deep throws. He has a 104.9 QB rating in the past eight games and ean he

DETROIT -- While the Detroit Tigers continue their playoff push, the defending World Series champion Kansas City Royals find themselves battling to finish above .500.Kansas City reminded Detroit and everybody else on Saturday that the Royals are, after all, the defending World Series champions. They scored five times in the ninth inning to turn a 4-2 deficit into a 7-4 win that brought them back above break-even at 78-77.For me, its extremely important, Royals manager Ned Yost said Saturday about moving above .500. This group has made history the last couple years and we still have a chance to do it.If we finish over .500, it will be the fourth consecutive year that weve had a winning record and thats only been done one other time in this organization.So we need to do everything we can do to achieve that because we feel next year, getting Moose (Mike Moustakas) back, getting (Lorenzo) Cain back, getting some big pieces back in our lineup, that were going to have an opportunity to be the first club in the history of the Royals to go five winning seasons.Its been a struggle here for us lately, but thats a huge goal for us.Detroit, which finished last in the American League Central a year ago after four straight division titles, is unlikely to overtake first-place Cleveland but expects to be in the thick of the battle for one of the two wild-card spots. The Tigers trail Baltimore by one-half game for the second spot.We just need to play well to get to whatevers next, quite frankly, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. Then anything can happen.Ausmus recalled his time as a catcher with the Houston Astros a decade ago.In 2006, the Cardinals were playing like crap the last two weeks of the season, he said. They won the World Series.They lost like nine out of 11. We swept them four straight games in Houston and they went in a tailspin.The Astros trailed the Cardinals by 8 1/2 games with 13 left but rallied to within a half-game with three games remaining. St. Louis hung on to win the division.Detroit will send a third straight young starter out Sunday to face Kansas City. Left-hander Matt Boyd (6-4, 4.16 ERA) is coming off a career best eight-inning start at Minnesota in which he allowed just one run and three hits with seven strikeouts.This will be Boyds second start against the Royals this season. He was beaten in his other start, allowing seven runs and eight hits in 3 2/3 innings. Boyd has started five times against Kansas City in his two seasons with Detroit, going 1-2 with a 7.43 ERA.Right-hander Edinson Volquez (10-11, 5.25) is on record as saying he would like to return to Kansas City next year. His contract is a mutual option situation.Volquez is 2-0 with a 4.05 ERA in three starts against the Tigers this season and is 3-4 with a 5.46 ERA in 10 career starts against Detroit. Dick Butkus Youth Jersey .B. -- The Baie-Comeau Drakkar took over sole possession of first place atop the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Thursday with their sixth straight win. Dan Hampton Youth Jersey . Vettel was 0.168 seconds faster than Red Bull teammate Mark Webber around the Suzuka circuit. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was two tenths of a second off Vettel. "The car balance is decent, but I think we can still improve," Vettel said. http://www.bearsfootballpro.com/Authentic_Khalil_Mack_Bears_Jersey/ . The Celtics closed out their first preseason under Stevens on Wednesday night with a 101-97 victory over the Brooklyn Nets, who rested a lot of their lineup including former Celtics Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce. Roquan Smith Youth Jersey . 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. Jim McMahon Bears Jersey . William Carrier opened the scoring for Cape Breton (6-4-2), but Andrew Ryan tied the game and Brent Andrews put the Mooseheads (8-6-0) in front for good with a short-handed goal at 13:49 of the second period. ASHBURN, Va. -- Running off the field after throwing for 375 yards and three touchdowns in the Washington Redskins victory over the Green Bay Packers, quarterback Kirk Cousins stopped and yelled right into the ear of general manager Scot McCloughan.How you like me now? Cousins said, rubbing McCloughans head. How you like me now?Its a loaded question.In leading the Redskins to six games in eight games, Cousins has 2,398 yards and 16 touchdowns with just four interceptions. He has 3,091 yards this season while playing on the franchise tag and wants a lucrative, long-term contract whether its from the Redskins or someone else.Hes made progression in every area of his game, and hes continuing to do so, coach Jay Gruden said ahead of the Redskins Thanksgiving Game against the NFC East-leading Dallas Cowboys. You can see it. Its `Eye in the sky dont lie, so to speak. ... The more comfortable he gets, and the people around him, and the system, the better hes going to be.We like where he is, we like where hes going, (and) hes going to continue to work, which is also why we like him.How much do the Redskins like him is the question. After not being able to negotiate a long-term deal, theyre paying him $19.95 million this season, and a second consecutive year on the franchise tag would cost $23.94 million.Thats in the range of what Baltimores Joe Flacco, Arizonas Carson Palmer and Atlantas Matt Ryan will cost against the salary cap in 2017, and Cousins doesnt yet have the resume of those established starters. Cousins is getting there, and he knows each game is a test.Im just always trying to prove myself and Im always being evaluated, Cousins said after outdueling Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. Ill always be trying to prove myself as long as Im playing this game.Cousins downplayed the grander meaning of asking his GM, How you like me now? But the 28-year-old has a history of being fired up in big moments, like when he screamed, You like that? after leading a comeback from down 24 against Tampa Bay last season.When Cousins gets asked about his contract situation, he calmly recalls a football lifetime of dealing with uncertainty.In high school, I played my senior year with no scholarship offers and had to prove myself to earn a scholarship, Cousins said Tuesday.dddddddddddd I went to Michigan State and played my senior year not knowing what was going to happen with the NFL. It wasnt like I was projected to be a high pick and had to prove myself there. I came here as a backup on a rookie contract as a fourth-round pick, didnt know what was going to happen, had to play that contract out and just prove myself. Here we are again.Cousins waited patiently to earn the Redskins starting job when he was drafted the same year as Robert Griffin III, but now isnt the time for patience. Urgency has suited Cousins well, and he has helped Washington rebound from an 0-2 start to get to 6-3-1 going into the showdown with Dallas.Along the way, Cousins has gotten better at extending plays, making better decisions with the ball and connecting on deep throws. He has a 104.9 QB rating in the past eight games and earning praise from Gruden for his growth.There are so many things that a quarterback has to do pre-snap that hes handling much better than he did when I first got here, Gruden said. Then his confidence to throw the ball and distribute the ball to the right people and not forcing the issue. His interceptions have gone down tremendously. Hes protecting the football in the pocket. Theres so many things that hes doing better that you just cant point to one.Cousins acknowledges that even though hell be 29 by the time next season starts hes still learning. But his veteran teammates see plenty of evidence that Cousins can be a franchise quarterback.Kirk, hes a winner, hes a leader, hes everything you want in a quarterback, said tight end Vernon Davis, who played last season with Peyton Manning. Each and every week hes getting better and better.Game notes Gruden said long snapper Nick Sundberg didnt participate in a walkthrough Tuesday. Sundberg missed the Packers game with a back injury and was replaced by Rick Lovato. ... WR DeSean Jackson (shoulder), LT Ty Nsekhe (ankle), DE Chris Baker (hamstring) and LB Preston Smith (back) were limited Tuesday.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '