CLEVELAND -- Sporting sunglasses, a teal shirt and a backpack hanging from his shoulder, Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon looked like a tourist as he arrived late for his news conference. Federico Bernardeschi Jersey . Maddon didnt have time to slip into his uniform and had a valid excuse. The Rays have been on the road. In the past week, theyve gone from Tampa to New York to Toronto to Texas to Cleveland, a journey covering 3,627 miles. On Wednesday night, the Rays hope to book a trip to Boston. Getting a complete game from starter David Price, Tampa Bay beat Texas 5-2 in a tiebreaker on Monday night, earning the Rays a wild-card spot for the third time in four years and a chance to face the Indians, making their first appearance in October since 2007. Forced to win almost every day down the stretch as they went neck-and-neck-and-neck with the Indians and Rangers in a thrilling wild-card scramble in the final weeks of September, the Rays won in Toronto on Sunday before travelling deep in the heart of Texas and surviving a win-or-go-home scenario. "Ill tell you what," said Maddon, whose team went 14-5 after Sept. 12. "Weve already played this wild-card game a couple times. We did it in Toronto a couple days ago. We did it yesterday in Texas, and were going to come here tomorrow and do it again. I dont know if theres a battle-tested component to that, if you get immune to whatever that pressure is and you go play." Wednesdays winner will meet the Red Sox in Game 1 of the division series on Friday. The Rays always believed theyd be in position to make a run at a first World Series title. And although theyve racked up some frequent-flyer miles and lived out of their suitcases to keep their season alive, theyre confident their season isnt about to end. "When you get into this momentum kind of a thing on a daily basis and youre playing great competition and youre going from city to city to city and its an adverse territory, all of this stuff is what you train for and you really dig and you love it," Maddon said. "You dont have time to get nervous or overthink, youve just got to get ready and go play -- and for our guys, they kind of like that moment right now." Like the Rays, the Indians had to scrap their way into the post-season. Cleveland ended a topsy-turvy regular season under manager Terry Francona by ripping off 10 wins in a row, playing error-free ball during the stretch. Now, when every mistake is magnified and theres no room for lapses, the Indians want to keep rolling and will start rookie Danny Salazar in their biggest game in six seasons. "This team wasnt expected to do anything," said right fielder Nick Swisher, one of the teams high-profile free-agent signings. "Just to be where we are right now is awesome, man." Tampa won four of the six games against Cleveland this season, but the teams havent met since early June. Rays starter Alex Cobb (11-3) was asked what he learned about the Indians in his one start against them on April 6. "That was so long ago, I dont know if that really applies anymore," he said. "Plus," Maddon said, interrupting his young right-hander. "That was before you got hit in the head." Fortunately, the Rays can now make light of the scary situation involving Cobb, who was struck in the head by a line drive hit by Kansas Citys Eric Hosmer on June 15. Cobb missed 50 games with a concussion, but hes been a different pitcher since the injury, going 5-1 with a 2.41 ERA in nine starts. Cobb said two months of rest may have helped, but he was also driven to pitch in the post-season after missing out in 2011 when he underwent surgery to remove a blood clot in his ribs. "Watching the post-season and just the feeling of being left out is indescribable," he said. "Its a terrible feeling that you dont want to have again, so I think it was extra motivation to get back and it definitely fueled the fire even more to get back to the post-season and know that we have a special group that can go far." The Indians feel just as strongly about making this an unforgettable season, perhaps even ending Clevelands 65-year drought between World Series titles. Francona has no hesitation in handing the ball to Salazar (2-3), an unflappable 23-year-old who began the season at Double-A Akron but zoomed to the majors and carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning of his debut. The Rays have never faced him. "Believe me, we wouldnt pitch him if we werent confident in him giving us the best chance to win," Francona said. "Danny has done nothing to make us think he cant handle this. Hes so poised. If I had stuff like him, Id be poised, too. But theres a difference between throwing 100 mph and being able to get major league hitters out. Danny can do that." NOTES: Indians CF and leadoff hitter Michael Bourn did some agility drills and ran the bases before working out with his teammates. He pulled up with a leg injury on Sunday in Minnesota, and his status for Wednesday is not yet known. ... The teams have to have their 25-man rosters set by 10 a.m. Wednesday. .... Francona followed up on his joke about the Indians avoiding chicken and beer during his September surge, a jab at his final days in Boston. "I lied about that," he said. "We have had some chicken." Carlo Pinsoglio Jersey . Sources tell TSN that union executives travelled to select CFL cities Monday to open dialogue with players and answer questions. After the tentative deal was reached Saturday night, several players posted messages of frustration and disappointment on social media - and that carried over into Sunday on both the web and the field. Paulo Dybala Jersey . Amid a rain of confetti, Shabazz Napier basked in the celebration on the court after being named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four following the 60-54 win over Kentucky. http://www.juventusfcpro.com/Kids-Emre-Can-Jersey/ .C. - Blair Jones scored the eventual winner in the third period as the Abbotsford Heat defeated the Oklahoma City Oil Barons 3-2 in American Hockey League action on Friday.At the age of 46, Dominik Hasek was still playing hockey. He put on his goalie pads for the final time Feb. 27, 2011 in the KHL. At the age of 49, "the Dominator" is expected to be part of the class of 2014 at the Hockey Hall of Fame, which will be announced this afternoon on TSN2 at 3pm et/Noon pt. Though nothing is guaranteed, the six-time Vezina Trophy-winner should be a lock. "For me its a no-brainer," former Buffalo Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said earlier this year. Hasek won one Stanley Cup as a starter with the Detroit Red Wings in 2002, then split time with Chris Osgood and became the backup in the playoffs for the 2008 title. He came close to the Cup in 1999 with Buffalo, only to be beaten by the Dallas Stars on Brett Hulls foot-in-the-crease overtime goal. Haseks best years came with the Sabres, when he had seven straight seasons with a save percentage of .930 or higher. He finished with 234 career regular-season victories in Buffalo and 389 over his 16-year NHL career. Veteran goaltender Tomas Vokoun "knew all along" Hasek would be great from watching him play in their native Czech Republic. "It took him a little bit just because of his style and all that to convince people here," Vokoun said in a phone interview. "I definitely consider him, if hes not the best, one of the top three to ever play. ... He definitely deserves to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer." Swedish centre Peter Forsberg is also expected to get the call to the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. American-born centre Mike Modano leads the other new candidates and is the most likely to be inducted, ahead of three-time Cup-winner and first-ballot dark horse Mark Recchi. Forsberg, who began his career with the Quebec Nordiques following the blockbuster Eric Lindros trade with the Philadelphia Flyers, went on to win two Cups with the Colorado Avalanche. Alex Sandro Jersey. He finished with 885 points in 708 regular-season games as his career was cut short by foot injuries. With 1,374 points over 21 seasons, Modano became the most prolific American-born scorer in NHL history. Late coach Pat Burns remains a candidate in the "builder" category, a year after Fred Shero was posthumously elected 38 years after leading the Flyers to back-to-back Cups. Burns, a three-time Jack Adams Award winner as coach of the year, died in November 2010 at the age of 58. This is the first year John Davidson is serving as chairman of the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee, replacing Jim Gregory. Bobby Clarke, David Poile and Luc Robitaille were appointed to the committee for the first time. Clarkes addition raised the question of whether Lindros would stand a better chance of being elected. Despite a contentious relationship with the Lindros family, the longtime Flyers general manager is considered a proponent of his Hall of Fame case. Lindros has similar numbers to Forsberg — 865 points in 760 games over 13 seasons — and won the Hart Trophy as league MVP in 1994-95. The three-time Canadian Olympian and world junior standouts resume isnt as Hall of Fame-worthy as Haseks. The goaltender is all but certain to be inducted Nov. 10. "I appreciate it, its very nice to be among all these big players," Hasek said recently when asked about impeding election to the Hall of Fame. "I appreciate to be one day, maybe, in the Hockey Hall of Fame, however ... it was never my goal when I was playing hockey." Cheap Predators Jerseys Cheap Jets Jerseys Cheap Ducks Jerseys Cheap Coyotes Jerseys Cheap Sharks Jerseys Cheap Canucks Jerseys Cheap Bruins Jerseys Cheap Sabres Jerseys Cheap Panthers Jerseys Cheap Canadiens Jerseys Cheap Senators Jerseys Cheap Hurricanes Jerseys Cheap Blue Jackets Jerseys Cheap Islanders Jerseys Cheap Rangers Jerseys Cheap Flyers Jerseys ' ' '
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