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. Adidas Ultra Boost Clearance Sale . The phone hearing is scheduled for 4:30pm et/1:30pm pt. Winchester, who was not penalized for the hit, appeared to make contact with Kellys head early in the first period of Thursdays game in Boston. Cheap Authentic Ultra Boost . The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit. http://www.ultraboostclearance.com/pure-boost-shoes-sale.html . -- Running backs Darren McFadden and Rashad Jennings were back at practice for the Oakland Raiders on Wednesday despite being hampered by hamstring injuries. Yeezy Boost 700 Cheap . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. Womens Ultra Boost Cheap . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. RIO DE JANEIRO -- For the first time, the U.S. will have a defending Olympic judo champion when the Rio de Janeiro Games begin -- and she will be backed up by arguably the strongest team ever produced by the Americans in the Japanese martial art, with a serious chance of taking three medals.Kayla Harrison made history when she became the first American to win a judo gold at the London Games in 2012 and even though she had intended to quit -- and become a firefighter instead -- the lure of defending her title was too great. She will be joined in Rio by two other leading medal contenders: Marti Malloy, who won a bronze in London and Travis Stevens, who finished fifth.U.S. judo has had an unprecedented run with these three athletes, said the teams head coach Jimmy Pedro, noting their numerous recent medals at major global competitions.Realistically, three medals would be the ultimate, he said, when asked to predict the teams hardware count. I would absolutely love to see two golds, but we will have to see what happens in Rio. All three of them have proven that they can beat anyone on the right day.The top-ranked Harrison is expected to meet her biggest rival, second-seeded Mayra Aguiar when the 78-kilogram womens division is fought on August 11, either in the final, or should things not go according to plan, a bronze-medal match. Even though Brazilian native Aguiar will undoubtedly have the home-crowd advantage, Pedro doesnt expect Harrison to be bothered by thousands of fans cheering on her opponent.Kayla is very poised and will thrive on the energy of the crowd, he said. On all the big sstages -- the World Championships, the Pan-Am Games -- Kayla always comes out on top.ddddddddddddStill, Aguiar might yet pull off a victory; she caught Harrison off-guard at a competition in Paris earlier this year and won with a match-ending throw.Malloy will likely be the teams first shot at a medal, when the Washington state native competes in the 57-kilogram category.Theres nobody in Martis division that she cannot beat, Pedro said, adding he is confident that her acquired experience since the London games will help her remain focused.And while Stevens didnt pick up a medal in London, he did recently win gold at the World Masters tournament in May, which includes only the worlds top-ranked judoka. The two-time Olympian also picked up a gold at Torontos Pan-American Games last summer and has a mental toughness that makes him a force to be reckoned with on the judo mat, according to Pedro.Rounding out the U.S. squad are first-time Olympians Angelica Delgado and Colton Brown, and Nicholas Delpopolo, who was disqualified at the London games for marijuana use.These guys are getting stronger every day and they can compete at the highest level, Pedro said.I would love to see some of these young kids get to the medal rounds, he said. I have no doubt that this team can take home three medals, and any of our athletes can do that. Anything can happen at the Olympics.---This story has been corrected to show the judo athletes name is Travis Stevens, not Travis Taylor. ' ' '