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Two months ago, Brad Horning and Jeremy Schnedler were acquaintances who occasionally ran into each other at social functions.

They decided to meet at the Wingnuts' first game on May 8, and they happened to sit in section 118.

Since then, the term "section 118" has become obsolete. It's now known as "The Nuthouse."

Horning and Schnedler are the founding members, and the group of diehard Wingnuts fans has grown to about 30 fans, male and female, ranging in age from 23 to 37.

"It was a matter of a couple games where we'd meet in the parking lot and scream 'Go 'Nuts,' " said Horning, 37. "People would come over and introduce themselves, and we told them they could come sit with us."

The worst thing about this lost weekend for the Kansas City Royals at Tropicana Field might be that it still isn't over.

It didn't end with Sunday's 9-2 knockout by the Tampa Bay Rays. Nope, this is a wraparound series. The Royals must make one more run through the gauntlet this afternoon before heading home.

Not an encouraging thought.

Simply put, the Royals are at low ebb right now. Little is going right. So it only makes it worse that, in the Rays, they're facing a young, hungry collection that just happens to possess baseball's best record.

For three days, it's been a mismatch.

The Brewers are extremely close to a deal to acquire Indians ace C.C. Sabathia in a trade that bolsters their rotation for a playoff push, a person with direct knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press.

The person requested anonymity because the trade has not been finalized and said there were a few remaining issues to work out.

Sabathia went 19-7 with a 3.21 ERA to win the AL Cy Young last season and would give the Brewers another power pitcher to pair with Ben Sheets as Milwaukee tries to make the playoffs for the first time since 1982.

The big lefty is 6-8 with a 3.83 ERA for the Indians, but has also been plagued with a lack of run support. In 11 of his 18 starts, Cleveland has scored two runs or less for him.

"I'm good, excited," Sabathia wrote in a text message posted on ESPN.com. "It's weird leaving these guys."

Liberal 11, Dodge City 6

Derby 12, Hays 5

Sunday's Results

Liberal 8, Dodge City 4

Twins 4, Indians 3 -- Carlos Gomez capped a three-run seventh inning against All-Star Cliff Lee with an RBI groundout, and the Twins handed the Indians to their eighth straight loss.

• Lee (11-2) lost for the first time in nine starts, hurt by a rare lack of control in the seventh that helped the resourceful Twins put together another one of their small-ball rallies. They batted eight times that inning and hit the ball out of the infield only twice.

White Sox 4, Athletics 3 -- John Danks set a career high with nine strikeouts, and the Chicago handed Rich Harden his first loss in a year.

• Danks (6-4) took a no-hitter into the sixth as the White Sox salvaged a four-game split after dropping the first two. Chicago has won 10 of its last 13 games.

Rangers 11, Orioles 10 -- David Murphy hit a three-run homer and Ian Kinsler got three singles to extend his hitting streak to 18 games, leading the Rangers to another win.

Allyson Felix felt no final-day pressure at U.S. Olympic track and field trials. She's just that good.

Wallace Spearmon, Jenn Stuczynski and Marshevet Hooker are good, too, but all had to endure their share of bumps, bruises and thumping hearts before their Olympic trips were sewn up Sunday.

The day after Tyson Gay's untimely fall reminded everyone there are no sure things in track, the two sprinters and the pole vaulter worked harder than anyone might have imagined to make it to Beijing.

Spearmon, thought to be a shoo-in in the men's 200, needed a late burst to finish third.

Stuczynski set the American record in the pole vault at 16 feet, 1 ¾ inches, but only after she missed on her first two jumps at her opening height and needed an emotion-draining third and final attempt to keep her chances alive.

Country and pop. Pop and country. For years the musical genres have borrowed from each other as well as invaded each other's territories. That's even more present now with former pop stars Jewel and Jessica Simpson recently making their switches to country. So let's take a look at some of the artists who began with pop, or dabbled in it simultaneously, before making the complete leap to country.

Jewel

Some of her pop-folk proved engaging, particularly 1996's "You Were Meant for Me" and 2001's "Standing Still." But the Utah-born, Alaska-reared Jewel Kilcher hasn't a clue about real country music, judging by her paltry Nashville debut CD, "Perfectly Clear." Her wispy diary musings about love have no business in a honky-tonk. Despite this, she's a judge on NBC's reality TV show, "Nashville Star." Go figure.

Jessica Simpson

The pop diva and tabloid queen has announced she's moving over to country for good. Well, hmm, the jury hasn't yet decided whether this is an artistically sound decision. Her debut CD isn't due until Sept. 9. But what do you know? Her first single, "Come on Over," has personality and punch. A shocker.

English singer Amy Winehouse is no stranger to tabloid headlines -- routinely grabbing attention for alleged drug use, brushes with the law, bizarre onstage behavior and curious fashion choices.

Yet a recent disclosure that the 24-year-old has "signs of emphysema," according to her U.S. publicist, Tracey Miller, shocked many.

Though copious photos show the beehived songstress with a cigarette dangling from her lips, it seemed stunning to learn that someone that age could suffer from a disease usually associated with two-pack-a-day 65-year-olds.

But Winehouse is not an anomaly.

Health experts say that young adult smokers are no strangers to mild emphysema, a shortness of breath caused by damage to the lung's small air sacs.