t to rival nations and, currently ranked 112th in the world, is hardly a glamour soccer destination. But such def

WASHINGTON - For the second time in three years, the Washington Nationals won the most games in the NL — and then quickly exited from the playoffs. DAngelo Russell Jersey . Now comes an off-season of questions about manager Matt Williams decisions and a handful of key roster choices, including what to do about Ryan Zimmerman, whether to sign Jordan Zimmermann and Ian Desmond to long-term deals, and how to upgrade an offence that fell flat in October. The window is not closed, Desmond said after the Nationals season ended Tuesday night with a 3-2 loss to the San Francisco Giants in Game 4 of their NL Division Series, but it is closing. At 96-66 under rookie skipper Williams, Washington finished first in the NL East by 17 games and had the best record in the league. Its pitching staff led the majors with a 3.03 ERA, as Zimmermann, who threw a no-hitter in the regular-season finale, teamed with Stephen Strasburg, Doug Fister, Gio Gonzalez and Tanner Roark to form as formidable rotation. The lineup lacked superstar numbers, but it managed to finish third in the NL in runs. Then came the post-season. Just like in 2012, when it won 98 games, a top-seeded Nationals club lost to a wild-card opponent in the NLDS. The pitching was fine — Washington and San Francisco each scored nine runs in the series — although Williams use of his relievers will provide fodder for months worth of talk-radio segments. Should he have lifted Zimmermann with two outs in the ninth in Game 2? Should he have gone through Game 4 without ever using Tyler Clippard, Drew Storen, Craig Stammen or an available Strasburg? Should he have picked one of those pitchers for the pivotal seventh inning, when the Giants took the lead for good, instead of Matt Thornton and rookie Aaron Barrett, whose wild pitch let the go-ahead run score? Those are our seventh-inning guys, Williams said. Thats how we set this up. The biggest problem of all in the playoffs, though, was the lack of runs. The only batters who produced against the Giants were left fielder Bryce Harper and Anthony Rendon, who replaced Zimmerman as the teams third baseman in 2014. Rendon batted .400 in the NLDS. Harper hit .368 with three homers and four RBIs, which might raise an additional second-guess: Why was he batting sixth? The No. 3-4 hitters, right fielder Jayson Werth and 34-year-old first baseman Adam LaRoche, were particularly off. They went a combined 2 for 35 (a .057 average) with a pair of singles and nine strikeouts. They were hardly alone, though. The No. 1, 5 and 7 hitters — centre fielder Denard Span, shortstop Desmond and catcher Wilson Ramos — were 7 for 54 (.130) with 15 strikeouts, zero extra-base hits and zero RBIs. Its just frustrating to get to this point and not play to our capabilities, Span said. This will stick with me the whole off-season. When the Nationals eventually gather in Florida for spring training in February, the focus will be squarely on why a club so successful in the regular season hasnt been able to follow that up in the post-season. LaRoche might be gone, perhaps replaced at first base by Zimmerman. Second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera, a trade-deadline pickup, can become a free agent, and deposed closer Rafael Soriano could be gone, too. As things stand now, the Nationals have a contract option to keep Span for next season, while Zimmermann and Desmond can become free agents after the 2015 season. Were a good team and we had a goal in mind, reliever Jerry Blevins said. This wasnt it. ___ Freelance writer Rick Eymer in San Francisco contributed to this report. Timofey Mozgov Swingman Jersey . Altidore strained his left hamstring in the Americans opener against Ghana on June 16 and didnt play in their next two games. "We dont know how much because we need to see how hes going, but hes available," U. DAngelo Russell Black Jersey . -- All-Pro tight end Jimmy Graham and the New Orleans Saints met Tuesday for arbitration on his contract. http://www.nbanetsproshop.com/womens-timofey-mozgov-basketball-jersey/ . His right arm rested in a sling and was encased in a cast from above the elbow to his hand. "Im excited," Fernandez said with a grin.TORONTO - It appears Canada may have lost another soccer talent to south of the border.Calgary-born Tesho Akindele, who declined an invitation to Canadas camp in November, has been called up by the U.S.The 22-year-old FC Dallas forward has a Canadian mother and Nigerian father and lived in Canada — with stops in Calgary, Toronto and Winnipeg — until he was eight. His father, a financial analyst who also has Canadian citizenship, moved the family to Colorado for work.The U.S. camp begins Monday and runs until Feb. 8, with friendlies Jan. 28 against Chile in Santiago and Feb. 8 versus Panama in Carson, Calif.Akindele could play in the friendlies and still be available to Canada. He would have to play in a FIFA-sanctioned event, like the Gold Cup, to be tied to the U.S.A Canada Soccer spokesman said Akindele, who played collegiate soccer at the Colorado School of Mines, has not been ruled out of the Canadian program.A line of conversation does remain between Tesho and our national team staff, the spokesman added.Canada Soccer said Akindele initially agreed to join the Canadian camp prior to a November friendly against Panama before changing his mind.The sixth overall pick in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft, Akindele was named MLS rookie of the year after scoring seven goals and adding thrree assists last season. DAngelo Russell Youth Jersey. His FC Dallas bio has him Calgary-born but a native of Thornton, Colo.Canada is not the only country to lose talent to rival nations and, currently ranked 112th in the world, is hardly a glamour soccer destination. But such defections are costly in a small pool of pro talent.Teal Bunbury (U.S.), Jonathan de Guzman (the Netherlands) and Owen Hargreaves (England) are just some of the marquee talent that have chosen to wear the jersey of another country in recent years.Canada has also benefited from players born elsewhere. English-born midfielder Marc Bircham for example, played for Canada before ever setting foot in the country.Toronto FC midfielder Michael Bradley is also among the 28 players summoned by U.S. head coach Juergen Klinsmann for the January camp. With 91 caps, Bradley is second only to Clint Dempsey (110 caps) in seniority on the American camp roster.The U.S. roster includes six other veterans from the 2014 World Cup roster. Akindele is one of 14 players looking to earn their first cap for the senior team.Vancouver Whitecaps defender Christian Dean was also called up. The 21-year-old Dean, part of a U.S. under-23 camp recently, was selected third overall in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft.Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter. Cheap Chargers Jerseys [url=http://www.cheaplosangelesramsjerseysauthentic.c