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| es still a lot of fight in us. We might be down but wer | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Feb 19 2016, 03:33 AM (2 Views) | |
| vive123654 | Feb 19 2016, 03:33 AM Post #1 |
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Part of the Crowd
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The last time Justin Gatlin took the stage at the Olympic trials, he was a kid on the brink of becoming the next big sprinter in track. Sam Mills Panthers Jersey . Those days seem long ago. So much has transpired for Gatlin since the 04 trials, when he finished second to Maurice Greene and knocked off a college star named Tyson Gay to make the U.S. squad. A month later, Gatlin captured the 100-meter crown in Athens. A year later, he was a world champion. Then came his swift fall from grace. Gatlin tested positive for excessive testosterone in 2006, leading to a four-year ban and preventing him from defending his title in Beijing. Now 30 and late in his career, Gatlin returns to the trials this weekend with almost a detached demeanour. Theres simply no time for a stroll down memory lane, only time to speed down his lane. His biggest threats will be Olympic bronze medallist Walter Dix along with a familiar face in Gay, now a seasoned veteran with a surgically repaired hip. Up for grabs will be three spots for London. For Gatlin, theres more at stake. This is another chance to restore his tarnished career. "I owe my friends and my family a great show. I owe them a great comeback," Gatlin said in a phone interview. "I owe it to show the world that I am a God-given talent, and I will compete until I cant compete no more. "I owe them a heartfelt show. Not just some entertainment, where Im dancing around, but something that people want to watch, thats almost Rocky-esque. Something you want to root for and watch and down the road you can say, I saw that." On the surface, Gatlin is treating his return to trials as nothing more than another race at another meet, vowing to switch off all emotional attachment. His approach is simple: Pack his bags, board the plane for Eugene, Ore., run three fast rounds and hopefully, just hopefully head back home to Orlando, Fla., with a spot on the team. Simple as that. Only, his facade soon cracks. For a runner who wears his heart on his sleeve, hiding his true feelings doesnt come easy. Indeed, returning to the trials after being away for nearly eight years means the world to him and chokes him up — at least it will, he said, when he steps onto the track and looks around at all the fans. "Its going to be magical," said Gatlin, whos also slated to run the 200. "This is the first race in a long time that Ive been excited to run. Totally excited, not really scared or nervous." He may actually be the one to beat, too. After all, his time of 9.87 seconds at a race last month in Doha is tops among Americans this season. Not only that, but Gatlin held off rival Asafa Powell of Jamaica to win that race. To Gatlin, the stellar time and victory over Powell served as proof that he was on the right path — to possibly securing a spot for the Olympics and maybe mending his name in the sport. He insists the positive test was caused when a massage therapist rubbed a testosterone-like cream onto his legs. Believe him or not. He knows he cant sway people at this point, especially given his past ties to Trevor Graham, the former coach who was given a lifetime ban by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency for his role in helping his athletes obtain performance-enhancing drugs. Long ago, Gatlin made peace with the idea there will always be skeptics who believe he doesnt deserve a second chance. "But that (time in Doha) showed the world Im a legitimate athlete. If that didnt prove Im back or Ive outrun my past ..." Gatlin said, his words trailing off. "Im in a different place now, with a different coach and Im much older, but Im still able to do the things Ive done before in the same fashion." Last season was a warm-up act for Gatlin, his first full year on the circuit since being reinstated from his ban on July 24, 2010. He kept a rather low profile, preferring to blend in rather than stand out. He didnt want to make any waves. But this season is a different story, especially with London so close. Its show time. This just might also be his last — or at least best — shot at making the Olympics. He left track guru Brooks Johnson last November to train under Dennis Mitchell, a member of the 400-meter relay team that won gold at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. "Brooks and I sat down and I explained to him that for me to be the premiere athlete I know I can be, and he knows I can be, I need training partners. I need someone to engage me," Gatlin said. "He agreed with me. He gave me his blessing." Each day in practice, Gatlin now goes up against Churandy Martina of Netherlands Antilles, the sprinter who finished fourth in the 100 in Beijing. "Obviously, its been working out for me pretty well," Gatlin said. Hardly a surprise, the field for the 100 at U.S. trials will be stacked and include notables such as Dix, Michael Rodgers, Darvis Patton and Trell Kimmons. Oh, and theres also Gay. He showed at the Adidas Grand Prix meet two weeks ago that even with a mending hip he remains in the mix for a spot. "That was an impressive race," Gatlin said. "Tysons one of the strongest competitors thats out there. As long as his body holds up, hell be in the race." Gatlins confident he will, too, as long as he keeps his emotions in check. "Im trying not to make it bigger than what it needs to be," Gatlin said. "Its definitely the kind of sport where you have to stay on top of your game or the game leaves you behind. "I just want to go out there and run as good as I can." Tre Boston Jersey . - Andrew McCutchen went 4 for 5 and finished a home run short of a cycle, and Jordy Mercer drove in a career-high four runs to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to an 8-2 rout of the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday. Tre Boston Panthers Jersey .15 million. The 29-year-old Emery compiled a 15-9-4 record and 2.81 goals-against-average in 34 appearances for the Blackhawks this year, his first season in Chicago. http://www.panthersauthenticofficialshop.com/black-friday-frank-alexander-jersey/ . The word is out: theyre not to be taken lightly. Now, its not just that theyre winning, but its how theyre winning and who theyre beating that has put Toronto back on the NBA radar.OKLAHOMA CITY -- When Kevin Love drilled the most dramatic of his career-high seven 3-pointers during his first 50-point game over Russell Westbrook, he gave his former UCLA buddy a good ribbing. At the end of the night, it was Westbrook who got the win. Westbrook scored a career-best 45 points, Kevin Durant added 40 points and a season-high 17 rebounds and the Oklahoma City Thunder overcame Loves franchise-record 51 points to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves 149-140 in double-overtime Friday night. "Theres a lot of great performances throughout this game but the good thing about it was our team victory," Westbrook said. Westbrook set the tone in the second overtime, stealing the ball on Minnesotas opening possession and racing to the other end for a layup that resulted in a three-point play. The West-leading Thunder never trailed in the period and put it away with nine straight points after Nick Collison blocked Loves shot that would have tied it at 140. Westbrook and Durant became the first tandem in NBA history to have two games in the same season with 40 points apiece. "Thats going to be a game thats going to be played for a while now," Durant said. "It was fun to be a part of. ... We made some big plays. Guys trusted each other and thats what good teams do: make the right basketball play." Love, who beat Durant in the 3-Point Contest on All-Star weekend, also pulled down 14 rebounds while becoming the third player to eclipse 50 points this season. Durant (51) and New Jerseys Deron Williams (57) previously passed the half-century mark. "It doesnt matter. We lost," Love said. "We needed this game, especially the last game of our road trip against a very good team. This could have definitely been a driving force for us in these last 17, 18 games." Love, whose previous career-high was 43 points, was 16 of 27 from the field and went 7 for 11 on 3s, hitting his first five attempts. J.J. Barea complemented him with his first career triple-double -- and the first for Minnesota since Kevin Garnett did it in 2007. He had a season-high 25 points a career-best 14 assists and matched his best rebounding total with 10. Anthony Tolliver chipped in a season-high 23 points for Minnesota, which was without second-leading scorer Nikola Pekovic (left ankle) and Michael Beasley (left big toe) and fell to 2-6 since point guard Ricky Rubio was lost to a season-ending knee injury. "Everybody made plays when it counted," Love said. "There was just a concerted effort from their team in that second overtime. The ball bounced their way with a little bit of luck and they made stops." Love answered Durants tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3.9 seconds left in regulation by hitting his own over Westbrook with just 1 second left to force overtime. "Thats my man, my main guy. Definitely talking trash out there, especially after he hit the one right in my face," Westbrook said. "He said, In your face, He just kept pointing, like, In your face, in your face.&qquot; Love then scored Minnesotas first eight points of the first overtime, but the Wolves couldnt close it out after taking a 129-124 lead on Tollivers three-point play and fast-break dunk with 46. Antoine Cason Jersey. seconds left. Westbrook hit a jumper in the lane and, after Love was called for travelling, Durant drilled a 3 over his outstretched arm with 10 seconds left. Barea missed a potential game-winning 3 and Durants heave from the opposite free-throw line hit the backboard and rim. Love couldnt keep it up in the second overtime, and the Thunders tandem of All-Stars were finally able to put away their first consecutive wins in more than two weeks. After Loves shot at the tie was swatted, Durant hit a step-back jumper from the left side and Westbrook followed with a two-handed slam to for a 144-138 lead with 1:15 remaining. "The stars were stars tonight. Theres no question about it," said Derek Fisher, who logged 36 minutes in his second game with Oklahoma City. "Thats why those three guys were All-Stars in the Western Conference. I think they showed in every way why theyre three of the best players in our game right now. "Fortunately, we had two on our side and they only had one." James Harden scored 25 off the bench and Kendrick Perkins contributed a season-high 12 points despite not playing in the fourth quarter or overtime for Oklahoma City. Minnesota coach Rick Adelman expressed before the game that he was concerned how his team would respond at the end of a franchise record seven-game road trip that came right after losing Rubio. The Timberwolves lost 15 straight to end last season and were 1-23 down the stretch the previous year. "I worry about it a lot. I think the thing you worry about with this group is theyve really struggled in the last couple years and you cant give into the situation. You cant give in to the tough schedule, you cant give in to the fact that youve lost players or lost games," Adelman said. That was never an issue. The Timberwolves didnt lead between the end of the first quarter and the start of overtime but stayed in striking distance before rallying in the final minute to tie it, first when Westbrook tried to save a ball from going out of bounds and instead threw it to Barea for a layup to tie it at 113 with 27.3 seconds left. "Theres still a lot of fight in us. We might be down but were not out, if we can just continue to get better," Love said. "We need to have more games like this." NOTES: After spending the past 12 days on their longest road trip in franchise history, the Timberwolves dont get much of a reprieve: a single game at home on Sunday afternoon before four of their next five on the road. "We get to go home for, what, 36 hours?" Adelman said. ... F Ryan Reid, who was waived Wednesday so Oklahoma City could sign Derek Fisher, rejoined the Thunder organization Thursday by signing with the franchises NBA Development League affiliate in Tulsa. ... Love had never previously made more than five 3-pointers in a game. wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys cheap soccer jerseys wholesale jerseys wholesale jerseys cheap nfl jerseys china ' ' ' |
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