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Andy Murrays approach to his craft is supremely rational, his belief in sports science unquestioned. Ivan Lendl, Murrays coach, is a meticulous crosser of ts and dotter of is. The team that Murray has assembled leaves no stone unturned in its effort to keep Murray running, mentally as well as physically, like an exquisitely tuned race car.So why do Murrays wheels keep falling off at unexpected times?Its a fascinating quirk in a player who undeniably has greatness stitched into his muscle fibers. Murray is an elite, but hes still capable of shocking us with a spectacular, unexpected collapse. Its a seismic event, like the demolition of a giant old stadium by dynamite -- only nobody told the neighbors it was going to happen. The latest failure occurred in New York and just days ago in Glasgow, Scotland.Murray was on fire and on point all summer. He had gone 42-4 up to his quarterfinal meeting with Kei Nishikori at the US Open on Sept. 7, with four titles (including a major at Wimbledon and the Olympic gold medal).At the same time, US Open defending champion Novak Djokovic was struggling with his game as well as unspecified personal issues. The tea leaves all pointed to Murray making a sensational breakthrough, perhaps even shattering Djokovics long stranglehold on the mens game.But Nishikori took Murray out in Flushing Meadows in five sets. Then, not quite two weeks later in Murrays native Scotland, Juan Martin del Potro added insult to injury. He avenged his gold-medal-round loss to Murray in Rio de Janeiro with a five-hour, five-set Davis Cup win that paved the way for Argentinas advance to the final.Of course, Murray is still ranked No. 2 and his position among the elites is secure. It has been since long before Roger Federers left knee buckled or Rafael Nadals warrior spirit turned pacifist. Murrays haul of a dozen Masters 1000 titles and his basic Grand Slam consistency justify his inclusion. He occupies a weight class above that of US Open champ Stan Wawrinka, but note that the Swiss now has the same number of Grand Slam titles (three). Wawrinka is the first to advise others not to read too much into the Grand Slam title count.Yes, I have three Grand Slams, Wawrinka said after winning the US Open. How many Masters 1000 have Murray? [The Big Four] have been there since 10 years. They have not only been winning, but being in semifinal, final every time. Thats why Im not there.All true. But had Murray found a way past Nishikori, Wawrinka might not be having to plead his unworthiness. Also, pundits might be talking about a true horse race for the No. 1 spot in 2017, between Murray and Djokovic.Instead, Wawrinka has inserted himself into the conversation as the best big-match player. At the same time, a lot of the air went out of the Murray balloon. Did he win Wimbledon and Olympic singles gold because he was able to navigate around Djokovic? Some will say so. The one reality is that when it seemed a showdown was imminent in New York, it was Murray who failed to show up.The intriguing thing isnt that Murray lost to Nishikori, the 2014 finalist, but how he went down. Murray was up a set and a break, and seemed to be in control after he put down a Nishikori insurrection and won the third set. But Murray became upset when chair umpire Maria Cicak halted play midpoint at 1-1, 30-40 in the fourth set after a gong-like sound was heard inside the stadium. It all slid away from there.Afterward, Murray downplayed the role of the distraction and his subsequent tiff with officials in his news conference. Instead, he turned philosopher: I could have won the match for sure. But, you know, I have also won some over the last few months that I should have lost.Murray wasnt about to flagellate himself after his critical loss to del Potro less than two weeks later.I did great today, Murray said. Im very proud of how I played. I thought I did fantastic. I fought for every point, tried as best as I could. Thats all you can do.Well, almost. Murray still needs to look for a way to tighten the lug nuts on his wheels for one or two more critical occasions during a career run. Ken Dryden Jersey . -- Jonathan Drouin gave Halifax the boost it needed to edge host Sherbrooke Phoenix 3-2 in a shootout in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Custom Montreal Canadiens Jerseys . Pierce was ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up. http://www.canadienssale.com/authentic-maurice-richard-canadiens-jersey/ . Defencemen Drew Doughty, Shea Weber and forward Ryan Getzlaf also scored for the Canadians, who started their gold-medal defence 2-0. Goalie Roberto Luongo, getting the call in place of Game 1 starter Carey Price, was solid when needed in making 23 saves for the shutout. Jean Beliveau Jersey . The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the Lions have not announced the hiring, which was first reported by ESPN. Lombardi, the grandson of former Green Bay Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi, has been an offensive assistant on Sean Paytons New Orleans staff since 2007. Henri Richard Jersey . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. LOS ANGELES -- For their first 11 years, the face of the Los Angeles Sparks was Lisa Leslie. Three-time WNBA MVP. Eight-time All-Star. Two league championships.Leslie retired in 2009, a year after the Sparks took Candace Parker as the No. 1 pick in the draft.Parker was expected to pick up where Leslie left off. Individually, the former Tennessee star certainly did. Shes been rookie of the year, a two-time MVP and MVP of the All-Star game.But she has come up short in delivering the franchises first WNBA title since the Leslie-led Sparks won in 2001 and 02.Parker can change all that Sunday night. The Sparks take a 2-1 lead over the Minnesota Lynx into Game 4 of the WNBA Finals.A victory gives Los Angeles its third title in franchise history. A loss sends the best-of-five series back to Minnesota and allows the Lynx another chance at winning win their record-tying fourth championship.We cant expect them to lay down and just give it to us, Parker said Saturday after practice. Tomorrow is special, but so is this playoff run.The leagues 20th anniversary season is concluding with a matchup featuring two teams with a combined winning percentage of .794, highest in WNBA Finals history.The Lynx, winners of three of the last five WNBA titles, have been down before in this series.The Sparks won Game 1 on the road by two points.Minnesota responded with a 19-point win in Game 2 before the series shifted to the West Coast.Behind Parker and current league MVP Nneka Ogwumike, the Sparks raced to an early 22-point lead and took Game 3, 92-75.The things that we can control are our focus, our intensity and our will to winn, said Alana Beard, whose last-second jumper clinched Game 1.ddddddddddddThe Lynx cut the Sparks lead to eight points but never led in Fridays loss.You cant win a WNBA Finals back on our heels like that. We never want to do that again, Lynx veteran Maya Moore said. We dont want to take that long to respond. Its something that has been on the forefront of our minds. The start of Game 4 will be intense.Minnesotas Rebekkah Brunson, who scored 14 points Friday, could become the leagues first five-time champion. She won her first title with Sacramento in 2005.All of the small things weve done to get here, we just need to continue to do those, she said.The Sparks forced 13 turnovers that generated 24 points in Game 3.The 13 turnovers isnt a crazy amount of turnovers. Its a crazy amount of points off of them, Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. It was where we turned it over, around the 3-point line where its hard to build your transition defense. We need to get a better understanding of what its going to take to be successful in the WNBA Finals.The Lynx has little time to figure it out.Parker has had nothing but time while waiting to make the first WNBA Finals appearance of her long career. The rest of her teammates, with the exception of little-used reserve Ann Wauters, have never been this far before either.Were going to bring the same energy, the same competitiveness, the same drive and will that we did in Game 3, Sparks guard Kristi Toliver said, and hopefully well have no regrets. ' ' '