towers, hillside favela slums and mist-enshrouded rainforest.-Sunset at Arp

MINNEAPOLIS -- For the first time this season, the Minnesota Twins do not have the worst record in the American League.Fueled by a 21-13 stretch since July 1, including a 3-1 win in the opener of a four-game series against the Houston Astros on Monday, the Twins passed the Tampa Bay Rays and moved out of the A.L. cellar.Minnesota, which has won seven of its last nine overall, will try and keep that momentum going on Tuesday when it continues its series with the Astros.August 8th, we passed somebody. How long has it been? Twins manager Paul Molitor joked on Monday. Its been a long time.Despite a lost season, Molitor said players try and accentuate the positives like on Monday, when they moved up in the standings.I would think that these guys are aware of those things, Molitor said. Were enjoying what were doing right now, guys are having fun, a lot of joking going around which is good as long as the focus is where it needs to be.On the flip side, the Astros will try and get back on track before their fading postseason hopes are gone for good.Houston has lost six of its last seven games and nine of 11 overall, dropping to third place in the American League West.We didnt play well enough to win (on Monday) and its been troublesome for a couple of weeks now, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. You gotta play better to win.The Astros mustered just four hits in Mondays loss and Carlos Gomez made a pair of defensive miscues in the fifth inning that accounted for two of Minnesotas three runs.Gomez also went 0-for-3 at the plate, including a double play, dropping his average to .210 on the season.Ill take a look at it and see how it goes, Hinch said when asked if he can continue to play Gomez. struggling through a tough season. You keep trying to hang in there with guys, you want to encourage them more than anything. Clearly its been a rough patch for him for a while.Hinch will send right-hander Mike Fiers to the mound to try and get the club going. Fiers struggled to open the season but has been better of late, posting a 3.56 ERA in 11 starts since June 1. He has had a quality start each of his last three times out, including a six-inning, two-run outing against Toronto on Thursday.Fiers allowed four runs on nine hits and a walk in a no-decision against the Twins on May 4 at Minute Maid Park.Houston will see a familiar face on Tuesday when the Twins send Hector Santiago to the mound to make his home debut. Santiago, acquired from the Angels on Aug. 1 in exchange for Ricky Nolasco and a prospect, allowed four runs on five hits and a pair of walks in five innings in Cleveland in his first game with the Twins on Thursday.The left-hander allowed one run on three hits and two walks in 6 1/3 innings against the Astros when he played for the Angels on June 21 and has a 3.69 ERA in 10 career starts against Houston. Pat Tillman Jersey .ca! Hi Kerry, Heres an interesting one. I know its common knowledge that all players are responsible for their sticks. We witnessed that when Zack Kassian hit Edmontons Sam Gagner in the face after a missed check. Cheap Arizona Cardinals Jerseys . Michell Burger, a woman who lives on an estate next to Pistorius gated community, said she and her husband were awoken by the screams in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 14 last year, when Pistorius killed Reeva Steenkamp by shooting four times through a door in his bathroom. http://www.cheaparizonacardinalsjerseysauthentic.com/ . 8 Iowa State on Saturday, sending the Cyclones to their third consecutive loss. The Longhorns (14-4, 3-2) got their biggest win of the season with their third in the row in the Big 12. Cheap Cardinals Jerseys . Halifax beat the Saint John Sea Dogs 7-5 on the strength of two goals apiece from Nikolaj Ehlers, Matt Murphy and Brent Andrews. Jonathan Drouin also scored and had three assists while Zachary Fucale made 17 saves for the Mooseheads (16-8-0), who led 6-1 after two periods. Arizona Cardinals Jerseys China . -- In a span of seven Washington Redskins offensive plays, Justin Tuck sacked Robert Griffin III four times. RIO DE JANEIRO -- With the Olympics just a few weeks away, Brazil faces a litany of problems: an economy in freefall, the Zika virus and a political crisis with an impeached president. But for those brave -- or foolhardy -- enough to make the trip, Rio de Janeiro is a city rich with potential rewards. Broadcasters have already deemed the citys backdrop for the Summer Games the most telegenic ever. But no matter how good this teeming seaside metropolis -- where the urban jungle and the literal jungle meet -- looks on TV, footage simply cant compare with the experience of actually being here.Heres a Q&A on tips for visiting Rio, from staying safe to samba parties:---Q: Is Rio safe?A: With an estimated 85,000 police and soldiers patrolling the streets during the games -- twice the security contingent in London in 2012 -- Olympic and local officials have insisted Rio will be the safest city on earth during the Aug. 5-21 games. Still, violent crime is a fact of life in this city, starkly divided between haves and have nots, so its best to keep a low profile.For Cariocas, as Rios 6 million residents are called, low-key dressing is de rigueur for both safety and practicality. Havaianas, the Brazilian flip-flop brand, are Rios uncontested footwear of choice. And the citys golden-sand beaches make board shorts and T-shirts, or hot pants and tank tops, a uniform for rich and poor alike. (While Rios Southern Hemisphere winters tend to be mild, thermometers can dip in August into what Cariocas consider the bone-chilling depths of the mid-60s, so pack a sweater or light jacket.)Watches and jewelry not clearly made from plastic are best avoided, as is using cellphones in public or conspicuously carrying camera equipment. Electronics are extremely expensive in Brazil, and a smartphone can cost several months worth of salary for locals, so its best to keep them under wraps.If you do get mugged, dont react or fight. Hand over your possessions calmly and without hesitation. Its only money and/or stuff. And no matter how much of a pain the ensuing nightmare of card cancellations proves, its not worth getting injured.---Q: Do people speak English?A: In a word, no. Outside Olympic venues and high-end hotels and restaurants, most Cariocas only speak Portuguese, though they might know a few words of English or Spanish. On the other hand, most people are eager to help foreigners and will resort even to pantomime to get their point across.---Q: Whats for dinner?A: If you go to one of the myriad churrascaria (shoe-hass-car-EE-ya) all-you-can-eat Brazilian barbeque joints, the answer is meat, meat and more meat. Roving waters brandishing spits stacked with cuts of prime beef, lamb chops, pork sausages and even wizened black chicken hearts will insist on refilling your plate till you verge on bursting.For vegetarians or those recovering from a meat overdose, options are limited. Best bets include corner juice bars offfering a cornucopia of freshly squeezed tropical fruit juices, as well as acai (ah-sa-EE) -- a deep purple Amazonian palm berry thats frozen, blended and served slushy.dddddddddddd---Q: Is there public transportation?A: The citys metro line is being extended to serve the beachfront Leblon neighborhood and reach the far-western Barra da Tijuca neighborhood, where Olympic Park is located. But the project is behind schedule and may not be finished in time for the games. Buses are confusing, packed, dangerous and generally best avoided. Cabs are plentiful and decently reliable -- just make sure your cabby turns headlights on after dark. (Many wont.)---Q: Besides sports, what is there to do in Rio during the games?A: Plenty. And the good news is, the best things in Rio are free.Rio was hard hit by the recession, with the economy shrinking last year by 4 percent, sending unemployment and inflation soaring. The nosedive of the local currency, the real, has made Rio much cheaper for visitors spending dollars or euros. But the cost of hotels and restaurants can still be shocking. Savvy travelers can staunch the bloodletting by taking advantage of the citys many free attractions:-Sugarloaf Mountain: The sheer granite outcropping that presides over the waters of the Guanabara Bay will no doubt prove a breathtaking backdrop for the Olympic sailing races. But rather than just ogling the iconic rock, why not hike it? A guide is necessary to scale the Sugarloaf itself, but its stumpier twin, the Morro da Urca, is doable without help. A mud path winds through tropical vegetation to a summit with peerless views over the citys dense patchwork of towers, hillside favela slums and mist-enshrouded rainforest.-Sunset at Arpoador: Take in the suns spectacular nightly performance as it sinks into the Atlantic from atop the Arpoador rock formation in between Copacabana and Ipanema Beaches. The crowd there raucously applauds the glittering show, night after night.-Pedra do Sal: Experience a roda de samba, or live samba music, at the birthplace of Brazils most famous musical genre. Monday nights bring hordes of aficionados to this former slave market in the Gamboa region of historic downtown for an open-air dance party.-Centro: Rios beaches tend to steal the thunder, but the Centro downtown region, where the city got its start 451 years ago, is a treasure trove of colonial-era churches and historic monuments. Perhaps the most stunning among them is the Mosteiro Sao Bento, a Baroque church and working monastery where monks perform Gregorian chants during Sunday Mass. Get there early to snag a seat. Also in Centro is the Portuguese Royal Reading Room, a 19th century gem of soaring jacaranda hardwood bookshelves and stained glass windows, tucked into the newly rehabilitated Praca Tirdentes. ' ' '