n 265 games and lost 65. This was the Buckeyes 26th game in the building since th | Forum

NEW YORK -- After grinding for months to get back into the playoffs, the New York Mets didnt last long. Wholesale Shoes Cheap Free Shipping .Nine scoreless innings, to be exact. Never pushed a runner past second base.A postseason matchup against Madison Bumgarner spelled their demise, just as it did for other talented teams in recent years. And with a 3-0 loss at home to San Francisco in the wild-card game Wednesday night, New Yorks drive to repeat as NL champion ended quietly.Noah Syndergaard fired zeros for seven pressure-packed innings, but the Mets mustered only four hits. Three of them, by Rene Rivera, T.J. Rivera and Ty Kelly, came from players who werent even on the 40-man roster when the season began.So it went this year for the banged-up Mets, beset by one significant injury after another as a string of unheralded backups filled in admirably. Even after getting eliminated, New York (87-75) felt good about reaching the playoffs in consecutive seasons for only the second time in franchise history (1999-2000).Theres only a few teams that could have come back under the circumstances we came back on, and Im really proud of them, manager Terry Collins said. We overcame a lot of things. So to get here, it took a lot of character. Boy, I tell you. And were disappointed -- but well be able to get healthy and well be back.Every established regular besides outfielder Curtis Granderson spent time on the disabled list, in addition to helpful part-timers Wilmer Flores and Juan Lagares.Jacob deGrom, Matt Harvey and Steven Matz went down with season-ending injuries and required surgery, decimating one of baseballs best rotations. Zack Wheeler hasnt made it back from Tommy John surgery in March 2015.In their places, 43-year-old Bartolo Colon and surprising rookies Seth Lugo and Robert Gsellman came to the rescue.This organization did a really good job of preparing the younger guys that were going to come in and impact, starting in spring training, so they could feel comfortable with the guys up here that opened, and we could feel comfortable with them, Granderson said.Better luck next year? Sure, you could put it that way.Better health next year, thats what the Mets are counting on as they chase their first World Series championship since 1986. Spring training will feel like the waiting room in a crowded doctors office, everyone at least a little nervous about each scheduled checkup.For now, though, attention turns to an important offseason with a familiar priority: Yoenis Cespedes.Here are some major issues coming up for the Mets:THE BIG BATCespedes has until the third day after the World Series to opt out of his $75 million, three-year contract after one season and become a free agent. The star slugger hit the open market last year but re-signed with New York, the deal structured so he could soon choose to shop his services again. With fewer power hitters available this winter and coming off another productive season (31 HRs, 86 RBI, .884 OPS), Cespedes would figure to attract larger offers this time -- certainly for more money than the $47.5 million remaining on his current contract.Cespedes seems comfortable in New York but has plenty of leverage because the Mets record with and without him the past two seasons shows how crucial he is to their lineup. So what will it take to keep Cespedes, and would the Mets pay a hefty price? General manager Sandy Alderson acquired outfielder Jay Bruce from Cincinnati on Aug. 1 partly as insurance for 2017, but New York needs Cespedes right-handed pop -- especially in an offense so reliant on home runs. The team set a club record with 218 this season.SECOND THOUGHTSSwitch-hitting second baseman Neil Walker (23 homers) had season-ending back surgery and can become a free agent. New York traded second-base prospect Dilson Herrera for Bruce, so its unclear who will start there next year. But the Mets think theyre pretty well covered with Flores and hometown rookie T.J. Rivera, plus a couple of middle-infield prospects on the way. Jose Reyes or Asdrubal Cabrera could probably shift over from the left side if needed.CATCH 22The Mets thought they had an emerging young catcher with pop in Travis dArnaud, albeit one who was injury-prone. But he was unproductive at the plate this season and shaky behind it, losing playing time to veteran Rene Rivera. What do the Mets do about dArnaud?WILL ARMS BE READY?Harvey is a huge question mark following surgery for thoracic outlet syndrome, while deGrom and Matz are supposed to be healthy next spring after elbow operations. The team hopes Wheeler can overcome his setbacks. So will the Mets re-sign the ageless Colon (15-8, 3.43 ERA, team-high 191 2/3 innings) as insurance again? Or will they view Lugo and Gsellman as sufficient (and cheaper) options. With right-handed reliever Fernando Salas and lefty specialist Jerry Blevins both potential free agents, New York might need to address a hole in the seventh inning, too.MY CAPTAINLongtime third baseman David Wright had season-ending surgery in June to repair a herniated disk in his neck, one year after he was diagnosed with spinal stenosis and missed most of 2015. Wright looked awfully thin during pregame introductions Wednesday. He says he plans to come back, but can the captain still play at age 34 next season? Reyes and Flores could provide coverage at third base. Wholesale Cheap Shoes Online . Oaklands loss to Seattle clinched the ALs best record for the Red Sox with one day to spare in the regular season. "I think everybody was kind of watching," catcher David Ross said. "Demp (Ryan Dempster) came out before he went to the bullpen and was just yelling that they lost. Wholesale Shoes China . LOUIS -- Roman Polak was celebrating even before Alexander Steen scored the winning goal in Saturdays 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. http://www.wholesaleshoescheap.com/ . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It has been a while since Ohio State redshirt junior forward Stephanie Mavunga had played in real game. She nearly forgot how much the game had changed since she last played for North Carolina in the 2014-15 season.Still, she managed to score 15 points and grab 14 rebounds to help the No. 7 Buckeyes beat Duquesne 89-69 on Friday in the opener for both teams.Last season the womens game switched from two, 20-minute halves to four, 10-minute quarters. Mavunga was first team All-ACC for the Tar Heels before she sat last season per NCAA transfer rules.I remember asking my teammates, `We play quarters? Mavunga said. Even though I watched it last year, its different when you actually got on there and played quarters. That was a little change I wasnt used to.She was one of four Buckeyes in double-figure scoring. All-American guard Kelsey Mitchell managed 18 points; Sierra Calhoun had 13 points and Shayla Cooper 12.Calhoun last played 13 games for Duke in 2014-15. She also had to sit out last season when the Buckeyes went 26-8 and reached the NCAA Sweet 16.Being a fan on the bench, thats fun, too, learning things, she said. But its extremely fun to get out there on the court and playing with your teammates and having a good time.Mitchell played 34 minutes and finished 6 of 17 from the field, including 2 of 9 on 3-pointers. She was an AP first-team selection in 2016 when she was third in the nation in scoring at 26.1 points.Sometimes you have to remind her how good she is, Ohio State coach Kevin McGuff said. Shes so hard on herself that she wants everything to go perfectly, and she wants to impact the team in such positive ways that shes not her normaal self. Wholesale Shoes Cheap China. Chassidy Omogrosso led the Dukes with 17 points. Julijana Vojinovic had 16 and Amadea Szamosi 13.The Buckeyes led 46-26 at the half and increased the lead to 55-29 midway through the third quarter. Duquesne went on a 12-2 run to make it 57-41 before OSU pulled away.I hate to say this, theres no moral victories, but to be only 20 down to a team of that caliber with such youth that we have, Im not overly disappointed, Duquesne coach Dan Burt said.ON THE BOARDSOhio State held a wide margin in rebounds, 55-33, including 23 offensive boards. The Buckeyes had 22 second-chance points compared to nine for the Dukes. We made plenty of mistakes, but we played hard, McGuff said. We rebounded, so we limited their ability to get second shots.QUOTABLEWhen you graduate a backcourt like we had graduate and we literally had one guard with experience, youre always going to be concerned when you play a possible Final Four team, Burt said.TIP-INSDuquesne: The Dukes are 24-20 in season openers. . Although Duquesne dropped to 1-6 vs. the Buckeyes, the Dukes won the most recent game against them, 71-67 on Dec. 18, 2010, in Columbus.Ohio State: The Buckeyes returned to their original home for the game because Value City Arena hosted a mens hockey game. OSU first played in St. John Arena in the 1974-75 season and have won 265 games and lost 65. This was the Buckeyes 26th game in the building since the move to Value City Arena before the 1998-99 season.UP NEXTDuquesne hosts Lehigh on Sunday.Ohio State hosts No. 4 South Carolina on Monday. ' ' '