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ARLINGTON, Texas -- The Texas Rangers and Houston Astros open up the final month of the season faithful to the company line -- one game, one series at a time -- but with plenty of ambition.The Rangers will be difficult to catch in the AL West with an 8.5-game lead over the Astros with 28 games to play. Winning two of three against Houston this weekend in a series at Globe Life Park in Arlington will all but actually clinch the division save for a very rare and unforeseen series of events. Texas would then have the luxury of resting key pieces and setting up its rotation for the divisional round of the AL playoffs.However, if the Astros, winners of 10 of their last 12 games, can take two or even sweep, the division might yet have some intrigue left.After Houston, the Rangers go on the road for four at Seattle, three against the Angels and three at Houston.Theres no doubt the next 10 days or so will be a challenge for us to get some separation from the guys behind us, Texas third baseman Adrian Beltre said. The one coming up with Houston will be important for us to create some separation so we can get some rest.Houston enters one game back in the AL wild-card standings. Theyll need to go 15-14 in their final 29 to match the 86-win plateau they hit in 2015 and will likely need to do that to have a chance at the wild card in 2016.The Astros first order of business is solving the Rangers riddle. Texas is 11-2 against Houston this year.But the schedule doesnt get any easier.After the Texas series are four games against Cleveland on the road and three with the Cubs at Minute Maid Park.Trust me, Id love to rattle off a ton of wins and clinch a week in advance and set up your rotation and set up everything, but it doesnt seem like its going to play out that way for too many teams in the game, manager A.J. Hinch said. The scoreboard is right in front of us (in left field at Minute Maid Park), but the more you scoreboard watch, the more youre taking your attention away from beating the team thats on the field in front of you.In game one on Friday, the Astros will throw right-hander Doug Fister (12-9, 3.60 ERA) against Texas righty A.J. Griffin (6-3, 4.39).Fister has battled consistency in the second half, going 4-6 with a 4.09 ERA in 12 starts since June 26. He had success against the Rangers in his last start against them on Aug. 6, holding Texas to one run in six innings.Griffin, too, has struggled with consistency since coming off the DL in June. The right-hander has only one quality start since May 2, though it was in his last outing. Griffin threw six scoreless innings in a victory over Cleveland.Texas enters having won five straight and six of seven on its current 10-game homestand.The body of work speaks for itself, manager Jeff Banister said of Texas recent results. We need to play well. Houston is hot right now. We still have some work to do. We need to come back ready to play. Air Force 1 Low Femme Pas Cher . -- The goal posts lying flat on the field, Arizonas fans lingered on the field, congregating around the locker room entrance nearly 30 minutes after rushing out of the stands. Nike Air Force 1 07 Femme Pas Cher . For the Wild it was their first win of the season and they now have a record of 1-1-2 while the Jets fall to 2-2. Jets start a six game home stand Friday with another divisional game, home to the Dallas Stars. http://www.siteairforce1pascher.fr/ . LOUIS -- Mike Smith is used to facing plenty of shots, so this was nothing new. Air Force 1 Low Blanche . "I wrote 36 on my sheet at the beginning of the game," the Cincinnati coach said, referring the yard line the ball would need to be snapped from. Air Force 1 Haute Homme . It just didnt show when he hit the ice. Berra made 42 saves and Kris Russell scored at 1:32 of overtime, lifting the Calgary Flames to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday night. TORONTO -- Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin were born into a rivalry 11 years ago which doesnt really befit the sport they play.Hockey is more about team than any other sport. They are both the first to tell you that.They both constantly downplay their individual comparisons. They long ago tired of the narrative. Frankly, so have many of us.But it is on nights like these when the comparison is dragged back out because you have no choice.It is on nights like these, fair or not, that superstar players either add to their mystique or ... the complete opposite.And on this World Cup of Hockey semifinal night, No. 87 rose above everyone else yet again, while No. 8 struggled mightily.Its like the five-tool guy vs. the home-run hitter: The five-tool guy finds more ways to win all the time, said a Western Conference head coach not involved in the tourney, via text message after Canadas 5-3 semifinal win Saturday.Full-court player vs. half-court player, added an Eastern Conference GM not involved in the World Cup, via text message during the third period.World juniors, NHL playoffs, mens world championships, Olympics and now World Cup: Crosby owns Ovechkin by any definition.No question, if you had Crosby and Ovechkin swap uniforms Saturday night, Ovechkin might have had a better chance of scoring with Team Canada boasting a deeper squad.But the point is, its Crosby who led the way, its Crosby with the superb takeaway on the opening goal, its Crosby who set up Brad Marchand just 1:12 after Russia had taken a stunning 2-1 lead in the second period.Its Crosby, always Crosby, in the big moment, the bigger the stage.Hes able to impose his will or change the game at any time, said Team Canada defenseman Shea Weber, playing in his third best-on-best tourney with Crosby. Hes one of those guys thats got the ability to switch momentum.The great ones always seem to have perfect timing.I think thats one thing that makes him such a good player, is his determination, and he always comes up big in the big games, linemate Brad Marchand said. You see plays like that, thats where the leadership comes in. And when youre able to lead at this level, of a group of leaders, then youre able to take control. That just shows how special of a player he is, and he created that whole goal, and ultimately, that did lead to turning the game around.Its as if Crosby never stopped playing in the Stanley Cup playoffs, his short summer after winning his second NHL championship perhaps helping him find that top-level stride here in a September tournament.I tthink definitely playing later into the year and playing in those type of games helped to kind of transition to these type of games, Crosby said.ddddddddddddOne game, anything can happen -- the intensity, the emotion -- everythings so high. So, I think that that definitely helps.The Canadian captain tallied a goal and two assists in 16:43 of ice time, while Ovechkin was limited to one shot on goal in 20:29 of ice time.Different players with different talents playing different positions. Still, the discrepancy on this night between both superstars was staggering.I tried to do my best, obviously, Ovechkin said afterward. Sometimes it doesnt matter if you score goals or not. You just have to you play hard, and I tried to play my hardest. Everybody was on the same page, playing the same system.Credit to Ovechkin, who always faces the music after these tough losses -- just like he did after his Washington Capitals were eliminated by the Pittsburgh Penguins just a few months ago. The pose is all too familiar: the gray specks of hair, the stare into emptiness, the look of a defeated man.Dont ever confuse Ovechkins desire. He wants to win so badly. But it just hasnt happened for him at the Olympics or the World Cup and certainly not in the NHL. Ovechkins downfall on this night had nothing to do with Crosby but rather with the matchups that Team Canada head coach Mike Babcock lined up for the Russian winger: Jonathan Toews line paired with the blue-line combo of Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Weber.Just like in the Vancouver 2010 Olympic quarterfinal game, Ovechkin got a healthy dose of the Man Mountain, Weber, and it didnt go well for him.Ovies a big big man and can wear you down. Web doesnt get worn down; hes too big, Babcock said in explaining the matchup. I thought it was a good stable pair and a good group.Weber, who easily played his best game of the World Cup, takes pride in that kind of difficult challenge.Yeah, obviously hes a guy that can score at will, Weber said of Ovechkin. He scores 50 goals a year in the NHL. Hes a dangerous player. Any chance you get to play against a guy like that and shut him down, yeah, you take pride in that side of the game.Years from now, though, fewer will remember the job Toews or Weber did on Ovechkin. They likely will remember it as another big game in which Crosby got the better of Ovechkin.Like it or not, thats the story which doesnt seem to ever change. ' ' '