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In his second column for ESPN, Australian Olympian James Magnussen explains how swimmers manage the nerves in the minutes before they step onto the blocks, and looks ahead to his swim in Australias 4x100 relay tilt.Its hard to describe the emotions you roll through ahead of a swimming race; it can be a bit of an out-of-body experience.You spend so much time preparing for that one race that your body almost goes into autopilot and takes over. But I remember the atmosphere in London was almost deafening; I struggled to gather my thoughts because it was so loud and there was so much going on.But as you get older you learn how to relax in those situations and take in the crowd, and use it as a source of energy and feed off the adrenalin. Sometimes as a younger swimmer, you try to block it out, you try to ignore it; but its almost impossible.If you imagine a smallish football crowd, and then put a roof on the stadium, it becomes a situation where there is no way for the noise to escape, and it gets pretty loud. So youve really just got to try to gather your thoughts and use it as a source of energy.There has certainly been a lot of negative press about Rio the past few months, and that has seemingly hit new heights over the past 10 days or so. But I dont have an issue with some of the fears that have been raised, or the problems that members of the Australian team have incurred.The first team I made was for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi in 2010, and there was so much negative press around that event. But I went to India and had a great time; I didnt encounter any problems. And since then Ive had the attitude, Well, Ill just turn up and everything will be all right once you get there.These events are so big and so important that countries are willing to do whatever it takes to make it work. And after a few issues this week, I believe that things will be fine once the Games get underway.Obviously, this is a completely different Olympics for me compared with London four years ago. I dont have an individual swim, but Im really excited by the opportunity to contest the 4x100 relay.I want to be a really strong contributor not only to the relay team but also to the rest of the squad; I just want to do the best I can on the day. And as one of the older members on the team, I am keen to be a leader and put in a performance well above what I did at the Olympic trials now that Im a lot stronger and fitter.As far as expectations go, weve got a quality group of relay swimmers. That should put us right in the mix for a medal, and thats all you can really hope for in that event at an Olympic Games. It really is a lottery on the day, but were in with a shot and Im really excited about that. Stitched Cardinals Jerseys . 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. Ted Simmons Cardinals Jersey .Y. -- Injured Buffalo Sabres forward Marcus Foligno did not practice with the team Monday and head coach Ron Rolston said its unlikely hell play in Wednesdays season opener in Detroit. https://www.cheapcardinalsonline.com/ . Toronto has dropped games to Indiana and Miami since a five-game winning streak and closed out a three-game road trip at 1-2. St. Louis Cardinals Pro Shop . After Gasquet beat fifth-seeded Ivan Dodig of Croatia 7-5, 6-3, Tsonga followed up with a 6-7 (3), 6-2, 6-2 win against sixth-seeded Edouard Roger-Vasselin in an all-French match. Wholesale Cardinals Jerseys . Cote was eligible to become a free agent Feb. 15. Cote helped running back Jon Cornish run for a league-high 1,813 rushing yards en route to being named the leagues most outstanding player.PRAGUE, Czech Republic -- Ten-man Italy escaped with a 0-0 draw against the Czech Republic in a World Cup qualifier Friday after star striker Mario Balotelli was sent off in the second half. The draw still allowed Italy to pull four points clear of second-place Bulgaria in Group B with four more games to go. The Czechs are third, five points behind Italy and still have hopes of reaching next years tournament in Brazil. Balotelli was sent off in the 72nd minute after receiving his second yellow card. Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon made two good saves to keep the game scoreless. He raced off his line to deny Petr Jiracek in the first half and did the same in the second to prevent Libor Kozak from netting. "The point is of great importance for us," Italy Coach Cesare Prandelli said through an interpreter. "Its clear. Without (Buffon), we would have lost, he was our best player. ... We were not able to find our rhythm. We were very slow." The Czechs went on the attack after the Italians were reduced to 10 men and captain Tomas Rosicky had his goal-bound shot blocked in the 75th minute. Six minutes from time, Jiracek beat Buffon but hit the post from Jaroslav Plasils free kick. "Its a huge disappointment," Jiracek said. "I wasted such big chances." Substitute Daniel Kolar fired just wide in injury time when left unnmarked in the area, while Lazio striker Kozak tested Buffon again with a shot from the edge of the area following a flowing Czech move in the 67th.dddddddddddd "We played a great match," Kozak said. "We just didnt score." The Czechs looked rejuvenated by the presence of Rosicky, who missed most of the campaign due to an injury. Ignazio Abate almost netted an own goal 11 minutes into the game by diverting a pass from Tomas Hubschman to Kozak and the ball just went wide of the left post. Oother attempts by Rosicky, Jiracek and Michal Kadlec missed the target while Buffon dived to his right to save a shot from Kozak from outside the area. Prandelli started Balotelli alongside Stephan El Shaarawy in attack but the Milan star forwards failed to make their presence felt. Although the visitors gradually gained composure later in the first half, they were unable to pose a threat to goalkeeper Petr Cech, with Balotelli more engaged in arguing with the opponents, fellow Italians and the referee. "Balotelli was nervous," Prandelli said. "It is his problem and he has to cope with that." El Shaarawy was replaced after the first half by Sebastian Giovinco. Next, the Czech Republic hosts Armenia on Sept. 6 while Italy plays Bulgaria at home. Italy now travels to Brazil for the June 15-30 Confederations Cup. ' ' '