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WASHINGTON -- Never too early to start workin the umps, apparently.Before a single pitch was thrown in the National League Division Series between the Washington Nationals and Los Angeles Dodgers, managers Dusty Baker and Dave Roberts stirred things up a bit Friday with some balk talk -- indicating they might try to plant a seed with the umpires about opposing pitchers windups with men on base.It all began hours before Game 1, when, out of the blue, Nationals skipper Baker raised the notion that Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw might be doing something he shouldnt when there are runners aboard.Quite frankly, Im hoping that ... we get some baserunners, and the umpires might call a balk or two on him, because he kind of rolls through the set position, which they dont call. But I heard that really upsets him if they do call one, Baker said with a grin. So Im hoping that they call maybe a couple of them.Asked whether he would lobby the umpires before Kershaw pitched Friday, Baker said he wouldnt -- but his first-base coach, Davey Lopes, would.Davey always alerts the umpires, said Baker, in his 21st season as a manager in the majors.When that was relayed to Roberts, the Dodgers rookie manager, he smiled and offered this initial response: I didnt know Dusty wanted to play that game.Roberts continued: Its a little gamesmanship. Clayton has been around a long time. His moves been the same. I think hes been called for a balk a couple times.Turning his attention to some Nationals pitchers, Roberts said: Yeah, you know what? Theres a couple guys that I might put a bug in the umpires ears [about], as well.He then referenced Game 3 starter Gio Gonzalez, closer Mark Melancon and relievers Shawn Kelley and Marc Rzepczynski.So does it work when managers try to get a message to umpires before a game?Well, I think Dusty is going to try, Roberts said. Yeah, it does, and I think that theres a little bit of banter with ... home plate umpires. But I think that you might see it from both sides of the dugout this series. Discount Air Max 98 . Pierce was ejected in the third quarter of Indianas 103-86 win Monday. George Hill stole a bad pass and was going in for a layup, and Pierce hustled back and appeared to be trying to wrap him up. Air Max 98 Cheap China . 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. http://www.airmax98outlet.com/ . -- Running backs Darren McFadden and Rashad Jennings were back at practice for the Oakland Raiders on Wednesday despite being hampered by hamstring injuries. Air Max 98 Outlet .C. -- Manny Malhotra had two goals and an assist, leading the Carolina Hurricanes to a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Wholesale Air Max 98 China .C. -- When North Carolina freshman Ryan Switzer reported to training camp in August he was a little miffed to learn he was third on the depth chart at punt returner. RIO DE JANEIRO -- It was a postrace news conference more strained and theatrical than any ready room at the Olympic swimming competition. The gold and silver medalists sat at either end of the table: a defiant American teenager suddenly thrust into the role of anti-doping crusader, and a shaken Russian swimmer trying to defend her presence.Neither has been served well by the powers behind the rings. Lilly King should have been able to enjoy her evening without shouldering that responsibility. Yulia Efimova shouldnt have been in Rio at all, left to dangle as the symbol of a failed system.Too late now. King, a brassy 19-year-old champion from Evansville, Indiana, who isnt technically old enough to celebrate with champagne, spoke her mind and tore the foil off the bottle. The sound you hear from Rio is a giant cork popping and frustration foaming out.The fa?ade of harmonized anti-doping rules has crumbled. Athletes are tired of dropping their drawers on command for a broken system, tired of being cautious and diplomatic.Its incredible, winning the gold medal and knowing I did it clean, King said after winning the 100-meter breaststroke in Olympic-record time (1:04.93, 0.57 ahead of Efimova). The performance came 24 hours after King and Efimova engaged in a public finger-wagging war and King labeled Efimova a drug cheat. Im not a fan, King told NBC after the semifinals.Kings statements followed similar ones by Australias Mack Horton, who won the 400 freestyle the day before. Other swimmers chimed in with support. The question is stubbornly afloat on the surface now, unlikely to be submerged again.Total props to him for speaking out first, King said of Horton. I admire that. He said what everyone was thinking and I also said what everyone was thinking. I think its a victory for clean sport just to show you can do it while competing clean your whole life.King was a toddler when Marion Jones and Lance Armstrong were in their prime, but she seems fully aware that doping knows no borders. She was specifically asked about 2016 U.S. track team member Justin Gatlin, a sprinter who has served two previous doping suspensions. She didnt blink.Do I think people who have been caught for doping offenses should be on the team? No, they shouldnt, she said.If it appears unseemly for athletes to become verbal vigilantes in this gathering ostensibly held to promote peace, love and understanding, assign the blame where it belongs. Blame the sporting politicians who ignored whistleblowers in Russia, stalled on investigating, then invented eligibility rules on the fly when evidence oof state-sponsored doping in Russia forced their hands.ddddddddddddegal challenges spilled over into the opening weekend of the Games. Efimova, 24, was one of a group of Russian athletes the International Olympic Committee tried to prevent from competing because of a previous doping suspension -- a 16-month ban ending in 2015 that was imposed after she tested positive for a steroid contained in a supplement.The maneuver was doomed because of a previous arbitration ruling, and widely interpreted as an empty gesture following the IOCs controversial compromise to clear the way for most of the Russian delegation.Earlier this year, Efimova became one of hundreds of athletes -- the majority from Russia -- who tested positive for the newly banned substance meldonium. The World Anti-Doping Agency later had to peel back many of the positives after belated research showed the drug could linger in the system for months, giving athletes plausible deniability to say they had stopped taking it before Jan. 1 of this year.But the meldonium flap left Efimova tagged as a two-time doper and made her a lightning rod for the increasingly high-voltage argument about how to reform the anti-doping system. That debate did not come in time to save the credibility of these Games.Efimova got the green light to race the day before preliminary heats, and was loudly booed by the crowd at the Olympic Aquatic Stadium all three times she walked out to the blocks. She sobbed as she stopped briefly for Russian reporters after the race, but had regained her composure by the time the podium ceremony was held. All three medalists did their posing for pictures and walkingduty in the pool deck without betraying any hostility.King and Efimova did not shake hands.If I had been in Yulias shoes, I would not want to be congratulated by someone who did not speak highly of me, King said. If she was wishing to be congratulated, I apologize.King put intense pressure on herself by calling out Efimova. Her coach at Indiana University, Ray Looze, urged King to take the high road, but admitted he didnt throw a sawhorse in the way once she started talking.The athletes have to start speaking up, and they have, Looze said.The IOC and FINA [the sports international governing body] respond to money, he added, biting off the last word like so much beef jerky. If the money dries up, then theyll clean it up. Lilly kind of cracked it open, but we all believe the same way. Nobody likes this. ' ' '