Spam & Fun » is marked the first time that two women from the Unit

ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Texas Rangers have gotten used to playing more than 162 games and into October. This time, they only got an extra regular-season game -- and didnt even get in the playoffs for the first time in four years. Texas won at least 90 games for the fourth year in a row, even with suspended slugger Nelson Cruz missing 50 games and opening-day starter Matt Harrison pitching only twice. But the Rangers are already done. "We played 163 games. In the past four years, our season was never over until 162 games were over," manager Ron Washington said Tuesday. "I think thats an accomplishment is itself. The only thing I feel is disappointment that we expected to do more and it just didnt happen." The first day of October was set aside for Rangers players to clean out their lockers instead of preparing for a playoff game. Texas (91-72) lost the AL wild-card tiebreaker 5-2 Monday night to Tampa Bay, the only other team to win at least 90 games the past four seasons. There was an empty feeling Tuesday in the clubhouse void of players. Texas, which hasnt won a game in October since going to its only two World Series in 2010 and 2011, won seven games in a row just to force the majors first wild-card tiebreaker since 2007. "Its been a lot of fun, until the end," second baseman Ian Kinsler said after the game. The Rangers were ultimately done in by a 5-15 slide to start September. That was after an AL-best 20-7 record in August for a two-game lead in the AL West going into the final month. Shortstop Elvis Andrus said what he regrets is the final month of the season. "Especially after the August we had," Andrus said. "It was disappointing how we got that bad, but all around it was a tough year for us." Andrus, Kinsler, Adrian Beltre and Alex Rios are among the hitters under contract for next season. Beltre had an AL-high 199 hits and Rios, acquired from the Chicago White Sox in August after Cruz was suspended, has a year left on his deal. Pitchers signed beyond that include major league strikeout leader Yu Darvish (13-9, 277 strikeouts) with fellow starters Derek Holland (10-9) and Harrison. The staff ERA of 3.62 was the best for the Rangers since 1983. But there could be some significant roster changes. Closer Joe Nathan, with 80 saves the past two seasons, is expected to opt out of his $9.5 million deal for next season and seek a multiyear contract. Cruz, who was reinstated before the tiebreaker game and went 0 for 4, is eligible for free agency this off-season. "Joe Nathan proved to everyone that doubted him what he was made of, and I certainly would love to continue giving him the ball," Washington said. "When you think about a Nelson Cruz, who wouldnt want a Nelson Cruz? Big heart, great teammate, but theres a lot of decisions to be made on our part and Nelsons part." Others heading into free agency include catchers A.J. Pierzynski (.272, 17 homers and 70 RBIs) and Geovany Soto, outfielder David Murphy, right-handed reliever Jason Frasor and right-hander Matt Garza, who went 4-5 with a 4.38 ERA in 13 starts after Texas acquired him from the Chicago Cubs. "We did everything you could do. Im super proud of everybody in this room for what they did, how they went about their business, who they played, how they fought through adversity," said Pierzynski, who would like to return. "We just came up a little short. It stinks. Its not fun." It was the second season in a row a September slump cost the Rangers. Last year, they lost the AL West crown on the final day of the regular season after being swept in three games at Oakland as part of a 4-9 finish that put them in the ALs first one-and-done wild-card playoff that they lost 5-1 to Baltimore. The 730 runs were the fewest in a full season for the Rangers since 1992. They were shut out 11 times, including Darvish becoming the first MLB pitcher since 1989 to suffer four 1-0 losses in the same season. "It was just a weird year on the offensive side," said Washington, 611-524 in seven seasons. "It just lacked consistency." Authentic Wes Horton Jersey . With the win, the Marlies complete a three-game series sweep of the Admirals and move on to the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs. T.J. Brennan added an empty netter with less than 25 seconds remaining for his second of the playoffs. Authentic David Mayo Jersey . -- The Chicago Bears have agreed to a one-year contract with cornerback Kelvin Hayden. http://www.cheapcarolinapanthersjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-sam-mills-jersey . Greece was on the wrong end of a 3-0 rout to Colombia in its first game of the tournament. They surrendered a goal in just the sixth minute of the contest, and despite some promising attacking play, failed to crawl back into the match. Japan, on the other hand, struck first in its match with Ivory Coast, with Keisuke Honda putting his side into the lead in the 16th minute. Authentic Kyle Love Jersey .com) - The San Francisco Giants delivered plenty of big hits to tie the World Series. Authentic Lorenzo Doss Jersey . UCI President Brian Cookson said Wednesday the commission will investigate allegations "that the UCI has been involved in wrongdoing in the past -- allegations which have done so much to hurt the credibility of the UCI and our sport. S-HERTOGENBOSCH, Netherlands -- CoCo Vandeweghe of the United States beat Chinas Zheng Jie 6-2, 6-4 Saturday in the final of the grass-court Topshelf Open to claim her first WTA title. In the mens tournament, third-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain recovered from a shaky start to beat Germanys Benjamin Becker, 2-6, 7-6 (2), 6-4. The 22-year-old Vandeweghe posted a beaming photo of herself on Twitter holding the trophy. "I got the first set and I thought to myself: one set to the good, one more to go," she was quoted as saying on the WTA website. "Try and get the early break now and keep the pressure on her." Vandeweghe entered the tournament as a qualifier and was playing in just her second final, after losing to Serena Williams at Stanford in 2012. With Madison Keys winning in Eastbourne, this marked the first time that two women from the United States had won titles in the same week since February 2002. Zheng, a grass specialist who reached the final four at Wimbledon in 2008, was unable to find an answer to the powerful serve of Vandeweghe, who had eight aces and won her first service 27 out of 28 times.dddddddddddd She broke Zheng in the third and fifth games of the first set, and again in the third game of the second set. The match was over in 70 minutes. In the mens final, Becker also dominated with his serve -- at first. He broke Bautista Agut twice in the first set and looked comfortable through most of the second, serving up five aces. But Bautista Agut took control during the tiebreaker. He began to consistently win rallies, nailing crosscourt shots and moving to the net. The Spaniard broke Becker in the third game of the decider and screamed on winning the final. Bautista Agut came into the final after a busy Friday when he played the remainder of a quarterfinal match against defending champion Nicholas Mahut, as well as a three-set match against Juergen Melzer. ' ' '