OAKLAND, Calif. Ethan Wolf Jersey . -- Trevor Bauer will try to send the Cleveland Indians to Texas with some momentum when he takes the mound Wednesday in the series finale against the Oakland Athletics.Bauer wont be pitching in the four-game series between American League division leaders that begins Thursday. The Indians have lined up Josh Tomlin, Corey Kluber, Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar.Bauers goal Wednesday: Take care of business against an AL weakling so that the Cleveland bullpen can be fresh for a series that could go a long way toward determining home-field advantage in the playoffs.The Indians (72-52) and Rangers (73-53) are in good shape in their respective divisions.Despite a 9-1 loss to the As on Tuesday night, Cleveland still holds a 6 1/2-game lead over the Detroit Tigers (66-59) in the AL Central.Texas, meanwhile, fell 3-0 at Cincinnati on Tuesday. The Rangers nonetheless hold a 5 1/2-game edge over the Seattle Mariners.At stake beginning Thursday is the best overall record in the AL, which not only earns the top team a shot at the wild-card winner in the first round of the playoffs, but also gives it the home-field advantage in the AL Championship Series should it get there.A loss Wednesday to Oakland (54-72) potentially could drop the Indians behind the Rangers at the start of their showdown. Cleveland and Texas enter play Wednesday virtually tied for the top mark in the AL.The Indians-Rangers series will end with Salazar on the mound, and that is a concern for Cleveland. He was bombed Tuesday for the second straight time since coming off the disabled list.They got pretty good swings at his fastball, Indians manager Terry Francona said. The hope is that he gets some repetition and gets back to the Danny we saw in the first half. It would certainly be helpful.Bauer (9-5, 3.88 ERA) enters Wednesdays game on the heels of a season-best, 13-strikeout performance against the AL East-leading Toronto Blue Jays. He tossed eight innings of two-run ball but did not get a decision in the Indians 3-2 win Friday.The California native will be in search of his seventh road win of the season. Only seven AL starters -- Texas Cole Hamels (9-2 on the road), Houstons Doug Fister (9-3), Detroits Michael Fulmer (8-3), Torontos Aaron Sanchez (7-1), Torontos J.A. Happ (7-2), Baltimores Chris Tillman (7-3) and the Chicago White Soxs Chris Sale (7-4) -- have reached that level.Bauer has never beaten the As, but he came close in both of his previous start against them. He allowed a total of four runs (three earned) in those games but didnt get a decision in either as the Indians were recording a 2-1 loss at Oakland last season and a 5-3 home win last month.The Indians will be up against Oaklands hottest pitcher, right-hander Kendall Graveman (9-8, 4.09 ERA).The 25-year-old has gone 8-2 with a 3.47 ERA in his past 15 starts. His seven wins since June 23 are the fifth most in the AL.Graveman has never beaten the Indians, going 0-2 with a 3.38 ERA in three career starts. In his lone appearance against Cleveland this year, he gave up four runs (three earned) in 6 1/3 innings during a 5-3 loss at Progressive Field on July 29.The As will be looking for more offensive fireworks from Danny Valencia, who started for the first time in three games Tuesday and contributed a single and a double to the 9-1 win.It was his seventh consecutive start with two or more hits.When youre playing big-league games, you have to play hard, Valencia said of his concentration level in the wake of his clubhouse fight with teammate Billy Butler on Friday. You cant focus on those (negative) things. Youve got to move past that. Play the game hard, and good things happen. Torrey Smith Jersey . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. Jared Norris Jersey . But what about the officials? Every sport has officials and they also have stories about hard work and sacrifice but their accomplishments are seldom recognized by anyone outside their inner circle. http://www.cheappanthersjerseyselite.com...-elliott-jersey . Gather a group of friends, or find a league to join online, draft your team, set your lineup and compete in a number of different formats. The Southern California teams of the mid-2000s were one of the greatest college football dynasties ever seen.Arguably the sports coolest as well.In the 80-year history of The Associated Press college football poll, no team has had a longer uninterrupted run at No. 1 than coach Pete Carrolls Trojans.USC set a record by going 33 straight weeks as No. 1 from 2003-05. The Trojans werent just the best team in college football, they did it with style, thanks to the laid-back Carroll leading charismatic superstars like quarterback Matt Leinart and running back Reggie Bush to victory after victory.In the process, USC pulled off a rare feat: Becoming a college team that captivated Los Angeles, which usually fawns over its professional teams like the NBAs Lakers or MLBs Dodgers.We were kind of the pride and joy of that era and that time period and it was just a lot of fun, Bush said. We played well, we worked our butts off. We earned everything that we accomplished.USCs run at No. 1 ended in the 2006 Rose Bowl, which was also one of the best games of the decade. Texas -- led by coach Mack Brown and quarterback Vince Young -- topped the Trojans 41-38 in a back-and-forth thriller.The decade started with Oklahomas last national title in 2000 and ended with Alabamas undefeated championship run under Nick Saban in 2009. In between was USCs dominance and plenty of controversy, with the college game awkwardly lurching toward what would become the College Football Playoff in 2014.The Bowl Championship Series was created in 1998 with the idea of selecting the top two teams to compete for the national title and it didnt take long for the new system to show its weakness.In 2003, LSU beat Oklahoma in the Sugar Bowl to win the BCS title while USC beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl and stayed at No. 1 in the AP poll, providing the sports last split national champion.In 2004, more controversy ensued when USC, Oklahoma, Auburn, Utah and Boise State all went through the regular season undefeated. The BCS national title matchup, which in those days was partially decided by the AP poll, went to USC and Oklahoma while the other three were left out. Auburn finished at No. 3.I dont know if we could have beaten USC, Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said. But I sure wanted to try.After the season, the AP aasked for its poll to be removed from the BCS formula because of the scrutiny on individual voters rankings, which are made public. Panthers Jerseys Sale. Starting in 2005, the BCS would use the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll and Harris poll in its decision-making process.Tuberville said it was obviously frustrating to be left out of the title game in 2004, but he believes the controversy was a much-needed impetus to eventually ending the season with a four-team playoff.I think it opened the eyes of a lot of people that this couldnt happen again, Tuberville said.LSUs success in 2003 and Auburns undefeated run in 2004 was the start of an unprecedented run of dominance for the Southeastern Conference. The league won the last four national titles of the decade, with Florida winning in 2006 and 08, LSU in 07 and Alabama in 09.More schools in the SEC, I think more than other leagues at least, believe theyre going to win the national championship, Tuberville said. And they have the facilities, the mindset and the recruiting to make it happen.BEST PROGRAMSTexas appeared in 99.4 percent of all polls taken.Florida, 92.77 percentOhio State, 91.57 percentBEST RIVALRYThere were a lot of good ones in the 2000s, but none better than the Red River Showdown. The annual Texas-Oklahoma rivalry game in Dallas decided the Big 12 more often than not. Both teams were nationally ranked in nine of the ten meetings. Oklahoma won the first five from 2000-04 but Texas bounced back by winning four of the last five. The Sooners and Longhorns combined to make six BCS title game appearances.MAIN TAKEAWAYCollege footballs march to a playoff system coincides with the rise of the Southeastern Conference in the latter half of the decade. Alabamas Nick Saban solidifies his spot among the all-time great coaches with an undefeated run to a national title in 2009. Though several traditional powers have a good decade, nouveau power such as Virginia Tech, TCU, Oregon and Boise State become contenders.-----AP freelance reporter Mark Ludwiczak in contributed to this story.-----Follow David Brandt on Twitter: www.twitter.com/davidbrandtAP . AP College Football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org Wholeslae Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Cheap College Jerseys Cheap Football Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Cheap Baseball Jerseys ' ' '