He added it was a different feeling to beat Hawthorn in a final.I

WASHINGTON -- It is one of baseballs enduring mysteries in recent years and will be front-and-center in Game 1 of the NL Division Series between the Dodgers and Nationals that begins Friday:Why is LA lefty Clayton Kershaw so downright masterful during the regular season and so decidedly mediocre during the playoffs?While a player such as Washington slugger Bryce Harper talks about thriving when the stage is biggest, the lights brightest, the TV audience broadest, Kershaw seems to spend early October dealing with questions about happens to him at this time of year. He goes from being a three-time Cy Young Award winner (with a pair of other top-three finishes in voting) who wins two out of every three decisions (126-60 career record) and owns a 2.37 ERA to just a guy: 2-6, 4.59 ERA.The bad ones stand out more, he said Thursday, for sure.He offered one possible explanation for the disparity, and a hopeful-sounding view of why things could be different this time around, beginning when he faces Max Scherzer and the rest of the NL East champions.In years gone by, Kershaw said, he thought he was supposed to carry the Dodgers.But he missed more than two months with a back injury in 2016 and thought it took some time to get completely comfortable when he returned for five starts in September.In the past, Ive definitely felt that pressure more. But this years been a little bit different for me, just as far as having to watch on the sidelines. ... Its really kind of hit home for me a little bit, as Ive come back, that I can definitely be a part of this and definitely help and definitely be a factor in winning, Kershaw said. But I dont have to be THE factor.Another difference: He recently picked up somewhat of a sidearm delivery for the occasional 95 mph fastball, something he got from Game 2 starter Rich Hill.Neither Dodgers rookie manager Dave Roberts nor Kershaw himself has spent time going over video of past playoff performances to try to glean anything that could be improved or changed for this series.I dont read too much into it and havent looked back on it. I dont think it has any bearing on this postseason, the start tomorrow, Roberts said. And I really dont think Clayton cares, either.Setting aside Kershaws particular case, for the moment, there are those players, to be sure, who are able to elevate themselves when the stakes and scrutiny are the greatest.Harper, who slugged .882 with three homers in Washingtons 2014 NLDS loss to San Francisco, describes himself as someone who enjoys playing in front of millions of people and adds: My heart doesnt really race or anything like that. Im super calm. I feel great at the plate. I feel great in the outfield. Just feels like home.Nationals left fielder Jayson Werth, who won a World Series title with Philadelphia in 2008, spoke about Phillies teammate Jimmy Rollins as an example of someone who performed best when the TV cameras turned on.The red lights on and, all of a sudden, he turns into a superhero. Thats more personality than DNA, I think, Werth said. Some guys can do it. Some guys are the opposite. They play better during the season, when no ones watching.Some other story lines to watch in the NLDS between the Dodgers and Nationals:ROOKIE STARS: This series features two outstanding rookies who might be the teams most dynamic offensive players, Dodgers SS Corey Seager (.308 average, 26 HRs) and Nationals CF Trea Turner (.342, 13 HRs, 33 SBs in 73 games). Hes going to help us out tremendously the next couple of weeks, Harper said about Turner.HOME VS. ROAD: The Dodgers went 53-28 at home and only 38-43 on the road in 2016; if the best-of-five NLDS goes the distance, Game 5 will be at Nationals Park. You know what? Roberts said. I dont think therell be carryover.CLOSE CLOSERS: Each club features a top regular-season closer -- Washingtons Mark Melancon converted 47 of 51 save chances this year; LAs Kenley Jansen went 47 for 53. One difference: Melancon was asked to earn a save of more than three outs only twice all season, while Jansen did it five times, and Roberts said hed have no qualms about asking for that repeatedly in the series.HISTORY-MAKING MANAGERS: This is the first postseason matchup in MLB history involving two black managers. It gives us some pride, in being African-American, to show people that not only can we do the job, but we can do the job better than most, Washingtons Dusty Baker said.---AP Sports Writer Stephen Whyno contributed.---Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich Adidas Ultra Boost 19 Nederland . The 20-year-old Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. Davis responded to his selection earlier in the day as a Western Conference All-Star with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 98-91 on Friday night. Adidas Stan Smith Dames Sale . -- In a span of seven Washington Redskins offensive plays, Justin Tuck sacked Robert Griffin III four times. http://www.nmdtekoop.com/ . Haas said he "felt a lot of pain" in his right shoulder when he slammed his racket to the ground in frustration after losing his serve at 3-3 in the first set. Adidas NMD R2 Heren . Despite dominating possession, Schalke needed an own goal from Nicolas Hoefler for the breakthrough a minute before the interval. The Freiburg midfielder misjudged Jefferson Farfans corner and bundled the ball into his own net. Adidas Ultra Boost Korting . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. The front entrance to Citi Field was already crowded with hundreds of cheering fans hours before a Mets-Braves game in June, watching a dozen intense competitive eaters devouring stacks of hot dogs on stage.Among the audience for the Nathans Hot Dog Eating Contest qualifying event were Team USAs table tennis Olympians. They arrived early for their appearance, at an invitation from the Mets to throw the first pitch of the days game. Alas, Olympians or not, their presence was completely overshadowed by ... people devouring hot dogs.That is the reality for many years, said U.S. Olympic coach Massimo Costantini of the teams moderate profile. Costantini represented Italy for 23 years as a player and competed at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.In Rio, Costantini will oversee Team USAs six players: three females (Jiaqi Zheng, Lily Zhang and Yue Wu) and three males (Yijun Feng, Tim Wang and Kanak Jha).The 16-year-old Jha, an Indian American, is the first U.S. athlete born in the 21st century to qualify for the Olympics. He was selected to throw out the first pitch that Sunday.I was a little bit nervous, he said, speaking of the difference between swinging a paddle and pitching.It was a good pitch. The baseball made a perfect landing in teammate Lily Zhangs borrowed glove. These two, along with Zheng, were individually coached by Costantini. They were trained at India Community Center (ICC) in Milpitas, California, a town just north of San Jose.Table tennis used to be a basement game in the United States, especially among Asian immigrants, but it has grown significantly more popular during the past decade. According to USA Table Tennis (USATT), a nonprofit group promoting the sport domestically, about 19 million Americans play table tennis recreationally at about 250 table tennis clubs in America. Each year, more than 350 tournaments are organized.ICC, one of the largest clubs in the country, has 30 match tables and 14 full-time coaches. It claims to be North Americas largest dedicated table tennis center. Another Olympian -- Tim Wang of Houston -- trained there.Team USAs other coach, Lily Yip, is perhaps the best curator of table tennis in America. A retired professional, she began playing the game in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou at age 7. She moved to the U.S. in 1987 and represented Team USA at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics. Aside from her commitments to the national team, she has been coaching in New Jersey for more than 20 years.I have witnessed the development of the sport in America firsthand, Yip told ESPN.com.For years, her table tennis club in Dunellen, New Jersey, has been a household name for plenty of northern New Jerseys Asian immigrant families, many of them Chinese and Indian. The club serves as the regions breeding ground for the sport, since many of Yips students come from these local families.For Yip, table tennis is a family business. Her husband Barry Datteel also coaches at the club, along with her son Adam Hugh and daughter Judy Hugh.ddddddddddddYips son-in-law, Cory Eider, is the high performance director for USA Table Tennis. He can proudly pull up a video clip archived on his cellphone, showing a 2009 ESPN feature on the family that calling them the first family of table tennis.A day before the Olympians trip to the Mets game, they had a fundraising exhibition game at Yips club, a curtain raiser that allowed local table tennis enthusiasts to witness Team USA up close. With more than 200 people packing the venue, the six athletes took the challenge from promising youths in friendly matches. The event ended up raising $25,000.In the past, table tennis made headlines when Ariel Hsing -- who competed in the London Olympics -- was invited to play against Warren Buffett and Bill Gates. The fanfare surrounding that event turned into a lasting force to shore up the influence of the sport. After all, for most Americans, it is known only as pingpong.Here we are, we are hungry for sparks, said USA Table Tennis CEO Gordon Kaye.In Flushing, the six athletes shared a total of $1,000 prize money.Its not much, but better than nothing, said Yue Wu, a Beijing-born former professional player who came to New York in 2008 at age 17.Last November, Wu won the Pan American Games in Toronto to qualify for Rio. She trained in the basement of her uncles house in Fort Lee, New Jersey, for six hours a day, six days a week. During weekdays, she would board the bus to Manhattan, where she coaches at a club. Her famous students include Judah Friedlander, the comedian and actor of NBCs 30 Rock.It is very hard to find quality opponents to train with, and it is also hard to maintain conditions, Wu said. You only have yourself, so you have to be mentally tough enough to survive.She makes about $40,000 a year by coaching. After the Olympics, she plans to play in France, where she hopes to make more. Eventually, she wants to save enough to open her own table tennis club in New York City.Tim Wang and Lily Zhang both played at the London Games four years ago, both losing in the first round. Americans have never won an Olympic medal in table tennis, and this is unlikely to change in Rio, as it remains nearly impossible for any country to challenge Chinas domination.After the Olympics, Zhang plans to go back to school to pick up where she left off. A sophomore physiology major at the University of California-Berkeley, she took a year off to train for the Olympics.Feng, a native of Nanjing, China, will be a freshman at the University of Georgia in the fall, majoring in business. And the youngest Olympian of all, Jha, will return to high school.As for Wu, Wang and Zheng, they will continue to play and coach, waiting for their next opportunities. ' ' '