Herausforderungen » ek.TRAINERS ROOMPirates: RHP

Greenville, South Carolina, will host first- and second-round games of the NCAA mens basketball tournament in March, seizing the games away from Greensboro, North Carolina, as the state of South Carolina benefited from a?ban of championship events from the state of North Carolina.The NCAA announced the move Friday, giving South Carolina its first championship mens basketball event since 2002. The move comes a year after the Confederate flag was removed from the state capitol in Columbia. The flag was the reason the NCAA previously wouldnt place official championship events in the state.Furman University and the Southern Conference will host the event on March 17 and 19, 2017.What a great opportunity for Furman, the Southern Conference and the city of Greenville, Furman athletic director Mike Buddie told ESPN. Our ultimate goal is to get future bids for 2019 and beyond and be in the regular rotation.The NCAA, along with the ACC, followed the lead of the NBA, which pulled its All-Star Game out of Charlotte, by removing any championship events in 2016-17 from North Carolina over the controversial HB2 law.The law, commonly known as the bathroom bill, was deemed discriminatory by LGBT groups over its determination for transgender people to use the bathroom of the gender indicated on their birth certificate, rather than their identity.The decision by the Board of Governors to open up the bidding process occurred in August and wrapped up this week. The official statement from the NCAA for pulling out of North Carolina was because of cumulative actions taken by the state concerning civil rights protections.We can associate what North Carolina is going through since we went through it ourselves, Buddie said. The NCAA has always been aware of social issues. They have balanced the joy of the student-athlete experience and taken the pulse of the nation. Were thrilled to be back in the pool in a position to host. Its great the NCAA saw fit to award us the opportunity.The NCAA said the tournament needed a site in the mid-Atlantic region with other first- and second-round sites to be hosted by Orlando, Indianapolis, Buffalo, Milwaukee, Tulsa, Sacramento and Salt Lake City.Geography played a huge role in this decision, the NCAAs Dan Gavitt told ESPN. Greenville is only 190 miles from Greensboro. All of the other options didnt offer that geographic balance. That had a significant role.The SEC womens tournament will be held in Greenville earlier in March. Clemson played its 2015 season in Greenville while Littlejohn Coliseum was undergoing a rehab project.Gavitt said as soon as the Confederate flag came down in the summer of 2015, Columbia and Greenville expressed an interest in bidding. Both bid for 2019-22 sites and will be viable options, Gavitt said.Buddie said the 14,000-seat Bon Secours Wellness Arena should be a fan-friendly experience, with seven hotels within a mile of the facility.A potential No. 1 or 2 seed Duke likely would have been in Greensboro, but now it could easily be slotted for nearby Greenville. The same could be true for other regional teams like Kentucky, North Carolina or Virginia, assuming they are in position to be top seeds as well.We dont think there will be any challenge selling out, Buddie said. Were smack in the middle of ACC and SEC country.The NCAA, in a release, said fans who bought tickets for Greensboro will have the first option of buying tickets for Greenville.This is only the third time the NCAA has chosen South Carolina to host the NCAA mens basketball tournament. The first was in 1970 in Columbia, and the last time was 2002 -- in Greenville.Other championships announced Friday that were originally slated for North Carolina were:* Division I womens soccer college cup, Dec. 2 and 4 in San Jose, California.* Division III mens and womens soccer championship, Dec. 2 and 3 in Salem, Virginia.* Division I womens golf championship, May 8-10 in Athens, Georgia.* Division III mens and womens tennis championships, May 22-27 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.* Division I womens lacrosse championship, May 26 and 28 in Boston.* Division II baseball championship, May 27-June 3 in Grand Prairie, Texas. Fake Mariners Jerseys . - Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco is not a fan of his teams use of the wildcat formation, saying "it makes you look like a high school offence. Seattle Mariners Store . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. https://www.cheapmariners.com/ . Breaking three of his own world records on his way to winning in Paris, Chan silenced the critics and left the audiences standing in appreciation and awe. Seattle Mariners Pro Shop . -- Ohio States Urban Meyer has never had any issue acclimating to the biggest stages in college football. Seattle Mariners Shirts . Zvonareva, who won the tournament in 2009 and 10, couldnt handle her opponents big groundstrokes in only her third event back after 17 months out with a shoulder injury. Zvonareva made her comeback in January in Shenzhen and played in the Australian Open but lost her first matches at both tournaments. CHICAGO -- Miguel Montero waited for five hours before he got a chance to play. And then he had to face a crafty left-hander with the bases loaded.One soft liner made it all worth it.Montero hit a game-ending RBI single in the 13th inning, and the Chicago Cubs rallied for a wild 8-7 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night.Its a winning team, winning attitude, Montero said. Thats (what) its all about. We never quit. We know we can come back anytime. Weve done it all season long, and we did it again today.Dexter Fowler, Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo set the stage for Monteros clutch swing with consecutive singles against Jeff Locke (9-8), plating the tying run. After Ben Zobrist was walked intentionally, Montero dumped a 1-2 pitch into left for a big pinch-hit single.The major league-leading Cubs (83-47) dropped two of three in Los Angeles over the weekend, and then their flight to Chicago was delayed. They arrived early Monday morning, and still had enough in reserve to outlast the scrappy Pirates.They had to be tired today, but nevertheless played `til post-midnight with energy, manager Joe Maddon said, and I love it.Rob Zastryzny (1-0) got his first major league win despite allowing Josh Harrisons sacrifice fly in the top half of the inning. Jorge Soler and Willson Contreras homered for the Cubs, and Javier Baez collected four hits.Pittsburgh had won eight straight road games. It fell 1 1/2 games back of St. Louis for the second NL wild card.Nothing to hang our heads about, Harrison said. We went out there and gave it everything we had. We got contributions from a lot of different people. We just came up short.Gregory Polanco and Josh Bell helped the Pirates build a 6-3 lead with opposite-field homers against Jake Arrieta, but Contreras belted a two-run shot to center against Neftali Feliz in the eighth and Soler connected for a tying solo shot in the ninth against closer Tony Watson.Baez was thrown out at the plate to end the 10th and 12th innings. Catcher Francisco Cervelli made a nice lunging tag to get Baez on Rizzos inning-ending double play in the 10th, and then corralled left fielder Starling Martes outstanding throw in time to get Baez in the 12th.Youve got to do everything perfectly and in our case it was done, twice, Locke said.Rizzo, one of the leading candidates for NL MVP, also struck out with runners on thhe corners for the final out of the eighth.ddddddddddddBut his single in the 13th drove in Fowler with the tying run.Bells one-out shot to left in the fourth was Pittsburghs first hit of the game. With two outs and runners on first and second in the sixth, Polanco drove Arrietas first pitch over the wall in left for a 4-3 Pittsburgh lead.Polanco also hit a tiebreaking solo homer in the sixth inning of the Pirates 3-1 win at Milwaukee on Sunday. He was batting just .138 (4 for 29) against Arrieta before his team-best 21st homer.Arrieta was charged with six runs -- matching a season high, also against Pittsburgh on July 8 -- and five hits in 6 1/3 innings. The ace right-hander went 4-0 with a 1.98 ERA in his first four August starts, recalling his dominant second-half run to the NL Cy Young Award a year ago.I didnt pitch as well as I would have liked, he said. Obviously the two homers were kind of the dagger for me.ON SEPTEMBERActive major league rosters can expand to as many as 40 players on Thursday, and Cubs president of baseball operations Theo Epstein said the team isnt ready to discuss in detail what it might do.Weve been working on it and continue to work on it next few days, both our internal decisions and anything that we might consider from outside the organization, too, he said.Asked about Tommy La Stella, who is playing for Triple-A Iowa after initially refusing to report to the minors, Epstein said he thinks the infielder will rejoin the Cubs this week.TRAINERS ROOMPirates: RHP Tyler Glasnow (shoulder) was activated from the 15-day DL and optioned to Indianapolis, where he will make at least one start before the Triple-A season ends next week.Cubs: RHP Pedro Strop (left meniscus tear) is throwing again, and RHP Hector Rondon (right triceps strain) also is making great progress, according to manager Joe Maddon. ... RHP John Lackey (right shoulder strain) threw a side session.UP NEXTCubs RHP Kyle Hendricks (12-7, 2.19 ERA) and Pirates RHP Chad Kuhl (3-1, 3.50 ERA) get the ball for the second game of the series on Tuesday night. Hendricks is 3-0 with a 1.53 ERA in five August starts. Kuhl allowed two runs and five hits in 6 1/3 innings in a no-decision in his previous start Thursday at Milwaukee. ' ' '