Forums » Off-Topic Discussions
be the link between Tokyos government a
-
ST. Stitched Nike NFL Jerseys . LOUIS -- Slugger Yoenis Cespedes turned out to be a nifty slider, too.Cardinals pitcher Adam Wainwright lost his glove trying to tag out Cespedes in a bizarre play, and the New York Mets broke away soon after that to beat St. Louis 10-6 Thursday night.Alejandro De Aza homered and drove in five runs, helping Seth Lugo earn his first major league win. The Mets led 3-0 in the fifth when Wainwright (9-8) and Cespedes were involved in a strange sequence.Cespedes tried to go from first to third on a bloop single by James Loney. When several Cardinals chased the ball, Wainwright covered third base. Cespedes slid and his cleat pinned Wainwrights glove to the bag -- he wouldve been out, but when Wainwright pulled away his hand, the mitt stayed stuck under Cespedes foot.Because Wainwright didnt control the ball, Cespedes was called safe in a ruling upheld by replay. Moments later, De Aza hit a three-run homer to make it 7-0.He said that when I pulled out the glove, I had to show possession, Wainwright said. I dont know what else I could have done there. There was another runner on base. Ive never seen it before, never heard of it before.De Azas fifth home run of the season came an inning after his two-run single. The five RBI set a career high.Every time you hit a home run its fun, De Aza said. Especially when you can contribute to help the team win. Its a great feeling.De Aza also made a jumping catch against the center field wall to rob Matt Carpenter of an extra-base hit in the first inning.He knows his role, Mets manager Terry Collins said. He doesnt have to like it, but he accepts it and he gets himself ready.He didnt stop working. He didnt stop all the practice. All he needed was a chance to get to play with it and when he got it hes made the most out of it, he said.Lugo (1-2) pitched five scoreless innings. The Mets took two of three to win their first series at Busch Stadium since 2008.This was a tough series, Collins said. Theyve got a good team and we came into this series knowing we had to pick up some ground and we picked up a game and that means a lot.Brandon Moss hit two home runs for the Cardinals and Jedd Gyorko and Stephen Piscotty also connected.Lugo gave up two hits and struck out five to earn his first win since May 10 at Triple-A Las Vegas. On Tuesday night, Mets reliever Robert Gsellman also posted his first big league win.Together, Lugo and Gsellman helped the Mets win a road series from the first time since July 22-24 in Miami.Lugo left the game with right calf cramp while warming up before the sixth. By then, hed also gotten his first hit in the majors.The biggest thing for me is keeping from getting behind in the counts and having to throw pitches over the middle of the plate, Lugo said. It helps me expand the zone.James Loney got three hits and scored twice for the Mets. Loney is hitting .529 (18 for 34) against Wainwright for his career.Wainwright struggled for the third time in his last four starts, giving up seven runs -- only two earned -- and nine hits in five innings.Its another game that we lose in which I start and the offense scores some runs, Wainwright said. I dont know what else to say other than Ive got to keep going.TRAINERS ROOMMets: OF Jay Bruce (calf) was out of the lineup after leaving Wednesday nights game with cramps. ... LHP Jonathon Niese (left knee) underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a meniscus tear.Cardinals: Matt Adams (right shoulder inflammation) began a rehab assignment at Triple-A Memphis. He batted second and hit a two-run homer Thursday for the Redbirds.UP NEXTMets: RHP Bartolo Colon (11-7, 3.36 ERA) will start off a 10-game homestand against Philadelphia. LHP Adam Morgan (1-7, 6.21 ERA) will start for the Phillies.Cardinals: RHP Luke Weaver (0-1, 5.00 ERA) will make his third major league start, facing Oakland. The As will counter with Ross Detwiler (1-2, 5.91 ERA). Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic . They were putting most of their energy into a record-setting offensive display. Nike NFL Jerseys From China . Ivanovic was leading 7-5, 1-0 when Hantuchova withdrew after falling 0-40 behind in the second game. The match started slowly for Ivanovic, who surrendered her first two serves as Hantuchova took a 5-3 lead. http://www.cheapnfljerseyssigned.com/ ;. Durant finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds, Jackson matched his career high with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Lamb scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, lifting the Thunder to a 94-88 win over San Antonio and snapping the Spurs 11-game winning streak. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike is preparing for a strenuous workout with the next Summer Olympics headed her way.The practice started when she received the Olympic flag Sunday in the official handover ceremony from her Rio counterpart, Mayor Eduardo Paes.I hope the flag is not too heavy, she joked the day before. Although I have trained my muscles to receive it properly.The next three Olympics are in Asian countries that have already held games: Tokyos Summer Games in 2020, sandwiched between Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in 2018 and in Beijing in 2022.This will come as a relief to the International Olympic Committee after two trying games in Sochi, Russia, and Rio.That doesnt mean theyll be easy, particularly for Tokyo.I dont think that you can ever relax, said John Coates, the IOC member who heads the inspection team for Tokyo. There are some big issues, even for Tokyo.Heres a look at some of them.---THE COSTSThe new national stadium is an example of Tokyos rising costs -- or underestimating costs. The original bill was expected to be $1 billion, but the price soared to three times that much in a design by the late architect Zaha Hadid.Organizers scrapped that design and adopted a new one by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma. The cost will still be at least 50 percent more than the original estimate with completion set for November, 2019.I will not leave white elephants for the taxpayers, Kioke told reporters in Rio, just weeks after being elected Tokyos first female governor. The citizens of Tokyo are the taxpayers. We must have the understanding of the taxpayers about whatever we do.Costs are rising elsewhere, too.The Tokyo organizing committees operating budget was 350 billion yen ($3.5 billion) in the original bid document. But officials say it will be revised upward to account for inflation and unexpected costs.This is the budget for running the games themselves, and does not include building roads and other infrastructure.Tokyo organizers say 50 percent of the venues already exist, though they have not made public the cost for building new venues and preparing the city.Constructing scaled-down venues -- following Rios model -- could still be costly in Japan. The buildings must be earthquake-proof, and Japanese taste might not accept stripped-down architecture.---TRANSPORTATIONTokyo proposed compact games in its winning bid three years ago. But venues have been spread out to save money and take advantage of existing structures.Tokyos games are divided into two basic sectors -- a zone around Tokyo Bay, and a so-called Heritage Zone, which is anchored around the new national stadium.The remaining venues are scattered around, from cycling in Izu, southwest of Tokyo, to soccer venues in Sapporo, Miyagi, Saitama, and Yokohama.Youll travel a lot because there isnt the concentration, Coates said. If you go to the heritage area, theyre all stand-alone (venues) largely.Tokyo has a sophisticated transport system, but its crowded and not particularly foreigner-friendly. Coates said getting around might be morre complex than Rio, which was difficult in a city sliced up by the sea, mountains and poor roads. Discount Nike NFL Jerseys. They have a very good transport infrastructure that connects all parts of the city, Coates said. I think theyre up for it, no worry about that, but you cant say its going to be easy.Tokyos narrow roads are a problem, and so are the 3 million who commute daily from the outskirts to the citys center.Well have to ask the citizens for various forms of cooperation, Kioke said.---THE EVENTSFive sports have been added to Tokyos program: baseball-softball, skateboarding, surfing, karate and sport climbing. They enter under new IOC rules that allow cities to propose events from their own games.The new sports will add 18 events and 474 athletes to the program. The Tokyo Games will feature 33 sports and about 11,000 athletes, compared to the usual number of 28 sports and 10,500 athletes.The new sports may give Japan some advantages, particularly in baseball and softball, which are very popular in the country.Japan won 41 medals in Rio, topping its previous record of 38. Look for the home nation to get another medal bounce from being host.The competition schedule is sure to create tension. Evening events in Tokyo will take place in the early morning in North America -- and vice versa. This isnt ideal for U.S. rights-holder NBC. Some events might be moved around to work better on television.Japanese Olympic committee President Tsunekazu Takeda faced a similar problem as the sports director of the 1998 Nagano Winter Olympics.Athletes-first must be the concept, he said. We have to be fair to the athletes, but of course I cant make any decisive comments because this has to be negotiated. But I hope the athletes-first concept prevails.---FEMALE POWERTwo female politicians have key roles in directing Tokyos games -- Governor Koike and Tamayo Marukawa, who was recently named Olympic minister by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.Both are former television newscasters, and Marukawa will be the link between Tokyos government and the national government.Koike said Japanese women have done well in sports, but Japanese society has been slower to promote women to leadership positions in business and politics.Women won almost half of Japans 41 medals in Rio -- four gold medals alone in womens wrestling.Our women athletes are having fantastic performances, Kioke said. Unfortunately, the percentage of women legislators in Japan is still low. Ms. Hillary Clinton often refers to a glass ceiling for women. I think weve got an iron ceiling in Japan.---BACH ADVICEIOC President Thomas Bach offered brief advice for Tokyo.Organizing successful games means always being authentic, Bach said. Not taking a blueprint from other games; not thinking you should copy. Make the games a representation of the host country.---Stephen Wade on Twitter: http://twitter.com/StephenWadeAP . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/stephen-wade