through another second-set letdown before putting things ri

Ireland conquered 111 years of history, South Africa avoided an embarrassing defeat, while Australia and Argentina dominated. ESPN reporters?have their say on the biggest storylines for each team coming out of the first week of the autumn internationals...Argentina Nicolas Sanchezs statement of intentA 29-point haul from Nicolas Sanchez against Japan could ignite the Pumas autumn series after an error-filled Rugby Championship saw them register just one victory.But Sanchez brought the best out of the Argentina back-line against a lacklustre Japanese side and his it was backed up by a strong performance by the forward pack.?Sanchez bagged himself a brace and he showed quality from the kicking tee, a part of his game which has often been questionable. With confidence low in the Wales camp after defeat to Australia, they couldnt play Rob Howleys side at the better time.?-- ESPN staffWeek 2 vs. Wales, Principality Stadium, Nov. 12, 5:30 p.m. GMTAustralia The Fantastic Mr Foley Welcome back, Bernard Foley. Australias No. 10 rediscovered the form that help take Australia to the Rugby World Cup final in London 12 months ago with a dazzling display against Wales in Cardiff on Saturday.Foley was at the centre of much of the Wallabies best work, scoring a five-pointer of his own while also laying on a sublime inside ball that put Reece Hodge through for his first Test try. There were signs in Bledisloe III that Foley was getting back to somewhere near his best and perhaps the stint at No. 12 throughout the Rugby Championship was the catalyst.Foley had fallen into the trap of playing too laterally, firstly against England and then in Bledisloe I, but with the Australian forwards now doing their part through the middle, he is playing a far more direct game. The Grand Slam dream lives on for another week but the Wallabies must reproduce a similarly strong performance against Scotland in Edinburgh next weekend, the team that very nearly sent them home from last years World Cup at the quarterfinal stage.?-- Sam BruceWeek 2 vs. Scotland, Murrayfield, Nov. 12, 2:30 p.m. GMTIreland How can Ireland build on their historic win? The Ireland team returned home on Sunday with Joe Schmidt lifting their self-imposed alcohol ban for the flight back to Dublin. They were given a few hours to enjoy their historic win over the All Blacks. Next up are Canada on Saturday, a match theyll win with ease. Then come the Kiwis looking for revenge.?The challenge for Ireland is to build on their win over the All Blacks. They need to channel that into a consistency which weve seen from them in the Six Nations but perhaps not against the southern hemisphere big four.Ireland are building an impressive strength in depth -- their win over the All Blacks was without Peter OMahony and Sean OBrien -- and that competition for places bodes well for Schmidts side. But after ending their 111-year wait for a win over New Zealand, they must ensure they dont wait another century to knock over the Kiwis. -- Tom HamiltonWeek 2 vs. Canada, Aviva Stadium, Nov. 12, 7:15 p.m. GMTNew Zealand Perenara should be first-choice for the All Blacks Aaron Smith did not look his normal self on Soldier Field in Chicago. The recent off-field attention following that infamous toilet incident which saw him stood down for a match may still be affecting him but he looked off his game against Ireland.At the start of the Rugby Championship he was the worlds best scrum-half; the passing crisp, the darting runs so effective. But against Ireland those facets of his game were missing. The All Blacks only looked their usual self when TJ Perenara came off the bench. Their game shifted up a gear and suddenly that fearsome black-shirt adorned beast awoke.With Italy up next on Saturday, the All Blacks will likely get back to winning ways and Ireland a week later will offer a more accurate assessment of where their form is. Perenara should be at scrum-half for that match and Ireland can expect a harder time in the lineout with Brodie Retallick and Sam Whitelock set to be fit. -- Tom HamiltonWeek 2 vs. Italy, Stadio Olimpico, Nov. 12, 2:00 p.m. GMTSouth Africa Where has the Boks brutal physicality gone?Another week, another largely unimpressive performance from South Africa. The Springboks may have escaped Wembley with a 31-all draw thanks to Rohan Janse van Rensburgs late five-pointer, but what they dished up in London will hardly leave England trembling ahead of next weeks showdown at Twickenham.Again, the Boks looked disjointed in attack and had to rely on set-piece for two of their tries. But perhaps the biggest concern is the fact that the hallmark of South African rugby, brutal physicality, seems to be severely lacking in this current Springboks squad.On Saturday at Wembley they fell off tackles with regularity, the likes of Taqele Naiyaravoro and Melani Nanai busting through with ease. The same lack of commitment across town next week will see the Boks in big trouble against England. -- Sam BruceWeek 2 vs. England, Twickenham, Nov. 2:30 p.m. GMTWales Would the real Wales defence please stand upWhat has happened to the Wales defence? Once vaunted as a red wall, it appeared to have been knocked through in Cardiff as Australia ran in five tries with apparent ease.In all, Wales missed 21 tackles at the Principality Stadium as they took their tally of tries conceded in their last five Test matches to 26, an average of more than five a game. That run has included games against England and New Zealand as well as the Wallabies, but regardless of the standard of opposition it is clearly not good enough.Australia pushed the Welsh defence back virtually every time they had the ball, and Ross Moriarty admitted afterwards that their first-phase gains were demoralising. Defence coach Shaun Edwards has work to do ahead of Argentinas visit next Saturday. -- Martyn ThomasWeeks 2 vs. Argentina, Principality Stadium, Nov. 12, 5:30 p.m. GMT Miami Marlins Shirts . PETERSBURG, Fla. Fake Marlins Jerseys . But when it comes to determining if Raymond will find a place on the Leafs roster when training camp concludes in a week, well, that decision will ultimately fall to the head coach. https://www.cheapmarlinsjerseys.us/ .com) - Christian Ponder will get another chance to prove himself for the Minnesota Vikings, with head coach Leslie Frazier announcing Wednesday that the struggling quarterback will start this weekends game against the Green Bay Packers. Wholesale Marlins Jerseys . After dropping their final six games of December, the Wild opened the new calendar year with four consecutive wins. Following a loss to Colorado on Saturday, Minnesota rebounded the following night to blank Nashville 4-0, but then had the tables turned on them Tuesday. Marlins Jerseys China . MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez also will attend the session, which was announced Monday. The league has discussed placing its next two expansion teams in Miami and Atlanta. LONDON -- Novak Djokovic edged a bit closer to the year-end No. 1 ranking.The second-ranked Serb beat Milos Raonic 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5) Tuesday to qualify for the semifinals of the ATP finals and improve his record against the Canadian to 8-0.Djokovic is 2-0 at the season-ending tournament, and will retake the top ranking from Andy Murray if he does better this week. Murray is 1-0 so far, and plays his second match on Wednesday against Kei Nishikori.Djokovic never looked at ease in his second match at the O2 Arena, but he was able to hang on through two tough tiebreakers to earn the victory.It really could have gone either way, said Djokovic, who completed a career Grand Slam by winning the French Open this year. I was down very early in both tiebreaks tonight. But I just managed to stay committed and put pressure on his second serves.To get to the tiebreakers, Djokovic saved three break points in the first set. He then managed to go up a break twice in the second set, but Raonic responded each time.Raonic, who reached the Wimbledon final this year, took the lead in both tiebreakers as Djokovic struggled for consistency, but he couldnt hold on.I gave myself some chances there. He played well in most of those chances, said Raonic, who can still advance to the semifinals by beating Dominic Thiem on Thursday. Sometimes us tennis players, we struggle to forget. But thats the number one thing Ive got to do right now.Djokovic earned only 11 winners in the match, compared to Raonics 42, but it was stilll enough to advance and keep him on track to win a record-tying sixth title at the year-end championship.ddddddddddddll in all, two tiebreaks against a big server is a great win and great confidence boost, Djokovic said.In the early match, Thiem went through another second-set letdown before putting things right to give himself a chance to advance.The eighth-seeded Austrian, who is making his debut at the season-ending tournament, held on to beat Gael Monfils 6-3, 1-6, 6-4, making him 1-1 in the round robin.In his opening match on Sunday, Thiem lost to Djokovic after winning the first set. In the second set of that match, he was blanked 6-0.I tried to avoid the mistake I did in the first match, to drop a little bit. Didnt really happen that good, Thiem said. But I was trying to stay tough in the third set.He got some help this time, though.Although Monfils improved in the second set, winning all three of his break points to force a decider, his service game never really got going. In the final game of the match, the Frenchman gave it away with three of his five double-faults.It was a tough one, said Monfils, who is still recovering from a rib injury that forced him out of the Paris Masters at the end of last month. I think I didnt play a great match, but I gave everything I had.Because of his injury, Monfils said he may pull out of his final match against Djokovic. ' ' '