The Original Game » t surprising 24th-seeded Jerzy Janowicz. Saturdays fin

LONDON -- Spurred on by Steffi Graf and inspired by an array of other sporting greats, Sabine Lisicki pulled herself out of a big hole and climbed right into the Wimbledon final. Adidas Jon Merrill Jersey . The 23rd-seeded German, a Wimbledon semifinalist two years ago, overcame a 3-0 deficit in the third set to beat Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4, 2-6, 9-7 on Thursday and advance to her first Grand Slam final. On Saturday, she will face Marion Bartoli, a 6-1, 6-2 winner over Kirsten Flipkens in the other semifinal. "Its another challenge, and Im looking forward to it," said Lisicki, who beat defending champion Serena Williams in the fourth round. The mens semifinals are set for Friday, with top-seeded Novak Djokovic playing Juan Martin del Potro and 2012 finalist Andy Murray up against surprising 24th-seeded Jerzy Janowicz. Saturdays final will be just the second at Wimbledon in the 45-year Open era between two women who have never won a Grand Slam title. Although Bartoli has the edge in experience after reaching the 2007 final at the All England Club, Lisicki may have the bigger advantage with a 3-1 record against the Frenchwoman, including a quarterfinal win at Wimbledon in 2011 in their most recent match. Lisicki started off Thursday playing aggressive tennis on Centre Court, and it yielded immediate results. She won 22 of her 30 points on serve and broke Radwanska once. But soon after, Lisickis serve deserted her, and so did her lead. Lisicki lost all four of her service games in the second set, with the lowlight coming in the final game. Leading 30-0, she lost four straight points, including two double-faults. "She made some really good points. I made a few errors too many," said Lisicki, the first German to reach the Wimbledon final since Graf in 1999. "But I regained my focus and game in the third set, and thats the main part." Graf made have played a small role in the comeback. The seven-time Wimbledon champion sent Lisicki a text message before the match to wish her luck. "She told me to go for it, and Im just so happy," Lisicki said. "I was just fighting for every single point out there. Fought my heart out there." Besides Graf, Lisicki also named a few others who have helped inspire her to come back from a serious left ankle injury in 2010, including ski great Hermann Maier and NFL quarterback Drew Brees. "I read his book while I was injured," Lisicki said of Maier, an Austrian who won several Olympic and world championship medals. "Almost losing his leg and then to come back and be the world champion in his sport; was an unbelievable story. "Also Drew Brees ... He has torn everything there was in the shoulder, and he still came back and was one of the best." Bartoli needed no such motivation, making quick work of Flipkens with her two-handed backhands and forehands, mixed with little hops between points, as is her custom. "I played great. I executed very well. I hit lobs, passing shots, winners, returns, everything worked out perfectly," said Bartoli, who won in 62 minutes. "When I fell on the grass after match point, it was just so emotional. I dreamed about that moment, about returning to the Wimbledon final." The last time she made it this far, it didnt turn out so well. She lost to Venus Williams 6-4, 6-1. But this time is different, or at least Bartoli will hope it is. "Im serving better," Bartoli said. "I do just everything a bit better than what I was doing six years ago. If I would play myself now, with my game six years ago compared with my game today, I would probably be beating myself quite easily because Im just doing everything better." William Karlsson Jersey . "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. James Neal Jersey . With the short-handed Warriors needing help from someone -- anyone -- to stop a three-game skid, ONeal returned from right knee and groin injuries that had sidelined him for four games and put up season highs with 18 points and eight rebounds. It was just enough to help lift Golden State to a 102-101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. http://www.cheapgoldenknightsjerseys.com...theodore-jersey . Argentina winger Ezequiel Lavezzi and France midfielder Blaise Matuidi scored, with star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic setting up both despite having a poor game by his high standards. Forward Eduardo gave Ajaccio the lead in the sixth minute after being set up by right winger Benjamin Andre, and the Corsican side looked comfortable in the first half, with the lively Johan Cavalli causing problems with his probing runs from midfield. Ohio State didnt win the Big Ten, but the Buckeyes will play for a much bigger prize. Their national title hopes are still very much intact.Thats rare, but not unprecedented.Ranked second by the AP and third by the playoff committee, the Buckeyes will take on Clemson in a national semifinal . Ohio State is the first team in the playoffs three-year history to be included despite failing to win its conference.During the Bowl Championship Series era, however, three teams made it to the title game after falling short within their conferences. Heres a look at how it happened:NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS (2001)Why They Didnt Win Their Conference: The Cornhuskers were undefeated heading into their regular-season finale at Colorado, but the Buffaloes drubbed Nebraska 62-36. That prevented the Cornhuskers from even playing in the Big 12 championship game.We really had a big dream, Nebraska QB Eric Crouch said after the game. Those are over with now. This is going to be a tough one to swallow.What Happened Next: Nebraska fell from first to fourth in the BCS standings after the loss, trailing Miami, Florida and Texas. Florida lost to Tennessee the following week, and Texas fell to Colorado in the Big 12 title game. Tennessee briefly held the No. 2 BCS slot before losing to LSU in the SEC championship game.Nebraska, which hadnt played at all since being routed by Colorado, ended up back at No. 2 in the BCS standings, just ahead of Colorado and Oregon. Both major polls had Oregon No. 2.What Happened In The End: Nebraska was ranked No. 4 in the AP poll when it took the field for the BCS title game at the Rose Bowl. The Cornhuskers were overmatched. Miami led 34-0 at halftime and went on to win 37-14.---OKLAHOMA SOONERS (2003)Why They Didnt Win Their Conference: The Sooners went unbeaten during the regular season but were routed 35-7 by Kansas State in the Big 12 title game. Adidas David Perron Jersey. .Im not going to sit here and lobby for any bowl, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said afterward. We just got whipped. They outplayed us in every part of the game.What Happened Next: Stoops didnt need to lobby. Oklahoma was No. 1 in the BCS standings before it lost to Kansas State -- and still No. 1 afterward. The Sooners ended up facing LSU in the BCS title game. Southern California was left out despite being No. 1 in both polls.The Final Result: Playing in its home state at the Sugar Bowl, LSU held off Oklahoma 21-14 to take the BCS title. USC, which beat Michigan in the Rose Bowl, won the AP national title.---ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE (2011)Why They Didnt Win Their Conference: Alabama hosted LSU in a matchup of unbeatens on Nov. 5, with the Tigers prevailing 9-6 in overtime. Neither team lost for the rest of the regular season, so it was the Tigers who represented the SEC West in the league title game.Id be honored to face that team again, LSU coach Les Miles said after the victory over the Crimson Tide.What Happened Next: Alabama fell only one spot to No. 3 in the BCS standings after losing to LSU, but there were a few undefeated teams still to contend with -- Oklahoma State at No. 2, Stanford at No. 4 and even Boise State at No. 5. Stanford and Boise State lost the following weekend, and Oklahoma States double-overtime loss to Iowa State on Nov. 18 opened the door for an LSU-Alabama rematch in the BCS title game.The Final Result: In another defensive struggle, Alabama held LSU to five first downs, beating the Tigers 21-0 to claim the national title.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 .---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister ' ' '