Pirate Galaxy » mation by the Senate.But the Panthers said th

PHILADELPHIA -- The New York Mets clinched a playoff spot Saturday, beating the Philadelphia Phillies 5-3 to secure the top National League wild card.The defending NL champions will host San Francisco or St. Louis on Wednesday night at Citi Field, with the winner advancing to face the Chicago Cubs.James Loney hit a two-run homer to back Bartolo Colon (15-8), and Jeurys Familia closed for his major league-high 51st save. T.J. Rivera, Jose Reyes and Asdrubal Cabrera each had an RBI single.The only other time the Mets made the postseason in consecutive years was 1999-2000. New York won the NL East last season and went all the way to the World Series before losing to Kansas City.By clinching with one day to spare in the regular season, the Mets can save All-Star ace Noah Syndergaard for the wild-card game. The big right-hander could still get a brief tuneup Sunday against the Phillies, but should be fresh for Wednesday.Ryan Howard hit a two-run homer in what was likely his penultimate game with the Phillies, who have dropped six straight. Patrick Schuster (0-1) took the loss.GIANTS 3, DODGERS 0SAN FRANCISCO -- Giants rookie Ty Blach outpitched ace Clayton Kershaw, and San Francisco held its lead for the last NL playoff spot going into the final day of the regular season.The Giants stayed one game ahead of St. Louis for the second wild card.Blach (1-0) earned his first big league victory, pitching eight innings of three-hit ball. He struck out six and walked one in his second start in the majors, and also got his first two hits.Sergio Romo closed for his fourth save.Angel Pagan homered in the fifth off Kershaw (12-4) to break a scoreless tie. Kershaw will start Game 1 of the Division Series against Washington -- the Los Angeles loss gave the Nationals home-field advantage.CARDINALS 4, PIRATES 3ST. LOUIS -- Jedd Gyorko hit a go-ahead home run in the eighth inning, Matt Holliday provided another big boost and St. Louis pushed the playoff race to the final day.The Cardinals trail San Francisco by one game for the second NL wild card.Gyorkos 30th homer came off Felipe Rivero (1-6).Kevin Siegrist (6-3) pitched the eighth. Seung Hwan Oh left runners at second and third for his 19th save.YANKEES 7, ORIOLES 3NEW YORK -- Tyler Austin tied the score with a seventh-inning home run, Austin Romine and Brett Gardner drove in two runs each in the eighth and New York rallied from a three-run deficit to stall Baltimores playoff push.Thanks to Detroits loss Saturday night, however, Baltimore (88-73) can clinch an AL wild card with a win Sunday at Yankee Stadium.All-Star setup man Brad Brach (10-4) took the loss. He was charged with a season-high four runs.Tyler Clippard (2-3) pitched a perfect eighth, and Dellin Betances struck out the side after an infield hit in the ninth. The Yankees stopped the Orioles three-game winning streak and sent them to their second loss in eight games.Mark Trumbo had four hits for Baltimore, which built a 3-0 lead against Luis Severino on Michael Bourns two-run single and Manny Machados 37th home run. Machados third-inning, opposite-field drive to right ended an 0-for-17 slide.BRAVES 5, TIGERS 3ATLANTA -- Freddie Freeman and Nick Markakis homered, rookie Aaron Blair had a career-high 10 strikeouts and last-place Atlanta damaged Detroits playoff hopes.Detroit began the day a half-game behind Toronto for the second AL wild card. The loss meant the Tigers no longer controlled their own fate.The Tigers will have ace Justin Verlander on the mound Sunday. Depending on the playoff scenario, Detroits regular season might extend with a makeup home game Monday against Cleveland.Atlanta took a 5-2 lead in the seventh on Adonis Garcias two-run single, but reliever Mauricio Cabrera loaded the bases with no outs in the eighth. Chaz Roe struck out Miguel Cabrera and got J.D. Martinez to ground into a double play.Braves closer Jim Johnson gave up a run in the ninth on Jose Iglesias infield single but retired pinch-hitter Victor Martinez to earn his 19th save. The Braves have won 11 of 13 heading into the last game at Turner Field.Blair (2-7) entered with an 8.02 ERA but gave up four hits and two runs in five innings.Detroit starter Jordan Zimmermann (9-7) went four innings and is 0-4 with an 11.64 ERA in four starts since June 24.NATIONALS 2, MARLINS 1WASHINGTON -- Nationals rookie Trea Turner hit his 13th homer, Tanner Roark tuned up for the playoffs with 5 2/3 innings of one-run ball and Washington beat Miami while clinching home-field advantage in the NL Division Series.NL East champion Washingtons third trip to the postseason in five years will begin Friday in the nations capital against the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers, with Max Scherzer slated to face Clayton Kershaw.The Nationals, it turned out, didnt need to beat the Marlins -- which they did, thanks to Turner, Roark (16-10) and Bryce Harpers RBI single. The Dodgers loss to San Francisco assured Washington a better record and was announced before the bottom of the seventh to the Nationals Park crowd of 31,635, which responded with a standing ovation.Wei-Yin Chen (5-5) allowed two runs in five innings.Mark Melancon got four outs for his 46th save.INDIANS 6, ROYALS 3KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Francisco Lindor hit a two-out, two-run double during an eighth-inning rally to help Cleveland beat Kansas City .Kevin McCarthy replaced Matt Strahm (2-2) with a runner on and walked the bases loaded before Lindors double over third base.Mike Clevinger (3-3) won for the AL Central champs by retiring the only two batters he faced. Cody Allen worked the ninth for his 31st save in 34 opportunities.Trevor Bauer tuned up for the postseason by striking out nine over six innings of three-run ball. Bauer will start Game 1 of the Division Series against Boston.REDS 7, CUBS 4CINCINNATI -- Jon Lester failed to become a 20-game winner, struggling for the first time since mid-July as the Reds pulled away to a victory over whats likely to be the Cubs lineup for the first game of the playoffs.Lester (19-5) gave up five runs in five innings, including Eugenio Suarezs two-run homer and a pair of RBI by Joey Votto. The left-hander hadnt allowed five runs in a start since July 9.Cubs manager Joe Maddon has been getting players -- especially his starting pitchers -- some rest heading into the postseason. Even so, the Cubs have won eight of 12, finishing one of their best regular seasons with a flourish. Chicagos 102 victories are its most since 1910.Tim Adleman (4-4) gave up three runs in five innings as part of a rare Reds victory over Chicago.Khris Middleton Bucks Jersey . Jordan Lynch, the all-purpose Heisman Trophy finalist from Northern Illinois, failed to make it into that exclusive club. Giannis Antetokounmpo Jersey . Durant finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds, Jackson matched his career high with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Lamb scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, lifting the Thunder to a 94-88 win over San Antonio and snapping the Spurs 11-game winning streak. http://www.nbabucksproshop.com/Authentic-George-Hill-Bucks-Jersey/ . -- James Young couldnt wait to apply those tweaks to his jump shot, and the first one he made against UT Arlington told him it could be a good night. Glenn Robinson Jersey .ca. Hey Kerry, big fan of yours, just finished reading your book. I think that we all saw the Canucks/Flames line brawl just after puck drop. It was obvious that something was about to happen, even to the referees because the fourth lines were on to start. Eric Bledsoe Jersey . The Cincinnati Reds remain perfect with their speedy rookie outfielder in the starting lineup.SOCCERMOSCOW -- Players from Russias under-21 national soccer team had suspicious drug-test samples covered up, emails released by a World Anti-Doping Agency investigation show.The emails, released this month as part of WADA investigator Richard McLarens report on Russian doping, state that there were five suspicious samples in the Russian mens under-17 and under-21 national teams in 2013 and 2014.Another case in the Russian league was allegedly covered up by then-Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko, who is also in charge of the countrys World Cup preparations. The FIFA ethics committee said it will examine the report thoroughly in response to the allegations about soccer and the role of Mutko, who sits on the FIFA Council.GENEVA -- Fans could win more freedom to make political protests at soccer stadiums in a UEFA review of its disciplinary rules.European soccers governing body wants existing rules which prohibit non-soccer statements to evolve to reflect the nature of the society in which we live.UEFAs statement follows Barcelona dropping a Court of Arbitration for Sport appeal against fines imposed for fans supporting Catalonian independence.It was published as FIFA drew criticism in Britain for upholding its rules prohibiting political, religious and personal statements in all 211 member federations. It fined the four British soccer bodies for displays at World Cup qualifying matches last month that remembered their nations war dead.UEFA said it recognized that rules across international soccer which bar political statements are not set in stone.ZURICH -- The FIFA ethics committee has banned two Honduras officials for life for taking bribes, as they await sentencing in the United States on soccer corruption charges.Former FIFA vice president Alfredo Hawit and Rafael Callejas, the Honduras state president from 1990-94, previously made guilty pleas to racketeering and wire-fraud conspiracy charges in the U.S. Department of Justices sprawling investigation of corruption in international soccer.Hawit also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to obstruct justice.Their expulsions from soccer were announced by the FIFA ethics committee which routinely imposes life bans on officials who plead guilty in Brooklyn federal court.PRO FOOTBALLMINNEAPOLIS -- Two Twittter users have admitted they started a false rumor that the Minnesota Vikings were opening their new stadium to the homeless during this weekends extreme cold.ddddddddddddMarketer Jake Nyberg and fitness coach David Dellanave say their tweets were a hoax meant to push the idea that taxpayer-funded U.S. Bank Stadium could be used to keep the homeless warm. Dellanave told The Associated Press it was a stupid way to do it and hes sorry. Nyberg has since deactivated his account and didnt immediately return messages from the AP.Yahoo Sports and CBS Sports posted stories that assumed the tweets were true.But it appears no homeless people fell for the hoax. The Minnesota Sports Facilities Authority says nobody sought shelter at the stadium.HOCKEYSUNRISE, Fla. -- Vincent Viola has insisted for the past three years that his sole focus as owner of the Florida Panthers was to win the franchises first Stanley Cup.Hell be otherwise occupied now.Violas nomination by President-elect Donald Trump to be the next secretary of the Army means he will be giving up his roles as chairman and governor of the Panthers, pending his confirmation by the Senate.But the Panthers said the move -- which top team executives learned was coming late last week -- will not change the day-to-day hockey operations.Viola, a 1977 West Point graduate who bought the Panthers in 2013, plans to have the chairman and governor positions filled by his longtime business partner Doug Cifu.RALEIGH, N.C. -- A scheduled game between the Carolina Hurricanes and Detroit Red Wings was postponed because of unplayable ice.A Freon leak in the cooling system at PNC Arena was discovered earlier in the day. The issue was fixed, but not in time to restart the game. NHL rules state a game cannot start less than 22 hours before a teams next scheduled contest, and the Red Wings are set to play at Tampa Bay at 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday night.Carolina announced a delay on Twitter about 15 minutes before the scheduled start time of 7 p.m., then publicized the postponement around 8:45 p.m.Hurricanes President Don Waddell said a makeup date would probably be decided on Tuesday or Wednesday. ' ' '