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GURNEE, Ill. -- For the United States and Taiwan, the first session of the UL International Crown was a repeat of the first day of the inaugural event two years ago.Each country is hoping for a better weekend.The U.S. lost both of its four-ball matches to England, and Yani Tseng helped Taiwan sweep Australia on Thursday in the rare team event on the LPGA Tour.Lexi Thompson and Cristie Kerr lost 2 and 1 to Holly Clyburn and Jodi Ewart Shadoff, and Stacy Lewis and Gerina Piller fell to Charley Hull and Melissa Reid by the same score. Thompson, Kerr and Lewis also were on the American team that was swept on the first day of the first International Crown in 2014 and finished sixth.Thats what this format is. You play good golf and youre going to lose matches, and thats the way it goes, Lewis said. Were going to go out there and play good golf again, and hopefully we get on the good side of it. Were still in this thing, and weve just got to take care of business tomorrow.Next up is two more days of four-ball matches at the sprawling Merit Club about 40 miles northwest of Chicago. The top two teams in each pool and the winner of wild-card playoff between the third-place teams will advance to the singles matches Sunday, with each player from the winning country taking home $100,000 apiece.With the course set up for low scores, world No. 6 Ariya Jutanugarn made seven birdies while playing with Porani Chutichai for Thailand, but they only managed a halve against Japans Ai Suzuki and Ayaka Watanabe. Jutanugarns sister, Moriya, teamed with Pornanong Phatum for a 2-and-1 win over Haru Nomura and Mika Miyazato.Top-seeded South Korea, with each of its four players ranked in the top 12, split its two matches against No. 8 China. Amy Yang and In Gee Chun won 2 up over Shanshan Feng and Xi Yu Lin, but Jing Yan and Simin Feng got two points for China with a 1-up victory over Sei Young Kim and So Yeon Ryu.The Chinese girls just played really, really great, Ryu said. They made an eagle, they made a bunker shot. I think their teamwork was really nice.Tseng and Teresa Lu went off in the first match and cruised to a 3-and-2 victory over Karrie Webb and Su Oh. Tseng and Lu then watched as Candie Kung and Ssu-Chia Cheng posted a 2-up win over Rebecca Artis and Minjee Lee.Taiwan also won its first two matches at Caves Valley Golf Club in Maryland in 2014, but didnt score another point all weekend.We changed a little bit about the strategy about how were going to play this year because we both won on the first day, like four points, but we lose them on Friday and Saturday, Tseng said. We kind of changed it a little bit, the teammates and the strategy on the golf course. We tried to make as much birdies as we can instead of one play aggressive and one play more smart and safe.Thompson and Kerr never led in their match. Clyburn closed it out with a birdie on the par-4 17th.We played really well on the front, and on the back we didnt play well enough to win, Kerr said. A couple more putts go in, a couple better shots. I left Lexi a couple times as a partner, and you cant do that in four-ball if you want to win.China and England did not make the field for the inaugural event, which is determined by the cumulative rankings of the countrys top four players on a given date. They replaced champion Spain and runner-up Sweden.We were saying along the way, were all pretty big football fans, and obviously we had the Euros recently and we made more points in one day than England did in the whole tournament, so can I just point that out, a smiling Reid said. So were pretty proud of that, so were already on a winner.Hull and Reid won three straight holes to go from 1 down to 1 up heading to the back nine. The 20-year-old Hull had three straight birdies and Reid eagled No. 8, a 468-yard par 5.After Lewis birdied No. 15 to square the match, Hull posted an eagle and a birdie to close it out for England.I just love playing in this kind of environment, especially when you are a bit of an underdog, said Hull, who is headed to the Olympics next month. I just like proving people wrong, and it just makes you go out there, gives you a little bit more of a buzz.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap China Shoes Black Friday . A lawyer for MLB, Matthew Menchel, confirmed Wednesday the league dropped its case against Biogenesis of America, its owner Anthony Bosch and several other individuals. The lawsuit had accused Biogenesis and Bosch of conspiring with players to violate their contracts by providing them with banned performance-enhancing substances. Cheap Shoes Black Friday . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. https://www.cheapshoesblackfriday.com/ . PETERSBURG, Fla. Discount Shoes Black Friday . Each of Houstons starters scored in double figures as the Rockets improved to 2-0 against the Spurs this season, with both victories coming on the road. They also moved within 3 1/2 games of San Antonio (22-7) for the lead the Southwest Division. Wholesale Shoes Black Friday Free Shipping . Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions. CHICAGO -- The Chicago Cubs declined Jason Hammels $12 million option for next season, opening a spot in their rotation and making the right-hander one of the top starters on the free-agent market.The World Series champions announced the move Sunday. Hammel gets a $2 million buyout.While Jason is healthy and primed to have another effective season in 2017, we have decided to consider other internal and external options for our starting rotation next year, President of Baseball Operations Theo Epstein said in a statement. Our hope is that by giving a starting opportunity to some younger pitchers under multiple years of club control, we can unearth a starter who will help us not only in 2017 but also in 2018 and beyond.The 34-year-old Hammel went 15-10 with a 3.83 ERA in 30 starts this year. The 6-foot-6 right-hander is 33-22 with a 3.59 ERA in 78 starts over two stints with the Cubs.Hammel did not pitch in the postseason. The Cubs got left-hander Mike Montgomery in a July trade with Seattle, and he could replace Hammel in the rotation.Hammel first signed with the Cubs in February 2014. He went 8-5 with a 2.98 ERA in 17 starts before he was traded to Oakland in the deal that sent shortstop Addison Russell to Chicago.The pitcher re-signed with Chicago in December 2014, foor $20 million over two years.ddddddddddddThe option was included with the intent that it would be exercised if Jason was going to be a Cub in 2017. The intent was never to exercise the option and then trade Jason, so we will not consider that path, Epstein said. Instead, Jason will have the opportunity to enter free agency coming off an outstanding season and the ability to choose his next club. Meanwhile, the organization gains some flexibility and the opportunity to use a rotation spot to develop a younger, long-term starting pitcher.Montgomery was on hand when the Cubs were honored at Sunday nights NHL game between the Chicago Blackhawks and Dallas Stars. Montgomery, right fielder Jason Heyward and slugger Kyle Schwarber, along with team owner Tom Ricketts and a couple of Cubs executives, brought the World Series trophy to center ice, and the players posed with a W flag as the crowd roared its approval.Retiring catcher David Ross, fresh off his appearance on Saturday Night Live, later joined the group and got a big ovation when he was shown on the videoboard holding the trophy.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap ' ' '