On Tuesday, Bryant was on the lineup card at third base, batting second.Ben Zobrist returned to the lineup after a day off to bat leadoff and play right field. Willson Contreras,

NEW YORK -- WNBA President Lisa Borders applauds the leagues players for taking a stance on social issues. She just wishes the activism was kept off the court.The New York, Phoenix and Indiana teams and players were fined this week for wearing black warmup shirts that addressed the recent shooting by and against police. WNBA rules state that uniforms may not be altered in any way.Borders spent the past two weeks talking with the union and its executive council, trying to come up with ways that both the league and its players could constructively address the Black Lives Matters movement. Nothing concrete was decided.We were making every effort to engage our players, she told The Associated Press by phone Friday night. We made an effort to support them and we were trying to get them to come to the table to have a conversation. The players have an open invitation with the league.Our players are important to us. We believe in them. We want them to be the people they are and were proud of them. We want to make sure they play well on the court and they are happy off the court.Right now, the players arent happy.On social media and in postgame interviews, players are showing their solidarity after the league fined the Liberty, Mercury and Fever players $500 each this week for wearing plain black warmup shirts that violated the leagues uniform policy. The normal fine for a uniform violation is $200. Each team also was fined $5,000.The Rev. Al Sharpton said Saturday his organization, the National Action Network, will pay the $500 fines. He called the penalty unacceptable.Washington Mystics players had shirts saying Black Lives Matters in the locker room after their game Friday night. Seattle Storm and Minnesota Lynx players tweeted out pictures of their teams wearing black shirts featuring a Martin Luther King Jr. quote before their game. They didnt wear those shirts on the court to avoid getting fined.Were sick and tired of waking up every morning and seeing something like this (shootings) happen, Mystics player Ivory Latta said after her team played its final game before the Olympic break. We need change and we have a platform to speak. Dont tell us we have a platform and then you penalize us for our platform for speaking and showing our actions. Thats not right.Borders, on the job for four months, disagreed with the notion that the league was suppressing its players voices.We want the players to know that we have supported them in the past, support them today and will continue to support them in the future, she said. Were not trying to stop them from expressing themselves.The league just doesnt want them to do it on the court if it violates the WNBA uniform rules. The shirts that the players were fined for wearing were the Adidas brand -- the official outfitter of the league.The Adidas black shirts are not regulation, Borders said. They are sponsor appropriate, but the Adidas plain black shirt would not be a regulation-issued shirt.The union felt it was unnecessary for the league to issue a memo this week reminding the players of the uniform policy. Because of that memo, the players and union werent surprised by the fine. They were just disappointed.This isnt about a shirt, but that was the starting point, Terri Jackson, the new operations director of the WNBA Players Association, told the AP. The players want to blog about (Black Lives Matter), tweet about it, do videos. They want to raise visibility and keep the conversation going. They dont want this to die out.Jackson said the unions legal team is looking into what it can do about the fines, which she called excessive. She said the union proposed letting the players have a limited time to express their opinions on the court.We talked about doing it pregame at the 10-minute mark or the 15-minute mark and theyd go back and put on their regulation warmup. Wear the regulation warmups for the national anthem and life goes on. That was declined by the league.While the league begins its monthlong break Saturday, its top players will be playing in Rio at the Olympics. U.S. coach Geno Auriemma said he was proud of their social activism.I respect Tina (Charles) and the players in the WNBA for their concern and their voices and the passion that they have and for their beliefs. I really do, he said, citing the former UConn player and Liberty star for wearing her warmup shirt inside-out before Thursdays game. Im really proud of some of my former players and the way theyve stepped forward and spoken their conscience and express their feelings.The league was still undecided on whether Charles would be fined.Auriemma said if players take actions at the Olympics it would be a difficult balancing act.As far as USA Basketball is concerned, you know, thats a very delicate subject, he said. Obviously each player has an opportunity to be who they want and say what they feel, but at the same time, you are representing the United States of America, and you are part of the Olympic team. ... Im sure itll come up, and well have to deal with it.He said the matter would largely fall to U.S. Olympic and basketball authorities.Both the league and the union hope for constructive conversations during the break. Borders said shell be in Rio for two weeks and will participate in the monthly conference call between the two groups on Aug. 1. She missed the call on July 11 when the shirts initially were discussed.I love this league and its players. Id never do anything to harm the league, franchises or players, Borders said. I want them to understand were here to support them. Weve hit a bump in a road. This too shall pass. Dorian ODaniel Super Bowl Jersey . Only three players drafted by NHL clubs were included on the Czech selection camp roster on Wednesday. Those players were Dallas Stars 2012 first-rounder Radek Faksa, Winnipeg Jets 2013 fourth-rounder Jan Kostalek and Phoenix Coyotes 2012 seventh-rounder Marek Langhamer. Darwin Thompson Super Bowl Jersey . Its 1987 and a Brazilian playmaker, known as Mirandinha, is being paraded around St James Park to the passionate Newcastle fans. http://www.officialkcchiefspro.com/Mecole-hardman-chiefs-jersey/ . -- For the first time in two months, an opponent was standing up to Alabama. Tyrann Mathieu Super Bowl Jersey . Tuesdays surgery at Atlantas Piedmont Hospital was performed by Dr. Xavier Duralde and Hawks team physician Dr. Michael Bernot. Alex Okafor Super Bowl Jersey . Mickelson barely made the cut but had the best round of the day with nine birdies and an eagle coupled with two bogeys to sit two shots behind leader Craig Lee of Scotland. Lee shot a 69 for a 12-under 204 total. "I just love the fact I am in contention and have an opportunity in my first tournament of the year here in Abu Dhabi," Mickelson said. Chicago Cubs star Kris Bryant was back in the lineup Tuesday after an outfield collision the day before, but that didnt mean he didnt get a scare.The crash with center fielder Albert Almora Jr. in the fifth inning against the Cincinnati Reds brought to mind the collision that Cubs left fielder Kyle Schwarber had with Dexter Fowler in the third game of the season. That one ended Schwarbers season when he suffered a serious knee injury.Yeah, right when I hit the ground. Any time its with the knee and it goes the way its not supposed to go, its scary, Bryant, who played left field on Monday, said Tuesday. So I was sitting there on the ground looking at my leg, and it looked straight to me, so I thought maybe its not as bad as that. But that was the first thing that crossed my mind, what happened to Kyle.The Cubs said that Bryant suffered a lower left leg bruise. Bryant said that his leg was sore but nothing to keep me from playing.Bryant had an eventful day Monday. He hit his league-leading 24th home run but also had another near miss with shortstop Addison Russell in the third inning on a popup to left.?I think I got lucky, he said. Yesterday wasnt the best day in the outfield. But like I said, things could have been a lot worse.While Almora blamed himself Monday for the collision, the consensus among Bryant and the Cubs is that he needs to yell louder when calling for balls in the outfield.I probablly wasnt calling for it as loud as I could, but I was calling for it, just because of what happened with me and Addison earlier, he said.dddddddddddd But it was unfortunate that we were both calling for it at the same time.On Tuesday, Almora expressed remorse again for his role in the collision.I dont want to hurt like my brother, he said. Hes going to be one of my witnesses at my wedding in a couple weeks. I came in after the game. I tried to find him and hes doing all right. I gave him like 15,000 hugs I think. I apologized every time, but hes good.On Tuesday, Bryant was on the lineup card at third base, batting second.Ben Zobrist returned to the lineup after a day off to bat leadoff and play right field. Willson Contreras, who normally catches and also had a home run Monday, was slated to start in left field.Jason Heyward, who was dropped to the sixth spot for the first time Monday and responded with two hits and two RBIs, was again batting there Tuesday. Maddon had pitcher John Lackey hitting eighth, with second baseman Javier Baez in the 9-spot.Bryant has 63 RBIs to go with his 24 homers this season. He is likely to be named the All-Star Game starter at third base when final fan voting is released Tuesday.Information from ESPNs Jesse Rogers was used in this report. ' ' '