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the possibilities are intriguing.
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Milwaukee manager Craig Counsell and Cincinnati counterpart Bryan Price had definite ideas about areas to improve with their struggling teams during the last 2 1/2 months of the season. Cheap Nets Jerseys Authentic .Theyre both going to have to wait a little longer.Counsells Brewers missed a golden opportunity to pull out a win over the Reds on Friday at Great American Ball Park, loading the bases with one out in the ninth inning before Scooter Gennett and Ryan Braun popped up to help the Reds hold on for a 5-4 win.Prices Reds committed one fielding error and another mental lapse on defense and had to overcome Tony Cingranis ninth-inning difficulties while trying to close out the win and snap a three-game losing streak.The rebuilding Reds first-half pitching woes, especially in relief, have been well-chronicled, but they went into the All-Star Game break on a three-game losing streak fueled by shoddy defense and embarrassing mental errors.It really comes down to the consistency of play, said Price, whose team lost seven of its last eight games and nine of 11 before the four-day holiday. We played 38 games that were decided by one or two runs, so we were in a lot of games. We just want to get better in all facets.We have areas with room to grow statistically. We want to make sure the young guys show growth through the process. One hundred and sixty-two games is a beast. Team defense, overall pitching, walks and home runs -- we want to see those numbers go down.Counsell was hoping to see his similarly rebuilding team take advantage of opening the post-break schedule against a team actually below his in the standings after losing the last two games and three of the last four before the break.Nothing changes, he said. We took a little break. Its not a stopping point. Well try to do the same things weve been doing.We kind of limped into the All-Star break, but we played some really good teams over the last 30 games, and the margin of error is less. You could see it every night. Youve got to take advantage of every opportunity. The two series against St. Louis, we didnt do that.It doesnt promise to get any easier for Milwaukee. After finishing the three-game series against the Reds, which is scheduled to continue Saturday night with Jimmy Nelson (5-7) starting for the Brewers against John Lamb (1-6), Milwaukee is scheduled to face the National League Central-leading Chicago Cubs and the third-place Pittsburgh Pirates in nine of the next 13 games.After finishing with the Brewers, the Reds are due to play six straight games against last-place teams -- Atlanta from the NL East and Arizona from the NL West -- all in Cincinnati. Cheap NBA Jerseys . The (11-11-4) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 26 points. Fifth place Dallas and sixth-seeded Nashville also have 26 points, but the Stars have three games in hand on Winnipeg while Nashville has two. Cheap Brooklyn Nets Jerseys .C. Lions has come to an end. Banks told TSN on Jan 2 that he had no interest in playing out the option year of his contract with the Lions in 2014, and he again made that clear in a conversation with Lions GM Wally Buono last week. http://www.cheapnetsjerseys.com/ ;. The Clippers were angry about blowing a big lead; the Kings didnt like being in that kind of hole and nearly digging themselves out only to lose. The Big 4 of mens tennis is enthusiastic about the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, unlike their counterparts in golf.Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal all have participated in the Summer Games in the past, all own a medal, and all talk about that events importance to their sport every four years -- even if it already has four Grand Slam tournaments every year.Consider what Britains Murray said when he was asked about Brazil the day after winning Wimbledon for the second time.Ive loved being in the two Olympics that Ive been at, said the No. 2-ranked Murray, who won a gold in singles at the 2012 London Games. Rio is obviously a big, big goal of mine, and hopefully I can perform well there.The No. 1-ranked Djokovic won a singles bronze for Serbia at the 2008 Beijing Games, then came up just short of a medal four years ago.No. 3 Federer won a gold for Switzerland in doubles with Stan Wawrinka eight years ago, and a silver in singles four years ago.No. 4 Nadal won a singles gold for Spain in Beijing, missed London because he was hurt, and appealed to the International Tennis Federation to allow him to compete in Rio after he failed to fulfill Davis Cup commitments because of injuries.Even if this quartet owns a combined 46 Grand Slam titles, the Olympics still matter to them. Much will be made of the contrast between this groups interest in the Summer Games and what happened in golf, which will be missing Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy in Rio.Olympic Games are the most renowned and most prominent sports event in the history of sport. No question about it. There is no bigger sports event than Olympic Games, Djokovic said. For me, as a professional athlete, its a huge honor to be part of it.Here are some things to know about tennis at the Rio Olympics:WHOS MISSINGThere are some noteworthy players who wont be there: seven of the top 20 men in the July 11 ATP rankings. That includes Wimbleedon runner-up Milos Raonic of Canada; Czech Wimbledon semifinalist Tomas Berdych; the top American man, John Isner; Australias best two tennis players, Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic; and Dominic Thiem, who would have given Austria a chance at a medal. Dzanan Musa Jersey. IXING IT UPNo one will know exactly who is competing in mixed doubles until everyone is in Rio. Thats because the sign-in happens there. Its limited to 16 teams, and the possibilities are intriguing. The expectation is that, if hes healthy, Federer will team with Martina Hingis. And Nadal -- if healthy -- will partner French Open champion Garbine Muguruza. The bad news: It sounds as if the Williams sisters will not enter that event.AGE IS JUST A NUMBERIf 34-year-old Serena Williams or 36-year-old Venus Williams wins a gold medal, either would be the third-oldest woman to collect an Olympic title in tennis. Winifred McNair was 43 when she won womens doubles for Britain all the way back in 1920, and Hazel Wightman was 37 when she won the same event for the U.S. four years later. Each Williams already owns four medals (all gold), so adding two more -- theyre both entered in singles and doubles -- would put either in first place for most tennis medals in Olympic history. Kathleen McKane won five medals (one gold) in the 1920s.MOST APPEARANCESIndias Leander Paes will be appearing in his record-extending seventh Olympic tennis competition, pairing in mens doubles with Rohan Bopanna. Paes owns one medal, a bronze in singles at the 1996 Atlanta Games. In Grand Slam action, he has won eight titles in mens doubles, and another 10 in mixed doubles.BACK-TO-BACK?No player has won two consecutive gold medals in singles. Murray and Serena Williams will try to change that this time.---Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich