Weekes switched to No. 80, which he figured was as close t

EUGENE, Ore. -- Hurdler Aries Merritt captured a bronze medal at worlds last August with his kidneys operating at barely 10 percent. No wonder hes beaming at the prospect of competing at full health again.The chance to defend his Olympic title in the 110-meter hurdles in Rio is a very real possibility. All thats standing in his way is a top-three finish at U.S. Track and Field Trials this weekend.Doctors didnt think Merritt would be ready in time after receiving a new kidney from his sister 10 months ago. They grew even less optimistic when he developed complications that resulted in another surgery -- this one to place the kidney deeper into his abdomen.What the doctors didnt factor in was Merritts passion for this sport, and his desire for an Olympic repeat.If I was to win, it would be ugly -- Id be on the track crying somewhere, because of all the pain, all the suffering, all the depression I went through to get to this point, said the 30-year-old Merritt, whos the world record holder in the hurdles.He heads into Fridays first round of Olympic trials in good shape. But hes not exactly race sharp. He suffered a groin injury recently that curtailed his training. Hes only raced a handful of times heading into trials.Its going to take focus. Its going to take determination and grit, the 2012 Olympic gold medalist said.Nobody would question him in either of those categories.Merritt kept his ailment secret until just before worlds last August: He was suffering from a rare genetic disorder that was diagnosed in 2013. For years, it turns out, his kidneys had been faltering, to the point where he ran the final at worlds on Aug. 28 at about eight pounds under his normal weight and with his kidneys barely functioning.In the final, he wound up third, just 0.01 seconds behind Hansle Parchment of Jamaica for second. Sergey Shubenkov of Russia captured gold. He called it an even more fulfilling medal than his Olympic gold.A few days later he flew home to Phoenix and was on the operating table. His sister, LaToya Hubbard, is a big part of this, too -- donating one of her kidneys.One thing about Aries, when he puts his mind to it, he can do anything, said his sister, who will be at the trials. Hes determined to go back and regain his title so that when he leaves the sport, its his.Still, it was a long road to recovery.After surgery, my belly button was literally to the far right of my stomach. It wasnt in the right spot, Merritt said. Its a year before everything settles in its normal place.As he dealt with his failing kidneys, there were some bleak days for Merritt, like when doctors said he might not run again.Elite athletes dont usually go through kidney transplants, Merritt said. (Doctors) deal with regular people. Im not saying Im not regular. Im above the average on a fitness level. Theyre just giving me the textbook advice theyd give anyone else, not knowing what I can or my physical limits.For a while, it hurt to hurdle. His trail leg kept hitting him in the side of the incision.I couldnt do (indoors) because it was too painful at the time, Merritt explained. My body wasnt ready to hit that part of my scar repeatedly. My body is used to my trail leg. Everything should be fine.Maybe so, but then theres this -- concern over the mosquito-borne Zika virus should he be on the team for Rio. Hes more susceptible to infection.If I make it, Im going, Merritt said. Its really important to live that Olympic dream and try to achieve that Olympic goal of trying to win that gold medal and showing everyone around the world your story and your struggle.A few other things to watch out for Friday at trials:JAGER-MASTER: Four-time national champion Evan Jager is a heavy favorite in the final of the 3,000-meter steeplechase. He won his first-round heat.HURDLES: Brianna Rollins had the fastest time in the prelims of the 100-meter hurdles, just ahead of Keni Harrison, the hurdler who broke Rollins American record in May.SUHR THING: Defending Olympic champion Jenn Suhr and the rest of the pole vaulters begin qualifying. The 34-year-old is the big favorite among a youthful group that includes Sandi Morris, who turns 24 on Friday, and 19-year Alexis Weeks, who won an NCAA title for Arkansas at Hayward Field in June.LETS DISCUS: Mason Finley finished with the top throw in qualifying. Dont discount Lance Brooks, the 2012 Olympian who works construction to earn extra money for training.SPRINT SERVICE: LaShawn Merritt continues his quest to make the Rio team in the 200 with a semifinal heat. Hes already qualified in the 400. Not to be outdone, 400-meter trials champ Allyson Felix starts qualifying in the 200. Yeezy 350 V2 Sesame Pas Cher . 31, the CFL club announced Monday. The team also has yet to decide on the future of Doug Berry, who began the season as a consultant to the head coach but took over the offensive co-ordinators duties in July. Yeezy 350 V2 Black Non-Reflective Pas Cher . Jordan Lynch, the all-purpose Heisman Trophy finalist from Northern Illinois, failed to make it into that exclusive club. http://www.pascheryeezy350v2.fr/ . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. Yeezy Boost 350 Pas Cher . It was the kind of score that might make everyone else wonder which course he was playing. Except that Graeme McDowell saw the whole thing. Crouched behind the 10th green at Sheshan International, McDowell looked over at the powerful American and said, "Ive probably seen 18 of the best drives Ive seen all year in the last two days. Yeezy 350 V2 Hyperspace Pas Cher .Y. -- Syracuse has turned up the defence at the right time all season, and when High Point threatened to pull off a monumental upset the second-ranked Orange did what they do best with their quick hands and savvy play. Its a tradition practically as old as the sport itself: a hockey team led onto the ice by a goaltender wearing No. 1. From Jacques Plante to Glenn Hall to Johnny Bower, goalies wearing the simple number were the starting point of rosters for decades.If you were a goalie, you wore No. 1. Thats just how it was.Operative word here being was.Todays goalies have gone in a different direction when it comes to the digits on their back. And the result has almost eliminated the No. 1 altogether.As a kid, I always had 1, said former goaltender and current broadcaster Brian Hayward, who wore the number for almost his entire 11-year NHL career. Every time the goalie was 1, so I just stuck with it. It almost became like an expectation for me.The No. 1 goalie wore 1. Another reason why you wanted that number. You wanted to say, Im the No. 1. Thats the way I looked at it.Its believed that goalies were given the No. 1 because they were the first player on a rink when looking from the net outward. When a goalie was injured, for instance, the replacement goalie would also wear No. 1.The numbering system changed when roster expansion required teams to field two goaltenders. The most notable change occurred in 1964, when legendary goaltender Terry Sawchuk joined the Toronto Maple Leafs. With Bower already wearing No. 1, Sawchuk went with No. 24 before taking on No. 30 and forever changing the numbers associated with goalies.The Chicago Blackhawks Tony Esposito wore No. 35, and goaltenders began gravitating increasingly toward the 30s thanks to Patrick Roy, whose usual No. 30 was worn by Chris Nilan when he joined the Montreal Canadiens as a rookie, forcing Roy to go with No. 33. Roys legendary exploits in Montreal and with the Colorado Avalanche truly began a wave of iconic goalies wearing numbers that were uniquely theirs.When you saw a guy wearing 33 youd go, Wow, hes wearing 33, Hayward said. Im sure a lot of kids wear 33 because of Pat. Ken Dryden was 29. A lot of guys, if they had a favorite [goalie], would go in that direction.Today, the No. 1 has mostly gone the way of the two-pad stack. At the beginning of December, only seven goalies were wearing the number. Its a dramatic shift from just 25 years ago, when more goalies wore the number during the 1991-92 season, despite the NHLs fielding only 22 teams. Six teams have retired the No. 1 (not including the?Minnesota Wild, who retired the number in honor of their fans), which also pushed goalies to be creative when it came to picking a number.After being forced to abandon the number last season with the Canadiens, who retired the number in honor of Plante, Mike Condon was thrilled to get it back this season. He took back the number with the Pittsburgh Penguins and retained it after being traded to the Ottawa Senators.Its just the number I wore in high school and the number I wore in college, he said. Any chance I get to wear it, Im going to grab it. I think its old-school. I just like it.The number is certainly a throwback, especially with the Florida Panthers Roberto Luongo, who at 37 is the leagues oldest goaltender, wearing it. In fact, there are almost as many goaliies in the league wearing No.dddddddddddd40 and No. 41 (four each) as there are wearing the number that historically defines the position. Others wearing the No. 1:?Jonathan Bernier of the Los Angeles Kings, Brian Elliott of the Calgary Flames, Semyon Varlamov of the Colorado Avalanche, Keith Kinkaid of the New Jersey Devils and Thomas Greiss of the New York Islanders.But some goalies forced to take on the single digit have come to love the loneliest number.Ive loved No. 1 since Ive gotten it, said Kinkaid. I like the single digit. Its grown on me quite a bit. Its simple. My last name is only seven [letters], so I think if I had two numbers, it would go outside the seven.Kinkaid wore No. 1 when he starred at Sachem High School East in Farmingville, New York. The school even retired the number in his honor. But he switched to No. 30 when he enrolled at Union College, a number he couldnt wear with the Devils thanks to a certain goalie named Martin Brodeur. Kinkaid switched to No. 35, which was eventually taken by current starter Cory Schneider after he was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks. With the Devils still among the few teams restricting which numbers players can wear, Kinkaid was given his old high school number.But not every goalie forced by the Devils to wear the number took so kindly to the change.I didnt like it. I think its a boring number, said former NHL goaltender and current broadcaster Kevin Weekes. Its just a boring-looking number, but I respect the history of the guys who have worn it, of course.Weekes was first assigned No. 1 by the Panthers when he came to the NHL in 1997-98, but he had worn double zero in junior hockey and the minors. The NHL doesnt allow the single or double doughnut because they cannot be registered in the leagues database. So, when he came to the New York Islanders in 1999, Weekes switched to No. 80, which he figured was as close to double zero as he could get.When it comes to traditional numbers, the Devils and Kinkaid have proved to be the exception. Whereas goalies typically expressed themselves through the art on their mask, some of the NHLs best have taken to doing that through their number.Maybe its not cool anymore to wear No. 1. For me, I always look for it, Hayward said.Many star goalies have gone off the conventional radar when it comes to their number, including the Blackhawks Corey Crawford (No. 50), the Columbus Blue Jackets Sergei Bobrovsky (No. 72), the Tampa Bay Lightnings Andrei Vasilevskiy (No. 88) and the Washington Capitals Braden Holtby (No. 70). Their influence could ultimately make the traditional No. 1 even less popular with todays up-and-coming goaltenders.I think a lot of guys with big numbers have them for a reason, Condon said. They have a story behind it.I dont really have anything like that. I just want the simplest number out there. Simple, to the point, succinct. No wasted energy there.Of course, Condon said there is one other number he would consider.Im just old-school, but Id do double zero if I could. ' ' '