Allgemeines » to Attend Iraq Poll Meeting Iran says

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Wearing a gold robe and swim goggles, bearded right fielder Josh Reddick ran around the Oakland Athletics clubhouse guzzling beer as bubbly sprayed in every direction. A.J. Griffin grabbed anybody he could to dance with in the middle of the room. Manager Bob Melvin stood in the hallway and stayed dry for a while, just smiling and soaking up the scene. His T-shirt said it all: "We Own The West." Coco Crisp hit a three-run homer, Daric Barton and Jed Lowrie each had a solo shot and the As wrapped up their second straight AL West title while overpowering the Minnesota Twins 11-7 Sunday. "The only bad part about this is our clubhouse is going to stink for about two weeks," Reddick said. Oswaldo Arcia homered and drove in six runs for Minnesota. But the Twins were just the latest team the As turned into a footnote during another scintillating September run. The As clinched their 16th division crown and 25th post-season appearance when Texas lost 4-0 at Kansas City during the game. Sonny Gray (4-3) gave up four runs and seven hits in five innings for Oakland, calling it "one of the most nerve-racking starts Ive ever had." The As scored six runs in the second inning and one in each of the next five to set the stage for their own celebration. Evan Scribner struck out Josmil Pinto swinging for the final out. The As sprinted out of the dugout, jumping around in their gold uniforms to turn the infield into a blur. For the As, it was a far-less dramatic scene than a year ago, when they won the AL West on the final day of the regular season by beating Texas to complete a series sweep. "I think last year we surprised a lot of people," third baseman Josh Donaldson said. "I think this year were an all-around better team and we feel like we belong." This years post-season push -- sealed with a week to spare -- was less surprising but equally remarkable. The As had the fourth-lowest opening day payroll at about $65 million. They have a roster full of mostly anonymous and up-and-coming players. And their home is an old, dual-sport stadium where sewage has leaked in the clubhouses and the dugouts in one sickening scene after another. Still, the As emerged as the team to watch this October in the Bay Area while the San Francisco Giants -- winners of two of the last three World Series titles -- sank out of the post-season picture. Oakland has won four straight and 13 of 16 to move a season-high 30 games over .500. "I dont know how anybody could be surprised this year," outfielder Brandon Moss said. The As, who lost in five games to the eventual AL champion Detroit Tigers in the division series last season, are still trying to get home-field advantage. AL East champion Boston (95-62) currently holds the top spot and AL Central-leading Detroit (91-65) is trying to overtake Oakland (93-63) with six games left. "Last year, it was euphoria at the end," Melvin said. "We were happy to be there. Didnt mean that we didnt go into the Detroit series with some tenacity and expectations to win. But this is just a whole different feel this year. We really did expected to be here as a team." Melvin had refused to talk about anything related to the playoffs until his team sealed a spot. Even after guiding Oakland to consecutive division crowns in his first two full seasons, he deflected the attention to his players and let general manager Billy Beane bask in his "Moneyball" fame again. "Its been a relatively smooth year," Beane said. "We havent had a lot of crises, which means you dont have to see me a lot, which is perfect." After tearing down the plastic sheets and putting away the bubbly in the clubhouse when the Rangers won Saturday night, the As left nothing to chance. In the second, Cole De Vries (0-1) walked three straight batters with two outs before Oaklands outburst. Eric Sogard blooped a two-run single, Crisp hit his 22nd home run and Donaldson doubled to put the Athletics ahead 6-1 and whip the green-and-gold clad crowd into a frenzy. With the Twins batting in the third, word started to circulate around the Coliseum of Justin Maxwells two-out grand slam that beat the Rangers in the 10th inning to seal the division title for the As. Some players, noticing the high-fives and hollers in the stands, kept glancing at the manual scoreboard in left field. The excitement subsided briefly when Arcia hit a three-run homer in the third to slice Oaklands lead to 6-4. Then Maxwells slam was shown on the video board between innings, setting off chants of "Lets go, Oakland!" from the announced crowd of 30,589. Players shared subtle hugs in the dugout, saving the celebration till the end. NOTES: Only the Yankees (51) and Dodgers (27) have more post-season appearances than the As. ... Crisp joined the 20-20 club for the first time when he stole his 20th base in the sixth inning. ... RHP Mike Pelfrey (5-13, 5.34) starts for the Twins in their series opener with the Detroit Tigers on Monday night, while A.J. Griffin (14-9, 3.78 ERA) goes for the As in their opener at the Los Angeles Angels. Patriots Jerseys 2019 . -- Washington Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo is going to the Pro Bowl as a replacement for San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks. Wholesale Patriots Jerseys . The Rangers announced after Thursdays 4-2 loss to the New York Yankees that they would purchase Williams contract from Triple-A Round Rock. The 32-year-old Williams was released by Houston earlier this month after going 1-4 with a 6. https://www.patriotsjerseysale.com/. The team announced the defensive coordinator will not be offered a contract extension. New England Patriots Store . Hall joined Bengals teammates for a voluntary workout on Monday. Hes got his mobility back and is on schedule to be ready for the season. CINCINNATI - Bengals cornerback Leon Hall is happy with his recovery from a torn Achilles tendon and expects to be ready for the start of training camp in July. Cheap Patriots Jerseys . Louis still looking for a way out of Tampa Bay, the 38-year-old NHL veteran isnt showing his cards. Two Blasts Rip Through Baghdad, Killing 21 Two car bombs ripped through crowded Baghdad streets on Monday, killing at least 21 people and wounding 96, as insurgents step up their campaign to undermine the countrys U.S.-backed interim government and drive the United States and its allies out of Iraq. (AP) After 3-Day Fight, U.S. and Iraqi Forces Retake Samarra American and Iraqi forces in Samarra finished retaking the last insurgent-controlled neighborhood early Sunday, completing a relentless three-day push through this ancient city in a first step toward wresting control of important central Iraqi areas held by Sunni guerrillas. (NY Times) Rice: Iraqi Nuclear Plans Unclear National security adviser Condoleezza Rice said yesterday it is still unclear whether Iraq attempted to procure tens of thousands of aluminum tubes for a nuclear weapons program or a conventional rocket program, despite conclusions by the Senate intelligence committee and U.N. investigators that the tubes could not be used in any nuclear program. (Washington Post) How the White House Embraced Disputed Arms Intelligence Speaking to a group of Wyoming Republicans in September, Vice President Dick Cheney said the United States now had irrefutable evidence — thousands of tubes made of high-strength aluminum. Those tubes became a critical exhibit in the administrations brief against Iraq. (NY Times) Bigley May Be In Hands of New Group The British hostage Kenneth Bigley may have been handed over to another group of captors who are prepared to release him for money, his brother said today. (Guardian) 10 Insurgent Groups Unite A statement issued by 10 armed groups in Iraq announced that the groups were united under whaat they called the Mujaheddins Unified Command.dddddddddddd. The groups issued a warning for the withdrawal of American forces from Iraqi cities within one week, threatening to wage wide range attacks, close the countrys northern and western borders and destroy pipelines, bridges and railroads. (Elaph) Partial Vote Would Lack Full Credibility, Iraqis Contend A sampling of people across the nation rejects some officials notion of excluding violent areas. (LA Times) Post-Invasion Chaos Blamed for Drug Surge U.N. and U.S. officials are increasingly worried by signs of a nascent drug trade developing in Iraq, where smugglers are taking advantage of the continuing chaos and unguarded borders. (LA Times) U.S. Struggles For Hold On Iraq Highway Highway 8 between Baghdad and Najaf has become a gantlet of criminal and insurgent violence. (Boston Globe) Iraqi Kurds Fight for Independence At present, four Iraqi Kurds are members of the interim Iraqi Governing Council (IGC). Recently Iraqi Kurds have accelerated their efforts to fulfil their political objectives in Iraq. (Al-Jazeera) Iran to Attend Iraq Poll Meeting Iran says it will take part in a US-sponsored conference on election plans for Iraq due to be held in Cairo. But Tehran would have to study the details of how to take part and at what level, Irans Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said. (BBC) Polish Troops To Quit Iraq By End 2005: Kwasniewski Polish President Aleksander Kwasniewski said after talks in Paris that Warsaw wants to withdraw all its 2,500 troops from Iraq during the course of next year. (AFP) Anger, Confusion Mount In Paris Over Failed Mission To Free Journalists In Iraq Page 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 View Single Page ' ' '