RIO DE JANEIRO -- Martha Karolyi leaned forward, her hands clutching the railing in front of her seat. Knuckles white. Head tilted. Body tense.It didnt matter that the U.S. womens Olympic gymnastics team had already sewn up the team gold by the time three-time world champion Simone Biles saluted the floor exercise judges during the final event Tuesday night.Winning isnt enough for Karolyi. Never has been. For 90 seconds, Karolyi, the longtime national team coordinator, leaned one way and then another, following Biles every move. Only after Biles score was posted, serving as an exclamation point on two hours of nearly flawless gymnastics, did the architect of a dynasty relax.Then, something else happened. Something she never saw coming. She started crying. And not just a little.I pride normally being very tough, Karolyi said. I was, Oh, whats happening to me? What is this?Its goodbye.Karolyi, 73, is stepping away from the program she has spent the last 15 years turning into one of the most dominant forces at the Olympics. Her athletes, all of whom she has nurtured from prodigies to champions, repaid her hard work with a fitting tribute of precision and tenacity.Twenty eight times in two days they stepped up to compete. And 28 times they hit. No falls. No major wobbles. Nothing but brilliance.The U.S. posted a score of 184.897, more than eight points clear of silver medalist Russia and nearly nine more than bronze medalist China in winning its second straight Olympic title and third overall, a margin greater than the one that propelled the Fierce Five to victory in London four years ago.So much for the pressure of being the heavy favorite. The only real mystery surrounded what nickname the team would settle on before Biles stumbled upon it during a group text.The group -- Biles, Aly Raisman, Gabby Douglas, Madison Kocian and Laurie Hernandez -- dubbed themselves The Final Five as a nod to Karolyi.Its perfect, Biles said. Its Marthas last year. We wanted it to be meaningful.Biles admitted there were nerves before Sundays preliminaries, though it hardly looked like it while the Americans posted the highest score by more than nine points. The only moment of tension Tuesday came early. When Hernandez, 16, was introduced to the crowd, Raisman nudged her and told her to wave, which she did with a toothy smile.Barely five minutes later, the youngest member of Team USA was all business. Her double-twisting Yurchenko vault, basically a roundoff onto the block followed by a pair of twists, put the machine in motion. Raisman, who won three medals in London four years ago and seemed to be on the outside looking in as recently as this spring, followed with perhaps the finest vault of her long career. When Biles drilled her Amanar and put up a 15.933, tied for highest of the night, the U.S. was already on top of the leaderboard, and everyone else was playing for second.Its a fate the rest of the field seemed to accept. Russian star Aliya Mustafina admitted before the competition the Americans were unbeatable. Chinas Shang Chunsong said her team aimed for the silver medal, a position the Chinese seemed to have in hand until stumbling on the final rotation.The top spot was never in doubt. The U.S. hasnt lost a major international competition since 2010, and there appears to be no end in sight to their run, even though Karolyi and her husband, Bela, are selling the training facility on their Texas ranch to USA Gymnastics later this month.Karolyi joked shes going to have to be a normal person in retirement and plans to poke her head in occasionally to see if they are going in the right direction.At the moment, that direction is up. Way up thanks in part to the semi-centralized system Karolyi installed. Team members and coaches regularly visit the ranch, where they receive specialized instructions. No detail is overlooked. The competition Tuesday forced the U.S. to wait sometimes 20-30 minutes between sets. No problem. They do that at the ranch all the time.Martha does that to us, Douglas said. Its start. Stop. Start. Stop.The retirement party will have to wait. Theres more gold to be won. All five Americans will compete later in the games, starting with Biles and Raisman in the all-around Thursday. Theyll get Wednesday morning off, then its back to work. The job is not done.It never is.Dont take anything granted, Karolyi said. We want to do the very best all the time.A mantra that will live on long after Karolyi takes off her USA Gymnastics sweatsuit for the last time. Air Max 270 React Noir Bleu Pas Cher . Note: The Calgary Flames announced Tuesday that Sean Monahan would not be made available to Canadas World Junior team. Air Max 270 Flyknit Noir Et Blanche Pas Cher . Tracey comes to the Blue Bombers after spending over a decade with Queens University. Most recently he was the schools assistant football coach. http://www.airmax270reactpascher.fr/fausse-air-max-270-2021/fausse-air-max-270-femme.html . Miikka Kiprusoff had just announced his retirement after a decade-long run in Calgary and it would be up to Berra and Ramo to fill the void. Air Max 270 React Rose . Nigeria beat surprise package Ethiopia 2-0 in the second leg of their playoff for a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory. Victor Moses converted a 20th-minute penalty after an Ethiopian handball, and Victor Obinna made certain of Nigerias place in Brazil with his powerful free kick in the 82nd at UJ Esuene Stadium. Air Max 270 React Grise Pas Cher . Those lessons were more than enough to overwhelm the Utah Jazz. Lou Williams scored 25 points and the Hawks continued their offensive upswing as they rolled to an easy 118-85 victory over the Jazz on Friday night, winning their third straight and for the fourth time in five games. CHICAGO -- Kris Bryant says he gets chills every time the fans at Wrigley Field shower him with MVP! chants.The 24-year-old just doesnt show it -- a common trait among his young teammates. If anything can overwhelm these kid Cubbies, they havent faced it yet.Bryant was one of five players 24 or younger in the starting lineup for the Cubs during Game 6 of the NL Championship Series, and that group is showing maturity beyond its years. Keep this up, and they could give Chicago a party generations in the making.Bryant has already established himself as one of the games top power hitters. Javier Baez (23 years old) made one spectacular play after another in the infield while winning NLCS co-MVP. Addison Russell (22) is an All-Star shortstop with power and Gold Glove aspirations. Catcher Willson Contreras (24) and outfielder Albert Almora Jr. (22) are rookies getting at-bats with a heavy World Series favorite.And so the Cubs are seeking their first championship since 1908 fueled by players too young to remember the first time a Clinton vied for the U.S. presidency.Chicago beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLCS for its first pennant since 1945, and now faces the Cleveland Indians in the World Series with a chance to end the sports longest title drought.If Chicagos youngsters feel any jitters before Game 1 on Tuesday night in Cleveland, dont expect to see them.Our young players are playing like theyre 32-year-old veterans, 2015 NL Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta said. Its just fun to watch. I get to play one out of every five days, but to really see the way our guys go about taking care of business makes me really appreciate the guys Im able to play with.Bryant and the other burgeoning Cubs helped Chicago lead the majors with 103 wins in the regular season, and its been more of the same in October. After pulling out 14 victories in their final at-bat during the regular season, the Cubs did it twice against San Francisco in the NL Division Series, then rallied from a 2-1 series deficit to beat the Dodgers.Veterans like Jon Lester have done their part, but the younger players have had plenty of pivotal moments, too.None mmore so than Baez, a breakout star this postseason with his lightning-quick tags and preternatural decision making in the field.ddddddddddddHe shared NLCS MVP honors with Lester after leading the Cubs to their 17th pennant and is batting .342 this postseason. He hit a winning homer off Johnny Cueto in Game 1 of the NLDS against San Francisco, then had a go-ahead single in the series-clinching victory in Game 4. He had four doubles and five RBI in the NLCS, too.Baezs biggest moments, though, mostly came outside the batters box. He stole home during Chicagos win in Game 1 of the NLCS, turned a heads-up double play by letting a soft liner bounce in front of him with two on in Game 2, and made a fantastic barehanded scoop to rob Adrian Gonzalez of a hit in Game 5.Baez is doing all that after emerging as a super utility player for manager Joe Maddon this season. Baez cut down on his swing and hit .273 with 14 homers and 59 RBI in 142 games, and as important, he embraced a role shuffling between positions.This guy never faltered, Lester said. He accepted his role as being a bench player and kind of a platoon guy. Thats hard to do at 20 or whatever he is.Bryant is on the short list of NL MVP candidates after joining Rogers Hornsby (1929), Hack Wilson (1930) and Derrek Lee (2005) as the only players with the franchise to get at least 120 runs, 35 doubles, 39 homers and 100 RBI. Hes 13 for 39 with a homer and six RBI in the postseason.Russell is only starting to make an impact in October, busting a 1-for-24 slump by going 6 for 13 with two homers in the final three games of the NLCS. Contreras, meanwhile, hit his first career playoff homer against Clayton Kershaw in the series clincher.You should not change what youre doing regardless of the time of the year, Maddon said after Game 6. You want to come out in the middle of October and play the same game weve been playing all summer.The youngsters have given the Cubs a lot of good games so far. Four more, and as Maddon said, We can really have a party. ' ' '
