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The Baltimore Orioles quest toward their first World Series appearance in 31 years starts on Thursday when they open up the American League Division Series against the Detroit Tigers at Camden Yards. Baltimore is back in the postseason for the second time in three years thanks to its first American League East crown since 1997 after going 96-66. The win total was the most for an Os team since they accumulated 98 in the year of their last division title. The Os had to overcome a pair of serious injuries along the way, as catcher Matt Wieters was lost for the season in June with an elbow injury, while promising third baseman Manny Machado was again done in by a serious leg injury that required surgery in August. Then as if that wasnt enough last years home run champion Chris Davis was suspended for the use of amphetamines in September. His suspension will keep him out of this series and he likely wont be available to the Os unless they reach the World Series. Still it didnt slow the Orioles down from an offensive standpoint, as they hit a league high 211 dingers, with Nelson Cruz leading the way with an MLB- best 40. Chris Tillman will make his first postseason start for the Orioles in Game One. Tillman was as good as any pitcher down the stretch, going 6-1 in the second half with a 2.33 ERA in 14 starts. Overall he was 13-6 with a 3.34 ERA. Baltimore was 11-3 in his 14 starts after the break and also went 20 starts of having allowed three runs or less. You know what? I think the only difference is the stakes are higher, Tillman said of his preparation. I take every game the same way. Theyre all important. There is not one thats less important than the other. As a player, I think between the lines, thats where were comfortable. So once the game starts and the bell rings, thats where were comfortable as a team and as a unit. Might have extra feelings before the game, be nervous, but if youre not nervous, you need to find another job, really. Tillman is also a perfect 3-0 in six starts versus the Tigers with a 3.58 ERA. Detroit, meanwhile, needed all 162 games before it finally clinched its fourth straight AL Central title with a win on the final day of the season. The four straight playoff appearances are tied for the longest active streak of postseason appearances in the major leagues. While as good of a story it would have been had the postseason-starved Kansas City Royals overtaken Detroit, it would have been a disaster for a Tigers team that was an overwhelming favorite at the start of the year and one that went all-in at the non-waiver trade deadline with the acquisition of left-hander David Price from the Tampa Bay Rays. Regardless, Detroit is trying to get back to the World Series for the second time in three years, as it chases its first title since 1984. Getting the call for the Tigers on Thursday will be reigning AL Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer, who finished the year tied for the AL lead with 18 wins, while recording a 3.15 ERA and setting career highs in innings (220 1/3) and strikeouts (252). I remember him saying at Spring Training ... to expect him to have a season this year like he did last year just wasnt going to happen, manager Brad Ausmus said. Well, he came pretty darn close. Scherzer was at his best in September, going 3-0 with a 2.48 ERA as the Tigers won all five of his starts, including two important victories over the Royals. He is a four-pitch pitcher, Ausmus said. Hes a No. 1-type pitcher. We certainly feel comfortable sending him to the mound. Scherzer has pitched to a 4.95 ERA in three starts at Camden Yards, but is 3-1 lifetime against the Os with a 3.92 ERA in six starts. These two teams have never met one another in the postseason, but the Tigers were 5-1 against the Os in the regular season. Curry Mvp Shoes For Sale . Selected by the Titans in the 2007 NFL Draft, Johnson rejoined the club last season after a five-year stint with Indianapolis. Ua Scorpio Running Shoes . "I was so nervous," Hadley said Sunday after winning the Puerto Rico Open for his first PGA Tour victory. "I did not eat well last night. http://www.underarmourstoreonline.com/. While he was away, it was the division-rival Baltimore Orioles conducting a little business of their own, scooping up Ubaldo Jimenez on Monday evening to a reported four-year, $50-million contract. Stephen Curry Shoes For Sale .com) - A chant of Zeke reverberated around AT&T Stadium before Ezekiel Elliott powered into the end zone for his fourth and final touchdown. Anatomix Spawn .Best moustache: How can we not give this to Lanny McDonald? Check out the duster for yourself.Well its finally happened. Ten retired players are suing the NHL in a class action lawsuit alleging that the league didnt do enough to protect their brains. Gary Leeman, Rick Vaive, Brad Aitken, Darren Banks, Curt Bennett, Richie Dunn, Warren Holmes, Bob Manno, Blair Stewart and Morris Titanic retained the law firm Silverman Thompson Slutkin & White and filed their lawsuit on Monday. This lawsuit is not a surprise, and most certainly is not a surprise to the NHL. The league is run by lawyers (Gary Bettman and Bill Daly) and its likely they have been anticipating a court action for some time. When I interviewed Bill Daly on my radio show in May of this year, I asked him if the league was concerned about the possibility of a concussion lawsuit like we saw in the NFL. This was his response: "Certainly, were aware of them, and aware of the industry in which we operate. You have to be cognizant of whats going on around you. Im a lawyer by training, so I follow legal developments and certainly thats a legal development...Having said that, I dont think litigation per se can direct your business strategy. I think its similar to what we were talking about before. You have to do what is right. Obviously, we feel there is an obligation on the part of the league office to make the game as safe as it can be without changing the culture of the game. Part of the attractiveness of our sport as an entertainment product is the contact nature of our sport. You dont want to take contact out. At the same time, if you can minimize injuries and make it safer for the players, you try to do that." On to the lawsuit. The key allegation raised by the players is concealment. The players are arguing that the league knew of the long-term neurological impact of repeated headshots and elected not to share that information with the players. By not revealing that information, players did not have an opportunity to make an informed decision about playing in the NHL. So the focal point of this lawsuit has less to do with the players knowing the risk, playing and complaining after the fact. Rather, the pivotal issue is whether the league concealed information. Do the players have a case? That is tough to say since everything turns on the evidence. However, this is not an easy lawsuit for the players. They will have an number of hurdles to overcome. First is the issue of causation. In order to get paid, the plaintiffs like Vaive and Leeman are going to have to show that the brain damage they suffered was caused at the NHL level. On the flip side, the NHL will point out that no one can say for sure what caused a players neurological condition, and even if it was caused by repeated headshots while playing hockey, how much of that damage was sustained while in the NHL and not in places like the AHL, WHL or Europe.dddddddddddd So what caused the damage and when it was caused become critically important issues. Leeman played about 660 regular season NHL games. He also played 357 games outside the NHL. Will he be able to make a convincing case that even if the NHL concealed information, his neurological impairment was caused at the NHL level? What kind of chance does Warren Holmes have of proving the NHL caused his damage when he only played 45 regular season NHL games while playing in 737 games outside the league? And what about Morris Titanic, who played just 19 NHL games. The league will also take the position that it didnt conceal any information. Rather, they will argue that there wasnt any conclusive science at the time and they had the same information the players had. Basically, they will say we knew what you knew. That being the case, the league will then maintain that the players were aware of the risk associated with playing hockey based on the science at that time, and agreed to those risks each time they stepped onto the ice. This legal principle is called informed consent (which makes sense since thats a nice way to describe it). The NHL could also argue that this lawsuit doesnt belong in court in the first place, but rather should go to arbitration. The collective bargaining agreement provides that issues of player health and safety go to arbitration and not court. On the flip side, the players could take the position that since this case involves fraud, it properly falls outside of arbitration and within the jurisdiction of the courts. So the bottom line is this: the players will need to provide good evidence showing that the league concealed the harmful impact of repeated headshots. If they dont have that evidence, they will have a very difficult time. On top of that, they will need to deal with the very tricky issue of causation. As far as next steps, it would not be a surprise to see more players join the lawsuit. Indeed, Vaive, Leeman and the other eight plaintiffs will not want to stand alone as there is strength in numbers. They will also look to make splash with a big name player. Ultimately, their goal may be settlement that provides players with some level of monetary relief very much like we saw in the NFL concussion lawsuits. In that case, the sides settled for about $765 million (however, the settlement has not yet been approved by the Court and any player has the option to opt out of the settlement and file his own lawsuit). On the NHL side, the league may look to have the lawsuit kicked out of court on the basis that it doesnt belong in court but rather at arbitration. This lawsuit is just starting and there is still a lot of ground to cover. Stay tuned. Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '