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Royals Vs. Orioles: Game 1 Preview, TV Info And More

2012-05-16T13:08:54Z

The Royals, fresh from winning four in a row, will host the surprising first place team of the AL East - Baltimore - for a two game series starting Wednesday. Felipe Paulino will get only his third start of the season, after starting his 2012 campaign by beating the Yankees last month.

Royals third baseman Mike Moustakas has reached base safely in 22 straight games, entering Wednesday with five homers and 16 RBIs:

"I've just been trying to do anything I can to help us win," Moustakas said. "We've been playing really good baseball up to this point. I'm just trying to be consistent. That's what this game is about, just going out there every day and putting consistent at-bats together and trying to have consistent approaches."

Date / Time: Wednesday, May 16, 7:10 p.m. CT

Location: Kaufmann Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

TV: Fox Sports Kansas City

Radio: KCSP 610

Probable Starters: Felipe Paulino (1-1) vs. Tommy Hunter (2-2)

For more on the Kansas City Royals, check out Royals Review. Baltimore Orioles news and information can be found at Camden Chat, and all your MLB news is available at Baseball Nation.

Blaine Gabbert's Talk Of Security As Jaguars Starter Only Good For Spring

2012-05-16T12:30:16Z

Nothing is more dangerous for a draft pick who is not working out than a new regime with no ties to him. That's the fate before Blaine Gabbert of the Jacksonville Jaguars, whose new head coach Mike Mularkey (and staff) comes in with no input into the decision to draft Gabbert last season as the first round quarterback of the future from Missouri. While Gene Smith, the team's GM, remains on board, Gabbert certainly doesn't enjoy carte blanche while he learns at the NFL level.

Mularkey is saying all the right things now about his young quarterback, but there's no official games to play for several months. Talk at this point in the year is cheap, and training camp is another matter entirely. If the Jags are going to falter again with Gabbert at the helm, they have other options in house. Don Banks of Sports Illustrated sees through the spring talk:

New head coach Mike Mularkey says there's no quarterback competition between Gabbert and Henne, but that's what he has to say right now. Gabbert is in fragile condition after a brutal rookie season, and there's no reason to further shake his confidence. But all you really need to know is that Jaguars coaches have been working with Gabbert to re-teach him some fundamentals and hone his drops and balance in the pocket. That's not really what you want to hear about your starting quarterback as he enters year two of his career, after going 10th overall in the draft.

Certainly Gabbert will get a chance to be the starter, but he'll only be given that. A player with his skill set should be able to hold off mediocre competition around him. It's not as if the team maneuvered to grab another young quarterback. The road is still paved for him to be the face of the franchise for some time -- but that's only if he wants it. Mularkey will say the right things now, but it will come down to performance and only performance in just a few months. And that goes for any quarterback on the roster.

For more updates on the Jaguars, head to Big Cat Country.

Kansas State Has Its Sunflower Rival's Number In Every Sport Except Basketball

2012-05-16T12:00:39Z

Kansas State 20, Kansas 5. No, that's not a score from the baseball series between the two schools last weekend, which K-State won two games to one, by the way. What it is is Kansas State's record in head-on athletic competition against its Sunflower State rival over the past two years.

And if you exclude basketball from the comparison, the Wildcats' overall record against the Jayhawks is even more one-sided at 19-2.

In an article that appeared over the weekend, Kansas City Star staff writer Rustin Dodd looked at the athletic competition between the two in-state rivals in seven sports (football, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, volleyball, rowing and women's tennis) in the last two years (2010-11 and 2011-12). In men's basketball, where Kansas has been the class of the conference for eight years running and for many years beyond that, Bill Self's Jayhawks have won three of the four Sunflower Showdowns between the two schools.

Beyond the hardwood, though, and a two wins on the baseball diamond in four games this season, Kansas State has not lost against its rival from Lawrence.

This is a very disappointing predicament to Kansas athletic director Sheahon Zenger, who became the school's new AD on Jan. 3, 2011, replacing Lew Perkins. Zenger has said he expects Kansas to be competitive in all sports, not just the largest revenue-producing sports (football and basketball). Recognizing that the Jayhawks' football program had hit rock bottom, Zenger brought in Charlie Weis as the new head coach, with strong expectations that Weis will return the Jayhawks to a more competitive level and greater respectability on the gridiron.

And football is where Kansas athletic officials are placing their highest priority in preparations for the 2012-13 athletic year.

Dodd points out that the number that the analysis does not include numbers from track and field, cross country or golf, but the conference finishes in those sports have been comparable. The one exception to this was women's track and field, where the KU women finished second overall in the conference championships this past weekend. The K-State women were ninth.

It's bad enough to struggle against the other teams in the same conference in the sports outside of basketball, but when that starts to happen consistently against one of your traditional rivals, it's hard to have a rivalry, said a former Jayhawk athlete.

"At the end of the day, winning begets winning, and losing begets losing," Zenger said. "I don't think anybody wants to be part of any (athletic program) where you have an awful lot of losing. You want to have more winning than losing."

Follow Kansas State and Kansas sports all season long.

Keep up with all the news from the Big 12 and all of its sports teams on SB Nation Kansas City.

Royals Vs. Rangers Final Score: Mike Moustakas Homers As Royals Win Fourth Straight

2012-05-16T03:15:22Z

The Royals used some early offense and a solid start from Vin Mazzaro to earn a 7-4 win in Texas for Kansas City's first series sweep of the season, albeit a two-game series.

Mazzaro went five innings in the start, allowing three earned runs on seven hits, as the powerful Texas offense was held in check for the second straight night.

The Royals scored four runs in the opening frame, including a two-RBI single from Brayan Pena. Kansas City added another run in the second and Mike Moustakas hit a solo homer in the third. Texas scored three runs over the next two innings, but the Royals bullpen held strong, allowing one hit — a solo home run in the ninth — over the last four innings.

The Royals went 4-1 on the five-game homestand and have won six of their last seven games. They now come home for a five-game homestand.

Read more about the Texas Rangers at Lone Star Ball. For more on the Royals, check outRoyals Review. Also be sure to visit Baseball Nation for more news around the league.

Royals Vs. Rangers: KC Takes Early 5-0 Lead In Texas

2012-05-16T00:57:49Z

Looking to sweep a two-game series against the Rangers, the Royals have jumped all over Texas early, owning a 5-0 lead after two innings.

Kansas City took a 4-0 lead after the first. Billy Butler drove home a run on a 6-5 fielder's choice to give the Royals the first run of the game. Later in the inning, Brayan Pena hit a two-RBI single and Chris Getz followed that with an RBI single. In the second inning, Butler drove in another run with a double to extend the lead to 5-0.

Through two innings, Vin Mazzaro has given up two hits, but no runs.

The Royals have won three straight games and have not swept a series this season, even if this series is just two games.

Read more about the Texas Rangers at Lone Star Ball. For more on the Royals, check outRoyals Review. Also be sure to visit Baseball Nation for more news around the league.

Martin Rucker Saying He Is A Kansas City Chief

2012-05-16T00:03:19Z

Former Missouri Tiger tight end Martin Rucker has announced to the world that he is now a member of the Kansas City Chiefs:

Thanking God 4 another opportunity 2 pursue my dream. Thank u all 4 ur prayers and support. I'm a Kansas City Chief!! Good 2 b home!!
— Martin Rucker (@RuckerSouthSide) May 15, 2012

However, there has been no official word from the Chiefs saying that Rucker has signed a deal with the team. Just last week Rucker was one of 10 players who atended a tryout with the Chiefs, but he left among the others this past Sunday so that the coaches could evaluate those in attendance further.

If there there is a contract in place it is likely to be a one-year deal and probably as the third tight end. One connection that went Rucker's way was that he played with the Cleveland Browns when Romeo Crennel was the head coach there.

For more on the Kansas City Chiefs, be sure to check out SB Nation's NFL page, SB Nation Kansas City and Arrowhead Pride.

Rangers Vs. Royals Game 2 Lineup: Vin Mazzaro Is Making First Start Of The Season

2012-05-15T23:26:56Z

The Kansas City Royals currently are riding a three-game winning streak and if they can win their second game against the Texas Rangers then they would have their longest winning streak of the season.

The pitching has led the way for the Royals during their winning streak and on Tuesday night they are bring out Vin Mazzaro who is making his first start of the year, and so far this year Mazzaro has only pitched one inning which was back on May 11. Kansas City is having to rearrange their lineup due to an injury to left-hander Danny Duffy who is out for the season.

Here is Tuesday night's lineup:

Royals lineup:

1. Jarrod Dyson (L) CF
2. Eric Hosmer (L) 1B
3. Billy Butler (R) DH
4. Alex Gordon (L) LF
5. Jeff Francoeur (R) RF
6. Mike Moustakas (L) 3B
7. Brayan Pena (S) C
8. Chris Getz (L) 2B
9. Alcides Escobar (R) SS
Vin Mazzaro, P

Rangers lineup:

1. Ian Kinsler (R) 2B
2. Michael Young (R) 3B
3. Josh Hamilton (L) LF
4. Adrian Beltre (R) DH
5. David Murphy (L) RF
6. Mike Napoli (R) C
7. Mitch Moreland (L) 1B
8. Alberto Gonzalez (R) SS
9. Craig Gentry (R) CF
Colby Lewis P

Read more about the Texas Rangers at Lone Star Ball. For more on the Royals, check outRoyals Review. Also be sure to visit Baseball Nation for more news around the league.

2012 NBA Playoffs, Thunder Vs. Lakers: Game 1 Breakdown [VIDEO]

2012-05-15T20:23:54Z

Game 1 between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Lakers was all Thunder as they easily won 119-90 to take a 1-0 series lead. SB Nation's Ben Golliver goes deep in breaking down the first game of this series.

Golliver quickly points out the point guard situation, noting that the Lakers do not have the defensiver personell to slow down both Russell Westbrook and James Harden. If the Lakers can not slow down Westbrook and Harden then this could be a quick series win for the Thunder.

Some other red flags for the Lakers is their lack of bench play which the Thunder outscored 50-24 and multiple players lost their exposure late in the game when the lead was hovering around 30 points.

For more info on the Oklahoma City Thunder, go check out Welcome To Loud City and for more on the Lakers, go out and visit Silver Screen and Roll.