Gästebuch » eater task.With a name like No Way Jose, and a ch

ST. LOUIS -- Jung Ho Kang is playing while under investigation for sexual assault , and the Pirates infielder helped Pittsburgh climb in the standings Wednesday night.Kang drove in two key runs with a seventh-inning double a day after Chicago police announced their investigation, and Pittsburgh beat the St. Louis Cardinals 7-5 on Wednesday night for its sixth straight comeback win.Kangs double off Jonathan Broxton (1-1) put the Pirates up 6-5 after they trailed 5-1.Kang, through an interpreter, declined to comment on the assault allegations after the game in his first public remarks. He did talk about the latest comeback victory, which gave Pittsburgh seven consecutive wins overall and leapfrogged them past St. Louis for second place in the NL Central.Not only myself but also all the teammates and the team as a whole unit, we always think positive and keep our heads in the fight, Kang said. And thats what we did today and the last couple of days.In a statement Tuesday, police said a 23-year-old woman reported being assaulted by Kang inside a hotel. Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the Chicago woman met Kang through a dating app. Kang invited the woman to his hotel room on June 17, after the Pirates played the Cubs.The woman said she blacked out, then drifted in and out of consciousness as he sexually assaulted her. The womans name has not been released.Kang has not been charged, and Major League Baseball said in a statement it would respond fully as additional facts emerge.The Pirates have won three straight series at Busch Stadium after dropping their previous seven in St. Louis.Pirates relievers combined for five scoreless innings. A.J. Schugel (2-2) got the win and Mark Melancon picked up his 26th save.Pirates left-hander Jeff Locke lasted just four innings and had his three-start winning streak snapped.Typically you dont get away with starts like that, Locke said. Four innings from your starter, five runs and you probably dont have a good chance to win the game. But the guys dont give up. You know its kind of inspiring.Rookie shortstop Aledmys Diaz went 3 for 5. His 12th homer of the season tied the game 1-1 in the third and his single in the fourth capped a four-run rally for the Cardinals.Jaime Garcia exited after giving up a pair of walks to start the sixth. Both walks came around to score.The Cardinals have lost three straight and fell to 18-26 at home. They have lost 10 games in a row at home to teams with winning records.UPON FURTHER REVIEWCardinals manager Mike Matheny successfully challenged first base umpire Dan Iassognas out call on Kolten Wong that wouldve ended a four-run rally in the fourth. After a 1 minute, 35 second review, Wong was ruled safe on his bunt attempt. The Cardinals added two extra runs due to the challenge as Jedd Gyorko scored on Wongs hit and Diaz followed with an RBI single.CARPENTER INJUREDCardinals All-Star second baseman Matt Carpenter left the game in the third inning with a right oblique injury after swinging awkwardly at one of Lockes pitches. Carpenter was replaced by Wong.Matheny said Carpenter was in the MRI tube as he spoke to reporters after the game.I have a high level of concern because Ive felt that injury and Ive seen it, Matheny said. It can be tough, but Im not going to make any conclusions until we hear from the people that know what theyre talking about.MUSICAL CHAIRSThe Pirates recalled LHP Kyle Lobstein and optioned LHP Steven Brault to Triple-A Indianapolis. It is the fourth roster move in as many days for the Pirates.STAGE FRIGHTFans that bought a special theme ticket received a John Goodman bobblehead, commemorating his character in The Big Lebowski. Goodman, a St. Louis native, threw out the first pitch.I immediately was scared and I was going to say no, but I thought it might be fun, Goodman said. I dont deserve this.TRAINERS ROOMPirates: An MRI on C Chris Stewarts knee showed wear and tear and could require surgery, but Stewart hopes to rehab and play through it. ... RHPs Gerrit Cole (triceps) and Ryan Vogelsong (facial fractures) will throw bullpens Thursday.Cardinals: C Brayan Pena (knee) was placed on the 15-day DL and C Alberto Rosario was called up from Triple-A Memphis. 3B Jhonny Peralta (thumb) sat Wednesday and is day-to-day.UP NEXTPirates: RHP Tyler Glasnow will make his major league debut. He went 7-2 with a 1.78 ERA at Indianapolis.Cardinals: RHP Adam Wainwright (7-5, 4.70 ERA) pitched seven shutout innings in his last start and St. Louis is 10-3 in his last 13 outings. Kevin Gausman Jersey . Burris threw two TD passes, including a key 15-yard fourth-quarter strike to Bakari Grant that effectively countered a Toronto comeback bid and led Hamilton to a 33-19 victory. Tim Beckham Jersey . Aaron Harrison scored a 22 points for Kentucky (6-1), which has won four in a row following a Nov. 12 loss to current No. 1 Michigan State. Julius Randle overcame a scoreless first half and added his sixth double-double in as many games with 14 points and 10 rebounds. http://www.theoriolesteamshop.com/Orioles-Andrew-Cashner-Kids-Jersey/ . 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. Dylan Bundy Jersey . -- The St. Johns IceCaps weathered a wild first period with the help of goaltender Jussi Olkinuora, before finding offensive inroads in the second. Anthony Santander Jersey One year ago, NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn took a surging brand and elevated it into another stratosphere. The show featured several in-ring classics, including a showdown between Bayley and Sasha Banks that was widely recognized as one of the best matches of the year in any company.TakeOver: Brooklyn, NXTs first ever special outside the confines of Full Sail University, completely changed the future of NXT. Live event tours under the NXT banner expanded well beyond Florida, where they had largely remained the last few years. Two further TakeOver specials -- one in London and one in Dallas during WrestleMania weekend -- were made possible by the success of TakeOver: Brooklyn at the box office and through the overwhelmingly positive response from fans.These are the kind of expectations that NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II has to live up to.Of all the contracted superstars that appeared on this show one year ago, only Bayley, Samoa Joe, Tye Dillinger and Blake and Murphy remain on the NXT roster. Joe and Bayley have two of the four most prominent spots at NXT TakeOver: Brooklyn II, but the rest of the card bears little resemblance to its predecessor.That being said, all three title matches are based around compelling stories that have been given ample time to grow over the last few months of NXT broadcasts.Shinsuke Nakamuras ascension to the status of No. 1 contender for the NXT championship has been compelling to watch, and the conflict with Samoa Joe is reaching its peak at just the right time. Bayleys return to the scene of her greatest triumph is contrasted by her current struggles against Asuka. And as for the NXT tag-team championship showdown pitting The Revival against Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano, the latter have been well-positioned as underdogs who are still fully capable of taking the next step, thanks to their exploits in the ring both with and against each other in the last few weeks.The rest of the show offers a pair of debuts that should be crucial to how NXT proceeds in the future. With the departures of top-class talent like Finn Bálor, Kevin Owens, Sasha Banks, Charlotte, Sami Zayn, Becky Lynch and American Alpha, there has been a need for new talent to step up and take over the top spots.Bobby Roode is making his long-awaited debut against another newcomer, Andrade Cien Almas, in what should be a strong showcase for both superstars. Ember Moon makes her first NXT appearance against Billy Kay, in a match that could go a long way in determining whether one or both of them can provide a well-needed shot in the arm for the depth of the NXT womens division. With the recent departures of Nia Jax, Carmella and Alexa Bliss -- and the high likelihood that Bayley will soon get a promotion of her own -- the opportunity to stand out right away is there for the taking.Heres a deeper look at the four matches that have had extended builds towards Saturday nights conclusions in Brooklyn -- the three championship matches, as well as the culmination of the ongoing feud between Austin Aries and No Way Jose.NXT championship: Samoa Joe vs. Shinsuke NakamuraNXT has made a habit of taking dream matches that no one thought were possible -- due to geographic, contractual or other seemingly impassable barriers -- and making them a reality. That trend continues in Brooklyn in the NXT championship match, as Samoa Joe defends his title against Shinsuke Nakamura.Since his debut at NXT TakeOver: Dallas, Nakamura has had high-profile matches against Zayn, Bálor and Austin Aries, but each of those matches has only had a small build with most of the hype generated by the spectacle of seeing the match itself. Each of those victories helped tell the story leading up to this championship match in Brooklyn, but for the first time since his debut, Nakamura has been given the chance to tell a well-rounded story with Joe.It has taken some compelling twists and turns along the way as Samoa Joe, who was very vocal about not getting a fair shake in his pursuit of the title when Bálor held it, tried denying Nakamura a rightful chance of his own until general manager William Regal stepped in and made the match.Nakamuras style is unlike that of anyone in NXT -- or the world, to be quite frank. His seemingly violent strikes are deadly serious, but his ability to be an eccentric has also been on full display.Theres no denying @ShinsukeN is RELENTLESS in his pursuit of the @WWENXT Championship vs. @SamoaJoe! #NXTTakeOver https://t.co/NSgGe6QuzA- WWE (@WWE) August 19, 2016This has the makings of an incredibly stiff match, and with both competitors owning compatible styles of in-ring work it has the potential to stand up among some of the biggest and most revered matches in NXT history if all goes according to plan.NXT womens championship: Asuka vs. BayleyEvery time Bayley had to jump another hurdle on the path to her first NXT womens championship victory, an opponent would bring out an aspect of her personality or her repertoire in the ring that we previously didnt know was possible.dddddddddddd As she dispatched all three of her fellow Horsewomen on her way to victory in Brooklyn, or in defenses against Banks and Nia Jax, each match pushed her to be that much better in order to secure victory.Will @itsBayleyWWE somehow find a way to defeat @WWEAsuka for the @WWENXT #WomensTitle this Saturday? #NXTTakeOver https://t.co/93iaV8iDJT- WWE (@WWE) August 18, 2016All of this went by the wayside in Bayleys showdown with Asuka at NXT TakeOver: Dallas, as the undefeated Japanese superstar took everything Bayley had to throw at her and then some. By reducing Bayley to an unconscious heap in the middle of the ring, Asuka sent her opponent spiraling to the back of the line and, worse yet, left her incapacitated for several months.Bayley had to prove herself, step-by-step, all over again. She has added an edge to her personality in response to Asukas dominance that not even Charlotte or Sasha Banks could bring out, and it has led to the kind of depth that many feel was the final missing piece of the puzzle before Bayley could successfully move on to either Raw or SmackDown.Asuka has the makings of a long-time champion in NXT, and Bayley seems to be on her way out of the door, but both women have the opportunity to prove just how much each of them have earned the lofty positions theyve reached. Bayley has proven her ability to get the best out of her opponents -- her matchup with Banks in 2015 serving as the best evidence of that -- and this match has all the makings of another potential show stealer.NXT tag team championship: The Revival vs. Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny GarganoIt has been quite a run for Johnny Gargano and Tommaso Ciampa. The two independent wrestling veterans got paired together as a tag team at an NXT TV taping in 2015, and over the course of the last year, each has proved that they not only belong in NXT full-time with their work in the ring, but that theyre deserving of the tag-team championship match that awaits them in Brooklyn.That has been especially clear in their performances the last couple of months. Gargano and Ciampa defeated the Hype Bros, TM 61, the Vaudevillains and the tag-team champions The Revival (twice, I might add) in matches that were chock-full of compelling spots and great storytelling. The match that really put the pair over the top, however, was a singles match against one another in the first round of the WWE Cruiserweight Classic.In a match that many cited as the best of a strong first round of the CWC, each man proved how viable he was as a single competitor -- and simultaneously proved how in sync they can be as a team.The Revival shocked the wrestling world in regaining their tag-team championships in American Alphas first title defense after TakeOver: Dallas, and the two-time champs have been revitalized since putting the gold back around their waists. Dash Wilder and Scott Dawson are as old school as modern wrestling gets, and the combination of their win-at-all-costs style and high-level mat wrestling ability has taken them a long way in NXT.Making Gargano and Ciampa jump through hoops to get this match has worked wonders in raising the tension level of this confrontation, and the NXT tag-team championship match should be a great proving ground for all four individuals come Saturday night.No Way Jose vs. Austin AriesGetting a comedy-based character over with the crowd is one thing, but successfully taking on a more serious edge as a competitor once that happens is a far greater task.With a name like No Way Jose, and a character that turns everything into a dance party, Jose had a long way to go to excite the Full Sail crowd and get them behind him, but in his first few months on-screen, he has made quite a bit of progress in that regard.No more Mr. Nice Guy for @WWENoWayJose as he takes on @AustinAries THIS SATURDAY at #NXTTakeOver: Brooklyn! https://t.co/GDv3EYjeKp- WWE (@WWE) August 18, 2016It remains to be seen if the Brooklyn crowd will be equally into No Way Jose, but having Austin Aries across the ring will certainly be a helpful step in the right direction. Aries is the most natural bad guy in NXT right now, and with a nice assist from No Way Jose, Aries has gone over to the dark side quite successfully after ending the pairs dance party in a beat down.This match will be a true test for both competitors. For No Way Jose, this is a far greater stage than he has ever been on. For Aries, its a chance to prove to WWE fans (and brass alike) that he can live up to the moniker of The Greatest Man That Ever Lived. ' ' '