d. Ichiro Suzuki hit a leadoff single, stole second and

RIO DE JANEIRO -- When 19-year-old American Yijun Feng played Spaniard Zhiwen Juanito He on Saturday, Feng entered the table tennis match with a slight but unusual advantage, despite being outranked and lacking comparable experience.Decades ago, He and Fengs 58-year-old coach, Massimo Constantini, were rivals.I used to get killed right away, Constantini said of his matches against the 54-year-old He, one of the oldest athletes in Rio de Janiero.All these years later, He still had it, handily beating Feng four games to two in the opening round of the Olympics.Experience matters in table tennis.Youthful strength, daring and stamina rule in many Olympic sports, but table tennis often rewards the deep experience that can only be won with hundreds of hours of practice and match-play. Older players thrive with a close, even devious attention to strategy, a determination to study and then exploit an opponents weaknesses and a gritty refusal to panic under extreme pressure.Run down the list of players at the Rio Olympics and youll see the proof. While there are 16 and 15-year-old phenoms in the lower levels, the top ranks are mostly in their late 20s and 30s; a fair number of qualifiers are in their 40s and even 50s.You need a lot of concentration, rather than a lot of physical strength in this sport, said 40-year-old Vladimir Samsonov, a former top-ranked player from Belarus. He is still in the top 10 and an outside medal contender in Rio.You definitely slow down after you hit 25, but experience counts for a lot in table tennis, Samsanov said.Older players can keep going because the game values skill and technique, according to Constantini, the U.S. coach and a former Olympian who played on the Italian national team until he was 37. He likens the game to a chess match.Table tennis is often as much mental as physical; older players are good at slowing the pace of the game to take away a younger opponents speed and power, forcing errors with spin and trickery, and encouraging lapses in concentration with frustrating defensive tactics.Older players have also benefited from a flurry of changes in recent years, including a bigger ball and games now played to 11 instead of 21 points. Theres also plenty of time to catch their breaths during and between games in the best-of-seven matches.Earlier Saturday, 53-year-old Ni Xia Lian from Luxemburg faced Brazils Caroline Kumahara, 21, and a massively partisan crowd which erupted in thunderous cheers for every Kumahara point. Ni kept calm and won a 4-3 thriller.When the pressure is high, at 10-10, and you can feel the stress, the mature player is much cooler. Its palpable, Constantini said. You can almost touch the feeling of calm because they have been there many, many times before.Samsonov, who is seeded seventh in Rio, no longer practices as many as eight hours a day, as he did in his 20s. He relies more on stretching and yoga, along with the knowledge that he has put in countless hours of practice over the years.And then theres Fengs opponent on Saturday, He.The left-handed Spaniard, who plays an old-school penhold style, is a master of the mental game, using his vast experience to deceive and fluster his opponents.Feng, ahead of the match, repeatedly called Hes style of play disgusting because its so unpredictable and so at odds with the attacking style of many young players today.In the end, Feng said the match came down to the Spaniards legendary serve, which, like that of many other older athletes, poses serious problems for younger players not used to such a wicked array of spin techniques.The Spaniard shrugged after the match when asked how he has been able to maintain his skills for so long.I take good care of myself, He said with a smile. I dont drink and I dont smoke.---Online:AP Summer Games website: http://summergames.ap.org/--Foster Klug, APs bureau chief in Seoul, South Korea, is covering table tennis and badminton in Rio. Follow him at www.twitter/apklug Greg Olsen Panthers Jersey . President of baseball operations Larry Beinfest was fired Friday after 12 years with the Marlins. The move came as the team neared the end of its third consecutive last-place season in the NL East. Sam Mills Womens Jersey . Marincin has played in two NHL games so far this season with two penalty minutes. The 21-year-old has three goals, four assists and a plus-5 rating in 24 games with the American Hockey Leagues Oklahoma City Barons this season. http://www.shoppanthersonline.us/panthers-donte-jackson-blue-jersey/ . Houston won 3-0 to advance to face New York in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Last in the game, Di Vaio and Romero got into a shoving match with several Houston players. Romero appeared to elbow and kick Houston defender Kofi Sarkodie. Ryan Kalil Jersey . -- Ken Appleby made 32 saves for his first shutout of the season to lead the Oshawa Generals to a 2-0 win over the Belleville Bulls on Wednesday in Ontario Hockey League action. Ryan Kalil Panthers Jersey .ca look back at each of the Top 10 stories of 2013. Today, we look back at Boston Strong - a citys recovery from tragedy.SAN DIEGO - If this is Everth Cabreras last weekend of the season, hes heading out on a strong note. Cabrera, facing a 50-game suspension in baseballs latest drug scandal, tied his career high with four hits and Logan Forsythe hit one of San Diegos three solo homers to lead the Padres to a 7-2 victory over CC Sabathia and the New York Yankees on Friday night. Cabrera, the Padres All-Star shortstop, is among 14 players facing discipline. Monday appears to be the deadline for the players to accept suspensions for their ties to the Biogenesis of America anti-aging clinic. "I cant say anything about that," Cabrera said. Cabrera had an RBI triple among his hits and scored a run. "That kind of game with four hits is special because we won the game," he said. "We have been better the last two weeks, competing a lot and everyone puts something to help the team to win the games. We have to keep doing this." The Yankees are playing for the first time at Petco Park, which opened in 2004. Prior to that, they took two of three against the Padres at Qualcomm Stadium from June 21-23, 2002. The Yankees also wrapped up their 1998 World Series sweep of the Padres at Qualcomm with victories in Games 3 and 4. Andrew Cashner (8-5) held the Yankees to two runs and seven hits in seven innings. He struck out two and walked none. "There were a lot of Yankees fans and Padres fans," Cashner said. "It was electric from the first pitch." Sabathia (9-10) is 0-4 in his last five starts. The left-hander allowed five runs and 11 hits in 5 2-3 innings, struck out four and walked three. Its the second-longest losing streak of his career, behind a five-game skid from July 6-30, 2005, while with Cleveland. The Yankees are fourth in the AL East, 8 1/2 games behind Boston, and are four games back in the wild-card race. "It obviously makes it more difficult," manager Joe Girardi said. "Thats the bottom line. We need him to be CC if were going to make a run." Sabathia agreed. "Im not saying that Im better than anybody else, but I feel like I need to be strong," he said. "Were battling, and Im not helping us. Ive expressed that. Weve been through a lot this year. And me not being able to help is killing us." Forsythes homer to left on a changeup from Sabathia put the Padres ahead 3-2 with one out in the fourth. It was his fourth. With two outs, a brain cramp by Sabathia led to another Padres run. Sabathia didnt cover firstt on Cashners grounder to first baseman Lyle Overbay, allowing him to reach on a single.dddddddddddd Cabrera then tripled to centre field to bring in Cashner and make it 4-2. Chris Denorfia singled with two outs in the sixth to chase Sabathia. The hit scored Nick Hundley, who drew a one-out walk and advanced on Cabreras single to centre. "The key today was our ability to lay off the low pitch," Padres manager Bud Black said. "Going in we wanted CC to get the ball up, especially the slider. And we laid off a lot of borderline low pitches. We had some very good opposite-field swings that resulted in singles. We put the pressure on him." Rookie Jedd Gyorko homered to straightaway centre off Joba Chamberlain with one out in the seventh, his ninth. It was Gyorkos sixth hit in 54 at-bats in 14 games since coming off the disabled list on July 12. Will Venable homered to right off Adam Warren with two outs in the eighth, his 13th. Sabathia was shaky from the start, allowing two singles and walking two in the first inning as San Diego took a 2-0 lead. Sabathia walked Jesus Guzman on four pitches to load the bases with one out and then walked Yonder Alonso on a 3-2 pitch to bring in Cabrera with the first run. Cabrera was aboard on a leadoff single. Gyorkos groundout brought in Chase Headley to make it 2-0. The Yankees tied it in the second. Ichiro Suzuki hit a leadoff single, stole second and scored on Eduardo Nunezs double down the right-field line. Nunez advanced on Chris Stewarts groundout and scored on Sabathias groundout. NOTES: Former Padres closer Trevor Hoffman presented retiring Yankees closer Mariano Rivera with a beach cruiser at home plate. Rivera has been honoured around the big leagues this year. "Im humbled. I definitely appreciate it," Rivera said before the game. The Padres also gave a beach cruiser to each member of Riveras family. ... Rivera and Hoffman are 1-2 on the career saves list. Rivera has 642 saves and Hoffman has 601. ... Rivera had three saves during the Yankees sweep of the Padres in the 1998 World Series, including a four-out save in the clincher at Qualcomm Stadium. ... Graig Nettles and Hall of Famer Dave Winfield, who each played for the Padres and Yankees, threw the ceremonial first pitches. ... Yankees OF Curtis Granderson was activated from his second stint on the DL this season. He started in LF and batted fifth. ... Cabrera has had four hits four times previously, most recently on May 15 at Baltimore. ' ' '