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Former Boomers coach Brian Goorjian does not expect Australia to be in Olympic medal contention in Rio de Janeiro, but he believes they can be a realistic gold medal chance at the 2020 Games in Tokyo.Australian basketball seems set to enter a golden era with 2016 No. 1 Draft pick Ben Simmons and fellow first-round draftee Thon Maker adding to whats already a talented roster featuring NBA championship winners Patrick Mills, Aron Baynes, Andrew Bogut and Matthew Dellavedova.However, injuries and personal preferences will see a whole host of Australian stars sitting out when Rio gets underway in August.Dante Exum and Simmons will miss the Olympic campaign, as both are electing to concentrate on getting their bodies right for the 2017 NBA season, while Andrew Bogut is recovering from the left knee injury he suffered in the NBA Finals while playing for Golden State Warriors before he was traded to Dallas Mavericks. Bogut expects to be named in Australias 12-man squad for Rio, but uncertainty remains about his fitness for the Games.They are no doubt going to take a step forward from where they have been, and it is a really exciting time now for Australian basketball, Goorjian, who coached the Boomers from 2001 to 2008, told ESPN.The last two Olympics have been similar for the Boomers [quarterfinals]. I think this team will do better, but a gold or silver medal is still another Olympics away.The thing works in cycles and it looks great on paper, but I do think that there is a process in learning to play together.Goorjian also expects the Rio Olympics to act as a send-off for some of Australias senior players.The Boomers 18-man squad features five players over 30 years of age -- David Anderson (36), Damian Martin (31), Bogut (31), Aleks Maric (31) and Brad Newley (30) -- who are all unlikely to be in contention for 2020 Olympic selection.That group thats there now will be in their last Olympics and then youll have Simmons, Maker and Exum in their prime, Goorjian said. When all of those pieces fall into place there will be an opportunity for a gold medal.Goorjian has spent the past eight years working as a basketball coach in China, after stepping down from the Boomers in 2008, and he says that Australias hard work and deserved successes are being noticed in the rest of the world.If youre in Europe or Asia, everyone is well aware of the progress Australia has made and people are scratching their heads asking what they are doing over there, Goorjian said.Four Australians have featured in an NBA Championship-winning roster in the past three years, with San Antonio Spurs, the Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers, and Simmons in June became the third Melbourne-born player in 11 years to be selected with the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft.Being in China, all of the young players are aware of Australian basketball now and all they talk about is Ben Simmons and Thon Maker.Everybody likes to see what Australia has done because its always punching above its weight. 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Now tied for second in the league in shootout goals, the 24-year-old likes to see what the opposing goaltender has in store before he ultimately lands on a move. NEW YORK -- Baseballs regular season is a novel, one that was full of melodramatic twists and turns this season for the New York Mets and San Francisco Giants. When the Mets host the Giants in the National League wild card game Wednesday night at Citi Field, the novel becomes a Choose Your Own Adventure, with the season hanging on every turn of the page.Tomorrows different -- I have not been in a one-game win-all scenario before, said Mets manager Terry Collins, who began his managerial career in 1981. Well have 25 guys out there, and if we need to, well use all 25 to win that game.The wild card game is familiar to the Giants, whose lineup Wednesday will likely feature six players -- including starting pitcher Madison Bumgarner -- who started the 2014 NL wild card game. Bumgarner threw a four-hit shutout in an 8-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates that jump-started San Franciscos run to a third World Series title in five years.Youre just jumping right into it -- this huge, emotional, intense, all-in, all-or-nothing game, Giants outfielder Hunter Pence said. Its definitely a wild ride. Thats why they call it the wild card.Bumgarner will oppose New Yorks ace, right-hander Noah Syndergaard, as the Giants and Mets battle for the opportunity to face the top-seeded Chicago Cubs in the NL Division Series.Both the Mets and Giants finished 87-75 -- the Mets earned home-field advantage by winning the season series 4-3 -- but they reached the finish line in decidedly different fashions.With most of their rotation and nearly all of their Opening Day lineup ravaged by injury, the reigning NL champion Mets were 5 1/2 games behind in the race for the NLs second wild card on Aug. 19 and 61-62 after beating the Giants in San Francisco the next day. It was the latest a wild card team has been under .500 since the 2005 Astros were also 61-62 after 123 games.But the Mets had the best record in baseball (26-13) the rest of the way to reach the playoffs for a second straight season for only the second time in franchise history.Rookie pitchers Robert Gsellman and Seth Lugo went 9-2 with a 2.44 ERA in 15 games (14 starts) during the Mets season-ending run, which happened with six Opening Day starters either already sidelined for the season or playing part-time roles due to injury or ineffectiveness.Collins spoke throughout the season about how important it was for his team not to ride the daily rollercoaster. But did the season ever feel as chaotic from the inside as it looked from outside?In the managers room it did, Collins said with a grin. We tried not to let it spread to the clubhouse too bad. But theres so much maneuvering that we had to do.dddddddddddde know that certainly the planes from (the Mets Triple-A affiliate) Vegas to here were (used) a lot. Theres a lot of red-eyes that were used. But it all comes with the territory.The Giants, meanwhile, led the NL West by as many as eight games on June 26 and reached the All-Star Break with the best record in baseball at 57-33. But they went just 30-42 the rest of the way -- the worst post-All-Star Break record for a playoff team since the wild card was implemented in 1995 -- and fell out of first place for good with a 2-0 loss to the Mets on Aug. 21.As good as we were in the first half, we had our hiccups the second half, Giants manager Bruce Bochy said.The bullpen, long a strength for the Giants, blew nine ninth-inning leads, including five in September. San Francisco finally steadied itself over the final week, when it went 5-1 to stave off the St. Louis Cardinals by a game.To be honest, I think we all were trying to figure out whats going on here, Bochy said. But thats what you have to deal with during the baseball season.Now the Giants hope to enjoy some familiar success with a pitcher who deals with the postseason better than anyone in Bumgarner, who is 7-3 with a 2.14 ERA in 14 playoff games (12 starts). He posted a 1.03 ERA in seven games (six starts) in the 2014 postseason, which ended with Bumgarner throwing five shutout innings to earn the save in Game 7 of the World Series against the Kansas City Royals.In addition, Bumgarner is 4-0 with a 0.62 ERA in four career starts at Citi Field.Hes got this special -- this it factor and this incredible competitiveness thats just so beautiful to watch and to be a part of and to play behind, Pence said.The Mets will counter with Syndergaard, who proved ready for the big stage last fall by coming out of the bullpen to pitch a scoreless seventh inning in the decisive Game 5 of the NLDS against the Los Angeles Dodgers before winning Game 2 of the NLCS against the Cubs and Game 3 of the World Series against the Royals.While Bumgarner dominates at Citi Field. Syndergaard -- who made his final regular season start last Tuesday -- has thrived when pitching on extra rest: He has a 2.51 ERA in 16 career starts made on more than five days rest.These two guys going (Wednesday), I would think, sitting here today, theyre going to get pretty deep into a game -- theyre both pretty good, Collins said. Certainly, deep in the game, well make whatever move we think is essential. ' ' '