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Carli Lloyd says the time shes taken to recover from a minor knee injury has been a blessing in disguise because it helped her to slow down and reflect after a wild year.Honestly, its been the best 10 weeks I think Ive had in a long time. Ive been able to rest my mind, rest my body, rejuvenate myself. Im more rejuvenated than I can even remember, she said. Ive gotten to spend time with my fiance and my friends and be in my house. Its honestly been one of the best things that could have happened.Lloyd scored a hat trick in less than 16 minutes in the Womens World Cup title game victory over Japan nearly a year ago. The 5-2 win gave the U.S. national team its third overall title in the games most prestigious tournament, and made Lloyd a household name.In the aftermath, she not only played in the teams victory tour, but she was showered with sponsorship deals and appearance requests. She was named the FIFA Womens Player of the Year, the sports highest honor.And to top it off, shes also wrote a memoir, When Nobody Was Watching due to come out in September.This time last year, no one could have predicted this, she said. Its still going.But much of the chaos came to a screeching halt in April, when she sprained her right knee in a game with her National Womens Soccer League team, the Houston Dash. The Grade 1 MCL sprain was expected to take three to six weeks to heal.Lloyd did not rush her return because of whats looming this August: the Olympics in Brazil. She needs to be fully healed as the United States goes for its fourth straight gold medal.The New Jersey native has been key to the last two Olympic efforts. She scored the winning goal in the gold-medal match in Beijing and London.And, truth be told, Lloyd needed the break. The injury, while unfortunate, came at a good time, far enough out from the Olympics that she could still be back in time.Honestly, if I had kept going, at that pace -- when I do things I do them 100 percent, whether its on the field or a commercial shoot, appearance, anything. I was completely fried, she told The Associated Press in a phone interview.Her coach and mentor James Galanis said he also sensed she was running on empty. He was going to suggest she take time off, but she had obligations with the Dash and the national team, as well as other appearances.Here was a completely drained out girl, and yeah, I was concerned, said Galanis, director of Universal Soccer Academy in New Jersey. When she got injured, my immediate thinking was, `I hope its not serious. Then it was, `If its not serious thats great, shes going to have to take a break whether she likes it or not.Lloyd is rejoining the national team on Friday for training in advance of the U.S. teams match on July 9 against South Africa at Chicagos Soldier Field. The team will also play on July 22 against Costa Rica in Kansas City, Kansas, before leaving for Brazil.Im pretty much 100 percent. I would say about 95 percent, she said. Im basically doing everything: cutting, springing, running, shooting. Ive been jumping in with some of James teams and playing with the kids. So, nearly there. I should be good to go.Thats where Galanis veers a bit from Lloyd. He thinks she looks stronger than she has for a long time.I think shes coming back a lot more mature, a lot more wiser. And her condition -- I havent seen her as explosive as she is right now. She looks so powerful, he said. And its really because of this forced break that she had, it brought her back. Discount MLB Jerseys . In the lead up - which seemed to begin the moment Mike Geiger blew the whistle in Houston last Thursday night - the Impact rumour mill went into overdrive. The speculation went into meltdown mode, of the golden nugget variety. Cheap MLB Jerseys Authentic . Robinson finished with 17 points, all but two in the second half, and Lawson had 14 after halftime and finished with a game-high 11 assists as the Nuggets handed Dallas its first home loss in eight games this season. J.J. Hickson led Denver with 22, and Kenneth Faried added 10 points and 10 rebounds. https://www.mlbjerseyschina.us/ . It was the second consecutive win for the Pacers (2-5), who lost their first five preseason games. Jeff Teague led the Hawks (1-5) with 17 points and eight assists and Al Horford had 12 points and seven rebounds. Mike Scott scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half. Cheap Nike MLB Jerseys . Now tied for second in the league in shootout goals, the 24-year-old likes to see what the opposing goaltender has in store before he ultimately lands on a move. Clearance MLB Jerseys .In my heart and mind Im competing for India, luge competitor Shiva Keshavan told The Associated Press in an email interview. Every day Im flooded with messages from Indians all over the world telling me they are supporting me. NCAA President Mark Emmert says member schools might reconsider allowing college athletes who compete in the Olympics to accept payments for performance.The NCAA rules allow athletes to accept money for training from the U.S. Olympic Committee or similar organizations in other countries along with national sports governing bodies. Athletes can also keep bonuses given for winning medals. A gold medal was worth $25,000 for U.S. athletes in Rio. A silver paid $15,000 and a bronze $10,000.For some countries, the payments are much greater. Swimmer Joseph Schooling, who attends the University of Texas and competes for Singapore, received more than $750,000 for winning gold in the 100 butterfly.Emmert said Thursday during an interview with Aspen Institute that amount was far more than what NCAA membership had in mind.To be perfectly honest, its caused everybody tto say, `Oh, well thats not really what we were thinking about, Emmert said.dddddddddddd So I dont know where the members will go on that. Thats a little different than 15 grand for the silver medal for swimming for the US of A. So I think its going to stimulate a very interesting conversation.The NCAA has been OK with the USOCs bonus program since 2001. In 2015, it allowed for athletes to accept similar bonuses from other countries.The question is whether that person is still an amateur, Emmert said about the large bonuses. Because if they competed in South Africa and (got) paid $750,000 to play ball in South Africa, they would be declared a professional athlete and be not eligible for NCAA play. Thats the fundamental problem. ' ' '