the 44th minute off Jeff Hookers cross after Mike Windischmann lo

RIO DE JANEIRO -- David Lee debated whether to even march in another opening ceremony. He has done the Olympic pomp-and-circumstance thing a few times by now.The U.S. volleyball player waited until Friday to decide, wanting to make sure his long, 34-year-old legs would be plenty fresh for the Americans volleyball opener Sunday against Canada as he begins his third and final Olympics.Then he realized how much he needed to be there at Maracana Stadium to take part in the festivities alongside his teammates, eight of whom have never been to an Olympics prior to Rio de Janeiro. And also his fellow Americans and the worlds best athletes.And, for himself before his Olympic hurrah.Its your last one, do it, Lee said upon finishing Friday training at Rios Navy School. Im definitely going to walk. It was more based on how I felt today after training, if I felt I was in good enough shape to spend an 8-hour, 10-hour day on my feet. Im excited, I want to walk. It was just based on whether I thought it was going to be an issue, would it affect my play in two days? My first year we had four or five of our veterans who didnt walk and it was their last Olympics, because they didnt think they were going to be in good enough shape the next day. I feel good.Lee is cherishing every part of doing this for the last time. After a scrimmage against Argentina on Thursday night, he obliged every Navy cadet and military person who packed the gym to watch the match by posing for photos, snapping selfies of just taking a moment to offer a friendly hello or greeting -- even trying some Portuguese.Always, always, always, he said.Coach John Speraw left it up to his Olympic-experienced players to decide whether to go to the opening ceremony.Were not too grizzly yet, so we should be embracing our youth and the joy that we have being part of the Olympic Games, and let that competitive spirit and that energy be the catalyst for our success, Speraw said.Wherever he goes, whatever country this sport leads him to next, Lee makes a point to thoughtfully speak a few words -- or at least make a valiant attempt -- in another language because he knows by now how much that means to the local fans. He cherishes the people he meets around the globe.The middle blocker -- who is 6-foot-8 -- is a regular visitor to Brazil for volleyball. Once, after he finished with the U.S. at World League in Rio, having noticed big soccer crowds he got off the team bus at Maracana Stadium while en route back to the hotel. And Lee found his way into the match all right, swarmed by Brazilian volleyball fans who instantly recognized him and sought autographs and photos.Theres not time for quite that kind of try-anything adventurous spirit ahead of the Olympic tournament, yet Lee still tries to take in as much culture as he can during the jam-packed schedule during days of preparation and competition.No funny stories yet. Im still waiting, he said. This is more of a business trip. The last time I had that soccer adventure was after World League finals, so it made sense for me to get off that bus.Plenty of fun, though? You bet.Earlier this week, gymnastics sensation Simone Biles and Lee posed back to back to show their dramatic 4-foot height difference. The photo has been a social media hit.That was a cool photo with tall and small, Lee said.Lee and four-time Olympian Reid Priddy are the last two members of the 2008 Beijing Olympic team. Speraw is leaning on these two, plus Matt Anderson, when he needs to run ideas by the players or seek valuable insight.Of course, this opening ceremony will be a little more special to Lee.Sentimental, oh, of course, yeah, 100 percent, he said. Its definitely going to be sentimental. The best part of this experience is meeting the athletes before and during the walk. Thats the key part, because were not going to see them because were out of the village, which is kind of a bummer. Cheap Rangers Jerseys .H. -- Matt Kenseth made it 2 for 2 in the Chase, holding off teammate Kyle Busch to win Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Texas Rangers Gear . Ashley Youngs cross was inadvertently headed by Chester into his own net in the 66th minute, allowing United to claim a third straight league win. "We had to dig deep with our fighting spirit and weve done that," United striker Wayne Rooney said. https://www.cheaprangersbaseball.com/ .Y. -- Paul Byron and Matt Stajan scored as the Calgary Flames started a five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon. Rangers Jerseys 2020 . - NASCAR announced a 33-race schedule for the 2014 Nationwide Series with virtually no changes from this years slate. Wholesale Rangers Jerseys . Burris threw two TD passes, including a key 15-yard fourth-quarter strike to Bakari Grant that effectively countered a Toronto comeback bid and led Hamilton to a 33-19 victory. SAN JOSE, Costa Rica -- The United States is in danger of becoming the fourth team to start 0-2 in the final round of CONCACAFs World Cup qualifying since the hexagonal format was adopted ahead of the 1998 tournament.The Americans traveled to Central America on Sunday, two days after a 2-1 loss to Mexico in Columbus, Ohio -- the Americans first home loss in qualifying since 2001. They are 0-8-1 in qualifiers at Costa Rica -- losing their last eight in a row.Its just part of the qualifying process, the whole kind of long road obviously over 10 games, U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann said after Fridays match. And so its not a problem, but its obviously its disappointing.All three hosts lost Friday, the first time that happened in the hexagonal since Sept. 1, 2001, when the U.S. was defeated 3-2 by Honduras at Washingtons RFK Stadium. But there is plenty of time to rebound.The top three teams in the North and Central American and Caribbean finals advance to the 2018 tournament in Russia and the fourth-place nation meets Asias No. 5 finisher in a playoff for another berth.Canada (1997) and Trinidad and Tobago (2001) both started 0-2 and failed to qualify, but the Soca Warriors overcame losses to the U.S. and Guatemala in 2005 to finish fourth, then beat Bahrain in a playoff to reach the 2006 tournament in Germany.The U.S. Soccer Federation noted the average points needed to qualify from the hex has been 15.6, which means the U.S. would need four points on the road if form holds and it wins four remaining home matches. The U.S. earned six points on the road in the final round of qualifying for the 1998 tournament, five for 2002 and seven in each of the last three cycles.We have to look forward, pick ourselves up, forward Jozy Altidore said.The U.S. left behind goalkeeper Timm Howard, who departed the opener in the 40th minute after injuring the adductor muscle in his right leg.dddddddddddd. After a refueling stop in West Palm Beach, Florida, the team arrived at its hotel in San Jose at 7:30 p.m., following an afternoon storm.Costa Rica has become the perennial No. 3 team in the region behind Mexico and the U.S., and Los Ticos reached the quarterfinals of the 2014 World Cup before losing to the Netherlands on penalty kicks.In the Americans first qualifying match at Costa Rica, John Kerr scored in the 44th minute off Jeff Hookers cross after Mike Windischmann long pass down a flank, to gain a 1-1 draw on May 26, 1985, at Estadio Alejandro Moreira in Alajuela, about 13 miles from San Jose. Oscar Ramirez had put the hosts ahead about one minute earlier after Arnie Mausser misplayed a cross.The U.S. then lost seven consecutive qualifiers by a combined 16-5 at San Joses Estadio Saprissa, where fans were right behind the benches and some threw bags of urine at the visitors.The site shifted in 2013 to Estadio Nacional, which opened two years earlier and has an athletics track around the field. The result was similar, with the Americans giving up goals to Johnny Acosta and Celso Borges in the first nine minutes of a 3-1 loss that ended their team-record winning streak at 12 games, three shy of Spains world mark. American midfielder Michael Bradley, originally in the starting lineup, limped off the field during warmups after spraining his left ankle and was on crutches at the bench during the match.The message is very simple, Klinsmann said after the loss. Weve got to do down there and get a result, which we will do. ' ' '