NEU » a good day in regard to how she perfor

CHICAGO -- Jeff Samardzija finally got to make a playoff start at Wrigley Field, and it worked out really well for his former team.Samardzija lasted just two innings in the shortest start of his career and San Francisco was shut down by Chicagos bullpen in a 5-2 loss to the Cubs on Saturday night, putting the Giants on the brink of elimination two games into their best-of-five NL Division Series.Gregor Blanco hit an RBI double and Brandon Belt added a sacrifice fly in San Franciscos two-run third, but that was it for the Giants in another sluggish performance at the plate. They have scored in just two of their 27 innings in this years postseason, winning 3-0 on Conor Gillaspies ninth-inning homer in the wild-card game against the Mets and losing 1-0 in the NLDS opener Friday night.San Francisco won the World Series in 2010, `12 and `14, and its playoff win against the Mets on Wednesday was reminiscent of its even-year magic during those title runs. But the Giants lackluster stay in Chicago put them in a big hole against the loaded Cubs, who led the majors with 103 wins this year.The biggest positive for the Giants: Madison Bumgarner is lined up for Game 3 on Monday night in San Francisco. The big left-hander tossed a four-hitter in the wild-card win and is 6-1 with a microscopic 0.79 ERA in his last nine playoff appearances.San Francisco also can draw from its 2012 title run, when it dropped the first two games of the division series against Cincinnati and won three in a row to advance. The Giants then fell behind 3-1 in the NLCS against St. Louis and stayed alive again.Manager Bruce Bochys club was looking to rebound in Game 2 against the Cubs after it managed just six hits against Jon Lester and Aroldis Chapman in the series opener. But the Giants trailed from the very beginning in Samardzijas second career start at Wrigley as a visitor.Samardzija was drafted by the Cubs in 2006 and spent his first 6 1/2 seasons with the team before he was traded to Oakland in the 2014 deal that brought shortstop Addison Russell to the Cubs. His only previous playoff appearance was a relief outing for Chicago against the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2008 Division Series.The right-hander, a native of nearby Merrillville, Indiana, who played baseball and football at Notre Dame, fell behind in the first when Dexter Fowler hit a leadoff double and scored on Ben Zobrists two-out RBI single.The Cubs added three more in the second. The big blow was pitcher Kyle Hendricks two-run single on a flare to center.Bochy then hit for Samardzija in the third. The righty allowed six hits and walked one, throwing 33 of his 47 pitches for strikes.Hendricks departed in the fourth with a bruised right forearm after he was struck by Angel Pagans line drive with two out. But the Giants managed just two hits against five Cubs relievers.Travis Wood, who replaced Hendricks, got four outs and homered against George Kontos in the fourth. Chapman pitched a perfect ninth for his second save of the series.The Giants totaled six hits against six pitchers. Bochy even asked Bumgarner to spark San Franciscos sluggish offense as a pinch-hitter in the fifth -- third baseman Kris Bryant bobbled Bumgarners grounder for an error, then threw the ball away to let Bumgarner reach second base with one out. Bumgarner was stranded.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenapAdrian Dantley Jazz Jersey . As the crowd erupted, Davis knocked the ball off the glass and back into his hands. With 1:14 to go in overtime, Davis sixth block also became his 17th rebound. That, along with his 32 points -- which tied a career high -- proved too much for Denver to overcome, and the Pelicans held on for their third straight victory, 111-107 on Sunday night. Jeff Hornacek Jersey . James, who turned 29 on Monday, injured his groin Friday during the Heats overtime loss at Sacramento. He sat out the following game, a 108-107 win Saturday in Portland, before coming back to help send the Nuggets to their seventh consecutive loss. http://www.jazzauthentic.com/kids-rudy-gobert-jazz-jersey/ . Thousands of fans at Mosaic Stadium will be cozying up to each other in an effort to stay warm in chilly temperatures and block the Prairie wind that locals say can knock your socks off. Jeff Hornacek Jazz Jersey . -- Charline Labonte couldnt have asked for a better homecoming. Pete Maravich Jazz Jersey . For the Wild it was their first win of the season and they now have a record of 1-1-2 while the Jets fall to 2-2. Jets start a six game home stand Friday with another divisional game, home to the Dallas Stars.BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- You dont think of Diana Taurasi as the sentimental type -- or at least thats not something she shows externally. But the greeting from the fans in Connecticut, the all-Huskies starting lineup, the crisp and familiar way they played together ... that prompted some thoughts from the warm and fuzzy side.You know, I walked out to shoot before the game, and they were going crazy, Taurasi said after scoring 14 points to lead the U.S. Olympic womens basketball team to an 83-43 exhibition victory over Canada on Friday. And it just makes you think, Its such a special place to play basketball. Because they never forget you.Now, before you non-UConn fans -- especially those who favor an Orange hue -- get your gag reflex tripped, try to pull back the lens and really see the big picture here. So much has been written about Geno Auriemmas program and its 11 NCAA titles, the success of former Huskies in the WNBA, the massive UConn presence and influence on the U.S. national team.And, again, if youre not a UConn follower, you might feel that you overdosed on all this years ago. Understandable. UConn has won the last four national championships. There were six Huskies on the 2012 Olympic team, and there are five on this years squad for the Rio de Janeiro Games. Auriemma has been the national team coach for two editions of the world championship, and will soon preside over his second Olympics.Yet if you are fan of the unique nature of the emotional bonds that sports creates between those who play/coach and those who watch, then this remains a compelling story, regardless of how often its told. Not just because its about excellence, but because it encompasses so many stars of different backgrounds and personalities who have competitive natures that are so much in alignment.It is pretty incredible, said Sue Bird, who started Friday along with fellow guard Taurasi, Breanna Stewart at center, and Maya Moore and Tina Charles at forward. Youre talking about some of the best basketball players in the world. Yes, they happen to come from the same program. A coincidence? I dont think so. But I dont think its anything to necessarily hate on.No, its not -- although some people still will do that. Its part of sports; we get it. But Tennessee grad Tamika Catchings -- like Taurasi and Bird, shes on her fourth Olympic team -- appreciated the vibe from the crowd lauding both its long-ago and recent Huskies superstars.Its awesome, Catchings said. Being here with the UConn [fans], being in Delaware with [Elena] Delle Donne on Wednesday with her crowd ... we go to college, we get four years to experience that, and then we go to our WNBA teams. And its a little bit different.But whenever we come close to where our schools are, the fans show out. And having games in these two cities -- and Madison Square Garden, I think, will be great on Sunday -- its great to have our fans here who supported us through college.Catchings said she ddid spy a little orange in the crowd, too, at Webster Bank Arena.ddddddddddddHey, we had a couple of Tennessee people in here, she said, chuckling. I said, Oh, you guys have to be brave wearing these orange shirts in here. But its all for a good cause.Indeed, its the cause that the best American womens basketball players have been devoted to for quite a long time now. During halftime of Fridays game, two members of the 1996 Olympic team -- Dawn Staley, now a U.S. assistant to Auriemma, and Lisa Leslie, who was doing television commentary -- were announced on court and received a standing ovation.The fans here were well aware of their USA Basketball history: how the 1996 team trained together on a months-long tour and then took Atlanta by storm, winning the first of what now is five consecutive gold medals.That appreciation of contributors to Olympic glory fits with the mindset that Taurasi was talking about of not forgetting. And when you think about it, thats particularly important to cultivate in womens sports, which is generally less-covered and less-celebrated.You could also say this: Huskies players -- at UConn and long after -- regularly deliver the goods. Friday, the whole U.S. team did that. Auriemma wanted a better effort than the United States had in beating the U.S. select team Monday in Los Angeles and France on Wednesday in Delaware. He got it.The UConn starting five set the tone -- Auriemma has varied the starters over the three exhibition games and probably will again Sunday -- and the Americans were in crush-mode the rest of the way. Canada never got anything going offensively.The UConn player for the Maple Leaf side, rising junior Kia Nurse, had a particularly tough night, going 0-for-3 from the field and being held scoreless. Nurse was part of the Canadian team that beat a Stewart-led U.S. squad in the Pam Am Games final last year, but there was none of that Friday.Nurse, who is coming back from surgery for a sports hernia, said that today was not a good day in regard to how she performed. But she brightened up when asked about the crowd.Connecticut is a basketball state, Nurse said. Its a great atmosphere to play in.There was another link between Fridays game and how it usually feels at Huskies games: It wasnt exactly a nail-biter. UConn fans are used to blowouts, where the action on court is appreciated, but doesnt really produce much of a rush.Thus, affection, not adrenaline, is what the crowd mostly experienced. Thats OK, though, because this entire team is worth that. And to this part of the country, especially, Fridays starting five was perfect.It really is just a different level of family, Taurasi said. Theres just so many layers. And you dont understand the layers until you leave. As Ive gotten older, Ive kept it closer to my heart every day a little bit more. ' ' '