Dein erstes Forum » the toughest of tasks Saturday

PHOENIX -- DeWayne Russell and Keonta Vernon combined for 33 points -- including some clutch shooting in the final seconds -- as Grand Canyon held on to defeat Illinois-Chicago 73-69 on Saturday night.Russell finished with 18 points, his sixth-straight game in double figures, and hit a free throw with 13 seconds left to push the game out of reach. Vernon finished with 15 points and 15 rebounds for his second double-double. He scored from the low post and was fouled with 59 seconds left, the three-point play putting Grand Canyon (5-4) ahead 72-69.Dikembe Dixson led UIC (4-5) with 19 points and Tarkus Ferguson, a freshman, added a career-best 16 on 7-for-7 shooting. Clint Robinson added 10 points.Dixson and Ferguson hit back-to-back 3-pointers as the Flames took a 66-65 lead with 5:03 to play, capping a 10-0 run. Tai Odiase went without a blocked shot for the first time in 19 games. Cheap Tottenham Hotspur Jerseys China . The Croatian served 21 aces and hit 42 winners against Sijsling, who double-faulted to give Cilic a 4-3 lead in the deciding set. "All the players, they know me and they were really happy to see me and they were really happy that this is over for me," Cilic said. Cheap Borussia Dortmund Jerseys China . PETERSBURG, Fla. http://www.cheapsoccerchina.com/ . Clarke was injured while practicing on the Doha Golf Club range after the pro-am on Tuesday. The Northern Irishman arrived at the course on Wednesday hoping to start, but after hitting a few balls on the practice putting green Clarke advised officials he was not fit to play. Cheap Soccer Jerseys China . Thats about all he can do right now, so hes trying not to think about when he might be able to play again for the Los Angeles Lakers. Cheap Soccer Jerseys Outlet . First off, the fans ripped the Cubbies introduction of a fuzzy new kid-friendly mascot named "Clark". Go inside the numbers and matchups that will decide the showdown Saturday night between the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series, and then vote for which team will win at the bottom of the page.What we learned in Game 5The Cubs took a 3-2 NLCS lead by blowing open a 1-1 game via?Addison Russells two-run homer off Joe Blanton in the sixth inning; the Cubs later tacked on five runs off Pedro Baez before settling for an 8-4 victory. Cubs starter?Jon Lester fired 80 fastballs out of his 108 pitches during seven strong innings, although closer?Aroldis Chapman had another shaky outing, allowing two runs in the ninth.??-- David SchoenfieldInside the pitching matchupWhen Clayton Kershaw is on the mound: If this game has a déjà vu feeling for Dodgers fans, its because they were in this same spot in the 2013 NLCS against the Cardinals. Kershaw went out and had the third-worst game of his career by game score, giving up 10 hits and seven runs in four innings as the Cardinals cruised to a 9-0 victory to move on to the World Series.As in that game, Kershaw will be working on five days rest, as manager?Dave Roberts refrained from pitching him on short rest in Game 5. Kershaw is coming off the first scoreless start of his postseason career -- he limited the Cubs to two hits in seven innings in Game 2. Pitch efficiency was a key in that start as he threw just 84 pitches and the Cubs took 18 pitches for strikes. Its noteworthy that Kershaws two highest rates of fastballs thrown this year have come in the playoffs. He hit 61 percent in NLDS Game 4 against the Nationals and then again versus the Cubs.In the regular season, his fastball rate was 51 percent as he threw his slider more than ever, 33 percent of the time. What makes that pitch so tough is that it ends up in the strike zone over 50 percent of the time. Hey, theres a reason he walked just 11 batters in 21 starts. Batters hit just .138 against his slider, and if hes commanding it to the inside part of the plate against right-handers, you may as well call it a night.Is there any advantage for the Cubs, who will see Kershaw for the second time in the series? As Ben Lindbergh reports at The Ringer, the answer is no (at least since hes not pitching on three days rest).When Kyle Hendricks is on the mound: The major league ERA leader at 2.13, Hendricks ranked near the bottom of all starting pitchers in average fastball velocity, but nobody had a higher rate of first-pitch strikes than Hendricks 68.4 percent. He pounds the zone and expertly changes speeds with a sinker, curveball, cutter and changeup. Everything is to the corners -- away to lefties, away to righties. No starter had a higher percentage of pitches on the outer half of the plate than Hendricks, with 62 percent of his pitches on the outer third of the strike zone. As a result, he led all starters in limiting hard contact (batters hit just .207 against him overall).Hendricks two postseason starts havent gone quite as smoothly. Against the Giants in the NLDS, he had to leave after allowing two runs in 3? innings when he was hit in the forearm by a batted ball. In NLCS Game 2 against the Dodgers, he worked around four walks in 5? innings to escape with just one allowed. After throwing his fastball nearly 50 percent of the time in the regular season, he has cut way down on fastball usage in the playoffs, throwing it 27 percent of the time against the Giants and 39 percent against the Dodgers. Dont be fooled by the lack of velocity. His strikeout rate ranked 24th of 74 qualified starters, and batters hiit .dddddddddddd135 against the changeup and .164 against the cutter, as both had K rates of about 25 percent.How will Joe Maddon manage this game? As good as Hendricks was in Game 2, the Dodgers are so bad against left-handers that Maddon may have a fairly quick hook and rely on southpaws Travis Wood and Mike Montgomery out of the bullpen. -- SchoenfieldPlayer in the spotlightPlayer in the spotlight: Kris Bryant. The likely National League MVP is crushing it in the postseason (.343 AVG/.425 OBP/.571 SLG) with five doubles and one home run. He went 0-for-4 in Game 4 but does have one hit off Kershaw in his career -- a home run.?-- SchoenfieldDid you know ...In Game 2, Kershaw joined Jon Lester and Rick Sutcliffe as the only pitchers to toss seven scoreless innings in the postseason at Wrigley Field, with the Dodgers ace the only visiting pitcher in that trio.?-- ESPN Stats & InfoWhat will decide the game Saturday nightCan Kershaw continue his dominance??Kershaw recorded 14 straight outs to begin Game 2. The last Dodgers pitcher to record 14 straight outs to begin a postseason game was Sandy Koufax, in Game 1 of the 1963 World Series. Keep an eye on Kershaws fastball usage. He threw a fastball on 60.7 percent of his pitches in Game 2, his second-highest rate this year (including the regular season). Cubs hitters went 1-for-16 with five strikeouts versus Kershaws heater. During the regular season, the Cubs hit .293 vs left-handed fastballs, fourth-best in the NL, and slugged .520. But they have struggled vs. lefty heaters so far in the playoffs, hitting just .152 and slugging .266 against lefty heat.?-- ESPN Stats & InfoChoosing sides: Who will win??You want to be the best, you have to beat the best. Thats what we say, anyway. I actually think a more common path is to avoid playing the best. The Cubs dont have that option: Kershaw is the best pitcher in the Alpha Quadrant. This postseason has given us every indication that hes on top of his game. Behind him, the Dodgers will have a rested Kenley Jansen. As great as Kyle Hendricks has been at Wrigley Field, I just dont see how you can pick against L.A. in this one. Whatever happens, Game 6 is going to be epic. -- Bradford Doolittle? The Cubs face the toughest of tasks Saturday as there is no better pitcher on the planet than Kershaw. The home team has a pretty good pitcher too, in the form of Kyle Hendricks, who led the NL in home ERA among qualified pitchers. The first matchup between the two in Game 2 lived up to its billing, but this time the script will be flipped as the Cubs will squeak out a run -- and prevail -- in another 1-0 affair. Next up: the World Series. -- Jesse Rogers?Clayton Kershaw is positioned perfectly to help the Dodgers stop some Cubs momentum in Game 6. Expecting him to deliver another scoreless outing is a little much, so support from his offense will be critical. If this has a familiar ring to it, its because Kershaw helped stave off elimination in the NLDS to get his team to a winner-take-all contest. This time, he will pitch on regular rest and then some. -- Doug PadillaWhere the series standsWhere the series stands: Oh, nothing on the line here except the Cubs first trip to the World Series since 1945. Roberts would probably prefer to go from Kershaw straight to closer?Kenley Jansen and avoid a Joe Blanton situation. Maddon may empty his entire bullpen. I think the extra days of rest are going to help Kershaw. Were going seven.??-- Schoenfield ' ' '