Allgemeines » friends were quick to rally round; someth

A look at whats happening all around the majors Monday:---FALLEN ANGELSThe Angels have dropped 10 in a row, their worst losing streak since an 11-game skid in 1999. Back home from an 0-9 road trip, Ricky Nolasco and Los Angeles face a tough opponent: Felix Hernandez and the Mariners, who have won eight of nine.APPROACHING ALEXThe Marlins need a bat, now that slugger Giancarlo Stanton is expected to miss at least six weeks because of a strained groin. Could Alex Rodriguez be on deck? Team president of baseball operations Michael Hill says Miami is discussing whether to reach out to A-Rod. The 41-year-old star was cut by the Yankees on Saturday, a day after playing his final game in pinstripes.ROADIESThe Red Sox begin an 11-game, four-city road trip with a one-day stop in Cleveland to make up a rainout. NL All-Star Drew Pomeranz (0-2, 5.26 ERA) looks for his first win with Boston, opposed by Josh Tomlin (11-4, 4.18). The Red Sox plan to put knuckleballer Steven Wright on the disabled list and first baseman Hanley Ramirez on the bereavement list.KNOCK THE KNUCKLERYankees newcomers Aaron Judge, Tyler Austin and Gary Sanchez have all hit well since making their major league debuts. Theyll get a new challenge as they try to tame the knuckleball of R.A. Dickey when the AL East-leading Blue Jays visit Yankee Stadium.NEED MOORENewly acquired Matt Moore will make his home debut for San Francisco, taking on the Pirates. The lefty is 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA in two starts since the Giants got him from Tampa Bay.TRY AGAINBartolo Colon has beaten every team in the majors except the Diamondbacks. The 43-year-old righty gets another chance when he starts for the Mets at Arizona. He got a no-decision vs. the D-backs last Wednesday, pitching seven effective innings. Custom Dallas Mavericks Jerseys . -- Matt Rupert scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the London Knights extended their win streak to nine games by defeating the Owen Sound Attack 4-3 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Luka Doncic Mavericks Jersey .C. United of Major League Soccer. United chose the defender in the second round of the 2013 MLS re-entry draft. http://www.mavericksteamofficial.info/kostas-antetokounmpo-mavericks-jersey/ . After slipping from the summit during the week, the Gunners overcame struggling Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains second-half brace. Dirk Nowitzki Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. Luka Doncic Jersey . Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck of the Vancouver Giants were each charged with assault causing bodily harm on Aug. 18, according to the B.C. court services. Ron Dennis has experienced extremely difficult times during more than 30 years as boss of the McLaren F1 team but none will be more personally taxing than the months ahead.For a man whose passion is Formula 1 (and always will be, to quote a recent interview), the public hurt inflicted by the boardroom coup will be nothing compared to removal from the helm of a team he nurtured and shaped into one of the greatest in the history of the sport.Pain is a favourite word of Ron when expressing the trials and tribulations of competing. He is going to feel a lot of that -- but without the compensation provided by the totally irreplaceable buzz of going racing and being involved at the highest level. Ron Dennis will miss that. Whether or not racing will miss him is typical of the many contradictions created by this managerial powerhouse.The simple figures behind the Dennis hegemony tell of expanding McLaren from 50 to 3,250 employees and winning more than 20 F1 world championships along the way. The details are more complex -- as befits the man himself -- but intriguing because of it.The story of Ron Dennis and McLaren is a lengthy one in terms of time and achievement; so colourful and varied, in fact, that it leaves those of us who knew him with a series of landmark moments that created an indelible impression -- for reasons good and bad.In March 1981, we were called to a former electronics factory on Boundary Road in Woking to visit not only McLarens new workshop but also to see F1s first carbon fibre chassis. All of this was an outward sign of the new regime driven by Dennis as his company, Project Four, merged with a McLaren team that had been dying on its feet. The event was low-key but the aims were clearly very high, as evidenced by John Barnards revolutionary and lightweight chassis being prepared in these small but unfashionably immaculate premises.Dennis had convinced the talented and occasionally irascible Barnard that they could work together. Ron would use the same powers of persuasion to encourage Niki Lauda to not only make a comeback, but to do it with McLaren. Lauda won the third race of his return in 1982, while John Watson would take victory for the team in Detroit two months later.Thinking, as always, of the future, Dennis confided during a press dinner that weekend that he had approached Ayrton Senna with a view to funding the young Brazilians F3 programme for 1983 in return for an option for F1. Dennis may have been non-plussed when Senna, clearly a rising star, turned him down but that merely doubled Rons determination to eventually have Ayrton on board.By the time that mission had been accomplished for 1988, Dennis had already gone through the quite remarkable phase of convincing Porsche to build what would be the dominant TAG-Turbo. With the Senna/Prost/McLaren/Honda package then winning all but one race in 1988, it really did seem that nothing could stop Dennis. It was no surprise when he was named Businessman of the Year by an esteemed commercial publication that had nothing to do with sport.How long could this go on? The handful of F1 reporters ushered into McLarens charcoal-coloured premises in Wokings Albert Drive in 2002 couldnt help but feel that Dennis had finally over-reached himself when he discussed the latest plans for his company. With the boyish enthusiasm of a youngster showing off his new train set, Dennis revealed a scale model of what would eventually be known as the McLaren Technology Centre (MTC).Perhaps reaading our collective doubts, Ron assured the assembled company that the bill (eventually ￡270 million) would be financed over three years by surplus cash flow.ddddddddddddAnd it was. Inbetween, we would don hard hats, boots and high-vis jackets to inspect work in progress, that same excitement still palpable as Ron marched ahead, explaining detail and, at the same time, noting snags. While no longer doubting this project would reach fruition, we couldnt help but feel sympathy for the hapless site foreman as Dennis made requests for cleanliness and perfection that redefined fastidious to the point of damaging obsession.That, of course, would always be the problem. You cannot achieve such phenomenal success without causing upset along the way. While Dennis may have accepted that unfortunate necessity, his arrogance occasionally seemed to blank off its true effect. The chickens, which were bound to come home to roost, crash-landed in the middle of 2007.In January of that year, Ron had held a press lunch in one of the boardrooms at MTC. The purpose was to tell the F1 media how we would deal with the arrival of Lewis Hamilton. This, in not so many words, was the subtext: These are the ground rules. Youll talk to Lewis only when we say so.So intent was Dennis on micro-managing his exciting new charge and instructing so-called Fleet Street to get its house in order, he did not know about damaging events taking place under his own roof. Six months later, the devastating effect of Spygate would explode across the Silverstone paddock, taking with it Rons proudly and earnestly espoused policy of clarity and honesty in all things.At a time when friends are to be valued, Ron found he had an enemy exactly where he didnt need one. The relationship between Dennis, a successful but opinionated working class man, and Max Mosley, an intellectual patrician, was bound to cause friction at some point. These two had previously rubbed along as professionally as possible but McLarens transgression and, in the eyes of FIA President Mosley, Rons denial of key failings would lead to the team paying a price. One hundred million dollars, to be precise. But as Rons detractors knew only too well, it was the bosss personal pride that would be damaged more than the companys bank account.His close family and friends were quick to rally round; something deeply appreciated by a man with a profound belief in the value of loyalty. In yet another contradiction, workers on the shop floor would tell you they rarely saw their boss, never mind exchange a word or two. And yet McLaren to this day is staffed by employees who would not dream of going anywhere else. And those of long-standing known to be considering a move would be the subject of a passionate entreaty from Dennis not to leave the family; a personal plea doubtless prompted by the thought of a rival not only being perceived as superior but also poking Dennis in the eye by winning the tug-of-war.Rons caring attitude often spread beyond the team, as F1 journalists in medical and financial difficulties will attest even though Dennis would not be in favour of broadcasting his unprompted generosity. Such genuine and spontaneous kindness sums up the contradiction behind the methods needed to become the most successful team boss in the sports history.It is the conundrum of a colossus. So very Ron Dennis. ' ' '