han reckons the side which has travelled from Down Under do not offer the same threat as they did 12 months ago.He claims Australia have regressed in the forward department but that is not a view Cotter shares.The Kiwi insisted: Theyve improved. At scrums theyre sometimes right on the legal limit of w

RIO DE JANEIRO -- The Japanese womens basketball team talked the upbeat pregame talk that any team worth a nickel usually does. But once this quarterfinal knockout game at the Rio Summer Olympics started, the Japanese were actually backing the talk up against the heavily favored U.S. as if theyd cribbed every trick that prohibitive underdogs from Princeton to Chaminade, Danny & the Miracles to Jackie Stiles and Southeastern Oklahoma State used once upon a time.The Japanese cut, they curled off well-set screens, they dribbled and drove and made kickout passes to perimeters shooters who shot like they never expected to miss. For a while it was so effective you might have expected to see Pete Carril in their huddle during a timeout. They played a now you see us, now you dont brand of uptempo basketball that dared the Americans to keep up, but they brought out the best in the Americans, too. The U.S. was grateful for the push.Japan trailed by as little as 46-44 near the end of the second quarter before the U.S. quashed any thoughts of a monumental upset and limited Japan to just 18 points over the last two quarters for a 110-64 win.We needed this kind of game, we needed this, American guard Angel McCoughtry said.They were hard to handle, they had us worried, Diana Taurasi said. That was the first time we went into the locker room here and said, Weve got to get this going.The U.S. now moves into Thursdays semifinal round opposite France, which defeated Canada on Tuesday. Spain plays in the other semifinal against Serbia, the reigning European champs who upset Australia earlier in the day 73-71, sending the Aussies home without a medal for the first time since 1992.For an American team that has steamrolled its way through these Olympic Games by winning its first five game by an average margin of 40 points, you could tell parts of this game were fun. The Americans had a total of only 10 days of practice together to prepare for these Games, and until they were tested like this, McCoughtry said, they didnt really know how theyd respond.The answer, as it turned out, was that everyone played well. The U.S. shot 67 percent from the field against the undersized Japanese team, whose tallest player is 6-foot-3.The only downbeat outcome of the game for the U.S. was that Sue Bird, the teams four-time Olympic point guard, left the game after suffering an undisclosed knee injury in a second-quarter collision. On the advice of the team trainer and doctors, she didnt return. When asked after the game if she was OK as she was walking through the mixed zone press area, Bird nodded and said, Oh yeah.Taurasi said, Hopefully everything will check out OK in the morning.Bird always tried to tell people the womens basketball team will have a game or two at every international competition thats interesting like this. She swears these Olympic competitions arent automatic American wins. But its always a hard sell.The American women have won five straight gold medals. Theyre riding a 47-game winning streak. The gap between them and the rest of the worlds Olympic teams seems to have gotten wider in the last three or four Olympics, not narrower. But theres a generational shift underway, too. Thirty-somethings such as Bird, Taurasi, Tamika Catchings, Lindsay Whalen and Seimone Augustus -- nearly half of the 12-player roster -- will almost surely be retired by the next Summer Games.Japan will host those Olympics, in Tokyo.So remember this night.American coach Geno Auriemma called Japans offense as good as Ive ever seen as far as how quickly they move the ball and how quickly they move themselves.Taurasi said Japan is just a couple of pieces away from being one of the top four or five teams in the world.But not only that.Whewwww, said McCoughtry, the U.S. teams most vocal worrier, exhaling heavily. 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Hooker Ross Ford admits he is not satisfied with becoming Scotlands first ever ton-up forward on Saturday and wants to eclipse Chris Patersons cap record.The 32-year-old Edinburgh front-rower will celebrate his 100th Dark Blues appearance when the Scots kick-off their autumn Test campaign against Australia at BT Murrayfield.His achievement is bettered only by Scotlands previous centurions, 109-cap full-back Chris Paterson and Sean Lamont, who has collected 105 playing in the centres and on the wing.But Fords tally is all the more remarkable given the hazardous scraps his position at the heart of the pack forces him to confront.And having managed to avoid serious injury in the 12 years that have passed since his debut - coincidentally against this weekends opponents -- he believes there is no reason to put a time limit on his Scotland career.It is a massive honour, said Ford. There is Mossi [Paterson] and Sean who have gone before me and have that milestone. To be the first forward to get to that point representing my country is a great experience and hopefully it will continue for a while longer yet.I work hard for what I do and have enjoyed every cap I have. Were looking forward to the game on Saturday.Retirement is not on the horizon yet. I have a few more years left in me.Can I beat the record? Hopefully. I feel in good shape. If Im playing well enough Ill keep putting my hand up for selection. It is up to me to make that happen for future games and that is something Im willing to do.Fords decade and more of nous on the international stage will be invaluable to the Scots as they take on the Wallabies this weekend.He will be joined in a new-look front row for the Wallabies clash by debutant Allan Dell and Zander Fagerson -- who won his only previous cap against England last year from the bench - but head coach Vern Cotter reckons Ford is just the main to guide the fresh-faced props through such a thorough examination of their talents.He said: Fordys been a stand-out performer for Scotland and his experience will be vital for the young front row weve got going out this weekend.Its nice to see an old head like that playing his 100th game putting his arms round one guy whos playing his first and another guy whos just had his second. Andd thats what the game is about, bringing these people together.ddddddddddddEdinburgh flanker Hamish Watson and Stormers centre Huw Jones will also start a Test match for the first time after being named in Cotters line-up.It gives a raw edge to his selection but the return of the talismanic stand-off Finn Russell -- who missed the summer tour to Japan with a head injury -- is a welcome boost.Jones has just 22 minutes of international action to his name after taking Russells place on the Far East trip but Cotter hopes the 22-year-olds experience of taking on most of the Aussies big names in Super Rugby will help the Edinburgh-born back find his feet at Murrayfield.He knows a lot of those players, hes played against them, said the head coach. That did weigh into it. Hes been sharp and played well in the Currie Cup.Hes at the top of his game and offers us something that perhaps we havent got that may surprise them if they havent looked at him. Hes trained exceptionally well and fitted in very quickly against Japan. Hes a good character.Saturdays Edinburgh showdown offers Scotland the opportunity to exact revenge on Michael Cheikas team for their controversial quarter-final defeat at last years World Cup.The Scots were undone on that occasion by referee Craig Jouberts late blunder but former head coach Ian McGeechan reckons the side which has travelled from Down Under do not offer the same threat as they did 12 months ago.He claims Australia have regressed in the forward department but that is not a view Cotter shares.The Kiwi insisted: Theyve improved. At scrums theyre sometimes right on the legal limit of what youre allowed to do. But theyre world-class athletes.They have intensified their forward play and look to play off the set-piece. They want to play helter-skelter rugby too but I think it will be a set-piece battle on Saturday.Are we thinking about last year? Its one of those traps where you can fall into, the principle of revenge. So no its another game. There were things that we took from that game that we felt we could use to become better and improve and weve taken heed of that and tried to develop. China NFL Hoodies Wholesale Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Cheap Jerseys Online Wholesale Jerseys 2018 Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale ' ' '