SEATTLE -- Seattle Mariners starter Felix Hernandez hasnt gotten to pitch in many truly meaningful games in his impressive career, having never been to the postseason, and that wont change Sunday afternoon.A game that looked like it might carry more weight than any of Hernandezs 358 previous starts became painfully, familiarly irrelevant when the Mariners lost to Oakland on Saturday night.That loss officially eliminated Seattle (86-74) from wild-card contention and led to another meaningless 162nd game of the season.Well play hard, disappointed Seattle manager Scott Servais said after Saturdays 9-8 loss to Oakland in a 10-inning classic. I expect us to win the ballgame. ... Well give a good effort, no doubt.But the Mariners are human, so forgive them if its hard to bounce back from an emotional game that effectively ended Seattles postseason hopes.It was a great run, slugger Nelson Cruz lamented after the loss. Ive played a lot of games (during an 11-year career), and it was an amazing run.Seattles final gasp came with two comebacks in the late innings. Cruz delivered a two-run homer that tied the score 7-7 in the seventh, then defensive replacement Ben Gamel came through with an RBI single to tie it again at 8-8 in the eighth.Only after Oaklands Joey Wendle pushed across the go-ahead run with an RBI double in the top of the 10th and the Mariners stranded Gamel on third base with a game-ending flyout did the never-say-die season take its final breath.We did everything we could to extend the season, Servais said afterward.The dramatic win didnt do anything for Oaklands postseason prospects -- the As have been out of realistic contention for most of the past few weeks -- but manager Bob Melvin said the way his young team was able to hold off the desperate Mariners was a good sign for the growth of a team in full rebuilding mode.This is really going to serve (the players) well in the future, knowing that they can play in this type of atmosphere, Melvin said.For Hernandez, whose spot in the rotation happened to line up with what may have been a make-or-break game in the season finale, its just another meaningless October start.The only time Hernandez has taken the mound this late in the season with chips still on the table came two years ago when he went into the final day of the year with a shot at giving Seattle a playoff berth and dominated for four innings.After the fourth, word got out that the As had just finished a playoff-clinching win in another part of the country, leaving Hernandez and the Mariners without any kind of incentive.Hernandez pitched another inning before coming off to a huge ovation in another lost season.This time around, he wont have nearly as much adrenaline. Once again, the Mariners are playing for pride.Our guys will show up and play, Servais said. Itll be a little weird. Weve played a lot of big games over the past few weeks. Weve had four or five times when (reporters) said: If you dont win today, youre done. And we won them all.Until Saturday night. Air Max 270 NZ Cheap . The return match will take place next Wednesday. Udinese leads Fiorentina 2-1 in the other semifinal. Napoli staged a second-half comeback from two goals down after Gervinhos opener and a stunning strike from Kevin Strootman. Wholesale Nike Shoes NZ Online . Takahashi, who had a 10-point lead after the short program, received 268.31 points after the free skate to finish 15 points ahead of second-place Nobunari Oda. http://www.airmax270outletnz.com/ . Roman Josi had a goal and an assist to lead the Predators to a 4-1 victory over the Dallas Stars on Monday night. Cheap Air Max NZ . The giant slalom world champion slipped during her first run in the morning, landing on her back and then twisting forward before getting her leg caught in the protective material on the side of the slope. Wholesale Air Max 270 NZ . Inter president Erick Thohir says in a club statement on Wednesday that Vidic is "one of the worlds best defenders and his qualities, international pedigree, and charisma will be an asset. Christian McCaffrey is done playing college football even though Stanford has one more game.The star running back wants to prepare for the draft and said on Twitter on Monday he will not play in the Sun Bowl. The No. 16 Cardinal (9-3) face North Carolina (8-4) on Dec. 30 in El Paso, Texas.Very tough decision, but I have decided not to play in the Sun Bowl so I can begin my draft prep immediately, McCaffrey said. He thanked his teammates for their support. It means a lot to me. Go Cardinal!Stanford receiver Trenton Irwin posted on Twitter: The whole team supports (at)CMccaffrey5 in everything and anything. Hes been a leader to this team through the easy times and tough times.McCaffrey is the second prominent player to make such a decision for the same reason. LSU running back Leonard Fournette has said he will not play in the Citrus Bowl.I would do anything to play one more time with my brothers in that scarlet and gray, Dallas Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott posted on Twitter about players sitting out bowl games.McCaffrey said last month he would be skipping his senior season to enter the NFL draft. He was the Heisman Trophy runner-up in 2015 as a sophomore when he set the NCAA record for all-purpose yards in a season.For three years Christian has not only been a great player, but a great teammate as well, Stanford coach David Shaw said in a statement. We wish him great success at the next level, as we continue our preparation for the Sun Bowl.This season, McCaffrey missed a game against Notre Dame with an undisclosed injury, but finished the season strong. He had at least 135 yards rushing in his final five games and finished the season with 1,603 yards on the ground and 13 touchdowns.I dont think it takes away from the fact weve still got two pretty good football teams that are going to play, Sun Bowl executive director Bernie Olivas said. Yeah, it would have been great to have a prolific runner llike Christian McCaffrey going against a prolific passer like (North Carolina quarterback) Mitch Trubisky, but I totally understand where hes coming from.dddddddddddd I still hope he makes the trip and enjoys the festivities we have for the teams.Trubisky, a junior, is still considering whether to come back for another college season. He would be one of the top quarterback prospects in the draft if he does leave early.I think its smart on their part, because its different when youre a running back and youre taking all the shots. So for them to just prep for the NFL, I respect it because theyre making the decision thats best for them in their career, Trubisky said. Just based on what Im going through with my decision, I know they just didnt make that decision. Theres probably a lot of thought process that goes in behind that.The 6-foot, 200-pound McCaffrey has been one of the busiest ball carriers in college football over the last two seasons. He has 672 touches from scrimmage (590 rushes, 82 receptions) and another 76 kick and punt returns.With McCaffrey gone, Bryce Love will likely get most of the carries for Stanford against North Carolina. The sophomore from Wake Forest, North Carolina, ran for 664 yards and 7.4 per carry this season. He had 129 yards and a touchdown against Notre Dame, when McCaffrey was out.Theyre not going to change what they do, North Carolina coach Larry Fedora said about Stanford. Theyre going to run the ball and pound it at you and play-action pass you.---Contributing to this report were AP sports writers Aaron Beard in Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Steve Megargee in Knoxville, Tennessee; and Josh Dubow in Oakland, California.---Follow Ralph D. Russo at www.Twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP---For more college football coverage: http://collegefootball.ap.org/ ' ' '