well Trevor Siemian performed in his first few weeks as a starting quarterback in the NFL while reverential toward a defense that cont

A look at whats happening all around the majors Thursday:---CHAMPAGNE ON ICEChasing their first World Series championship since 1908, the Chicago Cubs are beginning to clear some hurdles along the way. After clinching a playoff spot Wednesday, the Cubs can wrap up their first NL Central title since 2008 with a win at home over Milwaukee or a St. Louis loss in San Francisco. Chicago has the best record in the majors at 93-52.LETS GET WILDAll-Star arms are on the mound at AT&T Park for the opener of a critical, four-game series between NL wild-card contenders. Adam Wainwright (11-8, 4.45 ERA) starts for the Cardinals against Johnny Cueto (15-5, 2.90) and the skidding Giants, just swept at home by San Diego. San Francisco leads the wild-card race by a half-game over the Mets, with St. Louis another half-game back.BUMPY ROADThe path to the playoffs is about to get a lot tougher for the Yankees. New York begins a rugged road trip when Masahiro Tanaka (13-4, 3.04 ERA) starts at Fenway Park against Red Sox lefty Eduardo Rodriguez (2-7, 4.70). The Yankees play four games in Boston, three at Tampa Bay and four in Toronto on an 11-game trek that matches their longest in 10 seasons. New York has dropped three of four and is two games behind Toronto for the second AL wild card.UH, OHDesperately trying to stay in the wild-card hunt, the Houston Astros are hoping Jose Altuves injury isnt too serious. A top contender for AL MVP, Altuve left Wednesday nights game against Texas with right oblique discomfort. The star second baseman began the night leading the league in hitting with a .340 average to go with 24 home runs, 94 RBI, 27 stolen bases and 99 runs.HOT CORNERToronto third baseman Josh Donaldson is waiting for results of an MRI on his sore right hip. Last years AL MVP has missed three straight games but said he hopes to play in the series opener at the Los Angeles Angels. J.A. Happ (18-4) starts for the slumping Blue Jays, who have lost seven of 10. They are three games behind first-place Boston in the AL East and hold a slim lead for the leagues second wild card.PERFECT ENCOREDodgers lefty Rich Hill (12-3, 1.80 ERA) starts at last-place Arizona as Los Angeles continues its 10-game trip with a five-game lead in the NL West over San Francisco. Hill has won nine straight decisions, and was pulled with a perfect game in progress after seven innings at Miami in his most recent outing because of concerns about a recurring blister.Aaron Loup Jersey . Hey!" The lower tier of the School End of Queens Park Rangers Loftus Road was packed solid with a very festive-sounding Chelsea choral section in this particular part of South Africa Road London, W12. Ian Kinsler Padres Jersey . -- Sergey Tolchinksy scored his second goal of the game 3:56 into overtime as the Sault Ste. http://www.padressale.com/padres-franchy-cordero-jersey/ . Now, correct me if Im wrong but I saw one official distinctly pointing at the net indicating a good goal but after an inconclusive review they overturned the goal. Shouldnt the ruling on the ice (good goal) stand after an inconclusive review? Why was this overturned? James Veaudry Pembroke, ON -- Hey Kerry, Youll get a lot of these, but why was the Montreal goal against Nashville Saturday night overturned? Eller puts the puck on net and the on ice ruling from the ref behind the net is a Montreal goal. Matt Strahm Jersey . LOUIS -- Roman Polak was celebrating even before Alexander Steen scored the winning goal in Saturdays 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Fernando Tatis Jr. Jersey . Woodson said during a radio interview Thursday that the Knicks Carmelo Anthony doesnt get the same calls as other superstars.HOUSTON -- Even with the attention sure to focus squarely on current Houston (and former Denver) quarterback Brock Osweiler, the most pressing concern for the Broncos in advance of their showdown with the Texans on Monday night is regaining the momentum that carried them through an undefeated start by Week 4.The league went from moderately surprised to wholly accepting of the Broncos quick dash from the starting gate, simultaneously stunned by how well Trevor Siemian performed in his first few weeks as a starting quarterback in the NFL while reverential toward a defense that continued to pound opponents into submission in a manner matching that from last seasons run to the Super Bowl championship.But consecutive losses to the Falcons at home and the Chargers on the road in a five-day span wiped a bit of the shine off the Broncos (4-2). Almost as hastily as observers acknowledged the Broncos power following their 27-7 win over the Buccaneers on Oct. 2, the tables have turned to point out their chinks in the armor.The last two games for us looked a lot alike unfortunately, said Broncos coach Gary Kubiak, who is back following a one-game illness hiatus. Very slow starting football games. We corrected ourselves. Defensively played well in the second half. Offensively weve been really struggling up front. Weve got to play better.As is to be expected of a team with a championship pedigree, the Broncos have focused their attention of self-improvement, discussing accountability and communication as the pillars for reconstructing a winning ship. From a technical standpoint the Broncos could stand to do a better job of running the ball, something they did with expertise while beating the Panthers and Colts to open the season.The Broncos amassed 282 yards and three touchdowns on the ground in recording those opening two victories. In the four contests since theyve misplaced that efficiency, going from 4.7 yards per carry in Weeks 1 and 2 to just 3.3 yards per carry in the four subsequent games, totaling 309 yards and one score on 95 rushes.C.J. Anderson, the Broncos leading rusher with 330 yards and three touchdowns on 94 carries, and the offensive line will have an opportunity to rediscover their stride against the Texans, who featuree the 29th-ranked rushing defense in the NFL.dddddddddddd.The last four weeks, you definitely dont want to put what we put on tape -- especially the last two weeks, Anderson said. Its a collective thing.Us as playmakers, we have to find a way to make more plays. Myself, ... I have to find a way to step out of more tackles just to make those big plays.Of course Osweiler will serve as the main attraction at Sports Authority Field at Mile High. Osweiler attempted 30 passes over three seasons off the Broncos bench before finally earning playing time last season, parlaying a 5-2 record as a starter into $37 million guaranteed from the Texans as a free agent this past offseason.Statistically, Osweiler has been inferior to Siemian, who ultimately won the job that was giftwrapped for Osweiler once Peyton Manning retired. And, like the Broncos, the Texans are leaning on the running game to stabilize a shaky offense.Running back Lamar Miller who, like Osweiler, signed with the Texans as a free agent, rushed for a season-high 149 yards and a touchdown against the Colts last Sunday night. He is third in the AFC in rushing with 520 yards and cemented his standing as the focal point for the Texans with his breakthrough performance in their 26-23 overtime win.We had eight plays over 10 yards -- a couple of them that got called back, too, Texans offensive coordinator George Godsey said. When youre in space and you get past that first level, making that next defender miss. He did that quite a few times. Some of those big plays over 15 yards were not only just the receivers downfield but also him creating some extra lanes there to get a few more extra yards.But no matter the contributions of Anderson or Miller or the respective run defenses, all eyes will focus on Osweiler. No amount of deflection will change that.Bottom line Im going to treat this game no different than any other game, Osweiler said. Im going to prepare the same way, Im going to prepare extremely hard. Im going to go out and have a great week of practice and Im going to understand the challenge ahead of us, but Ill look forward to that challenge. ' ' '