When James Shields throws the first pitch of the American League Wild Card game, two of Major League Baseballs longest active playoff droughts will end. Oakland Athletics first baseman Adam Dunn, acquired at the trade deadline from the Chicago White Sox, has played 2,001 regular season games without appearing in the postseason, while the Kansas City Royals have not escaped the regular season since their World Series title in 1985. Its what you work for your whole professional baseball career, Dunn said in the locker room after the Athletics clinched their place in the playoffs. Its going to be a fun ride. Dunn has also played with the Cincinnati Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks and Washington Nationals over the course of his 14-year career, all franchises that have had success since 2000, but never during a time that the 34-year-old slugger was a member of the organization. That will change when he appears in the Wild Card game with the Athletics. Hes always done it the right way, said Athletics starter Jeff Samardzija, who also joined the team during the season in a trade with the Chicago Cubs. Played every day, never complained, never whined. To have a guy like him on this team when we were going through what we were going through was outstanding. The Houston native will now pass the mantle of longest playoff drought to former teammate Alex Rios who has spent 1,586 regular season games in MLB without playing in the playoffs with his current team the Texas Rangers, as well as the Chicago White Sox and Toronto Blue Jays. Meanwhile, Bret Saberhagen retiring Andy Van Slyke in the bottom of the ninth of Game 7 of the 1985 World Series was the last time the Royals have contested a playoff game. Shields, who will get the iconic start for the Royals, is ready for the spotlight. When I came over here, I knew exactly what was going on, said Shields who has appeared previously in the playoffs with the Tampa Bay Rays. I knew that this citys been wanting a championship team for a long time, and a playoff team. Hopefully we did the city proud. Weve got a long way to go still, but were going to keep grinding. Only 15 of the 36 players that were on the Royals active roster when they clinched the playoff spot were alive when the Royals faced the Cardinals in the 1985 World Series. With their 29-year drought finally ended, the unfortunate distinction of having the longest playoff absence falls to the Toronto Blue Jays , who have not played in the postseason since capturing their second consecutive World Series title in 1993. AL-Wild Card Game Notes: Athletics at Royals a€“ 8:07pm et/5:07pm pt. -Athletics: won all 3 postseason meetings vs Royals (swept 1981 Division Series) -Athletics: 0-6 in winner-take-all games under GM Billy Beane (last win in winner-take-all game was Game 7 of 1973 World Series) -Athletics: lost 10 of last 14 postseason games -Athletics: FROM ELIAS - .433 post All-Star Break win percentage, worst by a team that made the postseason since 1933 (1st year of All-Star Game) -Jon Lester (OAK): 1.97 ERA (16 ER/73 IP) in 11 career postseason starts; 3-0 over last 3 postseason starts -Lester: 9-3, 1.84 ERA (18 ER/88 IP) in 13 career starts vs Royals; 3-0, 2.61 ERA (6 ER/20.2 IP) in 3 starts vs Royals this season -Josh Reddick (OAK): 3 HR, 5 RBI in 22 career AB vs James Shields -Royals: 1st postseason appearance since 1985 (won World Series) -James Shields (KC): 2-4, 4.98 ERA (19 ER/34.1 IP) in 6 career postseason starts; 11 ER allowed in 9 1/3 IP over last 2 postseason starts -Shields: 2.03 ERA (7 ER/31 IP) in last 4 starts vs Athletics after allowing 10 ER in 4 IP in final start vs them in 2011 -Royals: 6-9 in 15 home starts made by James Shields this season (15-4 in 19 road starts) Nike Vapormax Heren Sale . The Hockey Canada Foundation is donating $50,000, with Hockey Quebec contributing $15,000. Hockey Canada also announced it will hold a skills camp for all levels of minor hockey in Lac-Mégantic during the 2013-14 season. Representatives from Hockey Canada, the Hockey Canada Foundation and Hockey Quebec were on hand Tuesday night at a meeting of the AHM de Lac-Mégantic to make the announcement and presentation. Vapormax 2019 Sale .com) - Richard Shermans two interceptions highlighted a dominant defensive effort, as the Seattle Seahawks routed the San Francisco 49ers in a highly anticipated NFC West Thanksgiving clash. http://www.vapormaxsalenederland.com/. The 25-year-old native of Milford, Conn., has 18 points in 41 games this season. The five-foot-eight 166-pound centre also has 28 points (10-18) in 15 games with AHL Oklahoma City. Nike Air Max Plus Tn Heren . Terrance Broadway threw for 227 yards and Hunter Stover kicked three field goals as the Ragin Cajuns won an unprecedented fourth straight New Orleans Bowl with a 16-3 triumph over Nevada. Nike Vapormax Nederland . -- Theres something about playing on Orlandos floor lately that seems to bring out the best in the Dallas Mavericks.Villanova, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - The surprising DePaul Blue Demons go in search of their fourth straight Big East Conference win when they tangle with the eighth-ranked Villanova Wildcats on Saturday afternoon. DePaul opened the season at 6-1, but then dropped six in a row prior to the start of Big East play. At 6-7, it appeared as if the Blue Demons were in for another disappointing run in conference, but wins over Marquette (61-58), Xavier (71-68) and Creighton (70-60), the last taking place on the road, has the team brimming with confidence. As a result, DePaul is 3-0 to start Big East action for the first time since joining the conference for the 2005-06 season. Unfortunately for the visitors from the Windy City, they are challenging one of the top teams in the country, as Villanova has won 14 of its first 15 games, including all nine played in front of the hometown faithful. The Wildcats had streaked out to a 13-0 start before suffering their first loss at Seton Hall last weekend, but the team responded by notching a 90-72 win over No. 24 St. Johns in New York City on Tuesday. Villanova owns an 18-8 lead in the all-time series with DePaul, and the Wildcats have won the last eight meetings. Forrest Robinson drained six 3-pointers en route to a game-high 20 points, as DePaul won at Creighton by double digits on Wednesday night. Myke Henry added 11 points for the Blue Demons, who went 11-of-22 from beyond the arc and 15- of-20 at the free-throw line to keep the Bluejays at bay. DePauls defensive effort held the home team to 35.1 percent field goal efficiency, while also laying claim to a 37-29 rebounding advantage. Henry is netting 13.4 ppg to lead four players in double figures for a DePaul squad that in producing 73.4 ppg thanks to shooting efforts that come in at .452 overalll, .dddddddddddd370 from downtown and .746 at the charity stripe. Conversely, opponents are putting up 72.9 ppg, despite shooting just 30.6 percent 3-point land. The Blue Demons, who also rely heavily on guys like Billy Garrett (13.1 ppg, 3.8 apg), Tommy Hamilton (12.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg) and Jamee Crockett (11.9 ppg) to make consistent contributions, are in the red in both rebounding (-4.1) and turnover (-0.2) margin. Jay Wright earned his 300th career victory in Villanovas recent triumph over St. Johns, as his team used an impressive second half to break open what had been a close game at the break. The Wildcats knocked down 69 percent of their field goal attempts over the final 20 minutes, and that included a 7-of-12 showing from 3-point range. Overall, VU finished at 55.7 percent for the game, and it drained 10 treys, three of which were credited to Darrun Hilliard, who finished with a team-high 21 points. Dylan Ennis tallied 15 points and nine rebounds, while Daniel Ochefu logged a double-double with 13 points and 13 boards, and Josh Hart came off the bench to chip in 10 points. A massive 41-21 rebounding advantage helped the Cats earn the satisfying road win. Villanova is averaging 76.9 ppg, and it boasts five double-digit scorers led by Hilliard with his 13.0 ppg. Each of the others net between 10.2 and 10.7 ppg, and the team as a whole is hitting its field goals at a 47.1 percent clip, while allowing foes to connect on only 40.4 percent of their total shots. The Cats have been especially tough when it comes to defending the 3- pointer, yielding a mere 29.1 percent success rate to the opposition. They own favorable margins in both rebounding (+4.1) and turnovers (+4.2). Ochefu is averaging a near double-double by accounting for 10.3 points and 9.0 caroms per contest. ' ' '