CHICAGO -- Like too many ballplayers with interesting and sometimes controversial pasts, Aroldis Chapman would prefer that his game do the talking. If so, its always going to be a short conversation.Chapmans game involves throwing 100-plus-mph fastballs past hitters, rarely for more than an inning. Thats it. In Chicagos 5-2 win Saturday night against the Giants, 12 of the 16 pitches he threw registered three digits on the radar gun. What was rare is that at the end of an eventful week, the Cubs expensive new closer -- via Cuba, Cincinnati and finally New York -- stood still long enough to field a handful of questions.I love the responsibility. I love that it falls on my shoulders, Chapman said through a translator after closing out both of Chicagos NL Division Series wins at Wrigley Field to pick up his first two postseason saves. Yet a city desperate to break a century-and-counting World Series drought is already counting on even more.The pressure is on, but I can handle that. I understand the city and the fans are up and hyped up, Chapman added, but thats fine, too.To describe Chapmans arrival in July as rough does not do it justice.He came in a trade with the Yankees barely two months after serving a 30-game suspension as the first violator of MLBs new domestic violence policy. He was accused of choking his girlfriend and then firing a gun during an argument late last year in his Florida home, though charges were never filed.Making matters worse, his welcome-to-town news conference was a disaster. Theo Epstein, the Cubs popular president of baseball operations, went to great lengths to explain that the front office made clear the importance of his off-field behavior. Chapman said that was news to him. If so, it didnt affect his reception in the clubhouse.You notice when guys fit in, said backup catcher David Ross, the Cubs unofficial clubhouse judge. With him it was seamless. He doesnt speak great English, but hes always smiling. He made friends quick.It didnt hurt, of course, that Chapman posted 16 saves in 18 opportunities, with a 1.01 ERA heading into the postseason. Or that he averaged -- yes, averaged -- a pitch speed of 101 mph.Asked what impressed him most, Ross said: Other than his velocity? ... Hes got a calming presence. Moments never get too big for him, which calms everybody else down.Everybody on Chapmans side, anyway. When it comes to opposing pitchers, not so much.He has that mentality, fellow Cubs closer Hector Rondon said. Were in the same role, but hes different from me. Me, I dont care where anybody else is looking, Im focusing only on home plate.Aroldis, he looks at the hitter, Rondon added, like hes showing who is in charge.Chapman comes by that toughness honestly. Hes the son of a boxing coach who didnt take up baseball until he was 13. But he was selected to Cubas vaunted national team at age 17 and was a bona fide star soon after, thanks to a breakout performance at the 2007 Pan Am Games. A year later, he made his first attempt to defect.The Chicago Tribune reported last week that after Chapman was caught trying to escape, he cooperated with the Cuban government in the prosecutions of four men accused of offering to smuggle him out. All four were convicted of human trafficking and sent to prison; two alleged in a 2013 lawsuit that Chapman was an informant for Fidel Castro and should be held responsible for their torture while in prison.The newspaper also said Chapmans cooperation allowed him to return quickly to the national team. In the summer of 2009, while in Netherlands for a game, he took advantage of that reprieve and defected. Chapman hasnt addressed the newspapers report, but he told The New York Times earlier this year he isnt interested in rehashing the past.That likely includes Game 2 of the 2010 NLDS, when Chapman allowed 3 runs -- all unearned, thanks to miscues by the Reds outfielders -- against the Phillies in what turned out to be a three-game sweep. Ditto for the skull fracture he suffered after being struck by a line drive in a March 2014 spring training game against the Royals.Few things serve a closer better than a short memory. Chapman checks that box, too. Big as the moments he experienced this weekend and in postseasons past may have seemed, he cant wait to find out whats next.In Cincinnati, maybe the crowds werent the same, Chapman said finally. But already, I love this.---Jim Litke is a sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke(at)ap.org and at https://Twitter.com/JimLitke .Gianluigi Buffon Paris Saint-Germain Jersey . 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Kevin Rimane Jersey .J. -- New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his left knee.The Wallabies might be in a rut but it is folly to expect a side filled with world class players to be struggling for much longer, Springboks assistant coach Mzwandile Stick says.Australia and South Africa are in similar situations ahead of Saturdays Rugby Championship Test at Suncorp Stadium with both teams under huge pressure to account for recent poor displays and show improvement.The tourists will have few better chances to knock off the Wallabies in Brisbane as they look to turn around a worrying six-game losing streak and placate a frenzied Australian rugby community.But the Springboks are dealing with their own crisis of confidence after a hollow defeat to Argentina in Salta that has scribes in South Africa pondering if theyll ever be a powerhouse nation again.At the moment we know one thing for sure, theyre hurting like we are, Stick said.Theyre playing at home, theyve got a lot of pride when it comes to their jersey.Looking at the type of players youve got, you can never underestimate them.Israel Folau, Quade Cooper and Will Genia are world class.On ttheir day, if those guys click together and play as a team, they can be dangerous.ddddddddddddCentre Juan de Jong says the week-long break between rounds in the Rugby Championship has given the Springboks the chance to take stock and figure out precisely where they need to lift.Their position is perhaps quite not as perilous as Australias, having lost just twice since the World Cup - in a series opener against Ireland earlier this year, and the 26-24 result to the Pumas, which was decided by a late Santiago Gonzalez Iglesais penalty.Whatever happened in Argentina is behind us now, said de Jong, who was part of the bronze medal-winning South African sevens team at the Rio Olympics.Weve had a week off to clear our minds a bit.For us its more important to focus on the small little things and making sure we rectify all the mistakes we did in Salta.You cant leave the game to the last minute, we have to sharpen up and have a good start. 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