Support » uilding. It had been off for a bit when the teams official Tw

Zachary Sneaky Scuderi came to his semifinal postmatch interview holding a pink-colored bag from one of his fans, given to him during the fan signings following the series. He smiled as he stared at the assortment of gifts inside: a few snacks, candy, a handwritten note, and pictures of previous autograph sessions with the rest of his Cloud9 teammates. It was a reminder that, regardless of how long it took to get back to the North American League of Legends Championship Series (NA LCS) finals, C9 and Sneaky always had a loyal fanbase behind them.With the teams narrow victory over the regular seasons second-place squad, Immortals, the two-time champions have made it back to their fifth finals after a yearlong hiatus. Gone is esteemed captain Hai Hai Lam and his sharp shotcalling, but in his place is a team of five that have come together as one to work toward the ultimate goal: the world championship. They might have gone about it differently than they had in the old days, but C9 are just one step away from reaching that goal and a shot at the Summoners Cup.Weve improved an insane amount over the last three weeks, Sneaky told me, sitting down after putting away his gift. [We just improved on] everything: playing together as a team, making sure we can get vision control, not be in the wrong places, figuring out matchups so we can get ideal pick/bans.No one really knew what to expect from C9 at the beginning of the summer split. Although the team finished third in the spring split regular season, everything unraveled in the quarterfinals when the team failed to upend sixth-place Team SoloMid. The team decided to pull the trigger on acquiring former world champion Jung Impact Eon-yeong from NRG Esports while also bringing back William Meteos Hartman to fulfill the starting jungle duties.Were definitely getting closer, said Sneaky on his and the teams relationship with Impact. We have a translator named Robin that translates everything we say so he can really understand what were trying to talk to him about. I think if we didnt have a translator, it would be really hard, and we probably wouldnt be where we are now, just because we couldnt have the same conversations.Saturdays semifinal was a return of the top laner that once lifted the Summoners Cup in 2013 on SK Telecom T1. A selfless player since his early days as a support, Impact has been primarily in the background for large parts of the season while Sneaky and mid laner Nicolaj Jensen Jensen have been the core carries.Against Immortals, however, Impact proved why he was once considered to be possibly the greatest top laner on the planet, completely shutting down Heo Huni Seung-hoon en route to a series victory. His calm demeanor and intelligent pressure against the offensively gifted but sometimes brazen Huni was the key to neutralizing Immortals greatest strength: its top and jungle combination between Huni and reigning MVP Kim Reignover Yeu-jin.The other major switch in the offseason was bringing back Meteos, and the old superstar jungler of North America rediscovered his swagger over the course of the series. While he was hit-or-miss in the first four games of the set, Meteos came through as the hero in the final climactic game where he outplayed Reignover to push his team to another finals.[Meteos] just really helped push the team forward, said Sneaky. He came back from the break, and I think he realized he really wanted to win. So hes been pushing the team as far as he can. He questions a lot of stuff to make sure that we know matchups. ... He pushed us a lot harder than we did in spring split. [In] spring split, I dont think we were complacent, but I didnt feel any push. It just felt like going into any normal split game versus [Team SoloMid] or something, but this time we practiced really hard, and I think it showed.Meteos has made it to the finals each time he has fully completed a season (this is his fifth). The only two seasons C9 failed to make the NA LCS finals were when they either replaced Meteos in the middle of the season (summer 15) or when he didnt play at all (last split). If TSM can outduel rivals Counter Logic Gaming in the other semifinal later on Sunday, Meteos will face TSM in the finals for the fifth straight time. The current record between the clubs is 2-2.If Sneakys prediction is any indication, Meteos and the rest of C9 will have the opportunity to break the deadlock.I think TSM is going to win, he answered when asked which team he favored in the second semifinal. Pretty sure, Id give it like an 80%. But CLG has pulled through a bunch of random times, like every single time during the finals as of recent. I think the biggest one was last year in summer. I was like, Oh, this is obvious, TSM wins, but CLG 3-0ed and I was like, Huh, thats weird. So I could see them winning, but TSM has been looking stronger for sure across the whole split, and even in scrims CLGs doing a pretty good amount worse than TSM is.CLG, TSM, whoever it is, for Sneaky and Cloud9, it doesnt matter. Regardless of which team meets C9 in the NA LCS Finals in Toronto, the Saturday semifinal confirmed one thing:Cloud9 is back. Stitched Diamondbacks Jerseys . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. Diamondbacks Jerseys China . The All-Pro lineman got the leg bent under him while trying to make a tackle during the first half of a 22-20 overtime loss at Miami on Thursday night. The medical staff initially thought hed torn the ligament, and the test a day later in Cincinnati confirmed it. https://www.cheapdiamondbacksjerseys.us/ . "I was fortunate to play many years at this level with a great organization and unbelievable teammates," said Hejduk in a statement. Arizona Diamondbacks Gear . The deal is pending a physical, assistant general manager Bobby Evans said. Traded from Seattle to Baltimore on Aug. 30, Morse also can play first base and right field to give manager Bruce Bochy some flexibility in writing his lineup. Cheap Diamondbacks Jerseys .500 on the season. The Jets are now 0-5-1 in the second game of back-to-backs. The game started the same way the Vancouver game started the night before, with the Jets taking the first two penalties of the game and killing off the first, but the Oilers getting on the board first, scoring on the second man-advantage. HOUSTON -- Dallas Keuchel isnt quite ready to say hes on a roll.However last years AL Cy Young Award winner will acknowledge that hes starting to feel more like himself than he did during his struggles early this season.Luis Valbuena hit a solo homer and Colby Rasmus and rookie A.J. Reed added two-run shots in the fourth inning to back up a solid start by Keuchel and give the Houston Astros a 5-2 victory over the Seattle Mariners on Tuesday night.It was definitely a good first start after the halfway mark and I know its a long season so there was no panic, there was nothing to be mad at except me making some bad pitches, Keuchel said. Id rather finish well than start well so its getting there.Keuchel (6-9) allowed five hits and two runs in six innings for his season-high third straight win after dropping eight of his previous nine decisions.The finish on his pitches was good, manager A.J. Hinch said. He was throwing his breaking ball where he wanted to. He got some big strikeouts. When you see him with the combination of getting the ball on the ground and also missing some bats that is pretty vintage Dallas Keuchel.Will Harris, who was named to his first All-Star team on Tuesday, pitched a scoreless ninth for his ninth save.The Astros trailed by one in the fourth inning when Rasmus launched his homer off Taijuan Walker (4-7) to the bullpen in right-center field to make it 3-2. Valbuena drew a walk before, with two outs and two strikes, Reed hit his second career homer to left-center to extend it to 5-2.Walker yielded five hits and five runs before leaving after four innings with discomfort in his right foot. Its his third start that has been shortened because of this problem. He left early on June 14 and June 19 because of his foot.After the second inning, I had no legs. Everything was up, Walker said. Everything was running back to the plate. I just couldnt drive it in there. Its frustrating because I dont know what I can do to make it better yet.Nelson Cruz homered for the Mariners, who dropped their second straight to Houston.The three home runs Walker allowed tieed a career-high and all were by left-handers.dddddddddddd Hes been plagued by homers by lefties this season and 13 of the 18 homers he has allowed have been to them.Dae-Ho Lee singled with one out in the second before a double by Kyle Seager. The Mariners took a 1-0 lead on an RBI groundout by Chris Iannetta.Valbuenas homer, which landed in the second deck in right field, came with two outs in the bottom of the inning to tie it at 1-all.Cruzs 22nd home run gave Seattle a 2-1 lead in the fourth inning.He was shaken up in the sixth inning when he fouled a ball off his left foot and leg. He limped around the plate for a couple of minutes while talking to Mariners manager Scott Servais and a trainer before staying in the game to finish his at-bat.HOT IN HEREThe air conditioning in Minute Maid Park was off for about three innings on Tuesday night because of a power outage outside of the building. It had been off for a bit when the teams official Twitter account announced the problem at about 9 p.m. with the temperature outside the ballpark a balmy 86 degrees. Many people could be seen fanning themselves with their hands or pieces of paper as the temperature in the domed ballpark began to rise. Another tweet came in the eighth inning saying the problem was fixed and the air conditioning was back on.Oh yeah, it was hot. But I didnt mind it, Rasmus said. I needed to get a good sweat in anyway.TRAINERS ROOMMariners: RHP Felix Hernandez will throw a simulated game Wednesday. Servais said Hernandez will throw 45 pitches. Hernandez has been on the DL with a strained right calf since June 1.UP NEXTMariners: Wade LeBlanc (1-0, 1.50) will make his third start of the season on Wednesday. LeBlanc allowed three hits and two runs in six innings of a 5-2 win over Baltimore in his last start.Astros: Mike Fiers (6-3, 4.12) is scheduled to start for Houston on Wednesday. Fiers has won three straight and has pitched 14 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings at home. ' ' '