导出博客文章RIO DE JANEIRO -- Russia won a hard-fought contest against France to take Olympic womens handball gold Saturday, drawing motivation from a speech by coach Evgeny Trefilov that emphasized the teams underdog status.
Marquis Haynes Jersey .Neither of the finalists had been among the pre-tournament favorites -- the French had never won an Olympic medal and Russia was emerging from a prolonged rebuilding effort. That all changed when Russia toppled two-time defending gold medalist Norway and France upset the Netherlands in the semifinals.We knew we didnt have the right to lose. We got fired up, prepared very seriously, Russias Ekaterina Ilina said. (Trefilov) told us the French were happy to be playing us (instead of Norway), and that got us really angry.The team took the message to heart, grinding out a 22-19 victory at Future Arena that was the lowest-scoring final in Olympic womens history.Russia held a small lead for much of the game, and would have scored more if not for some spectacular saves by the French goalkeepers. Russias Anna Vyakhireva was the top scorer with five goals. France had several key players struggling with injuries.Trefilov led Russia to four world championship titles between 2001 and 2009, but Olympic gold eluded his team, with only a second-place finish in 2008. The team declined sharply after he left, but Trefilov returned in 2013 to turn things around. That meant a fifth-place world championship finish last year, but Olympic gold never seemed in the cards.Movement was the key for Russias miniature team against physically stronger France, he said. If youre small, you need to run away.Trefilov has drawn attention for his colorful outbursts during the Olympics.After one tight win in the group stage, Trefilov said he had wanted to hang everyone in the Russian dressing room at halftime. He was more relaxed following Saturdays win, but it didnt take long for him to return to his usual eccentric style, with praise for Brazilian food and a tirade against foreign coaches in Russian soccer.They wont fight for Russia, he said. In Russia we need a Russian coach.For France, the final was an unexpected success, and center-back Tamara Horacek said she hoped it would plant a seed of future growth.It was an exceptional game. We are happy. Of course we wanted the gold medal, she said. This arena is called the Future Arena, and regarding our future, I think nothing can stop us now.Earlier, Norway recovered from its semifinal loss to win the bronze medal, cruising to a 36-26 win over the Netherlands in a repeat of last years world championship final. Tournament top scorer Nora Mork had seven goals to take her total in Rio to 62.France plays Denmark in the mens final Sunday, after a bronze medal game between Germany and Poland.
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http://www.authenticpanthersshopnfl.com/donte-jackson-jersey/ . Newcastle dominated in the early stages but City weathered the storm and then raised its game in extra time. Negredo broke the deadlock from close range after a simple move in the 99th minute before Dzeko took the ball round goalkeeper Tim Krul to seal the victory in the 105th. Still unsure exactly what to expect from the Japanese newcomer, Lou Piniella kept waiting for the rookie to pull a ball. Too many hits sprayed to left field, Sweet Lou thought, too easy for defenses to adjust.So the veteran Seattle manager summoned the translator and told him to deliver a message to Ichiro Suzuki: I want to see some bat speed.Piniella saw them huddle in the dugout and share a laugh. A couple of innings later, Suzuki led off with a home run into the bullpen in right-center.He rounds the bases, he steps on home plate, and he says, `Happy now? when he shook my hand, Piniella recalled. I said, `Yeah, yeah, you can do whatever you want.All these years later, with Suzuki on the verge of joining the 3,000-hit club in the big leagues, his first skipper in the majors is taking a lot of pride in watching the pursuit. As much as Piniella believed in Suzuki from the start and was in awe of those early accomplishments with the Mariners, he never would have guessed the outfielder would still be playing at age 42 and going for such a lofty perch.Suzuki hit .335 with a .412 on-base percentage in 164 at-bats over the first half with Miami. He reached 2,991 hits Friday night with a pinch single in the eighth inning of the Marlins 7-6 victory at St. Louis in the return from the All-Star break.Now gray-haired and no longer a regular in his 16th major league season, Suzuki might have lost a step, but not much. Credit his commitment to an intense regimen that has long included an on-deck routine that features a deep warmup squat, then a one-of-a-kind stance and a sweeping twirl of his bat.Suzuki was 27 and had 1,278 hits in Japan before he came to the big leagues. Piniella got so excited after Suzukis two-hit debut in 2001 that he kissed him.I was so happy for him, thats why, Piniella said. Its hard for a player to come here from Japan, especially with the scrutiny that he had. Im an emotional guy. I got caught up in the moment. I gave him a hug and at the same time I gave him a little peck. Look, I really enjoyed watching this young man play and I knew from seeing him in spring training that he was a special player.At the time, Suzuki did not come cheaply. Seattle paid $13 million just to secure his rights, and signed him to a three-year, $14 million contract. The Mariners got their moneys worth and then some.Suzuki, better known just by his first name, has long prided himself in preparation.So much so that Piniella had been around no other player like him, with that meticulous stretching before stepping into the batters box to the foot rubdowns he gave himself at his locker with a small wooden tool before and after games.
Authentic Panthers Jerseys. had never seen it, quite frankly. I was quite amazed by the things that he did, the stretching especially, Piniella said. Here in the United States, we go through a rigorous spring training, but once the season starts prior to the games we have our stretching exercises and then the kids play.He took it to a totally different level. He was fanatical about that and thats probably one of the big reasons that hes playing here at age 42, he said.That first season was a memorable one for many reasons. The Mariners won an AL-record 116 games, clinching the division shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Yet Seattle failed to reach the World Series, losing in five games of the AL Championship Series to the Yankees.Still, Suzuki won AL Rookie of the Year and MVP. Suzukis ability to beat out infield hits at times left Piniella shaking his head.He did have a special year. The team had a special year that year, Piniella said. We won 116 games and Ichiro was a big part of it. Ichiro was a special player. He had really good speed, he had that uncanny ability to put the ball in play. In the outfield, he played as well as you can expect, great throwing arm. He made the adjustment to American baseball very quickly, became one of the leaders in our clubhouse and was accepted by the players. He had a tremendous impact on our team that year.Hes going for his 3,000th hit now, and Im so proud of him. Hes had just a wonderful career. I look forward to the time when hell be inducted into the Hall of Fame, he said.Some of the most memorable hits by the 10-time All-Star didnt even count.In 2007, Suzuki hit the first inside-the-park home run in All-Star game history, winning unanimous MVP honors and helping the American League to a 5-4 victory at San Franciscos AT&T Park with a go-ahead, two-run drive that took a crazy bounce off the right-field wall.Hed never hit an inside-the-park homer during his decorated career in Japan.Hes an amazing guy, Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. You just take age out of the equation and if you just looked at him as a player, if you evaluated just what you see, not thinking about age, you see a guy that runs above average, plays all three outfield spots, throws above average, hits lefties and righties.His work habits and everything else, for me, just set him apart.---AP Baseball Writer Mike Fitzpatrick in New York contributed to this report.
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