HE TAKEAWAYOregon: The Ducks streak of 11 straight bowl games is all but over. Oregon now needs to win its final three games to reach the six-win mark, but winning one game against resurge

NEW YORK -- From the seasons first major, Down Under back in January, Serena Williams and Angelique Kerber have been the two best players in womens tennis. If they can win their semifinal matches against worthy opponents Thursday night, they will advance to a tantalizing winner-take-all final on Saturday that offers a Grand Slam title, a $3.5 million pay day and, perhaps most important, the No. 1 ranking.Womens semifinals breakdownNo. 1 Serena Williams versus No. 10 Karolina Pliskova, 4:30 AM IST (Friday, Sep 9)Case for Serena: This was precisely the spot a year ago where Williams melted down, a victim of the pressure she felt chasing a rare calendar-year Grand Slam. Roberta Vinci handed Serena her first Grand Slam singles loss of the season in the semifinals. Her trip through the draw this year has been marked by poise and composure, even though the stakes are nearly as high. On the line: a 23rd Grand Slam singles title, which would break the Open era record she shares with Steffi Graf, and the No. 1 ranking, something she has held for 186 consecutive weeks.Case for Pliskova: Right now, she has some absurd momentum working for her. Her Wednesday straight-sets win against Ana Konjuh in the quarterfinals was her 10th match win in a row, something she has never done. The run includes four wins over top-10 players (Svetlana Kuznetsova, Garbine Muguruza, Angelique Kerber and Venus Williams). Pliskova won the title in Cincinnati and is already into her first career major semifinal.Notable stat: Wham, bam. These are two biggest hitters in terms of aces. Pliskova leads all WTA players with 439. Serena is a distant second with 320.Prediction: Williams in two.No. 2 Angelique Kerber versus Caroline Wozniacki, following Serena-Pliskova (6:30 AM IST, Sep 9)Case for Kerber: The sturdy 28-year-old has already been to the final of the Australian Open, Wimbledon and the Olympics and, most recently, Cincinnati. And while she lost in the past three -- to Serena Williams, Monica Puig and Karolina Pliskova -- getting there is half the battle. Kerber has a 7-5 head-to-head edge over Wozniacki; the two havent met in 2016, but a year ago, Kerber won two of three.Case for Wozniacki: New York seems to be Wozniackis kind of town. The 26-year-old Dane owns a posh apartment here and ran the New York City Marathon two years ago (in a sporty 3 hours, 26 minutes). She has also reached two US Open finals, in 2014 and 2009 -- the only times shes ever reached a major final.Notable stat: Wozniacki has been to at least the semifinals here four different times, while Kerber has only done it once, in 2011.Prediction: Kerber in three. Adidas NMD γυναικεια . -- Brandon Jennings made the most of his first game with the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night. Adidas NMD ανδρικα . Nigeria beat surprise package Ethiopia 2-0 in the second leg of their playoff for a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory. Victor Moses converted a 20th-minute penalty after an Ethiopian handball, and Victor Obinna made certain of Nigerias place in Brazil with his powerful free kick in the 82nd at UJ Esuene Stadium. http://www.nmdgreece.com/adidas-nmd-r2-greece/i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i.html . Vettel was 0.168 seconds faster than Red Bull teammate Mark Webber around the Suzuka circuit. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was two tenths of a second off Vettel. "The car balance is decent, but I think we can still improve," Vettel said. Adidas Gazelle ανδρικα . -- Jimmy Walkers first PGA Tour trophy came with a special gift tucked inside. Adidas Gazelle προσφορες . The 20-year-old Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. Davis responded to his selection earlier in the day as a Western Conference All-Star with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 98-91 on Friday night. LOS ANGELES -- Southern California coach Clay Helton was afraid his team might look past struggling Oregon toward next weeks marquee matchup against College Football Playoff contender Washington.Fortunately for Helton, there were no such issues as Ronald Jones tied a school single-game record with four rushing touchdowns and the Trojans demolished Oregon 45-20 on Saturday.Now yall can ask all the UDub questions you want, USC safety Chris Hawkins said.Sam Darnold had 309 yards passing and two touchdowns with one interception, and Deontay Burnett had seven receptions for 87 yards and a touchdown to help propel USC (6-3, 5-2 Pac-12) to its first five-game winning streak since 2013.After rushing for a career-high 223 yards in USCs win over California, Jones again feasted on one of the worst rushing defenses in college football. The sophomore exploded for a 66-yard touchdown run on the third play of the second half before picking up a fourth score early in the fourth quarter to match a mark last accomplished by LenDale White in 2005. Jones finished with 171 yards rushing on 20 carries.I hold my breath every time he touches it because I know there is a chance he can go all the way, Helton said. Between himself and a very effective offensive line, they are doing some special things right now.Freshman quarterback Justin Herbert, who tied school single-game records for touchdown passes and passing yards in his two previous starts, threw for 162 yards and one touchdown as Oregon (3-6, 1-5) was assured its first losing record in conference play since 2006. Pharaoh Brown caught a touchdown, while Charles Nelson had a touchdown run.USC jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the first quarter, scoring on each of its first three possessions. After settling for a 35-yard field goal by Matt Boermeester on the opening drive, Jones ripped through the middle of the Oregon defense on a 23-yard touchdown run.Jones second touchdown run was even more spectacular, bouncing outside for a 3-yard score after spinning free from two Oregon defensive linemen who immediately met him behind the line of scrimmage.The Oregon defense then responded by forcing punts on USCs next three possessions, benefitting from several dropped passes and penalties by the Trojans. But Oregons offense was unable to mount a similarr resurgence, aside from a one-play touchdown drive after a short USC punt.ddddddddddddNelson took an end around 25 yards into the end zone with 15 seconds left in the first quarter, but Aidan Schneider missed the extra point.Our guys rallied, but just didnt seize enough moments there early, Oregon coach Mark Helfrich said. As soon as you plugged one hole in the dike, another one opened up. Those guys are talented enough to make you pay for it.Oregon went three-and-out on four of eight possessions in the first half, unable to consistently block the aggressive USC defense and gaining just 125 yards. The Ducks finished with just 85 yards rushing in the game, with Royce Freeman running for 38 yards.Dakota Prukop rushed for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to extend Oregons streak of games with at least 20 points to 39, the longest active mark in the FBS.Burnett caught four passes for 42 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown, on USCs last drive of the half to extend the lead to 24-6. Tight end Taylor McNamara added a touchdown reception in the third quarter.Helton did offer a brief initial scouting report on the Huskies, praising sophomore quarterback Jake Browning and coach Chris Petersen.It ought to be a lot of fun, Helton said. We played our way into a really big game in November, and thats what you hope to do.THE TAKEAWAYOregon: The Ducks streak of 11 straight bowl games is all but over. Oregon now needs to win its final three games to reach the six-win mark, but winning one game against resurgent Stanford, Pac-12 South challenger Utah or improving Oregon State would be a big ask of this flawed team.USC: The Trojans are talented but temperamental. No one can doubt USCs athleticism across the board, but there are too many stretches where the offensive line misses blocks or the receivers drop passes. It will require a near-perfect performance to win in Seattle against a legitimate College Football Playoff contender next week.UP NEXTOregon: Hosts Stanford in a diminished edition of what had annually been the Pac-12 game of the year since the conference expanded in 2011.USC: Travels to face Washington in what might be the Pac-12 game of the year. ' ' '