Clanregeln » November.Young guns showdownRya

The Big 4 of mens tennis is enthusiastic about their sports place in the Olympics, unlike their counterparts in golf.Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal all have participated in the Summer Games in the past, all own a medal, and all talk about that events importance to tennis every four years -- even if it already has four Grand Slam tournaments every year.And while Federer wont be in Rio, its only because he is sitting out the rest of the season entirely to protect his surgically repaired left knee.To get a sense of how these guys think, consider what Britains Murray said when he was asked about Brazil the day after winning Wimbledon for the second time.Ive loved being in the two Olympics that Ive been at, said the No. 2-ranked Murray, who won a gold in singles at the 2012 London Games. Rio is obviously a big, big goal of mine, and hopefully I can perform well there.The No. 1-ranked Djokovic won a singles bronze for Serbia at the 2008 Beijing Games, then came up just short of a medal four years ago.No. 3 Federer won gold for Switzerland in doubles with Stan Wawrinka eight years ago, and a silver in singles four years ago.No. 4 Nadal won a singles gold for Spain in Beijing, missed London because he was hurt, and appealed to the International Tennis Federation to allow him to compete in Rio after he failed to fulfill Davis Cup commitments because of injuries.Even if this quartet owns a combined 46 Grand Slam titles, the Olympics still matter to them. Much will be made of the contrast between this groups interest in the Summer Games and what happened in golf, which will be missing Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Dustin Johnson and Rory McIlroy in Rio.Olympic Games are the most renowned and most prominent sports event in the history of sport. No question about it. There is no bigger sports event than Olympic Games, Djokovic said. For me, as a professional athlete, its a huge honor to be part of it.Here are some things to know about tennis at the Rio Olympics:WHOS MISSINGThere are some noteworthy players in addition to Federer who wont be there: Bob and Mike Bryan, the American twins who won gold in doubles four years ago, plus nine of the top 22 men in the July 25 ATP singles rankings. That includes Wimbledon runner-up Milos Raonic of Canada; Wimbledon semifinalist Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic; the top American man, John Isner; Australias best two tennis players, Nick Kyrgios and Bernard Tomic; and Dominic Thiem, who would have given Austria a chance at a medal. Four of the top 20 women are missing, as is five-time major champion Maria Sharapova, who is serving a doping ban.MIXING IT UPNo one will know exactly who is competing in mixed doubles until everyone is in Rio. Thats because the sign-in happens there. Its limited to 16 teams, and the possibilities are intriguing. The expectation is that, if hes healthy, Nadal will team with French Open champion Garbine Muguruza. The bad news: It sounds as if the Williams sisters will not enter that event.AGE IS JUST A NUMBERIf 34-year-old Serena Williams or 36-year-old Venus Williams wins a gold medal, either would be the third-oldest woman to collect an Olympic title in tennis. Winifred McNair was 43 when she won womens doubles for Britain all the way back in 1920, and Hazel Wightman was 37 when she won the same event for the U.S. four years later. Each Williams already owns four medals (all gold), so adding two more -- theyre both entered in singles and doubles -- would put either in first place for most tennis medals in Olympic history. Kathleen McKane won five medals (one gold) in the 1920s.MOST APPEARANCESIndias Leander Paes will be appearing in his record-extending seventh Olympic tennis competition, pairing in mens doubles with Rohan Bopanna. Paes owns one medal, a bronze in singles at the 1996 Atlanta Games. In Grand Slam action, he has won eight titles in mens doubles, and another 10 in mixed doubles.BACK-TO-BACK?No player has won two consecutive gold medals in singles. Murray and Serena Williams will try to change that this time.---Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrichAlfredo Talavera Mexico Jersey . -- Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis was charged Thursday with driving while intoxicated, a day after he was suspended for an NFL substance-abuse policy violation. Orbelin Pineda Mexico Jersey . They had already blown a double-digit lead, fans were hitting the exits, and a long seven-game road trip waited at the end. http://www.mexiconationalshop.us/ .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. Hirving Lozano Jersey . 4 Villanova with a 96-68 drubbing on Monday. Wragge hit 9-of-14 from behind the arc, matching Kyle Korvers school record for 3-pointers in a game set in 2003, as Creighton (16-3, 6-1 Big East broke a conference record with 21 treys in the rout. Carlos Pena Mexico Jersey . -- The Sacramento Kings are set to become the first major professional sports franchise to accept Bitcoin virtual currency for ticket and merchandise purchases.Heres our weekly look at the fortunes of some of the games brightest young stars. Behold, the latest under-24 player rankings.HotJohnny Gaudreau, LW, Calgary FlamesJohnny Hockey has put a slow start -- which included belated contract negotiations and a broken finger -- behind him to get back into the same groove that saw him score 30 goals and collect 78 points last season. Gaudreau has two goals and seven assists in his past five games for a Flames team fighting for the Western Conferences first wild-card spot. Four of those assists were collected on the power play as Calgary has battled its way out of an early hole and into the race for a Pacific Division playoff berth.If the Flames are going to stay in the hunt, the 23-year-old Gaudreau, the 104th pick in 2011, will be a key factor. He has helped ignite frequent linemate and power-play sidekick?Sean Monahan, who has eight points in his past six games.Rasmus Ristolainen, D, Buffalo SabresBuffalo isnt anywhere close to being out of the woods just yet. But with Jack Eichel back and healthy (and producing like crazy) and with the offense slowly lurching into gear, the Sabres are playing some of their best hockey of the season in spite of ranking dead last in goals scored per game. Among the recent contributors has been Ristolainen, 22, the eighth-overall pick in 2013. The lanky Finn has a power-play goal and seven assists, two on the power play, in his past six games. Ristolainen is averaging a whopping 26:39 a night in ice time, first on the team and fifth among all NHL skaters.Matt Murray, G, Pittsburgh PenguinsOK, so when do we start including Murray, the 22-year-old wunderkind for the defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins, in our Vezina Trophy discussions? Murray missed time at the beginning of the season with a wrist injury but has won all five of his December appearances while posting a .945 save percentage. Overall, hes a dynamic 12-2-0 with a 1.93 goals-against average. Hell have to be even better in the coming days, now that star defenseman Kris Letang is out for several weeks with a lower-body injury. But the answer to the initial question? Now.NotBo Horvat, C, Vancouver CanucksThere is no doubt that Horvat -- the ninth-overall pick in 2013 by the Canucks, who obtained the draft pick in the big deal that sent?Cory Schneider to the?New Jersey Devils?--?is a key part of the Canucks rebuild. (Even if no one in team management or ownership wants to call it a rebuild.) But after a promising November that saw the speedy Horvat collect 12 points, he has gone dry in December, with just one assist in seven games.dddddddddddd Still, Horvat has won the second-most faceoffs on the team and is averaging 17:17 a night in ice time. But those ups and down are typical for a young player -- Horvat is 21 -- and its been typical for a team fighting to stay in the playoff hunt despite an ugly minus-21 goal differential.Christian Dvorak, C, Arizona CoyotesFor every Patrik Laine, Auston Matthews or Zach Werenski, there are more youngsters like Dvorak for whom the learning curve at the NHL level is imposingly steep. The Coyotes are now without young star winger Max Domi, whos out with a hand injury and who also played junior hockey with Dvorak in London, Ontario,?for the foreseeable future.Arizona is 29th in goals scored, and thats not going to change unless some of its young players start to find their way around the net. Dvorak came out of junior as a high-end offensive talent, but in a season split between the NHL and AHL, the 20-year-old has just two goals in 26 games for the struggling Coyotes. He has one assist in his past 10 games -- even as Arizona enjoyed a rare two-game win streak after knocking off Matthews and his Toronto Maple Leafs in a shootout on Thursday.Mikhail Grigorenko, C, Colorado AvalancheGrigorenko was the 12th-overall pick in 2012 and was a centerpiece of the big deal that sent Ryan OReilly?to the Sabres before the start of last season. So far its been an uphill struggle for the 22-year-old -- just as its been a battle for most of his teammates. Grigorenko has 10 points in 27 games -- and just two assists in his past seven games -- after a two-game scoring streak to close out November.Young guns showdownRyan Hartman, LW, Chicago Blackhawks versus Colton Parayko, D, St. Louis Blues, Saturday, 8 p.m. ETIt looks like Hartman, the 30th pick in 2013, will get a chance to play with Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews, who is back from an extended stay on the disabled list, and renaissance veteran Marian Hossa. Its been an up-and-down ride for Hartman, 22, who picked up just his third assist in his past 10 games in Thursdays come-from-behind win over the New York Islanders.Meanwhile, Parayko -- the 6-foot-5 23-year-old who is in his second season with the Blues -- is still looking for his first goal of 2016-17. He has two assists in his past eight games. He and the Blues will try to close the gap in the Central Division on the first-place Blackhawks by improving on their 13-1-3 dominant home record. ' ' '