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NEW YORK -- A flock of newcomers quickly swoops into Yankee Stadium and suddenly a team that wobbled all season turns into a playoff contender.So exactly whos gotten the New York Yankees flying so high? A rookie slugger, a fresh set of pitchers?Sure, theyve helped. But maybe its something more.Pigeon power , outfielder Aaron Judge said. Theyre fueling us.OK, go ahead and laugh. Then look at the Yankees record lately -- against the Blue Jays and Orioles, no less -- ever since dozens and dozens of pigeons began descending for picnics at the park.Besides, if the Royals can have a Rally Mantis, the Angels a Rally Monkey and the Cardinals a Rally Squirrel, why not a good-luck flock of pigeons?Sometimes, these birds arrive early, searching for new seeds that keep the grass so green and fresh. More than 85 of them recently roamed the yard before batting practice.Often, they stick around for the game, hardly ruffled by the balls that go whizzing past them.In the sixth inning last weekend against Tampa Bay, six gray pigeons lounged in medium left-center field, a half-dozen hung out in shallow center and seven others strolled in right-center. No surprise, moments later the Yankees hit back-to-back home runs to break open a scoreless game.Theyre fearless, longtime head groundskeeper Dan Cunningham said.Speedy, too.I dont worry about them too much because theyre pretty fast, star center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury said. They can take care of themselves.No birds have been hit yet. Certainly nothing like that spring training episode many years ago when a fastball by Randy Johnson struck a dove in mid-flight. And they arent pesky, like the seagulls that hover around AT&T Park late during San Francisco Giants games.Scorned and shooed away all around town, these pigeons relax at The House That Ruth Built. Oh, and they seem to prefer day games.When line drives get too close, they simply flap away and settle somewhere else, perhaps on the warning track in deep center or near the foul lines. Or they take off toward the scoreboard and stay there for a while, with a birds-eye view.Weve been watching them fly overhead, more and more of them, reliever Tommy Layne said. You just hope they dont unload on you.Cunningham said the birds come for the seeds that maintain the combination blue and rye grass. The stadium hosts the Yankees and the New York City FC team in Major League Soccer, making for a lot of reseeding late this summer.Plus, players who spit sunflower seeds provide tasty snacks.Overall, thats brought more and more feathered fans in the last month. Not that Cunningham minds.Im not a pigeon hater, he said. Its New York, theyre part of the scene here.A month ago, Judge homered in his first major league at-bat. He fits into the Yankees wave of the future, along with Gary Sanchez, Tyler Austin and the fittingly named Greg Bird.Judge has grown accustomed to sharing his surroundings with the other birds in right field.Actually started noticing them maybe about a week ago. Kind of started showing up in little bunches, he said. Started out with five or 10, now its 20, 30, 40. Just a big bunch of them out there now.I go for a ball in the gap, they start flying everywhere. Could cause a little bit of havoc, he said.Then again, pigeons have always had a place in this city.I dont mind them, Judge said. A little company in the outfield. Clearance Shoes UK Store . Team physician Dr. Steve Traina performed the surgery Friday. Robinson was injured in a spill underneath the Nuggets basket during the first quarter of Wednesday nights loss to the Charlotte Bobcats. Wholesale Nike Shoes UK .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. http://www.discountukshoes.com/ . -- Jimmie Johnson held off a teammate, passed a pair of Hall of Famers, and dominated once more at Dover. Cheap Shoes UK . By having more great seasons. Manning was the only unanimous choice for the 2013 Associated Press NFL All-Pro team Friday. Cheap Nike Shoes UK Online . Calgary scored on the first shift, and Michael Cammalleri scored twice as the Flames cruised to a 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday. TORONTO -- Wayne Gretzky and Bobby Orr traveled to see a hyped first matchup between Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid. They got a show from Nazem Kadri instead.Kadri got his second goal of the game in overtime, lifting the Toronto Maple Leafs over the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 on Tuesday night.Matthews and McDavid were scoreless in the first showdown of the last two No. 1 overall picks. McDavid, from nearby Richmond Hill, Ontario, played his first NHL game in Toronto, and the game had enough hype to bring in legends Gretzky and Orr to watch.Kadri claimed he missed all the buildup.To be honest with you I dont know what people were talking about before the game, he said. I was just focused on my matchup and my assignment and just doing whatever I can to help the team win.Kadri won it on the first shift of overtime, eluding McDavids pursuit before beating Cam Talbot. The Leafs 26-year-old top line center has five goals in 10 games. He needed 27 games and almost two months (Dec. 5) to get there last season.His line also managed to hold McDavid off the scoreboard.He can embarrass you when he gets time and space so I just tried to limit that from him and just stay on top of him as much as I could, Kadri said.Hes a good player, McDavid said of Kadri. He played me hard. Good for him.Frederik Andersen had 44 saves for Toronto and Ben Smith also scored. The Leafs have won three of four games at home this season.Edmonton has dropped two in a row for the first time this season. Anton Lander and Darnell Nurse scored and Talbot stopped 28 shots.McDavids line was burned for the first goal of the game 89 seconds into the first period, with Kadri striking for an eaarly lead.ddddddddddddAfter hitting a pair of posts, the Oilers got on the board with 31 seconds left in the first. The action was driven by 25-year-old fourth line fireplug Tyler Pitlick, who stole the puck behind the Toronto goal and found Lander open in front.McDavid had his chances, rushing down the right side at one point and then flipping a backhand attempt on Andersen. McDavid had four shots on goal in nearly 23 minutes.Leafs coach Mike Babcock was surprised at how much Oilers coach Todd McLellan, his former assistant in Detroit, used McDavid. The Leafs coach thought McDavid wore down as the night wore on.I was never expecting the guy to play that much, Babcock said. Hes a good player and all that, but so is (Ryan) Nugent-Hopkins.Matthews, meanwhile, generated some opportunities after a quiet first period, including a few good looks on setups from NHL rookie of the month for October William Nylander. Matthews finished with six shots.Smith put the Leafs in front 2-1 early into the second frame. Nurse lost sight of Smith as he crashed the net.Nurse beat Anderson high glove side for a goal near the midway point of the third period that tied it 2-2.Game notes McDavid and Matthews saw the ice against one another only sparingly over two periods, though more so in the final frame. Matthews, the first overall pick one year after McDavid, described the meeting as just another game on Tuesday morning.UP NEXTOilers: Play at the New York Rangers on Thursday night.Maple Leafs: Play at the Buffalo Sabers on Thursday night. ' ' '