RIO DE JANEIRO -- The United States saw a pair of fencers put themselves in position to win unprecedented gold medals at the Rio Games.Neither came through. But simply getting to the finals helped show how far the Americans have come in a sport where theyve long struggled.Third-ranked Aron Szilagyi of Hungary beat upstart U.S. fencer Daryl Homer to win gold in mens sabre Wednesday.Despite the loss, Homer earned the second silver medal for the American mens fencing team in Rio, joining Stanfords Alexander Massialas. Hes also the first American to win a mens sabre medal since his mentor, Peter Westbrook, won bronze in 1984.Were trying to raise the visibility of the sport, Homer said. We are very competitive with each other, and its great. I love that.Homers impressive final touch gave him a thrilling 15-14 victory over Irans Mojtaba Abedini in the semifinals and put him within a win of the first gold for the U.S. men in the modern era.Szilagyi proved to be too much for the 10th-ranked American, who fell 15-8.Still, the Bronx-born Homer finished as well as any U.S. fencer in his weapon ever had.Homer found out about fencing when he was 5 by reading his dictionary. He begged his mother, Juliette Smith, to let him try out the sport, and Homer wound up under the tutelage of WestbrookWestbrooks foundation is designed to mentor inner-city youth through fencing. It has also been crucial in the career of Ibtihaj Muhammad, who made history Monday as the first U.S. athlete to compete wearing a hijab.Homer emerged as one of Westbrooks prized pupils, earning spots on four All-America teams while at St. Johns. He also became the first American man to win a medal at a world championship event, taking silver in 2015.Homer won his first three matches Wednesday by relatively comfortable margins to reach the semifinals. Homer then faced a furious challenge from Abedini, who overcame a seven-point run from Homer to force a do-or-die situation.Homer exploded to the center of the piste for a touch that put him into the finals.I was like, No regrets. If I lose doing this, Im going to lose doing this and I dont care. And that was literally how I rolled out, Homer said. If you want a medal, you have to do something big for it.But Szilagyi never let the athletic Homer dictate the pace of the match, instead neutralizing Homer with quick strikes that put him in a hole too deep.Daryl is a very aggressive, very dynamic fencer, Szilagyi said. My strategy was to break his dynamism ... and not let him aggressively attack me.Russian Inna Deriglazova won gold in womens foil, giving her country its second fencing title of the Rio Games.Deriglazova beat Italys Elisa Di Francisca, the gold medalist from the London Olympics, 12-11 to claim a world title for the second year in a row.Deriglazova found herself up a point with just 2.5 seconds left, a situation that tested the old adage that athletes who compete not to lose typically lose.But Deriglazova was able to run backward until the clock ran out.Whatever it took to do in those last two seconds, to run away, to fall down, I would do that, Deriglazova said. It didnt matter.Third-ranked American Lee Kiefer lost in the round of 16 and said afterward that this will probably be her last Olympic appearance.The Associated Press contributed to this report.Cheap Stars Jerseys . -- Nate Robinson has played for seven teams, so beating one of them is no longer a rare occurrence. Custom Dallas Stars Jerseys . Collaros, 25, was solid last season, posting a 5-2 record as the starter while incumbent Ricky Ray was injured. Collaros also started Torontos 23-20 regular-season finale loss to Montreal — Ray didnt dress because the Argos had already clinched first in the East Division — but was one of three quarterbacks to play that day. https://www.cheapstarsonline.com/ . Most important, perhaps, it went off without a hitch. Organizers poked a little fun at the now-infamous opening ceremony gaffe that saw only four out of five snowflakes open up into rings, leaving the Olympics logo one ring short. Stitched Stars Jerseys . -- Playing time has been limited for Maxim Tissot this season, so the Montreal Impact defender made the most of his first scoring opportunity on Saturday. Dallas Stars Store .ca. Hey Kerry, big fan of yours, just finished reading your book. I think that we all saw the Canucks/Flames line brawl just after puck drop. It was obvious that something was about to happen, even to the referees because the fourth lines were on to start. MIAMI -- Michael McKenry dove to his left, snagging an errant pitch that was sailing behind Miamis Placido Polanco to save what almost certainly would have been a run. And that was just one of many highlights in McKenrys night. McKenry had a career-best four hits and drove in two runs, Neil Walker and Garrett Jones each added two RBIs, and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Miami Marlins 7-4 on Saturday. McKenry, who came in batting .191, raised his average 26 points with a double and three singles -- but tweaked his left knee during the game, and merely trotted up the first-base line after grounding to short to open the ninth. Walker added three hits for the Pirates, the NL wild-card leaders who set the tone with three first-inning runs against Tom Koehler (2-6). "Its all right," McKenry said of his knee, which could be a big issue for the Pirates since starter Russell Martin was also out of the lineup with what the team thinks is a minor knee injury. "Its just kind of stuck." Charlie Morton (3-2) allowed a season-high nine hits in five innings, but still found a way to win consecutive starts for the first time since May 2011. Mark Melancon worked the ninth for his fourth save. Koehler gave up nine hits and five runs in five innings. Logan Morrison tied a season-high with three hits, Giancarlo Stanton also had three hits, and Christian Yelich added a pair for the Marlins, who are 3-35 when allowing at least five runs. "Offensively, I was happy with the way we bounced back and gave ourselves a chance," Marlins manager Mike Redmond said. "We were battling from behind the whole game. ... After the third inning we didnt get much going but pitched well enough to keep it close." The Pirates finished with 14 hits, their most since June 12. McKenry was a most improbable catalyst of that attack. The light-hitting catcher came into the night with four hits in 32 at-bats, and only three hits in July. But his RBI single capped a three-run first inning -- Pittsburghs highest-scoring opening frame since June 18 -- and he added another single in the third to push the Pirates lead to 5-1. He added a double in the fifth and a single in the seventh. McKenry also saved an almost-sure run in the fifth to preserve what was then a 5-4 lead. Morton threw a pitch wildly, but McKenry snagged it and keep it from headding toward the backstop, keeping Stanton at third.dddddddddddd "I take a lot of pride in not letting balls get by me," McKenry said. "Its another way to keep somebody from getting a free 90 (feet), especially when theyre at third base. It was a one-run ballgame at the time, it would have made it 5-5, so that was a big moment. I think it was a funny sequence because Im sure Polanco felt really uncomfortable after that." Polanco wound up striking out. "Thats the second time hes caught a ball thrown behind a hitter this year," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "I dont know how you do that." Walker and Garrett Jones each drove in two runs for Pittsburgh. By the time Koehler had thrown five pitches, the Pirates were up 1-0. Starling Marte smacked a double just to the inside of the third-base bag on Koehlers second pitch, and three offerings later, Walker hit a ball to nearly the same spot to open the scoring. Jones blooped a double into short left to make it 2-0, and McKenry got one under Polancos glove and into right for the third run. "I thought as a whole group, we swung the bat really well," McKenry said. "The bullpen came in and just shut the door tonight. It was fun." It was the third time Koehler allowed at least three first-inning runs in six starts, but Miami clawed back. Stanton doubled to bring Yelich home and start what became a three-run third for Miami. One batter later, Morrison looped a soft single into left, and Stanton read it correctly, taking off almost on contact and scoring easily. Polanco added a single to bring Morrison home and get the Marlins within a run, but they got no closer. NOTES: The Marlins said right-hander Kevin Slowey (right forearm) is heading to the disabled list, with a corresponding move coming Sunday. ... Pirates SS Jordy Mercers 11-game hitting streak ended. ... Sundays pitching matchup pits a pair of stellar rookies, with All-Star Jose Fernandez (6-5, 2.74) going for Miami against Pittsburghs Gerrit Cole (5-3, 3.51). ... Pirates players signed Fridays scorecard as a gift for Marlins rookie Jake Marisnick, who got his first career hit in that game. ... Marlins closer Steve Cishek has converted 16 straight save chances. "Couldnt get him in the game the first two months and now hes pitching a lot, which is great," Redmond said. ' ' '