alf but was down only one with less than three minutes remaining.Baylor did a good job in the first half of throwing the ball inside and putting us on our heels

CHICAGO -- While the Chicago Cubs were waiting to find out if they would play the New York Mets or San Francisco Giants in the NL Division Series, Addison Russell thought about the experience he gained in last years playoffs.It was invaluable, even if an injury cut it short.Its pretty important, Russell said Wednesday. I kind of got to see the atmosphere a little bit, especially in that wild-card game and the first games against the Cardinals as well. I got that experience in my back pocket. Hopefully, this first series against whoever it may be, positive, and amped up as well.The Cubs created a buzz in the North Side of Chicago by rolling to a major league-leading 103 wins. Long-suffering fans are hoping for their first title since 1908, and the atmosphere at Wrigley Field figures to be charged when the Division Series opens Friday night.Victories are tougher to come by in October than in May or June, though. Chicagos track record and talent only count for so much in five- or seven-game series.It has to do with good fortune, general manager Jed Hoyer said. That doesnt mean the team that gets there is lucky. Youre going to have to have some breaks along the way.The Cubs won more games than they had since 1910, with one of the deepest lineups and pitching staffs in the game.They boast two NL MVP candidates in Kris Bryant and Anthony Rizzo and a pair of Cy Young Award contenders in Jon Lester and Kyle Hendricks to go with last years winner in Jake Arrieta.They also have a 22-year-old in Russell who emerged as one of the best all-around shortstops in baseball. The NL All-Star is a strong candidate for the Gold Glove and a key contributor at the plate. And he comes into these playoffs looking to stick around until the end after showing some flashes in a run last year that ended with an injury.Russell broke up a no-hit bid by St. Louis John Lackey with a single in the sixth inning of the opener of the NL Division Series. But he pulled his left hamstring sliding into third with a triple in Game 3 against the Cardinals and did not play again.The Cubs were then swept by the Mets in the NLCS, but they came back better this year and so did Russell. He hit 21 homers and drove in 95 runs -- second among major league shortstops -- to go with some spectacular play in the field.Im a little bit more familiar with these guys, Russell said. Ive been playing on this surface for a little bit longer so that makes everything a little bit more comfortable for me.Russell was initially drafted by the Oakland Athletics with the 11th pick in the 2012 draft and appeared to be on a path to becoming their long-term shortstop. But that changed two years ago.With one of the best teams in the majors, Oakland sent Russell to the Cubs in a multiplayer deal for pitchers Jeff Samardzija and Jason Hammel.That trade turned some heads in Chicago since they already had one young shortstop in Starlin Castro and another in the system in Javier Baez. But it worked out well.Russell supplanted Castro as the everyday shortstop down the stretch last season after playing second base. That allowed the Cubs to trade Castro to the New York Yankees in the offseason and helped pave the way for Baez to become a super utility player.Now, the Cubs have their sights set on the biggest prize of all. And Russell is a reason why. Lloyd Neal Jersey .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. Wesley Matthews Jersey .5 seconds to play in the game, Kevin Love never stopped believing that they would come out of there with a win. https://www.cheapblazersonline.com/478i-jim-paxson-jersey-blazers.html . PETERSBURG, Fla. Anthony Tolliver Jersey . Schenn scored the game-winning goal and added two assists to lead the Philadelphia Flyers to a 4-1 win over the Calgary Flames at the Scotiabank Saddledome on Tuesday. Bill Walton Jersey . The Montreal Canadiens announced on Friday that the veteran forward will return to the teams line-up on Saturday night when the Habs visit the Nashville Predators. EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Miles Bridges provided a glimpse on Friday of what he can do when he gets rolling offensively. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo would like to see his team feed the ball to his freshman phenom more often.Bridges converted all but one of his 11 shots in the first half of a 100-53 victory over Mississippi Valley State. He scored only three points after halftime but finished the game with 24 points, 11 rebounds and six assists.Izzo wants to see the Spartans rely consistently on the talents of the 6-foot-7 Bridges, rather than take 28 3-point shots, as it did on Friday.They will get another chance on Sunday when the No. 13 Spartans host Florida Gulf Coast.I am not looking for that at all, Izzo said of the 3-point shots. Im really looking to get the ball to Miles inside a little more.Bridges bounced back from a six-point, nine-turnover performance against No. 2 Kentucky earlier in the week.He became more of a normal human being at the start of the second half, Izzo said. I like him abnormal, personally. And thats what I told him at the end. We just gotta keep that fire.But he was never lazy, maybe the competitiveness, the want to win games, is there. But the competitiveness, the want to score or rebound, make assists, be aggressive, I thought dropped off a little bit in the second half.Although Izzo wants to pound the ball inside, the Spartans top perimeter threats regained their strokes. Senior Eron Harris and sophomore Matt McQuaid drained five 3-pointers apiece against the Delta Devils.The Spartans (1-2) need to get in a groove with three upcoming games from Wednesday through Friday at the Battle 4 Atlantis tournamentt in the Bahamas.dddddddddddd.Were ready to go into the next game, Harris said. Were feeling good right now. We need to get back-to-back wins so we can go into the Bahamas feeling good.Everything happened for us (Friday), but we still can improve. We still need to play better defense, we need to rebound the ball, and we need to take care of the ball a little better, too.The Eagles (1-2) figure to offer more resistance to the Spartans than winless Mississippi Valley. They gave Baylor a tough battle on Friday, losing on the road 81-72.Florida Gulf Coast trailed by 10 at the half but was down only one with less than three minutes remaining.Baylor did a good job in the first half of throwing the ball inside and putting us on our heels, Eagles coach Joe Dooley said. A lot of those buckets that they got -- and the reason they shot such a high percentage -- was because we turned over too many live-ball situations.Guard Brandon Goodwin, who leads the club with a 20.0 average, had a team-high 22 points against the Bears and guard Zach Johnson (15.7 average per game) added 17.The Eagles have been playing without their top returning scorer and rebounder, Marc-Eddy Norelia, who is recovering from a broken left hand.Baylor still needed a late 9-0 run to put them away, which should put the Spartans on notice.We regrouped in the second half and had our defense a little bit more situated, Dooley said. We got into a better offensive flow. At the end, they made some plays and picked up a couple loose balls under the basket. ' ' '