Dein erstes Forum » AT?: The good start is nothin

The spectators told Monica Puig they believed she could win Puerto Ricos first Olympic gold medal in any sport, providing a soundtrack of Si se puede! -- Yes, we can! -- during the Rio de Janeiro Games womens tennis final.She could. And she did.The unseeded and unheralded Puig capped her run of upsets with the biggest one of all Saturday, overpowering No. 2 Angelique Kerber of Germany 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 to become the Olympic champion.I did hear everybody saying, Yes, you can! Yes, you can! Yes, you can! I kept repeating it inside myself: Yes, I can! Yes, I can! Yes, I can! Puig said. They really helped me believe and just showed me they were there for me, whether I was going to win or lose.Puigs father told her he believed, too, emailing the lyrics to the Puerto Rican national anthem a day earlier, just in case they would come in handy. And so, as the strains of that song echoed around an Olympic arena for the first time, and Puerto Ricos red-white-and-blue flag was raised to the highest level during a medal ceremony for the first time, Puig remembered what Dad had written.She recognized plenty of the words as fans belted them out. She just couldnt join in the joyous chorus, for a simple reason: too many tears.If I wouldve stopped crying, I probably would have started singing, Puig said afterward, smiling at the thought. But I couldnt. I was choking up the whole time.A 22-year-old born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and now based in Florida, Puig is also the first woman representing her country to earn a medal of any color. When she finished a tense closing game --saving six break points and converting her fourth match point --she flung away her racket and went over to collect a flag she paraded across the court.I couldnt really believe what just happened, she said. It was such an amazing moment.Gigi Fernandez, who is Puerto Rican, won two Olympic womens doubles gold medals in tennis, but did so while representing the United States.Im particularly happy for Puerto Rico, Fernandez said in a telephone interview from Connecticut. All the hurt that people felt, all the anger people felt because I played for the U.S., I couldnt be happier.Puig had shown promise in the past, reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon as a teen in 2013, but she hasnt been that far again at any major. Also notable about Puig: She is the first unseeded woman to win the singles title since tennis returned to the Olympics in 1988.Ranked 34th, she added her surprising win over Kerber -- a German who won the Australian Open and was the Wimbledon runner-up this year --to those she picked up in Brazil against two other past major title winners, Garbine Muguruza and Petra Kvitova.Earlier Saturday, Kvitova earned the bronze for the Czech Republic by beating Madison Keys of the United States 7-5, 2-6, 6-2. Kvitova called her medal one of the best things that happened in my career, definitely.Clearly, Puig felt the same. And she played attacking tennis full of powerful shots that seemed to rattle the counter-punching Kerber. Puig smacked a down-the-line backhand--her 18th winner to that point, 10 more than Kerber -- for a break that gave her the opening set.During the ensuing changeover, Kerber was visited by a trainer, standing on the sideline while her lower back was massaged and manipulated, before heading to the locker room for a medical timeout. Kerber said later that bothered her from the outset, but it wasnt why she lost.She played her best tennis and one of her best matches in her career, for sure, Kerber said. I tried everything.Adam Larsson Oilers Jersey . Numbers Game looks into the Canadiens securing the services of Thomas Vanek in a trade with the New York Islanders. The Canadiens Get: LW Thomas Vanek and a conditional fifth-round pick. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins Oilers Jersey . President of baseball operations Larry Beinfest was fired Friday after 12 years with the Marlins. The move came as the team neared the end of its third consecutive last-place season in the NL East. http://www.hockeyoilersshop.com/zack-kassian-jersey/ .R. Smith realized how easily basketball can be taken from him, and he wasnt going to take his place in the NBA for granted anymore. Leon Draisaitl Oilers Jersey . Tracey comes to the Blue Bombers after spending over a decade with Queens University. Most recently he was the schools assistant football coach. Oscar Klefbom Jersey . Neymar curled home a free kick from just outside the area to put the 2014 World Cup host ahead in the 44th minute. Three minutes after the break, a simple through pass from Paulinho freed Oscar and the Chelsea star rounded goalkeeper Jung Sung-ryong to extend Brazils lead.DENVER -- Instead of 300 yards receiving from Julio Jones, the Atlanta Falcons got 3 1/2 sacks from Vic Beasley Jr.Maybe this defense really can play.Already an offensive juggernaut, the Falcons turned up the defensive pressure and made life miserable for rookie Paxton Lynch in a 23-16 win over the Denver Broncos on Sunday.Beasley led the punishment of Lynch, who was making his first start as he filled in for a banged-up Trevor Siemian . Lynch was sacked six times and looked every bit like the rookie he is for the Broncos (4-1).It may be the start of something good for a maligned Falcons defense.This is like a machine and you have to have all the parts of the engine working together, defensive end Dwight Freeney said. When you have that, you can have the success like were having.The road wont get any easier for the Falcons (4-1) as they stay out west to go against Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks next weekend.For Denver, its quickly back to the drawing board in a short week. The team travels to San Diego on Thursday. Siemian and his sprained left shoulder could be back in time for that game.We didnt want to expose (Siemian) today, explained Broncos coach Gary Kubiak, who was taken to the hospital following the game as a precaution with flu-like symptoms. They came into our place, played with a lot of poise and made a lot of big plays.But none of them came from Jones. He had 300 yards receiving in a win over Carolina last weekend, but was held to two catches for 29 yards.They took me away and they were like, `All right, youre not going to beat us today, Jones said. Everybody else is going to step up. Weve got a lot of weapons.Like tailback Tevin Coleman, who had four catches for 132 yards and a TD. Or Devonta Freeman, whose 1-yard TD on fourth down during the opening drive set the tone for the rest of the game. Matt Ryan later converted a fourth-and-1 with a QB sneak that set up a field goal before halftime.Thats our mindset, to attack offensively, Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. We just wanted to keep attacking.A few takeaways from the game:BRONCOS QBss: Lynch struggled in his first NFL start, and the Broncos only have three days to get Siemian healthy.dddddddddddd.Siemian sat out with a sore left shoulder, though Kubiak said he had been very close to being able to play against Atlanta. Instead, Lynch went 23 for 35 for 223 yards and took six sacks. It was a near opposite of his relief appearance last week against the Bucs , when he threw for 170 yards and a score to help the Broncos pull away from Tampa Bay.If my number gets called again, Im going to make sure Im ready to go out there and play, Lynch said. But if my number isnt called, Ill make sure Im ready to play if I have to go in the game.BY AIR OR LAND: Jones took a backseat to Atlantas tandem of tailbacks. Freeman rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries and caught three passes for 35 yards. Coleman caught four passes for 132 yards and a touchdown and added 31 yards on six carries.I thought the running backs really stole the show today, being a factor both in the run game and the pass game, Quinn said.FAST START, THEN WHAT?: The good start is nothing new for the Falcons. But now what?Atlanta won its first five games last season, but only won three games the rest of the way. This year, the Falcons are 4-1 through five games and Quinn is convinced the season wont play out like 2015.We are mentally tougher than what we were, Quinn said.RESHUFFLED LINE: With right tackle Ty Sambrailo struggling to keep Beasley contained, the Broncos juggled around their line. They shifted Michael Schofield from guard to tackle and inserted Darrion Weems at guard. Sambrailo watched from the bench.NEAR PICKS: Aqib Talib and Chris Harris Jr. both had interceptions in their hands, but couldnt hang on.Those are plays we expect to make all the time, Harris said. We just didnt make them today.---AP National Writer Eddie Pells and AP Football Writer Arnie Stapleton contributed.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '