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Three repeat visitors from last season -- Nebraska, Minnesota and Texas -- and one very, very familiar presence -- Stanford -- make up the volleyball final four this year. Heres a look at whos headed to Columbus, Ohio, and what well see this week from the best of the best.1. Stanford: Doing Stanford stuff againTheres no debate which school has had its hand prints on the NCAA tournament the most throughout the events history: Stanford is in the final four for the 20th time. The sixth-seeded Cardinal upset No. 3 Wisconsin on the Badgers home court in the Madison Regional final.Stanfords first final four was in 1982, the second year of the NCAA tournament, and the Cardinals first national championship was in 1992. But its been 12 years since the last of the Cardinals six NCAA titles. And in that time, Penn State passed Stanford for the most with seven, with six of them coming between 2007-2014.In the past decade, in fact, Stanford has dealt more with big disappointments in the NCAA tournament than big celebrations:Three consecutive NCAA final losses from 2006-08.One national semifinal loss.Two down-to-the wire fifth-set losses in the elite eight.Three losses in the second round, including last year to Loyola Marymount.The Cardinal were without 2014 first-team All-American Inky Ajanaku last year because of a knee injury, and despite still having a strong senior presence, fell short of repeating their 14 final four trip.This season, Ajanaku was back as the den mother to a team loaded with freshman talent.The Cardinal were the highest-seeded Pac-12 team in the NCAA field, despite not winning the league title. Yet it looked like another tough ending for Stanford when it fell into a two-set hole at UW Fieldhouse, where Wisconsin had lost just once (to Minnesota) all season. Somehow, though, when their backs were really up against the wall, the Cardinal just started playing freely. They climbed all the way back to stun the Badgers 15-9 in the fifth set, and in doing so, brought the West Coast back into the final four. Last year, all four teams were from the Central time zone for the first time, and the same would have been true this year if Wisconsin had won.Now, Ajanaku, who had 20 kills and 11 blocks against Wisconsin, gets her second trip to the final four with lots of help from youngsters like Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Kathryn Plummer.The Cardinal face Minnesota in the semifinals, a rematch of the teams early-season meeting at Stanford on Aug. 28. Stanford won that one 3-1.2. Minnesota: Gophers on the prowlNo. 2 seed Minnesota is the only final four team that has not won an NCAA title; this is the Gophers fifth time making it this far. The closest theyve come to the pinnacle was a 3-0 loss to Stanford in the 2004 final.But if you were going to pick a favorite just based on the four teams regional performances, it might well be the Gophers. They beat No. 15 seed Missouri, the SEC co-champion, 3-1. Then the Gophers faced No. 10 UCLA, which tied for second in the Pac-12 with Stanford.Minnesota started the first set slowly, trailing the Bruins 6-0, and then took off. They prevailed in a sweep and now have won 14 matches in a row, the longest current winning streak of any of the final four teams.The Gophers had five different players who had double-digit kills against Missouri, led by Big Ten Player of the Year Sarah Wilhite, and the attack was also pretty spread out against UCLA. With the Big Ten Setter of the Year, Samantha Seliger-Swenson, Minnesota is a really difficult team to defend because there are so many options.Last year, the Gophers won the Big Ten title and then fell in the national semifinals to Texas, 3-1. That was a growth experience for Minnesota under coach Hugh McCutcheon, who is in his fifth season in Minneapolis and has built up quite a powerhouse.I was extremely proud of our athletes for the way they responded to the different style of play we got to see from UCLA, McCutcheon said. A lot of defensive discipline on their part.For what its worth, the Gophers national semifinal opponent, Stanford, lost both of its Pac-12 matches this season to the Bruins, 3-1 at UCLA and 3-2 at Stanford. Those are the Cardinals only losses since mid-October.3. Texas: Longhorns here againThe bully of the Big 12, Texas finally got knocked of its conference perch for the first time since Nebraska left the league in 2011. Kansas won the league, with Texas second. A new sheriff in town?Well, not exactly. Nothing can take the league title from the Jayhawks, of course. But in the NCAA tournament, its the same old story: Fourth-seeded Texas is in the final four. The Longhorns advanced there for the fifth season in a row and for the eighth time in the past nine years. (Kansas went to the final four as well last year, but was upset in the second round this season by Creighton, the same team that Texas swept in the regional final.)The problem for Texas, though, has been finishing the job once it gets this far -- which perhaps isnt a fair way to look at it.Yes, Texas has just one title in recent years -- in 2012 -- to add to the one the Longhorns won way back in 1988. But this current streak of success means theyve reached the final four both in years where theyve been a truly great team and in years when they overachieved.Such was the case last year, in fact, when injuries left them a bit less talented -- but even more determined. Texas got to the 2015 NCAA final, but at that point was overpowered by Nebraska, 3-0.This season, they faced the Huskers in August on a neutral court in Eugene, Oregon, and were swept again. In Big 12 play, Texas fell to Kansas and to Iowa State.And the Longhorns almost stumbled in the regional semifinals, losing a 2-0 lead and facing two match points in the fifth set before a dramatic rally to beat BYU. That close call was followed up by the exact opposite kind of match: a 3-0 statement over Creighton.So if youre not sure exactly what well see from the Longhorns in Columbus, the truth is that they might not be sure, either. But these things are certain: They have an extremely experienced setter in senior Chloe Collins, and three hitters with great ability to put the ball down: Paulina Prieto Cerame, Ebony Nwanebu and Micaya White.This team has been up and down this entire year, Collins said. To go and achieve [the final four] is something special for us, because we know all the obstacles weve been through this whole season.4. Nebraska: Seeking a repeatThe Huskers saw their season flash before their eyes Friday afternoon, facing two match points against Penn State. But such is the nature of volleyball that momentum can turn on the proverbial dime -- and when it does, it can be breathtaking to behold.So close to elimination -- and the end of their dream of repeating as NCAA champions -- the Huskers scored four consecutive points to win the third set. With a new life, they didnt squander it: Nebraska beat Penn State in five sets, and then looked like a favorite to win it all after dominating Pac-12 champion Washington in the final.There are no doubts about Nebraskas strengths: experience and chemistry. Kadie and Amber Rolfzen are both playing at a high level, and fellow seniors Justine Wong-Orantes and Andie Malloy have also been key contributors. Briana Holman, a transfer from LSU, has helped solidify Nebraskas block, and pulling it all together is setter Kelly Hunter.The pressure on the Huskers last year to win the title in Omaha, Nebraska, was extreme, and accomplishing that no doubt helped steel them for their tougher moments this year.However, there werent a lot of those. The Huskers let a 2-0 lead get away at Minnesota in late November and found themselves in a five-set match they lost to the Gophers. They fell short in that test but didnt in their five-setter Friday with Penn State.The Huskers and Longhorns have a very long history -- the Big Red leads the series 32-21 -- and theyve maintained their rivalry even after Nebraska leaving the Big 12.They are two programs -- and two coaches in Nebraskas John Cook and Texas Jerritt Elliott -- that have carried the torch for collegiate volleyball for a long time. And the fact that they keep running into each other in big moments is a testament to both. Fake Patriots Jerseys .S. 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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. Wholesale Patriots Jerseys .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. CLEVELAND -- The Cleveland Indians, who may have already delivered the knockout punch to the Detroit Tigers in the AL Central Division race, go for the series sweep on Sunday as the two teams meet in the final game of their three game series.Cleveland won the first game Friday 11-4, and prevailed Saturday in a tense 1-0 victory in 10 innings. It was a somewhat bizarre win in that Indians starter Carlos Carrasco was knocked out of the game after two pitches after he was hit by a line drive and suffered a season-ending broken hand.Carrascos quick exit meant a heavy work day for the Cleveland bullpen, and the relievers responded. Eight Indians relievers combined to pitch 10 scoreless innings on three hits.It was a bittersweet win for the Indians, however, because of the loss of Carrasco. Cleveland was already down one starter as Danny Salazar is out for the remainder of the year because of a strained right forearm. So Clevelands once-vaunted rotation is down to Corey Kluber, Trevor Bauer, and three question marks.It hurts, said Manager Terry Francona of the loss of Carrasco. It will make this more challenging, but when we do it, it will feel that much better when we do. Well figure it out.Nothing has been finalized yet, but the loss of Salazar and Carrasco probably means that Josh Tomlin and rookie Mike Clevinger return to the rotation. Tomlin started the season in the rottation but pitched so poorly in August that he was moved to the bullpen.dddddddddddd Clevinger was 11-1 as a starter at Triple-A Columbus prior to his mid-season recall, but has pitched mostly in the bullpen.Well look at things and see how we can piece it together, Francona said. The good news is we think we can.The bad news for the Tigers is they have to play the Indians again Sunday. Detroit is 1-13 versus Cleveland this season, a big reason why they trail the Indians by eight games in the Central.We have to find a way to score, obviously, Tigers manager Brad Ausmus said. We only got one guy past second base in the whole game (Saturday). I felt like we could have been a little better, but it wasnt from a lack of effort.Sundays pitching matchup will be Bauer (11-7, 4.06 ERA) for the Indians and Daniel Norris (2-2, 3.81) for the Tigers.Bauer has made two appearances against the Tigers this year, once as a starter and once as a reliever. He is 2-0 with a 5.00 ERA. In nine career appearances (eight starts) against Detroit, he is 4-2 with a 6.55 ERA.Norris has started one game against Cleveland this year, pitching two innings and giving up two runs on three hits. In two career appearances versus the Indians, Norris has no record and a 3.60 ERA. ' ' '