Dein erstes Forum » ay for a top-level North American pro sports

The irony would be delicious if it werent so frustrating for those who had hoped to watch Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber slug it out for the prestigious year-end WTA No. 1 ranking at the WTA Finals Singapore, which starts Sunday.Since Williams is?out of the picture with a shoulder injury, the substitute down-to-the-wire battle is the one between Svetlana Kuznetsova and Johanna Konta?for the eighth and final place in the WTA Finals singles field.The draw for the round-robin portion already has been made, with either Kuznetsova or Konta destined to join the White Group. Kuznetsova must successfully defend her Kremlin Cup title -- she has reached Sundays final in Moscow -- in order to inch ahead of Konta as the No. 8 qualifier.However it turns out, the opportunity offered by the WTA Finals is very different for each woman involved. In fact, analyzing the field on the basis of whats at stake is always a nice alternative to traditional bracketology, so lets go ahead with it:Red GroupWTA No. 1 Angelique Kerber (59-15 in singles, three titles): Kerbers main task after she won the Australian Open in January and declared that shed fulfilled a lifelong dream at age 28 was to demonstrate that realizing her goal didnt leave her sated. She then went 1-1 in two more Grand Slam finals and is guaranteed the year-end No. 1 ranking. So the short and sweet answer to Whats at stake? for Kerber is: nothing much. Kerber has played a lot of tennis this year, and her group includes two rally-and-retrieve specialists. Singapore has been disappointing for her; she is 2-7 in three appearances and has never survived the round-robin portion. Add it up, and its easy to see why she might just mail it in and accept accolades for a great year.No. 4 Simona Halep (44-16, three titles): She won as many titles as Kerber in 2016, and two of them (Montreal and Madrid) were high-value tournaments. But the 25-year old Romanian has yet to win a major or establish herself as a true elite, which tells us much about Haleps ongoing struggle with confidence in big moments at big events. A French Open finalist in 2014, she hasnt done anything comparable since. In 2014 in Singapore, Halep crushed No. 1 Serena Williams 6-0, 6-2 in round-robin play but then lost to Williams by a nearly identical score in the final. A win in Singapore may not resonate as powerfully as a triumph at a Grand Slam event, but it would be a start.No. 7 Madison Keys (46-15, one title): Just 21, Keys is a debutante at the WTA Finals. A decent performance (reaching the knockout semifinals) in Singapore would cap a year of solid progress and set Keys up nicely for 2017. But with a win or a runner-up finish, she would be telling the world that shes ready to make a big push to occupy the vacuum that Serena Williams is bound to leave eventually. Its especially important for Keys American audience.No. 8 Dominika Cibulkova (50-19, three titles): Cibulkova lost the Australian Open final to Li Na in 2014. The 5-foot-3, 27-year-old dynamo from Bratislava, Slovakia, tailed off after that high point, but she has rebounded beautifully in 2016. Shes won as many titles in 2016 as anyone in the field, even though her year was interrupted in midsummer by the pleasant distraction of her wedding. A good showing in Singapore would leave Cibulkova in a position to earn a high seed and make another run at a major final in Melbourne.White GroupNo. 3 Agnieszka Radwanska (51-16, three titles): Shes the defending champion in Singapore, but shes also the first (and only) champion who hoisted the trophy despite having won just one round-robin match. Thats an asterisk Radwanska could wipe away if she has another great tournament, making it to the final or better. An excellent tournament also will make it easier for the former Wimbledon finalist to hang around near the top, awaiting her opportunity for another shot at Grand Slam glory -- especially if Serena Williams is out of the picture.No. 5 Karolina Pliskova (42-20, two titles): She knocked out Venus and Serena Williams en route to the US Open final, which made Pliskova the talk of the town even after she lost the championship match to Kerber. Pliskovas game suffered after those outstanding achievements. The 6-foot-1, 24-year-old Czech needs to show that she didnt just have a career fortnight with that big serve and first-strike forehand. Pliskova could be Madison Keys generational rival. A great way to move toward that would be for both women to make the semis.No. 6 Garbine Muguruza (34-18, one title): The fact that the only title Muguruza won this year was a Grand Slam (the French Open) tells you much about the 23-year-old Spanish pro. Despite her previous experience as a Grand Slam finalist (she lost the 2015 Wimbledon final to Serena Williams), she doesnt seem capable of focusing and playing calm, determined tennis on a day-to-day basis. She salvaged a poor fall last year by making the semis in Singapore and finds herself in the same position this year. Her reputation as a competitor would benefit from a strong showing.In contention for final spot in White GroupNo. 9 Svetlana Kuznetsova (*39-20, one title): The free-spirited, philosophical Russian has two Grand Slam titles. Her motivation and confidence have always fluctuated, but at 31 she seems to be in the midst of a late-career surge and enjoying every moment of it. The payoff for her would be vindication in what might be a farewell tour.* Kuznetsova stats dont include in-progress Kremlin Cup.No. 10 Johanna Konta (44-21, one title): Even if she is nudged out on the final day of the regular WTA Tour season by Kuznetsova, Konta has been a revelation. The aggressive 25-year-old newcomer to the WTA top 10 was ranked No. 150 at the end of 2014. Now shes the first female British player to make the top 10 in over 30 years. Shes living the dream, and the only thing at stake for her is validation of her new status. Custom Tampa Bay Rays Nike Jerseys . Halifax beat the Saint John Sea Dogs 7-5 on the strength of two goals apiece from Nikolaj Ehlers, Matt Murphy and Brent Andrews. Jonathan Drouin also scored and had three assists while Zachary Fucale made 17 saves for the Mooseheads (16-8-0), who led 6-1 after two periods. Custom New York Yankees Nike Jerseys .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. https://www.custombaseballnikejerseys.com/ . The recently retired Stern was elected Friday to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and will be enshrined with the class of 2014 on Aug. Custom Minnesota Twins Nike Jerseys .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high seven games when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for Sundays clash at Rexall Place. Custom Miami Marlins Nike Jerseys .Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner.MONTREAL -- Fresh from a big CONCACAF Champions League win, the Montreal Impact hope to carry that momentum into an important Major League Soccer matchup in Chicago. Newcomer Hernan Bernardello was strong in his Impact debut as Montreal beat the San Jose Earthquakes 1-0 on Wednesday night at Saputo Stadium in their first Champions League game in five years. The Impact, however, have just one win in their last seven MLS games, including a 3-1 loss in Washington, D.C., last Saturday. Now that Montreal is on the right track in the tournaments group stage, midfielder Patrice Bernier hopes that solid effort will continue against the Fire on Saturday night. "Its a boost for the teams morale and confidence," Bernier said. "It was a solid game and we needed to get back to basics and now we have that good base to attack the MLS every game. All of the games count all the time but now that the standings are so tight we know that we have to get our points." Those points have been hard to come by lately for the Impact. Montreal has six points in its last seven games (1-3-3), three of those coming in a 1-0 win over Sporting Kansas City on July 27 when substitute Blake Smith scored in stoppage time. The skid has dropped the Impact out of the Eastern Conference lead to third place, with a 10-6-5 mark and 35 points in 21 games. Montreal trails first-place New York by three points and second-place Kansas City by one, but the Impact hold two games in hand on both teams. "Were going to Chicago, a team thats playing well and they have the offensive abilities that make the difference so were heading there with clear heads and ready to attack and come out of there with as many points as possible," Bernier said. The Fire, who have also played 21 games, have climbed to seventh in the East after struggling to a 2-7-1 start that included a 2-0 loss in Montreal on Apr. 27. In contrast to the Impact, Chicago enters riding a hot streak in MLS play but is coming off a disappointing loss Wednesdday night.dddddddddddd The Fire were eliminated from the U.S. Open Cup following a 2-0 semifinal loss to D.C. United at Toyota Park. "I think at this point theyre a different team, were a different team," Fire assistant coach Mike Matkovich said. "Theyre in the same boat as us so its just going to be a matter of digging down deep and getting through this game and weve got to find a way to get points. Chicagos season turned around after they acquired Mike Magee from Los Angeles on May 24. "Theyve started slow this year but theyre a talented team," said Impact forward Justin Mapp, who played for the Fire from 2003-10. "I know some of their players and the addition of Mike Magee certainly helped them and theyve kind of caught their stride. Theyve had a number of good results in the last number of games. Its a tough place to play." Magee, who leads the MLS with 14 goals, came to Chicago in the trade that sent the rights to Robbie Rogers to the Galaxy. Rogers became the first openly gay man to play for a top-level North American pro sports team when he made his L.A. debut on May 27. While that milestone made headlines, the Fires acquisition of Magee paid immediate dividends. He has scored eight goals in 10 league games with Chicago, including each one in each of his last three games. The Fire are undefeated over that stretch with two wins and a draw, including a 2-1 win in Philadelphia. Chicago is coming off the U.S. Open Cup loss though, and midfielder Logan Pause is not putting a lot of stock into the Impacts recent MLS struggles. "Theyre a dangerous team," Pause said. "They won the Canadian championship and theyre playing in CONCACAF. Theyre a good team from Di Vaio all the way down. "Theyve got a lot of experience, a lot of seasoned veterans and were looking to pay them back after a tough result we faced in Montreal earlier in the year. And of course theyre a conference opponent that were trying to catch in the table." ' ' '