RIO DE JANEIRO -- After struggling for much of his Olympic singles quarterfinal against a Brazilian opponent backed by a raucous home crowd, Rafael Nadal finally seized control by using a big backhand to set up an easy putaway at the net for a third-set service break.Perhaps wary of drawing the ire of all of those flag-waving fans, Nadal offered a rather muted reaction -- none of the leaps or uppercuts or yells of Vamos! hed displayed earlier at the Rio de Janeiro Games.Nadal moved into the semifinals as he bids to add a second singles gold to the one he earned for Spain in 2008, handling a hostile environment and coming back to beat 54th-ranked Thomaz Bellucci 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 on Friday. And then he went back out on court and teamed with Marc Lopez to win the mens doubles title, edging Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau of Romania 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 in that final.I dont even know how things are going so well, said Nadal, who missed the past 2+ months with an injured left wrist, because I didnt do any preparation for the tournament.Andy Murray, the defending champion from Britain, also is trying to become the first tennis player with a pair of Olympic singles titles. He found himself in an even tenser, tighter match, before emerging to edge Steve Johnson of the United States 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 (2).Close to going out, Murray said after winning despite trailing by a break in the third set for the second match in a row. Sometimes that can work in your favor as the tournament goes on. You start to feel a little bit better. You loosen up a little bit.On Saturday, Nadal will play 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina, while Murray faces Kei Nishikori of Japan.Del Potro, who knocked out No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the first round, beat Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain 7-5, 7-6 (4). Nishikori got past Gael Monfils of France 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (6).The womens final is also Saturday, when Monica Puig attempts to win Puerto Ricos first gold medal in any sport in Olympic history. She beat two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic 6-4, 1-6, 6-3, and will face Angelique Kerber of Germany, the Australian Open champion who defeated Madison Keys of the U.S. 6-3, 7-5. Kvitova meets Keys for the bronze.This Olympics isnt about me, the 34th-ranked Puig said. Its about Puerto Rico, and I know how bad they want this.No matter what happens in his singles semifinal, Nadal will get to leave Rio with a medal from doubles. Not bad for a guy who missed the London Games four years ago because of a knee injury, then came to Brazil with a wrist he says is not fully healed.Maybe hes not (enjoying) the best time of his career, Bellucci said, but hes playing really well.Nadal is a former No. 1 and owns 14 Grand Slam titles. Bellucci, who lives in Sao Paulo, is also a lefty, but thats pretty much where the similarities end.He reached a career-best ranking of 21st in 2010, not long after making his only trip to the fourth round of a major tournament. He arrived at his home Olympics with an 11-18 record in 2016 -- and a career losing mark, too.It was Nadal who started shakily, though, committing 10 unforced errors and generating only two winners in the opening set. He was broken twice and never earned so much as a single break chance.Nadal cleaned things up in the second, though, and while he did get broken again while serving for it at 5-3, he broke right back with a running cross-court forehand passing winner to force a third.Following a shanked forehand early in the final set, Nadal kicked his foot against the court. At the time, it appeared to be a sign of frustration. But at the ensuing changeover, Nadal removed his left shoe so a trainer could tape up the little toe on that foot.Right after that lengthy break, Nadal broke at love to go ahead 3-1, and that was pretty much that.Still, Bellucci enjoyed the atmosphere. Fans cheered for Nadals miscues -- even faults, generally considered a no-no in tennis -- and roared for Belluccis best shots as if victory and defeat hung in the balance with each point.When their guy would grab a game, they would sing, soccer-style, Ole, ole, ole, ole! Tho-maz! Tho-maz!They reprised that chorus even after he lost.It was, Bellucci said, amazing for me.---Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich Cheap NFL Jerseys China .C. -- Chris Thorburn thinks one of the reasons the Winnipeg Jets have been successful under new coach Paul Maurice is that theyre playing together as a team. Discount Nike Football Jerseys .ca NBA Power Rankings, ahead of the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs. http://www.wholesalenikenfljerseys.com/ . -- Canadian Andrew Wiggins got the ball on the wing, made a nifty spin move and then let go with a soft floater from about 10 feet that swished through the net in Allen Fieldhouse. Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping . I cant pinpoint a date, but I do remember a player from my youth. Brian Downing was with the Chicago White Sox at a time when I listened to every game I possibly could on the radio. That particular season the late great Harry Caray was calling the White Sox games. Wholesale NFL Jerseys . Shot outdoors against the stunning backdrop of Banff, Alta., the networks 30-minute original production airs tonight at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2. The four All-Star teams will play for $100,000 in prize money during TSNs annual skins game, airing live this weekend on TSN from The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre. BALTIMORE -- Dave Dombrowski was chatting with a reporter in the left-field grandstand at Fenway Park before a recent game when a fan in a tour group stopped to thank him for putting together a likable Boston Red Sox team that, oh by the way, is contending for a playoff spot.Dombrowski says he gets that a lot. Thursday marks one year since he was hired to run the Red Soxs baseball operations, and apparently, the honeymoon is not over. He claims to not look at Twitter or listen to talk radio, the outlets that give a voice, if not a name, to the loudest critics. But when he stops for his morning coffee or goes for a jog, he insists the reaction he gets has been largely positive.Its not that everything Dombrowski has touched has turned to gold. Far from it. He persuaded principal owner John Henry to spend $217 million on free-agent left-hander?David Price, and Price has a 4.29 ERA that ranks only slightly better than the league average of 4.47. He traded four prospects for closer Craig Kimbrel, who is having the worst statistical season of his career. And he drew criticism last month for dealing touted 18-year-old pitching prospect Anderson Espinoza to the San Diego Padres for largely unproven lefty Drew Pomeranz.But with a group of young All-Stars -- shortstop Xander Bogaerts, center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. and MVP candidate right fielder Mookie Betts -- who were drafted or signed mostly by former general manager Theo Epstein and developed under his successor, Ben Cherington, the Red Sox are enjoyable to watch again. And Dombrowskis moves have put them in position to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2013 World Series championship.People are usually pretty friendly, Dombrowski said. Somebody might say, This guys a bum. Why did you get him? But most people are welcoming. They say, Hey, I really like the club. Appreciate what youve done. Thats more the comments.Dombrowski, 60, brought strong credentials with him to the Red Sox. He built winning teams in Montreal in the late-1980s, took over the expansion Florida Marlins in 1992 and led them to a World Series title in only their fifth year in existence and turned the Detroit Tigers from a 106-loss laughingstock in 2002 to a five-time playoff team and a two-time AL pennant winner.It didnt take long, though, for Dombrowski to realize that Boston is unlike any place he has worked. The Red Sox are an institution, a passion and a soap opera rolled into one. It has been said that the Sox dont play a 162-game season so much as they play 162 one-game seasons. The daily scrutiny heightens what already is an unforgiving eight-month grind from the beginning of spring training through the season finale.I think probably the daily aspect that goes into every game that you play is somewhat unique here, Dombrowski said. Its very emotional. If you win, youre the greatest. If you lose, youre not really good. And I think you really have to work on keeping an even-keel perspective in some ways. Youre not going to change that emotion, but when you work with the team, you need to realize that if a guy has a bad outing, it doesnt mean hes a bad pitcher. If a guys in a 1-for-27 slump, it doesnt mean hes never going to hit again.It can be grueling in every market, but it gets more attention here. I think thats been the biggest difference for me.Indeed, it can take time to get comfortable in Boston. And if Dombrowski feels that way, he can only imagine what it must be like for the players.Take Price, who hasnt pitched to his or anyones expectations. Despite leading the league in innings (163?) and ranking third in strikeouts (167) when the week began, he also has allowed at least five earned runs in six starts, and the Red Sox are only 12-13 when he takes the ball.But leave it to agent Scott Boras, who doesnt represent Price, to put the aces struggles into perspective. During a recent series at Angel Stadium, Boras remarked to Dombrowski that Price looked like himself the night before in shutting out the Los Angeles Angels for eight innings of an eventual 2-1 loss.He was saying, Gee, Dave, Price was great. His changeup was fantastic, Dombrowski recalled. I said, Yeah, hes finally starting to find it. And he says, Dave, remember -- now, this is Scott saying this --- those first three, four months for a free agent, a big name, is tough.dddddddddddd A lot of times they dont find their ground right away.I do think that happens, and maybe even a little more so here [in Boston].Several months ago, Dombrowski and his wife, Karie, bought a six-bedroom house in Brookline, Massachusetts (Epsteins hometown, coincidentally). But with their son and daughter going to school in Michigan, they didnt move in until mid-July, leaving Dombrowski to live in a hotel a few blocks from Fenway.The solitude gave him a chance to immerse himself in his work. Initially, that meant getting acquainted with as many people as possible in the front office. Dombrowski promoted Mike Hazen to general manager, retained embattled manager John Farrell after his battle with cancer and kept most of the baseball operations staff that worked under Cherington, decisions that fostered continuity. He also enlisted longtime aide Frank Wren to work at his side again.In building the roster, Dombrowski acted swiftly and decisively. Last winter, he identified three primary needs -- an ace starter, power-armed late-inning reliever and reserve outfielder -- and acquired Price, Kimbrel and Chris Young during a 25-day span in November and December. Last month, he made three trades in eight days, beefing up the bench with righty-hitting infielder Aaron Hill, the bullpen with right-hander Brad Ziegler,?and the starting rotation with Pomeranz.Dombrowski could have gone for broke, too, in the final season for retiring franchise icon David Ortiz. But contrary to his reputation for tearing apart a farm system in the interest of winning now, he stuck with top prospect Yoan Moncada, prized pitcher Michael Kopech, touted third baseman Rafael Devers and 2015 first-round pick Andrew Benintendi, who has emerged as the everyday left fielder after getting called up two weeks ago.I have the utmost respect for David Ortiz, but you wouldnt do something to hurt your franchise in the long run if you didnt think it was the right thing to do. You just wouldnt do that, Dombrowski said. And [Ortiz] wouldnt ask you to do that. He wants to win, but its also within reason.A couple of times when we talked, he would say, What about this guy? And I said, Well, this is what they want, and he said, Oh, I would never make that trade. That type of thing.Perhaps most significant, Dombrowski established a culture of accountability by empowering Farrell to make lineup decisions based on merit, not contracts. After being outplayed in spring training, $95 million third baseman Pablo Sandoval and $72.5 million outfielder Rusney Castillo began the season on the bench. Castillo later was outrighted off the 40-man roster and buried in Triple-A.Now, though, with the non-waiver trade deadline having passed, Dombrowskis heaviest lifting is finished. It will be up to the players to emerge from a three-way fight with the Baltimore Orioles and Toronto Blue Jays for the AL East crown or a wild-card berth. And generally speaking, Dombrowski said he is satisfied that the moves he has made will put them in position to do so.I think so, he said. People forget, we didnt have winning records the last couple of years. Were in a whole different spot. Were in a pennant race. Now, I dont know if were going to win or not. But were in the race, and thats what you try to do every year. I like our club. I think we have a real shot.But I think when you say that, the results of how we perform on the field is how other people will look at what weve done. Weve got a good team. How good well be will be determined.For now, the lions share of the criticism has centered on Farrell, whose job security is a daily topic of conversation. But if the Red Sox prove to not be good enough, Dombrowski knows he will hear it, too. Some of the biggest admirers in his neighborhood coffee shop are liable to become less friendly.I think its great. I love the passion, Dombrowski said. This is what baseballs all about. Its a daily passion here. 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