not just talking about him as a football player. When you look back

OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Oakland Athletics are tired of squandering chances, especially in late September and on a night Sonny Gray more than earned a positive result. Gordon Beckham homered for the division champion Los Angeles Angels, who dropped the As into a tie for the top AL wild card with a 2-0 win Tuesday night. Grey fanned Mike Trout three times among his career-best 12 strikeouts, one month to the day after Jon Lester struck out the Angels slugger three times at the Coliseum. But Gray had nothing to show for it as Oakland was shut out for the seventh time since Aug. 1. "Its one of the major themes of the last month, month and a half," left fielder Sam Fuld said. "Weve had opportunities. Youve got to take advantage of those opportunities." Oakland and Kansas City are tied for the two wild-card spots at 86-71, three games ahead of Seattle with five to play. The Royals beat Cleveland 7-1 earlier Tuesday night and won the season series with the Athletics 5-2, giving Kansas City the tiebreaker. That means if the Royals and As win the wild cards and finish with identical records, Kansas City would host their one-game playoff next Tuesday. Wade LeBlanc (1-1) ran his scoreless stretch to 15 2-3 innings over his last six outings, allowing five hits in 5 1-3 innings for the AL West champions. LeBlanc is the second of three straight left-handers the Angels are throwing in this series. He is making his case to be on the post-season roster. "Any time players perform well, its going to help you to be stronger and help you make decisions," manager Mike Scioscia said. "We havent made any decisions yet but these are two strong starts from Wade." Gray (13-10) is 0-3 in his last six starts. The right-hander has one victory in 11 starts since a 5-0 July that earned him AL pitcher of the month honours. Of Trouts 13 games with three or more strikeouts, three are against the As. Gray struck out eight of the first 11 batters he faced. "That was terrific," manager Bob Melvin said. "He was up for it today. You could see when he came in the dugout there was a look in his eye he was going to get after it." The As had a chance to tie the game in the fifth after Josh Reddicks one-out double. Eric Sogard grounded out two batters later on an off-balance throw by second baseman Howie Kendrick that just beat Sogard, who slid headfirst. Los Angeles went ahead in the second on an unearned run when Erick Aybar scored from third during a rundown. Efren Navarro was caught stealing at second on a 2-6-3-4 double play after Hank Conger struck out swinging. Beckham hit his ninth homer leading off the sixth. "We lost. Whatever I did wasnt good enough tonight. It doesnt matter," Gray said. The As loaded the bases in the eighth against Joe Smith, who retired Stephen Vogt on a shallow fly to right to escape unscathed. Huston Street finished the three-hit shutout for his 16th save with the Angels and 40th overall. "I left a small village of runners in scoring position," Vogt said. Oakland was shut down after scoring 16 runs over its previous two games. That outburst came after the As totalled only 19 runs in their previous 10 contests. "We had some opportunities, and one or two more hits and its a different game," Melvin said. TRAINERS ROOM Angels: Jered Weaver (18-8) had the flu for a second straight day and left the ballpark. Scioscia said there is flexibility to push Weavers next start from Friday to Saturday if the right-hander needs an extra day. ... 3B David Freese was held out of the lineup after he experienced tightness in his upper back earlier in the day. ... OF Josh Hamilton hit off a tee for the second straight day. He missed his 18th game in 19 because of pain in his upper body. ... Scioscia said RHP Matt Shoemaker is "symptom-free" from a strained left oblique but wont pitch again in the regular season. He still needs to throw off a mound. "You dont want to jump over a step and risk setting yourself back," Scioscia said. Athletics: C Derek Norris was the DH for a second straight day after requiring an injection in his troublesome shoulder. He is slated to start Wednesdays series finale. UP NEXT Angels: LHP Hector Santiago (5-9, 3.98 ERA) has pitched two or fewer innings in each of his past two starts -- both losses -- after winning his previous three. He had no-decisions with a 1.00 ERA in his first three outings against Oakland this season. Athletics: Lester (16-10, 2.41) looks to improve on his 3-1 September record and beat the Angels for the first time in three starts this year. Marvin Jones Jr Lions Jersey . "Today was a very great day for me. It was always my dream to be good in GS," Wierather said. "I took quite a long time to get there. It feels awesome to have my first win (in GS)." Wierather leads overall with 595 points from Lara Gut (568), who finished second, and Maria Hoefl-Riesch of Germany (535). Kerryon Johnson Womens Jersey .C. -- Duke sophomore Rodney Hood is entering the NBA draft. http://www.lionsfanspro.com/Black-Jahlani-Tavai-Lions-Jersey.html?cat=971 . On Thursday theyll learn even more. Despite the cloud of uncertainty that has followed them around from the moment general manager Masai Ujiri was brought in to put his stamp on the franchise, the Raptors have surpassed all pre-season expectations. Jahlani Tavai Jersey . INJURIES - Reds RF Jay Bruce is facing knee surgery for a torn meniscus and it could cost him a month of playing time. Chris Heisey, who has shown some pop (43 home runs, . Austin Bryant Lions Jersey . -- Wichita State is all alone in the record book. PITTSFORD, N.Y. -- Nigel Bradham is trying to stay upbeat even after learning hell be suspended for the first game of the regular season for a year-old drug offence. The NFL announced on Wednesday that the Buffalo Bills linebacker will miss the start of the season because of a one-game suspension. Bradham said the suspension comes from a ticket he received last August for marijuana possession in suburban Buffalo. "Its something that followed me from last year, a decision I made," Bradham said. "I regret it, I made a mistake. I apologized to my teammates. Im sorry that weve got to go through this again. Hopefully I just get past it come back in Game 2 ready." Bradham said that he first learned of the suspension in March and decided to appeal. The appeal happened one week ago, Bradham said, and the NFL upheld its original ruling. The linebacker was disappointed to receive discipline a year after the incident took place, especially because all charges were dropped. "Everything was dismissed and Im not in the substance abuse program or anything," Bradham said. "Its kind of shocking and disappointing that it came back again." The suspension is a setback for the 24-year-old, who has made significant strides both on and off the football field this season. With linebacker Kiko Alonso out for the season because of a knee injury, Bradham has taken charge of Alonsos starting weakside spot and has worked exclusively with the first team at trainiing camp.dddddddddddd He has drawn praise from both coach Doug Marrone and defensive co-ordinator Jim Schwartz for his change in approach and attitude compared to one year ago. "Obviously its unfortunate, especially since Nigel has been playing very well," Marrone said. "Like Ive said before, Ive probably seen the biggest improvement in him. When I say that, Im not just talking about him as a football player. When you look back at what happened, maybe it took something like that for him to grow up and I think hes learned to make better decisions." Bradham has stressed that the incident last year served as a wake-up call. "I was hanging around with some of the wrong people and made some bad decisions," Bradham told The Associated Press last week. "It was a chance where I could have lost everything that Ive worked my life for out here. I just had to get that focus and remove myself from some of the people I was around, make better decisions and be a man. ... I let these guys down and I cant do that anymore. Ive got to kind of put the team on my back. I feel like I owe them." A fourth-round pick of the Bills in 2012, Bradham had 51 tackles in 2013. He remains eligible to participate in preseason practices and games. Bradham may not be the only Bills defender to miss the start of the season. Defensive tackle Marcell Dareus may also face NFL discipline following arrests for drug possession and a drag racing incident this spring. ' ' '