players have logged far more NWSL minu

BALTIMORE -- The Colorado Rockies reinstated left-hander Chris Rusin from the 15-day disabled list prior to the series finale against the Baltimore Orioles on Wednesday.Rusin will take the spot of righty reliever Jason Motte, who was put on the 15-day DL with a right rotator cuff strain. Rusin was 2-4 with a 4.12 ERA in 12 games before being sidelined by a strained left shoulder.Rusin made three rehab appearances for Triple-A Albuquerque, going 0-1 with a 5.79 ERA. Rockies manager Walt Weiss said he will be used out of the bullpen for now.Initially, we look at him as a guy who can give us length if we have to go to the bullpen early, Weiss said. But I dont rule out using him as late as the fifth or sixth inning right now.Motte, 34, is 0-1 with a 5.66 ERA in 26 appearances this season. He began the regular season on the disabled list with a right shoulder strain before being reinstated May 25. The latest injury is not related to the earlier setback, Weiss said.Cheap Cubs Jerseys . The Dane followed up his first European Tour title last weekend with eight birdies and just a single dropped shot on Thursday for a one-stroke advantage over South Africas Allan Versfeld and Portugals Ricardo Santos. Cubs Jerseys China . Marincin has played in two NHL games so far this season with two penalty minutes. The 21-year-old has three goals, four assists and a plus-5 rating in 24 games with the American Hockey Leagues Oklahoma City Barons this season. https://www.cheapcubs.com/ . Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck of the Vancouver Giants were each charged with assault causing bodily harm on Aug. 18, according to the B.C. court services. Custom Chicago Cubs Jerseys . A lawyer for MLB, Matthew Menchel, confirmed Wednesday the league dropped its case against Biogenesis of America, its owner Anthony Bosch and several other individuals. The lawsuit had accused Biogenesis and Bosch of conspiring with players to violate their contracts by providing them with banned performance-enhancing substances. Stitched Cubs Jerseys . Argentina winger Ezequiel Lavezzi and France midfielder Blaise Matuidi scored, with star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic setting up both despite having a poor game by his high standards. Forward Eduardo gave Ajaccio the lead in the sixth minute after being set up by right winger Benjamin Andre, and the Corsican side looked comfortable in the first half, with the lively Johan Cavalli causing problems with his probing runs from midfield.CHICAGO -- The last time the United States womens national soccer team played at Soldier Field, it scored six goals and pummeled an upwardly mobile opponent that had recently qualified for a major tournament.It is unlikely many people remember that August game played nine years ago. It is unlikely many American fans remember fondly the World Cup campaign that followed a month later. What glittered along the shores of Lake Michigan back then soon foundered, accompanied by a literal typhoon, in China.Which is to say, extrapolate from Saturdays lackluster 1-0 win against South Africa at your own peril.But, well, it fell some ways short of compelling. No one is going to argue that.It wasnt our best performance, U.S. coach Jill Ellis said by way of the lexicon of diplomacy.It was a historic matchup, both because it was the first meeting between the United States and South Africa, which will make its major tournament debut in the Olympics, and because it marked Hope Solos 100th clean sheet for her country, an unequaled milestone.It offered the specter of societal significance, although American players ultimately did not take the field wearing the shirts or temporary tattoos in support of equal pay, as reportedly planned.It even took place against the backdrop of a spectacular summer afternoon, equally free of clouds and humidity.It just wasnt a memorable game of soccer.Ranked No. 52 in the admittedly dubious FIFA world rankings, behind the likes of Myanmar and Uzbekistan, South Africa showed itself a good deal more organized and committed than that assessment. But a team with few full professionals never really put Solo or the U.S. defense in danger. The United States controlled the game but couldnt dominate it, lacking the precision to create or finish chances.With the team on the verge of naming its final roster of 18 players for the Olympics -- Ellis said she would inform players Monday of the final decisions -- Saturday played out less as a final opportunity to impress than as a university lecture scheduled after the final exam.Send-off games are never easy, Crystal Dunn said after scoring the games lone goal. South Africa is obviously in the Olympics as well, and theyre giving their all. And they had a good game as well. I think, for us, were all coming off NWSL seasons, playing a lot of minutes. The league is very intense, and obviously everything thats going on with us mentally -- yes, we are all preparing for the roster to be announced. But its really no excuse. This wasnt a good performance.But at the end of the day, its all about results.Thats debatable. Just ask the folks who watched the U.S. women pummel New Zealand here nine years ago. But if were talking about the result of Olympic preparation, of months of work rather than 90 minutes of work, it wasnt without some positives.Ellis spoke this week about preparation as a funnel, all the personnel changes and tactical tweaks placed in the wide end of the funnel months ago, with what is left now the distilled product.On the goal, Meghan Klingenberg intercepted a South African pass deep in its own half, no surprise given the amount of time the outside back spent on the attacking side of the halfway line. She moved the ball to Mallory Pugh, who sprinted past a defender to the end line and delivered the cross that Dunn slammed home at the far post. South Africa should have done better with the ball before it ever reached Dunn, but Pugh put it in dangerous space.In that sequence, isolated as it was on the afternoon, Klingenberg looked thee veteran completely comfortable in her marauding role, Dunn looked like the player fighting not for the roster spot she didnt claim in the World Cup but a starting spot in Brazil.dddddddddddd And Pugh looked like a player who has lived several soccer years in the mere months since she debuted against Ireland in January.Indeed, Pugh was far and away the bright light on the day, full of energy and threatening movement.I dont think of Mal in terms of age because I think shes got a bit of ice running through her veins, Ellis said. She came in in January with us for the first time and, yeah, I think you see a little bit of anxiety there. But now you see her off the field -- and thats important, too, that she feels comfortable off the field. Off the field, shes well blended in, respected in the group. And then her performances, she doesnt play like a young player. Shes special, and we know that. Thats why shes in with us regularly now.Thats why, while confirmation will only come with the official announcement, shes going to Brazil.The other bit of good news Saturday is that Carli Lloyd looks as if she will take the field in the Olympic opener Aug. 3 at 100 percent -- or 120 percent, by her own estimate. Absences were a story Saturday, with none of Morgan Brian, Tobin Heath or Megan Rapinoe in uniform. The injuries for Brian and Heath are described as minor, their absences precautionary. Rapinoe is the biggest question mark on the roster, Ellis saying Friday that she had seen what she needed to see out of the midfielder seven months removed from an ACL injury but also that quad and hamstring concerns would keep Rapinoe off the field against South Africa. But in 45 minutes as a second-half substitute, punctuated with some firm tackles if not goals, Lloyd eased the anxiety created by her knee injury early in the NWSL season.It felt good, knocking the rust off, Lloyd said. You as a player always want to just come on and think everything is going to be perfect. I have to keep it in mind that its been 11 weeks since I played a game, so I think for the most part it felt pretty good. I thought it was the perfect amount of time for me to play, first game. Unfortunately it wasnt maybe our best overall team performance, but we all knocked the rust off. Now everyone will go home and recharge.It will be that process, not this game or the final send-off game against Costa Rica in two weeks (ESPN, 9 p.m. ET, July 22), that matters most. Physical ailments aside, mental freshness is an equally notable challenge. As Dunn alluded to, players have logged far more NWSL minutes this season than those who went to the World Cup a year ago did before that tournament -- and these minutes on top of the international calendar in womens soccer that crowds major tournaments into back-to-back years. It is one more reason no team has won World Cup and Olympic titles in back-to-back years.In reality, these players havent had a break in 2?, Ellis said this week. Since we started the buildup to World Cup qualifiers, then they come straight out [the World Cup] straight into a 10-game victory tour and straight into the league and all the friendlies.So thats something that I think going into these Olympics Im trying to be very thoughtful about making sure were not just physically ready but were also mentally ready.And if they are, chances are few will remember a sunny summer afternoon at Soldier Field. ' ' '