Watching major league baseball games could be a bit of a challenge for Liam Hendriks when he was in school. After all, he grew up in Perth, Australia, where the time zone is 12 hours ahead of North Americas Eastern time zone. So he would wake up by 7 a.m., turn on the TV and watch as many innings of a major league night game as possible before it was time to go to school.My parents would leave to go to work, and I would be sitting there watching and then wind up running late for the school bus, he said. It was a 10-minute walk to get to the bus, and I would usually leave with five minutes to go, so I would have to run to the bus. And if I missed the bus, I would have to run to school.Young Australian baseball fans have been able to watch Hendriks on their screens in recent seasons, though that might have meant being very, very late for the school bus in 2016 since he pitches for the Oakland Athletics, who usually play in the Pacific time zone.There have been 30 Australian-born major leaguers, beginning with Joe Quinn from 1884-1901. He would be the only Aussie in the majors for another 85 years until Craig Shipley played for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1986 to start a growth in the sport Down Under. Dave Nilsson reached the majors as a catcher in 1992 and went on to become an All-Star, as did Grant Balfour, who debuted in 2001 and also pitched in a World Series.At the start of this season, Hendriks was the only Aussie in the majors, but three more were called up later: Detroit Tigers rookie pitcher Warwick Saupold, Minnesota Twins rookie third baseman James Beresford and veteran reliever Peter Moylan, who made it back to the big leagues with the Kansas City Royals.We go through peaks and valleys with guys coming over here, Hendriks said. Well go through the stage when a lot of kids are coming over here a lot more, and then well go through the stage where not so much. Lately, weve had a lot of kids going to college over here [in the U.S.] rather than go into pro ball. Some guys who might have been fringe players, they can head to college and maybe mature a little bit and hone their skills a little bit under American tutelage, which generally is a bit better than some of the Australian coaches down there.Hopefully these [three] guys getting in the big leagues this year definitely will spur a wave. Well see how long that takes to kick in, but generally we have 40 guys in the minors at any one time. The number is usually 30-plus kids trying to get their chance, and hopefully clubs will recognize how much they persevered to get over here and how much they sacrificed as well for that opportunity.Hendriks, 27, got his start in baseball as a child, when his parents gave him the choice between playing the very popular cricket or the less popular T-ball. They said, T-ball is like half an hour every Saturday and cricket is like six hours every Saturday. You can choose whatever you want but ...He chose the quicker game and wound up loving baseball. As he grew older, he would play at a baseball school in South Fremantle, though it was not a short commute. After his school day ended at 3:30 in the afternoon, he would take a series of buses and trains that could take two hours to reach the baseball school. He would practice for an hour and a half and then head home. He also would occasionally pitch on fields that had a dirt mound on the actual diamond but a plastic mound on which relievers warmed up.I think it builds character, Hendriks said of starting a baseball career in Australia. I think a lot of guys when they get over here, you know what theyve gone through, what theyve grinded through to get here.Hendriks signed with the Twins in 2007 and reached the majors with them in 2011, though he lost his first nine decisions as a starter. He has worked exclusively out of the bullpen the past two seasons (he was with the Toronto Blue Jays in 2015). Heading into Fridays game, he had a 3.79 ERA in 51 appearances for the As this season, more than a run below his career mark of 4.91.Hes an aggressive guy that just wants to pitch, and hes moved himself up to spot where its a prominent role for us, Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. Aggressiveness is his thing. I dont want to stereotype, but it seems like a lot of the Australian players are aggressive guys.Melvin has managed a fair number of Aussies, including four in 2012, when pitchers Grant Balfour, Travis Blackley and Rich Thompson and third baseman Luke Hughes all were with the As. Well, we wear green and gold uniforms, so you would expect them to want to come here, Melvin said, referring to Australias national colors.Hendriks says the Australian Baseball League, which started in 2010 and receives some funding from MLB, is helping the sport grow there. Former big leaguers such as Nilsson and Graeme Lloyd provide valuable coaching while active, and former minor leaguers provide good competition on the field (the ABL season runs from November to February).Weve been lucky that we have had a lot of guys whove had professional baseball experience over here, Hendriks said. Anytime you get a chance to work with a guy like Graeme, it can take you from being a fringe guy to all of a sudden youre learning a new pitch or a new technique and way to attack hitters that gives you an edge that some scouts are looking for and the opportunity to maybe come over here.There are also more scouts in Australia these days. As Aussie former big leaguer Ryan Rowland-Smith said before the 2014 MLB opener that was played in Sydney: When I signed 13 years ago, there were a handful of teams that were serious about sending scouts over and trying to sign you. Now every team sends someone over there.Hendriks says baseball is in the top 10 of Australias favorite sports and maybe pushing the top five.With the World Baseball Classic coming up, that will help and raise the popularity, like swimming and gymnastics in the Olympics, he said. Hopefully, we can win a couple games and advance to the second round and put on a good show for the guys back home.And one they will be able to watch without being too late for school or work.Buccaneers Jerseys Authentic China . Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, announced Wednesday that the team would assign Swedish forward Elias Lindholm to his nations team for the upcoming tournament. Mike Alstott Jersey . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. http://www.cheapbuccaneersjerseysauthentic.com/ . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. Wholesale Buccaneers Jerseys .Y. - Jerome Samson scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the St. Cheap Tampa Bay Buccaneers Jerseys .2 billion agreement with Rogers Communications for the leagues broadcast and multimedia rights.SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Katie Johnson scored twice in the final 16 minutes to lead Southern California to a 3-1 victory over top-ranked West Virginia in the NCAA womens College Cup championship game Sunday at Avaya Stadium.I felt like the goal against us was kind of my fault. I turned a ball over in the middle, said Johnson, a senior whose career was threatened two years ago by her second ACL knee injury. I felt like I had to make up for that. I honestly just wanted to win.The second-seeded Trojans (19-4-2) also captured the national title in 2007. They are the fourth school to win multiple College Cup titles.This group was a special group from Day 1 ... they just didnt know it yet, third-year USC coach Keidane McAlpine said.The Mountaineers (23-2-2) lost for the first time since a 1-0 setback to Georgetown back on Sept. 18. West Virginia had a 17-game unbeaten streak snapped, and allowed three goals for the only time all season.West Virginia outshot USC 21-8 and held a 9-1 edge in corner kicks, but trailed 1-0 just 1:22 into the game after Morgan Andrews.I thought we did a great job battling back, creating opportunities, West Virginia coach Nikki Brown-Izzy said. This sport is cruel. At the end of the day we didnt finish and USC did.No one finished better than Johnson, who sat out last season while rehabilitating after ACL surgery on her right knee. She tore ligaments in her left knee in high school.Johnson, who also had winning goal in USCs 1-0 semifinal win over Georgetown on Friday, was wide open in front of the net when Leah Pruitt took a pass up the left sideline, beat defender Easther Mayi Kith, and delivered a perfect cross. Johnson simply rolled the ball into the goal to the right of goalkeeeper Rylee Foster.ddddddddddddJohnson, selected the College Cups most outstanding offensive player, scored again off an assist from Nicole Molen in the 87th minute.Having an injury like an ACL injury is not fun, Johnson said. I knew this team was going to be special so I worked really hard to come back. I wanted to get the national championship. I knew we could do it.To have the weekend she had is more than fitting, McAlpine said. Absolutely unbelievable.The Trojans got on the board in the second minute after Julia Bingham directed a corner kick to the top of the penalty box, where Savannah Levin headed the ball forward to Andrews, whose header from 5 yards eluded Foster.West Virginias Ashley Lawrence, a member of the 2016 Canadian Olympic team, tied it at 1 in the 66th minute when she ripped a shot from the top left corner of the penalty box just inside the near post.The Mountaineers kept the pressure on goalkeeper Sammy Jo Prudhomme and the Trojans defense most of the afternoon.Sometimes the ball just doesnt go to the back of the net, Izzy-Brown said. I thought we should have had three or four (goals). Lots of credit to Sammy.The Trojans joined North Carolina (21 titles), Notre Dame (3) and Portland (3) as the only multiple winners of the College Cup.USC won its 126th national team title on the same day its mens water polo team lost 10-8 to Cal in the NCAA final just 45 miles away in Berkeley, California.West Virginia, in its first College Cup final, was hoping to claim its first NCAA am title on the same day its mens water poleys[/url] Wholesale Baseball Jerseys ' ' '