Off-Topic » rter, got spun around in coverage on Evans TD catch.Bucc

North America has a new Call of Duty World League champion! After an upset-peppered first two days of the Stage 2 playoffs, Sundays grand final matchup between EnVyUs and Dream Team was rife with excitement and anticipation. While EnVyUs impressive 4-1 finals win may not have been on the same entertainment level as the epic conclusion to Stage 1, there were still plenty of storylines to lend drama to the moment. Lets look at how both teams made it to the big stage.A Tale of Two SemisOn one half of the bracket, Dream Team and Luminosity Gaming entered the semifinals after leaning on monster individual performances to secure upset wins over FaZe Clan and OpTic Gaming, respectively.Initially, Dream Team raced ahead to a 3-1 series advantage, thanks in large part to the heroics of Troy Sender Michaels and Steven Diabolic Rivero. Then Luminosity Gaming battled back to tie the series 3-3 after securing a dominating win in Round 5 Hardpoint as well as a tight 7-5 win in Round 6 Uplink.A masterful performance by none other than Adam Killa Sloss (7/4 KD) in the decisive Round 7 Search and Destroy map secured the semifinal victory for Dream Team, ensuring its spot in the championship finals.On the other half of the bracket, No. 1 seed Team EnVyUs found itself matched up against perennial powerhouse and No. 4 seed Rise Nation after both teams secured dominating wins over their quarterfinal opponents. Despite the fact that EnVyUs was the higher ranked team, it seemed as if the overwhelming majority of predictions favored Rise, thanks in large part to the star power of Sam Octane Larew and Daniel Loony Loza.While EnVyUs did win the series 4-1, it was anything but a blowout. Just two plays made the difference in their respective rounds: a brilliant two-piece by both Jordan Jkap Kaplan and Austin SlasheR Liddicoat in the opening seconds of overtime of Round 2 Uplink for EnVyUs, and a momentum-crippling dead slide by Rise Nations Josiah Slacked Berry in Round 4 Capture of the Flag.As was the case throughout the weekend, though, EnVyUs was truly at its best on one map: Hardpoint. In both Round 1 and Round 5 Hardpoint, EnVyUs managed to flummox the slaying power of Rise Nation, holding its entire opposition under the positive KD mark, thanks mainly to the duo of Johnathan John Perez and SlasheR. Every critical engage seemed to favor EnVyUs, with John securing a 77/53 KD and SlasheR slotting in at a neat 71/47 KD for both rounds.Dreams CrushedFrom there the stage was set: a matchup between the No. 6 seed upstarts Dream Team and the No. 1 seed Team EnVyUs.Once again, EnVyUs proved to be the dominant team in Hardpoint, securing an impressive 250-116 round win in the opening match of the series, despite a few unique ban/protect choices from Dream Team. Bryan Apathy Zhelyazkov, in particular, was amazing; he finished Round 1 with a 40/26 KD and over a minute and a half in the hardpoint, where he secured critical kills for his team as the rest of EnVyUs fanned out for better positioning.Round 2 saw Dream Team come alive, rallying to a 7-6 Uplink win behind the slaying power of Martin Chino Chino and Sender, who posted a combined 59/30 KD. Despite the round win, though, it felt as if EnVyUs still had much of the momentum, as it was within two points of Dream Teams score for the majority of the round.So perhaps it wasnt surprising to see EnVyUs claim the next three round wins en route to the Stage 2 title. However, what was surprising was the sheer level of dominance it displayed in each win.Starting with Round 3 Search and Destroy, EnVyUs put together the first 6-0 round sweep of the Stage 2 playoffs, allowing Dream Team just eight total kills. Next was one of the most brutally efficient Capture the Flags I have ever watched, with EnVyUs taking an 8-1 Round 4 win. With both Apathy (who also had a mind-rattling four captures) and SlasheR posting nearly double-positive KD numbers for much of the round, EnVyUs steamrolled Dream Team; at one point its scorestreaks included a Cerberus, Hellstorm, Lightning Strike and Dart.And then, just as it had done throughout the entirety of the Stage 2 playoffs, EnVyUs put together another consummate performance on Hardpoint in Round 5, securing a 250-150 victory to claim the Stage 2 title. Apathy was masterful once again in the deciding contest, posting a 34/20 KD as well as a minute in the hardpoint; he dictated the pace of the game while opening up space for his teammates, including John and Slasher, who each posted above a minute and 40 seconds in the objective.New Stars are BornIn a season dominated in large part by OpTic Gaming, it was refreshing to see a new team climb to the top of the pack and in such convincing fashion. While Dream Team failed to find its competitive groove in the finals, its run to the championship series was anything but a fluke; after all, it knocked off two of the better teams in the CWL in FaZe Clan and Luminosity Gaming.I know it kind of sucks to say, I lost in the finals, but, at the same time, Im proud of this team and how we all performed against FaZe and LG, said Chino. I think we can keep getting better.From one perspective, this tournament will go down as the rise of two slayers: John from EnVyUs and Chino from Dream Team. Both players had demonstrated signs of brilliance throughout Stage 2, but each player took it to another level during the Stage 2 playoffs.Even during Dream Teams collapse in the finals, Chino still managed to post a positive KD (130/101) in the series, and time and again came away with critical kills that kept the game from getting even more out of hand. His performance leading up to the finals was nothing short of spectacular, with his glittering KD marks a routine sighting throughout the tournament.And, while EnVyUs John may not have had as big of an impact during the finals, his performances against H2K and Rise Nation prior to that were easily the best of the week.John had quite a few maps where he just took over, admitted teammate Jkap.Ever the humble player, John refused to acknowledge his individual success, instead deferring to his team. I think we all played really well. Like, if you go watch, we all did amazing together; it wasnt like there was one player that was slacking. It was a team effort.Surrounded by a terrific cast of players on EnVyUs, John may have a chance to shine on the biggest stage come September as one of the rising stars of the CWL. Cincinnati Reds Gear . In the response filed Wednesday to the complaint by 30-year-old Alexander Bradley, attorneys say the former University of Florida player is invoking his Fifth Amendment right that protects people from incriminating themselves. Reds Jerseys 2020 . -- New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis is retiring after a 16-year career to become the goalie coach for the Los Angeles Galaxy. https://www.cheapredsjerseys.us/ . The deal is pending a physical, assistant general manager Bobby Evans said. Traded from Seattle to Baltimore on Aug. 30, Morse also can play first base and right field to give manager Bruce Bochy some flexibility in writing his lineup. Cincinnati Reds Store . Miller reached right to deflect Mikhail Grabovskis attempt with just over 2 minutes remaining in regulation, and then made two more saves in the shootout Sunday to give the Sabres a 2-1 win over the Washington Capitals. Fake Reds Jerseys . With Parker having a quiet game for once, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw provided the scoring as France won its first major basketball title by beating Lithuania 80-66 on Sunday. It was a victory that ended a decade of frustration for Parker and a talented French generation, which lost the final against Spain two years ago and took bronze in 2005. TAMPA, Fla. -- Josh Gordon showed why the Cleveland Browns are so happy to have him back on the field.The talented receiver with a history of suspensions for drug violations caught everything thrown his way in his preseason debut Friday night, scoring on a 43-yard reception and also hauling in another pass from Robert Griffin III for a 44-yard gain that led to a first quarter field goal in a 30-13 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.It feels great, said the third-year pro, a former college teammate of RG III. I feel really good to be out there with my teammates, my brothers. It was uplifting.Jameis Winston threw for 259 yards and two touchdowns in one half of work for the Bucs, who achieved an objective of starting faster on offense than they did the previous two weeks.Griffin completed 8 of 14 passes for 119 yards, one TD and no interceptions before being replaced by Josh McCown at the start of the third quarter. Gordon was only targeted twice and finished with 87 yards receiving, both his catches coming when he beat cornerback Brent Grimes, one of Tampa Bays key offseason acquisitions.Gordon, whose preseason debut was delayed by a quadriceps injury, hadnt played since December 2014. He was suspended all of last season for violating the NFLs policy on substance abuse, and wont be eligible for the first four games of this regular season.I played with Josh before. Its just good to see him out there making plays, getting an opportunity to get back in the league, Griffin said. Were looking forward to him making the most of that. Im really excited for him.A Pro Bowl selection in 2013 when he had 87 catches for 1,646 yards and nine TDs, Gordon has been the subject of trade speculation during training camp. Although the Browns have said theyre not interested in moving him, and Gordon has said he wants to remain in Cleveland, club executive Sashi Brown said Thursday that like any player, there is a price for the 25-year-old receiver, who has been suspended for 27 of the last 32 games.The NFL Network reported Friday that price is a second-rounder and more.Teams watching tape of him against the Bucs can understand why. The 6-foot-3, 225-pound receiver ran past Grimes on his first catch, then made a nice adjustment on the ball to gain the inside position to make his TD catch as he crossed the goal line.He made a tremendous play. It was good just to get him out there in a game, Browns coach Hue Jackson said. He did some good things. There are some things well continue to improve on with him, but I thought it was a goodd start for him.ddddddddddddBIG PLAY DUOTampa Bays Mike Evans had five receptions for 115 yards, including a 34-yard TD from Winston, who completed 16 of 25 passes in what likely was his final tuneup for the regular season.POOR PROTECTIONGriffin was sacked five times. Cleveland yielded three more sacks in the second half.ROOKIE WATCHBrowns: First-round draft pick WR Corey Coleman played after sitting out the first preseason games with a sore hamstring. He was targeted, once on a deep throw, but did not have a reception. He also returned two punts for 10 yards.Buccaneers: Struggling K Roberto Aguayo rebounded from missing three kicks in the first two weeks of the preseason, booting field goals of 48, 21 and 27 yards and making all three of his extra points. The second-round draft pick missed an extra point at Philadelphia two weeks ago, then failed to convert a pair of field goals against Jacksonville. He had a rough week in practice, too, missing two field goals and getting booed by fans attending a Browns-Bucs joint practice.I had to focus, lock in and do what I used to do at Florida State, Aguayo said. On the professional level, you can make 30 kicks in a row, miss one and the one miss is all theyre going to talk about. Im glad I went out and did my job. Im very happy to help the team.POSITION BATTLESBrowns: CB Jamar Taylor, who has replaced Tramon Williams as a starter, got spun around in coverage on Evans TD catch.Buccaneers: LG Josh Allen and RG Evan Smith filled in for starters Kevin Pamphile and Ali Marpet, who did not dress.NEW LOOKThe Buccaneers unveiled six new video boards with a total display area of 28,416 square feet, which the team says is the third largest in the NFL. The Hall of Fame Club, a premium seating area located on the suite level of Raymond James Stadium, also made its debut.INJURY UPDATEBrowns: In addition to Gordon (quad) and Coleman, CB Joe Haden (ankle surgery) made his preseason debut; CB Tramon Williams (toe) did not dress; C Cameron Erving (ankle), played after being hurt during Wednesdays joint practice; CB Justin Gilbert (concussion) and WR Marlon Moore (hip) left the game in the second quarter.Buccaneers: WR Donteea Dye suffered a hamstring injury in the first quarter and did not return; LB Daryl Smith, TE Luke Stocker, DT Clinton McDonald and reserve RB Mike James did not dress.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '