ERST LESEN! » this season for Goldson. He was fined

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Theres one team that has lived up to high expectations -- even surpassed them -- at the Rio Games in mens basketball.Its the one with a roster loaded with skilled and experienced NBA players, an overall No. 1 draft pick, a backcourt featuring two guards with championship rings and a strong belief it can capture gold in Brazil.The favored U.S. team, to this point unbeaten but shockingly underwhelming, had better be careful.Australia just might win it all.Bonded by a deep commitment to the national team and each other, the Aussies have been the most impressive team in this tournament, which many expected to be dominated by Team USAs super-squad trying to win a third straight title. However, Australia, seeking its first Olympic medal with a program aided by players developing their games on college teams in the U.S., is focused on ending Americas run.No disrespect to the U.S., but we dont want to go into an Olympics aiming for second or fourth, center Andrew Bogut said after the Aussies put a fright into the Americans in group play before losing 98-88. We have a goal of being first.In some hoop circles, Australias performance has been a surprise. Not to the Americans.They play aggressive, said U.S. forward DeMar DeRozan. They execute extremely well, and thats a team thats been playing together for a while.International basketball observers have seen this Australian ascension coming.With Bogut, the 7-footer selected first by Milwaukee in the 2005 draft and four other players currently on NBA rosters, the Aussies, as fans in the U.S. have learned, play with a street-tough tenacity. Add in that guards Patty Mills and Matthew Dellavedova, and big man Aron Baynes have won league titles, and its no wonder the team from Down Under is on the way up.Its been rising for a while, said Australian assistant coach Luc Longley, who played on three Olympic teams and won three championships with the Chicago Bulls. I dont think this is a flash in the pan.It shouldnt be. Australia, which has finished fourth three times and will play Lithuania in Wednesdays first quarterfinal, has depth. Missing from the 2016 Rio team are forward Ben Simmons, the former LSU star picked first in this years draft by the Philadelphia 76ers, and Thon Maker, selected No. 10 by the Bucks. Also, Utahs Dante Exum was unable to play while recovering from a torn ACL suffered with the national team last summer.Three-time Olympian Joe Ingles, who has spent the past two seasons with the Jazz, sees bright days ahead for Australia.Were not all 18 years old anymore, but weve been together a long time and obviously with Ben and Thon and Dante and all these kids coming through. Dellys still young, weve still got a pretty young group -- apart from David, the forward said, referring to 36-year-old center David Andersen. But the rest of us are all 28 and under. I think we can sustain it for a little while, and the junior development of what we have in Australia is really good and we can continue to produce good players.Theres something else about the Boomers, as theyre known back home. They are a close-knit group, which grew tighter last year when Mills organized a team trip to Uluru, the iconic rock formation in central Australia considered sacred by the indigenous Aboriginals.The experience was life-changing for Mills, who has Aboriginal roots. He said the time spent together helped the Aussies better appreciate what it means to play for their homeland.Just to get to know everyone on the team and the meaning behind doing that was to find that deeper meaning of why we play for Australia and why we represent our country, said Mills, who has been with the San Antonio Spurs since 2011. I think everyone found that individually and as a team as well.As a reminder, the Australian team has a banner from its trip to Uluru hanging in the athletes village in Rio.To five-time Australian Olympic guard Andrew Gaze, the possibility of the Aussies stepping up onto the medal podium in the next few days, isnt all that surprising. Gaze has been impressed with this Australian groups resolve and its ability to crystallize in a short period.The flag bearer for his country at the 2000 Games, Gaze, who remains the second-leading scorer in Olympic history, was a win from a bronze in 1988 but ran into a U.S. team smarting from a loss to the Soviet Union.The Aussies came up short again eight years later in Atlanta, losing to Lithuania, which beat them again at Sydney.Weve been knocking on the door for a long, long time, Gaze said.If the green-and-gold can get to the gold-medal game, the U.S. could be waiting.Were not intimidated, Ingles said following the teams matchup in the preliminary round. Were not scared of anyone. We hope we can get another crack at them.Albert Pujols Angels Jersey . MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez also will attend the session, which was announced Monday. The league has discussed placing its next two expansion teams in Miami and Atlanta. Kole Calhoun Jersey . Belfort (24-10) needed just 77 seconds to down Henderson in the headlining bout of Saturdays "UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson" event at Goiania Arena in Goiania, Brazil. The fight served as a rematch of the pairs 2006 meeting, which Henderson won by decision. http://www.baseballangelslockroom.com/darin-erstad-angels-jersey/ . Ibaka equaled a career high with 20 rebounds, adding four blocked shots and 15 points as the Thunder smothered the Milwaukee Bucks offence in a 92-79 victory Saturday night. Los Angeles Angels Jerseys . Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shootout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night. CJ Wilson Jersey . Louis Rams wide receiver Stedman Bailey last Sunday. The fine is the fourth this season for Goldson. He was fined $30,000 for a hit on the New York Jets Jeff Cumberland in Week 1.MISSOULA, Mont. -- Walter Wright came off the bench to score 19 points and dish seven assists to lead Montana to an 81-62 win over San Jose State on Wednesday night.Michael Oguine added 16 points and seven rebounds for the Grizzlies (3-6), who won their second straight. Jack Lopez hit four 3-pointers for 15 points, Ahmaad Rorie had 13 and Fabijan Krslovic had 11 points and 13 rebounds.Montana led 46-30 at the half, making its last eight shots to shoot 64 percent (16 of 25) while San Jose had to finnish 5 of 7 from the field to reach 35 percent (9 of 26).dddddddddddd The Grizzlies also made 13 of 14 free throws.The Spartans (4-4) closed within six twice, the last on a tip-in by Brandon Clarke, who had a team-high 11 points, with 6:57 to play. Shortly after that the Grizzlies reeled off nine-straight thanks to back-to-back 3s from Lopez to lead by 16 with 3:16 left. ' ' '