to pinch herself that it had finally happened,W

CHICAGO -- A single sheet of paper sat on Willson Contreras chair in front of his locker when the Chicago Cubs rookie showed up for practice on Friday. It was a form letter asking players to list the names of people picking up the four tickets set aside for family members ahead of the NL Championship Series opener.Someone asked Contreras who would be picking up his.Nobody, the 24-year-old catcher said, trying to force a grin.Behind that rueful smile is a long story. Baseball provided Contreras a path out of the tough times back home in Venezuela and swept him to the top of the major leagues. But even that lofty position hasnt enabled him yet to get his parents, Olga and William, a visa to follow him to the United States. Their application for a temporary visa to watch him during the playoffs wasnt successful, either.Everybodys back home, Contreras confirmed. Its hard to get them here at this time of the year.They will be watching on TV from a new home he bought them, in a neighborhood with security guards. It was there that they saw their older son drive a tying single up the middle in Chicagos opening-round clinching win against the Giants.Contreras even has food delivered to their home, so his parents dont have to venture out to the grocery store, where long lines await. But fears about their safety never slip his mind for long.Hopefully, Conteras added a moment later, next year, theyll be here.Wait until next year has been the Cubs unofficial motto for a century and counting. Yet it carries just as much longing for the young Venezuelan as the most grizzled denizen of the citys North Side. Contreras made it to these shores a half-dozen years ago, followed soon after by younger brother, William, who is playing in the Braves organization. The boys never forget on whose shoulders they stood, making that huge step possible.At this time last year, Contreras was playing Double-A ball in Tennessee and he paused to carve Ernesto into the dirt before each at-bat, honoring the grandfather whod died back home barely two months earlier. This fall, he worries about his parents safety in a cash-strapped country where kidnapping the relatives of a famous baseball player is viewed as a lucrative business.In 2011, kidnappers there grabbed Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos and held him for ransom; fortunately, Ramos was eventually rescued.We dont talk about it that much, but we know what each other is going through, said Albert Almora Jr., another rookie whose locker is close by. Sometime, after a game, you can come here and see certain guys text messaging and you know theyre talking to family -- Willson, with his folks, in my case, its my dad. Hes fighting prostate cancer. ... So we make it a point to check in with each other every so often.Cubs manager Joe Maddon knew Contreras situation when the team called him up from Triple-A at midseason. As if learning to call games for a veteran and sometimes-finicky staff and bullpen wasnt hard enough, the manager had planned to pile more on his plate. Maddon wanted the one-time infielder to try his hand at first base and the outfield as well as behind the plate.Contreras rewarded Maddons faith by homering in his first big-league at-bat. His teammates made him feel right at home by shooing him out of the dugout soon after, reminding Contreras he still had to warm-up the relievers back in the bullpen. But hes made a good argument for deserving a regular spot in the lineup by hitting no matter which glove he was wearing. But just as impressive, Maddon says, is Contreras ability to compartmentalize all those jobs while still keeping one eye on his family a continent away.As a parent and as a manger, if my kids arent having a good day, then Im not. But when your family is down there, its hard to stay right here, Maddon recalled recently.Having his fiancee here has brought a bit of home along with him. So has finding a handful of seafood restaurants and long walks along Lake Michigan, which is as close to the beach near Contreras home in Puerto Cabello, Venezuela, as hes likely to find for the moment.It will have to do.Im able to separate my personal situation from the game and I know that everybody back home is OK, Contreras said finally. So Ill be fine.---Jim Litke is a sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke(at)ap.org and https://Twitter.com/JimLitke Wholesale Football Jerseys . Kyle Denbrook, a soccer player from Saint Marys University, took the CIS male athlete of the week honour. Stanley, a fourth-year business administration student from Charlottetown, scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Dalhousie on Friday and tallied again in a 1-0 win over Saint Marys on Sunday. Wholesale China Jerseys . -- Patrick Reed got an early start in golf. http://www.wholesalenfljerseysstore.com/ . It is a cliché dragged out by fans and pundits regularly when discussions take place around which teams are better than others. NFL Jerseys For Sale . Pirlo limped out of Sundays 1-0 win over Udinese after just 13 minutes. Juventus says Pirlo underwent tests on Monday which revealed he has "a second-degree lesion to the collateral medial ligament in his right knee. Authentic NFL Jerseys . A lawyer for MLB, Matthew Menchel, confirmed Wednesday the league dropped its case against Biogenesis of America, its owner Anthony Bosch and several other individuals. The lawsuit had accused Biogenesis and Bosch of conspiring with players to violate their contracts by providing them with banned performance-enhancing substances. Australias Kim Brennan has rowed the perfect race to break an eight-year Olympic gold medal drought with a commanding victory in the womens single sculls at Rios Lagoa Stadium.After no gold from Australias rowers in London and two silver this week in Rio, the pressure was on world champion Brennan to deliver.Brennan rowed the race of her life to lead from start to finish, beating home American Genevra Stone and Chinas Duan Jingli with highly fancied Kiwi Emma Twigg fourth.Brennan said her plan was always to go out fast, aware that a strong cross-wind through the last section of the course would make it difficult for others to catch her.She led by 3.72 seconds at the halfway mark, eventually crossing 1.38 seconds ahead of the field.The 31-year-old said she had to pinch herself that it had finally happened,We do so much visualisation and you imagine that moment so many times, Brennan said.Just crossing the line I couldnt work out whether that was actually it or just my imagination again; I cant really believe it..ddddddddddddts Brennans third Olympic medal after winning bronze in the event in London and silver in the double sculls when she rowed as Kim Crow before changing her name after marrying fellow rower and Beijing gold medallist Scott Brennan late last year.Brennan arrived in Rio unbeaten in the event since 2014.She had a shock loss in the heats, held in wind and waves, but quickly got her campaign back on track.Despite the favourite tag Brennan said the only pressure she felt was from herself.The most pressure comes from myself because I know how much Ive put into this over the years.I was away from my husband for three and a half months and its really quite a selfish thing to do and the pressure was partly because I wanted to make it feel worthwhile, she said.You can walk away incredibly happy if you know youve given the best show of yourself and Im so chuffed to have a gold medal. 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