ympic womens rugby tournament finishes and its down to four teams in both semifinals before the night finale: Aus

ARLINGTON, Texas - With the Blue Jays winners of four-in-a-row and eight of 11, TSN.ca sat down with veteran Mark DeRosa to discuss the state of the club, its chances of emerging from the basement of the American League East and the leadership of manager John Gibbons. Heres the transcript of the discussion: TSN.ca: The team is starting to come together here, I guess winning does that, but have you seen a process thats led the results of late? DeROSA: Well, obviously, were getting really good starting pitching performances. I mean, Mark Buehrle, hes had three or four just really, really good starts in a row. Getting (Josh Johnson) back, hopefully we get Brandon (Morrow) back, Chien-Ming Wang came in and gave us almost eight innings the other night. R.A. (Dickey) always takes the ball every five days. I think its just a situation where were getting a little bit more consistent, the lineups getting more consistent, seems to be the same guys against the same matchups. Guys are kind of knowing where they fit in and what their roles are. Weve had guys like Adam Lind just take off and really, really solidify that four-hole and give Edwin (Encarnacion) some serious protection. Its just about getting healthy. We all knew the talent was here, it was just a matter of how long could it go this bad without changing. I think were all excited that were playing better. I think we realize there are reinforcements coming in the likes of Jose Reyes, Brett Lawrie and Brandon Morrow. Those are three key pieces that certainly are going to help us. TSN.ca: The expectations, all the new faces, you guys coming together, does a team with all these new faces, in a city thats starved for a winner, need some time just to gel and relax? Were guys trying to do too much early? DeROSA: Well I think so. I mean I cant speak for everybody. I know thats what it certainly appeared to be. I think I told you this in spring training, I was in a similar situation in 07 in Chicago with a lot of new faces and a new manager and just a lot of expectations thrust on a team that spent a lot of money. We got off to a very similar start, maybe not as bad as the start we got off to here pretty similar and found ourselves constantly trying to claw our way back to .500 to give ourselves a chance in the second half. We were able to do it and end up winning the division so by no means has anyone lost confidence in here. If anything its only kind of slowing growing. I look forward to us playing good for the rest of the year. TSN.ca: In your experience back then was there a turning point with that Cubs team? DeROSA: I think we were about six games back at the time. We were playing Milwaukee, a day game in Wrigley and Aramis Ramirez, we were pretty much out of the game, Aramis Ramirez hit either a three-run homer or a grand slam in the bottom of the 8th to send us to the W. I mean, you go from eight games potentially back to five, it was almost like a three-game swing for us and it kind of just, the fans lit up, everyone went crazy and it was a springboard for us getting hot. Obviously Lou (Piniella,) hes a fiery guy, I think a lot of the early season struggles was getting to know his style, him getting to know us, maybe trying to do too much like we were doing here. I think a lot of factors pointed to it but at the end of the day we never lost confidence in the fact that we were really good and really talented, it was just a matter of it coming out. TSN.ca: Well probably need hindsight for this but is the type of home run that Jose (Bautista) hit in Chicago, with two strikes and two outs in the ninth to tie the game and you win in extras, could that be a turning point? DeROSA: And then I also think a situation like today. You come into todays game, its a situation where weve won three games in a row off a good team, we seem to match up well. I mean, if were able to pull off a four-game sweep in Texas against a team thats gone to two of the last three World Series can only boost your confidence going forward. Theyre a great team over there, a lot of respect for them, so to come in here and continue to play well. But yeah, there are moments when youve got to get lucky. It seemed like early in the season everything we did kind of blew up in our faces. Every error cost us a run, every missed pitch execution-wise was a homer, it was just one of those situations. Maybe we can get it going, trending in the other direction. TSN.ca: We dont know when Bretts going to be back but what does he need to do when he returns? DeROSA: Relax. I think thats the one word, relax. We need him to be Brett. We dont need him to try and carry us, we dont need him to try and be the man, we just need him to play his game. I think him relaxing and his infusion of energy into the clubhouse is something that makes any clubhouse better, I really believe that. Hes a fiery guy, he keeps everyone on their toes, and the energys infectious, it really can be at times when youre playing a game in Texas in 100-degree heat. I think thats the thing, weve got a nice flow to the lineup right now, like I said Gibbys been consistent with the lineups hes thrown out there. Our bullpens been phenomenal, I hate to not mention that, theyve been phenomenal. I kind of give them, I dont want to say a pass, but a situation where I expect it kind of out of them now. That goes without saying but our starting rotation, hopefully with Brandon coming back, can get comfortable. Josh throwing the ball the way hes capable of and a consistent lineup, whether it be against righties or lefties, whatever Gibbys doing that day, just lets us relax and have fun and play. TSN.ca: The manager, earlier on, came under some criticism. As a player youve played for a lot of different guys, we just talked about Lou, how has John Gibbons performed under the circumstances? DeROSA: Unreal, unreal. You know, you probably couldnt say it in the press and I know guys would bite their tongues, you know sometimes maybe the manager, guys dont see eye to eye with him and you can understand maybe some things getting written. But with John, no, it couldnt be further from the truth. Not at all. Hes a mans man, he treats us like men, he expects us to show up and perform and be accountable and be an adult. For me hes been absolutely everything I thought hed be from the guys I talked to coming in. Hes been awesome and to watch him go through that early-season criticism was really, really difficult because it had absolutely nothing to do with him or anyone on the coaching staff. We were just playing bad, bad baseball so Im glad that weve gotten on this little streak. I hope we can keep it going for the remainder of the season because hes been a great manager.White Air Max 90 China .com) - The Montreal Canadiens embark on their first road trip of the season as they head out west to battle the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. Wholesale Air Max 90 China .com) - Christian Ponder will get another chance to prove himself for the Minnesota Vikings, with head coach Leslie Frazier announcing Wednesday that the struggling quarterback will start this weekends game against the Green Bay Packers. http://www.cheapairmax90china.com/ . Emery skated the length of the ice and fought an unwilling Holtby during the third period of the Flyers 7-0 loss Friday night in Philadelphia. He was given 29 penalty minutes, including a game misconduct. But Emery did not face even a disciplinary hearing with NHL senior vice president of player safety Brendan Shanahan because rules 46. Cheap Air Max 90 China . Pierce was ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up. Air Max 90 China . PETERSBURG, Fla.The action continues Monday at the Rio Olympics. Here are some of the highlights:U.S. women versus Spain, 11 a.m. ET: After setting a U.S. Olympic record by beating Senegal by a 65-point margin, the American women face a tougher test against Spain as Group B play continues. The team, which is vying for its sixth straight gold medal, has won 42 consecutive games in Olympic competition.U.S. men versus Venezuela, 6 p.m. ET: With?Brooklyn Nets?guard?Greivis Vasquez?out injured, Venezuela has no NBA players and will be relying on the veteran leadership of 35-year-old John Cox, whose cousin is a former Team USAer named Kobe Bryant. Venezuela played the Americans closer than the three other teams to visit the United States for a five-game exhibition tour, but that was still a 35-point blowout in Chicago that had Venezuela coach Nestor Garcia openly admitting: We dont have a chance at this level. -- Marc SteinMens team final, 3 p.m. ET: The U.S. men have been motivated for the past four years to get to this moment -- avenge their disappointing fifth-place finish in London and get back on the Olympic podium in Rio. They could have a good chance, as they go into the final second overall behind defending Olympic champion China. Here is the lineup:Floor exercise:?Alex Naddour, Sam Mikulak, Jake DaltonPommel horse:?Danell Leyva, Mikulak, NaddourStill rings:?Chris Brooks, Dalton, NaddourVault:?Mikulak, Dalton, NaddourParallel bars: Mikulak, Brooks, LeyvaHorizontal bar:?Mikulak, Brooks, LeyvaPreliminary heats, 12:17 p.m. ET start time: Another full day of swimming begins with Missy Franklin making her Rio debut in the 200-meter freestyyle prelims.dddddddddddd Katie Ledecky swims in the following heat in the event. In the evening, Conor Dwyer and Townley Hass will swim in the mens 200 free final, and Lilly King and Katie Meili, finished first and fifth in Sundays prelims to earn spots in the womens 100 breaststroke. Russias Yulia Efimova, who had the second-best time in qualifying, was booed by fans before and after the heat. She has twice been suspended for doping violations but was reinstated for the Games.Womens sevens: Semifinals, 1:30 p.m. ET; final, 6 p.m. ET: The first Olympic womens rugby tournament finishes and its down to four teams in both semifinals before the night finale: Australia versus Canada, then Great Britain versus New Zealand. The Aussies, who survived a tough draw versus the United States in their last group game before getting past Spain in the quarters, are still the heavy favorites for gold.And finally ...Mens synchronized final, 3 p.m. ET: Americans David Boudia and Steele Johnson are vying for gold, and conditions will be a factor. The U.S. diving team has been training in Rio for over a week, and the venue is open, and windy. Many of the diving teams have complained about how cold it has been, but the Americans hope their extended stay might play an advantage. The competition wont be easy, either. The Chinese powerhouse duo of Yue Lin and Aisen Chen are the ones to beat, while three-time Olympian Tom Daley and new diving partner Daniel Goodfellow are hoping to lock up a medal for Great Britain. ' ' '