d sidelined him for four games and put up season highs with 18 points and eight rebounds.

Laurie Hernandez keeps insisting shes too young to know better. That shes so new to this whole Olympics thing, she doesnt know shes supposed to be scared.You just kind of have to act naive to it, the 16-year-old said with a shrug. Its just another meet. The arena is just a little bigger than usual.The stakes, too. Yet the youngest member of the powerhouse U.S. Olympic womens gymnastics team hardly seems intimidated. Hernandez is too busy putting on a show, her effortless charisma and dare you to look away performance during last weeks Olympic trials erased whatever doubt remained in national team coordinator Martha Karolyis mind about Hernandezs ability to handle the big stage.If anything, Hernandez is trying to own it. Ask her what she considers her biggest talent and she doesnt point to any particular physical attribute but something decidedly more abstract.Im confident, she said. Im a crowd pleaser.It shows, particularly when Hernandezs floor music starts. What follows is 90 seconds of attitude and athleticism. Hernandez doesnt dance so much as strut, every move joined by an electric smile that doesnt seem plastered in place but an organic byproduct of the joy shes feeling. Shes having a good time out there. And she wants you to notice.Hernandez describes her gymnastics as sassy but thats underplaying it. Her tumbling is on par with anyone on the planet not named Simone Biles -- the three-time world champion who is the heavy favorite to come back from Rio with a luggage full of gold medals -- and her steady, detailed work on balance beam the result of thousands of hours spent with longtime coach Maggie Haney trying to get over a small bit of stage fright.No, really.Hernandez admits there was a time early on she was scared of the beam. When she hopped on shed settle into a squat because she couldnt summon the courage to stand. Haney didnt baby Hernandez to get her going. If anything, Haney went the other way, putting Hernandez through countless pressure sets designed to force Hernandez into a choice: get mentally tough or find something else to do with your free time.Sometimes Haney would play Hernandez and teammate Jazmyn Foberg against each other, the difficulty of Fobergs next routine based on the quality of Hernandezs. The worst for Hernandez, however, is when Haney would tell all the kids in the gym to stop working and gather around the beam, while her star student tried to hold it together in the stillness.I was like, `Why are you doing this to me? Its so annoying, youre really really making me anxious, said Hernandez, who easily posted the top score on beam at the trials. But then I look back and I can only thank her for that because its made me so calm today.A place that slowly came into focus over the last four years as Hernandez learned to harness her considerable talents. She rose from 21st in junior nationals in 2012 to junior champion last summer despite wrist and knee injuries that sidelined her for most of 2014. When a knee sprain threatened to derail Hernandezs momentum this year, Haney offered a very brief, very pointed pep talk.I looked at her, `It is time. Now, Haney said. She snapped and went into kind of crazy ... mode. Every practice, every time on the floor was important to her.The eye-opener came at the Pacific Rim Championships in April, when she came in third behind Biles and three-time Olympic medalist Aly Raisman. It wasnt just the praise from Karolyi that she noticed -- it was the way people seemed to respond to her.You hear cheering and clapping and youre thinking `I dont even know these people, she said. It brings a lot of energy, a lot of positive energy.Energy that practically radiates off Hernandez, the youngest of Wanda and Marcus Hernandezs three children. A second-generation Puerto Rican, Hernandez is proud of her heritage and aware shes suddenly become a role model, even if she doesnt quite consider herself one.I think people are people, she said. If you want something, go get it. I dont think it matters what race you are.Hernandez considers herself a gymnast above all else. Sure that smile makes it look easy, but its also hard earned from years and years of falling and picking herself back up. Dont let her playful demeanor fool you; she may be the bubbliest workaholic around. Shes home-schooled and spends most days working out with Haney at one of the two gyms near her home in Old Bridge, New Jersey, about an hour south of New York City. Pressed if she has friends outside the gym, she laughs and says not really.Thats changing by the day. Biles considers her a little sister. Twitter verified her account ((at)lzhernandez02) after the trials. The mayor of Old Bridge threw a party for her this week. Everyone is looking to come up with a good nickname. The leaders are The Human Emoji and Baby Shakira. She cant help but laugh at the idea while simultaneously trying not to get ahead of herself.As for college, she has verbally committed to competing at Florida whenever shes out of high school (she still has at least two years left). She downplayed the idea of turning professional even as NBC cameras tripped over themselves following her every move at the trials. Hernandez wont decide until after Rio so there wont be any distractions.Its all happening really fast, she said. This is a really cool part of my life.One getting cooler by the day. Satchel Paige Jersey .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. Gene Garber Braves Jersey . Here are his mid-season NBA awards. MVP: (KEVIN DURANT-Thunder) - Has been sensational this season and more importantly, the most consistent player in the league. Considering that his team has been without star guard Russell Westbrook and with the free agent departure of sharpshooter Kevin Martin, hes had to carry the majority of the load to not only keep his team afloat but more importantly, at an elite level. https://www.cheapbraves.com/ . Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored shootout goals, and backup goalie Cam Talbot earned his second win in two nights as the Rangers shook off a late tying tally and beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 Monday night. Matt Joyce Braves Jersey . "Thank you for the warm welcome," Beckham said on an 80-degree February morning. In this case, it was soccer weather. The sport moved a step closer to returning to South Florida on Wednesday, when Beckham confirmed he has exercised his option to purchase a Major League Soccer expansion franchise in Miami. Johan Camargo Jersey . With the short-handed Warriors needing help from someone -- anyone -- to stop a three-game skid, ONeal returned from right knee and groin injuries that had sidelined him for four games and put up season highs with 18 points and eight rebounds. It was just enough to help lift Golden State to a 102-101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. TOWSON, Md. -- Shane Simpson ran for a career-high 202 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries and big plays helped Towson rally for a 34-24 win over William & Mary on Saturday.Towson (3-7, 2-5 Colonial Athletic Association) ran for three TDs and a season-high 274 yards.On the second play from scrimmage in the third quarter, Simpson took a handoff up the middle, spun out of a would-be tackle and raced 70 yards for a touchdown to trim Towsons deficit to 21-17. The Tribe responded with a nine-play, 67-yard drive that stalled at the 4, and settled for a 21-yard field goall by Kris Hooper.ddddddddddddn the ensuing kickoff, Keon Paye fielded a low kick off the hop and went 81 yards, untouched, for a score.After a William & Mary punt, Towsons Morgan Mahalak was 3-for-3 passing on third down during a 14-play, 93-yard drive that was capped by Christian Summers 11-yard touchdown run and gave Townson the lead, 31-24, for good with 14:41 left.Kendell Anderson had 140 yards rushing and a score for William and Mary. ' ' '