The Chicago Fire was eliminated from postseason contention on Wednesday, the same night Columbus Crew SC saw its slim playoff hopes fade even more.On Saturday in Columbus, they face each other in a matchup of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference.Chicago (6-15-9) lost 1-0 at Seattle and will be looking to end a nine-day, three-match trip with its first points.Columbus (7-12-11) had an impressive 2-0 home win vs. New England on Sunday but was beaten 3-0 at D.C. United on Wednesday in a result that officially put an end to any playoff chances for Chicago and left the Crew eight points back of D.C. for the final berth with four matches left.We have to play for pride, Fire midfielder Arturo Alvarez said. Every game that we go in, we have to go in with the mentality to win the game, regardless if the playoffs are out of the picture already. Its a game and we have to represent our club to the best of the ability that we can.The Crew, who lost in the MLS Cup to Portland last season, is nearing the same fate in a forgettable season but hope to at least finish the home schedule on Saturday with a win. Columbus is 5-3-8 at Mapfre Stadium.Weve got to pick up the pieces and prepare for Saturday, Columbus coach Gregg Berhalter. Weve got to keep fighting until were mathematically out of it. Fatigue is a part of the game. Mental toughness is a part of the game. This is something we have to deal with. Cheap Authentic Ultra Boost . PETERSBURG, Fla. Adidas Ultra Boost Sale . Parker had 26 points and eight assists and San Antonio beat Toronto 112-99 Monday night. "We won that game because of Tony Parkers aggressiveness," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "His juice; his aggression all night long. http://www.cheapauthenticultraboost.com/ . They had already blown a double-digit lead, fans were hitting the exits, and a long seven-game road trip waited at the end. Adidas Ultra Boost China Wholesale . With Parker having a quiet game for once, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw provided the scoring as France won its first major basketball title by beating Lithuania 80-66 on Sunday. It was a victory that ended a decade of frustration for Parker and a talented French generation, which lost the final against Spain two years ago and took bronze in 2005. Adidas Ultra Boost Discount . The home side created most of the chances but struggled to break down Braunschweigs resilient defence, resulting in the Bundesligas 1,000th scoreless draw. So when was the last time a team generally regarded as unexpected won the NCAA womens basketball title? That would be 2011, when Texas A&M beat No. 1 seeds Baylor and Stanford, and then fellow No. 2 seed Notre Dame on the way to claiming the championship.The Aggies had a very good team that year, obviously, and you can hardly call a No. 2 seed a Cinderella. But Texas A&M had never won a title before and wasnt a popular pick to win that year.Since then, though, Baylor won as a favorite in 2012, and UConn did the same in 2013-16. When those outside of womens basketball inquired about a dark horse in that time span, it was hard for any of us who follow the game to really believe there was one. (Although No. 5 seed Louisville made a run for it in 2013, with defending champ Baylor its biggest conquest on the way to losing the title game to UConn.)But what about this season? Weve already examined how projections for the national player of the year award and All-American teams might look one way now and rather different when we get closer to seasons end.?Is it a similar scenario for the teams themselves? As the season gets underway Friday, that sense of possibility is in the air more so than has been the case for a while. Or at least everybody is telling themselves that. Well have to see if its actually true.This year is wide open, because you look and say, Who is going to be No. 1? said Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw, whose team has that distinction in the Associated Press preseason poll.You look at South Carolina, Baylor, Ohio State, Louisville -- theres so many good teams. And obviously, Connecticut, having won four in a row, theyre always in the conversation. But I think youre going to see that No. 1 moving around a little bit, and thats going to be a good thing for the game.UConn coach Geno Auriemma appears to agree with all that.This is a much more realistic picture of what its like in the world of team sports and coaching, Auriemma said of his Huskies being among the teams that have the potential to be champions, not the prohibitive favorites.Weve lived in a world that very few people get to live in. And they may get to live in it once in their caareers.dddddddddddd Some people, twice. But never in a row, 1-2-3-4.Never except for UConn. Yet could the Huskies national-championship string extend to five? Of course it could. UConn, which has won 75 consecutive games, still has a lot of talent, despite losing players who went first-second-third in the WNBA draft. Weve seen UConn rise to the occasion too often to not strongly consider the Huskies as contenders.?Still, the Huskies four-peat last year didnt prevent several other interesting storylines from getting noticed. Perhaps the most gratifying for the participants was the surge in the Pac-12, which got two teams -- Oregon State and Washington -- into the Final Four and felt that, as a conference, it finally got its due.I feel theres a level of responsibility to keep it going, said Cori Close, whose UCLA squad is picked to win the conference this season. Not only to think about our own growth, but how to continue to think strategically about the growth of the conference.And, by extension, the growth of the game nationally.Im not one of the UConn haters in terms of thinking it was bad for the game that they won so much. I dont think so, Close said. I think theyve set a bar thats gotten peoples attention. Like, Wow, the womens game is being played at such a high level.But I also think we need this next phase with other people stepping up to that standard that UConn has done such a great job setting. I think theres this optimism this year, and theres going to be drama in the NCAA tournament. Its an important year to grow the game.Thats a phrase that has been used for a long time, and it can seem trite. Plus, the fact is, other than UConns inevitability, there actually was pretty big drama in the postseason last season, too, with three of the No. 1 seeds -- South Carolina, Notre Dame and Baylor -- all losing before the Final Four.But this season, there does seem a chance that the final page of the script isnt already written. 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