Kritik und Lob » Japan.TRAINERS ROOMAthletics: RHP So

NEW YORK -- Disillusionment. Fear. Rage.In a divided America, the political conventions are sure to arouse those sensations among the millions of viewers tuned in. Then in a commercial break, an electric guitar will blare the final lines of the The Star-Spangled Banner over images of a diverse group of U.S. athletes tearing up as they heard their national anthem during 2012 Olympic medal ceremonies.The words flash by on the screen, white on a black background, between the shots of sobbing and beaming champions: FOR 17 DAYS ... WE ARE ALL ... UNITED. The 30-second spot closes with a rising American flag, the graphic for NBCs Rio Games coverage and the date of the opening ceremony.NBC is buying ad time on other networks during both conventions the next two weeks, seeking a receptive audience for a not-so-subtle message.The country is more partisan, seemingly, than its ever been, said John Miller, the chief marketing officer for NBC Olympics. And for 17 days, we say were all united. For 17 days, we all root for Team USA. Weve got to put everything aside for a minute.The ad debuted March 15, the day of crucial primaries in Ohio and Florida, and aired on CNN and Fox News along with NBC networks. It appeared frequently during NBCs coverage of the Olympic trials, but it will again accompany non-sports fare at the conventions.Any place theyre talking about politics, thats the spot were going to run, Miller told The Associated Press last week.With so much bleak news over the past few weeks -- terrorist attacks, shootings and political division -- another NBC ad promotes the message of global unity, with athletes narrating scenes of competitors from different countries embracing.I dont know of anything else in the world, the voiceover goes, that brings people together and empowers people so purely as the Olympics does.The motivation for NBC in these spots isnt just to lure in viewers hoping for a break from the news of the day. Its also to seek to frame the Olympics as a pure, inspiring event amid the troubles swirling around the Rio Games -- from the Zika virus to Brazilian political turmoil, from polluted waters to doping scandals.Miller, once the executive behind NBCs classic must-see TV campaign, was looking to counteract those sorts of concerns before the 2008 Games when he first produced an ad with these themes. Beijing brought its own set of worries, from human rights issues to air pollution.This is the part of the story where Miller mentions Yoko Ono. He went to John Lennons widow to buy the rights to Imagine for a 60-second spot with a message of global unity.NBC tested the commercial with potential viewers, and Miller expected it to do well with an older audience. The way the network sells advertising for the Olympics, what matters is the number of households tuned in more than the demographics. So Miller wouldnt have been too alarmed if the spot captivated older viewers but flopped with younger ones.I specifically made it a little schmaltzy to capture that older audience, he recalled.To his shock, the ad, while popular with all ages, tested best with the 18-to-34-year-old range. As he summed up the explanation those younger viewers would relate: The country had been at war at least half of their memorable lives.That notion of American unity, as well as global unity, is extraordinarily strong and resonates with the young as well as the old, Miller said. But it even resonates more strongly with the young.So the theme became a valuable one for NBC to promote both Summer and Winter Games, a way to connect with younger viewers who will one day make up the main audience under the networks lengthy contract to broadcast the Olympics. Miller acknowledged NBC is probably pushing that refrain even harder this time around.It seems to be more appropriate now than ever, he said.NBC dives deep into its research of Olympic viewership, though its never looked specifically into whether depressing news in the real world makes viewers more likely to tune in. As it happens, the Beijing Games marked the start of an upswing for Olympic ratings in the United States.Jim Bell, the executive producer for NBC Olympics, doesnt have any numbers to prove why exactly viewers tune in, but he does know what he keeps hearing from acquaintances who tell him theyre looking forward to the Rio Games: How they need a break -- whether its from their job, or the news cycle, or their kids. Jordan 13 Retro Canada . That left plenty of energy for pitching books and swatting away free agency questions. Anthony had 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Knicks avenged an embarrassing home loss with a rout of their own, beating the Boston Celtics 114-88 on Wednesday night for their third straight victory. Air Jordan 13 Canada . Louis Blues. Shane Hnidy joins Brian Munz for the broadcast on TSN 1290 Radio at 7pm ct. http://www.airjordan13canada.com/ . LOUIS -- Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59. Jordan 13 Cheap Canada . PAUL, Minn. Jordan 13 For Sale Canada .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. ARLINGTON, Texas -- While the Texas Rangers are getting close to clinching another AL West title, their top two pitchers are struggling a bit.Yu Darvish matched a career high allowing seven runs, a night after All-Star lefty Cole Hamels had another subpar outing, and the AL-best Rangers lost 11-2 to the Oakland Athletics on Saturday night.We believe in those two guys, in Cole and Darvish, manager Jeff Banister said. Still believe theyre as good as there is out there.Darvish (5-5) struck out eight in his five innings, but walked four batters -- all of those runners scored -- and allowed two homers.Ive been having good command throughout this year. Today I didnt have it, Darvish said through his translator. I think its because I wasnt getting a good feel for it physically, and a feel for the pitches. Im not talking about pain or anything, its just the feel. I just didnt pitch well today.Joey Wendle led off the game with his first major league homer and Marcus Semien also went deep against Darvish.Carlos Gomez homered for the Rangers (88-61), whose magic number to clinch the division title dropped to five after Houston won 2-1 at Seattle later Saturday night. The Astros and Mariners are both 9 1/2 games back in the AL West with two weeks left in the regular season.Hamels has allowed at least six runs in three of his four starts, including the series opener Friday night against the As when he allowed six runs in six innings before the Rangers rallied to win the game with two outs in the ninth.There would be no big comebacks Saturday night, after which both Hamels and Darvish will likely have no more than two more starts before the postseason.Darvish has put together some quality starts in there, Banister said. With Cole, obviously, weve seen some challenges, hes been nicked a little bit, but still, these guys are still throwing quality pitches. ... I feel like that these guys are going to continue to find their rhythm and make good pitches for us.Raul Alcantara (1-1), among five As pitchers to make their MLB debuts this season with a start, had three strikeouts without a walk. He pitched into the sixth, when he alloweed a two-run homer to Gomez.ddddddddddddDanny Valencia added another three-run homer for the As, his 17th, in the eighth off Dario Alvarez.Wendle, a rookie second baseman in his 15th career game, hit a 1-1 pitch into the left-field seats. His sacrifice fly in the second made it 4-0, after Darvish had walked the bases loaded to start the second and Bruce Maxwell hit a two-run singleSemiens three-run homer in the fifth, his 26th, made it 7-0 against Darvish.I noticed that early the fastball command wasnt there. So you get him looking in one spot, Semien said. Hes going to throw it in there. He throws a lot of offspeed too, so we were able to key in on one pitch and did a good job.NO A FOR YU VS OAKLANDDarvish is now 2-9 in 13 career starts against Oakland. No other team has beaten Darvish more than four times. When Darvish last faced Oakland -- a day after his 30th birthday exactly a month ago Saturday -- he struck out nine and walked one in seven innings in a 6-2 victory. Before that, he had gone 0-8 in 10 starts against the As since winning against them more than four years earlier in only his eighth game after coming from Japan.TRAINERS ROOMAthletics: RHP Sonny Gray, out since Aug. 7 with a strained right forearm, threw all of his pitches during a 31-pitch bullpen session. He will get a couple of days off before another bullpen, and could still potentially pitch in another game this season.Rangers: DH/1B Prince Fielder was in the dugout for the first time since announcing last month that he couldnt play again after a second spinal fusion surgery. He got his neck brace off just more than a week ago.UP NEXTAthletics: Since eight scoreless innings in his first start for Oakland, lefty Ross Detwiler is 1/3 with a 5.25 ERA his last seven games (six starts).Rangers: Colby Lewis (6-2, 3.31) makes his only his second start since a two-month stint on the DL with a strained right lat. The right-hander allowed three runs, all on solo homers, in 5 1/3 innings at the Los Angeles Angels last Sunday. ' ' '