News » 23-year-old is coming

METZ, France - Sixth-seeded Joao Sousa of Portugal rallied to win 7-6 (6), 6-2 against second-seeded Gael Monfils and reach the Moselle Open final, where he faces eighth-seeded David Goffin of Belgium.Goffin, who eliminated top-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarters, beat Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany 7-6 (4), 6-3 in the other semifinal on Saturday.Sousa trailed 4-2 against Monfils, who blew two match points before losing to Roger Federer in the U.S. Open quarterfinals this month, but clawed his way back into the match and saved eight of the nine break points he faced. Monfils, the 2009 champion, had 13 aces but quickly fell 3-0 down in the second set.Both finalists will go for their second career titles on Sunday, and play each other for the second time. Goffin dropped only six games when he beat Sousa in the second round of the U.S. Open three weeks ago.Sousa, ranked 39th, won on indoor hard courts at Kuala Lumpur last year, while 45th-ranked Goffins only title was on outdoor clay in Kitzbuehel, Austria, in August.In a match for servers, Goffin edged Struff 14-12 in aces and won 85 per cent of his first-serve points. After trading breaks in the first set, Goffin saved three break points on his serve in the second set and took his only opportunity on Struffs serve.The 61st-ranked Struff has lost his three semifinals this season. Nike Air Max Danmark Billig .J. -- While Martin Brodeur wasnt willing to say he stole one for the New Jersey Devils against the Columbus Blue Jackets, almost everyone else was. Nike Air Max Tilbud . The Mavericks were not going to let San Antonio beat them with 3-pointers, and they did not want Tony Parker using the lane as his personal playground. http://www.airmaxdanmark.com/ . - Henrik Samuelsson and Curtis Lazar each had two goals and two assists as the Edmonton Oil Kings secured top spot in the Eastern Conference by defeating the host Red Deer Rebels 7-4 on Saturday in Western Hockey League action. Air Max Outlet Danmark . -- Michigan coach John Beilein is willing to give Nik Stauskas a little leeway when it comes to shot selection. Nike Air Max Udsalg . Compared to what hes gone through in recent weeks, that seemed like a breeze. Speaking to The Associated Press on Friday at an NBA Cares event, Silver said hes thrilled that the leagues attention can be on the championship series between the Miami Heat and San Antonio Spurs -- and not, as it was for so much of the post-season, on the off-the-court matters involving the banishment of Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling and now the looming sale of that franchise.ARLINGTON, Texas – Drew Hutchison doesnt dwell when things go poorly, so it should come as no surprise that he isnt basking in the afterglow of his first career major league complete game and shutout. If he is, he isnt showing it. "For the most part its just go out there and compete," Hutchison told TSN.ca. "Thats what I love to do, naturally, is compete. Go against other guys and win." The 23-year-old is coming into his own, navigating through the ups and downs of what he hopes will be his first full season with the Blue Jays. His performance on Friday night was just his second win of the year but a closer look at the statistics suggests Hutchison has been one of the clubs most reliable pitchers. With the nine scoreless innings, his ERA dropped from 4.37 to 3.64. His Fielding Independent Pitching statistic (FIP), which calculates a more accurate portrait of a pitchers ERA based on factors only he can control, dropped from 3.14 to 2.96. "Whatever point you want to make you can twist them and contort them to back you up kind of thing," said Hutchison of statistical analysis. "Good or bad, either way. They are just kind of what they are but if you do all the other things and work hard and compete I feel like everything else falls in line." But his FIP suggests he deserves more than his two wins and has been better than his ERA, which itself is more than respectable. Sometimes games, or certain innings, take on a particular feel. A pitcher gets into trouble and before the damage is done, you can sense it unraveling. With Hutchison that isnt the case. There have been nights when hes struggled, including his second-to-last start against the Angels when he walked four and allowed three runs in 4 1/3 innings, but Hutchisons body language always portrays control. "I take a lot of pride in that," said Hutchison. "Sometimes youre just not going to have it. A big focus for me is what separates guys from being good, mediocre and great. It seems like you can watch a great pitcher and you can see they dont have it but they still go eight innings and sometimes they have better nights when they have their best stuff. That to me is something I want to get to that point where I can do that." "Hes got a good arm but hes a pitcher, too, hes not just out there throwing," said manager John Gibbons. "Guys like that, theyre one pitch away from getting out of something. Its the guys who are just rearing back and dont know where its going all the time, those are the guys who are really vulnerable." Hutchison cant remember when he first picked up a baseball. He was pitching by the time he was seven years old but, then again, so are a lot of kids who take turns on the mound between playing different positions. "I just always loved baseball since I was real young," said Hutchison. "Just always just drawn to it." Hutchison, born in 1990 in Lakeland, Florida, started out as a fan of the Atlanta Braves.dddddddddddd Who could blame him? The Braves had great teams in the mid-to-late 1990s and the future hurler was drawn to the work of Greg Maddux, John Smoltz and Tom Glavine as he watched games on TBS. He counts Craig Biggio, Pedro Martinez and Chipper Jones as players he looked up to in his youth. Hutchison, like most big leaguers, excelled at the game from an early age but he has a distinct memory of when he believed he could carve out a career in baseball. "I always believed I could but I think it kind of sank in that I actually had a shot probably in high school," said Hutchison. "I saw some guys who were older than me from our high school get drafted to good Division I colleges and things like that so I knew it was a possibility. I would say the summer before my senior year I really knew, hey, you actually have a chance." Fastball command is the name of Hutchisons game. He can hoof it up there at 94, 95 miles per hour but his career average fastball velocity is 91.7 miles per hour. He has to locate consistently or hell get hit. He was at it on Friday night, throwing first pitch strikes to 21 of 30 Rangers hitters. "I think theres definitely, some of its what youre born with, God given," said Hutchison of his ability to paint the corners. "At the same time you dont just walk out there and throw strikes. You can struggle like anybody else on any given day. Ive always had a good feel for it. Its just kind of how its been." Hutchisons gone at least eight innings in two of his last three starts. On May 6 in Philadelphia, Hutchison had a 5-0 lead headed to the sixth. He coughed it up, capped by a Cody Asche grand slam that followed a two out walk, but because hed pitched efficiently he was able to go back out for the seventh and eighth. He worked three up, three down innings in both. The Blue Jays would win 6-5 in 10 innings. "Those are the type of games, you have to do that for your team," said Hutchison. "To suck up the innings and bounce back and show youve moved on. Once things have happened it doesnt do you any good to think about it. You can only continue to grind and try to get through it. "Games like that, they suck," he continued. "The fact that you went up and you gave up a five-run lead, which is something that should never, ever happen. Especially that late in the game, you should never even let it get to that point but once you do you have to do that." What about goals, aside from the obvious? A 20-win season? "See thats another thing, so much of thats out of your control," said Hutchison. "For me, number one, obviously, is just to stay healthy just because of what happened in the past. In my head I know Im fine. Its not even an issue." Anything else? "I have my goals but theyre something thats just me," said Hutchison. "I dont really get into it with anybody. People would think Im crazy." Cheap Throwback Baseball Detroit Tigers Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Colorado Rockies Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Houston Astros Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Kansas City Royals Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Los Angeles Angels Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Los Angeles Dodgers Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Miami Marlins Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Milwaukee Brewers Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Minnesota Twins Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball New York Mets Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball New York Yankees Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Oakland Athletics Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Philadelphia Phillies Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Pittsburgh Pirates Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball San Diego Padres Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball San Francisco Giants Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Seattle Mariners Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball St. Louis Cardinals Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Tampa Bay Rays Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Texas Rangers Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Toronto Blue Jays Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Washington Nationals Jerseys ' ' '