work on some things.As for Venus, she can take a good amount of solace knowing how her Rio campaign ended.Its been an amazing experience, five Olympics for me, said

OMAHA, Neb. -- Adam Plutko limited Mississippi State to a run on four hits in six innings, and UCLA survived some anxious moments to beat the Bulldogs 3-1 in Game 1 of the College World Series finals Monday night. Plutko retired nine straight to start, worked out of trouble twice and turned the game over to the bullpen in the seventh. The Bulldogs (51-19) left runners in scoring position four of the last six innings. "We dodged some bullets, no doubt about it, but you have to give credit to our defence.," UCLA coach John Savage said. "Kind of a Bruin game. Tight game, and at the end of the night we were fortunate to come out with the win." The Bruins (48-17) are one win from their first national championship in baseball and the schools record 109th in a team sport. "Not much to get excited about," Savage said. "It comes down to tomorrow." Mississippi State must win Game 2 on Tuesday night to keep alive its hopes for its first NCAA title in any sport. UCLA made it 3-0 in the fourth on Eric Filias two-out, two-run single off Chad Girodo, who replaced starter Trevor Fitts (0-1) in the second. That was the last of the Bruins six hits. Plutko (10-3) walked in the Bulldogs run in the fourth. UCLA is 40-0 when leading after seven innings. There was drama all the way to the end. The estimated 8,000 Mississippi State fans at TD Ameritrade Park started the "Maroon and White" chant in the bottom of the ninth after C.T. Bradford and pinch-hitter Sam Frost singled to put runners on first and second with one out against closer David Berg. Nick Ammirati flew out, and pinch-hitter Jacob Robson ended the game with his comebacker to Berg, who sprinted toward first base before underhanding the ball to Pat Gallagher. Berg, who was making his 50th appearance of the season, earned his NCAA-record 24th save for 1 2-3 innings of work. "Records are meant to be broken, but titles are what matter," Berg said. "So if we all win a national championship, Ill enjoy that. But right now I dont think about it at all." The loss spoiled a splendid performance by Girodo, who pitched the last 7 2-3 innings. He allowed three hits, walked two and struck out nine. Both runs against him were unearned. UCLAs Plutko wasnt overly sharp, unable to rely on his breaking ball and changeup to get outs. But he still continued his dominance in post-season play. In eight career NCAA tournament games, hes 7-0 with an 0.94 ERA. The Bruins brought a .248 season batting average into the finals, and a .182 average through their first three CWS games. They eked out enough offence to win again. In the first three innings, they had batters reach on a dropped third strike, infield single, two hit batsmen and a throwing error. But there were big hits, too. Filia, who came in 1 for 9 in the CWS, doubled after Kevin Kramer struck out but reached because strike three was in the dirt. Pat Valaikas single to centre drove in Kramer for a 1-0 lead. "First base runner of the game kind of spells it out," Bulldogs coach John Cohen said. "I really wish that kid hadnt swung at that pitch. Im not saying it to be a smart aleck, but that kid doesnt swing at that pitch, it lands in front of the plate, I think the ball game could be different. But crazy things happen in sports." The Bruins added two more in the fourth. Brenton Allen singled and Brian Carroll reached when he bunted and catcher Ammirati made a bad throw to first. Carroll ran into Bulldogs 6-foot-5, 272-pound first baseman Wes Rea while running through the bag. Rea stayed down after the knee-to-knee contact but was able to keep playing after an athletic trainer attended to him. Allen and Carroll came home on Filias base hit to right. Mississippi State got its first hit with one out in the fourth when Alex Detz sent a ball up the middle. Brett Pirtle followed with a base hit and Rea was hit by a pitch to load the bases. That got the "Maroon and White" chant started as Bradford came up to face Plutko. Bradford fouled off three straight pitches before the count ran full. Plutko walked him with a high changeup, bringing in Detz and UCLA coach John Savage out of the dugout for a mound visit. Plutkos 30-pitch inning ended when Trey Porter lined out. Plutko had to endure more stress in the fifth. Filia made a leaping catch in right field to rob Ammirati of extra bases, Demarcus Henderson reached when Plutko misplayed a comebacker and moved to second on a balk. The inning ended on Detzs line out to second baseman Cody Regis. Freshman reliever James Kaprielian came on in the seventh with a man on and none out. After he walked Ammirati, Henderson, the team leader in sacrifice bunts, fouled off two bunt tries and then grounded to second, where Regis started a double play. "Double play against Henderson was a game-changer," Savage said. Laken Tomlinson Super Bowl Jersey . Thousands of Southern California fans enveloped the Trojans to celebrate an improbable win secured by an interim coach, an inconsistent kicker and a thin defence that wouldnt break. Kendrick Bourne Super Bowl Jersey . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. http://www.49ersofficialfanshop.com/george-kittle-jersey-sales.html .ca NFL Power Rankings, overtaking the Denver Broncos and remaining ahead of NFC competition San Francisco, Carolina and New Orleans. Kentavius Street Super Bowl Jersey .C. -- Al Jefferson joked that he feels he can score from anywhere on the court. Y.A. Tittle Super Bowl Jersey . -- If this was Aaron Gordons final home game at Arizona, and it almost certainly was, then he went out in style. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Venus Williams wont reveal where she keeps her Olympic medals. Its always my secret, she says. But underwear drawer or trophy room, the five of them -- four gold, one silver -- is a total that signifies something only one other player has ever done. More so, it highlights the longevity that has characterized Williams career.The only other player to win as many medals as Williams was Great Britains Kitty McKane, who did it over two Olympics in 1920 and 1924. It should also be noted that when the 36-year-old Williams, who first struck gold at the 2000 Games, was asked Sunday whether she might consider the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she did not spit out her water.God willing, I imagine if I really want to be there, I could, said the five-time Olympian. Tokyo is about if I really want to be there, and if I want to continue to work this hard. Its a lot of hard work, and I will want to have to do the work. So well see.Williams and her partner in the Rio event, Rajeev Ram, certainly did the work Sunday, despite losing the gold-medal mixed-doubles match to fellow Americans Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Jack Sock, 6-7 (3), 6-1, (10-7), the latter score a 10-point tiebreaker, which is used in three of the four Grand Slam tournaments.Williams came into the tournament with a virus and lost in the first round of singles and doubles with sister Serena. Ram was summoned to join Venus just a few days before opening ceremonies, when defending mens doubles gold medalists Bob and Mike Bryan withdrew.It wasnt a tough choice to come to Rio, said Ram, who had to skip the Atlanta Open. No, the Olympics is something that only comes around every four years, and Atlanta comes around a lot. I was happy to skip that one.Ram, 32, who has known Venus throughout their careers and is coming off a Wimbledon semifinal finish in doubles, was happy to stick around Rio after losing with partner Brian Baker in mens doubles in the second round. Venus was equally as delighted to help the first-time Olympian win a silver medal.Its been an amazing partnership, she said. We really couldnt have asked for more. I mean we played a real good match. We faced a lot of great opponents. Its nice to be sitting right here with him.ddddddddddddIt was the second one-two finish in this event for the U.S. since 1924, when Hazel Wightman and Richard Williams defeated Marion Jessup and Vincent Richards.Mattek-Sands, like Sock, is a first-time Olympian. She talked about the goosebumps she experienced while waiting in the tunnel for the opening ceremonies to begin when the Americans began a USA, USA chant.We are with the greatest athletes representing your country, said Mattek Sands, a four-time Grand Slam titlist in doubles and mixed. It didnt matter if it was long-distance running, swimming, track or tennis, everyone was there chanting USA! You cant compare any Grand Slam to that. ... I dont think its even comparable.Sock came to Rio with a case of walking pneumonia. But before striking gold Sunday, he and Steve Johnson won bronze in mens doubles.Theres just something about being part of a team, Sock said. Tennis is such an individual sport, and the feeling that you get here is like no other.At 23, Sock was the only one of the finals participants who couldnt remember Venus earliest days on tour, but he did grow up watching her and received a few lessons Sunday.To be across the net from her was an incredible experience, Sock said. I thought my forehand was good before today. Some guys usually get intimidated by my forehand. And she was stepping up and smashing it with her backhand. So Im ready to go back to the practice court and work on some things.As for Venus, she can take a good amount of solace knowing how her Rio campaign ended.Its been an amazing experience, five Olympics for me, said Venus, who will move on to the US Open with a No. 6 world ranking in singles, her highest since early 2011. Its surreal that I even came out with any hardware at all. Its so well-contested here, every single one.All I can say is that its been beyond my dreams, she said. There is so much pressure, and when you can cross the line in any sort of way, it feels great.All those ruling out Tokyo 2020 might want to think again. ' ' '