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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. Ryan Miller Ducks Jersey . Arsenal failed to take full advantage of its main rivals stumbles on Saturday as substitute Gerard Deulofeu levelled with a hard shot from a tight angle in the 84th minute to give Everton a deserved point. Ahead of a crucial fortnight that will see them play against Napoli in the Champions League, Manchester City and Chelsea, Arsenal leads by five points ahead of Liverpool and Chelsea. Korbinian Holzer Jersey .Y. -- Paul Byron and Matt Stajan scored as the Calgary Flames started a five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon. http://www.authenticduckspro.com/Ryan-kesler-ducks-jersey/ . 10 Texas A&Ms offence dominated as usual against SMU. Ryan Kesler Jersey . Argentina winger Ezequiel Lavezzi and France midfielder Blaise Matuidi scored, with star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic setting up both despite having a poor game by his high standards. Forward Eduardo gave Ajaccio the lead in the sixth minute after being set up by right winger Benjamin Andre, and the Corsican side looked comfortable in the first half, with the lively Johan Cavalli causing problems with his probing runs from midfield. Ryan Miller Jersey . The defence is doing its part, too. Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and the guys on the other side made sure that was enough, sending the Saints to a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee believes its defense has the depth that can enable the Volunteers to avoid the blown leads that haunted them in each of their losses last year.The depth is most notable up front, where the ninth-ranked Volunteers have accumulated so much talent that former five-star recruits havent been able to work their way atop the depth chart. Tennessee opens the season Thursday by hosting Appalachian State.Honestly, this is the most depth (at defensive end) weve ever had since Ive been here personally, senior defensive end Corey Vereen said. Im not used to this.The Volunteers went 9-4 last season but led in each game they lost. They were up at least 13 points in losses to Oklahoma, Florida and Arkansas. They fell to eventual national champion Alabama by giving up a go-ahead touchdown with 2:24 remaining.Tennessee outscored teams 378-173 in the first three periods but was outscored 87-79 in the fourth quarter and overtime.There have been times where weve had guys out there who had already played 60 snaps, defensive line coach Steve Stripling said. Its hard to (have) what we term as Superman efforts, closing a drive out, a two-minute drive, making those efforts and plays, thats hard to do if youve been out there 60 snaps.That shouldnt be an issue this season.Tennessee believes it has the elements in place to be dominant and disruptive, the buzzwords new defensive coordinator Bob Shoop has consistently used to describe his ideal defense since arriving from Penn State.Were deeper here at d-end than Ive probably been anywhere, Shoop said.The Vols depth is evident from a look at some of the players who arent expected to start Thursdays opener. Defensive tackle Kahlil McKenzie was rated as the nations No. 1 recruit in his class by Scout in 2015, yet hes still listed as a second-teamer behind seenior Danny OBrien and junior Kendal Vickers.dddddddddddd Sophomore defensive end Kyle Phillips, a former five-star prospect, isnt on the first team or second team.Both guys are still expected to play Thursday. Tennessee is hoping to rotate about six defensive ends into the game at various points, which should prevent the Vols from overworking anyone and relying too heavily on defensive end Derek Barnett, who has recorded 10 sacks each of the last two seasons.This rotation were talking about is going to put us in better position to close games, Stripling said.Tennessee also is bullish on the rest of its defense.The linebacker corps features returning starters Jalen Reeves-Maybin and Darrin Kirkland Jr. Cornerback Cam Sutton, entering his fourth year as a starter, headlines a secondary that features plenty of guys versatile enough to play multiple positions.The Vols built their depth on defense by signing two straight recruiting classes that had consensus top-five rankings. The second of those classes arrived in 2015, which means all those recruits have now been on campus at least one year.Tennessee also has received a boost this year from the returns of Phillips, tackle Shy Tuttle and defensive back Rashaan Gaulden from injuries that caused them to miss most or all of the 2015 season. Tuttle has been brought along slowly as he recovers from a broken fibula, but Tennessee coach Butch Jones said the sophomore tackle would be available Thursday.Were at the stage now where we can rotate guys in and not have a drop-off at any level, Sutton said. In the fourth quarter, we can have our closers in and be able to close games out.---AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '