way once. Its the second time this season Cruz was no

After two failed attempts to defeat his opponent with Mario, Jason ANTi Bates tried something new in the grand finals of Community Effort Orlando 2016: play Diddy Kong against Diddy Kong. ANTi, for his part, is known for mastering multiple characters, so beating his opponent, Michigans Julian Zinoto Carrington, wasnt out of the question.But following a forward aerial from Zinoto, ANTi found himself with his back against the wall. After sweeping most of the tournament in the winners side of the bracket, he was now in the losers. Again, he returned to Mario, with no inkling of success in sight.In that moment, fellow tri-state area Smasher, Nairoby Nairo Quezada, ran to the ringside and uttered two game-changing words to ANTi: Go Cloud.Quickly changing characters, ANTis dexterity behind the likes of Final Fantasy 7s main character quickly won him three games with several highlight reel worthy combos, using the characters special attacks, Blade Beam and Cross Slash.It was the first time ANTi ever won a major tournament with Smash for Wii Us best players, all in attendance.This was a huge confidence booster, he said to ESPN.com after his big win. I never really expect to win big tournaments. Finally, I got it.Following the victory, he ran around CEOs wrestling ring and jumped high off the ground. I jumped super high because I never knew what it was like to be the champion, he said.For the past year and a half, ANTi has been in the shadows. Hes a known member of the Smash community, originally transitioning from the previous version of the game, Super Smash Bros Brawl, but his skill has always been questioned. Due to a lack of publicity and also a lack of dedication to the game, hes played other titles competitively such as Street Fighter V, and has been outspoken about wanting to try things other than Smash.Last week, however, he joined a competitive team, Dream Team, specifically for Smash for Wii U. The new team has reinvigorated his love for the game, he says, and made him want to improve.Now, since Im sponsored for Smash 4, I have to invest way more time into Smash 4, he said. Street Fighter V has a lot of competition, and Im pretty much a late bloomer for that so Im just gonna stick to Smash 4 for now. Im so good at Smash 4 that I feel like Id be wasting talent not to take it seriously.His dedication began several weeks ago as he practiced and temporarily lived in the home owned by popular YouTuber Sky Williams, who also competes and commentates for Smash for Wii U. At that house is Gonzalo ZeRo Barrios, as well as other top players like Matt Xzax Liberatore.I feel like [staying at Skys house] is a big part of whats helping me, ANTi explained. Shout out to Sky Williams. Hes the best. I just played over there and leveled up by playing ZeRo, playing Sky, playing everybody over there. When I play there, Im testing out all of my characters and seeing what matchups I should use what character for. I just used that as a learning experience to get better and just play more solid in tournaments, and it paid here.ANTi, who works a day job in his home of New York, says hed like to move to Southern California. He believes that the competition there -- ZeRo, Xzax, Larry Larry Lurr Holland, James VoiD Makekau-Tyson, Tyrell NAKAT Coleman, and Eric Tyrant Legesse -- would help him improve tremendously.I just want to move to the west coast because I just like being there way more, he said. Its so warm and everyone is nicer and New York people are just angry in the subways and stuff. Now I have some more money in my pocket so I could actually use it to afford taking off work to play over there for a bit, since it was a big help for me.Part of his practice in California was figuring out the confusing current meta of Smash for Wii U. Following the nerfs to Sheik and Zero Suit Samus, formerly the undisputed best characters, the games tier list and competitive scene have become all the more perplexing. Players like ZeRo and Nairo suffered at CEO 2016, placing 9th and 17th respectively.ANTi, however, managed to weed his way through this tournament primarily with Mario. In his match against teammate Samuel Dabuz Buzby, ANTi used Meta Knight, a character which he was known for in Brawl, but has changed significantly in the newer version of the game. Against Zinoto, he used Diddy Kong and Cloud. He even pulled out Zero Suit Samus at some point. Not many people are able to properly play five characters, but ANTi managed to do so this weekend.I feel like just because Im known for being a threat with all these characters, it kind of instills fear into my opponent, he said. So when I played Cloud against Zinoto, he probably doesnt know what I do because he plays Mew2King and he beats him a lot. So Im going to play totally different from Mew2King, do my own options, and my own play style, and it worked out in the end.On social media, ANTi is known for trash-talking various opponents with a massive amount of confidence behind his play. It got as far as him removing the majority of his tweets on Twitter in fear of turning off teams or sponsors from picking him up. But thats not an issue with Dream Team.My manager encourages my s--- talking, so this is perfect. This is the best sponsor for me, he said about Dream Team FGC lead Paul Mal-3 Decsi. I just have to clean up my image a little bit. But for the most part, its just not saying stupid things online and just treating everyone with proper respect when its due. Just basic respect.ANTis next challenge is defending his title at the Evolution Championship Series, or EVO. That tournament will most likely be the largest Smash for Wii U tournament to date. In other games, such as Street Fighter, the tournament has over 4000 entrants, while Super Smash Bros Melee has over 2000.People got bodied this tournament, so nothing is guaranteed, ANTi said. But I hope to get top eight again, although Ill be happy if I get top 16 because theres double the entrants of [CEO] and this tournament was already huge. Ill be happy with top 16. I want to be on that stage though. Its gonna be sick. Mitch Richmond Jersey . Tests earlier this week revealed a Grade 2 left hamstring strain for Sabathia, who was hurt in last Fridays start against San Francisco. Its an injury that will require about eight weeks to heal. He finished a disappointing campaign just 14-13 with a career-worst 4. Vlade Divac Kings Jersey . The Vikings announced Thursday that Priefer will be one of seven holdovers from the previous staff, along with offensive line coach Jeff Davidson, wide receivers coach George Stewart and others. Norv Turner will mark his 30th year of coaching in the NFL as the offensive co-ordinator, as widely reported for weeks, and George Edwards will be the defensive co-ordinator. http://www.nbakingsonline.com/Authentic-Nemanja-Bjelica-Kings-Jersey/ . 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PITTSBURGH -- Ben Roethlisberger likened tight end Ladarius Green to a Ferrari shortly after the Pittsburgh Steelers signed the tight end to a lucrative four-year contract, a rare open-market splurge by the typically free-agent averse club.For months, the Ferrari remained up on blocks as Green went through a slow, methodical rehab from offseason ankle surgery that forced him to spend the first two months of the season on the physically unable to perform list. No matter. Healthy at last, Green is in the process of answering all the questions about his ability with one exclamation-point catch after another.The latest display came in a 24-14 win over the New York Giants on Sunday . Green hauled in a career-high six receptions for 110 yards and a touchdown as Pittsburgh (7-5) won its third straight.Im not close to where I thought I would be, but Im getting closer, Green said. Im building a little more confidence every game. The team is still believing in me. They keep pushing me. So, its just, everything is better.Looks like it. Since making his debut against Dallas last month, Green is averaging 18.8 yards per catch and looking very much like the potent downfield threat Pittsburgh envisioned when it tabbed him to replace the retired Heath Miller.Having your health is one thing, being football ready is another, Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin said. Hes getting up to speed. Hes finding a comfortable seat on a moving train. And we need him to.If Green can continue to take positive steps forward, it will give Roethlisberger another target instead of relying so heavily on running back LeVeon Bell and Antonio Brown, though the two stars hardly looked overworked while combining for 236 of Pittsburghs 389 total yards.Bell finished with 118 yards rushing, the first back to go over 100 against the Giants (8-4) since Adrian Peterson in Week 16 of last season, and added six catches for another 64 yards. Brown made a spectacular grab at the back of the end zone for his 11th touchdown reception of the season and the 49th in his career from Roethlisberger to move into a tie with Hall of Famers Terry Bradshaw and Lynn Swann for the most prolific wide receiver/quarterback combo in team history.The Steelers ran it 36 times and passed it 36 times, a nod towaard the style of play they want to utilize in what Tomlin calls December Football.ddddddddddddIts the time of year that we have to be our best self: offense, defense, special teams, Roethlisberger said. Everybody needs to just do their job and I thought they did that tonight.ERRATIC ELIThe Giants (8-4) saw their six-game winning streak come to an abrupt half by managing all of 234 total yards, with 52 of those coming on a meaningless last-gasp drive in garbage time. Manning completed 24 of 39 passes for 195 yards with two touchdowns and a pair of picks, both near the Pittsburgh goal line. New York also failed to convert a fourth-and-goal in the third quarter when trailing by 14.It really came down to those two red-zone trips, Manning said. We had no points off of it. ... We have been really good scoring touchdowns lately, the last two or three games we have been 100 percent scoring touchdowns, but not today.WHERES VICTOR?While Odell Beckham Jr. hauled in 10 passes for 100 yards and was targeted 16 times in all, Manning didnt throw Victor Cruzs way once. Its the second time this season Cruz was not targeted at all by Manning.Im going to talk to somebody, Cruz said. Somebodys got to give me an answer as to why (I didnt get the ball).HURTINGNew York defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul suffered a groin injury late in the first half and did not return. He said afterward hes not sure how severe the injury is and will get re-examined Monday.It was frustrating, said Pierre-Paul, whose seven sacks lead the team. Especially when Im sitting out. It (stinks) just watching in the locker room, but it is what it is.Pittsburgh rookie nose tackle Javon Hargrave and safety Shamarko Thomas both entered the concussion protocol and missed the second half.UP NEXTGiants: Will try to prevent NFC East-leading Dallas from clinching the division next week when they host the Cowboys. New York is the only team to beat Dallas this season.Pittsburgh: Heads north to Buffalo looking for a fourth straight victory. The Steelers havent lost to Buffalo since 1999.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '