Filmographie » rallied.Freshman cornerback Baylen Buchanan, the

CHICAGO -- A single sheet of paper sat on Willson Contreras chair in front of his locker when the Chicago Cubs rookie showed up for practice on Friday. It was a form letter asking players to list the names of people picking up the four tickets set aside for family members ahead of the NL Championship Series opener.Someone asked Contreras who would be picking up his.Nobody, the 24-year-old catcher said, trying to force a grin.Behind that rueful smile is a long story. Baseball provided Contreras a path out of the tough times back home in Venezuela and swept him to the top of the major leagues. But even that lofty position hasnt enabled him yet to get his parents, Olga and William, a visa to follow him to the United States. Their application for a temporary visa to watch him during the playoffs wasnt successful, either.Everybodys back home, Contreras confirmed. Its hard to get them here at this time of the year.They will be watching on TV from a new home he bought them, in a neighborhood with security guards. It was there that they saw their older son drive a tying single up the middle in Chicagos opening-round clinching win against the Giants.Contreras even has food delivered to their home, so his parents dont have to venture out to the grocery store, where long lines await. But fears about their safety never slip his mind for long.Hopefully, Conteras added a moment later, next year, theyll be here.Wait until next year has been the Cubs unofficial motto for a century and counting. Yet it carries just as much longing for the young Venezuelan as the most grizzled denizen of the citys North Side. Contreras made it to these shores a half-dozen years ago, followed soon after by younger brother, William, who is playing in the Braves organization. The boys never forget on whose shoulders they stood, making that huge step possible.At this time last year, Contreras was playing Double-A ball in Tennessee and he paused to carve Ernesto into the dirt before each at-bat, honoring the grandfather whod died back home barely two months earlier. This fall, he worries about his parents safety in a cash-strapped country where kidnapping the relatives of a famous baseball player is viewed as a lucrative business.In 2011, kidnappers there grabbed Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos and held him for ransom; fortunately, Ramos was eventually rescued.We dont talk about it that much, but we know what each other is going through, said Albert Almora Jr., another rookie whose locker is close by. Sometime, after a game, you can come here and see certain guys text messaging and you know theyre talking to family -- Willson, with his folks, in my case, its my dad. Hes fighting prostate cancer. ... So we make it a point to check in with each other every so often.Cubs manager Joe Maddon knew Contreras situation when the team called him up from Triple-A at midseason. As if learning to call games for a veteran and sometimes-finicky staff and bullpen wasnt hard enough, the manager had planned to pile more on his plate. Maddon wanted the one-time infielder to try his hand at first base and the outfield as well as behind the plate.Contreras rewarded Maddons faith by homering in his first big-league at-bat. His teammates made him feel right at home by shooing him out of the dugout soon after, reminding Contreras he still had to warm-up the relievers back in the bullpen. But hes made a good argument for deserving a regular spot in the lineup by hitting no matter which glove he was wearing. But just as impressive, Maddon says, is Contreras ability to compartmentalize all those jobs while still keeping one eye on his family a continent away.As a parent and as a manger, if my kids arent having a good day, then Im not. But when your family is down there, its hard to stay right here, Maddon recalled recently.Having his fiancee here has brought a bit of home along with him. So has finding a handful of seafood restaurants and long walks along Lake Michigan, which is as close to the beach near Contreras home in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, as hes likely to find for the moment.It will have to do.Im able to separate my personal situation from the game and I know that everybody back home is OK, Contreras said finally. So Ill be fine.---Jim Litke is a sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke(at)ap.org and https://Twitter.com/JimLitke Wholesale Stitched Jerseys . Irving scored 23 points, Tristan Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets 117-109 on Friday night. Cheap Jerseys 2020 . The head of USA Boxing came out swinging Tuesday with an open letter to Tyson -- a former Olympic hopeful himself -- that accuses the former heavyweight champion of trying to poach fighters who might be candidates for the U. https://www.wholesalejerseys2020.com/ .500 on the season. The Jets are now 0-5-1 in the second game of back-to-backs. The game started the same way the Vancouver game started the night before, with the Jets taking the first two penalties of the game and killing off the first, but the Oilers getting on the board first, scoring on the second man-advantage. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping . Pettersen, winner of last years Evian Championships, had nine birdies and three bogeys, holding off a series of challengers led by Marion Ricordeau of France. The second-ranked Norwegian made her season debut after missing the LPGA Tours opening event last month in the Bahamas because of a shoulder injury. China Jerseys . Fellow centre Pavel Datsyuk remains out because of a concussion. Zetterberg has 11 goals and 19 assists for a team-high 30 points, and Datsyuk has a team-high 12 goals and 11 assists. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessees defense is receiving plenty of unwanted opportunities to showcase its improved depth.Injuries have sidelined three of Tennessees top defensive players at various points in the season, yet the 11th-ranked Volunteers remain unbeaten thanks to contributions from backups who have stepped in as capable replacements.With all the injuries and stuff that weve seen, the next man thats behind that guy has stepped in and just played tremendous, linebacker Cortez McDowell said.Tennessee (4-0, 1-0 SEC) will need to keep that going Saturday when it visits No. 25 Georgia (3-1, 1-1) without the services of linebacker Darrin Kirkland Jr. and cornerback Cam Sutton. Kirkland will miss a third straight game with a high ankle sprain and Sutton will sit out his second game since fracturing his right ankle.The Vols are hoping to have linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin back for Georgia after he missed the majority of Tennessees last two games with a shoulder injury. Tennessee coach Butch Jones said Wednesday night on his Vol Calls radio show that Reeves-Maybin had another MRI so were waiting on word from there to see how his health is progressing.Reeves-Maybin and Sutton were selected as team captains before the season along with quarterback Joshua Dobbs and running back Alvin Kamara. Kirkland was Tennessees leading tackler before his injury.A lot of teams cannot recover from that, Jones said. Weve had some individuals step up and play winning football for us. ... Ive been real proud of these individuals for stepping up because those are three great football players that you take out of your lineup. Its hard to replace those three.The reinforcements have included McDowell and Colton Jumper.McDowell has stepped in for Reeves-Maybin and has 21 tackles, one off the team lead. McDowell and Quarte Sapp were both expected to back up Reeves-Maybin at weak-side linebacker, but Sapp tore his anterior cruciate ligament in Tennessees second game, knocking him out for the remainder of the season.Jumper, a former walk-on, had a team-high eight tackles Saturday in a 388-28 victory over No.dddddddddddd 23 Florida while filling in for Kirkland at Mike linebacker. Jumper had been Tennessees season-opening starter last year before moving to a reserve role, but he has played much better this year.That (experience) helps really with the nerves, coming into it, Jumper said. Just having starts under my belt and having some game reps, that really helps. ... I think my confidence level has gone up a little bit, and that helps a lot.Suttons injury has represented the biggest loss for Tennessees defense so far, and the four-year starter isnt coming back anytime soon. Jones said Wednesday there is a possibility that he may be able to get back for maybe the last couple of games of the year.Florida exposed Suttons absence last week with a couple of deep passes that set up the Gators first two touchdowns as Tennessee fell behind 21-0. But the defense played much better later as Tennessee rallied.Freshman cornerback Baylen Buchanan, the son of former NFL defensive back Ray Buchanan, is expected to make his first career start Saturday as Tennessee attempts to replace Sutton. Justin Martin had started in Suttons old spot last week but struggled early in the Florida game.While all these injuries have forced backups into bigger roles, Tennessees remaining healthy starters also have picked up the slack. Nobody has contributed more in that regard than defensive end Derek Barnett, who recorded two sacks against Florida to increase his career total to 22.He means as much to this team and this unit as any player on any team on any unit, defensive coordinator Bob Shoop said.Barnett passes the credit around by pointing out the way the rest of the defense has performed.We lost a few guys, but its next man up, Barnett said. It just goes to show we have a lot of young guys in this program who are very talented. Theyve all stepped up and really played well.---Online: The APs college football page: http://collegfootball.ap.org ' ' '