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NEW YORK -- The Arizona Diamondbacks believe they have the pitching necessary to keep their winning streak going. Cheap Authentic Jerseys . Unfortunately for the New York Mets, their offensive firepower, or lack thereof, might be enough to keep their season spiraling out of control.The Diamondbacks will look to complete an unlikely sweep Thursday afternoon when they visit the Mets in the finale of a three-game series at Citi Field. Arizona won its third straight game Wednesday night when catcher Oscar Hernandez hit a go-ahead homer in the 12th inning of a 3-2 victory.Rookie right-hander Braden Shipley will make his fourth career start when he takes the mound for the 12:10 ET game. Shipley did not factor into the decision in his most recent start last Friday when he allowed two runs, four hits and six walks while striking out two in six innings in Arizonas 3-2, 11-inning win over the Milwaukee Brewers.The Diamondbacks (47-66) will be thrilled if Shipley can approximate the results produced Tuesday and Wednesday by right-hander Zack Greinke and left-hander Robbie Ray, who combined to allow three runs in 13 innings in their starts.Ray threw seven shutout innings Wednesday night, when he was in line for the win until closer Jake Barrett gave up a two-run pinch-homer to Kelly Johnson.Shipleys going to come out here (Thursday) and do a good job and were going to do our best to get this sweep here, Ray said.A sweep by the Diamondbacks would provide a little bit of solace in a lost season while providing a potentially lethal blow to the playoff hopes of the reeling Mets (57-56), who are trying to hang on in the race for the second wild card in the National League. New York is 2 1/2 games behind the Miami Marlins and the St. Louis Cardinals.We havent really had the season that we wanted to, but were still coming out every day, Ray said. Wins like these are huge for us.Gut-wrenching losses like Wednesdays are becoming commonplace for the Mets, who have lost their last seven one-run games dating to July 27.If you cant get over it, and youre going to let it linger in this league, youre going to have a tough time winning, Mets manager Terry Collins said.The Mets have not won consecutive games since July 6-7. They are 10-18 since then, a stretch in which New York has scored three runs or fewer 18 times.Weve got to find a groove here, Johnson said. I know one thing: These things tend to change. I think eventually well get on a little bit of a run, and its going to be fun when we do. Weve got some time left to do it.Right-hander Noah Syndergaard is scheduled to oppose Shipley. Syndergaard is 0-3 with a 3.49 ERA in his last five starts. He took the loss last Friday when he gave up four runs, seven hits and two walks while striking out seven in six innings as the Mets fell to the Detroit Tigers 4-3. Stitched NFL Jerseys . Pierce was ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up. Wholesale NFL Jerseys Authentic . Kozun faked to the forehand and beat Monsters starter, Calvin Pickard, pad side in the second round for the winner. Spencer Abbott also scored in the shootout for the Marlies (25-13-4). http://www.authenticnfljerseys.net/ . NBA officials ruled the court unplayable in the Bucks final exhibition game on Oct. 25 because players were slipping, and the game was cancelled midway through the first period. On her 32nd birthday -- July 19, 1996 -- Teresa Edwards made the rounds with President Bill Clinton in Atlantas Olympic Village, took part in the opening ceremony, recited the athletes oath, and was left thinking, This has been one pretty amazing day.No womens basketball player has spent more time wearing a Team USA jersey at the Olympics than Edwards did. She competed in the Summer Games five times -- 1984, 88, 92, 96 and 2000 -- winning four gold medals and one silver.They were all special experiences, but the Atlanta Games, held in her home state of Georgia, were the most amazing of all.When I first met the president, we were doing a flag presentation in front of all the captains of the various sports teams in an auditorium. He was charming, personable, happy to be around the athletes. My mother loved the man to death, so I had to say, Mr. President, my mom wanted me to say hello to you from her. We went around the village so the athletes could meet and shake hands with him. And that felt great. Then I went back to get ready for the opening ceremony.A couple of days later, the president and Hillary showed up in our locker room after one of our games. They were everywhere. It was one heck of an experience. It was wonderful to have them want to be there and spend time with our team.Edwards was born and grew up in Cairo, in the southwestern part of Georgia, not far from the Florida border. She had played at Georgia for coach Andy Landers, leading the Bulldogs to the Womens Final Four twice.She already had competed in one Olympics in the United States: the Los Angeles Games when she was just 20 and still in college. Now, after a nearly year-long Olympic preparation tour by the U.S. team, during which the team went 52-0, it was a pivotal time in womens basketball history. Both the ABL and WNBA were set to launch after the Atlanta Games in 1996.In 1984, I wouldnt have been able to really define the word Olympics. I just didnt know anything about it. I went to the Olympic trials reluctantly; I think I was a little nervous. Coach Landers gave me a great talk that got me out there. Once I made the team and we went to L.A., at first it still just felt like a really big, fancy basketball tournament. By the time we got to the last game and we were celebrating, I really, really realized what it was all about.By 1996, it felt like we had an opportunity to truly do something different: To introduce people in the United States to womens basketball at a higher level so we would have an opportunity to have pro ball here. That was so huge, but it actually wasnt distracting. Because the core of what we do was just play. I thought, All I need to do is perform, entertain and have fun.You can sense true greatness in certain people. Once [USA Basketball] assembled our team, you could tell we were about to embark on something huge. Every one of those players was special. We grew up very fast, and we enjoyed each others company. When we got out on the court, we jelled like peanut butter and jelly. We were smooth.One of the early stops of the pre-Olympics USA Basketball tour had been in Atlanta, in October 1995. Cheap Jerseys Paypal. U.S. coach Tara VanDerveer took the players to the Georgia Dome then to see what it would be like competing there the following summer, and had them visualize winning the gold medal. By that point, Edwards already had two golds, but she also had bronzes from the 1992 Olympics and 1994 world championship that still stuck in her craw.So when she took to the court to start the Atlanta Games, Edwards was pinpoint-focused.Wed played together so long, and we were so close to the finish line, I just felt like, This is not the time to screw it up. So once I was inside the lines on the court, I would not look outside the lines. I said, Im not speaking to anyone or looking over, no matter how many times they call my name. I dont care if its my mom in the stands yelling at me; Ive got to stay focused. The stakes were just too high. Me being the oldest one, the captain, the point guard, that was how I handled it.Wed played all these teams so many times that we could have lost a game to them. They knew us just as well as we knew them.But, in fact, no team could stop the Americans, who won their eight games in Atlanta by an average of 28.6 points. They shot 66.2 percent from the field in beating Brazil 111-87 in the gold-medal game.Edwards then went through the joy and heartbreak of the ABL, which launched in the fall of 1996 but lasted just two full seasons. Eventually, Edwards played and coached in the WNBA, but she says working with younger kids is her true passion. She and two of her Olympic teammates, Katrina McClain and Ruthie Bolton, have formed a group called Gold Medal Team that gives clinics and works on community projects across the country.Edwards was the chef de mission for the U.S. Olympic team at the 2012 London Games, which gave her an even greater connection to all American athletes. And when she thinks about Atlanta 1996, its with a mixture of pride ... and a little relief.I wanted to kick Brazils butts to the fullest, and I was totally excited about playing them in the final because theyd beat us in the 94 world championship. I was the old lady whod been through it before, but winning the gold medal really was a big relief, too. Because mentally, physically, emotionally, it was a big load for me to be able to let go.I remember that Olympics that everybody else from the United States was winning, too. Gymnastics was on the other side of [the Georgia Dome] and we saw them walking in and out. We already knew the soccer team, and softball was also doing well. We were well aware what all the women were doing, so when you saw each other, there was this light, this glow, this support.It was like, Theres no stopping us. We felt the momentum of it, and it felt amazing. We were all in the same spotlight in the same place, and I do think we changed womens sports with those Olympics forever. ' ' '
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