Das Team » hing prospects in the minors, is 0-1, 5.59 in

Throughout the Tour de France, Australian professional cyclist Richie Porte will be checking in. Here is his first entry, as told to ESPN contributor Rupert Guinness:Stage 1: Mont Saint Michel to Utah BeachSeeing Alberto Contador sitting in the gutter by the side of the road after he crashed in the first stage of the Tour de France on Saturday -- and every rider who fell in the opening day of racing -- showcased what is at stake after having spent so much time preparing for the race.The stage, from Mont Saint Michel to Utah Beach in Normandy, was sketchy for the peloton. But thats how it often is on the first day of a Tour that has a road stage like Saturdays. Id prefer it started with a prologue time trial. That would have created some order before the first road stage as the winners team could control the race a bit to defend the yellow jersey.When the Tour starts with a road stage that is raced on narrow roads with plenty of roundabouts, the odds of there being a crash rise so quickly. With the cross winds blowing, there was also going to be some sort of drama.So ... after seeing Alberto down, I wondered, Why do we race on roads like that? ... [We] come into that corner [from a roundabout] so fast when there is hardly any warning, if any at all.I hate to say it, but I believe Sundays second stage from Saint L? to Cherbourg-en-Cotentin will be much of the same. Any Tour start is nerve-racking, but it is not made any easier by some of the roads we are using. And Sunday will be on narrow roads with road furniture, which makes it quite dangerous. It even feels like its a luck thing ... to come out of this first week without any major issues will require a lot of that.What happened to Alberto showed what price it might take. Fortunately, it seems he will be OK; but it is not good to see anyones Tour compromised by an accident. It was the same on Saturday for my teammate Brent Brookwalter and Luke Rowe (Sky), who also came down in the same crash as Albertos.Crashes aside, for the sprint finish, won by Briton Mark Cavendish (Dimension Data), I was in quite good position. I was up there when the crash occurred and was lucky to avoid it.It was a good end for me, even though it might not go down as one of the most memorable, unless you are Cavendish with 27 stage wins in his Tour career.It was still quite a hard stage. The pace was on, and then, when we got into the cross-wind section, a few teams tried to split up the peloton. In such a situation, you are always covering breaks. Its one of those nervous stages where you concentrate the whole time. Normally, the good art of that is you sleep well, a great thing on any grand tour.But it is still great to have the stage behind us. It at least feels the Tour has finally started.I have to be honest ... when you are sitting around in your hotel room for days before the Tour starts, the mind does wander ... where you are at, where your form is at. You start to ask all the questions. The show that is the Tour can get to a rider. But I believe that when you are at your best when you to try to focus on the race as if it was just another one of the lead-up races.All the races we do are super hard and super stressful. Sure, at the Tour, seeing the massive crowds makes it that bit more dangerous. It becomes harder to move up because you dont really want to move too much on the sides because there are people everywhere. But then, without the people on the roads, where would the Tour be today? That the crowds can be so close to the race -- and the rider -- still makes the sport, let alone Tour, unique.Having a passionate crowd that loves cycling is great, as I believe the next weeks will show. Stan Smith Bianche Uomo . But what about the officials? Every sport has officials and they also have stories about hard work and sacrifice but their accomplishments are seldom recognized by anyone outside their inner circle. Uomo NMD R2 Primeknit Wings+horns x Adidas . The 26-year-old Ireland striker, who has four goals this season, has signed a three-and-a-half year contract with his new club. http://www.nmdcs2nere.it/italia-scarpe-uomo-350-nubuck-adidas-ba7255.html . Laudrup revealed Thursday he was notified of his dismissal in "the briefest of letters which gave no reasons why such hasty and final action was deemed necessary. Sconto Scarpe Adidas Stan Smith Bianche/Oro . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. Donne NMD R1 Adidas Rosa/Bianche . After dropping their final six games of December, the Wild opened the new calendar year with four consecutive wins. Following a loss to Colorado on Saturday, Minnesota rebounded the following night to blank Nashville 4-0, but then had the tables turned on them Tuesday. WASHINGTON -- The Washington Nationals have a nine-game lead over the New York Mets in the National League East race.But that doesnt mean the three-game series between the two teams that begins Monday wont be important.Wed like to beat them, Washington manager Dusty Baker said after Sundays 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Phillies. We know they have to beat us. It should be a very interesting series.The Mets come to Washington with an eye on the National League wildcard while the Nationals hope to finish with the second-best record in the league and get a possible homefield advantage for the playoffs, perhaps against the Los Angeles Dodgers.Weve got to keep playing, Mets manager Terry Collins told reporters Sunday in Atlanta. We know we can play with (Washington) them. Theyve got a little bit of a pitching issue right now, similar to us. Weve just got to go in there and play. For its about winning games, I dont care who theyre against. You cant look at any particular thing, you just have to go in and win as many games as you can.New York will start right-hander Rafael Montero against the Nationals on Monday. He is 0-0 with a 4.63 ERA this season with New York. He was 8-9, 5.30 in the minor leagues this year with Double-A Binghamton and Triple-A Las Vegas. He pitched 4 1/3 innings on Sept. 6 against the Reds and gave up three hits and four runs.Baker did not name a starter for Monday or Tuesday against the Mets but the Nationals twitter account late Sunday reported that veteran right-hander Mat Latos would start on Monday against the Mets, with A.J. Cole going on Tuesday and Tanner Roark pitching Wednesday.Latos pitched for Baker in Cincinnati in 2012 and 2013 and was 1-0 with a 1.dddddddddddd29 ERA in six minor league starts in the Washington system this year. He signed with the Nationals as a minor league free agent on July 3 and is 1-0, 7.71 in two games for the Nationals this year.Latos was with the Chicago White Sox earlier this season -- he pitched against the Nationals one game -- and he was 6-2, 4.62 in 11 games in the American League this year before coming to Washington.Other options for the rest of the season for Washington include two rookie right-handers: Lucas Giolito and Reynaldo Lopez.Gioloito made his big league debut against the Mets at home in June while Lopez lost 5-1 to the Mets on Sept. 4 in New York. Lopes has made six starts this year for the Nationals and Giolito has made four.Giolito, who began the year as one of the top pitching prospects in the minors, is 0-1, 5.59 in five games with Washington.There has been some concern about his velocity: he threw in the upper 90s last year but was clocked around 90 in his last outing Wednesday as he came out of bullpen in a game in which Strasburg left early.Lopez has shown a devastating curve at times and is 2-3, 5.52 in his time with the Nationals this year.Cole broke into the majors last year and beat the Mets on Sept. 2 in New York. Cole started at home on Thursday against the Phillies.Cole is 1-2 with a 4.56 ERA in four starts this year for Washington after spending most of the season at Triple-A Syracuse.New York had won eight of its past 11 games after downing the Braves on Sunday 10-3. 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