Dein erstes Forum » two-run shot against Brian Matu

Need a gentle reminder of how Great Britains Davis Cup team hasnt always been touched by greatness? Or a nudge, ahead of this weekends semifinal against Argentina in Glasgow, about how the British public havent always been so heavily invested in the competition?Then you ought to take a moment or two, however distressing this might be, to recall Britains last encounter with Argentina. Played on the red clay of Buenos Aires, that first-round tie in February 2008 at Estadio Parque Roca was one of the most awkward and excruciating episodes in the history of British tennis -- and thats saying something, with no shortage of horrors to pick from.That awkwardness was felt most acutely within the Murray family, with an emotional?Jamie?highly critical of?Andy?for withdrawing from the tie -- which was Britains first in the?elite?World Group for five years -- to avoid a possible injury: It kind of affects the way I feel about him.As their mother Judy observed in the first of Andys memoirs, Jamie was livid.All brothers argue, but not many end up with newspaper headlines exposing the fact splashed all over the world. I felt for both of them; for Andy as all he was trying to do was protect himself from unnecessary injury, and for Jamie as he was thrown into the deep end of a news conference without being properly informed.No doubt, some wont appreciate those memories intruding on this golden age for Britains Davis Cup team, with last years triumph the first since 1936, and then another run this season, too. Even so, its a useful exercise to compare then and now, and to consider how the Murray familys relationship with this competition has changed in the intervening eight years, as well as to appreciate how the British public now think very differently about this competition.If the younger of the Murray brothers had travelled to Buenos Aires, Britain could possibly have beaten Argentina. Without him, captain John Lloyds team had no chance whatsoever, and that defeat provoked some dark thoughts about Britains future in the competition. Never mind whether the British team were capable of winning the tournament for the first time since the 1930s -- when would one of the founding nations ever win another World Group tie, as at that moment in time they hadnt done so since 1986?The era of Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski had been a barren time for Britain in the Davis Cup -- they never accomplished anything in the competition proper -- so why would it be any different with Murray as the front-man, especially when he wasnt always making himself available for the big occasion?In the aftermath of skipping the tie in Buenos Aires, Murray faced accusations from some quarters -- his brother wasnt the only one saying this -- of not caring enough about his countrys fortunes. And some of that criticism hurt. From todays viewpoint, how ridiculous those accusations look now. Murray could hardly have done more for Britains cause last season -- he contributed 11 of the 12 points required to win the tournament, with eight in singles and three in doubles.That enthusiasm for the tournament hadnt dimmed this year either, as although he didnt feature in the quarterfinal victory over Serbia, which was played the weekend after he won Wimbledon, he still travelled there to support his teammates. Most Wimbledon champions go to the beach; Murray took a trip to Belgrade, where he supplied encouragement, tactical and technical points. Private jet or not, that was an impressive display of commitment and togetherness.Add in Murrays two Olympics gold medals, and this hardly looks like the behaviour of someone lacking in patriotic fervour.Also note how Murrays off-court and on-court bond with Jamie was instrumental in last years run to the title, with that discord and disaffection a thing of the past, and the brothers now a formidable pairing. In the last eight years, Jamie has become a force -- and a multiple Grand Slam champion -- in doubles. Together, the Murrays won three rubbers last year, including in the final against Belgium, and already this season they have a victory to their names, which came in the first round in Japan.But the greatest transformation since 2008 has been in the publics appetite for the Davis Cup. For too many years, when Britain was scuffling around the lower tiers, this was a competition that passed most of the general sporting public by. The worst was when Britain lost to a team of Lithuanian teenagers in 2010, which sent them down to a playoff against Turkey. Defeat would have brought relegation to the lowest level of the Davis Cup, where they would have been alongside countries such as Andorra, San Marino and Iceland.But they overcame Turkey, with that tie Leon Smiths first as captain. From that low base, he took them all the way into the history books -- and a hangar outside Ghent, where last years final was played.And if theres one part of the Britain that has appreciated the Davis Cup adventures more than anywhere else, its Scotland, with the ties providing the rare opportunity -- in fact, the only opportunity -- for Scottish fans to watch the Murray brothers play competitive tennis live. If last years two ties at Glasgow are to be your guide -- the first round against the United States and the semifinal against Australia -- it will be extremely loud inside the Emirates Arena this weekend, especially if Britain progress into a second successive final.But when the Glaswegians turn the dial, take a couple of minutes to quietly reflect on that tie in Buenos Aires, and how far British tennis has come.Jose Cruz Astros Jersey . Three came down to the fourth quarter while quarterbacks continued to shine in all four games; so important to the overall quality of the game. Ivan Rodriguez Astros Jersey . -- In a span of seven Washington Redskins offensive plays, Justin Tuck sacked Robert Griffin III four times. https://www.cheapastros.com/2513o-rusty-staub-jersey-astros.html . He just needed to be his best twisting, turning acrobatic self. "I didnt need to be anybody else, I just needed to be myself and be aggressive," said Burks, who scored a career-high 34 points to spark the Utah Jazz to a 118-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. Randy Johnson Astros Jersey . The recently retired Stern was elected Friday to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and will be enshrined with the class of 2014 on Aug. Alex Bregman Jersey . - Connor McDavid scored 53 seconds into overtime as the Erie Otters came from behind to defeat the visiting Guelph Storm 4-3 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action.ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Baltimore Orioles broke out of a brief offence funk against one of the top pitchers in the American League. J.J. Hardy, Adam Jones, Alexi Casilla and Nick Markakis had two RBIs apiece and the Orioles hammered eight-game winner Matt Moore in beating the Tampa Bay Rays 10-7 on Sunday. Baltimore, held to one run and six hits in losing the first two games of the series, had 16 hits Sunday. "Today we just came out aggressive," Hardy said. Moore (8-2) allowed career highs of nine runs and 12 hits over five innings in his second consecutive loss. The left-hander was coming off a subpar start last Tuesday in which he gave up six runs over two-plus inning in a 10-1 loss at Detroit. "The 8-0 start is obviously gone," Moore said of his undefeated stretch. "Its something that, maybe, was a bit misleading I guess you could say. It definitely shows how our team is playing." Moore said when he was getting ahead in the count Sunday that he just didnt make the needed pitch. "Not bad stuff, but the location was not good," Rays manager Joe Maddon said. "They were not missing anything. This whole season, really, he has not been a command kind of a pitcher. Earlier in the season he might have been making mistakes that were not being hit. Its not like its entirely different than early, its just that the command right now is a little off with his off-speed stuff. They were in bad spots." Chris Tillman (6-2) gave up three runs and four hits in six innings. The Baltimore right-hander has won all five of his road decisions this year. "Youve got to go out there and pitch like its a 0-0 ball game," Tillman said. "Thats one of the learning curves in this game. Youve got to go out there no matter what and throw." Jim Johnson entered in the ninth with two on and two outs and gave up an RBI single to Jose Labaton that got Tampa Bay to 10-7 -- they trailed 9-1 in the fourth. The right-hander then retired Kelly Johnson on an infield pop fly to get his 21st save. "American League East is tough," Orioles manager Buck Showalter said. "Youve got to play nine innings, which our guys did. They kept adding on, or trying to, because its hard in the major leagues. Things are going to happpen.dddddddddddd" Johnson had a run-scoring hit in the sixth for the Rays, who lost for just the fourth time in the last 14 games. The Orioles took a 2-0 lead in the first on RBI doubles by Hardy and Jones. Manny Machado was hit by a pitch near the knee, but stayed in the game and scored from first on Hardys hit. Casilla hit a sacrifice fly, Machado drove in a run with his 27th double this season, and Hardy had a run-scoring double as Baltimore went up 5-0 in the second. Machado has a hit in 24 of his last 26 road games. "You just hope youre not catching him when hes on top of game," Showalter said of Moore. "When he is, it doesnt usually work out for you. We were fortunate to be on the mistakes he made." Tampa Bay got one run back in the bottom of the second when Evan Longoria doubled and later scored on Desmond Jennings infield single. Jennings was caught attempting to steal second later in the inning when Machado made a nifty spinning tag. Casilla had an RBI single and Markakis hit a sacrifice fly during a three-run third to extend the Baltimore advantage to 8-1. Markakis also had a run-scoring double off Cesar Ramos in the seventh. Jones hit a solo homer to put Baltimore ahead 9-1 in the fourth. Ben Zobrist hit his first homer since May 1, a solo shot in the fourth off Tillman. Sam Fuld helped cut the Rays deficit to 10-6 during the eighth on his first homer since May 27, 2011, a two-run shot against Brian Matusz, who gave up three runs and five hits in two-thirds of an inning. Luke Scott also had an RBI single in the inning. NOTES: Orioles slugger Chris Davis was hitless in 12 at-bats in the series and saw his average drop from .357 to .338. ... Baltimore 2B Brian Roberts (right hamstring) will continue his rehab program with the team. Roberts, who has been working out at the Orioles complex in Sarasota, Fla., hopes to return before the All-Star break. ... Longoria was the DH, getting a day off from playing third on the artificial turf. ... An MRI on Baltimore RHP Steve Johnson showed a slight left oblique strain. He went on the disabled list June 5. ... Orioles pitching prospect Dylan Bundy (elbow and forearm soreness) is scheduled to resume throwing and make 25 throws at 60 feet on Monday. ' ' '