WASHINGTON -- The surprises keep coming from first-year Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts.First, it was a National League Division Series that included three catchers. Now comes news that rookie Andrew Toles will start in left field in the opening game of the series Friday against the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park.Is he starting? Clayton Kershaw asked at his regular pre-start news conference Thursday. Thats awesome.The conversation was brief between Toles and Roberts.Youre in left field tomorrow, like he normally says, Toles said of the interaction when Roberts told him the news.Starts against right-handed pitchers have become commonplace for Toles over the past six weeks, so with Max Scherzer on the mound for the Nationals on Friday, Toles was somewhat expecting the assignment.It felt pretty good [to hear it], Toles said. I just want to stay focused and go out there and do my best really.He was out of baseball last year, when he was released by the Tampa Bay Rays organization, but Toles story has been one of resilience. He was signed by the Dodgers in 2015 after the minor league season had ended and was not invited to big league camp this spring. He started the season at Single-A Rancho Cucamonga and was in Los Angeles by the start of July. He played 22 games at Rancho Cucamonga, 43 at Double-A Tulsa and 17 at Triple-A Oklahoma City before the Dodgers called him up to the major leagues.Never fazed by the situation, or so it seemed, Toles gave the Dodgers steady production. He supplied a rare dose of speed on the bases and added a plus-throwing arm into the proceedings. If a deficiency showed, it was with defense, other than throwing the ball.Toles had a pair of three-hit games this season, the first in his 10th career game. He was batting .397 in his first 58 at-bats through the end of August and then cooled a bit in September. He ended August with a pinch-hit grand slam that gave the Dodgers a victory in the second game of a doubleheader at Colorado when it seemed as if the team would be swept in the twinbill.I mean, to be honest, I didnt even know we had a guy named Andrew Toles in the minor leagues, Kershaw said. To meet him and understand where hes been and come from, and the type of guy he is, the type of player he is, its pretty special to see for sure.Toles batted .213 in 47 at-bats in September and dealt with a sore wrist as the regular season came to a close. He had just eight at-bats on the final road trip, after the team had clinched the division.Roberts did not specify any other part of the Game 1 lineup, only saying, Its going to look a lot like weve done it.Considering that the Nationals will have right-hander Scherzer on the mound, the lineup sounds like this:?Yasmani Grandal at catcher, and an infield of Adrian Gonzalez at first base, Chase Utley at second, Corey Seager at shortstop and Justin Turner at third. In addition to Toles in the outfield, Joc Pederson is expected to play center field, with Josh Reddick likely in right field. Kershaw will pitch.Seager and Toles are two of seven rookies on the Dodgers NLDS roster; a number of injuries forced the club to give others a chance this season. Many of those young players made the best of their opportunities, and Toles was one of them.We all feel like were a part of the team, Toles said. We said it in the meeting the other day. Its going to take all 25 of us to win a world championship. I feel personally, me and all the other rookies, we dont feel like rookies. Were just a part of the team. Randy Johnson Jersey Large . The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive. Custom Curt Schilling Jersey . -- In one brief spurt, Brazil turned a close game into a rout and proved again it will be a strong World Cup favourite. http://www.customdiamondbacksjersey.com/ . Ibaka equaled a career high with 20 rebounds, adding four blocked shots and 15 points as the Thunder smothered the Milwaukee Bucks offence in a 92-79 victory Saturday night. Custom Curt Schilling Jersey . JOHNS, N. Randy Johnson Jersey Large . Ashley Youngs cross was inadvertently headed by Chester into his own net in the 66th minute, allowing United to claim a third straight league win. "We had to dig deep with our fighting spirit and weve done that," United striker Wayne Rooney said. WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a long-shot appeal from the Washington Redskins challenging a law that bars offensive trademarks, although the justices could still resolve the same issue in another pending case.The court turned away the teams unusual request to have its case heard before a federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, weighs in. The Redskins are appealing the governments decision to cancel its trademarks over concerns the nickname disparages Native Americans.Redskins spokesman Tony Wyllie said the team would not comment.In a separate case, the justices will decide whether the trademark law violates the First Amendment. That case involves The Slants, an Asian-American rock band that was denied a trademark on the ground that its name disparages Asians.A federal appeals court sided with the band. The Redskins wanted both cases heard together.Both the team and the band argue that it is unconstitutional for the government to reject trademark rights for offenssive speech.ddddddddddddBand member Simon Tam has said he wanted to transform a derisive term about the shape of Asian eyes into a statement of ethnic and cultural pride. The Redskins have similarly claimed their name honors Native Americans, but the team has faced years of legal challenges from Indian groups that say the name is racist.Despite a lot of attention to the nickname and public pressure to change it, Redskins owner Dan Snyder has said he never would agree to a switch.Even without trademark protection, the Redskins can continue using their nickname. But the team could lose money by being unable to block the sale of counterfeit merchandise by suing competitors that infringe on the trademark.The team registered six trademarks including the name from 1967 to 1990.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '
