Clan-Members » was in the stadium -- and celebrating a win --

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- When the Oakland Athletics open a four-game series on Monday night at Kansas City, they will be sans Billy Butler, who was released Sunday.Butler was a 2012 All-Star, hitting .313 with 29 home runs and 107 RBI that season with the Royals, who drafted him in the first round in 2004. Butler played with Kansas City from 2007 to 2014 and was the designated hitter on the team that won the 2014 American League championship.Butler became a free agent after the 2014 season and signed a three-year, $30 million contract with the As but hit a career low .251 last season. This year, he was relegated to mostly DH duty against left-handed pitchers.Butler had only a dozen at-bats since Aug. 17 and was in a 1-for-15 funk when released.I knew it was a possibility because I wasnt playing, Butler said. Its been like that all year. Theyre the ones that make the decision. I know that now that Cocos (Crisp, trade to Cleveland) gone, I was the highest paid player. Theyre not going to let guys making that much just sit around and not make a move eventually.Ive been in this game long enough to know that moves like these happen. Unfortunately, the last two seasons as a team it has not gone the way as expected. Your higher paid players end up taking the brunt of that because I was expected to come in to keep this organization where it was at.As general manager David Forst said this was the right time to move on without Butler.Its something weve discussed, Forst said. With a lot of the younger players here now, potentially more coming once Nashvilles done, the at-bats just werent there. Its time to move our focus beyond.Obviously, he didnt perform last year up to what we expect, and then coming into this year it was tough for him to ever get going. We made some moves this last offseason that took away from some of his opportunities this year. There were times, frankly, right before the incident with him and Danny (Valencia clubhouse fight) when he was swinging the bat well. He obviously still has ability. It just wasnt going to be a fit here.The As are 13-27 in their past 40 games and have dropped to a season-worst 22 games below .500 after a 3-2 loss Sunday to the Seattle Mariners. Overall, the As are 60-82, assuring them of a losing record in back-to-back years.Three other former Royals with the As are Brett Eibner, who had a RBI triple Sunday; Ryan Madson, a reliever who suffered the loss Sunday, and Valencia.The defending World Series champion Royals shut out the White Sox 2-0 on Sunday to complete a 4-2 trip to Chicago and Minnesota. They remain on the fringe of the wild-card race, but theyll need a great eight-game homestand against the As and White Sox to stay viable in the postseason hunt.The Royals Ned Yost is one victory shy of 1,000 in his managerial career.Win two series on the road, which was big, Yost said. Weve got to win series. Each win is crucial right now. It feels good when you match up against a guy like Chris Sale and end up on the winning side of it. Just keep grinding them out and keep winning ballgames.Eric Hosmer and Kendrys Morales homered for the only runs off Sale, but that was enough for Royals right-hander Ian Kennedy and the bullpen. Wade Davis logged his 24th save of the season.Definitely huge, Hosmer said to capture the series at Chicago. We needed this. We need every series from here on out, and every game is huge. Well head back home. We play good in Kansas City. Well see if we can take it a day at a time against Oakland and get things shaken up here at the end.Royals right-hander Dillon Gee will start the series opener, his 14th start and 30th outing of the season. He is 0-2 with a 6.39 ERA in three career outings, including two starts against Oakland.The As will start left-hander Ross Detwiler, who is 1/3 with a 5.06 ERA in five starts and one relief appearance since called up from Triple-A Nashville.Detwiler has faced the Royals once, on May 14, 2015, while with the Texas Rangers. He took the loss, allowing three runs, nine hits and one walk with three strikeouts in five innings.Stitched Patriots Jerseys . Jane Virtanen scored two, and Alex Roach and Elliott Peterson rounded out the offence for the Hitmen (40-15-6). Brady Brassart chipped in with three assists. Colton McCarthy scored twice, Brayden Point had a goal and two assists, and Jack Rodewald also scored for the Warriors (15-35-9), who were 2 for 5 on the power play. Patriots Jerseys 2020 . During the athletes parade, the 23-strong Ukrainian team was represented by a lone flagbearer in an apparent protest at the presence of Russian troops in Ukraines Crimean peninsula. https://www.patriotsjerseysale.com/ . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. New England Patriots Gear . The catch: It needs a lot of money, and it needs it fast. Fake Patriots Jerseys . -- Chicago Bears cornerback Tim Jennings was selected Monday to his second straight Pro Bowl, while guard Kyle Long made it after a solid rookie season.JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Raise a glass to Floridas defense. Maybe even the whole bottle.The 14th-ranked Gators used a dominant defensive effort -- maybe their best of the season -- to dismantle Georgia 24-10 on Saturday.The unit stuffed Nick Chubb, holding him to 20 yards on nine carries, and rattled freshman quarterback Jacob Eason. The Bulldogs finished with a season-low 164 yards -- about 239 below their average.Defensively, what do you say? Florida coach Jim McElwain asked.Playing just their second game in four weeks, the Gators won their third straight in the Worlds Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. It was Floridas 21st victory against the Bulldogs in the last 27 years.McElwain toasted his defense after the latest one.We wanted to try to make them as one-dimensional as possible, and the dimension we wanted was to try to make them throw the ball, he said. Our gap control in the run game was pretty spot on.The Gators (6-1, 4-1 Southeastern Conference) forced seven three-and-outs and stopped two fourth-down plays on Georgias final two drives.The biggest mismatch was up front, where Floridas defense controlled the line of scrimmage. Thats nothing new for Georgia (4-4, 2-4), whose O-line has been a target for criticism all season.The Bulldogs lost for the fourth time in their last five games, and first-year coach Kirby Smart fell to 1-6 in the series as a player and coach.McElwain improved to 2-0, including a win against his former colleague and close friend . Smart and McElwain worked at Alabama (2008-11) together, and the Tide went 48-6 and claimed two national championships with them as coordinators.Florida did nothing spectacular offensively, managing 231 yards on a warm, sun-soaked afternoon.People pick this team apart quite a bit and this and that, McElwain said. Guys, this is a good football team. The Florida Gators are a good team, all right? Ill go with these guys against anybody and well figure out a way to get it done, and thats the way they are in that locker room.The Gators scored three touchdowns thanks partly to solid field position -- Smart called his punt unit a thrill a minute -- and that proved to be plenty for the defense.Its just frustrating, Chubb said. We couldnnt really get things going.dddddddddddd I felt like it was always three-and-out and we werent getting in a rhythm or anything, so it feels pretty bad.THE TAKEAWAYFLORIDA: Remains atop the SECs Eastern Division, but the road to Atlanta stiffens with games remaining against Arkansas, South Carolina and LSU. Win them all, and the Gators will return to the league title game.GEORGIA: Continues to be a work in progress in Smarts first season. The Bulldogs played well defensively for the second straight week but had nothing to show for it.POLL IMPLICATIONSThe Gators, who moved up one spot in the Top 25 despite not playing last week, could inch closer to the top 10 . The Gators havent been ranked in the top 10 since losing to in-state rival Florida State last November.RETURN TRIPOakland Raiders coach Jack Del Rio was in the stadium -- and celebrating a win -- for the second time in less than a week. Del Rio, who spent nine years as Jacksonvilles head coach before getting fired in 2011, was on hand to watch his son, Luke, play . Del Rios Raiders beat the Jaguars 33-16 last Sunday. Oakland spent the week in Florida and plays at Tampa Bay on Sunday. Del Rio attended the game with his wife and two of his three daughters.WELCOME BACK, HBCRetired coach Steve Spurrier attended his first Florida-Georgia game in 15 years. The Head Ball Coach, who won the 1966 Heisman Trophy while playing for the Gators and later spent 12 years coaching his alma mater, watched the game from retiring athletic director Jeremy Foleys suite. New AD Steve Stricklin was there, too. It was Spurriers first time at the stadium since his final season at Florida in 2001. Spurrier, who stepped down as South Carolinas coach in 2015, is now serving as an ambassador to his alma mater.UP NEXTFLORIDA: Plays at Arkansas for the first time since 2008. The Gators are 9-1 against the Razorbacks, including nine consecutive wins since Arkansas joined the SEC in 1992.GEORGIA: Plays at Kentucky. The Bulldogs have won six in a row and 17 of 19 in the series.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '