ANAHEIM, Calif. Dax McCarty USA Jersey . -- The Detroit Tigers had seen enough from their shaky bullpen to know something had to be done. So the AL Central leaders acquired right-hander Joakim Soria. "Obviously, Im excited to have Joakim on the team," manager Brad Ausmus said Thursday before the Tigers began a four-game series with the Los Angeles Angels. "Anytime you can get help of his calibre, especially at the back end of the bullpen, I dont think there would be a manager who wouldnt be excited about it." Detroit dealt pitching prospects Corey Knebel and Jake Thompson to the Texas Rangers to get the 30-year-old Soria on Wednesday night. "We gave up a lot, guys that we valued," Dave Dombrowski, the Tigers general manager said. "But it was a necessity." The Tigers have been working on improving their bullpen for weeks because closer Joe Nathan has been inconsistent and Joel Hanrahan apparently will not be able to pitch this year. Setup man Joba Chamberlain has been their only reliable reliever. Soria was 1-3 with a 2.70 ERA, saving 17 games in 19 chances this year with the Rangers. He is 15-18 with a 2.51 and 177 saves in 199 chances over five years with the Kansas City Royals and two in Texas. The Rangers signed Soria to an $8 million, two-year contract before last season as he was recovering from his second Tommy John surgery. His contract includes a $7 million club option for 2015 with a $500,000 buyout, making him even more attractive to the Tigers. Soria sounded as if he will be happy with whatever role the Tigers give him. He is joining a franchise aiming for its first World Series championship since 1984 and leaving a last-place team that has had high hopes dashed by a slew of injuries. "This is a good feeling," the Mexican-born Soria said at his locker in Angel Stadium while accepting welcoming handshakes from several of his new teammates. "Im grateful to Texas, because they picked me up when I was hurt. So I wish all the best for them. But now Im in a different family, its a different feeling. Im willing to do whatever they want me to do and do whatever it takes to help this team win as many games as we can. My goal is to win the World Series." Ausmus said that Nathan, a six-time All-Star, will remain as the closer with Soria starting out as the seventh-inning reliever and Chamberlain staying in his current setup role. "Id probably leave Joba in the eighth inning because hes pitched so well there," Ausmus said. "I talked to Joakim about pitching in the eighth if Joba wasnt available, and in the ninth of Joe wasnt available. So he was open to help any way he can. Hes pitched in all those roles before, so having someone with Joakims experience in the ninth if Joe cant go is enormous." Ausmus is grateful for the chance to have two closers with All-Star credentials at his disposal, but insisted that Nathan is his guy right now -- although he wouldnt use him more than three days in a row. "I never saw (Soria) as a threat as a teammate," Nathan said. "Hes another great arm that we brought over here. Hes a gamer. Hes a winner. He wants the baseball and he just loves to compete." Nathan has struggled at times this season, but not enough to give Ausmus a reason to take him out of the closer role. "Even though Ive done quite a bit in this game, one of those things Ive also done is pull myself out of the closer role when I dont feel as if Im helping the club," Nathan said. "But right now is not one of those instances. Im definitely throwing the ball with more consistency and getting a lot more swings and misses, which is always a good sign. But with that said, this is Brads decision." When the Tigers were considering making a move to add Soria, they asked Nathan and Ian Kinsler about him. "Both of them were effusive in their praise of him as a player and a pitcher and as far as his makeup on the team," Dombrowski recalled. "One of the comments was, Why dont we have him yet? It was a real plus for us to know we can have another quality pitcher for next year." To help this season, Detroit signed Hanrahan to a $1 million, one-year deal in May -- a year after he had elbow surgery -- to pitch out of the bullpen. Dombrowski, though, said it is "highly unlikely," that Hanrahan will pitch this season. "Were not counting on him at all," Dombrowski said. Timothy Weah USA Jersey . The mood in Seattle was electrified as the parade featuring the NFL champions began near the Space Needle and made its way to CenturyLink Field, the home of the team. At a ceremony inside the stadium, the team thanked its loyal followers -- the 12th Man -- capping a day of boisterous celebration that drew an estimated 700,000 revelers to Seattle. John Brooks USA Jersey . Down 2-1 after Rick Nash scored on a penalty shot, the Oilers ran off four unanswered goals in the remainder of the second period on the way to a 6-3 victory on Sunday. http://www.usasoccerauthority.com/matt-hedges-usa-jersey/ . -- Washington Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo is going to the Pro Bowl as a replacement for San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks.DAYTON, Ohio -- D.J. Evans is charitably listed at 5-foot-9. His coach and teammates tease him that he looks a foot shorter. Yet he stood awfully tall for Albany on Tuesday night. Evans scored 22 points, including two clinching free throws with 12.6 seconds left, to lead the Great Danes to their first NCAA tournament victory, 71-64 over Mount St. Marys in the First Four. Evans, an often overlooked component in Albanys lineup, belied his height with nine rebounds to go with three assists. "Hes about 4-foot-8, so hes really impressive," laughed his running mate at guard, Peter Hooley, who had 20 points. "I dont think theres another 4-8 guard who could go in there and get that many boards. He did what he needed to do to get this win." It was a signature victory for the America East Conference tournament champs, who had come up empty in three previous trips to the big dance. "It means a lot," said an emotional coach Will Brown. "Theres no better feeling. Like I told our kids, were going to be in the history books at the University of Albany forever." The Great Danes (19-14) advance to meet overall No. 1 seed and top-ranked Florida on Thursday in Orlando. But that was a concern for another day. It was a wild game of incredible turnarounds, with the Great Danes bolting to leads of 13-0 and 21-2, only to have The Mount (16-17) bounce back with a 21-2 run of its own to pull even. Hooley, one of three Australians on the Albany roster, hit two free throws with 2:43 remaining to stretch the lead to 65-62. After Julian Norfleet countered with a bucket, Hooley again pounded his way to the basket and lofted a shot over a defender for a 67-64 lead at the 2-minute mark. It stayed that way with the teams missing big shots. Rashad Whack and Norfleet each missed potential tying 3s -- Whacks rolled almost inside the rim and then bounded away. "When it hit the rim, I thought it was going to go in," Whack said softly. Evans was fouled with 12.6 seconds left and hit both shots to increase the lead to five points -- and out of reach of another long-range shot. Evans was most proud of his rebounding. "They shot a lot of 3s and there were a lot of long rebounds," he said with a grin. "I was just at the right place at the right time. Kellyn Acosta USA Jersey. " After playing two years of junior-college ball and sitting behind a senior starter a year ago, Brown told Evans his day would eventually come. "Hes the happiest kid in the world right now," Brown said. Norfleet then missed another 3 and Albany finally could call itself an NCAA winner. Will Miller, a freshman who came off the bench, led The Mount with 21 points, all on 3s. But he didnt get off a shot in the last 3:32 after making back-to-back 3s to draw the Mountaineers within a point. Whack added 16 points and Sam Prescott 14 for The Mount, which electrified the crowd at the University of Dayton with 3-point fireworks. The Mountaineers hit 12 of 37 shots behind the arc to time and again come back from deficits. The glut of 3-pointers was nothing new for the Mountaineers. They came in with an offence heavily dependent on shots behind the arc. They averaged 9 of 25 on 3-pointers coming in. Albany had made some racket in the NCAAs before, but had never come out on top. In 2006, the Great Danes led by double figures in the second half but lost to Connecticut, 72-59. A year later, they held their own before falling Virginia, 84-57. A year ago, as a 15 seed, they battled Duke throughout before coming up short, 73-61. Mount St. Marys was also making its fourth NCAA appearance, although it had won once before -- a victory over Coppin State in 2008 in the old format of an opening-round leading into the big tournament. Albany led 35-31 at the break, but that didnt tell the story of one bizarre half. The Mount couldnt do much right for the first 8-plus minutes. The Great Danes raced to a 13-0 lead. The Mountaineers missed misfired on their first 11 shots from the field, including six behind the arc. "A lot of teams would have folded," said Mount coach Jamion Christian. "Our guys didnt do that. They took the punch and they bounced back." Things quickly turned around, with Mount going on an 18-0 run. Like a couple of sparring partners, the teams kept trading flurries in the second half. Down 45-41, Albany went on a 10-1 run. Trailing 60-53, the Mountaineers scored nine of the next 12 capped by Millers two 3s to cut the deficit to a point. That set the stage for Evans to play like a giant. ' ' '