SAN DIEGO -- Weve seen this movie before. It was supposed to be Big Papis night. It was supposed to be the Chicago Cubs night. We had our All-Star scripts and our All-Star storylines written in our heads. And then ...As usual, when it was time to hit the big stage Tuesday night, it turned into the Kansas City Royals show.It turned into Eric Hosmers magical All-Star evening. It turned into Salvador Perezs magical All-Star evening. It may have been July, not October, but it all felt very familiar -- two men who have spent so much time on the big stage doing what theyve now done so many times.Hosmer sliced a second-inning homer to left field in the first All-Star at-bat of his life. Two batters later, Perez became the first catcher in Royals history to make an All-Star Game home run trot, bopping a towering two-run bomb to left off his friend, Johnny Cueto. An inning later, Hosmer would single in yet another run, on his way to an All-Star MVP award.And that was the story of the 2016 All-Star Game: Royals 4, National League 2. And it all made perfect sense -- other than the fact that a team that hit two home runs in the entire World Series changed the All-Star Game with two home runs in the same inning.Wow. Crazy, Perez said, with a smile as wide as Coronado Beach, as that news was delivered to his locker. Thats why baseball is crazy. You know that. But crazy good. Yessir.Crazy good. Yessir. The Royals are full of crazy goodness, every time they need it most. So here is more of the craziness they sprung on the world, on the way to handing home-field advantage to whoever the heck the American League representative in the World Series may turn out to be:? Never once, in the six seasons and 575 games they had started together as big league teammates, had Hosmer and Perez homered in the same inning of any game -- regular season or postseason. So of course they both went deep in the very first inning in which they both batted in an All-Star Game.? And who gave up those two homers? Didnt it make perfect, crazy-good sense that it would be Cueto, their teammate on the World Series Express last fall? Only once, in 86 previous All-Star Games, had any player hit a home run off a pitcher he had played with the year before. (The lone instance: Alfonso Soriano homered off Roger Clemens in the 2004 Midsummer Classic.) Then Hosmer and Perez did it in a span of three hitters in this game. Yeah, right. Of course they did.? And no catcher had ever hit an All-Star home run against a pitcher hed caught the year before. But you cant say never anymore, thanks to Perezs homer. (Never? Perez gulped when we passed along that bulletin, then let out a giant laugh. Thats why were tight, boys.)? And oh, by the way, this was all very strange on Cuetos end, too. He hadnt given up two home runs in the same inning of a regular-season game since July 8, 2014. That was 70 starts ago.? Meanwhile, just one other time before this had any set of teammates homered in the same inning of the same All-Star Game, according to research by Elias Sports Bureau. You have to go back more than four decades to find the last time it happened, to Steve Garvey and Jim Wynn hitting long balls off Vida Blue in 1975.? And finally, how rare is it for two teammates to drive in all the runs for the winning team in any All-Star Game? So rare, according Elias research, that it had never happened before.But Hosmer and Perez know all about what it takes to do stuff that had never been done. Or stuff that people kept telling them couldnt be done. Its the specialty of their house. And on this night, it was the American League that reaped the benefits, not just the long-suffering citizens of Kansas City.I enjoyed that, said AL starter Chris Sale, who had fallen behind, 1-0, on a Kris Bryant homer, before Hosmer and Perez took over. Because the last time I faced them, those same guys took me deep. So it was nice to see that for me and not against me.The only two teammates who had even homered in the same game in any of the previous 40 All-Star Games were David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez, of the 2004 Red Sox. And its an excellent bet that Hosmer and Perez wont approach the same orbit as the 1,080 career homers Ortiz and Manny would go on to mash in their careers.But in their own way, Hosmer and Perez have become the faces of this generation of Royals, much the same way that Papi and Manny were the faces of the curse-busting Red Sox. So for these two men to share this moment, on this night, left both of them with a singular All-Star glow that is going to take a long, long time to fade.Couldnt have worked out any better, Hosmer said. Salvy and I go way back. A lot of you guys know we have been playing this game together for a long time. And to share that experience and have the games we did tonight was really special.Moments after uttering those words, Hosmer strolled across the clubhouse to his locker, the MVP trophy tucked under his arm. Perez looked up in mid-interview and lurched toward his All-Star co-star, to deliver a high-five and a hug, saying: Whats up, my MVP?Hoz is the best, Perez said, after that little hug break was over. We play together a lot. And I feel so happy for him and for his family. And now hes MVP, so thats exciting.Their team has had a frustrating first half, thanks to an onslaught of injuries and rotation issues. But if youve had a tough time looking past the standings, you might have missed something: Both Hosmer and Perez have used that October glory for fuel. Theyre both headed for the best offensive seasons of their careers. So what they did on this night, on this stage, came as no surprise to their hitting coach.Its no surprise to me, because theyve done it the last two years, Dale Sveum said. For them, this might be a much smaller stage.This is kind of their setting, the Royals hitting coach went on. And Ive seen it the last two years. Theyre just special people when it comes to that stage.No Royal had hit a home run in an All-Star Game since Bo Jackson in 1989. And before this night, only Bo would know what it took to be an All-Star MVP. But not anymore. Because Hosmer and Perez would turn this into yet one more night when this generation of Royals rose up to rewrite the history of their franchise.It might not be enough to propel back toward another ride on the parade floats. But no matter where this journey leads them, Eric Hosmer and Salvador Perez will always have the memories of this crazy-good evening playing on the DVRs in their brains.Crazy good. Yessir. Nike Air Vapormax Scontate . -- Al Jefferson found a groove just in time for the Charlotte Bobcats. Nike Vapormax Plus Bianche . Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions. http://www.airmax2019.it/nike-air-vortex.html . Rob Manfred, baseballs chief operating officer, testified last week during the grievance filed by the players union to overturn Rodriguezs 211-game suspension. A person familiar with the hearing, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Associated Press on Saturday that Manfred testified the sport wasnt concerned whether Bosch distributed performance-enhancing drugs to minors because MLBs interest was his relationship with players under investigation. Air Max 2018 Bianche . Numbers Game examines the deal that sees Michael Del Zotto and Kevin Klein switch places. The Predators Get: D Michael Del Zotto. Nike Vapormax Plus Nere . Anthony Davis had 31 points and 17 rebounds in his seventh straight game with more than 20 points, but that was only enough to keep the Pelicans competitive into the final minutes. Andrew Bogut had 10 points and 15 rebounds for Golden State, which rebounded from a loss a night earlier in Oklahoma City and snapped a two-game skid.INDIANAPOLIS - For sale by owner: Major sponsorship for NASCARs most popular driver. Act fast, time is running out. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is not only looking for his first win of the season, hes still hunting for a big-bucks sponsor for 12 Sprint Cup races this season. Earnhardt said hes not worried, a sign that perhaps Hendrick Motorsports has a deal on the horizon. "It is important to try to fill out what we have this season and we will," Earnhardt said Friday at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. "I dont have any doubt at all that we will get that done. I think we almost have to look forward beyond that to try to find out who is going to be the partner that we can put a long term deal together that matches up with what we want to do in the future." Thats part of the problem. Hendrick and Earnhardt would love to find a primary sponsor that would fund whats left on this seasons slate as well as 2014, and possibly beyond. With 16 races left, putting together a multi-year deal with a committed corporate backer seems almost impossible to pull off. "Its just all the dollars and cents are accounted for at this point in the year," Earnhardt said. "That doesnt mean we cant put some things together and do some creative stuff with some people and some partners that we already have." Earnhardts sponsorship woes started when Pepsi, through Diet Mountain Dew and Amp, sliced its sponsorship from 20 races to five in 2013. The National Guard did bolster its support of the No. 88, going from 16 to 20 races. Earnhardt, whos made the Chase for the Sprint Cup championship each of the last two seasons, is somewhat hindered in finding the right fit because of conflicts with committed corporate sponsors. For example, his Pepsi deal is the reason he ditched Budweiser when he signed with Hendrick for the 2008 season. Its not like he doesnt have options. Earnhardt is one of the superstar faces of NASCAR. Even as the wins have dried up, he was still voted NASCARs most popular driver for each of the last 10 years.dddddddddddd. Owner Rick Hendrick isnt interested in sponsors looking to work their way in for a race or two, or the kind of companies that would conflict with his corporate image. Earnhardt was set to drive an unsponsored race at Daytona until Hendrick put the National Guard on the No. 88. Hell use the National Guard again for Sundays race at Indy. Another reason he can be picky: The sponsorship he does have on the 88 is so lucrative that he has one of the highest-funded cars in the garage even with available inventory. Hes also kept an eye on sponsorship for his Nationwide Series program competing under the JR Motorsports banner. Great Clips signed on as primary sponsor for 28 races this season. Great Clips and Hendrick on Friday announced a three-year extension through 2016 that bumped its primary sponsorship from three Cup races a season to 10 for Kasey Kahnes No. 5 Chevrolet. Great Clips also will serve as a major associate sponsor. Great Clips will be on Kahnes car this weekend in Indianapolis and again for the Sept. 22 race at New Hampshire. "They continue to see a great return on investment, and were focused on continuing that trend by performing at a high level on the racetrack while delivering business wins," Hendrick said. Earnhardt, though, said he didnt know how Great Clips increase would affect its future relationship with his Nationwide program. He seems just as confident that hell find the right sponsors. "We have some potential to have some really interesting things announced down the road with that," he said. "Due to how well weve run this year and how weve been able to turn that program around, we definitely caught the eyes of a few sponsors and potential partners. So, were looking a lot better on that front, too. I think everything is going to be fine. I dont believe anybody needs to be too concerned at this point." Cheap NFL Hoodies Cheap Jerseys Online Wholesale NFL Autographed Jerseys White NFL Jerseys Cheap Stitched Jerseys Wholesale Black NFL Jerseys Wholesale Stitched Jerseys ' ' '