Tokyo, Japan - Heavy Japanese crowd favorite Kei Nishikori posted a first-round victory Wednesday at the $1. [url=http://www.aut

Tokyo, Japan - Heavy Japanese crowd favorite Kei Nishikori posted a first-round victory Wednesday at the $1. Tyler ONeill Cardinals Jersey .2 million Japan Open Tennis Championships. The fourth-seeded star downed Croat Ivan Dodig 6-3, 6-4 on the hardcourts at a sold-out Ariake Colosseum, where 10,000 fans watched their tennis hero advance. The world No. 7 Nishikori was the Tokyo titlist in 2012 and is fresh off his title in Kuala Lumpur last week. His second-round opponent on Thursday will be American left-hander Donald Young. I felt more pressure in New York, it was my first Grand Slam final, said Nishikori. Here, I could really feel the support. Winning Kuala Lumpur [last week] gave me more confidence. I try not to pay attention to the crowd or what the opponent is doing, but its always good to play at home. I can feel the support here. In second-round action on Day 3, American Jack Sock edged out Kazakhstans Andrey Golubev 6-3, 1-6, 7-5; American Steve Johnson came back to best Spaniard Marcel Granollers 4-6, 6-3, 6-4; German Benjamin Becker topped Japanese wild card Tatsuma Ito 6-3, 6-3; and Frenchman Gilles Simon overcame southpaw Gilles Muller of Luxembourg 4-6, 7-6 (7-1), 6-3. Sock will face Becker, while Johnson will encounter Simon in Fridays quarterfinals. In addition to Nishikori-Young on Thursday, third-seeded Canadian star Milos Raonic will take on Austrian lefty Jurgen Melzer. The reigning two-time Tokyo runner-up Raonic lost to Argentine Juan Martin del Potro in last years finale. This weeks winner will collect $296,850. Keith Hernandez Jersey . "He came up to me and said, I want to train," said Toronto coach Ryan Nelsen. The 26-year-old midfielder is expected to play Saturday night when Toronto hosts D.C. United, returning to his Major League Soccer squad with mixed feelings about the Americans World Cup run -- sad that it ended when it did but proud of his teams performance. Keith Hernandez Cardinals Jersey . Just ask Arsenal fans. However, Arsene Wenger has repeatedly told anyone willing to listen that finishing in that spot is more important than winning a cup competition. http://www.authenticcardinalspro.com/cardinals-mike-shannon-jersey/ . The stress, the waiting, the whispers about whether he doped during his stellar cycling career, all of it ended when - after nearly two years - federal prosecutors closed an investigation of him last week without bringing any charges.A new lawsuit filed against the National Hockey League by two former players alleges that three in 10 retired players have, or will have, brain damage from head injuries or concussions. The startling allegation is being made in a statement of claim filed by Sasha Pokulok, who was selected by the Washington Capitals with the 14th overall pick in the 2005 NHL draft and Simon Danis-Pepin, a 2006 second-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks. In the lawsuit, lawyers for the players say the National Football League filed an actuarial study on Sept. 12 that demonstrated that 3 of 10 retired NFL players have or will have brain damage from head injuries or concussions. Since studies have shown that hockey players and football players receive concussions at a similar rate, it is likely that former NHL players have, or will have, brain damage at similar rates as retired NFL players, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit did not specify the studies in question. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly declined to comment. Pokulok and Danis-Pepins claims have not been proven in court. For years, the NFL denied that its players had a high rate of severe brain damage. But earlier this week, the league admitted in court papers that nearly one-third of its retired players develop long-term brain problems and that those problems surface at appreciably younger ages than the general population. In the NFLs case, both the league and lawyers for the former players expect that only a few dozen former players would receive payments of as much as $$5 million if they are diagnosed with Parkinsons disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a degenerative brain disease which at this point can be identified only during an autopsy. Whitey Herzog Jersey. But some 28 per cent of players, or 5,900 former players, would develop injuries for which they would merit compensation. Former NHL players are uniting to send one resounding message, Pokulok and Danis-Pepins lawsuit says. They signed up to play hockey knowing that they might get injured and dinged, but they did not sign up for brain damage. The lawsuit says Pokulok played under an NHL contract for three years and suffered multiple head traumas during his career, including in training camps, NHL rookie games, and prospect and main camps. It adds that he was never warned by the NHL of the negative health effects of head trauma. The players are seeking more than $5 million, although the specific amount was not listed. The claim is the latest of at least six filed against the NHL by former players over concussion-related health problems. The cases will be heard collectively in Minnesota. Pokulok, a defenceman, played college hockey at Cornell before he was drafted and never played a game in the NHL, splitting time between 2006 and 2010 with the American and East Coast Hockey Leagues. Danis-Pepin, also a defenceman, was drafted by Chicago out of the University of Maine. He, too, split time in the AHL and ECHL between 2009 and 2014. He never played a game in the NHL. ' ' '