stood in the center. It was then airlifted up and up on a

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- When the Kansas City Royals take the field Thursday against the Minnesota Twins, for the first time since near the end of the 2013 season, there will be nothing much at stake.The Royals, who have been in the past two World Series and won it all last November, were officially eliminated from the postseason Wednesday night. While they scored three runs with two out in the eighth to pull out a 5-2 triumph over the Twins, they were soon ousted from the wildcard playoff race when the Baltimore Orioles rallied with a two-run ninth to beat the Toronto Blue Jays.The team hadnt lost the fight at all, said Royals first baseman Eric Hosmer, who hit a two-run homer, his 25th, in the third inning Wednesday. It just didnt work out for us this year.A lot of ups and downs, a lot of injuries, but I still think there are a lot of positives to take from this year.He mentioned the contributions of rookies Cheslor Cuthbert and Whit Merrifield, proving what they can do at this level.I think it really gives us a lot of enthusiasm heading into next year and it gives us a lot more weapons, Hosmer said.Hosmer said it would definitely be hard to watch the postseason.Weve been right in the thick of things the last couple of years, but thats just baseball, Hosmer said. Thats how it goes. Were still confident in the guys we have here. Were still confident in our team. Were hoping we can get pretty much everybody back and see if we can make another run at it.The Royals need one more victory to have their fourth consecutive winning season.Meanwhile, the young Twins have 102 losses, matching the most defeats since the club moved to Minnesota in 1961. The 1982 club, also, lost 102. It represents the most for the franchise since the 1949 Washington Senators lost 104.When Kennys Vargas hit a two-run homer in the sixth it was the Twins first multiple-run inning in 11 games. That broke a streak of 106 innings with one or no runs. According to Elias, it is the longest such streak in MLB since the 1942 Philadelphia Phillies went 109 innings without scoring more than one run.Was it that long? It seemed longer, Twins manager Paul Molitor said. I know we had over a hundred innings, which is somewhat unfathomable in todays game to imagine you could go through a period offensively of not finding a way to put up more than one run in a given inning. I get that.The Twins are 0-9 at Kauffman Stadium this season. They have never gone winless in Kansas City since the Royals 1969 inception.Right-hander Kyle Gibson will try to get the Twins first win of the year Thursday at Kansas City in the series finale. Gibson is 5-4 with a 3.38 ERA in 10 career starts against the Royals, allowing 24 earned runs in 64 innings with 22 walks and 43 strikeouts.Gibson, a Missouri alumnus, is 2-2 with a 2.25 ERA in four career starts at Kansas City. Dont be surprised if catcher Drew Butera starts for the Royals. He is 4-for-5 with a home run off Gibson, while Salvador Perez is 3-for-25, .120. Alex Gordon is 9-for-25, .360, and Alcides Escobar is 10-for-29, .345, versus Gibson.The Royals will counter with left-hander Danny Duffy, who is 7-0 with a 3.43 ERA this year at home. Duffy, who has held left-handed hitters to a .183 average, is 5-1 with a 2.29 ERA in his career against the Twins. CHEAP JERSEYS FROM CHINA . - After leading the Saints to a fourth playoff appearance in five seasons, Drew Brees expressed confidence in the direction of his team and, perhaps more importantly, showed a willingness to listen to contract proposals if the team needs his help getting under the NFLs salary cap. JERSEYS NFL WHOLESALE . The Canadian squad, skipped by Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg, got on the board first with two in the second end, and followed that with two more apiece in the fourth and sixth ends. http://www.chinacheapnfljerseyswholesale.com/ . Hazard cut in from the left and scored with a swerving right-footed shot for ninth goal of the season, which proved to be enough for the victory despite Chelseas forwards again lacking a cutting edge up front. WHOLESALE JERSEYS FREE SHIPPING . -- Peyton Manning will have all of his wide receivers available for the first time in a month when the Denver Broncos begin their playoff run Jan. CHEAP FOOTBALL JERSEYS . Coach Mike Munchak says Fokou stretched ligaments in his left knee Oct. 13 against Seattle, which could keep out up to five weeks even though the linebacker didnt need surgery. Its almost game time in Rio, but first theres the pageantry of the Olympic opening ceremony.Always splashy affairs, the parade of athletes this time around will take place Friday night at Maracana Stadium with a country-by-country show of fashion, along with speeches, flag-raising and the lighting of the Olympic cauldron.For now, enjoy these moments from opening ceremonies of Olympics past:---LONDON 2012First there was the green of the English countryside, then along came the queen.Queen Elizabeth II parachuted into the stadium with James Bond, the one thats Daniel Craig. Craig played himself after a fictional trip from Buckingham Palace to the stadium. The queen did not actually take flight, FYI.More slapstick ensued when Mr. Bean actor Rowan Atkinson performed the theme from Chariots of Fire with the London Symphony Orchestra.Oh, and who lit the cauldron? Not David Beckham. He bowed out after failing to make the soccer squad.---BEIJING 2008Dazzling doesnt begin to cover it.First, more than 2,000 drummers played the Fou, a traditional Chinese instrument. They were followed by 10,000 highly rehearsed performers after giant Olympic rings sprang from the floor of the stadium. In all, there were more than 18,000 performers.There were fireworks, and more fireworks, and still more fireworks, including some that were computer simulated. Lots of openers have fireworks, but they were invented in China some 2,000 years ago, so theres that.Everything from the silk road to chanting disciples of Confucius was represented in this ceremony.OK, that was more than one moment, but this was a BIG opening ceremonyy.dddddddddddd---SYDNEY 2000Well, the Man from Snowy River scared his horse with the crack of a whip to open this opening ceremony, followed by a little girl who conked out in the middle of the stadium to introduce a dream sequence featuring huge jellyfish and other sea life.But the best part was the last torchbearer, who waded into water and seemingly lit a soggy, spaceship-like cauldron on fire as she stood in the center. It was then airlifted up and up on a set of tracks amid waterfalls and fireworks.Did I mention there were people on horses? Lots of them, including some who galloped into circles to form the Olympic rings.---LOS ANGELES 1984A dude arrived by jet pack. `nuf said. The Jetsons generation had been patient.---MOSCOW 1980This was the year of the U.S.-led Olympic boycott, reducing the number of participating countries to 80.It was also the year of the stackable human. Pyramids of gymnasts and dancers constructed towers, including one with participants all in white surrounded by a circle of other participants on the ground in pink.Another human construction came in yellow, with mad respect for the performers in the middle who had to lean out and hang upside down as the shape of the bodies fanned out.A childrens show featured legions of other humans dressed as brown bears dancing and prancing before even more legions of humans in white shorts danced and pranced on white-headed hobbyhorses.It wasnt real, kids, but you might want to NOT look at it on YouTube. ' ' '