nthem. Now its totally different, she said, choking up. Ill stand out of r

Out of everyone who threw enough innings to qualify for the ERA title, no one finished with a lower average than Kyle Hendricks. And, heck, he led MLB by 31 points, which is the same as the difference between Chris Sale and Jerad Eickhoff. Hendricks might get rewarded with the National League Cy Young, but even if he doesnt, he has proven himself, a feather in the cap for everyone who has ever said its better to be a pitcher than a thrower. If you go back to the Chicago Cubs getting Hendricks from the Texas Rangers in a trade for Ryan Dempster all the way back in 2012, it wasnt just one lopsided trade that helped the Cubs to build a championship rotation.However, Hendricks 2.13 ERA is worthy of closer examination. Whenever you see any extreme data point, you should ask yourself, how likely is this to repeat? Theres no question that Hendricks has become a quality starter. Theres no question hes one of the most valuable Cubs, and indeed, one of the more valuable starting pitchers. Yet Hendricks season was at least partially the result of some extraordinary circumstances. In part, it was about Hendricks. In part, it was about everyone else around him. But its almost impossible to imagine the same season happening again.To start with some little stuff: Hendricks isnt a contact pitcher, but hes also not a high-strikeout guy. He struck out batters at a rate a couple points higher than average. He also walked batters at a rate a couple points lower than average. Put the rates together and you get K-BB percentage (or K-BB%). Hendricks finished last year at 17 percent, while the average was 13 percent. That makes Hendricks compare well to frequent comp Greg Maddux, but when Maddux ran a K-BB% of 15 percent between 1992-2001, the average was 7 percent. Baseball has changed -- strikeouts are everywhere. Hendricks has a long, long way to go if he wants to be a real Maddux 2.0.Hendricks is good in part because he does get his strikeouts. Hes boosted, as well, by the fact that he limits his free passes. But just in terms of K-BB percentage, Hendricks was the same as Julio Teheran and John Lackey. Hendricks thrived because of his timing, and because so many batted balls were turned into outs.George Blanda Raiders Jersey . Francis told several hundred members of the European Olympic Committees that when sport "is considered only in economic terms and consequently for victory at every cost . Derek Carr Womens Jersey . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. https://www.raiderssportsgoods.com/Womens-Fred-Biletnikoff-Inverted-Jersey/ . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain. Howie Long Raiders Jersey . Malkin got tangled up with Detroits Luke Glendening early in the third period and his left skate took the brunt of collision with the boards behind Pittsburghs net. Antonio Brown Youth Jersey . The giant slalom world champion slipped during her first run in the morning, landing on her back and then twisting forward before getting her leg caught in the protective material on the side of the slope.SAN FRANCISCO -- The oldest Latino civil rights group in the United States opens every meeting with the Pledge of Allegiance, a tradition resulting from a long fight to prove Hispanics belong in this country.In the San Francisco Bay Area, a white father of two says he would never require his young daughters to recite the pledge to show their patriotism.And in North Dakota, Native American protesters whose ancestors were here long before there was a United States waved American flags as they fought a proposed pipeline near sacred tribal land. Some demonstrators flew the flag upside down as a distress symbol.San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernicks refusal to stand during The Star-Spangled Banner in protest against racial oppression and police brutality has brought to light deep and sometimes surprising differences in the way Americans view the flag, the national anthem and the pledge.The symbols, people say, inspire skepticism and heartbreak, pride and joy, sometimes all at once in the same person. Some minorities, in particular, have conflicted feelings about symbols honoring a country that has not always treated all people equally.The flag is important to us because we have so many relatives in the military, said Justin Poor Bear, a 38-year-old member of the Oglala Lakota tribe from Allen, South Dakota. There is also a lot of pain.Following Kaepernicks example, pro athletes and high school students across the country are taking a knee or linking arms during the national anthem before sporting events.The protests have raised questions of who gets to be called a patriot.Jason Pontius, a 46-year-old white resident of Alameda, California, said the U.S. of all countries should realize that blind devotion is not the American way. Sometimes when he drops off his second-grader at school, he sticks around while she recites the Pledge of Allegiance with her class. But he doesnt join in.What makes America great, he said, is that people have always challenged the idea of what America stands for.Yet there are organizations that embrace the flag precisely as a way to declare that their members, too, are Americans.The League of United Latin American Citizens -- the nations oldest Latino civil rights group, founded in Texas by World War I veterans -- has historically opened all its meetings with the pledge and a prayer similar to one George Washington is said to have recited.Dennis W. Montoya, the leagues state director in New Mexico, said the groups emphasis on American pride is connected with a long fight by Latinos to prove they belong in this country.If someone doesnt stand for the pledge at one of our meetings, that person will probably be kicked out, Montoya said. Its disrespecting LULACs rituals and traditions.African-Americans have been moveed to create symbols that better reflect their history.dddddddddddd.The national anthem, for example, was written by a slave owner and contains a painful reference to slavery in its little-known third stanza. The NAACP dubbed Lift Evry Voice and Sing the black national anthem in 1919.The hymn is a staple of African American singers and is so important that the clergy member who gave the benediction at President Barack Obamas 2009 inauguration opened with lines from the song.After Kaepernick started his protest in August, C.C. Washington of Waco, Texas, read all the stanzas of The Star-Spangled Banner, including the one that refers derisively to slaves who fought for the British in exchange for their freedom.The 65-year-old African-American retiree -- fresh off visiting the Statue of Liberty last week -- felt betrayed.All this time, Ive been posting on Facebook: Respect our flag, respect our national anthem. Now its totally different, she said, choking up. Ill stand out of respect for the people standing next to me, not because I believe it.Poor Bear said he started looking at the anthem differently after he took a group of Oglala Lakota students to a minor-league hockey game last year. A man yelled slurs and sprayed the children with beer, incensed that one of them did not stand for the national anthem, Poor Bear said. The student had been putting batteries into a camera.So I still stand for the national anthem, Poor Bear said. But I no longer put my hand over my heart.Linda Tamura, a retired professor of education in Portland, Oregon, has no personal objections to the anthem or the flag, even though her family was among tens of thousands of Japanese-Americans put in internment camps by the U.S. government during World War II.Her father volunteered for the military, along with her uncle and other Japanese-American men who felt it was their duty. When she looks at the Stars and Stripes, she says, she feels pride, instilled in part by her parents, who more than anything wanted us to believe in our country.At the same time, she salutes the growing protest movement and hopes it triggers broader discussions about how to improve relations.Thats why my father was in the military. Thats why were part of America. Thats why we believe in America, she said. Because we have the right to say what we believe.---Contreras reported from Albuquerque, New Mexico. AP staff writer Deepti Hajela and stringer Rachelle Blidner contributed to this story from New York. Staff writers Errin Haines Whack contributed from Philadelphia; Jesse J. Holland and Noreen Nasir from Washington.---Follow Janie Har on Twitter at www.twitter.com/byjaniehar ' ' '