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This is the time of year when players who need a boost have ample opportunity to do just that.Heres a look at some of the hot hands on the respective tours as the season winds down:?@ptbodo:? Petra Kvitova may be the most infuriating tennis player out there, at least when it comes to players with a capacity to disappoint. A two-time Wimbledon champion, she routinely takes puzzling losses. This year, shes been beaten by, among others, Madison Brengle, Shelby Rogers and Jelena Ostapenko (the latter took her down twice).Kvitovas ranking rose to a career-high of No. 2 in October of 2011, after she won her first Wimbledon. She was within a few swings of the No. 1 ranking and could have locked up the prestigious year-end No. 1 ranking as well. Sure, she was just an exceedingly shy 21-year-old at the time. It helps explain how badly she faded. But shes 26 now and has never been up near that summit again.Kvitova did become a regular in the top 10, and she won another Wimbledon (2014). But she has never really mastered the art of consistency.This year, Kvitova slumped significantly. This summer, her ranking dropped as low as No. 16. The 6-foot tall left-hander, who hits some of the most stupefying winners as well as some of the most wince-inducing errors, seemed to be done for the year when Angelique Kerber rolled through her with ease in the fourth round of the US Open on her way to the No. 1 ranking.Kvitovas response, once again, appears to be a plea for everyone not to write her off just yet.At Wuhan last week, still ranked a lowly No. 16, Kvitova beat Kerber in the third round in one of the best matches of the WTA year. Kvitova went on to take the title with wins against women ranked above her. In succession, they were: Johanna Konta, Simona Halep and Dominika Cibulkova.Kvitova remains one of the most erratic but electric talents in the game. As Kerber herself told the press after her loss in Wuhan: I think we both played on a really high level over three hours. At the end I think theres no loser. I did everything today. I was fighting until the end.For her part, Kvitova admitted: I need this kind of consistency all year, which to be honest, I dont think I can really do that. Im probably the player who has up and downs. Of course, Im going to try to be better in the downs. But I dont really think that I can be consistent all season. Im just how I am probably, and I cant really change.Give Kvitova point for honesty -- and one oversized game that may still yield more Grand Slam titles.@CarlBialik: Ryan Harrison is getting into tournaments the hard way -- and benefiting from the hard work. The 24-year-old American broke into the top 50 four years ago, but has struggled to get back into the upper ranks of mens tennis since. In his breakout year of 2012, Harrison feasted on wild cards, getting five and each time winning his first match in the main draw.But since then, he has won matches in just six tournaments that he entered via wild card. And with younger Americans emerging as contenders, Harrisons wild-card well has run dry. He hasnt received one directly into a tour-level event since last years US Open. So now when Harrisons ranking isnt good enough for direct entry into a tournament, he usually tries to get in via qualifying. And its paying off. Six times this year, Harrison has qualified for a tournament.Five times, he has gone on to win his first match, including three instances since Wimbledon. The sixth time is this week in Tokyo, where hed have to upset Nick Kyrgios to keep his streak alive. Even if Harrison doesnt pull off the upset, all that work of qualifying is making him match-tough.Its taken top players to knock out of the past four tournaments hes qualified for -- Marin Cilic, Steve Johnson, Tomas Berdych and Bernard Tomic. In the Tomic loss, last week in Shenzhen, Harrison won a higher percentage of return points than his much higher-ranked opponent, but couldnt convert enough big ones to win.Turn around some matches like that one, and Harrison could soon re-enter the top 100 for a sustained period for the first time since early 2014.@mattwilansky: The race for the year-end championships is in full swing. On the ATP Tour, Rafael Nadal holds a slim lead on?Tomas Berdych?for the eighth and final spot to make the prestigious London finale.Nadal takes the court in the China Open this week and is steadfast on having a successful fall, historically the weakest part of his season.In his pretourney presser in Beijing, Nadal told the press how important it would be for him to win the ATP World Tour Finals, an event, which surprisingly, hes never captured.On the womens side, Madison Keys?holds a paltry 85-point lead on Carla Suarez Navarro. This time of season seems well-suited for Keys, given many are played on fast, indoor conditions.Svetlana Kuznetsova and?Johanna Konta?are also in the mix for the championships, which start in three weeks in Singapore. Konta is hoping to become the first British player in 32 years to reach the year-end finale.Patrick McCaw Raptors Jersey .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. Vince Carter Raptors Jersey . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. http://www.nbaraptorsonline.com/Authentic-Kyle-Lowry-Jersey/ . Andrew Luck lost his favourite target and the Indianapolis locker room lost one of its most revered leaders when Reggie Wayne was diagnosed Monday with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee that will cost him the rest of the season. Fred VanVleet Raptors Jersey . With Parker having a quiet game for once, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw provided the scoring as France won its first major basketball title by beating Lithuania 80-66 on Sunday. It was a victory that ended a decade of frustration for Parker and a talented French generation, which lost the final against Spain two years ago and took bronze in 2005. Marc Gasol Raptors Jersey . Three came down to the fourth quarter while quarterbacks continued to shine in all four games; so important to the overall quality of the game.VILLANOVA, Pa. -- Jay Wright and his Villanova players are ready to enjoy Thanksgiving and take a much-needed break from basketball.Josh Hart had 13 points and 11 rebounds, Kris Jenkins scored 11 points and No. 2 Villanova knocked off feisty College of Charleston 63-47 on Wednesday night.The Wildcats improved to 6-0 a season after winning the national championship but struggled to put away the overmatched Cougars in their fourth game in seven days and their sixth in 13.It was not a pretty game, Wright said. We just found a way to gut it out.Mikal Bridges and Eric Paschall added eight points and five rebounds apiece for the Wildcats, who shot just 5 for 17 from 3-point range and 8 for 22 from the field in the second half.Jarrell Brantley led Charleston with 18 points and seven rebounds. The Cougars shot 4 for 22 from 3-point range and committed 14 turnovers.Its a good way to learn, Brantley said. Theyre a really good team and do a lot of things right. It will only help.Jenkins, who famously hit the title-winning shot to beat North Carolina at the buzzer last April, was held out of the starting lineup by Wright because he missed a class. But the senior forward came in just 3 minutes into the game and played 28 minutes, shooting 4 for 7 from the field.Hart, who won MVP of the 2016 Gildan Charleston Classic after leading the Wildcats to the tournament title on Sunday, also shot 4 for 7 from the field and 2 for 3 from 3-point range.He was called back into the game in the final minutes after Wright admitted to putting his walk-ons in too early -- not that it bothered the teams star senior.Im not really worried about minutes, said Hart, a Wooden Award candidate. Id love to play the whole game if the coach lets me.BIG PICTURECharleston: After starting a season with three straight wins for the first time since 2011-12, the Cougars have dropped three in a row to fall back to .500. But they will have some easier games coming up before entering play in the Colonial Athletic Association, where they were picked to fiinish fourth.ddddddddddddVillanova: The defending national champs continued to roll through the early portion of their schedule. Four of their next five games come against Philadelphia Big 5 rivals, where the competition is always heated, with a marquee matchup vs. Notre Dame sandwiched in between.ULTIMATE CHALLENGEAlthough the Cougars left town with a loss, Charleston coach Earl Grant felt the game was, in many ways, a win-win for his program.My thought process coming into this game is its the ultimate challenge, Grant said. You get to play against the best team in college basketball. They won the championship last year and until someone beats them this year theyre still the champion. . We knew it would be hard but I think, at this time of year, hard things are good.NOVEMBER REIGNOver the past four seasons, Villanova is 25-0 in the month of November and have claimed four tournament championships in the month, including their recent run through the Gildan Charleston Classic.Wednesdays game was technically Villanovas fourth victory of the Charleston Classic -- after wins over Western Michigan, Wake Forest and UCF at TD Arena -- but the result didnt factor into the bracket.NO BOOTH, NO PROBLEM (FOR NOW)Phil Booth missed his third straight game for Villanova with left knee inflammation. But Wright said the injury is minor and hes eager to get one of his top guards back after the Thanksgiving break.I thought we held up pretty well, Wright said of his teams grueling stretch. If we werent getting Phil Booth back, I think Id be more concerned.POLL IMPLICATIONSAfter moving up a spot to No. 2 this week, Villanova figures to stay there behind top-ranked Kentucky barring any major upsets.UP NEXTCharleston aims to snap its three-game losing streak when it hosts USC Upstate on Sunday.Villanova will look for a record 15th straight Big 5 win against Penn at the historic Palestra on Tuesday. ' ' '