s now.?-- Mark SaxonWhere the series standsUnlike last year, the Mets have one | Forum

LAS VEGAS -- Coach Mike Krzyzewski got his first glimpse at the new-look U. Vapormax Svart Dame Norge .S. national team, as the team opened camp at UNLV with just two players back from the 2012 national team that won the gold medal in London.Carmelo Anthony returns for his fourth run at the Olympics, after winning a bronze medal in 2004 and gold medals in 2008 and 2012, while Kevin Durant is looking for a second gold medal after playing on the championship team in 2012.And though there are 10 new faces on the team that will represent the U.S. in the Olympics, several were a part of the 2014 FIBA world championship team, and know what is expected of them. Making things easier, as it was for the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the 12-man roster has been set since June, giving Krzyzewski and his staff ample time to devise rotations and focus on the players they knew were coming.Its the angst you go through in that week of determining from 16 to 12, (it) takes away from your preparation, Krzyzewski said. We have had none of that. Thats a huge advantage, and also for these guys, you got 12 guys (who) have been completely focused on being on this team. Its really a good advantage.Krzyzewski said he was pleased with Anthony taking charge the first day, being a vocal leader for what he believes could be one of the best defensive teams hes ever coached since becoming taking over in 2005. He also credited Durant, Kyrie Irving and DeMarcus Cousins for stepping up as leaders on the opening day of camp.Its a new group of guys (so) I get a chance to go out there and kind of be a leader to the team and kind of enjoy it, Anthony said. For me, its about going over there and having fun, getting that feeling back, getting that fun feeling back and try to get a gold medal.As hes done in years past, Krzyzewski met with the team and staff privately Sunday night, showing players video clips from previous years and delivering a motivational speech about what it means to represent the United States. With the recent unrest involving civilians and police officers, the message came across even stronger for this team.Whenever you get a chance to sit in that meeting and see and understand what were doing is bigger than us, as basketball players, it gives you chills and puts everything in perspective, DeMar DeRozan said. It makes your job easier to go out there and do what you love to do and represent your country.And as the national team takes on its new look, ushering in a new era, the 69-year-old Krzyzewski is making his final run with the Olympic team. Under his watch, Krzyzewski has led the U.S. to two gold medals at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics as well as the 2007 FIBA Americas Tournament and the 2010 and 2014 world championships.Nonetheless, Krzyzewski said the most important thing is to avoid focusing on the milestones he, Anthony and Durant are headed toward, and aim toward maintaining a united front with the entire squad.All of us need to be in this moment, not in `this is my last time or `its the third gold medal for Carmelo, said Krzyzewski, who has led the Americans to a near-perfect 52-1 since 2005. Its `this team, and thats what were trying to do, just be in this moment with this team. Its one of the biggest mistakes any competitor can make, is to be in only your moment. Theyre not going to play because its my last time being the Olympic coach. So I have to coach them like its my first time, and thats how were going to do it.We just want to play as well as we can, and be worthy of winning the gold, so theyll be worthy of continuing to win the respect of our country and the world. Nike Vapormax Billig . Thousands of fans at Mosaic Stadium will be cozying up to each other in an effort to stay warm in chilly temperatures and block the Prairie wind that locals say can knock your socks off. Vapormax China . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. http://www.vapormaxnorge.com/vapormax-herre-norge.html . Louis Rams wide receiver Stedman Bailey last Sunday. The fine is the fourth this season for Goldson. He was fined $30,000 for a hit on the New York Jets Jeff Cumberland in Week 1. Nobody does postseasons better than Madison Bumgarner, but Mets ace Noah Syndergaard is certainly no slouch. With two of the premier pitchers in baseball dueling, Wednesdays NL wild-card showdown (8 p.m. ET on ESPN/Watch ESPN) could be one for the ages.Go inside the numbers and matchups that will decide Wednesday nights game, then vote on which team will win at the bottom of the page.Inside the pitching matchupWhen Bumgarner?is on the mound:?One thing we know about Bumgarner is that hell be unflappable on the mound at Citi Field. He owns a 0.60 ERA on the road in his postseason career while appearing in seven games. Remarkably, the Giants won all seven of those games.Bumgarner is essentially the same pitcher he was back when he dominated the 2014 postseason. He throws his four-seamer up in the zone, usually middle-in to right-handed batters, though it wasnt quite as effective this year as in the past. Back in 2014, batters had a .275 wOBA against it; this year, it was .323, with a swing-and-miss rate that dropped from 27.6 percent in 2014 to 22.4 percent in 2016. Bumgarners average velocity on the pitch dropped from 92.0 mph to 90.8.His cutter/slider -- Bumgarner calls it a cutter -- remains a deadly weapon, as batters hit .221 against it and have trouble elevating it. What makes it so effective in part is that Bumgarner manipulates the speed on it, throwing it from 85 to 89 mph. Bumgarners third pitch is a curveball that he throws about 15 percent of the time, about equally to lefties and righties, often with two strikes, and hell bury it at the knees or below. Batters hit just .130 against it, with a strikeout rate of 51.6 percent.If theres one worry, its that Bumgarner struggled a bit down the stretch, unlike in 2014, when he was red hot. In his final nine starts this season, he posted a 4.66 ERA and allowed eight home runs. -- David SchoenfieldWhen Syndergaard?is on the mound: Syndergaard stormed out of the gate in April, allowing two runs in his first three starts, and his ERA remained under 1.00 as late as mid-June. Terry Collins was pretty conservative in his usage of Syndergaard, who pitched more than seven innings just three times and 43 fewer innings than Bumgarner.Syndergaards game revolves around his high-octane fastball, which averaged 97.9 mph, the highest velocity by any starter in the majors (1.9 mph faster than Yordano Venturas). He throws it about 60 percent of the time with command, on the outer half of the plate to left-handers and the outer half of the plate to righties. The fastball itself isnt all that unhittable -- batters hit .283/.327/.411 against it, and Bumgarner had a higher swing-and-miss rate with his fastball -- but it helps set up Syndergaards slider. That pitch had the third-highest swing-and-miss rate of any starters slider (behind only those of Jose Fernandez and Max Scherzer), and batters hit .167 against it with one home run in 180 at-bats ending with the pitch (Corey Seager was the hitter).Syndergaard throws the slider about 21 percent of the time ((he threw it only 2 percent of the time last year) while also mixing in a curveball and a changeup, which he throws primarily to lefties. Vapormax Svart Dame Norge. . Syndergaard had a small platoon split, with lefties hitting .262/.324/.389 against him versus .228/.258/.322, and the Giants can roll out a lineup with six left-handed batters. -- SchoenfieldPlayer in the spotlightAsdrubal Cabrera has been one of the hottest hitters in the majors since his return from the DL on Aug. 21, hitting .343/.410/.650 with 10 home runs and 28 RBIs. Almost all of that damage came against right-handed pitchers, however, as the switch-hitter had just 18 PAs against southpaws in that stretch. With much of the Mets power coming from the left side (Curtis Granderson, Jay Bruce, Lucas Duda), Cabrera and Yoenis Cespedes might be relied upon to do the damage.?-- SchoenfieldWhat will decide the game?How the Mets handle MadBums best stuff:?Bumgarner is well known for his nasty fastball/slider combo. He throws those two pitches 81 percent of the time to right-handed hitters. That plays into the hands of two of the Mets most prominent hitters, who had great numbers against those two pitches from lefties -- Asdrubal Cabrera (.375 BA, five doubles, two HR in 80 at-bats ending with those pitches) and Yoenis Cespedes (.370 BA, five doubles, five HR in 54 at-bats). Cespedes had the fourth-highest OPS (1.081) of anyone with at least 100 plate appearances against lefties this season. -- Mark Simon,?ESPN Stats & InfoChoosing sides: Who will win?Sure, the Mets have a challenge facing Bumgarner. But they have a tested answer in Syndergaard, who finished the regular season with a better ERA than Bumgarners (2.60 vs. 2.74) and earned the Mets lone win in last years World Series. And lets not forget the decided advantage the Mets have in their bullpen if they can get Bumgarners pitch count up. Mets closer Jeurys Familia set a franchise record with 51 regular-season saves, while the Giants nearly had that number of blown saves. Whats more, the Mets enter the postseason as one of MLBs hottest teams. Their 27-13 record is the best in the majors since Aug. 20. -- Adam RubinI wont even resort to the even-year argument. Lets stick with the more tangible facts, such as Bumgarners 2.14 ERA in almost 90 postseason innings. The Giants offense is built for contact, which should help against Syndergaard. The Giants bullpen isnt as bad as it appeared. It was left exposed because of a September batting slump. That ends now.?-- Mark SaxonWhere the series standsUnlike last year, the Mets have one ace to ride this postseason, and theyre rolling him out here. You know what Bruce Bochy is hoping for: a complete game, similar to the one Bumgarner delivered in the 2014 wild-card game against the Pirates. After a rough finish for the Giants bullpen, you get the feeling Bochy will live or die with Bumgarner in this one. --?Schoenfield ' ' '