the quarterfinals. Nikos Zisis made a 3-pointer for Greece with nine seconds left in regula

DETROIT - The Detroit Tigers will start this post-season just like last years: Max Scherzer in Game 1, Justin Verlander in Game 2.Manager Brad Ausmus announced the teams rotation for its AL Division Series, which begins Thursday at Baltimore. Scherzer also started Detroits post-season opener last year, not long before he was voted the American Leagues Cy Young Award winner. The right-hander went 18-5 with a 3.15 ERA this season.Hes been our best pitcher, Ausmus said.The Tigers have the ALs last three Cy Young winners in Scherzer, David Price and Verlander. Price (15-12) will start Game 3 in Detroit on Sunday, with Rick Porcello (15-13) slated for Game 4.It was a tough year for Verlander, who finished 15-12 with a 4.54 ERA, but his last couple starts were encouraging. He started Game 2 of last years ALDS against Oakland, then returned to shut down the Athletics in the decisive Game 5.Detroit has reached the AL Championship Series the last three years, and the Tigers won the pennant in 2012. They owe much of their post-season success to their starting pitching. Detroits starters have posted a 2.12 ERA over the last two postseasons, holding opponents to a .191 average.But that wasnt enough to win the franchises first World Series title since 1984.Generally speaking, pitching can make the difference, but you just dont know how it plays out, said Ausmus, who is in his first season as Detroits manager. Usually you feel like the pitching makes the difference, but then you have a game thats 12-10. We feel good about, obviously, our starting staff going in, but the bottom line is you dont know how the games are going to go.A star-studded rotation may appear to look great, but its no guarantee of success over a small period of time. That was already clear during the regular season. Detroit looked like a heavy favourite in the AL Central after acquiring Price from Tampa Bay at the trade deadline, but the starting rotation didnt exactly dominate, posting a 3.97 ERA since Aug. 1. Injuries and spot starts inflated that figure a bit, but even standouts like Scherzer and Price had their share of shaky outings.The Tigers won the division anyway, with Price pitching brilliantly on the regular seasons final day to help wrap up first place. Now Detroit returns to familiar ground in the playoffs. The Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals are the only teams making a fourth straight post-season appearance this year.Scherzer, Victor Martinez and Torii Hunter are among the Detroit players who can become free agents after this season, so its fair to wonder how much longer this group has to try to win a World Series a€” although the Tigers have been willing to spend big in recent years under owner Mike Ilitch.Its tough when you see your friends, whether theyre going or not, you dont know, Verlander said. But were focused on one task right now and thats to win a World Series, and what happens next year, happens next year.The last three times Detroit was in the ALDS, the Tigers advanced by winning Game 5 on the road. Verlander pitched the last two of those winner-take-all victories, holding Oakland without a run both times.The ultimate goal is to win it all. Ive got a lot of cherished memories and some bitter ones too, Verlander said. Hopefully this is the year. Its not going to be easy, it never is. Were playing real good competition, but I like the way this teams built. I like the way we had to battle through adversity this year and I like the way were set up. Cheap Vans Shoes Australia . It looked like being another miserable day for Moyes when Ashley Westwood put Villa in front from a 13th-minute free kick. But Rooney headed United level seven minutes later, and the striker netted his 16th of the season for the struggling champions from the penalty spot before halftime. Vans Shoes Australia . Speaking on Leafs Lunch with Bryan Hayes and Jamie McLennan on Thursday, Bernier said it was "very hard" at times being entrenched behind Jonathan Quick and is now excited at the prospect of getting an opportunity to compete with Reimer for the top spot with the Leafs. http://www.cheapvansaustralia.com/ . UCI President Brian Cookson said Wednesday the commission will investigate allegations "that the UCI has been involved in wrongdoing in the past -- allegations which have done so much to hurt the credibility of the UCI and our sport. Vans Shoes Discount . Kripps, of Summerland, B.C., and Edmontons Barnett used a terrific second run to move up two spots, putting the Canadian duo in medal contention with the final two runs set for Monday (11:15 a.m. ET, streaming live at cbc. Vans Shoes Cheap Australia . -- The Denver Broncos locked up a shutdown cornerback, only his name wasnt Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Royals had scored just eight runs during a four-game losing streak, and were preparing to face former Cy Young winner Zack Greinke and the power-packed Los Angeles Dodgers. Perfect time to end that slump, eh? Jeremy Guthrie pitched into the eighth inning, Jarrod Dyson drove in two runs off Greinke and the Royals held on to beat the Dodgers 5-3 on Monday night in their first meeting in nine years. "Dont ask me why we had success tonight," Royals manager Ned Yost said drily. Dyson, the Royals No. 9 hitter, went 3 for 3 and stole two bases. Salvador Perez hit a solo home run, and Lorenzo Cain and Alcides Escobar -- two of the players acquired by the Royals in the trade that sent Greinke to Milwaukee in December 2010 -- drove in a run apiece. It was an offensive outburst considering the Royals had lost three of their last four games by 2-1 scores, squandering solid pitching performances by their starting rotation. "There was never any panic," said Guthrie, who gave up two runs and seven hits in 7 2-3 innings to win his third straight start. "We lost a couple of close games. We recognize a couple things go our way we would have won a couple of them." Greg Holland served up a homer to Adrian Gonzalez in the ninth before earning his 22nd save. Hanley Ramirez drove in the other two runs for the Dodgers, who are visiting Kansas City for the first time since they were swept in a three-game set in 2005. In his third start against his former team, Greinke (9-4) was battered for a season-high five runs and 11 hits in 5 2-3 innings. He had allowed two runs over 15 1-3 innings in his previous two starts against the Royals, one with the Brewers and the other with the Los Angeles Angels. "I thought he was OK," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "There were a few balls where you could see where he was trying to go one place and it didnt end up there. I know a couple of those were to Dyson. I think some of the balls were trying to get to a different part of the plate and didnt get there." The Royals pounded Greinke almost from the start, Perez belting the first pitcch of the second inning over the wall in left field for a 1-0 lead.dddddddddddd Then with two outs, Escobar singled and went to second on a wild pitch before heading home when Dyson dumped a single into left field. Dyson made it 3-0 in the fifth when he scored on Cains single to right. The Royals finally knocked Greinke from the game in the fifth, this time after Perez started the inning with a double. Greinke fought back to get two outs, but Escobar hit a triple into the right-field corner and Dyson tacked on another RBI single to make it 5-0. That hit ended Greinkes night. As he departed the mound, fans showered him with a chorus of boos, clearly recalling how the right-hander once demanded to be traded from their team. "I was pretty rude on the way out. They have every right to be mad at me," Greinke said. "Its been awhile. Its been four years, so its been awhile. Theyve moved on by now and so have I. At least team-wise. The fans might be different." Meanwhile, those same fans were waiting to give Guthrie a standing ovation. The right-hander faced the minimum number of hitters through four innings, needing just four pitches in the second and five in the fourth. Gonzalez and Matt Kemp finally hit consecutive singles to start the fifth, but Guthrie calmly wiggled out of that jam. It wasnt until Miguel Rojas and Justin Turner hit singles and Ramirez one-hopped a double over the outfield wall to make it 5-2 in the eighth that Guthrie finally left the game. Wade Davis finished the inning, and Holland cleaned up the ninth to preserve the win. "Its a funny game. You go against a guy like Zack Greinke whos had so much success this year," Yost said. "We strung some hits together along with some outstanding pitching weve had the last five or six starts, its a big win for us tonight." NOTES: LHP Clayton Kershaw was the NL player of the week after his no-hitter against Colorado. He starts for Los Angeles on Tuesday against Royals LHP Danny Duffy. ... Kemp extended his hitting streak to 11 games. ... Guthrie struck out five without a walk. ... The Dodgers had won seven straight interleague ' ' '