Pirate Galaxy » Brazil and the United States.The Brazilian

WASHINGTON -- Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred said he has every confidence there wont be another can-throwing episode during a game in Toronto during this postseason.Manfred said Saturday that the sport and the Toronto Blue Jays have been working together to prevent the sort of thing that happened during the American League wild-card game Tuesday night, when a spectator chucked a beer can near Baltimore Orioles outfielder Hyun Soo Kim during the seventh inning.Toronto has been extremely cooperative and I think is as committed as we are to make sure that we dont have another incident like that, Manfred said. The Blue Jays have said they are planning tougher security measures and alcohol policies at their stadium.The Blue Jays host the Texas Rangers on Sunday in Game 3 of their AL Division Series.During last years ALDS between Texas and Toronto, Blue Jays fans tossed bottles and debris on the field during Game 5, upset by an umpires call.Manfred was at Nationals Park on Saturday for what was supposed to be Game 2 of Washingtons National League Division Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Because of rain, the game was postponed until Sunday.While meeting with reporters, Manfred addressed various topics, saying:? Baseballs hiring process is as strong as possible in terms of making sure that when we have field manager openings ... diverse candidates have an opportunity to get those jobs. The Nationals-Dodgers series is the first in MLB postseason history with two black managers, but Washingtons Dusty Baker and L.A.s Dave Roberts are also the only two black skippers in the sport.? The Dodgers will host an All-Star Game at some point, but Manfred doesnt know when.? When it comes to bat flips and other celebrations during games, players being more demonstrative on the field is a good thing for the game. I think its exciting. Manfred added: I have great faith in our players. That they will use good judgment. That they will develop a set of rules that are respectful of the game but also are reflective of the differences between these young players and the people that may be played a generation ago. I think we should all embrace that.? MLB and the players association are in the midst of conversations about the length of the season -- 162 games in 183 days -- but he wouldnt go into any details. The topic, Manfred said, belongs at the collective bargaining table, which is where it is right now.? The ongoing legal dispute involving the Nationals, Baltimore Orioles and MLB over revenues from D.C.-area cable channel MASN is unfortunate. I have reluctantly come to the conclusion that that situation is going to play out in the courts, and theres not a lot that I can do to move that process along, he said. It leaves both clubs with a degree of uncertainty -- that it is not helpful. I look forward to the conclusion of that litigation so that everybody can go back about their business with knowledge as to what their economic circumstances are. Keith Tkachuk Jersey . Down by seven with 90 seconds left in regulation, thats where they looked comfortable. Connor Hellebuyck Jersey . Aduriz headed home Markel Susaetas cross in the sixth minute to open the scoring at San Mames Stadium. He bettered that with a long-range blast that went in off the goal frame in the 18th, and converted a penalty in the 72nd after Diego Mainz was sent off for fouling Aduriz with only the goalkeeper to beat. http://www.jetsauthentic.com/ .Y. -- Marcell Dareus and the Buffalo Bills defence made life miserable for Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco. 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Without it, chances are good that both Alison Cerruti and Bruno Oscar Schmidt would have wound up on a hardwood floor instead of a sand court.Their three-set semifinal win Tuesday over the Dutch pair of Alexander Brouwer and Robert Meeuwsen advanced the Brazilians into yet another gold medal final and helped soothe their countrymens nerves after Brazils top-seeded womens pair was upset in an earlier semifinal by Germany.Alisons nickname is Mammoth and its easy to see why. He stands 6-foot-8 and takes up enough space to play power forward in the NBA. Schimdts uncle, Oscar, is the greatest basketball player in Brazils history and one of the most decorated international stars of all time. He could shoot without conscience, and even if he thought defense was the interval between his last shot and the next one, he could carry a team and the hopes of an entire nation on his back, including those of his nephew.Oscar is my idol, Bruno said.The long and winding road that brought both Alison and Bruno Schmidt to the beach begins with a volleyball game that was played at the 1984 Los Angeles Games before either of them was born.In the 1980s, basketball and volleyball were like this, five-time Olympic Brazilian volleyball great Emanuel Rego explained, holding both hands palms down at his chest. Maybe basketball was a little bigger because of Oscar. ...Then came the game. It was much talked about. It changed the balance, Emanuel said, turning his right palm up, like that.That game was played at the 1984 Summer Games, pitting traditional indoor volleyball powers Brazil and the United States for gold. The two had traded trophies in international competitions with only the occasional interloper sneaking in between them. After two tight sets, the Americans cruised to a 15-2 win in the third.Soon after, beach volleyball became all the rage. Having begun in Southern California in the 1920s, it took off, according to legend, when it was played at a nudist colony outside Paris a decade later. In the years that Alison and Schmidt grew up, volleyball in the sand was just hitting its stride on both continents. Once again, the United States and Brazil locked horns.Alison, who was born in 1985, wanted to play futbol, which Brazilians like to say is more a religion than sport. When the last spot in a league he wanted to join was taken, he woundd up in one of the volleyball programs launched across the country to return Brazil to what the sporting public here viewed as its rightful place at the top.dddddddddddd.I have to thank my mother, Alison said through an interpreter. That made me a great player.Schmidt was a promising basketball talent until he was 12. But he got tired of always being Oscar Schmidts nephew, always being compared, said Luis Felipe Schmidt, Brunos father, Oscars younger brother, and a member of Brazils military teams for years.I was in the Navy and in 2004, we moved to Vittoria, where there was a big center for beach volleyball, he continued. It was fun, and not so much pressure. ... You get a ball and go to the beach, there was always a game. I used to be Brunos teammate until he became too good.Asked how uncle Oscar responded to news that his nephew was choosing volleyball, Luis shook his head.We never had a real discussion, he said. We are a basketball family, after all. But we are also a sporting family. It also helped that his uncle Tadeu (Luis youngest brother) was a good player and supporter of Brunos volleyball playing.Beach volleyball became a medal sport at the 1996 Atlanta Games. Since then, Brazils mens and womens team have won gold twice and 11 medals overall. The numbers for the United States are six and 9, respectively. The German men won gold in 2012, representative of a push by European teams like the Netherlands and the Czech Republic, as well as emerging Asian power China, to shoehorn themselves between Brazil and the United States.The Brazilians wont give ground easily, if at all. At the end of their tough three-set win over the Dutch pair, Alison fell flat on his face and lay spread-eagle in the sand for nearly a minute before rising to shake hands and hug Bruno and then their opponents.Outside the arena, Luis Schmidt accepted congratulations from several generations of Brazilian greats -- first from Emanuel, then from Bernardo Rajzman and finally a handful of officials from the national volleyball federation. He recalled the days when young Bruno left his basketball at home and sauntered down to the beach in bare feet with a volleyball stuck under his arm.Unbelievable, Luis said finally. Totally unbelievable to see him reach the position he is in today.---Jim Litke is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke(at)ap.org and Twitter.com/JimLitke. ' ' '