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ANAHEIM, Calif. - Eric Hosmer got his souvenir home run ball back while he stood on the field for a postgame interview, Angel Stadiums silence broken only by a small band of blue-clad fans chanting Sweep! Sweep! Sweep!Hosmer savored the moment, realizing that almost nobody expected the unassuming Kansas City Royals to be collecting keepsakes and plotting playoff sweeps a few days ago.But with three extra-inning wins in four remarkable days, the long-downtrodden Royals have climbed from the depths of a 29-year playoff absence to the brink of the AL Championship Series.Hosmer hit a two-run homer in the 11th inning, and Kansas City took a 2-0 lead in the AL Division Series with a 4-1 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.Its a huge sigh of relief, and its a big swing for the guys, Hosmer said.Alex Gordon had an early run-scoring single and Salvador Perez added an RBI infield single in the 11th for the Royals, who became the first team in major league history to win three straight extra-inning playoff games. In its first post-season appearance since 1985, Kansas City is on a playoff roll a€” and the majors best regular-season team has not been able to stop it.Thats what the cool part of this has been a€” everyone has had their time, said Hosmer, who had three hits and scored two runs. Theyve had their moment when theyve made a big play or stepped up and did something big. A lot of the times, it was with our back against the wall. Most of the time it was with our season on the line.Game 3 in the best-of-five series is Sunday in Kansas City, where Angels left-hander C.J. Wilson faces James Shields.After two wins in the majors toughest ballpark for visitors, the Royals have the once-mighty Angels on the edge of elimination, largely thanks to a pitching staff that has limited baseballs highest-scoring offence to just three runs in 22 innings.The Royals finished last in the majors with only 95 regular-season homers, but theyve won back-to-back playoff games on 11th-inning shots over the right-field wall at the Big A.After 10 innings of intense baseball dominated by pitching and defence, Lorenzo Cain beat out a one-out infield single off losing pitcher Kevin Jepsen. Hosmer smacked a no-doubt homer to right field, setting off a celebration for several dozen blue-clad Royals fans in a sea of red at the Big A.Albert Pujols had a tying RBI single in the sixth for the Angels, but theyve been mostly helpless against the Royals. Los Angeles, which led the big leagues with 98 wins, has just 10 hits in the series a€” none by Mike Trout or Josh Hamilton.Only eight teams in major league history have rallied to win a playoff series after losing the first two games.There are some guys that right now arent attacking the ball where they can for various reasons. There is not one cure-all thats going to get everybody swinging the bat, Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. We havent done a lot of the things weve done during the season, and we put a lot of pressure on our pitching staff.Trout got a chance to help in the 11th after second baseman Omar Infante made a throwing error on Kole Calhouns two-out grounder. But the AL MVP favourite struck out against Greg Holland, finishing his second straight 0-for-4 night in his first playoff series.Going back to the regular season, the Angels have lost five straight games for the first time all season.This series is not over, said Pujols, who is 1 for 8. Obviously, you dont want to go down 0-2 and go to the other place, but anything can happen. Hopefully our bats get going. ... We just need to catch some breaks. If we do, well be fine.The Royals are the first team to play in three consecutive extra-inning playoff games since the 1980 NLCS between Houston and Philadelphia, which had four straight. They followed up their 12-inning wild-card victory over Oakland with a series-opening win on Mike Moustakas 11th-inning homer, and Hosmer kept it going.Brandon Finnegan pitched a hitless 10th for the Royals, and the 2014 first-round draft pick earned the win. Holland worked the 11th for his second save of the series.Along with more lights-out pitching, strong defence again was a huge factor for the Royals.After C.J. Crons leadoff double against Wade Davis in the eighth, Angels pinch-runner Collin Cowgill decided to test the arm of centre fielder Jarrod Dyson, who had just entered the game. Dyson threw out Cowgill at third after catching Chris Iannettas fly to left-centre.Thats huge. That changes momentum. That changes everything in a game right there, Hosmer said. Thats a big-time play.Two innings later, shortstop Alcides Escobar turned a tough double play after stretching high to glove an off-target throw.In a matchup of impressive rookie starters, Yordano Ventura pitched seven innings of five-hit ball for the Royals, and Matt Shoemaker threw six innings of five-hit ball for Los Angeles.TRAINERS ROOMRoyals: RHP Kelvin Herrera has a flexor strain in his right forearm after throwing just five pitches in Game 1. The reliever will be re-evaluated when the teams get to Kansas City.Angels: Hamilton went 0 for 4 with a double-play grounder to end the 10th, dropping to 0 for 9 in his first playoff series with Los Angeles. The slugger played just once in the final 22 games of the regular season due to upper-body injuries.UP NEXTShields started the Royals wild-card playoff win Tuesday, so hell be on normal rest. Los Angeles is hoping for solid work from the up-and-down Wilson. Charles Leno Jersey .ca. Hi Kerry, Love reading your column and loved watching your analysis on the TSN broadcasts!And were now in Round 2! Bruins! Canadiens! We know all about the great games of the past from the players, the broadcasters and the writers. Roquan Smith Jersey . Carey Price made 27 saves for Montreal (30-21-6) for his fourth shutout of the year and second in four games. David Desharnais added an empty netter for the Canadiens. Reto Berra stopped 25 shots for Calgary (21-28-7). http://www.officialchicagobearsfootball....d-jersey-womens. Both sides of the deal have formally announced acquisitions: TFC introduced Jozy Altidore as a designated player on Friday, while their counterparts announced a three-and-a-half-year deal with Jermain Defoe. Eric Kush Jersey . Returning to Davis Cup tennis, Federer cruised past Ilija Bozoljac, winning 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 in less than two hours. Federer faced little challenge from Bozoljac, who served well but still was no match for his Swiss opponent. Joel Iyiegbuniwe Jersey . - Pierre-Maxime Poudrier scored twice and added an assist, and Antoine Bibeau made 43 saves as the Val-dOr Foreur downed the Baie-Comeau Drakkar 6-3 on Sunday to force Game 7 in their Quebec Major Junior Hockey League final series.A brutal hit while having a punt blocked sidelined San Diegos Mike Scifres with a broken left collarbone.In came placekicker Nick Novak, charged with one of the most important roles in special teams. He hadnt punted since high school and barely practices it as a pro.Yet he was more than comfortable with the challenge.I can do it, Novak said after punts of 27, 33, 45, 51, 46 and 38 yards in the loss to New England on Dec. 7. I cant do it on Mikes level, but I feel I can certainly get the job done. The pressures not there, because Im sure the expectation is, just catch it and kick it and get it out. ... If you mess up, Well, he doesnt punt. If he does well, its more of a Wow kind of thing.There really was no pressure there.Ah, but usually there is tons of pressure on a placekicker replacing a punter in a game, and vice versa. The only similarities between the jobs are that both players make a living with their foot, and their specialties are critical to field position and scoring.Because there are so many differences in the mechanics of each job, rarely do the kickers and punters practice the others role.Puntings very linear, and your swing is more straight up and through the ball, explained Minnesota field goal kicker Blair Walsh. Kicking, youre coming around it a little bit more and youre worried about a plant.Still, as a pro, Walsh has studied what the Vikings Jeff Locke and other NFL punters do, and believes he could handle the assignment. He even spends some time on Fridays working on punting.You could use the similarities between the two, whether its locking your foot out or having an explosive motion through it, he said, adding that overdoing it must be avoided.Theres definitely similarities you could carry over to each position to make you successful at both, Walsh said. Ive been around it long enough where Ive seen a lot of good punters do the right technique, so you sort of emulate it a little bit in your mind.But I think the biggest thing would just be getting used to the live rush coming at you.Indeed, the rush to get to the punter is a sprint, entirely different and probably more dangerous than attempts to block field goals.While NFL coaching staffs and personnel people try to account for all situations, an in-game injury or illness to a placekicker or punter often falls outside their preparation. San Diego was extremely fortunate that Novak was so successful; the Chargers have a similar history because Scifres did the placement work in the 2011 opener when Nick Kaeding injured his knee.Thats also how Novak wound up in San Diego.Generally, though, its a desperate spot when one oof those guys goes down in a game.ddddddddddddI was 70 per cent in college, which is plenty enough to get you cut in the NFL, Saints punter Thomas Morstead said of his placekicking. But Id be a very serviceable backup, I would think, if they need me in a pinch.I can kick it a long ways, but whether it goes between the sticks, you know. ...Theres the rub.Theyre so different, but Im going to say its probably more difficult filling in as a field goal kicker just because theres not much room for error, Jets punter Ryan Quigley said. Punting, youve got the whole field to work with. Its like, when youre punting, you can just say, OK, were going to punt it down the middle and hopefully it stays in bounds and you get a good 40 yards out of it.Punters and placekickers find good reasons not to practice the other guys art. San Franciscos Phil Dawson, now in his 16th season making field goals and extra points, works on punting occasionally. He notes the more I do it, the worse I get.But he points out with a sharp jab that punter Andy Lee trying Dawsons specialty would be worse.Some teams even had other players as the backup punter or placekicker. On the Saints, its second-string quarterback Luke McCown behind Morstead. For Philadelphia, wide receiver Riley Cooper backs up placekicker Cody Parkey.Perhaps the patron saint of replacement kickers is Craig Hentrich, who punted for 16 NFL seasons. Hentrich was a standout at both jobs at Notre Dame, won a Super Bowl as a punter with Green Bay and played in another with Tennessee.He went 3 for 3 on field goals of 49, 34 and 33 yards in the 2003 opener after placekicker Joe Nedney suffered a season-ending knee injury. Hentrich hadnt made a field goal since 1995.Ive seen some punters, actually, step in and have good games kicking when the kicker went down. The most noticeable Ive ever seen is ... Hentrich, Saints placekicker Shayne Graham said. But he was also a respected kicker at Notre Dame in college because he did both, so he had the background for it.Nobody does both in the NFL anymore, except in a pinch.So if Quigley gets called on to replace Folk during Sundays finale, whats his philosophy?Shoot, Id tell them to back it up and put me out there from anywhere, he said with a laugh. Nah, thats the way I think because Id just crank it and use my leg strength. But who knows where its going?___AP Pro Football Writers Teresa M. Walker, Dave Campbell and Rob Maaddi, and Sports Writers Janie McCauley, Joe Kay, Dennis Waszak Jr., Bernie Wilson and Brett Martel contributed to this story.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Cheap Buffalo Sabres Gear Wholesale Calgary Flames Jerseys Cheap Adidas Colorado Avalanche Jerseys Montreal Canadiens Outlet Store Wholesale New Jersey Devils Jerseys Adidas Arizona Coyotes Jerseys Cheap Adidas Boston Bruins Jerseys Cheap Adidas Carolina Hurricanes Jerseys Chicago Blackhawks Shop Free Shipping Wholesale Columbus Blue Jackets Jerseys Dallas Stars Shop Free Shipping Cheap Adidas Detroit Red Wings Jerseys Anaheim Ducks Jerseys China Wholesale Edmonton Oilers Jerseys Florida Panthers Shop Free Shipping Wholesale Los Angeles Kings Jerseys Minnesota Wild Outlet Store Cheap Adidas Nashville Predators Jerseys Cheap Adidas New York Islanders Jerseys New York Rangers Winter Classic Jerseys Cheap Adidas Ottawa Senators Jerseys Cheap Adidas Philadelphia Flyers Jerseys Wholesale Pittsburgh Penguins Jerseys Cheap Adidas San Jose Sharks Jerseys St. Louis Blues Winter Classic Jerseys Wholesale Tampa Bay Lightning Jerseys Toronto Maple Leafs Outlet Store Vancouver Canucks Outlet Store Cheap Adidas Vegas Golden Knights Jerseys Cheap Adidas Washington Capitals Jerseys Cheap Adidas Winnipeg Jets Jerseys ' ' '