Kritik und Lob » d him down. It

The Los Angeles Sparks had to work overtime on Friday to beat Connecticut and secure its 20th win in its first 21 games, tying the WNBA record for the best start to a season.Now Los Angeles will look to continue its winning ways when travels to Atlanta for a 3 p.m. EDT tipoff against the Dream at Philips Arena.The Sparks, at 20-1 on the season, have won nine straight games and all nine of their contests on the road this season.The victory over Connecticut allowed Los Angeles to reach the mark of best record through 21 games as set by the Houston Comets in 1998. Houston ended up 27-3 in the regular season in 1998 -- a record that still stands -- on the way to the second of its four consecutive WNBA championships.It took a Herculean performance from Jantel Lavender -- who scored a career-high 25 points and added a season-best 10 rebounds, and Kristi Tolliver (who scored eight of her 24 points in overtime) for the Sparks to tie the record. Los Angeles was down by 16 points in the third quarter before roaring back.No one wants to be down by that much (in the third quarter), said Sparks forward Nneka Ogwumike, who leads LA in scoring and is fourth in the league at 19.2 points a game. We didnt come out with the focus that we wanted to and hopefully thats the first and the last time that happens. Today was eye-opening for us.The Dream (10-10) have lost two straight games, both on the road, including a 78-72 setback on Friday at Indiana. Atlanta dropped the first meeting of the season at Los Angeles by nine points, so it knows it can play with the leagues top team.Dream forward Angel McCoughtry is the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week for the period ending July 10, having honor for the second time this season and the 15th time in her eight-year career.McCoughtry is sixth in the league in scoring at 19 points per game but was held to just nine points by the Sparks in the first game this season between the two teams. Cheap White Sox Jerseys . Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck of the Vancouver Giants were each charged with assault causing bodily harm on Aug. 18, according to the B.C. court services. Chicago White Sox Shirts . Ancelotti says Ronaldo has recovered from a hamstring injury but "but he doesnt feel comfortable yet so we wont risk him." Madrid is third in the Spanish league, six points behind leader Barcelona, going into Saturdays game against Valladolid. https://www.cheapwhitesox.com/ . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. Chicago White Sox Pro Shop . -- The St. Johns IceCaps weathered a wild first period with the help of goaltender Jussi Olkinuora, before finding offensive inroads in the second. Chicago White Sox Gear . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. MIAMI -- A year ago Marcell Ozuna was a newly demoted minor leaguer, sent to Triple-A following a 1-for-36 slump that erased his perpetual smile and magnified doubts about his future with the Miami Marlins.All of which makes his first All-Star Game that much more momentous for Ozuna, who will start in center field Tuesday for the National League.The smile is back as he reflects on his journey of the past 12 months.I dreamed of being an All-Star, he said. But a starter in one year? Its impossible.Ozuna was promoted to the starting lineup because of injuries to other players, but his statistics are All-Star worthy, thanks in part from the mentoring of first-year Marlins batting coach Barry Bonds. Ozuna is hitting .307 with 17 homers and 47 RBI, and ranks among NL leaders with 99 hits and five triples.As for defense, to underscore his excellent play in center field, Ozuna threw out the Reds Brandon Phillips on the bases on both Saturday and Sunday.Ozo is unbelievable, teammate Giancarlo Stanton said. Its what Ive seen over the years -- you got spurts of it. But its a matter of being able to lock that in day in and day out, which he has been doing. Its only the beginning for him.But in early July 2015, Ozuna was literally headed the wrong way -- to Triple-A New Orleans. An 0-for-3 performance at Wrigley Field, dropping his average to .249, sealed the Marlins decision to demote him midway through his third major league season.I remember it like it was yesterday, president of baseball operations Michael Hill said. He had been having a rough stretch, and in that pparticular game he just looked overmatched.dddddddddddd They were bad at-bats.Ive seen him since he was 16, and it was the first time I had ever seen him hang his head. We spoke after the game, and I was like, `Ozo, whats up? He said, `I dont know. He had no answers. He was completely lost. That was when we decided it was in his best interests to send him down. Its hard when you dont see Marcell Ozuna with a big smile; thats who he is.Ozuna spent six weeks with New Orleans and showed some improvement when he rejoined the Marlins, batting .278 with six homers in 44 games. Even so, he was on the trading block during the offseason.Ozuna concedes he was out of shape in 2015, so this year he reported for spring training lighter and fitter. He immediately began to bond with Bonds, and the home run king began preaching strike zone discipline to the free-swinging Ozuna.He talked to me about how you have to be patient and selective, Ozuna said. Right now I trust what I can do. I say, `Dont rush.As a result, he no longer swings so often at bad pitches. His walks are up and his strikeouts down.What did Ozuna tell Bonds upon learning he would start for the NL stars in San Diego?I said, `Thank you, Ozuna said.The All-Star Game will be his first since Class A in Florida in 2009. His parents, two sisters and two children will be at the game.I feel happy for my family because theyre proud of me, he said.Hes not the only Ozuna smiling these days. ' ' '