Meister der Farbe » was all okay. Then something happe

The prospect of winning gold isnt good enough for some of tenniss most decorated players. Last week, Bob?and Mike Bryan, owners of 16 Grand Slam titles, became the latest to drop out of the Rio Games, which start later this week.The brothers, who won the gold medal in London four years ago, joined a number of top-10 singles players bailing on Rio. Unfortunate, yes, but a permanent blemish on tennis? Far from it.We still have Serena Williams, who will enter the competition fresh off her record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title run at Wimbledon. The mens top player, Novak Djokovic, will also be there. After running through the French Open field to cap a career Grand Slam, the only chasm in his résumé is Olympic gold.Yes, tennis will survive the defections.In fact, many elements in the Olympic controversy underscore how successfully tennis has lifted itself out of the gilded ghetto of elitist, individual sports to become a full-fledged member of the Olympic family. If you want to see just how far tennis has come, you only have to look at the crisis in golf.Jason Day, Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and Northern Irelands Rory McIlroy -- the top four golfers in the world -- are among those skipping Rio, most of them because of concerns over Zika.Golf, back in the Olympics for the first time after an absence of 112 years, might not get invited back because of the lack of enthusiasm. McIlroy rubbed a little salt in the wound when he said during an interview at The Open that he wouldnt even watch the Olympic golf on TV. Instead, he would watch the stuff that matters.Tennis got off to a somewhat rocky start in the Olympics as well. Canceled in 1924, it returned with the Games of 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. Only two of the top 10 men were entered that year -- and not because injuries prevented them from going.Top-ranked Mats Wilander withdrew, citing shin splints, but then played a tournament in Italy before the games in Seoul were even over. No. 2-ranked Ivan Lendl couldnt get official sanction to play for his adopted home in the U.S., and he refused to play for his native Czechoslovakia.Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe were indifferent, as was Martina Navratilova. To them, it was all about the Grand Slams. All that hullabaloo about the Olympic Village, hobnobbing with the worlds greatest athletes, the Olympic spirit ... it just wasnt for them. They were lone wolves, mercenaries who got paid to play. Years later, McEnroe would come to regret his stance.But globally, Olympic champions have always been accorded national-hero status almost everywhere. And today, tennis has become no different. Lindsay Davenport and Andre Agassi, who understood the Olympic cachet, won gold for the U.S. in Atlanta in 1996. It helped shape the attitude of American players for years to come.You certainly cant overlook the fidelity of the Williams sisters, Venus?and Serena. You can analyze their loyalty to the Olympic cause many ways, but maybe it just comes down to this: Its impossible to predict who will -- or wont -- be susceptible to the tug of patriotism. Its a deeply personal thing.Top-ranked European players have generally all reveled in the opportunity.Roger Federer made his Olympic Games debut in Sydney, Australia, in 2000. He still glows when he describes the experience, either because he was just 19 and made the semis or because he began dating his wife, Mirka, there -- or both. His respect for the Olympics has burned undiminished for nearly two decades. Its influence cannot be overestimated.Its a pity that Federers left knee gave out before he could make good on his promise to spend his 34th summer chasing gold in the molten light of the Brazil afternoon. It unfairly dampens the impressive response the players have mustered to the challenges of Rio.Realistically speaking, tennis players dont need the Olympics, especially these Olympics. They play a sport with great material rewards, loaded with year-round opportunities. They heard the horror stories about raw sewage in the streets, and theyve been aware of the security concerns. They play an individual sport. They can choose to take a pass and its nobody elses nevermind.They can skip the Olympics, as some invariably do, because the Games are shoehorned into an already loaded summer schedule. This year, they can skip them because of Brazils notorious crime. Because theres a Bruce Springsteen concert somewhere. Because of deadly Zika mosquitoes. Because the internet in Rio is slow. Because there are no ranking points to be gained.But the wonderful thing for tennis is that the vast majority of eligible players, including the very best players, are all-in for Rio. Theyre setting aside their concerns and going. Tennis is loved by the Olympics, and its loving the Olympics back. Everybody wins.Reds Jerseys 2020 . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. Johnny Bench Jersey . The deal is pending a physical, assistant general manager Bobby Evans said. Traded from Seattle to Baltimore on Aug. 30, Morse also can play first base and right field to give manager Bruce Bochy some flexibility in writing his lineup. https://www.cheapredsjerseys.us/295s-frank-robinson-jersey-reds.html . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. Reggie Sanders Jersey . Soukalova missed only one target and completed the 15-kilometre course in 40 minutes, 32.6 seconds for both victories in this seasons individual discipline. Darya Domracheva of Belarus was second, 34. Joe Morgan Jersey . DAmigo scored twice in regulation and added the shootout winner as the Toronto Marlies edged the San Antonio Rampage 5-4 in American Hockey League action.Max Verstappen says he simply wants to have fun at the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, amid Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosbergs showdown for the Formula One world championship.Both Red Bull and Ferrari could still play a major role in the outcome of the 2016 title, if either team can get split the Mercedes drivers at Yas Marina. While Verstappen was over 0.5s off Hamiltons leading time in FP2, the fight between Red Bull and Ferrari over the second row looks much closer.The Dutchman and teammate Daniel Ricciardo proved to be Mercedes nearest challenges in FP1, but both dropped behind Ferraris Sebastian Vettel as night fell in the second session. When asked what his aim is for the weekend, Verstappen replied: Have fun, that is my target.He added: It will be tight. I think Ferrari is quite strong this weekend but I am pretty sure we can be even stronger so lets see. We always tend to improve from Friday to Saturday so I am pretty sure today was not that bad. I am looking forward to tomorrow as it will be close and hopefully we can have a clean qualifying.We are not too far off and of course Ferrari looks pretty strong as well. On my fast lap I had traffic at the last corner so Im pretty sure we are close so it will be an exciting quallifying tomorrow.dddddddddddd1s youngest winner was forced to abandon a late run during FP2, but says he is not concerned by the as yet undiagnosed issue.We are checking now what the exact issue was, that is why we aborted the last run to check. Nothing is broken and I am pretty sure they can solve it for tomorrow but it is better to stop early.It just came with the issues we had at the end and before that it was all okay. Then something happened, I dont know what yet, so we are investigating now but before that everything was fine.When asked whether Red Bulls best chance of taking the fight to Mercedes on Sunday would be by undercutting Hamilton and Rosberg and the first round of stops, Verstappen replied: Yes, but they are not stupid. The problem is you can try to undercut but you will come back on track in traffic and then it doesnt work.There are a lot of factors that will play into that but I think the most important thing for us is to be as close as we can in qualifying to at least race them. We have to wait and see, I think they are very strong and in qualifying they turn up their engines as well. ' ' '