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HOUSTON -- The low-budget Astros have made an investment in their future, signing second baseman Jose Altuve to a four-year contract through 2017. Altuves deal with Houston announced Saturday covers his arbitration-eligible years and includes club options for 2018 and 2019. If the options arent exercised, he would be eligible for free agency after the 2017 season. The 23-year-old Altuve was an All-Star in 2012. He is hitting .280 with 15 doubles, three homers and 28 RBIs this season. "This contract is consistent with our strategy of developing and retaining the best young talent in baseball," team owner Jim Crane said. "All along, Ive maintained that we will make the necessary investments to create a winning team long-term, and this is an important step in that direction." The 5-foot-5 Altuve has become a fan favourite and one of the few bright spots on a team which has slogged through consecutive 100-loss seasons and looks to be headed for a third one this season. He made his major league debut in July 2011 and blossomed last season when he hit .290 with 34 doubles, seven home runs and 33 stolen bases. "Jose has quickly become the face of the franchise in less than two years, and we are excited to keep him here for many years to come," general manager Jeff Luhnow said. "He provides leadership both on and off the field and has become a big part of the Houston sports community." Altuve was Houstons minor league player of the year in 2011 when he led the minors with a .389 average before being called up to the Astros. He quickly developed into a solid player for this young team and has appeared in 287 games since being called up. Altuve is the youngest everyday second baseman in the majors and his continued growth is a positive sign for a team hoping to rebuild from within. "Im really happy to be a part of the Houston Astros organization," Altuve said. "I just want to keep playing hard and help this team win games. I love my teammates and the people of Houston and Im going to do everything I can to improve and win baseball games." Yeezy 700 V2 Australia . Thats not a comment on the suspension that banished the Portland Winterhawks general manager and coach from his Western Hockey League teams bench for most of the 2012-13 season. Yeezy Boost 350 V2 For Sale Authentic .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high seven games when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for Sundays clash at Rexall Place. http://www.yeezyshoesaustralia.com/ .ca! Hi Kerry, Its another day and here we are looking at another dubious hit to the head. In this case Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky elbowed Saku Koivu in the head about a second after he dished off the puck to a teammate, knocking him unconscious. Yeezy Boost 350 V2 Australia . - Chris Tierney snapped a tie with a power-play goal late in the third period as the London Knights rallied from a 3-0 deficit to beat the Erie Otters 5-3 in Ontario Hockey League action on Wednesday. Yeezy Boost China Wholesale . -- Derrick Rose shook off poor shooting early to hit clutch shots late and Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 104-95 preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. RIO DE JANEIRO -- One destroyed racket -- and one poor set -- later, Serena Williams made it safely into the third round of the Rio Olympics as she bids for a second consecutive singles gold medal.The No. 1-seeded American struggled for quite a while Monday night, before emerging with a 7-6 (5), 6-2 victory over Frances Alize Cornet, despite making 36 unforced errors and getting broken four times.I just needed to relax. I was missing shots by, literally, centimeters, and Im not really used to missing those shots, Williams said. I really had to figure out a way to adjust.Williams started well enough, taking the first three games and compiling 17 of the matchs first 21 winners. But then she dropped 5 of 6 games to fall behind 5-4.During that troublesome stretch, Williams reacted to losing two games in a row by mangling the tool of her trade, slamming it against the back of her green-and-white sideline bench before depositing it on the ground. Hardly the first time shes done that sort of thing -- and likely not the last, either.In her previous tournament, Wimbledon, Williams broke a racket after losing the opening set of a second-rounder against American Christina McHale. Williams then flung the racket so far behind her that it landed in the lap of a TV cameraman filming the match.From that point on, Williams didnt drop a set the rest of the way at the All England Club, taking 12 in a row to earn her record-tying 22nd Grand Slam title.She didnt quite generate that sort of spark Monday, 24 hours after she and older sister Venus lost an Olympic doubles match for the first time. They had been 15-0 with three golds, but that run is now over.So, too, is Cornets three-match winning streak against the younger Williams.Thats because Williams cut down on her mistakes in the second set.How?Just tried to add a little bit more spin, she explained. If its going out, maybe Im hitting it a little bit too flat.After three No. 1 seeds exited Sunday -- Serbias Novak Djokovic in mens singles, the Williams sisters in womens doubles, and Frances Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert in mens doubles -- Williams avoided that sort of result in singles. But Djokovics Olympics are over, because after he and Nenad Zimonjic lostt 6-4, 6-4 to Brazils Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares, the 12-time major champion said he will not enter mixed doubles in Rio de Janeiro.ddddddddddddilliams singles match was touch-and-go for more than an hour. Cornet held a pair of set points in the opener but failed to convert either. Then Williams served for that set at 6-5, only to get broken at love when she double-faulted for the fifth time. In the tiebreaker, Cornet went ahead 5-4 before Williams claimed the next three points and the set.She raced to a 3-0 edge in the second set, and that was pretty much that.No tennis player ever has won two Olympic singles golds -- let alone two in a row. But Williams is not just any player, of course. Which is why it was rather remarkable that Cornet, who is ranked only 48th and never made it past the fourth round of a major in 42 appearances, entered Monday with a 4-3 record against Williams.She knows how to play me, Williams said. Every time I play her, Im not in my best shape.Joining Williams in the third round: No. 2 Angelique Kerber of Germany, No. 3 Garbine Muguruza of Spain and No. 7 Madison Keys of the U.S.Elsewhere, the man who got stuck in an elevator for 40 minutes and then beat Djokovic in singles on Sunday, Argentinas Juan Martin del Potro, got to the third round with another win in singles but lost to Spains Rafael Nadal in doubles.Del Potro produced a 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 victory over Portugals Joao Sousa, before heading back out on court with partner Maximo Gonzalez and getting beaten by Marc Lopez and Nadal 6-3, 5-7, 6-2. Add it all up, and del Potro spent nearly 7 hours on court in a span of barely 25 hours.In a tournament that began without half of the ATPs top 10, del Potro looks like someone who might be able to add another medal to his 2012 bronze.Because of injuries, del Potro went 2 1/2 years without participating in a major until Wimbledon, so one big question is what his fitness level is.Im getting better. Im in good shape, he said, but I dont know if Im prepared to play six or more matches.---Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich ' ' '