Offtopic/fun » forward Auston Matthews. Crosby faced Matthews, the

EUGENE, Ore. -- The defending Olympic pole vault champion warmed up, then cooled down, then ran through the whole process again, as the driving rain pelted the field Friday at U.S. Olympic Trials.The more time you have to think, the more youre like, `Wow. This is how bad things happen, Jenn Suhr said.Suhr escaped the badness. Several other big-name athletes werent as lucky on a rain-drenched afternoon at Hayward Field.On a day that saw LaShawn Merritt lower his world-best mark at 200 meters to 19.74 seconds -- in a semifinal heat, no less -- and two high-school kids, Michael Norman and Noah Lyles, earn spots in the final, there was just as much buzz about those whose chances got washed away in the rain.First among them was hurdler Dawn Harper-Nelson, whose run at a third Olympic medal came to a stunning halt in 100-meter semifinals, when she finished third -- not good enough to make the eight-woman final.Tears are going to come, she said. Right now, Im just in shock.Later, after the rain had stopped but the track was still slick, American record-holder Keni Harrison stumbled to a sixth-place finish and a spot on the couch next month. Brianna Rollins, the 2013 worlds gold medalist, won in 12.34 seconds, a comfortable .16 ahead of Kristi Castlin, who was considered a bigger threat four years ago at trials.Harrison was supposed to be the woman to beat this year.It happened so fast, she said, clearly holding back tears. Ill have to watch film. Its unfortunate, because my season was going so well. But this stuff happens.It also happened to Shamier Little. The worlds silver medalist in 400-meter hurdles didnt make it out of her semifinal heat.Allyson Felix took to the track well before the rain hit, and coasted through her 200-meter qualifying heat in 22.93 seconds. It was her first race in nearly a year at her favorite distance. She said nothings really changed with her aching right ankle, despite four days of rest.Just trying to see how it does on the curve, and all that, she said, as she moved ahead in her quest for the 200-400 double at the Rio Games.Shortly after Felixs race, the sky opened, and everybodys outlook changed. The discus and pole vault competitions were delayed. The 100-meter hurdle semifinals turned into even more of an adventure than usual.I couldnt see through my race, said Nia Ali, who got safely through the semifinal, then finished third in the final, too, to make the Olympics.Suhr, whose gold medal in London came in a windy rainstorm, only needed one jump to qualify for the final.Im thankful to make it, because you never take it for granted, she said.Also waiting out the rain was Tavis Bailey, who finished second in discus finals -- one of the most competitive contests on the card.When raindrops are hitting the discus in your hand, that will get to you, said Bailey, who finished behind Mason Finley.Not so fortunate was defending national champion Jared Schuurmans, who finished fifth.Others with decent chances who didnt make the team included high jumpers Jesse Williams, the 2011 world champion, and Randall Cunningham, who was hoping to join his sister, Vashti, on the trip to Brazil.When you landed on the mat, you landed in puddles, said Cunningham, who does the bulk of his training in bone-dry Las Vegas. Your whole body was soaked.Such is life in track and field -- and everything is amplified in the no-excuses world of U.S. Olympic qualifying, where the top three finishers make it and no exceptions are made for injuries, past performances -- or weather.Nobody felt worse than Harper-Nelson, who burst onto the scene eight years ago at the Birds Nest in Beijing, crossing the line first after her more-ballyhooed teammate, Lolo Jones, tripped on the second-to-last barrier. That day, Harper-Nelson crossed the line and could be seen mouthing the words What? What?She was every bit as dumbfounded by this finish.Complete disbelief, she called it. Ive never been in a position where someone is pulling away and I wasnt able to react.Other happenings on Day 7 of track trials:HURDLES WIN: Rollins stepped ever so slightly into an adjacent lane late in the 100-meter hurdles race but didnt impede fourth-place finisher Queen Harrison, so there was no protest, and no change in the results.SPRINT FAREWELL: Lost in the buzz over the high-schoolers making the 200-meter final was the fact that three longtime mainstays of the U.S. sprint team -- Mike Rodgers, Wallace Spearmon and Walter Dix -- all failed to advance. On the womens side, Jenna Prandini had the best 200 time, at 22.72 seconds.JAGR MASTERY: Evan Jager won the mens steeplechase in 8:22.48. Hell be joined in Rio by Hillary Bor and Donn Cabral.ARIES ADVANCES: Defending Olympic champion Aries Merritt, less than a year removed from a kidney transplant, made it through his qualifying heat in 110-meter hurdles. Also making it were 2008 bronze medalist David Oliver and 2012 silver medalist Jason Richardson.QUOTABLE: Dont mean to brag, but were pretty extraordinary, Lyles, after he and fellow 18-year-old Norman won their heats in the 200-meter semifinals. Troy Loney Jersey . "We have always prided ourselves on the way we play defence. Having two big pieces back is going to be a key for us moving forward for years to come," said Knighthawks head coach Mike Hasen. Ondrej Kase Jersey . -- The Sacramento Kings are set to become the first major professional sports franchise to accept Bitcoin virtual currency for ticket and merchandise purchases. https://www.cheapducks.com/177c-andy-mcdonald-jersey-ducks.html . Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek defeated Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on the indoor hard-court at Belgrade Arena. The victory improved the Czech pairs impressive cup doubles record to 14-1. Teemu Selanne Jersey .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. Dave Karpa Jersey . All of the scoring came in the final 20:04. Lucic scored on a power play at 15:46 of the third period, when he tipped a shot over Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen for a 3-1 lead. PITTSBURGH -- Matt Murray stood tall for the Pittsburgh Penguins during a key second-period sequence in which the short-handed Toronto Maple Leafs tried to make a push.Murray turned aside the threat and the Penguins took over from there, putting away a tired Maple Leafs team in the final 20 minutes.Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust scored in the third period to help Pittsburgh pull away for a 4-1 victory over Toronto on Saturday night.I think sometimes you give up opportunities and we kind of dodged one with some of the chances they got, Crosby said. Those were some big saves and we were able to get those go-ahead goals after that.Evgeni Malkin and Chris Kunitz also scored and Murray stopped a career-high 35 shots as Pittsburgh won for the seventh time in nine games.Zach Hyman scored for the Maple Leafs and Frederik Andersen had 45 saves in his second start in two nights. Toronto has won just once in its last eight on the road.I thought our fatigue showed a bit in the third period, Leafs coach Mike Babcock said. Our goalie was good and we gave up two, what I think, are bad goals that are D-zone coverage.Murray kept the game tied at 1 late in the second period, denying Connor Brown and Matt Martin on a pair of point-blank, short-handed opportunities, in addition to a stop on another odd-man rush.My job is to make the save at the right time, to bail them out when they need it, and they came out hot in the third, said Murray, who has won his last 11 regular-season starts. We were pretty much unstoppable in the third.Kunitz put the Penguins ahead with 18 seconds left in the period when he flipped the puck over a sprawled Andersen.To get that goal late in the second definitely gave us a big boost, Crosby said.Rust made it 3-1 at 6:58 of the third period when he took a feed from Crosby at the faceoff dot and put a shot on Andersen. He got his own rebound and darted to the net, sweeping a shot past Andersens outstretched pad.Crosby extended the lead a little more than three minutes later, tapping in a twice-redirected shot from the top of the crease for his 10th of the season. Crosby, who missed the Penguins first six games with a concussion, has 10 goals and 133 points in his last nine.ddddddddddddThe Penguins, who rebounded from their first regulation loss on home ice Thursday against Minnesota, extended their unbeaten stretch against Toronto to nine games, including seven in Pittsburgh.Everyone has been there with back-to-back games, Crosby said. Going into the third, its not easy, but I thought we did a good job of keeping our foot on the gas and applying pressure.Hyman got Toronto on the scoreboard first less than two minutes into the game with a between-the-legs deflection over Murrays shoulder from the right post. It was Hymans second goal of the season and second in two nights.Malkin scored his eighth on the power play to tie it at 3:06 of the second. Kris Letangs initial shot from between the circles ricocheted off the end boards behind the net and Malkin was near the post to tap it in.Malkin has points in nine of his last 11 games, including four straight overall and six consecutive at home. Patric Hornqvist, who had an assist on the goal, has points in 11 of 15 games this season.This was the first meeting between Crosby and Maple Leafs rookie forward Auston Matthews. Crosby faced Matthews, the No. 1 overall pick in 2016, four days after his first game against Edmonton star Connor McDavid, the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft.Matthews, who had six goals and four assists in his first six games, hasnt scored since Oct. 25, and has just three assists in his last nine games. He was shut out again on Saturday with one shot in nearly 17 minutes of ice timeGame notes Leafs D Matt Hunwick played for the first time since sustaining a lower-body injury Oct. 25. ... Penguins F Tom Kuhnhackl was in the lineup for the first time in six games. ... The Penguins wore their Pittsburgh Gold white road jerseys on home ice for the first time since Game 2 of the 1992 Stanley Cup Final against Chicago.UP NEXTToronto: Hosts Nashville on Tuesday night in the opener of a stretch of three of four at home.Pittsburgh: At Washington on Wednesday night to start a stretch of five of six on the road. ' ' '