KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Kansas City Royals placed left-hander Scott Downs on the 15-day disabled Tuesday with a stiff neck. The Royals had to open a roster spot with the arrival of Josh Willingham, acquired in a trade Monday with Minnesota. Willingham was in the lineup as the designated hitter and batting sixth for the second game of a four-game series with Oakland. Downs, who had not pitched since Aug. 2, is 0-1 with a 3.48 ERA in 12 relief appearances with the Royals. The 38-year-old was signed July 6 after the Chicago White Sox released him. Larry Dierker Jersey .com) - Nicolas Colsaerts fired an 11-under 60 on Thursday and grabbed a 3-stroke lead with the opening round of the Portugal Masters suspended by rain. Nolan Ryan Astros Jersey .C. -- The Steve Smith era in Carolina is over. https://www.cheapastros.com/433o-jose-ur...sey-astros.html. Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist stood tall with 41 saves between the pipes, but it was defenceman Ryan McDonagh who got the first star of the game as he had a goal and an assist and now has two goals and four assists for six points in two games. Ryan Pressly Astros Jersey . A rainy day saw the former champion Djokovic handle 14th-seeded Frenchman Jo- Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (7-5) under the roof on the famed Centre Court. Jeff Bagwell Jersey . The team made the announcement after Saturdays 6-5 loss to the Cincinnati Reds. RHP Kenny Giles will be called up from Triple-A Lehigh Valley to fill Adams spot on the roster.On February 20, down 2-0 against the Americans with under four minutes to play, it looked as if the Canadian womens hockey teams dream of capturing their fourth straight Olympic gold medal had faded away. Team Canadas experience though allowed them to overcome the late 2-0 deficit and make history beating the Americans 3-2 in overtime. However, the comeback that happened in less than 15 minutes of playing time took years of experience and preparation. On the bench was Jayna Hefford. A member of every Canadian Olympic team since 1998, Hefford used all of that experience for the tense third period and overtime. "With six, seven minutes left in the third, I thought its not looking good, but that thought only lasted five seconds. Once we got that first one, I knew wed be fine." Hefford and Team Canada faced a big hurdle weeks before the historic gold medal game. Dan Church, their coach since 2012, unexpectedly resigned two months before the Olympics were to begin. Also, many veterans that were expected to carry a lot of the teams responsibilities were surprisingly not selected. "With Dan, we tried to ask some questions to get some answers, but we really didnt find anything. It got to the point where we realized the decision was out of our hands." Under new coach Kevin Dineen, the team spent ten days in Austria to regroup before they headed to Sochi. It was a time for rest and recuperation before the competition since every member of the team was exhausted both physically and mentally. Despite the challenges, the Canadians puut together a string of wins that led them to the gold medal game.dddddddddddd And the team didnt need any extra motivation when they saw who was at the other end of the ice. "There is no one youd rather beat then the Americans. Theyre the best team outside of us. Thats the team you want to play in any final," says Hefford. Although the Canadians were down a pair of goals, that first tally gave them a lifeline. The second goal tied the game, creating emotions for even the veteran players that thought they had seen it all. "When (Marie-Philip) Poulin got the tying goal, thats the most excited Ive ever been for any moment of a game in any moment of my career," Hefford says. "But in the third period and overtime, you try to contain your emotions a little bit." The team could let their emotions lose eight minutes into overtime when Poulin, who was the hero in Vancouver in 2010, scored again to give Canada yet another gold. "It still feels very surreal how that game dramatically turned. Its such a great feeling and its still hard to believe," says Hefford. Theres very little Hefford has not accomplished in her career but after a fourth gold medal, it would be tempting to go for a fifth in 2018. "After Vancouver I didnt know if I was going to keep playing. I felt really good and I thought I had four more years. But now its time for me to look at my options. Going out after a game like that would be perfect." There is nothing more perfect than going out on top of the hockey world. ' ' '