Dein erstes Forum » into the focus. Eminem has a song, I forget the

Its been nearly two months since Clayton Kershaw last took the mound for Los Angeles, and whats happened in his absence has been pretty encouraging for the Dodgers.Kershaws last appearance came in a loss to Pittsburgh on June 26, and Los Angeles trailed San Francisco by eight games in the NL West following that game. Since then, the Dodgers are 27-19 without their ace -- and they now lead the division by a half-game. Kershaws herniated disk was the type of injury that could have derailed his teams entire season, but the Dodgers have been able to withstand it so far.Were right where we need to be in the race coming into September, manager Dave Roberts said. I feel fortunate. Am I surprised? No. With the players we have in that clubhouse, Im not. Our guys are focused on winning baseball games. Thats what we need to do moving forward.Kershaw is 11-2 with a 1.79 ERA. He has 145 strikeouts and nine walks. Baseball-Reference.com ranks him No. 1 in the National League in wins above replacement (WAR) this year, even though hes thrown only 121 innings. Its hard to overstate what the Dodgers are losing by not having him available.And yet Los Angeles never faded from postseason contention. In fact, its the Giants who have been thoroughly mediocre for the last couple months, squandering their division lead.For the Dodgers, rookie shortstop Corey Seager leads an infield that also includes offensive threats like Justin Turner and Adrian Gonzalez. The rotation clearly misses Kershaw -- not to mention Zack Greinke, who left as a free agent -- but Kenta Maeda has been solid, and rookie Juilo Urias has made a contribution.If Kershaw does come back soon, it will be to a team thats in much better shape than the one he left.Here are a few other developments from around baseball:SNAPPEDWashingtons Jayson Werth had his streak of 46 games reaching base end Friday night. The last time Werth had failed to reach base was June 19, but during his streak, his batting average went up only six points from .250 to .256.His on-base percentage, on the other hand, increased from .318 to .346.DEFENDING THE CROWNCount out the Royals at your peril. Kansas City has won eight games in the row and is now only 3 + games behind a wild card. Danny Duffy won his 10th straight decision Sunday.Five of Kansas Citys eight wins in its streak have come against last-place Minnesota, but the Royals also took three straight from a Detroit team that had been playing well.FANTASY FOCUSYulieski Gurriel was called up from the minors by the Houston Astros on Sunday and singled in his first big league at-bat. He finished 1 for 2 with a walk and a groundout, although he left the game with hamstring tightness.The Astros have high hopes for Gurriel, and fantasy owners will be pleased with the idea that he could play multiple positions.LINE OF THE WEEKKris Bryant went 5 for 5 with two homers and five RBI on Thursday to lead the Chicago Cubs over Milwaukee 9-6. Bryant is second in the NL in homers and first in runs, and with the Cubs running away with the NL Central, he should be a definite factor in the MVP race.---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping . Ouellette, from Montreal, already has three Olympic gold medals since joining the team in 1999. Jerseys NFL China . LeBron James and Chris Bosh didnt need any more. Williams scored 11 points in 10 minutes, Alan Anderson scored 17 points, and the Brooklyn Nets finished the exhibition season with a 108-87 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night. http://www.cheapjerseysnfl.net/ . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Authentic Soccer Jerseys Wholesale . Hazard cut in from the left and scored with a swerving right-footed shot for ninth goal of the season, which proved to be enough for the victory despite Chelseas forwards again lacking a cutting edge up front. Wholesale Stitched Jerseys .Y. -- Knicks coach Mike Woodson said Wednesday that J. CHICAGO -- Long before the Olympics, Kami Craig was just another homesick kid at her first travel water polo tournament. She called her mom, Dale, and mothers being who they are, she drove from Santa Barbara to Los Angeles to see her little girl.She brought along a bag of Almond Joys and a little stuffed kitten. Almost 20 years later, the candy is long gone, but Mama Kitty is still going strong.She goes `Well, I want you to keep it in your bag and if you ever miss me youll have her and she can remind you of me, and so I said `OK, Craig said.Thats how Mama Kitty became a fixture in Craigs water polo bag as she rose to prominence at the University of Southern California and traveled the world with the U.S. national team. And when the 29-year-old Craig tries to win a second straight gold medal this summer, the stuffed animal will be right by her side in Rio.For Gevvie Stone, its a beaded bracelet she got from her sister. Evelyn Stevens also has a lucky bracelet, and Oakley sunglasses for her races. April Ross wears a necklace she got from her mom while she was in high school.The Associated Press asked several Olympians about the most important thing theyre packing for Brazil. Their responses covered the spectrum from sentimental to practical, with many tracing back to their very beginnings in their respective sports.APRIL ROSS, BEACH VOLLEYBALLI now wear a necklace with the first letter of my moms name (Margie) on it to honor her and her contribution to me as a person and an athlete. At the Games, though, I will wear the necklace she gave me in high school, its the traditional heart from Tiffanys, and it was such a big deal when she gave it to me that it just brings back really great memories as well as feeling like I have a physical piece of her close to my heart. Everyone else will be there in person and while I know shell be watching from above I like having a little something else to represent her presence.STEVEN LOPEZ, TAEKWONDOFaith/spirituality I feel has been a huge component to my success. It brings me solace and strength and no matter how many times you read the bible you find something more you can learn from it. That is why I always bring my bible with me.I bring a journal with me because it helps me express what I am feeling/thinking and going through in such an important time in my life. Its also a great way to go back and reflect when time has gone by to bring you back to that moment in your life.EVELYN STEVENS, CYCLINGI will pack my lucky bracelet and Oaakley glasses for Rio.dddddddddddd The bracelet is from a shop called Eden on Cape Cod, my mother gave it to me for my birthday in 2012 and I havent taken it off since (it has a few scratches from a couple of crashes). It is a nice reminder of my family when I am on the road and I will definitely be wearing it during the Games. I have been racing in Oakley glasses for the past 4 years. I am definitely superstitious but I think more than anything when I put on the glasses, I know it is race day and I am ready to give it my all. They are coming as well.GEVVIE STONE, ROWINGAbout a month prior to my competing at the London Olympics, my sister was hospitalized. She was inpatient on my birthday and made me a beaded bracelet as a gift. I tied it to the shoes in my boat in London to remind me how lucky I am. It then came home with me and was tied to the shoes in my boat in Boston until I switched boats this fall. Its lost length in the tying and retying and is now too short to be tied to the shoes, but I will bring it with me to Rio.JAY SHI, FREE PISTOLIf theres one thing I must have, it would be the music on my phone. About an hour before a match, we start to zoom in and filter everything out. I listen to music before the match to get myself into that moment. For me, I like Eminem. That gets me into it. Linkin Park also is good. I listen to it pretty much to get myself calm before the match and into the focus. Eminem has a song, I forget the name, where he describes how he felt all the way to the bottom and how he had to do everything to get back up. Thats kind of like me because after my first nationals, I pretty much went straight down the cliff. I didnt know it at the time it was because I didnt have the fundamentals, I was trying different things, everything was just not working. Once I hit rock bottom, I started figuring things out then I started to balance that back up, which is kind of like his career and I can relate to that.DAVID BOUDIA, DIVINGI always bring, and will certainly have my shammy, Sammy with me. It is so important to be dry during your dive so that your hands do not slip while getting into your dive positions, by grabbing your legs and your hands, upon entry into the water. It can be a game changer!---AP Sports Writer John Marshall contributed to this report.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap ' ' '