NEWS » KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee defensiv

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- When the calendar flips to September, contending teams do more than peek at the scoreboard and standings. They stare.The Detroit Tigers and Kansas City Royals, two teams hoping to extend their seasons deep into October, open a three-game series Friday night at Kauffman Stadium. Both teams are chasing the Cleveland Indians in the American League Central and both are in the thick of the wild card madness.We dont have many series that arent important, but Kansas City has been hot, so in that sense weve got to bring our A-game, Indians manager Brad Ausmus said. Theyve played very well against us this year.The Royals have won nine of 13 against the Tigers this season, including five of seven in Kansas City.The white-hot Royals had won 18 of 22 after thrashing the New York Yankees on Monday night, but then were cooled off, losing two-extra-inning games to snap their seven-series winning streak.Im very aware of KC, Ausmus said. When I do check the scoreboard, Im checking both of their (scores). I have with more frequency looked at what other teams are doing in the last week. The first two months of the season, I will look at highlights of games, parts of games, but not the standings very often.Both teams had Thursday off and Royals manager Ned Yost said it could not have come at a better time with his bullpen depleted from overwork.The off-day is going to do us good, Yost said. Everybody is going to be able to recharge a little bit. Its going to be good for us to just relax a little bit and get recharged.While the Royals have yet to announce who will be their September callups, Yost said closer Wade Davis will be activated Friday and return to the bullpen. Davis threw an inning Tuesday for Triple-A Omaha, striking out two and yielding a hit. He has been on the disabled list since July 28 with a strained flexor.Our bullpen is in dire straits right now, Yost said. Weve had a ton of usages on these guys the last four or five days. We were hoping to get to September 1st but we just couldnt. Wade threw (Tuesday for Omaha). It would have been perfect if they didnt get a rainout Monday, Wade would have been available for (Wednesday), but with him throwing him Tuesday, well activate him (Friday).The Tigers announced they will call up pitcher Buck Famer and third-string catcher John Hicks, who was with the Seattle Mariners last year but has yet to make his Detroit debut. This will be Farmers sixth stint this season with Detroit. While he started with Triple-A Toledo, he will be used out of the bullpen.Royals left-hander Danny Duffy will start the series opener. Duffy had won 10 straight decisions before losing his past outing at Boston, allowing seven runs on nine hits over five innings. Duffy is 7-1 with a 2.90 ERA and 55 strikeouts since the All-Star break.Duffy is 6-0 with a 3.16 ERA at home and hasnt lost at Kauffman Stadium since Sept. 5, 2015.Duffy is 2-0 with a 4.71 ERA in five appearances, including three starts, against Detroit this season. He beat the Tigers 6-1 on Aug. 16, limiting them to one run and three hits over 7 2/3 innings. He is 5-6 with a 3.24 ERA in 27 career appearances against Detroit.The Tigers will start right-hander Anibal Sanchez, who is 7-13 with a 5.92 ERA, but pitched brilliantly in his last start against the Royals. In one start and one relief appearance this season against the Royals, Sanchez has a 0.96 ERA, yielding one earned run while striking out nine in 9 1/3 innings.Eric Hosmer has a .306 average (11-for-36) with one home run and five RBI off Sanchez, while Jarrod Dyson is only 3-for-26 against him. Rickey Green Jersey . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . Custom Utah Jazz Jerseys . -- An ugly goal by Nick Bonino helped the Anaheim Ducks overcome the defensive-minded Phoenix Coyotes on a night when their ragged power play continued to struggle. https://www.cheapjazzonline.com/ . -- Five former Kansas City Chiefs players who were on the team between 1987 and 1993 filed a lawsuit Tuesday claiming the team hid and even lied about the risks of head injuries during that time period when there was no collective bargaining agreement in place in the NFL. Miye Oni Jersey . Philadelphia is 2-0 against the Senators this season and scored five goals in each victory. The Flyers recorded a 5-0 win in Ottawa on Nov. 12 and then earned a 5-2 home decision on Nov. 19. The Flyers have claimed three straight and four of the last five encounters with the Sens overall and Philly has won two in a row and three of its past four tests in Canadas capital city. Aaron James Jersey . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee defensive back/kick returner Evan Berry will miss the remainder of the season with a knee injury.Volunteers coach Butch Jones announced Berrys injury Monday.Berry started three games this season and had 12 tackles. He averaged 32.9 yards per kickoff return to rank second among Football Bowl Subdivision players after leading the nation in that category last year. He has four career touchdowns on kickoff returns.Jones says theres a possibility running back Alvin Kamara andd cornerback Cam Sutton could play Saturday when Tennessee (6-3, 2/3 SEC) hosts Kentucky (5-4, 4-3).dddddddddddd Jones said Kamara is probably a little ahead of Sutton.Kamara has missed two games with an unspecified injury. Sutton has played just three games due to a fractured ankle.---More AP college football at www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '