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Whining about a teams schedule is about as old as the game itself. However as the Wild Card races heat up over the final two months of the season, its clear certain teams and divisions have a distinct advantage. In the American League East for instance, the top four teams are a collective 58 games above .500. Yet in all likelihood based on what the schedules look like the rest of the way, only one Wild Card team will come out of the East. Any one of the four could make it to the postseason and three of the four - Boston, Tampa Bay and Baltimore - still have a chance to win the division outright with a third of the season to go. However when you look at the schedules for the seasons last 50-odd games, you see the odds are distinctly skewed against the Eastern clubs. Boston, who is leading the division by a game over Tampa Bay through Thursday night, has 52 games left. 35 games are against the so-called good teams that are above .500 or are in contention, while only 17 are against teams at .500 or below. Tampa Bays schedule is marginally better with 26 games against the good clubs, and 28 against the bad. They also have only three head-to-head games left with the Red Sox. The Rays also close out their season at Rogers Centre with three against the Blue Jays, while the Bosox finish up with three in Baltimore. The Orioles schedule is more in line with Bostons. The Os play 32 games against quality clubs and just 21 against below-par outfits. Just based on these three teams skeds, I would pick Tampa Bay to win the East, Boston to finish second and maybe hang on for a Wild Card and Baltimore to miss out. Then you have the Yankees. They are longshots to make the postseason even though they are only three-and-a-half games out of the second Wild Card, but the truth is they have the easiest schedule left of the top four teams in the East. There are 26 games against teams above .500 and 30 against teams with a sub-.500 record. Note only that nine of their final 12 games are against the teams in the lower echelon including three at Houston to end the campaign. The major difference in schedules comes when you look at the other two divisions. Central-leading Detroit plays 29 of its remaining games against lesser clubs including 13 in a row to end the season, culminating with a three-game set in Miami against the lowly Marlins to close it out. Cleveland at the very least has a shot at a Wild Card spot and quite possibly the Central title. Terry Franconas crew is riding an eight-game win streak and plays only 22 of its remaining games against teams with winning records. Their final 10 games are against teams with losing records including a wrap-up four-game series in the "Twin" cities against Minnesota. Are we seeing a trend yet? Kansas City is even hotter than Cleveland and plays 32 of its final 55 against below-.500 clubs, including its final seven games of the season - closing it out with four on the road against the White Sox. In the West keep your eye on Texas. They have the easiest schedule on paper of any of the American League contenders. They only have 19 games against the good clubs, 34 against the lesser lights. They also wrap up at home with three against Houston and four against the Angels. The schedule of West-leading Oakland is just about on par with the Yankees in the East. The As play 24 against the good, 29 against the not-so-good, but after a three-game series with the Rangers from September 13-15, their final 13 games are against clubs with losing records. The unbalanced schedule and the weaker Central and West Divisions have created this situation. Thats why as good as the East is, I cant see more than one Wild Card coming out of that division, and its still possible there will be none. It could just as easily be one from the Central and one from the West. If you were wondering about the Blue Jays, they have 16 remaining against teams with losing records, 36 versus winning clubs, and 28 against their own division. Their most meaningful games could come on the final weekend of the season when they play host to Tampa Bay. The Rays playoff hopes could be riding on that series. In the National League theres not much to get excited about in the Wild Card picture. Arizona is four-and-a-half out and has the only reasonable shot at catching Cincinnati for that second Wild Card slot. The Division races are more exciting. St. Louis is just a game-and-a-half back of Pittsburgh in the Central, and the Diamondbacks are within three of the Dodgers in the West. I guess the bottom line question is to see if the really good teams can overcome tough schedules and strong divisions. In the 13 World Series since 2000, the American League East has sent a team seven times - winning four and losing three.Wholesale Shoes Canada . After slipping from the summit during the week, the Gunners overcame struggling Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains second-half brace. Shoes Canada Shop . He was followed closely by David Clarkson, donning red, seconds later. Clarksons actions one night earlier, leaping off the bench in defence of Kessel during a pre-season game against the Buffalo Sabres, will cost him the first 10 games of the regular season. https://www.shoescanadaonline.com/ . LOUIS -- Theres no telling how these wacky World Series games will end. Shoes Canada Cheap . Hamelin, who triumphed in the 500 on Saturday, edged out Victor An of Russia by 0.021 seconds to maintain his lead in the World Cup standings. Russias Vladimir Grigorev was third. In the relay, Canada took control six laps from the finish line to beat Russia and the Netherlands. Shoes Canada Sale . -- Patrick Reed got an early start in golf.NEW YORK -- Travis Hamonic got New York off to a fast start, and then Brock Nelson and Shane Prince helped the Islanders pull away in the third period for a big win.Prince and Nelson each had a goal and an assist, and Casey Cizikas and Josh Bailey also scored to help New York beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-1 Sunday night to snap a two-game skid.Hamonic put the Islanders ahead just 1:01 into the game, and Prince and Nelson scored 2:39 apart in the third after the Maple Leafs had pulled within one.We had a real good start, Prince said. We laid back a little bit there end of the first, into the second.Thomas Greiss stopped 33 shots, and Nikolay Kulemin, Nick Leddy and Dennis Seidenberg each had two assists for New York.Greiss has been playing really well all year for us, Prince said. He made some big saves for us. He kept us in it. He just held off long enough for us to get a couple of insurance goals.Jake Gardiner scored for the Maple Leafs and Jhonas Enroth finished with 30 saves. Toronto lost its second straight overall and sixth in a row on the road (0-3-3).Its not the goal scoring. Its the goals you give up, Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock said.After Gardiner scored 50 seconds into the third to pull the Maple Leafs to 2-1, Prince and Nelson scored 2:39 apart to stretch New Yorks lead to three.Prince was the beneficiary of a fortunate carom of the puck off the boards to give the Islanders a 3-1 lead. Enroth misjudged the puck leaving Prince alone in front of the net with the scoring chance.Obviously a good bounce. I am just trying to skate hard, said Prince, who scored in his second straight game after missing the previous five with a lower-body injury. When you are moving your feet and playing well, good things happen.Prince then forced a turnover and had the primary assist on Nelsons goal. Seidenberg had assists on both goals.We have been in so many tight games all season. Getting that cushion helps, Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey said. I think there is a level of comfort you can get to when you have a lead. Its not always the right comfort but we really havent had a lead like that this year.Bailey capped the scoring in the final minute.The Islanders honored formmer fan-favorite Matt Martin with a video tribute during a stoppage in the opening period.dddddddddddd It was the first time Martin played against them since signing a four-year, $10 million deal with Toronto in the offseason. Martin played the first 438 games of his career with New York, and is 34th on the franchises games played list.It was a little odd. You see him on the other side in a different uniform, Cal Clutterbuck said. But then when the game starts you dont really think about it too much.Hamonics opening goal was the eighth in the last five games for New York defensemen, who have nine goals and 10 assists on the season.Cizikas got his first of the season, burying a rebound of Clutterbucks shot at 7:22 of the first to make it 2-0. Kulemin, who replaced Martin on the Islanders fourth line, had assists on each of the first two goals.Toronto rookie sensation Auston Matthews, the top pick in the 2016 NHL draft, registered four shots in his first career appearance against the Islanders.Martin and Andrew Ladd got into a skirmish near the end of the second period. Ladd, who signed a seven-year $38.5 million contract with the Islanders in the offseason, has just one assist in nine games.Game notesJaroslav Halak backed up Greiss after he was reportedly put on the trade block. Halaks agent, Allan Walsh, voiced his displeasure on Twitter on Friday. ... The Islanders wore purple jerseys during warmups as part of the NHL Hockey Fights Cancer campaign. ... The Islanders scratched C Mathew Barzal, G Jean-Francois Berube and RW Alan Quine. ... Gardiner scored his first goal of the regular season and is three assists shy of 100 for his career. ... Toronto scratched D Matt Hunwick (lower body), D Frank Corrando and C Peter Holland.UP NEXTMaple Leafs: Host Edmonton on Tuesday night in the first NHL matchup between Matthews and the Oilers Connor McDavid -- the last two No. 1 draft picks.Islanders: Host Tampa Bay on Tuesday night in the teams first meeting since the Lightning eliminated the Islanders in the Eastern Conference semifinals last spring. ' ' '