the Mariners are only two games back.

On Thursday, the Mariners will rely on ace Felix Hernandez to get them a road split in Anaheim, but he'll be up against a formidable foe in Jered Weaver. The A's will try to snap out of their funk against the last-place Rangers to stay atop the Wild Card race. In the Central, only a day off will interrupt the drama between the Royals and Tigers, both of whom will be idle before opening a pivotal three-game series in Kansas City on Friday. The Dodgers will get a chance to add a half-game to their NL cushion while the Giants travel to San Diego.

TODAY'S KEY GAMES TO WATCH (all times ET)

Rangers (Martinez, 3-11) at Athletics (Gray, 13-8), 3:35 p.m. Preview

Young right-hander Sonny Gray was lights-out in the late season of 2013 and the A's need him to lean on that experience here. Oakland simply can't afford to lose home games to last-place Texas in the middle of a pennant race.

Red Sox (Workman, 1-9) at Pirates (Cole, 9-5), 7:05 p.m. Preview

The Pirates will be looking to keep the mojo rolling when they hand the ball to their talented second-year pitcher, Gerrit Cole, in a game they must win if they're going to chase down the first-place Cardinals.

Dodgers (Greinke, 15-8) at Cubs (Wada, 4-3), 8:05 p.m. Preview

The Dodgers need a victory to get back on the right track after being routed in Colorado, and they'll get one of their aces on the mound in Zack Greinke.

Brewers (Lohse, 12-9) at Cardinals (Miller, 10-9), 8:15 p.m. Preview

Milwaukee is sinking out of contention and desperately needs a big effort on the road from starter Kyle Lohse and the rest of the roster, too.

Mariners (Hernandez, 14-5) at Angels (Weaver, 17-8), 10:05 p.m. Preview

Thursday's Major League nightcap also happens to be the best pitchers' duel of the day, with AL Cy Young Award contenders Hernandez and Weaver going pitch for pitch in a game that's vitally important to Seattle's Wild Card hopes.

MAGIC NUMBERS

To calculate a team's magic number, take the number of games it has remaining and add one. Then subtract the difference in the number of losses between that team and its closest pursuer.

AL East: Orioles clinched

AL Central: Tigers 11 over Royals

AL West: Angels clinched

AL Wild Card 1: A's/Royals

AL Wild Card 2: A's/Royals 10 over Mariners

NL East: Nationals clinched

NL Central: Cardinals 9 over Pirates

NL West: Dodgers 9 over Giants

NL Wild Card 1: Giants 9 over Pirates

NL Wild Card 2: Pirates 9 over Brewers

Farewell Captain!!

Check out the new Gatorade spot with Derek Jeter as he prepares to call it a career...

Week 3 NFL Preview

Week 3 of the NFL season begins in Atlanta Thursday night with the Falcons taking on Tampa Bay, For a complete look at Week 3, click here

Josh Harding Suffers Setback

Days before the start of training camp, the Wild’s goaltending soap opera took an unforeseen twist.

Josh Harding, looking to resurrect himself after missing the second half of last season because of complications from multiple sclerosis, has been sidelined by an ankle injury.

Harding didn’t take part in the team’s captain’s practices the past two days at Xcel Energy Center, is walking with the use of crutches and will miss at least the start of training camp when players take the ice Friday, according to multiple sources. The injury occurred off the ice and blindsided a team eager to see if Harding could return to his dominant form of last year’s first half.

General Manager Chuck Fletcher returned to the Twin Cities from Michigan, where the Wild participated in a prospect tournament, on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, Fletcher is expected to talk with orthopedic surgeon Joel Boyd to determine the extent of Harding’s injury. Fletcher and coach Mike Yeo will meet Wednesday, a day before players report to St. Paul.

Harding, 30, is in the final year of a contract that pays him $2.1 million and led the NHL in goals-against average (1.66) and savespercentage (93.3%) although he played only 29 games.

Veteran Niklas Backstrom, the winningest goalie in Wild history with 189 victories, is 36 and coming off season-ending abdominal and hip surgeries. But he said last week he was healthy and confident he could return to the form of two seasons ago when he tied for the league lead with 24 wins.

“Backy’s kind of been the forgotten soldier right now,” Yeo said Monday before learning Harding was injured. “Nobody even talks about him. He’s won a lot of hockey games for us, there’s been many games where I know he stole games for us. He’s a guy who can come in and do that again this year. I think he’ll be motivated.”

The team has been playing hardball with unsigned restricted free-agent goalie Darcy Kuemper. The Harding injury could have implications on that negotiation. Kuemper wanted a one-year, one-way contract; the Wild offered a two-year deal, with the first year being a two-way and the second year being a one-way.

However, if Harding’s injury will keep him out long-term, the team may look to bring a veteran in on a tryout. In fact, Fletcher already reached out to Ilya Bryzgalov. After Kuem- per sustained a concussion last season, the 34-year-old Bryzgalov helped the Wild into the playoffs with a 7-1-3 record and 2.12 goals-against average. Last month Bryzgalov said he hoped to return to Minnesota, but Fletcher was uninterested because Harding and Backstrom were healthy.

Harding didn’t reply to a text message Tuesday. Last week, he sat down with the Star Tribune and discussed how great he felt on and off the ice.

“It’s one of those summers where everything clicked, and I feel even better than I did last summer and feel like I’m in better shape,” Harding said. “With the year of knowledge of what I’m dealing with, with a different mind-set and different mentality about what I did this offseason, I think it’s definitely going to help out tremendously.

“Physically, mentally, knowing everything that’s been working for me, I believe I’m going to show I’m capable of playing a full season.”

Last year, Harding was in the midst of a sensational season, reeling off 18 victories by Dec. 17 before missing a road trip for what doctors felt would be a minor adjustment to his MS treatment.

That season would be stopped in its tracks. He returned to start two games, including one where the Wild blew a three-goal lead to the Islanders. He didn’t play again after Jan. 1 — the second season in a row he missed significant time due to the debilitating illness.

It’s clear Harding had a relapse.

“Without going into big details, one plus one equals two. The changing of the medication, the changing of the treatment over the Christmas break, things happened and things happened quick,” Harding said.

Last week, Harding ironically said the only thing that has kept him from being an everyday No. 1 is health. Even before being diagnosed with MS, Harding was often derailed by injuries.

(Mpls Star-Tribune)

MLB Postseason Picture Sept 17

It was a lovely Tuesday night to be out and about along the Beltways. How often do you get a chance to celebrate division titles by two home teams in one night? The Orioles wrapped up their first American League East title since 1997 with a romp at home against the Blue Jays, and the Nationals made it twice as nice by chopping down the Braves in Atlanta to claim the National League East crown. All four leaders of the other divisions lost.

According to ESPN, Tuesday marked the third time since 1969 that two MLB teams from the same metro area clinched a division title on the same day. The last time it happened was in 2004, when the Angels and Dodgers clinched.
The closest division race moved the Pulse of the Postseason meter. The Tigers let a ninth-inning lead get away in Minnesota, but they maintained their 1 1/2-game AL Central lead when the Royals also were unable to hold a lead against the White Sox. Carlos Gomez and Hector Gomez manufactured the decisive run in the 12th inning of the Brewers' 3-2 victory in St. Louis, shaving the Cards' NL Central lead to 2 1/2 games over the Pirates and four over the Brew Crew.
With a 2-1 decision in Arizona behind Jake Peavy coupled with the Dodgers' 10-4 loss at Colorado, the Giants moved back within three games of Los Angeles' NL West lead. The A's and Royals in the AL and Giants and Pirates in the NL retained their Wild Card edges.


IF THE POSTSEASON STARTED TODAY ...
American League
Wild Card: Royals at A's
Division Series: Wild Card at Angels | Tigers at Orioles
National League
Wild Card: Pirates at Giants
Division Series: Wild Card at Nationals | Cardinals at Dodgers
• Postseason picture


TODAY'S KEY GAMES TO WATCH (all times ET)
Giants (Bumgarner, 18-9) at Diamondbacks (Chaffin, 0-0), 3:40 p.m. Preview
Giants turn to their ace, Madison Bumgarner, to keep the pressure on the Dodgers in the NL West race.
Nationals (Treinen, 2-3) at Braves (Wood, 10-10) 7:10 p.m. Preview
Even after clinching the division, the Nats have motivation in trying to finish with the league's best record for home-field advantage through the NL postseason.
White Sox (Sale, 12-3) at Royals (Ventura, 12-10), 8:10 p.m. Preview
It doesn't get any easier for the Royals as they bid to overtake the Tigers in the AL Central. Chris Sale (1.99 ERA) is simply dominant.
Tigers (Price, 14-11) at Twins (Gibson, 11-11), 8:10 p.m. Preview
David Price needs to lock into one of his familiar grooves with so much at stake for the Tigers.
Brewers (Fiers, 6-2) at Cardinals (Wainwright, 18-9), 8:15 p.m. Preview
Adam Wainwright is on a roll, driving his team to another postseason, but Mike Fiers has been just as good except for one highly unfortunate pitch to Giancarlo Stanton in his most recent outing.
Mariners (Paxton, 6-2) at Angels (Wilson, 12-9), 10:05 p.m. Preview
The Mariners are fighting for postseason survival, and James Paxton has been brilliant, while the runaway Angels are hoping Wilson finds and maintains consistent command.
Rangers (Holland, 1-0) at Athletics (Samardzija, 6-12), 10:05 p.m. Preview
Derek Holland has been virtually flawless (17 strikeouts, no walks, 0.68) since coming off the DL, and Rangers can get some spoilers' satisfaction against their rivals.

MAGIC NUMBERS
To calculate a team's magic number, take the number of games it has remaining and add one. Then subtract the difference in the number of losses between that team and its closest pursuer.
AL East: Orioles clinched on Tuesday
AL Central: Tigers 11 over Royals
AL West: Angels 2 over A's
AL Wild Card 1: A's 12 over Royals
AL Wild Card 2: Royals 12 over Mariners
NL East: Nationals clinched on Tuesday
NL Central: Cardinals 10 over Pirates
NL West: Dodgers 9 over Giants
NL Wild Card 1: Giants 10 over Pirates
NL Wild Card 2: Pirates 11 over Brewers

(MLB Media)

Regina Pats Tweak Logo

The Regina Pats Hockey Club is pleased to announce an update to its familiar logo. The clean new face of the franchise stays true to the Pats tradition, honouring the long, rich heritage of junior hockey in the Queen City.

“With all of the energy and investment being poured into the Pats brand, it was clear our identity deserved a minor re-work to improve its impact, design quality and legibility across a broad range of applications,” says Regina Pats President Todd Lumbard. The updated logo respects the immense value of the existing brand and repackages all of the elements Pats fans know and love in an energetic new visual.

This upgrade is just one of many still to come for a resurgent new Pats brand and signals a heightened level of pride, professionalism and a relentless commitment to winning working its way into every corner of the organization, sparked by the new ownership group. “This is not about a quick fix; we are making changes we believe will create long-term stability and success for this franchise and deliver outstanding value for our fans. We’re in this for the long haul,” comments Regina Pats Governor Anthony Marquart.

The updated design will begin to appear immediately in promotional items, advertising, signage, etc., with ongoing upgrades throughout the upcoming season and will culminate in all-new uniforms, set to appear at the start of the 2015 season.

Baseball's Post-Season Picture September 16

One down, nine to go. The Angels became the first team in the Major Leagues to clinch a postseason berth when they beat the Mariners, 8-1, in Anaheim on Monday night. They have a magic number of three to win the American League West. Meanwhile, the Nationals got closer, winning in Atlanta to cut their magic number in the National League East to two. A win Tuesday over the Braves on Tuesday and they're in. And the Orioles' number to clinch the AL East is down to one, which they can accomplish on Tuesday against the Blue Jays.

Got all that? Good. Because those are the obvious ones. The rest of the picture is still a bit muddled, especially in the AL Central and AL Wild Card races. The Royals did what they had to do in a big way on Monday, though, rallying in the bottom of the ninth inning to walk off with an improbable 4-3 win over the White Sox. Now Kansas City is still 1 1/2 games behind Detroit, which won Monday, in the AL Central, and two games up on Seattle for the second Wild Card slot. Idle Oakland remains in the first AL Wild Card position, a game up on the Royals.

In the NL, the Nationals got very close to clinching while the Dodgers inched nearer to that goal in the West. Los Angeles won big against Colorado while San Francisco lost to Arizona, giving the Dodgers a four-game division lead. Otherwise, all three of the NL Central contenders (St. Louis, Pittsburgh and Milwaukee) did not play Monday.

IF THE POSTSEASON STARTED TODAY ...

American League

Wild Card: Royals at A's

Division Series: Wild Card at Angels | Tigers at Orioles

National League

Wild Card: Pirates at Giants

Division Series: Wild Card at Nationals | Cardinals at Dodgers

TODAY'S KEY GAMES TO WATCH (all times ET)

Blue Jays (Hutchison, 10-11) at Orioles (Jimenez, 4-9), 7:05 p.m. 

Baltimore signed Ubaldo Jimenez  to a lucrative contract and he hasn't lived up to it yet, but he can make up for some of it here if he pitches his team to a win to clinch the AL East.

Nationals (Roark, 13-10) at Braves (Harang, 11-10), 7:10 p.m. 

Tanner Roark has been a huge factor in the Nationals' rotation this year, and he can log a memorable win in this game. Washington will clinch the NL East with a victory.

White Sox (Bassitt, 0-1) at Royals (Hendriks, 1-2), 8:10 p.m. 

The Royals will probably prefer to get the lead early and put the pressure on the young and inexperienced White Sox starter. They need to win to stay on the heels of Detroit in the AL Central race with the games running out.

Tigers (Porcello, 15-11) at Twins (Nolasco, 5-11), 8:10 p.m. 

Detroit has been taking care of business lately against lesser teams. They'll rely on Rick Porcello to keep that going with the Royals not giving an inch in the AL Central.

Brewers (Peralta, 16-10) at Cardinals (Lynn, 15-9), 8:15 p.m. 

The Brewers enter this series five games behind St. Louis in the Central and 1 1/2 games behind Pittsburgh for the second Wild Card slot in the NL. That says it all about how important this game is.

Mariners (Elias, 10-12) at Angels (Rasmus, 3-1), 10:05 p.m. Preview

The Mariners are not out of it, but they need a win here in a bad way after looking offensively stagnant the last three games. Cory Rasmus  has been excellent for the Angels and should prove tough to beat.

MAGIC NUMBERS

To calculate a team's magic number, take the number of games it has remaining and add one. Then subtract the difference in the number of losses between that team and its closest pursuer.

AL East: Orioles 1 over Blue Jays

AL Central: Tigers 12 over Royals

AL West: Angels 3 over A's

AL Wild Card 1: A's 13 over Royals

AL Wild Card 2: Royals 12 over Mariners

NL East: Nationals 2 over Braves

NL Central: Cardinals 10 over Pirates

NL West: Dodgers 9 over Giants

NL Wild Card 1: Giants 11 over Pirates

NL Wild Card 2: Pirates 12 over Brewers