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RIO DE JANEIRO -- As Manu Ginobili walked off the basketball court, a legion of Argentina fans crowded around the tunnel where players exit.Ole, ole, ole, ole! Manuuuu! Manuuuuu!Ginobili slapped hands and waved to a crowd that could not have been more delighted. And it came after a 19-point loss to Spain in group play. The 39-year-old Ginobili soaked in the admiration, just like hes soaking in his fourth Olympics. And it underscores that for so many athletes in Rio de Janeiro, the go gold or go home mantra couldnt be further from the truth.My main goal is to enjoy the experience one more time, Ginobili said. I had a blast in the last three editions. Im older now so I value things a little differently. I came here to play my best basketball possible, help my team, but enjoy the daily experience of being in the Olympics.Michael Phelps, Usain Bolt and the Olympics biggest stars are hailed back home for all of the gold hanging around their necks. For the vast majority of athletes competing, and their home countries who sit on the edge of their sofas watching from afar, merely getting to the podium is more than just good enough. Its cause for a national holiday.Olaf Tufte and Kjetil Borch popped the bubbly and feasted on cake with red and blue icing while Norwegian newspapers hailed them as heroes for their bronze medal in rowing. Filipino weightlifter Hidilyn Diaz received a personal message from the president -- and nearly $53,000 -- for finishing second and celebrations broke out in towns across Colombia during boxer Yuberjen Martinezs unexpected run to the silver medal.Heck, when Joseph Schooling defeated Michael Phelps in a heat of the 100-meter butterfly, his native Singapore celebrated as if he had won the gold medal -- before he ACTUALLY won the gold medal.Throughout the tennis tournament, the loudest cheers came for Juan Martin del Potro, never more so than when he fell short against Andy Murray in the gold medal match. When it was all over, you never would have known from del Potro -- or the boisterous Argentine fans in the stands -- that he had lost.Now Ive got the silver medal, which means gold for me, said del Potro, who won bronze at the 2012 Olympics. I cannot believe I will bring another medal (home) for my country.There were big celebrations in Chigorodo and Turbo, two towns near the Panama border that have been plagued by guerrilla and drug-trafficking violence, after Martinez beat Joahnys Argilagos of Cuba in the semifinals of the 49-kilogram division.Colombian media reported live from the boxers family home in Chigorodo, where family and friends greeted cheering neighbors.My brother is a warrior and hes going for more, his brother Didier told Caracol Radio after the semifinal bout. We suffered a lot watching the fight, but we knew he was going to win.The 24-year-old Martinez was born in Turbo and moved with his family to Chigorodo. He told Colombian media after losing the gold medal bout to Hasanboy Dusmatov that his only disappointment was that he wouldnt win enough money to buy his mother a house. He will receive 96 million pesos (about $36,000) for the silver. It was the first boxing medal better than bronze for Colombia.Considering the strength of his opponent, Martinez can leave these games with his head held high, wrote the Bogota Post, and can be exceptionally proud of his countrys greatest ever boxing performance at the Olympic Games.That appears to be the key for so many athletes and fans at the Olympics. The biggest games on the biggest stages in leagues back home come with a winner-take-all conclusion -- the Golden State Warriors wont get second-place rings after losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.In Rio, there is room on the podium -- and hardware to take home -- for three.Of course its a little bit different tournament than the Grand Slams, said tennis player Angelique Kerber, who won silver in womens singles. But its also really high on my list because I was always dreaming to play in the Olympics for my country and (play) in the final. I really tried to enjoy it and to go back home with a medal, its a really special feeling.So its less about the gold they lost than the silver or bronze they won. In Rio, there are points for second place. And third, too.Ginobili knows the chances of a magical run to gold in Rio are small. His team shocked the world once when they won the title in 2004 and sparked a renewed commitment to international play from the mighty United States.This time around, its about enjoying the ride. Sometimes, for the athletes competing and the fans who love them, that is more than enough.I feel very fortunate to be here at 39 (years old), Ginobili said. At the same time were playing well, we made it to the quarterfinals, its not a given, and were going to try and play our best basketball possible, no matter who we play.---AP Tennis Writer Howard Fendrich, AP Sports Writer Ricardo Zuniga and Associated Press writer Karl Ritter contributed to this story.Custom Denver Broncos Jerseys . 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Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human.Lancashire 422 for 9 (Petersen 155, Croft 58, Livingstone 57, Hameed 56) trail Somerset 553 for 6 dec (Trego 154*, Abell 135, Davies 86, Trescothick 60, Bailey 5-111) by 131 runsScorecard The praise should not be faint if the achievement is substantial. Professional competence matters as much in sport as in any other occupation, even if sport is a sui generis branch of the entertainment industry. So Alviro Petersens innings of 155 on this pitiless slab of Mancunian turf deserves all the credit which will be paid to it over the next day or so.Presented with the task of helping Lancashire score 404 to avoid the possibility of being asked to follow on by Somerset, Petersen did more than his share of the hard work needed to achieve that objective. He was present at the wicket while 283 of those runs were added and had made over 37.5% of the 404 with his own bat when he inside-edged Tim Groenewald on to his pad and was caught by Marcus Trescothick at slip just after tea.The handshakes Petersen received from at least four Somerset players when he was dismissed said something about the quality and value of his 255-ball innings and perhaps more about the players who congratulated him. Petersens drives through cover, his cuts backward of square and his two straight sixes off Jack Leach, the second of which brought up his century, had denied Chris Rogers and his men at a vital stage of the season. His composure and Test experience had been put to good use in century partnerships, first with Liam Livingstone and then with Steven Croft, with whom he added 157, a stand which all but shut the victory door in Somersets faces.There was a brief flutter among home supporters when Croft was caught at slip in the over after Petersens dismissal and again when the ailing Luke Procter was leg before to Craig Overton for 2 ten overs later, but Jordan Clark and Kyle Jarvis scored the 17 runs then needed to see Lancashire to 404. This made making Lewis Gregorys three late wickets no more than a statistical footnote although they were also as a reflection of the bowlers late efforts, aided, perhaps, by a bit of reverse swing.Even if a weather forecast which would find a place in the Book of Ezekiel proves to be false, this game is likely to be very drawn indeed. Groundsmen are encouraged to produced four-day pitches but this rascal might last four public readings of Proust. The cricket played on it was therefore a little slow at times, as is often the case when onee big score is followed by another.ddddddddddddCertainly it drove some Somerset bowlers to distraction and Rogers attack must have wondered what they had done to offend the games gods when one decent leg before shout after another was turned down.It was some reflection of Somersets predicament when Rogers, himself, who had previously bowled 242 balls in his entire first-class career, sent down the over before tea. However, he could not add to his single first-class wicket, which is that of Stuart Broad, whom the Australian dismissed when he was playing for Northants and Broad for Leicestershire.Yet Lancashire supporters, sitting in statuesque calm in the old pavilion enjoyed it all, as they had a full right to do, although someone observed that it might have enlivened the afternoon session if Los del Rio had blasted out from the Point and the cool dudes in the 1864 Suite had given everyone a few minutes of the macarena.Instead of which, we had Petersen and Croft, the first batting with silky ease, the second with hard-arsed defiance, taking their team towards safety and at least putting to bed memories of their countys miserable surrender against Surrey last week. Faced with the accuracy of Leach, who has plainly outbowled Simon Kerrigan in this game, Lancashire fourth-wicket pair earned their money and saved their side embarrassment, if not worse.All of this was important both in the context of the game and because it may have helped the development of that most promising cricketer, Liam Livingstone. Croft, for example, batted with immense professional craft, despite the fact that he had kept wicket and captained in Somersets long innings. So the workhorse skipper has taken on about three jobs but may not have had to bat for very long on Friday if Livingstone, having added 37 to his overnight score, had not been caught at the wicket when playing a daft, front-foot paddle sweep to Leach.Yet this was only the third or fourth of his dozy shot selections on the third morning. The 23-year-old was pleased to be selected for representative honours earlier this season and now he is batting up the order. This was his first half-century in eight innings. Livingstone is an outstanding young talent but he may reflect that its not much good taking pride in being a Lion if you play shots that would shame a senescent okapi.Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys[/tions on the third morning. The 23-esale Baseball Jerseys ' ' '