NEW YORK -- Novak Djokovic seemed on his way to a shattering 6-0 first set over Gael Monfils when the funky Frenchman appeared to stop playing seriously.With Djokovic leading their US Open semifinal 5-0, an uninspired Monfils began hitting exceptionally casual returns, which clearly irked Djokovic, who saw four set points evaporate.Ive seen strategy changes, ESPN analyst John McEnroe said on the broadcast, but this tops everything. Even Sigmund Freud above couldnt figure this out.This is bordering on unprofessional. The only reason Im saying borderline is because its working.Only to a point, because Monfils eventually lost the chaotic and disjointed match 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 on Friday in Arthur Ashe Stadium.Djokovic will next face No. 3 Stan Wawrinka, who made his way into the final later Friday night by defeating No. 6 Kei Nishikori 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-2.In head-to-head play, Djokovic leads Wawrinka 19-3. However, Wawrinkas biggest win as a professional came over Djokovic last year in the French Open final, and Wawrinka has won his past 10 finals in a row.Im really excited, Wawrinka said in his on-court interview. I watched the final so many times here. Roger [Federer] and Novak are great champions. To play in the final against him is going to be special.Hopefully, Im going to be ready.In classic Muhammad Ali rope-a-dope fashion, Monfils turned would-be tanking into a tactic. He created a distraction, then rushed into the void left by Djokovics waning concentration.It happened again in the third set, when Monfils quirky behavior drove Djokovic to tear off his shirt after the final point.Afterward, Monfils answered McEnroes charges.Im sorry if you think Im unprofessional, but I guess Im working, Im learning, Monfils said. I think Im failing, for sure, a lot, but I try to stand up. Its tough, because when he calls me unprofessional, he calls my coach unprofessional, calls my physio unprofessional -- all my team, actually, unprofessional.I have nothing personal [against] him, so Im very sad to heard that. Im very sad to learn that such a legend criticized me, because at the end what I can say to John is, I want to be the best.Both Monfils and Djokovic cramped significantly in the fourth set and called for visits from the ATP trainer amid the hot and humid conditions.At times in decisive, tense moments, we had many exchanges form the baseline, Djokovic said in his on-court interview. Gael is very entertaining to watch, a very charismatic guy. I do sincerely hope all you guys enjoyed our battle today.Djokovic stopped short of criticizing Monfils style of play.Monfils finished with 11 double faults and 52 unforced errors.Djokovic benefited from three injured opponents: Jiri Vesely (withdrew), Mikhail Youzhny (retired) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (retired).After defeating Monfils, Djokovic has played only 13 sets and a total of 118 games. This puts him on a record pace for fewest sets and games in an Open-era major that featured a 128-man draw and only best-of-five-set matches.Wawrinka has played a staggering 23 sets and 237 games.And what prompted Djokovic to tear of his shirt?I keep asking myself the same question, he said, laughing. Sometimes you dont have answer. Sometimes it just happens in the heat of the moment.And how did he bounce back from that?The way I bounce back from that, he said, is take another T-shirt from my bag. I already feel better. Air Max 95 Pas Cher . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. Chaussure Pas Cher Chinois . Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2. https://www.grossistechaussurepascher.fr/pas-cher-chine-nike-air-max-270-du-tout-destockage-282a.html . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Grossiste Air Max 90 Chine .Y. - Free agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, fresh off winning the World Series with Boston, reached agreement with the rival New York Yankees on a seven-year contract worth about $153 million, a person familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday night. Chaussure Pas Cher Destockage . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. The end is drawing near. The final Thursday of the regular season brings us a decent 12-game slate. Its a little light at the top, but there are some decent options in the lower tiers to help make up for it, although many of them are suited more toward GPPs than cash games. If you were hoping for some bona fide fantasy aces like Kershaw or Bumgarner to build your cash lineups around, well, thatll have to wait until Friday.PitchingEliteThree hurlers draw an identical 60 Game Score on Thursday, but it should come as no surprise that Johnny Cueto is the preferred cash-game option. The right-hander has held an ERA of 3.38 or lower in all but one month this season, and so far in September his ERA sits at 1.59 in four starts. Only once in his past seven starts has he allowed more than two earned runs. Cueto is as reliable as they come. Against a Rockies team that withers away from Coors Field (84 wRC+, 24 percent whiff rate), Cueto should be locked into cash lineups.Chris Archer might be teetering on the edge of 20 losses with his highest ERA since he made six appearances as a rookie in 2012, but most of that damage came in the first half. Since the All-Star break, he owns a 3.19 ERA and 0.99 WHIP. His 10.5 K/9 is also second-best in the American League. Although traveling to U.S. Cellular Park isnt ideal, Archer, who is a threat for double-digit whiffs every time he takes the mound, matches up well with a White Sox club that struggles against right-handed pitching (91 wRC+). On a shortened Thursday slate, hes one of the days top options.The last pitcher who draws an elite Game Score is Jon Gray, who gets a road start against the Giants. Grays upside has been on full display of late, as hes whiffed a whopping 26 batters during his past two starts, spanning 13 innings. The trouble is that, despite whiffing 10 Dodgers in his last start, he didnt make it out of the fourth inning. In fact, his 16-strikeout complete game shutout against the Padres two weeks ago was his lone quality start in his past four tries. The matchup against the Giants on Thursday is a mixed bag. On one hand, the Giants offense has collapsed in September, as their 68 wRC+ is by far the worst in baseball. On the other hand, the Giants sport the lowest strikeout rate in the National League. Ultimately, Id still consider Gray in tournaments, but Im looking elsewhere in cash.SolidStop me if youve heard this before, but theres plenty of validity in fading the top tier entirely and anchoring your cash-game lineups with Jose Quintana. The left-hander has followed up his 3.21 first-half ERA with a nearly identical 3.20 mark in the second half, showcasing the stability he offers. Hes also in a tremendous spot, facing a Rays team that whiffs 26 percent of the time versus southpaws, so theres a nice ceiling here, too.Julio Urias draws a tasty road matchup with the Padres. In his past seven outings (five starts), Urias holds a 1.47 ERA. He doesnt typically pitch deep into games, which lowers the upside a bit, but thats partly offset by the fact that hes whiffing 9.6 batters per nine innings. The matchup is still favorable, but its worth noting that while the Padres are the worst offense in baseball against righties, theyre average against lefties. That said, their 25 percent whiff rate versus lefties is worst in the National League.Danny Duffy has hit a few rough spots of late, but hes still highly appealing Thursday thanks to a home matchup against Minnesota. While the Twins are an average offense against left-handed pitching, they strike out at a 24 percent clip, including a 26 percent clip so far in September. Armed with his 9.6 K/9 rate, Duffy carried double-digit strikeout upside in this matchup. In fact, the lefty fanned 10 when he last faced the Twins earlier this month.If you can get past the 4.7 walk rate (which, admittedly, is hard to do), then its easy to get excited about Alex Reyes and his home matchup against the Reds. In 40 big-league innings, the young right-hander sports a 1.58 ERA and 10.4 K/9 rate. Against the cellar-dwelling Reds, who are well below average against right-handed pitching, Reyes brings intriguing potential..dddddddddddd The high walk rate has me apprehensive about using him cash, but the rookie is a fine tournament play.StreamersMarcus Stroman has been on a nice little roll lately. Since the beginning of August, the right-hander holds a 3.06 ERA with a strikeout per inning. A matchup against the Orioles, who lead baseball in homers and are one of the games toughest teams against right-handers, is far from ideal. Still, Stroman has regained his form after a brutal first half (4.89 ERA), which leaves him in play for Thursdays slate.The owner of a 3.26 ERA since the break, Daniel Norris gets a home tilt against the Indians, who have been league average against lefties this year. Since joining Detroits starting rotation, the young left-hander has allowed more than three runs in a start ... never. Hes yet to pitch more than 6 1/3 innings in any outing, but his 9.1 K/9 rate still gives him a nice ceiling. Norris is a free agent in 71 percent of ESPN.com leagues.The Cardinals have scored the third-most runs in the NL, but since the All-Star break theyve been a below-average offense (96 wRC+) with an above-average whiff rate (23 percent). That sets things up nicely for Dan Straily, who owns a 3.00 ERA since the break, including a 2.87 mark in September. Hes also produced an 8.2 K/9 in the past two months are holding a 7.2 K/9 from April-July. Strailys current ownership sits at just below 50 percent.AvoidThanks to his 11.4 K/9 that ranks second in baseball, Robbie Ray is always a tournament consideration. However, considering he holds a 7.66 ERA and 1.62 WHIP in his past five starts, its hard to trust him in anything else. Against the Nationals, an above-average offense versus righties, Ray is not a hurler to target if you value safety over upside.HittingRyan Merritt is on track to make his first big league start Thursday against Detroit. He has pitched well in relief for Cleveland this season, but hes still a soft-tossing lefty with no strikeout potential (5.8 K/9 in 24 Triple-A starts this year) who will be tasked with facing a right-handed heavy Tigers lineup that hits lefties hard. Needless to say, its a tough spot for the 24-year-old. As a result, itd be a good idea to get some exposure here, with Ian Kinsler, Cameron Maybin, Miguel Cabrera, J.D. Martinez and Justin Upton all carrying plenty of appeal.Its almost always a good idea to target left-handed swingers against Ubaldo Jimenez, who has allowed a .381 wOBA to lefty hitters this season. Its unfortunate that the Blue Jays lineup is so right-handed, but lefty Michael Saunders is an awfully intriguing play, especially considering hes 9-for-19 (.474) with a double and four homers in his career against Jimenez.Its also advantageous to target lefty hitters against Kyle Gibson, who sports .382 wOBA allowed and a 5.06 second-half ERA. With the Royals playing host to the Twins on Thursday, left-handed hitters Jarrod Dyson, Eric Hosmer, Alex Gordon and switch-hitter Kendrys Morales are all in play.Weve already discussed Robbie Rays strikeout potential, but he also has plenty of blowup potential, especially against a right-handed heavy lineup like Washingtons. The loss of Wilson Ramos to a season-ending knee injury hurts, but righty hitters Trea Turner, Jayson Werth, Anthony Rendon and Ryan Zimmerman still offer plenty of potential in this matchup.Most likely to go yard: Brandon MossDan Straily is a worthwhile streamer Thursday, but the fact remains that the Cardinals lead the NL in homers and Straily has allowed 29 of them. Moss has been in a funk of late, but this is a good spot for him to break out of it. Of his 27 homers this year, 24 have come against righties.Most likely to swipe a bag: Kevin PillarUbaldo Jimenez has been one of the worst pitchers in baseball at keeping baserunners honest. His 25 stolen bases allowed are third-most in baseball, behind only Noah Syndergaard and Jimmy Nelson. With the Blue Jays on tap, Pillar is the most likely to take advantage. In 16 career at-bats against Jimenez, he has three swipes. ' ' '