NEU » lows.I wear No. 21 because of him

City finals have begun, and Jessie Graff continues to dominate on this season of American Ninja Warrior.Graff made history (herstory?) once again, punching her own ticket to the Las Vegas finals for the second consecutive season by getting to the ninth obstacle in Los Angeles. (Only one ninja, Josh Levin, finished the course.) Whats more impressive is that Graff finished second in the entire region, breaking her own record for the highest finish by a woman in a city competition. (She finished sixth in the Venice finals last year.)Graff finished better than elite ninjas Kevin Bull, Flip Rodriguez and Grant McCartney. She is crushing her competition, men and women.The test of the night became the Wedge, the courses eighth obstacle, which took out many elite ninjas.Before my run, I honestly didnt think I could do the Wedge, Graff said via email.? Based on how pumped my forearms were after the Ring Jump and I-Beam Crossing during qualifiers, I figured that my grip would be drained by the time I got there. I just knew that, to even stand a chance at getting through the Wedge, I would have to do everything faster and more efficiently than at qualifiers.I never let my own perception of whats possible or impossible stop me from attacking the course with everything I have. By staying grounded in the reality of how difficult this challenge is, I am able to come up with the best possible strategy for success, and maintain maximum focus and alertness throughout the duration.After she got through the Wedge, however, Graff was pumped out, as the ninjas say; she had taxed her grip strength from the jerky movements of the Ring Jump, I-Beam Crossing and then the Wedge. As her grip slipped from the Helix Hang, she tried one last move to make a dismount possible, but her grip gave out.Graff has been training her grip strength through rock climbing for only a couple of years. Ive known from the beginning that it would take years to build the grip strength of an elite rock climber, Graff said. Im not there yet, but Im really proud of how far Ive come in such a short period of time.On a night with only one finisher, second place is a pretty sweet way to end the qualifying portion of the season. Graff is heading back to Vegas with an extra confidence boost knowing she can definitively beat the boys.The impact of being first or making history never really hits me until after the show airs and I start seeing how its impacted the audience, Graff said. I push my limits, and try to keep up with people who are stronger than me every day. Most of the time, Im humbled with reminders of how much more work I have to do, and some days, I surprise myself. Deep down, I think Ive always felt like I should be able to beat the boys, if I just worked hard enough and smart enough. Its an amazing feeling to see it actually happen.Los Angeles city finals specs:Finishers: 1Female finishers: 0Women moving on: 1New or modified obstacles on second half of course: 1 out of 4The course:Were into city finals episodes, where the first six obstacles remain the same as in each city of qualifying (except for a couple of tweaks). In Los Angeles, a grip was added to the I-Beam Crossing to make the obstacle just a bit easier, while the steps were loosened on The Elevator to make it a bit harder. In city finals, the course builders added four obstacles on the second portion of the course (which well review below), bringing the total number of obstacles to 10.?The first obstacle on the second part of each city finals course will be the Salmon Ladder unless theres a huge surprise. Ninjas hang from a bar and must propel jump their upward to jump the bar up the rungs and reach for the next bar.The eighth obstacle is most certainly a ninja killer. The Wedge took out many great competitors all night because of how tricky it was. Ninjas grip a bar thats placed between two Plexiglas walls and must hop it to the other side of the obstacle. One wrong move, and youre toast.We got only two looks at the Helix Hang, as only Graff and Levin reached the ninth obstacle, but its a brutal test of grip and upper-body strength. Ninjas hold on to spikes attached to a horizontal pole. Trick is, the momentum of pulling on each spike will spin them, and not all of them rotate the same way. Using only their upper body, competitors must move across these rotating spikes to the other side. Watch Graff on the Helix Hang, starting at 4:30:The Invisible Ladder returned as the 10th obstacle. This will remain the same on each city finals course. Ninjas grab rings suspended from a hole in a platform and pull. When their movement stops, the ring catches their weight so that it looks like they are pulling themselves up a ladder, through the hole at the top of the finishing platform.Looking forward:Next week, we head back to Atlanta for the second city finals course. No women qualified for the finals in that region, but ninja great Drew Drechsel will be running, which is always exciting to watch.Don Mattingly Shirt . The 18-year-old American had five birdies in her bogey-free round for a 17-under total of 196. Lee held the overnight lead but mixed three birdies with two bogeys for a 70. Thurman Munson Jersey . 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. http://www.yankeesshoponline.com/derek-jeter-jersey.html . -- 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. Derek Jeter Jersey Mens . -- Mike Smith never saw his first NHL goal go in. Derek Jeter Yankees Jersey . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months.Chris Quinn remembers the moment vividly. Quinn was with the San Antonio Spurs, and can still see Tim Duncan sacrificing his body and diving out of bounds in a spectacular effort to keep a ball in play.It wasnt in a game.That story was from a practice.Moments like those that no one saw, moments like the five NBA championships that the world saw and countless other memories from Duncans 19 seasons with the Spurs were shared by plenty around the game Monday, the reactions coming in swiftly after the 15-time All-Star announced in a simple news release that he is retiring.He didnt always wear his emotions on his sleeve like other guys, said Quinn, now a Miami Heat assistant. So it can get lost how ultra-competitive he is. No matter what we were doing as a team, whether it was a playoff game or a drill in practice, he was trying to win and he was going to do anything in his power to help his team win.And Duncan won a lot. Five championships, two MVP awards, three Finals MVP awards and well over 1,000 games in Spurs colors. Hes widely considered the best power forward ever, even though the debate will surely still rage as to whether he was a forward or a center (as coach Gregg Popovich insisted he was).Those are just details now. Power forward, center, agree to disagree.On Duncans greatness, there is no debate.Say it aint so!!! wrote Dallas Dirk Nowitzki, who went head-to-head against Duncan a staggering 90 times. Greatest power forward ever!Added Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge, who was with San Antonio for what became Duncans final season: The best PF ever! Thanks for the memories old man. A great player and teammate.Greatest was the word that so many of Duncans playing colleagues in the game used, the list there including the likes of Dwyane Wade, DeMarcus Cousins, Paul Millsap and Austin Rivers.Even opposing franchises -- just about all of them, it seemed -- felt it was appropriate to tip their caps. The New Orleans Pelicans called Duncan one of the NBAs all-time greats. The Miami Heat, the team Duncan faced in his last two NBA Finals trips in 2013 and 2014, called his career amazing. And the Boston Celtics, knowing that Duncan will one day be honored at the nearby Basketball Hall of Fame, said See you in Springfield.Congrats on your incredible career, Tim Duncan, the Orlando Magic posted on their Twitter account. We thankk you for all that youve done for the game.dddddddddddd.The tributes are certain to keep coming. Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is scheduled to talk about Duncans decision and career on Tuesday in what will likely become an emotional event.Probably a top 5 all time player, Golden State coach and former Spurs guard Steve Kerr wrote on Twitter, and undoubtedly a top 5 all time teammate. Wow, what a career.Duncan joins John Stockton and Kobe Bryant as the only players to spend their entire career of 19 years or more with one team. Duncans longevity was such that when he came into the league Vancouver, Seattle and New Jersey all had teams and Washingtons team was called the Bullets. His success was such that the Spurs celebratory trips to the White House after title years saw them meet with three different U.S. Presidents.The ultimate teammate, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said.In a game where players get as much attention sometimes for style off the court as they do for flash on it, Duncan was different. He mastered the bank shot, one of the many ways he played a simple brand of game exceptionally well. He didnt don super-expensive suits, always preferring the comfort of jeans and casual shirts.And yet hes still inspiring the generation that follows.I wear No. 21 because of him, said Philadelphias Joel Embiid, who was 3 when Duncan made his NBA debut.On Facebook, longtime NBA forward Etan Thomas shared a story from long ago -- it happened somewhere between 2002 and 2005 -- about a night that he went up against Duncan and got an education.Literally, Duncan tried teaching him things. During the game.So were playing the Spurs and I get the ball on the post, Thomas wrote . I inside pivot and sweep to the middle for my jump hook and he blocks it. So as we are running down the court he says to me `That was a good move but you have to get more into my body so you can either draw the foul or I cant block it.Confused, Thomas wasnt sure if Duncan was being helpful or snarky. A few players later, he tried the move again and made the adjustment that Duncan had recommended.This time, Duncan couldnt block the shot. Thomas missed anyway, but a lesson was learned.He looked at me, Thomas wrote, and said much better. ' ' '