made a big push for the pennant

KANSAS CITY, Mo. Stan Musial Cardinals Jersey . - The game had been over for hours. Kauffman Stadium had gone dark. The roars of a sold-out crowd, which had rooted the Kansas City Royals to a sweep of the mighty Los Angeles Angels, had drifted away into the cool night air.A few miles away, at a bar and grill called McFaddens, the party was just beginning.Greg Holland had showed up, the All-Star closer watching with a grin as highlights of the game played on television. Salvador Perez and Jarrod Dyson, both integral parts in the Royals playoff push, posed with fans for more pictures than they could count. First baseman Eric Hosmer put down his credit card and for a full hour picked up the tab for hundreds of strangers.Its fun to get to enjoy it with the whole entire city. Its a special time, Hosmer said a few days later. I think the buildup to this, its been so long. Theyve been hungry for a winner. What were doing now has just been a blast.So much so that Hosmer didnt mind his credit card taking a hit — he shared the $15,000 bar bill with some teammates — after beating the Angels in their AL Divisional Series.We realize how bad the fans want it, how bad the city wants it, Hosmer explained. I think this team symbolizes the attitude of this city — tough, were not going to quit and were going to fight to the end. Its a pretty special bond weve created.Its a pretty rare bond, too, in modern professional sports.As the Royals prepare to play the San Francisco Giants in the World Series on Tuesday night, capping their first post-season appearance since winning the title in 1985, the relationship they have established with their long-suffering fans harkens back to a bygone era.Its reminiscent of a time when players lived in the same neighbourhood as working-class fans, because they too were working class. When they had to find off-season jobs just to make ends meet, long before million-dollar contracts. When you walked into the barbershop or the supermarket and would see Duke Snider or Red Schoendienst getting a trim or perusing the vegetables.Only now, players and fans are connecting over drinks at a bar in the trendy Power and Light District of Kansas City. Or theyre connecting on Twitter in 140-word bursts.Didnt hear about that one? Well, life-long Royals fan Nicholas Knapple didnt have the cash for playoff tickets, so he messaged a few players on Twitter with a plea. One of them was Brandon Finnegan. The rookie pitcher promptly hooked him up.Knapple found himself watching Game 3 of the AL Championship Series against the Baltimore Orioles with his girlfriend and Finnegans mom — and an entire section filled with friends and family of other Royals players.After the seventh inning, his mom told us we were going downstairs for the celebration, Knapple said in a phone interview. So after the game, we got to go down outside the clubhouse. We got to meet Danny Duffy, take pictures. It was unbelievable.About as unbelievable as the Royals post-season run.The happy marriage between the Royals and their fans was a rocky relationship earlier this summer. Third baseman Mike Moustakas was getting booed off the field. Manager Ned Yost had gone back to using an alias when he ordered at Starbucks. Even longtime designated hitter Billy Butler was starting to feel the wrath of a fan base that had been pining for success.Then two fans popped onto the Royals radar, and things seemed to change.One was Tim Grimes, a 28-year-old fan battling Stage 4 cancer. Doctors gave him a 5 per cent chance of surviving the next 18 months. He is spending it relishing every pitch and every hit.The other was SungWoo Lee, a fan from South Korea. He wakes up in the middle of the night, every night, to watch the Royals online. In August, he finally made it to Kansas City.Perhaps it was coincidence, perhaps it was fate. But at the same time their stories were told, the Royals started to win. They climbed out of a deep hole in the AL Central, made a big push for the pennant, and then qualified for the wild-card game.Then they rallied from a four-run hole to beat the Oakland Athletics in 12 dramatic innings.I think thats really when it all came together, said Bob Fescoe, the host of a popular morning talk show on 610 Sports in Kansas City. The players saw the way the fans reacted, and the way fans cheered for them and stayed through that entire game.In fact, they keep staying through games, until long after theyre over. When the Royals clinched their first pennant in 29 years, security had to begin ushering them out of the ballpark so the cleaning crews could begin their work.No matter. There was almost certainly a party they could go to somewhere.Good chance that some of the Royals were already there. Austin Gomber Cardinals Jersey . You can watch all the action on TSN and TSN GO beginning at 8:30pm et/5:30pm pt. Minnesota dropped the first two tests of this best-of-seven set at Chicagos United Center and was outscored by a combined 9-3 margin in those setbacks. However, the Wild righted themselves at home by taking Game 3 by a 4-0 count before knotting the series at two games apiece with Fridays 4-2 triumph at Xcel Energy Center. Tim McCarver Jersey . -- The Chicago Bears have agreed to a one-year contract with cornerback Kelvin Hayden. https://www.cheapcardinalsonline.com/764t-ken-boyer-jersey-cardinals.html . Walcott is available for Saturdays home match against Southampton as Arsenal looks to extend its two-point lead at the top of the Premier League. The Gunners are currently the second highest scorers in the league but Wenger insists Walcott will add something extra to his team.With the NHL Draft coming up on June 27 and free agency opening on July 1, discussions between NHL general managers are heating up towards a busy off-season. Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Double Coverage New Calgary Flames GM Brad Treliving is sitting pretty comfortably heading into Fridays NHL Draft. Holding the fourth overall pick, Treliving is confident he can improve his club one way or another - be it by selecting fourth or making a bold move. Treliving told the Calgary Herald Sunday that he likes his options in both scenarios. "Well look at anything. Moving up . . . again, what does it cost you? Does it make sense? . . . Whoever shakes out at four is going to be a good player," he told the Heralds Kristen Odland. "But you also cant be fearful of making a big move because you think it may turn out wrong," he added. "If you think it makes sense, you do it. You dont do it because, What if it goes wrong? You do have to have courage to do things." Back to Backstrom Teams in need of a veteran presence in net may have something to talk about with Minnesota Wild GM Chuck Fletcher. Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star Tribune wrrites that Fletcher "may be willing to retain salary and cap space to trade goalie Niklas Backstrom, who is recovering well from season-ending abdominal and hip surgeries. Harrison Bader Cardinals Jersey. " Along with centre Kyle Brodziak, Fletcher may be a prime candidate to make some moves leading up to, or on Draft Day itself. But Fletcher admits that its tough to get things done before hitting the draft floor. "Everyone calls everybody," Fletcher told Russo. "You dont see a whole bunch of trades the week prior to the draft. Its all about trying to figure out who your likely dance partners can be the week at the draft. Itll take a move or two to get the ball rolling, and then theres usually a domino-type effect. Were not there yet." Crow Nesting Marc Crawfords name has popped up as several teams have filled or are looking to fill coaching vacancies early in the off-season. It appears, though, that you can scratch his name off any and all candidates lists as he will be heading back to Switzerland for the 2014-15 season. Crawford is going to remain as head coach of the ZSC Lions of Swiss Elite League, the team announced via Twitter on Sunday. The Lions are the reigning Swiss title holders. ' ' '