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The roster that the U.S. womens national team takes to the Olympics is that of a program with one eye on its present and one eye on its future.Which makes it anatomically impossible to keep an eye on the past.All things considered, that makes for a nice change.The national team for years went to major tournaments with one eye glued to the past, either attempting to recapture the magic of 1999 by winning another World Cup or, just as often, trying to lessen the sting of another World Cup disappointment through Olympic consolation.Those efforts had their moments, to be sure, but it was a formula for frustration.Win today to escape yesterdays shadow.Then they won. They stood and celebrated their 2015 World Cup triumph on a podium inside Vancouvers BC Place after a soul-cleansing, flag-waving romp of a final. And people started thinking about tomorrow. Not as a short-term salve but as a long-term opportunity. People including U.S. coach Jill Ellis.If we are about winning world championships, we cant just have all of our focus be on the Olympics, Ellis said Tuesday in recounting a conversation with U.S. Soccer president Sunil Gulati after the World Cup. It has to be on looking at new players, looking at players to build for beyond. And he agreed. We still want to win a gold medal. We still want to be competitive this summer. Thats still a high, high priority. I think we can do that, but we can also start to build players for the future.Make no mistake, the roster she announced Tuesday is one selected to compete for gold in Brazil, to try to become the first team to win the World Cup and Olympics in back-to-back years. No one is asking Carli Lloyd to lead a developmental roster. It is why Megan Rapinoe is there just seven months after the midfielder suffered a torn ACL, and despite the fact that she hasnt played for club or country yet this year. Even if Rapinoe is able to play only a reserve role, either in the tournaments early stages or throughout any run, those minutes are worth the roster spot for the added value on set pieces and crosses alone.Nor is it just loyalty to the holdovers that puts a premium on the present. A rookie in a major tournament at 28 years old, Allie Long might still be a viable option in 2019 or 2020, but she is here because of what she offers the team right now. Given their roles, it appears that Long and Samantha Mewis were competing for one roster spot. Mewis has more future ahead of her. Long is more reliable at this moment. Pragmatism won that contest (while simultaneously providing one of the teams most compelling stories in Longs lengthy journey to this stage). The same goes for Whitney Engen, who apparently edged out NWSL No. 1 pick Emily Sonnett as a back-line reserve.But after being the oldest team in the World Cup a year ago, the United States could at some point put a starting lineup on the field in Brazil that includes Morgan Brian, Crystal Dunn, Lindsey Horan, Julie Johnston and Mallory Pugh. All of them will still be in their 20s when the 2019 World Cup in France rolls around. All of them will still be in their 20s during the 2020 Olympics in Japan.So will Mewis and Sonnett. So will players such as Jaelene Hinkle, Danielle Colaprico, Rose Lavelle and teenager Ashley Sanchez, all of whom spent varying amounts of time with the national team during the buildup to the Olympics. That wasnt possible when Ellis took over a veteran player pool with far less than a full preparation cycle left in advance of the World Cup.I wasnt going to be able to get experience enough for younger players to come in, Ellis said of the World Cup. I had a very good handle on the players that were in the group. And so I felt very comfortable in terms of this is how were going to play and this is what we need. Preparing for a World Cup, I dont think I was looking beyond what we had already in.Veterans like Shannon Boxx and Lori Chalupny, both since retired, fit that roster. Recent high school graduate Pugh fits this one.It isnt just about the personnel. Thats only part of the picture. Ellis was almost giddy after a 1-0 win against France earlier this year, a game that looked headed for a scoreless draw until Alex Morgan scored in second-half stoppage time. It wasnt the result that pleased the coach but the way the team asserted itself on the game. The U.S. was the more technically precise team, bettering France at its own game. That wasnt a universally held view, notably getting some measure of disagreement at the time from an oft-isolated-on-the-night Lloyd.This style suits the likes of Brian and Horan, a new generation of gifted technicians. It suits Becky Sauerbrunn and Julie Johnston, center backs able to play out. It is surely part of the reason Kelley OHara, with all her versatility, has claimed the starting job at right back.Right or wrong, successfully implemented or not, this style tries to balance the traditional American strengths of athleticism and fitness with technical precision and pace of play. It is a style of play for tomorrow.At times Ive seen us play through lines -- we want to be a balance, Ellis said. If we can get in behind with one pass, we want to do that because its on. And thats any team in the world, if a team is going to give you that. But then we also need to be able to problem-solve, and I think thats where weve gotten better in terms of just being able to play off of each other, have more versatility. We talk about a variety of ways to get into the goal zone.Ellis laughed out loud at one point during a conference call to discuss the roster, asked about having the freedom of more job security after winning the World Cup. The adrenaline of a profession in which that doesnt exist, she said, is part of the allure of coaching.But the roster she put together, for all its core familiarity, is one freed from the weight of the past. It is for today and tomorrow.Thats the exciting part when youve got a younger group, Ellis said, is you can plan beyond three months.Ellis and this roster will be judged on what they do in Brazil. Thats the nature of being No. 1.But what they do in Brazil will also be the foundation of the roster that we will judge in 2019 and 2020. Wholesale Custom Jerseys Free Shipping . -- Matt Kuchar and Harris English ran away with the Franklin Templeton Shootout, shooting a 14-under 58 on Sunday in the final-round scramble to break the tournament course record. Cheap Custom T-shirts China . Already owning gold from competition in Vancouver in 2010, Loch posted a combined four-run time of 3:27.526. That included a track-record third run of 51. http://www.customjerseyschina.com/ . The Cincinnati Reds remain perfect with their speedy rookie outfielder in the starting lineup. Custom Basketball Jerseys China . Here are his mid-season NBA awards. MVP: (KEVIN DURANT-Thunder) - Has been sensational this season and more importantly, the most consistent player in the league. Considering that his team has been without star guard Russell Westbrook and with the free agent departure of sharpshooter Kevin Martin, hes had to carry the majority of the load to not only keep his team afloat but more importantly, at an elite level. Wholesale Custom Jerseys .C. -- When North Carolina freshman Ryan Switzer reported to training camp in August he was a little miffed to learn he was third on the depth chart at punt returner. Indiana might have lost the best point guard in the Big 10 Conference to graduation in Yogi Ferrell, but if the seasons first two games are any indication, it has regained perhaps the conferences most explosive scorer.Back from a torn right ACL he suffered last December, 6-foot-4 junior guard James Blackmon Jr. has scored 26 and 23 points in wins over Kansas and UMass Lowell, respectively. Blackmon is canning 55.2 percent of his field goal tries, including an impressive 9-of-17 on 3-pointers.Whats more, Blackmon has enjoyed 20-point halves in both games. He victimized Kansas in the second half and extra period of a 103-99 overtime win at the Armed Forces Classic in Honolulu, then picked up where he left off in the first half of Wednesdays 100-78 pounding of UMass Lowell with another 20 points.So Blackmon, Jr. will be in the spotlight again Saturday night when the sixth-ranked Hoosiers continue the Indiana Classic at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind., against Liberty.I think theres a confidence when they look at him, Hoosiers coach Tom Crean said of Blackmon. James is a lot more explosive than what he was. Hes playing with more force. Hes playing downhill more. Hes covering more ground.I think the fact that hes moving the ball, that hes getting better defensively, thats a really good thing. To come back from an injury like that and to be a better athlete than he even was and be stronger like he is, that takes a little time for him to get used to.Blackmons presence forces opponents to respect him from 25 feet and in, leading to more scoring opportunities for teammates like 6-10 center Thomas Bryant (14 points per game, 7.5 rebounds), 6-8 forward OG Anunoby (14 points, 5.5 rebounds) and 6-3 point guaard Robert Johnson (13 points, 3.dddddddddddd5 assists).Indianas offense has been clicking on nearly all cylinders so far, canning 50 percent of its field goal attempts and nearly 45 percent on 3-pointers (26-of-58). Its ability to either get to the rim or create open 3s can test any defense.Liberty (1-1) will counter with a defense the Hoosiers have battled before -- the pack line scheme created by Dick Bennett and still run by the likes of Wisconsin and Virginia. Fourth-year coach Ritchie McKays squad held up-tempo VCU to 64 points in a five-point home loss Tuesday night.I thought everyone came in and battled, and you have to play well on the defensive end to have a chance, McKay said to the Lynchburg (Va.) News & Advance. And we had a chance.The Flames are expected to challenge Winthrop for the Big South Conference title with the return of four starters, plus the arrival of 6-7 freshman forward Brock Gardner. McKay, in his second stint as Liberty coach, said Gardner is the best player he has landed there since signing Seth Curry in 2008.Former Marquette guard John Dawson, a 6-2 senior, is the teams leading scorer at 14.5 points per game. Libertys tallest starter is 6-5, 255-pound forward Myo Baxter-Bell, which will put it at a serious disadvantage inside against the likes of Bryant and Anunoby.It is Indianas second game in the Indiana Classic and Libertys first. The Flames will host UMass Lowell, Mississippi Valley State and Central Penn in their other games in the event. The Hoosiers visit Fort Wayne and host Mississippi Valley State next week to finish their games in the event. ' ' '