Pirate Galaxy » Cornerback Tedrick Thompson has four of

WASHINGTON -- After playing doubles past midnight and getting to sleep at about 3 a.m. on Wednesday, Steve Johnson was less than thrilled to be playing in the first Citi Open mens match in the main stadium at 4 p.m. Thursday.Still, showing the sort of progress that has lifted his ranking to a career-high 25th, Johnson played quality, first-strike tennis and ended qualifier Ryan Harrisons season-best run by winning the all-American matchup 6-4, 6-4 to reach the hard-court tournaments quarterfinals.I was lucky enough to be on the schedule first today. Just good turnaround, the fifth-seeded Johnson said, his words thick with sarcasm. Got a few hours of sleep. Just get back up. Thats life. Hopefully the ATP and those guys dont do that much anymore, because I dont think its fair. Its up to those guys. Theyve got to do what theyve got to do.Tournament director Jeff Newman said the scheduling was affected by rain that washed out play earlier in the week, and court assignments are based on various factors such as a television perspective, a fan perspective, how the draws are matched up.Every player wants to play in a certain position. You try to take feedback and weigh it all, Newman said. Some players will be happy; some people would prefer other spots.Johnson, a member of the U.S. Olympic team headed to Rio de Janeiro next month, broke Harrison once in each set. Johnson didnt face a break point himself and ended the match with a 130 mph ace.A two-time NCAA singles champion in 2011 and 2012, and a member of Southern California teams that won four consecutive national titles, Johnson earned his first ATP trophy at Nottingham, England, last month, then backed that up by making his fourth-round debut at a Grand Slam tournament at Wimbledon.I knew I was capable always of winning a title -- and, hopefully, multiple titles, Johnson said. Once you win it, then you know what it feels like, you know what its like to be serving for a title. You get to those situations a little bit more and you just hopefully become more comfortable.On Friday, Johnson will face top-seeded John Isner, who hit serves up to 143 mph and produced 16 aces in a 7-6 (3), 6-2 victory over No. 15 Marcos Baghdatis. This will be the third year in a row that Johnson and Isner meet in Washington. Johnson won in 2014 and Isner did in 2015, both decided by a third-set tiebreaker.Hell tell you this much: He was playing pretty poorly the first five months of the year. Wasnt getting much going. But he turned the corner [in June], Isner said. Hes carried that confidence over to here. Hes just like anyone else: When he gets confidence on his side, he starts going for his shots and his shots start finding the right spots.Also Thursday, No. 2-seeded Gael Monfils overwhelmed No. 16 Borna Coric 6-2, 6-3; No. 13 Ivo Karlovic hit 21 aces and eliminated No. 3 Bernard Tomic 7-6 (4), 6-3; No. 6 Jack Sock beat Dan Evans 6-1, 7-5; No. 7 Alexander Zverev got past Malek Jaziri 6-2, 5-7, 6-2; and No. 8 Sam Querrey took the last five games in a 7-6 (5), 6-3 victory over 2012 champion Alexandr Dolgopolov.In womens action, third-seeded Monica Puig lost to Lauren Davis 6-4, 6-2; fourth-seeded Kristina Mladenovic beat 2013 Wimbledon runner-up Sabine Lisicki 6-3, 6-3;?Risa Ozaki edged Naomi Broady 6-1, 5-7, 6-4; and Camila Giorgi advanced when Tamira Paszek withdrew before their match because of an upper respiratory infection. NFL Jerseys For Sale . Now, with Game 6 set for Fenway Park and an 8:07 p.m. ET first pitch, the Detroit Tigers face the unenviable task of having to beat the Boston Red Sox twice, on the road, to advance to the World Series. Wholesale Jerseys From China . -- Jaye Marie Green shot a 4-under 68 on Thursday to increase her lead to five strokes after the second round of the LPGA Tours qualifying tournament. http://www.wholesalechinajerseysforcheap.com/ . Mitch Holmberg added a goal and three assists. Connor Chartier also scored for the Chiefs (3-0-0). Luke Harrison spoiled Garrett Hughsons shutout bid with a power-play goal at 13:17 of the third period. The Spokane goaltender finished with 28 saves, including a Brandon Fushimi penalty shot in the second period that would have tied the game 1-1. Cheap China Jerseys . -- Claudio Bieler hadnt scored since early September, and not from the run of play since mid-July. Wholesale Authentic NBA Jerseys . Scott won the Australian PGA last week in his first event in Australia since winning the U.S. Masters in April. American Matt Kuchar, ahead by two strokes with four to play and even with Scott with one to go, double-bogeyed the 18th after taking two shots to get out of a bunker. Colorado controls its destiny in the Pac-12 South Division.?? After Utah lost to Washington while the Buffaloes enjoyed a bye week, 21st-ranked Colorado (6-2, 4-1) is alone in first place in the South heading into Thursday nights home game against UCLA, starting at 9 p.m. ET.UCLA (3-5, 1-4) was the preseason pick of the leagues media to win the division, but the Bruins have struggled in the run game and likely will be without starting quarterback Josh Rosen for a third consecutive game because of a nerve problem in his throwing shoulder.With a win, the surprising Buffaloes will match their conference victory total from their first five seasons in the league combined.?? Colorado already has accomplished one goal by qualifying for a bowl game for the first time since 2007, but bigger prizes are within reach.Theyve got everything in front of them theyve always dreamed of, and theyve worked so hard to get here, they dont take it for granted, said Colorado coach Mike MacIntyre. Its not like its a common occurrence. ... These guys will stay on each other, which is awesome.Colorado, which is coming off a 10-5 victory over Stanford on Oct. 22, has three of its final four games at home. Utah and USC, both 4-2 in the conference, are the only realistic challengers to the Buffaloes. Every other team in the South has at least four league losses.Colorado has great balance. Senior quarterback Sefo Liufau directs an offense that is 19th nationally with 495.8 yards per game. The running game has been strong; the Buffs have rushed for 247, 260, 260, 263, 315 and 224 yards in their six victories, while being held to 64 and 96 in their two losses.The Buffs defense is 12th nationally, allowing 307.8 yards per game.UCLA, meanwhile, is trying to find balance after basically abandoning the run game in its most recent game, a 52-45 loss to Utah. The Bruins running backs carried just 10 times while quarterback Mike Fafaul attempted 70 passes.Were always grinding, said offensive coordinator Kennedy Polamalu.Weve simplified the task, and I really believe with the young men we have all the way around -- from the linemen, tight ends, receivers and the runners -- were getting better. I really want balance to help our quarterback.Its not like UCLA doesnt have talent at running back.Sophomore Soso Jamabo was arguablyy the top running back prospect in the 2015 class.dddddddddddd Nate Starks was a four-star recruit. Bolu Olorunfunmi has done some nice things.But Jamabo and Starks have each been slowed by injuries a various times, including against Utah. UCLAs top three running backs have rarely been available/healthy at the same time this season.The Bruins are last nationally in rushing at 85.5 yards per game.Still, UCLA hasnt been far off this season, losing its five games by a combined 32 points.We havent won, but we havent been blown out, said Bruins coach Jim Mora. Our guys fight. They are a bunch of fighters. I really respect that about them.Fafaul, a fifth-year senior and former walk-on, completed 40 of 70 passes for 464 yards, with five touchdowns and four interceptions, in the loss to Utah on Oct. 22. His focus in practice has been efficiency -- not forcing anything. Fafaul has thrown eight interceptions in 122 pass attempts.Colorado ranks second in the Pac-12 with 11 interceptions. Cornerback Tedrick Thompson has four of them. The other corner, Chidobe Awuzie, is a potential mid-round draft pick, according to NFLDraftScout.com.The Buffaloes have held two of five conference foes without a touchdown this season.Liufau, who missed three starts this season because of an ankle injury, has taken every snap in the past two games. He is riding a school-record streak of 148 consecutive passes without an interception.Colorado running back Phillip Lindsay is third in the conference with 93.1 rushing yards per game. He has rushed for 350 yards in his past two outings.To be able to just watch our running backs break big runs, I know I dont have to do as much, Liufau said. I dont have to go out there and think that I have to make play after play after play just to keep us in a game.UCLAs run defense has been good at times this season, but the Bruins allowed Utahs Joe Williams to run wild for 332 yards.The Bruins have won all five meetings with Colorado in conference play, but the past two were decided by four and three points.I think they have been making steady progress with Coach Mac, Mora said. The last two years, they have been great games. We kind of squeaked them out. ' ' '