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CHICAGO -- Like too many ballplayers with interesting and sometimes controversial pasts, Aroldis Chapman would prefer that his game do the talking. If so, its always going to be a short conversation.Chapmans game involves throwing 100-plus-mph fastballs past hitters, rarely for more than an inning. Thats it. In Chicagos 5-2 win Saturday night against the Giants, 12 of the 16 pitches he threw registered three digits on the radar gun. What was rare is that at the end of an eventful week, the Cubs expensive new closer -- via Cuba, Cincinnati and finally New York -- stood still long enough to field a handful of questions.I love the responsibility. I love that it falls on my shoulders, Chapman said through a translator after closing out both of Chicagos NL Division Series wins at Wrigley Field to pick up his first two postseason saves. Yet a city desperate to break a century-and-counting World Series drought is already counting on even more.The pressure is on, but I can handle that. I understand the city and the fans are up and hyped up, Chapman added, but thats fine, too.To describe Chapmans arrival in July as rough does not do it justice.He came in a trade with the Yankees barely two months after serving a 30-game suspension as the first violator of MLBs new domestic violence policy. He was accused of choking his girlfriend and then firing a gun during an argument late last year in his Florida home, though charges were never filed.Making matters worse, his welcome-to-town news conference was a disaster. Theo Epstein, the Cubs popular president of baseball operations, went to great lengths to explain that the front office made clear the importance of his off-field behavior. Chapman said that was news to him. If so, it didnt affect his reception in the clubhouse.You notice when guys fit in, said backup catcher David Ross, the Cubs unofficial clubhouse judge. With him it was seamless. He doesnt speak great English, but hes always smiling. He made friends quick.It didnt hurt, of course, that Chapman posted 16 saves in 18 opportunities, with a 1.01 ERA heading into the postseason. Or that he averaged -- yes, averaged -- a pitch speed of 101 mph.Asked what impressed him most, Ross said: Other than his velocity? ... Hes got a calming presence. Moments never get too big for him, which calms everybody else down.Everybody on Chapmans side, anyway. When it comes to opposing pitchers, not so much.He has that mentality, fellow Cubs closer Hector Rondon said. Were in the same role, but hes different from me. Me, I dont care where anybody else is looking, Im focusing only on home plate.Aroldis, he looks at the hitter, Rondon added, like hes showing who is in charge.Chapman comes by that toughness honestly. Hes the son of a boxing coach who didnt take up baseball until he was 13. But he was selected to Cubas vaunted national team at age 17 and was a bona fide star soon after, thanks to a breakout performance at the 2007 Pan Am Games. A year later, he made his first attempt to defect.The Chicago Tribune reported last week that after Chapman was caught trying to escape, he cooperated with the Cuban government in the prosecutions of four men accused of offering to smuggle him out. All four were convicted of human trafficking and sent to prison; two alleged in a 2013 lawsuit that Chapman was an informant for Fidel Castro and should be held responsible for their torture while in prison.The newspaper also said Chapmans cooperation allowed him to return quickly to the national team. In the summer of 2009, while in Netherlands for a game, he took advantage of that reprieve and defected. Chapman hasnt addressed the newspapers report, but he told The New York Times earlier this year he isnt interested in rehashing the past.That likely includes Game 2 of the 2010 NLDS, when Chapman allowed 3 runs -- all unearned, thanks to miscues by the Reds outfielders -- against the Phillies in what turned out to be a three-game sweep. Ditto for the skull fracture he suffered after being struck by a line drive in a March 2014 spring training game against the Royals.Few things serve a closer better than a short memory. Chapman checks that box, too. Big as the moments he experienced this weekend and in postseasons past may have seemed, he cant wait to find out whats next.In Cincinnati, maybe the crowds werent the same, Chapman said finally. But already, I love this.---Jim Litke is a sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke(at)ap.org and at https://Twitter.com/JimLitke .Jordan Basketball Shoes Cheap . The 29-year-old Baines has established himself as one of the top attacking full backs in the country and was the subject of two bids from United during the last off-season. Everton manager Roberto Martinez says that keeping Baines at the club is a "massive boost and exciting for the future" because he brings "maturity and football knowledge in a very specialized position on the pitch" and an "infectious and positive influence to the rest of the squad. Discount Shoes Near Me . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. http://www.shoeswholesaleonlinestore.com/wholesale-air-max.html .C. -- Rodney Hood connected from all over the court while freshman Jabari Parker was busy swatting shots and scoring in transition. Air Max Clearance . Soukalova missed only one target and completed the 15-kilometre course in 40 minutes, 32.6 seconds for both victories in this seasons individual discipline. Darya Domracheva of Belarus was second, 34. Wholesale Authentic Jordans . Following a lopsided 5-2 loss against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night, Paul MacLean told reporters that "theres a lack of focus, theres a lack of leadership and theres a lack of preparation" with his struggling team. That came on the heels of Bryan Murray taking the unusual step of going into the locker room at the Prudential Center and addressing the players himself.Kevin OBrien, 113 v England, Bangalore, 2011 Has there been a more triumphant moment for the Associate world? OBriens hundred was the ultimate up yours from crickets serfs to its overlords.OBrien has never been one for backward steps. He once received a dressing-down from Paul Grayson when he was still trying to make it, as an MCC Young Cricketer. Grayson was the opposition coach during a 2nd XI game, and thought OBrien was excessively chirpy during a match. Grayson cautioned that being a smart-arse when you are winning was well and good, so long as you can take it when things go against you.But sometimes it takes a bit of fire to create miracles, and there was proper enmity in this innings. Like when OBrien got into a slanging match with Matt Prior at the wicket, or when he congratulated James Anderson for managing a dot ball against him. Predictably that led to both abusing each other.There was no room for meekness, though. The result was every bit as luminous as his dyed purple hair.Mohammad Shahzad, 20 v Pakistan, Sharjah, 2012 The 15,000 fans came with bagpipes, tooting horns, waving flags and carrying pictures of former Afghan president Hamid Karzai. This was a festival for crickets newest arrivals, Afghanistan, and their first ODI against a Full Member. The fans comprehensively drowned out Pakistani supporters, who had until then regarded Sharjah as their turf.Their team lost, but at least their darling, Shahzad, gave them something to remember the day by. The rotund wicketkeepers stay was brief, but one shot encapsulated his mad, fearless method, and something of Afghanistans spirit.Saeed Ajmal had arrived fresh from taking 24 wickets in three Tests against England, the top-ranked side at the time. Neither did that impress Shahzad nor did it worry him: he reverse-swept Ajmal for six off the third ball he faced from him. It wasnt a controlled, well-practised lap over the rope either, but a maniacal kitchen-sink-and-all slog. It nearly ended up on the road outside the stadium.It remains YouTube gold, soundtracked by Ramiz Raja commentary: This is worth showing over and over again… Oh, deary me. A moustachioed Afghan in the crowd, with a beaming smile, gives it the thumbs up.Peter Borren, 31 v Ireland, Sylhet, 2014 Netherlands faced an impossible task to advance to the main rounds of the 2014 World T20. They needed to chase 190 in 14.2 overs to leapfrog Zimbabwe and Ireland to qualify. Clearly they stood no chance. We didnt have much to lose, Borren said later.It was so ridiculous, so inconceivable, that William Porterfield, the Irish captain, who is usually well briefed, did not know the equation until well into the Dutch onslaught. The excessive muscularity of the batting made him regret it.Borren promoted himself up too open.dddddddddddd His 31 was far from the headline act of the chase. Stephan Myburghs 63 was more violent and decisive. Tom Coopers unbeaten 45 was more assured and clinical (and more relevant to the prevailing narrative, given his controversial, eve-of-tournament call-up at the expense of Tim Gruijters). But the intent shown by Borren set all that up. It showed he believed it could be done and it led the rest to believe it too; in other words, a most inspirational kind of captaincy.Binod Bhandari, 51 not out v Papua New Guinea, Sharjah, 2013 Cheering in the press box is a no-no. Sometimes, though, it happens unexpectedly and instinctively. Bhandari once prompted one such random paroxysm. It was the 30th match of the World T20 qualifier, at a neutral venue in the desert. I was there for a feature on two great hopes for the ICCs development programme.With his side struggling in the chase, Bhandari arrived to the rescue. At one stage, facing Willie Gavera, the PNG fast bowler, he crouched, poked his hands out in front of him, extended his bat outwards and scooped the ball inches over his forehead. He looked like a tortoise withdrawing into its shell.There was enough pace to propel the ball over the wicketkeepers head - and 30 yards over the boundary, smack into the wall behind the sightscreen. It was sublime skill, the type with which Associate players are rarely credited, and well worth celebrating.That was just one - albeit the most memorable - of six sixes in a blistering effort that ultimately took Nepal a step closer to the big time. Mohammed Naveed, 17 v South Africa, Wellington, 2015 Even Brendon McCullum was not quite as much fun to watch as Naveed at the 2015 World Cup.Naveed owes his technique with both bat and ball to tape-ball cricket, which he played on the streets of the quiet, coastal town of Fujairah before his friends coaxed him into trialling for UAE.The side was marmalised by India in Perth. Naveed didnt care. First ball he faced, with UAE 61 for 7, he slogged Ravindra Jadeja for six. In similarly dire circumstances against West Indies in Napier, he waited till the second ball to hit one.His most fulfilling effort, though, was against South Arica. Eric Hollies is said to have predicted his second-ball castling of Bradman in 1948. Six weeks ahead of the World Cup, in a goal-setting meeting with coach Aaqib Javed, Naveed forecast he would hit Dale Steyn for six at the World Cup. Aaqib loved his spirit - notwithstanding the fact Naveed was veering away from his primary job as pace spearhead. And he made good on it, too, smacking Steyn 15 rows back into the yellow seats at cow corner. ' ' '