Dein erstes Forum » r from the outset, but

The spectators told Monica Puig they believed she could win Puerto Ricos first Olympic gold medal in any sport, providing a soundtrack of Si se puede! -- Yes, we can! -- during the Rio de Janeiro Games womens tennis final.She could. And she did.The unseeded and unheralded Puig capped her run of upsets with the biggest one of all Saturday, overpowering No. 2 Angelique Kerber of Germany 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 to become the Olympic champion.I did hear everybody saying, Yes, you can! Yes, you can! Yes, you can! I kept repeating it inside myself: Yes, I can! Yes, I can! Yes, I can! Puig said. They really helped me believe and just showed me they were there for me, whether I was going to win or lose.Puigs father told her he believed, too, emailing the lyrics to the Puerto Rican national anthem a day earlier, just in case they would come in handy. And so, as the strains of that song echoed around an Olympic arena for the first time, and Puerto Ricos red-white-and-blue flag was raised to the highest level during a medal ceremony for the first time, Puig remembered what Dad had written.She recognized plenty of the words as fans belted them out. She just couldnt join in the joyous chorus, for a simple reason: too many tears.If I wouldve stopped crying, I probably would have started singing, Puig said afterward, smiling at the thought. But I couldnt. I was choking up the whole time.A 22-year-old born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and now based in Florida, Puig is also the first woman representing her country to earn a medal of any color. When she finished a tense closing game --saving six break points and converting her fourth match point --she flung away her racket and went over to collect a flag she paraded across the court.I couldnt really believe what just happened, she said. It was such an amazing moment.Gigi Fernandez, who is Puerto Rican, won two Olympic womens doubles gold medals in tennis, but did so while representing the United States.Im particularly happy for Puerto Rico, Fernandez said in a telephone interview from Connecticut. All the hurt that people felt, all the anger people felt because I played for the U.S., I couldnt be happier.Puig had shown promise in the past, reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon as a teen in 2013, but she hasnt been that far again at any major. Also notable about Puig: She is the first unseeded woman to win the singles title since tennis returned to the Olympics in 1988.Ranked 34th, she added her surprising win over Kerber -- a German who won the Australian Open and was the Wimbledon runner-up this year --to those she picked up in Brazil against two other past major title winners, Garbine Muguruza and Petra Kvitova.Earlier Saturday, Kvitova earned the bronze for the Czech Republic by beating Madison Keys of the United States 7-5, 2-6, 6-2. Kvitova called her medal one of the best things that happened in my career, definitely.Clearly, Puig felt the same. And she played attacking tennis full of powerful shots that seemed to rattle the counter-punching Kerber. Puig smacked a down-the-line backhand--her 18th winner to that point, 10 more than Kerber -- for a break that gave her the opening set.During the ensuing changeover, Kerber was visited by a trainer, standing on the sideline while her lower back was massaged and manipulated, before heading to the locker room for a medical timeout. Kerber said later that bothered her from the outset, but it wasnt why she lost.She played her best tennis and one of her best matches in her career, for sure, Kerber said. I tried everything. Cheap Custom NFL Jerseys . -- Eastern Kentucky thrives off creating havoc for others. Cheap Authentic Jerseys .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. http://www.cheapjerseysfinish.com/ . -- Jimmie Johnson held off a teammate, passed a pair of Hall of Famers, and dominated once more at Dover. Wholesale Stitched Jerseys . -- Yogi Ferrell orchestrates pretty much everything in Indianas offence. China NFL Jerseys . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively. Purdue?fans can look forward to longer tailgates and football under the lights next season. On Friday, the school announced it will add permanent lights in time for the start of the 2017 season. The Board of Trustees approved the expected $5.6 million project.According to athletic director Mike Bobinski, a pending Big Ten media rights agreement will require all stadiums to have permanent lighting. As the league has expanded and the number of conference games has increased, its become necessary to have more flexibility for kickoff times throughout the season at alll stadiums, said Bobinski.dddddddddddd Adding permanent lights does not mean an influx of night games, but we certainly will have some in the years ahead. Lights also are needed for 3:30 p.m. starts once the season moves into October and beyond.The project is scheduled to begin in March 2017 and is expected to be completed in August. According to the school, no student fees or state support will be used for the project.--?John Wilmhoff ' ' '