ERST LESEN! » Yankees, the one ring in 2009 -- I had hi

RIO DE JANEIRO -- As Alexander Massialas stood on the podium in Carioca Arena 3, Americas new silver medal-winning fencer looked to his mother, the silent force of his career, and the tears flowed.The foil is etched in the Massialas family DNA. His sister, Sabrina, is a Youth Olympian and is targeting Tokyo 2020, and his father, Greg, is a two-time Olympian -- it would have been three but for the boycott of the 1980 Games -- and is the teams coach. But behind the trio is his mother, Chwan-Hui Chen, and as Alexander stood assessing his 15-11 final defeat to Italian Daniele Garozzo, the tears returned.I saw my mom out in the stands trying to hug me from so far away, Alexander said. My mom has been the silent force behind everything I do. She hates being in the limelight but this is the one chance I have to thank her for everything she has ever done for me, driving me to practice every day, encouraging me every step of the way even when things got tough and giving me unconditional love over the 22 years I have been alive.She is the secret hero that no one really talks about and I couldnt be a prouder son to bring this back for her.Though an element of disappointment at having fallen in the final was laid bare across his emotion-worn face, there was the dominant feeling of sheer pride. For the first time since Joseph Levis feats in 1932, an individual male fencer has registered a silver medal and the message is clear from father and son: This is just the start for fencing in the U.S.It was a turbulent, draining journey to the final for the 22-year-old. In the quarterfinal he was down 14-8 to Giorgio Avola only to hit seven consecutive points to progress, and then came the 15-13 semifinal win over the in-form Richard Kruse. Yet in the final, down 14-7 at the end of the first round it proved to be a deficit too large to claw back.As Garozzo sprung off the piste having registered the gold-winning point, letting out guttural roars of celebration, Alexander slumped to the ground in desolation. It was the brutal, individualistic nature of fencing laid bare on the highest stage. But then his father walked over to him, whispered in his ear, Its OK, and suddenly the magnitude of what he had achieved sunk in.Those two words dont sound like a lot but they meant the world to me, to know that he was proud, to know that he knows I left it all out on the strip, the younger Massialas said. It meant the world to me. I dont know what I could ever do to repay my dad.His journey to the silver medal started when he was seven and after a 13th-place finish in London 2012, he came into the Olympics as the mens No. 1-ranked individual foil in the world.Alex Massialas wins silver in Individual Foil Fencing! #BackThePac pic.twitter.com/KN3UlKZLwf- Pac-12 Conference (@pac12) August 7, 2016Though the gold escaped him Sunday, he has another shot at winning the top accolade. Up next for Massialas is the team event Friday, where he is looking to go one better, and then it is back to the United States where he has a year left in his mechanical engineering major at Stanford.Hell then take some time to breathe, assess what he has achieved, complete his final year and then refocus. The chances are hell be back in Tokyo looking to be the man on top of the podium hoping to continue inspiring future generations.I know I made a lot of young fencers proud and I hope I have given a lot of young fencers an inspiration and a chance to dream big, Massialas said. A lot of people for the longest time didnt believe U.S. mens foil could bring back a medal from the Olympics and to show them yes we can and to show that if you put in hard work and always believe you can do it, hopefully I am able to inspire tons of kids to start fencing or dream big in whatever they want to do.As my dad likes to say, mens foil is probably in its golden age now in the U.S. It shows that we belong and are only getting stronger and hopefully that means in the team event in five days we can come back and win gold and get some redemption.Pittsburgh Penguins Gear . Halifax beat the Saint John Sea Dogs 7-5 on the strength of two goals apiece from Nikolaj Ehlers, Matt Murphy and Brent Andrews. 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Negredo broke the deadlock from close range after a simple move in the 99th minute before Dzeko took the ball round goalkeeper Tim Krul to seal the victory in the 105th.After 12 tumultuous years in the Bronx, Alex Emmanuel Rodriguez played his final game in pinstripes on Friday, having helped slug the New York Yankees to one World Series title -- and helped whiff them out of eight other Octobers.Along the way, A-Rod won two American League MVP Awards and was handed a historic 211-game ban from baseball for his role in the Biogenesis performance-enhancing drug scandal. In an appeals process that ultimately reduced his suspension to 162 games -- the entirety of the 2014 season -- his battle with Major League Baseball and the Yankees turned bitter.Since then, he has worked to repair the damage with his team -- which now employs him as a special adviser after serving him with his unconditional release -- and with his teams fans, who seem to root for and revile him in equal measure.With one final chance to say goodbye, ESPN.com spoke to fans on the night of A-Rods Yankee Stadium farewell. Their words painted a picture of a love-hate relationship between the tainted but talented slugger and those who followed him, both on and off the field.I came here tonight because Ive been an Alex Rodriguez fan since 1997, and I could not miss his final major league baseball game. -- Nicole Baade, SeattleA-Rod, hes just another player that will soon be forgotten. I think in a few years, hell be forgotten. Wont even be talked about. -- Junior Pagan, New YorkA lot of the hate he gets he brought upon himself, but as a fan, I root for players that face adversity. -- Louis DiLullo, Providence, Rhode IslandThe way hes retiring is just ... its sad because the guy had such a great career, and so many MVPs, and so many playoff appearances, I dont understand. Bringing in a new era is good, but you only have a little bit left of the season to finish out. -- Anthony Criscione, New YorkI was never really an A-Rod fan, to be honest. Hes been with the team for 12 years, hes given us one championship for $300 million -- I figured hed do a little bit more ... without all the drama. -- Brian Schaeffer, New YorkHes still a Yankee. A-Rod is A-Rod, Theres only one like him, whether they say its because of steroids, whatever the case may be, he still did his thing for the Bronx and the Yankees. I support him no matter what. Hes a Bronx Bomber. -- Bee, New YorkI mean, handss down, hes one of our favorite players, and its crazy that hes retiring tonight.dddddddddddd -- Aidan Sheehan, also pictured Liam Sheehan, Middletown, New JerseyI hope he retires! He cant come back -- everybody would hate him if he came back. He needs to be done. Hes made enough money. -- Nicole Santilli, OrlandoI think its really, like, for a Yankee fan, its a typical love-hate relationship. He catapulted the Yankees into winning the World Series, and also hes been a Yankee for [12] years. How do you not accept what hes been to us? -- David Rodriguez, New YorkI think A-Rods great, I have nothing against the man; I think hes been unfairly singled out. I think hes fantastic. -- James Jimmy Cunniff, New YorkIts very heartbreaking seeing him retire now. I felt like hes still got more left in him. It almost feels like hes being forced to retire, but Im one of his No. 1 fans and its just really tough to see. -- Joel Carrasco, New YorkHonestly, his last game is something that Ive looked forward to for a long time. -- David and Katie Finale, Carlstadt, New JerseyI feel like he shouldve played third baseman tonight. His last game ever, youre really not gonna let him play the field? It hurts, it hurts. -- Brian Anderson, New YorkIm an A-Rod fan because hes part of the Yankees. But as an individual, I think hes a talented player, but Im not an A-Rod fan, per se. Since hes gotten to the Yankees, the one ring in 2009 -- I had higher hopes for him. -- Alexis Pacheo, also pictured Daniel Pacheo and Felix Torres, New YorkHe has, over the last two years, grown on me. And my guess is hell end up in the Marlins organization at one point as a coach or part-owner or whatever, I kind of see him down there. -- Ellen Katz, Greenburgh, New YorkI dont know any Yankee fan whos ever come in here, over 16 years old, who said A-Rod was their favorite player. -- Michael Rendino, New YorkYou get a lot of hate for being an A-Rod fan, I think, from just the last few years. But when youre a true A-Rod fan, you stick with him. -- Jordan Baade, Wahoo, NebraskaIm very old-fashioned. I liked when Babe Ruth was doing everything on hot dogs and beer. -- Jason Polito, New York ' ' '