RIO DE JANEIRO -- Shortly after the 2012 London Olympics, U.S. BMX racer Connor Fields returned to his hometown of Las Vegas, bought a house and immediately set to work decorating. As a kid, hed adorned a wall in the family garage by writing a promise to himself to one day become a national champion, a world champ and an Olympic champ. A two-time Olympian and three-time World Cup winner, Fields has made good on most of those goals. But one still eludes him.So on the wall of his new home in Vegas, he placed another reminder. Among the pieces of art he purchased to commemorate the countries hed visited while competing around the world -- New Zealand, South Africa, France, Australia -- he placed a 6-foot wide panorama of the Rio de Janeiro skyline behind its famed Christ the Redeemer statue. It was an image of a city hed yet to visit, but held his aspirations for the next four years.Im not going to lie, says Fields, 23. There are days when you dont want to get up and go to work. Its nice to have a reminder of why youre getting off the couch, strapping on the helmet and going down an 8-meter-tall starting hill with seven dudes trying to kill you.After a strong start in the early rounds in London, Fields finished off the podium in seventh. It was a respectable showing for the youngest rider in the race (he was 19 at the time), but one that left him dissatisfied and wanting more. I was happy with my performance until finals, says Fields, who missed the latter half of the 2016 season with a broken hand but returned to competition in time to be granted a coachs selection for Rio. I had one bad start. But thats BMX racing. You could run the Olympic race 10 times and get 10 different winners. Thats what makes it so exciting for spectators. The fastest guy doesnt always win. But Im going to be more prepared this time for that bigger moment at the end.The same could be said for all five members of the U.S. team. Four of the five -- Fields, Nic Long, Alise Post and Brooke Crain -- competed in London. Corben Sharrah, who rounds out the Rio team and won the U.S. Olympic trials race in July, traveled to London as an alternate.In Beijing, the Americans won three medals in BMX cyclings Olympic debut, including a team-best silver by Mike Day. Each rider in London hoped to be the first to bring a gold medal back to the States, the birthplace of the sport. But Post crashed in her semifinal heat. Crain, a last-minute replacement when Arielle Martin was injured, finished last in the final, and Long was eliminated in quarterfinals.Being successful at the Olympics is about handling the pressure and remembering why you are where you are and not worrying about the little things, Post says. Staying focused so you dont build up this race to be something special, where everyones eyes are on you. In London, people kept telling me how I would feel, and I expected to feel overwhelmed. So by the end of it, I was.All five members of the U.S. team have the potential to medal or win in Rio. But in the years since the sport made its Olympic debut, that task has become tougher as the rest of the worlds riders have caught up with their American peers. Some countries, such as Australia and France, have well-funded, well-developed Olympic programs. Others such as Colombia, which produced 2012 womens champ Mariana Pajon, have passionate, hungry athletes who perform well in big moments.After Beijing, many countries invested in their programs and built tracks, which took away the advantage the U.S. had pre-2008, when the Olympic replica track in Chula Vista, California, was the only one like it in the world. (Well, except for the Olympic track in Beijing.) Most countries now have open-door policies at their facilities, including the U.S. In the weeks leading up to the Rio Games, the U.S. riders remained in Chula Vista to train, but top riders from several countries lined up in the start gate alongside them, as well. Thats a big change from pre-2012, and one USA Cycling BMX director Jamie Staff believes will be invaluable to his riders.I saw value in allowing our competitors to train here, he says. The advantage of having the only track in the world is gone. I wanted to expose our athletes to the stresses of competition on a more frequent basis. If they are on the gate with the best in the world more often, they will be uncomfortable more often. Theyll know where they stand, and it keeps the pressure on them. Besides, where would you rather have your competition? Next to you where I can film them and time them or on the other side of the world?In those late-July practices, Staff saw greatness in his riders and believes they match up well no matter who is in the start gate next to them come Fridays finals. For their part, his riders hope all their hard work adds up to the first BMX Olympic gold medal for the U.S.It was disappointing to not have hardware from anyone on the team in London considering we were so successful in Beijing, Post says. We were a young team, and now were back with experience. To get a gold medal and be the first U.S. rider to win would be amazing. This is our sport, and to bring it back to our country would mean a lot. Its hard for a sport to stand out in the U.S. without a gold medal. Itd be cool to be the person to bring it home.If its Fields who does so, its likely he already knows precisely where the medal will hang in his home.Nike Shox Nz Bianche . The third-ranked Ivanovic, who won the event in 2008 and 10, served five aces and broke Wickmayer, also a former winner in 2009, five times. "The result looked easier than it really was," Ivanovic said. Nike Shox R4 Uomo . Their experience showed Tuesday as the No. 10 Badgers blunted a Saint Louis surge to win 63-57 and advance to face West Virginia in Wednesdays finals of the Cancun Challenge. http://www.nikeshoxoutletitalia.it/nike-shox-r4-donne-scarpa-bianche-rosa.html . 10 VCU 85-67 on Thursday night at the Puerto Rico Tip-Off. The Seminoles (4-0) have scored at least 80 points in each of their games. Nike Shox Nz Donna . -- Josh Sterk scored once and set up two more as the Oshawa Generals edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 3-2 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Nike Shox Uomo . The veteran safety was a starter for the Bengals from 2008-2012. He totaled 41 tackles and three interceptions while starting all but four of the 13 games he played last season.Corey Seager won the NL Rookie of the Year award unanimously.Michael Fulmer took the AL honor -- and that vote wasnt all that close, either.Seager and Fulmer were announced as the winners Monday night, when votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America were made public. Seagers victory was almost a foregone conclusion after he hit .308 with 26 home runs and 72 RBI this year for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Fulmer, on the other hand, had to hold off a late challenge from New York Yankees catcher Gary Sanchez, who hit 20 home runs in only 53 games.Fulmers season-long contributions for Detroit won out. The right-hander went 11-7 with a 3.06 ERA in 26 starts for the Tigers. He ended up receiving 26 of 30 first-place votes from the BBWAA, outdistancing Sanchez by a total of 142 points to 91.Im really happy and blessed to receive this award, Fulmer said on a conference call. I knew that both Gary and Tyler (Naquin) had outstanding years, and I hope to play against them for a long time.Naquin, a Cleveland outfielder, finished third in the AL race.Seager received the maximum 150 points in the NL vote. The Los Angeles shortstop finished well ahead of Washington outfielder Trea Turner (42) and Dodgers pitcher Kenta Maeda (37).Seager is the 17th Dodgers player to earn Rookie of the Year honors -- easily the most of any team -- but the franchise hadnt had a winner since Todd Hollandsworth in 1996.Its obviously awesome to win it in general, but to bring it back to L.A. -- it hasnt been there for a while, and theyre known as an organization for winning all those Rookie of the Years with Tommy Lasorda and all them, Seager said. So its pretty cool to be able to be connected to all the guys that came before you.The Dodgers, of course, had the first Rookie of the Year when Jackie Robinson won in 1947. They also had four winners in a row from 1979-82 and five in a row from 1992-96.Seager was the second player in a row to win NL Rookie of the Year unanimoously.dddddddddddd Kris Bryant of the Chicago Cubs did it last year. Seager joins a list of Dodgers Rookie of the Year winners that includes luminaries like Robinson, Fernando Valenzuela (1981) and Mike Piazza (1993).A first-round draft pick by the Dodgers in 2012, Seager made his big league debut in 2015, hitting .337 in 27 games. He came into this season with high expectations and produced a phenomenal year. He is one of three finalists for Thursdays NL Most Valuable Player announcement, joining Bryant and Washingtons Daniel Murphy.Seager indicated that accolades like this were the furthest thing from his mind coming into the season.I didnt expect to win anything, he said. Its a tough game, you dont take anything for granted, you dont expect anything to be given to you.Fulmer is the fifth Tigers player to win Rookie of the Year, joining Justin Verlander (2006), Lou Whitaker (1978), Mark Fidrych (1976) and Harvey Kuenn (1953). Verlander is now a mentor to Fulmer in the Detroit rotation.I remember back in spring training where I was kind of nervous to come up to him, Fulmer said. I watched him -- ever since he was a rookie, he was one of my favorite pitchers in the game.Detroit acquired Fulmer in 2015 from the Mets in the trade that sent Yoenis Cespedes to New York. Fulmer made his big league debut this April and lifted the Tigers with a sensational stretch leading up to the All-Star break. From May 21 through July 6, he went 7-1 with a 0.63 ERA.Sanchez made his own bid with his torrid hitting down the stretch, but that wasnt enough to close the gap on Fulmer.What he did this year was unbelievable -- for him to hit 20 home runs in 53 games, Fulmer said. Its really cool to see guys like that, see young guys do that. Just to be nominated with him is a big honor.---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister ' ' '