Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the A

GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- Derrick Rose?rejoined the New York Knicks on Saturday, eager to put his civil trial behind him and get back to playing basketball.Rose was with the team for the first time since Oct. 4, when he left for his trial in Los Angeles after a preseason game in Houston.Rose and two friends were found not liable in a civil lawsuit that accused them of gang-raping Roses ex-girlfriend when she was incapacitated from drugs or alcohol. Rose and his friends were being sued for $21.5 million.The issue was a huge issue. I took it very serious, Rose said after Saturdays practice. Im a grown man. I put myself in this situation and I had to get myself out. I was focused the entire time.Out of all of this, the only thing that really hurt me was missing my sons birthday party, missing his birthday. Those were the two things that I was worried about the most. Not being there with my family ... it hurt. And being there for my son. That was the only thing.Rose was asked whether he felt vindicated after maintaining his innocence.A little bit, he said. But at the same time, there was another person that was involved in this. So, if anything, Ive just been praying for myself and praying for her because the issue is very big in the States and everywhere. So just praying for everyone that was involved and knowing that all this is out of my control.The only thing I could work on is being a better person, being a better dad, brother, cousin, uncle. Being the best I could be so I could help others.Saying it felt like heaven to be back on the basketball court, Rose enters his first season with the Knicks motivated and excited about a fresh start, both on and off the court.It would change anyone, Rose said of the civil lawsuit. But I spoke on it and this is all behind me now. The only thing I can focus on is worrying about the future. I love being around my teammates. I love the way that we are coming together as a team.Knicks coach Jeff Hornacek said Rose looked good physically and did not have trouble with the teams schemes.He did his homework, said Hornacek, who sent Rose plays to study during the two-week trial and went over some of the offense with his point guard Friday.Hornacek said well find out, when asked whether Rose can play starters minutes during Tuesdays season opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers.He looks in pretty good shape, Hornacek said. It may be a situation where we put him in. If he looks like hes tired, well get him out and then get him back quickly. Maybe the rotation is a little different as he first comes back.Rose says hes refocused after being traded from Chicago this summer. The former MVP is entering the final year of his contract and says he wants to prove he is healthy after having three knee surgeries.Im very confident, man, Rose said. I really believe this why Im here, to hoop. I still have a lot of confidence in my ability. The confidence never left. If anything [the trial] made me focus a little more, like having time to myself in the gym and just working on things that I think I need to work on.We didnt make the playoffs last year. Im still chasing something right now. I just want to hoop and just let my game speak for itself. Discount Football Jerseys .com) - Yankee Stadium is the home of the Bronx Bombers, but on Sunday afternoon it will open its gates to host the latest addition of the Hudson River Rivalry. Cheap Jerseys From China . With their top three point guards and Kobe Bryant all sidelined by injury, the Lakers signed Marshall out of the D-League on Friday before their home game against Minnesota. http://www.cheapfootballjerseys.us.org/ . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Wholesale Football Jerseys Online . First off, the fans ripped the Cubbies introduction of a fuzzy new kid-friendly mascot named "Clark". Wholesale Authentic Jerseys . Brazilian national coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has confirmed that the veteran goalkeeper is set to join Toronto on loan, saying it will help him be ready for the World Cup. PHILADELPHIA -- Andrea Lawful-Sanders has a ritual for cheering the black heroines of the Summer Olympics.She gets into her corner of the living room, sets up her chair, demands silence before screaming at the top of her lungs, flails her body wildly and -- in keeping with her Jamaican-American heritage -- bangs pot covers together to celebrate victories.From Simone Biles gravity-defying flips to the history-making medal trifecta of the U.S. women racing in the 100-meter hurdles, many of the Olympics most memorable moments have come courtesy of African-American women. Their accomplishments in Rio have spurred excitement and pride at home in the U.S., particularly for black women who say they are seeing themselves in the Olympic Games like never before.While everybody else is talking, we are doing, said Lawful-Sanders, 50, of Philadelphia. When we excel, nobody can take that away from us -- ever. They may try to marginalize us, but how can you marginalize excellence?With competition continuing through Sunday, Americas black female athletes have won more than two dozen of the 100-plus U.S. medal haul.Black women havent just shined in this years Olympics; theyve been ubiquitous -- from gymnastics to water polo, fencing to swimming. Previous Summer Games featured black women mainly in track and field and, more recently, in gymnastics. Fans at home had to wait days to cheer on sprinter Florence Griffith Joyner or gymnast Dominique Dawes.It is very interesting to see black women going into areas where you really dont see black women competing, with all different body shapes, complexions and hairstyles being represented, said Kaye Wise Whitehead, a professor at Loyola University who studies race and gender. Black women see and feel that there is no door closed to us ... and that were not just walking through those doors, but were dominating.In Rio, the two Simones -- gymnast Simone Biles and swimmer Simone Manuel -- both stood atop the podium on a night that made history, with Manuel becoming the first black woman to win an individual medal in swimming. In all, she took home four medals and Biles five. Biles was chosen to carry the American flag for the U.S. team in Sundays closing ceremony.Michelle Carter became the first American woman to win gold in the shot put. Fencer Ibtihaj Muhammad, who won a bronze medal in the womens team sabre event, was the first Muslim-American woman to compete for the U.S. in a hijab.On the track, Dalilah Muhammad became the first American woman to win gold in the 400-meter hurdles, and three black women -- Brianna Rollins, Nia Ali and Kristi Castlin -- became the first Olympians from the same nation to finish 1-2-3 in the 100-meter hurdles.ddddddddddddacqueline Wills has loved rooting on female gymnasts since she was a child watching the Olympics. During these games, as she lost count of the numerous black women winning, her cheers went beyond just Biles.At this point, its like too many to name, said the 38-year-old who lives in Brookhaven, Georgia. Its the same reason we cheer Michelle Obama when she does something fabulous: Its (a black woman) doing things well and on their own terms and being unapologetically black. Those images kind of reaffirm us.Some said the Olympics also provided a much-needed respite from racial tensions at home.It is a good distraction and a good way to celebrate our successes, even as the world may not appreciate us, said Luvvie Ajayi, a pop culture blogger and author. In a Facebook post, Ajayi quipped: Black women had a secret meeting before (hash)Rio2016 and the only thing on the agenda was: `TAKE ALL THE MEDALS. And it was done.Black women are showing that weve always been a force to reckon with, but now ... were showing that we kind of are superheroes that are real, Ajayi said in an interview. We are really unstoppable; we can dominate at anything we want to do.Black women have also felt the struggles of their athletic counterparts at the games. Many took to social media to defend veteran gymnast Gabby Douglas amid remarks that she lacked patriotism for not placing her hand on her heart during the national anthem, that her hair was not polished enough and that her attitude was unsportsmanlike.The stereotype of the angry black woman was familiar to Wills.That is one of the things that comes with being a black woman in this country, she said, adding that she tried to shrug off the criticism in a Facebook post.I said, `People are just mad at her bold lip, Wills said, referring to Douglas lipstick color.As the games come to a close this weekend, Lawful-Sanders is warming up her pot covers for a few more chances to cheer.We have made up our minds that we are going to give it the best that we have, and we are watching it manifest in the Olympics, she said. Its black girl magic. We are tired of being told that we couldnt or we shouldnt. ... Were taking no prisoners, and Im enjoying every second of it.---Errin Haines Whack covers urban affairs for The Associated Press. Follow her on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/emarvelous and read more of her work at http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/errin-haines-whack ' ' '