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RIO DE JANEIRO -- Agnieszka Radwanska, a player not known for outbursts on court, had plenty of good reasons to take out her frustrations on her racket in her first-round Olympic match.Fifty-five of them, to be exact -- the number of hours it took her to get from Montreal to Rio de Janeiro this week. She didnt arrive until Wednesday night, leaving far less practice time than she had hoped, and then she got sick, too.The fourth-seeded Radwanska played Saturday on the first day of the tournament and was upset by 64th-ranked Zheng Saisai 6-4, 7-5, with an uncharacteristic racket smash along the way.Its not helping with the score, unfortunately, but at least its good feeling that you have some power to break the racket, you know? Radwanska said.She spent much of this week feeling powerless against the vagaries of the airline industry. After losing in the round of 16 at Rogers Cup, she was supposed to fly out of Canada on Monday morning.First the delay was one hour, then two, then three. She finally boarded the plane only to sit on the tarmac for two more hours because the aircraft was too heavy, she said.The flight landed and I was running like hell through the terminal to try to make her connection. No such luck. Then she was running back the other direction to try to rebook.Eventually an airline rep told her she already had a new itinerary -- for Friday.Basically I wouldnt be on time for my match, she recalled thinking.I was looking at her like she was kidding, Radwanska added, her face strained at the exasperating memories.She waited in line for hours, spent just as long on the phone with her agent and others trying to find an alternative. The next morning, it was the same thing all over again. Meanwhile, she didnt have her luggage, which somehow was able to get on a plane to Rio even though she couldnt.Her reaction to that news: Seriously?The bags went without me! Radwanska marveled Saturday. I never heard of it.The only way to get from New York to Rio was to take a little detour -- through Lisbon, Portugal. Only about 3,000 miles out of the way.Radwanska spent five hours at Newark Airport to catch the late-night flight to Europe, but even when she finally landed in Rio, the saga wasnt over. What was supposed to be a 30-minute bus ride to the Olympic village turned into two hours because of a security scare.And perhaps not surprisingly considering all that aggravation, she soon started feeling ill. After 55 hours of travel, her singles tournament ended in 99 minutes. Radwanska still hopes to play mixed doubles for Poland.In the moments after her quick exit from her third Olympics, the 2012 Wimbledon runner-up couldnt find much humor in the situation.A lot of miles, a lot of points, she said dryly, noting that she had lost out on the chance of an award of incalculable value: Olympic gold forever.Stitched Blue Jays Jerseys . 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. Toronto Blue Jays Store . -- If Henry Burris has his way, he will be the starting quarterback to lead the Hamilton Tiger-Cats back to the Grey Cup next year. https://www.cheapbluejays.com/ . First off, the fans ripped the Cubbies introduction of a fuzzy new kid-friendly mascot named "Clark". Toronto Blue Jays Pro Shop . LOUIS -- Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59. Wholesale Blue Jays Jerseys . -- Team after team passed on Andre Ellington in the draft.It was Sept. 8, 1998 -- 18 years ago Thursday -- that a 22-year-old computer programmer, who worked for $40 a day on the St. Louis Cardinals grounds crew, snagged Mark McGwires then-record-breaking home run ball, and gave it back to McGwire for free.Tim Forneris, who is now a public defender in St. Louis, says he wouldnt change a thing about the decision he made.Being part of this moment led to so many other things in my life, Forneris said. The thinking is that money always helps make things easier, but thats not always the case. With lottery winners, it often turns into disaster.While memorabilia experts estimated before the game that the ball could be worth $1 million or more, when Forneris snagged McGwires shortest home run of the 70 hed end up hitting in 1998, he immediately decided that the ball wasnt his to keep or sell. He gave it to the Cardinals slugger in a ceremony that took place on the Busch Stadium field.Forneris just happened to be in the right place to get the low liner over the left field fence, which broke what was then Roger Maris single-season record of 61 home runs. His role on the grounds crew waas to open the gate for visiting pitchers to the bullpen.ddddddddddddWhen the ball came over the wall, Forneris said he sprinted from his usual position to a batting cage by the bullpen where the ball had come to rest. Later, he was on the field when McGwire was presented with the ball and some gifts from the team.Forneris didnt ever get financial compensation from the ball, but he did get to meet President Bill Clinton, got a watch from the Cardinals and a Cardinal red minivan from a local Chrysler plant which was touched by his generosity in the face of potential riches. He still has the vehicle, which he said has about 80,000 miles on it.Had Forneris sold the ball, there was a good possibility he could have gotten that $1 million. McGwires last home run ball of the 1998 season, No. 70, sold for $3.05 million. But Forneris only catches himself thinking about the memories instead of the money; memories that are never too far away. Fittingly, Forneris current office phone number ends in 62. ' ' '