n around no other player like him, with that meticulou

n around no other player like him, with that meticulou

08.01.2020 14:44

n around no other player like him, with that meticulou


LOS ANGELES -- Dominique Billings had 16 points and eight rebounds to help No. 10 UCLA rout Hawaii 72-49 on Sunday for its 17th consecutive victory at Pauley Pavilion.UCLA (6-1) raced to a 19-2 run, and Billings scored 12 of those points -- mostly inside the paint. The Bruins led 21-3 after the first quarter. Hawaii (2-6) missed 10 of 11 shots in the period.Billings also had three assists, three steals and two blocks.Hawaii (2-6) had great trouble setting up plays offensively and breaking UCLAs fullcourt press. Guard Sarah Toeaina led the Rainbow Wahine with 16 points, and Briana Harris had 10 points, all in the second half.Nicole Kornet hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer at the end of the second quarter to give UCLA a 45-17 lead at halftime. The Bruins had as much as a 33-point lead in the third quarter.BIG PICTUREHawaii played back-to-back Top-10 opponents in Mississippi State and UCLA, giving it an opportunity to test its mettle against the countrys best. Hawaii must work on breaking a fullcourt press and its interior defense.UCLA didnt get much out of the game except that it throttled an opponent it was expected to and continued its home dominance at Pauley Pavilion. The Bruins have 21 straight wins over unranked teams at home.UP NEXTHawaii returns home and is off for a week before hosting Hawaii Pacific on Dec. 11. Then its back to its usual schedule logging plenty of air miles as it plays at Nevada and Boise State.UCLA is off for another week before it hosts Michigan on Dec. 11. After that, the Bruins play three consecutive road games -- at UC Santa Barbara, South Carolina and North Carolina AT&T. Carolina Hurricanes Shirts . Down by seven with 90 seconds left in regulation, thats where they looked comfortable. Hurricanes Jerseys 2020 . Canada is now down to its 22-player limit, although but players wont be registered until Christmas Day. Changes could still be made as a result of a suspension or injury. https://www.cheaphurricanes.com/ .500 on the season. The Jets are now 0-5-1 in the second game of back-to-backs. The game started the same way the Vancouver game started the night before, with the Jets taking the first two penalties of the game and killing off the first, but the Oilers getting on the board first, scoring on the second man-advantage. Carolina Hurricanes Pro Shop . -- The boos poured down on Tom Brady and the New England Patriots at the end of a horrible first half. Carolina Hurricanes Store . -- Bryant McKinnie came out of his stance and lowered his shoulder into a practice squad player, causing a crisp thud to reverberate in the Miami Dolphins practice bubble. Still unsure exactly what to expect from the Japanese newcomer, Lou Piniella kept waiting for the rookie to pull a ball. Too many hits sprayed to left field, Sweet Lou thought, too easy for defenses to adjust.So the veteran Seattle manager summoned the translator and told him to deliver a message to Ichiro Suzuki: I want to see some bat speed.Piniella saw them huddle in the dugout and share a laugh. A couple of innings later, Suzuki led off with a home run into the bullpen in right-center.He rounds the bases, he steps on home plate, and he says, `Happy now? when he shook my hand, Piniella recalled. I said, `Yeah, yeah, you can do whatever you want.All these years later, with Suzuki on the verge of joining the 3,000-hit club in the big leagues, his first skipper in the majors is taking a lot of pride in watching the pursuit. As much as Piniella believed in Suzuki from the start and was in awe of those early accomplishments with the Mariners, he never would have guessed the outfielder would still be playing at age 42 and going for such a lofty perch.Suzuki hit .335 with a .412 on-base percentage in 164 at-bats over the first half with Miami. He stood at 2,990 career hits as the Marlins returned from the All-Star break to open a weekend series at St. Louis.Now gray-haired and no longer a regular in his 16th major league season, Suzuki might have lost a step, but not much. Credit his commitment to an intense regimen that has long included an on-deck routine that features a deep warmup squat, then a one-of-a-kind stance and a sweeping twirl of his bat.Suzuki was 27 and had 1,278 hits in Japan before he came to the big leagues. Piniella got so excited after Suzukis two-hit debut in 2001 that he kissed him.I was so happy for him, thats why, Piniella said. Its hard for a player to come here from Japan, especially with the scrutiny that he had. Im an emotional guy. I got caught up in the moment. I gave him a hug and at the same time I gave him a little peck. Look, I really enjoyed watching this young man play and I knew from seeing him in spring training that he was a special player.At the time, Suzuki did not come cheaply. Seattle paid $13 million just to secure his rights, and signed him to a three-year, $14 million contract. The Mariners got their moneys worth and then some.Suzuki, better known just by his first name, has long prided himself in preparation.So much so that Piniella had been around no other player like him, with that meticulous stretching before stepping into the batters box to the foot rubdowns he gave himself at his locker with aa small wooden tool before and after games.dddddddddddd.I had never seen it, quite frankly. I was quite amazed by the things that he did, the stretching especially, Piniella said. Here in the United States, we go through a rigorous spring training, but once the season starts prior to the games we have our stretching exercises and then the kids play.He took it to a totally different level. He was fanatical about that and thats probably one of the big reasons that hes playing here at age 42, he said.That first season was a memorable one for many reasons. The Mariners won an AL-record 116 games, clinching the division shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Yet Seattle failed to reach the World Series, losing in five games of the AL Championship Series to the Yankees.Still, Suzuki won AL Rookie of the Year and MVP. Suzukis ability to beat out infield hits at times left Piniella shaking his head.He did have a special year. The team had a special year that year, Piniella said. We won 116 games and Ichiro was a big part of it. Ichiro was a special player. He had really good speed, he had that uncanny ability to put the ball in play. In the outfield, he played as well as you can expect, great throwing arm. He made the adjustment to American baseball very quickly, became one of the leaders in our clubhouse and was accepted by the players. He had a tremendous impact on our team that year.Hes going for his 3,000th hit now, and Im so proud of him. Hes had just a wonderful career. I look forward to the time when hell be inducted into the Hall of Fame, he said.Some of the most memorable hits by the 10-time All-Star didnt even count.In 2007, Suzuki hit the first inside-the-park home run in All-Star game history, winning unanimous MVP honors and helping the American League to a 5-4 victory at San Franciscos AT&T Park with a go-ahead, two-run drive that took a crazy bounce off the right-field wall.Hed never hit an inside-the-park homer during his decorated career in Japan.Hes an amazing guy, Marlins manager Don Mattingly said. You just take age out of the equation and if you just looked at him as a player, if you evaluated just what you see, not thinking about age, you see a guy that runs above average, plays all three outfield spots, throws above average, hits lefties and righties.His work habits and everything else, for me, just set him apart.---AP Baseball Writer Mike Fitzpatrick in New York contributed to this report. ' ' '


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