said.Colangelos take?Would I consider it an upset at the time? Oh,

MIAMI -- The Miami Marlins are getting a key player back from the injured list on Monday, although its virtually too late for their playoff chances.The Washington Nationals (88-61) are also trying to get healthy.But the big difference is that the National League East-leading Nationals, who open a three-game series at Marlins Park on Monday, are a sure-fire playoff club and the health status of their players truly matters.Key among those players is right-hander Stephen Strasburg (15-4, 3.60 ERA), who has been out with an elbow injury he suffered on Sept. 7. Strasburg tossed a ball -- lightly -- this weekend for the first time since he got hurt.Strasburg, who has already tied a career high this season with his 15 wins, is needed at the top of the rotation if the Nationals can realistically be expected to make a postseason run.The 28-year-old Strasburg has a 1.10 WHIP, and batters are hitting just .218 against him.While waiting for Strasburg, the Nationals got good news on Sunday when right-hander Joe Ross came off the disabled list.The 23-year-old Ross, who hadnt pitched since July 2 because of a shoulder injury, allowed five hits and one run in three innings against the Atlanta Braves on Sunday. He struck out five.Hes sort of on a spring training schedule right now, Nationals manager Dusty Baker told media members in Atlanta. Lets see how his arm feels before we increase his workload.While Strasburg recuperates and Ross works on getting extended, Washington will start right-hander A.J. Cole (1-2, 4.71) at Miami. It will be his first career start against the Marlins.As for the Marlins (74-75), left-hander Wei-Yin Chen (5-4, 4.99) is set to return off the disabled list to start Mondays game. This will be Chens first appearance since July 20 when he sprained his left elbow.Chen, who replaces rookie Jake Esch in the rotation and moves ace Jose Fernandez back one extra day, will likely be restricted by a pitch count, somewhere around 80.Meanwhile, Marlins right fielder Giancarlo Stanton, who suffered a severe groin injury on Aug. 13, returned as a pinch hitter on Sept. 6. On Friday at the Philadelphia Phillies, he played the field for the first time since his injury.Stanton is expected to be back as a starter on Monday as the Marlins are being careful not to overwork him.In Fridays game, he batted second in the order for the first time since 2008, when he played for Class A Greensboro.The reason he hit second was that Marlins manager Don Mattingly, who restricted Stanton to six innings in what became a 4-3 loss in 13 innings, wanted his slugger to get as many at-bats as possible while he was out there.Stanton went 0-for-2 with two walks and a run scored before being replaced by Ichiro Suzuki.Were not out of it, Stanton told media members in Philadelphia this past weekend when asked about the playoff race. Its not going to be easy, but the opportunity is there. As long as I can help, thats what Im here for.Despite Stantons claims, the Marlins were officially eliminated from NL East title contention on Saturday, and their chances of securing a wild-card playoff berth are less than one percent, according to projections.In other storylines:-- Nationals rookie center fielder Trea Turner, a converted shortstop who was the San Diego Padres first-round pick in 2014, continues to be on a remarkable roll.On Saturday, he became the first player in franchise history to post four hits, two steals and score four runs in one game. He is hitting .355 for the season.-- Nationals star right fielder Bryce Harper, a four-time All-Star and an NL MVP last year, had been hitless in his past 17 at-bats before getting a single in his final at-bat on Sunday. He is batting .243 this season.-- The Marlins probably regret not trading for Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Jeremy Hellickson when they had the chance -- according to reports -- at the deadline in July. Hellickson beat the Marlins with a three-hit shutout on Saturday and is 3-1 with a 2.01 ERA in six starts against Miami this season.Instead of Hellickson, the Marlins traded away their top hitting prospect and a possible future closer to get right-hander Andrew Cashner, who has been a disaster with Miami. He has a 5.27 ERA this season and lasted just four innings on Sunday, allowing three runs.Hellickson, who is 12-9 this year with a 3.57 ERA, is a free agent after this season. Perhaps the Marlins can acquire him this winter to make up for their non-move on him in July. Best Nike React Running Shoes .S. Open champion Justin Rose birdied the first hole with a blind shot he hit to a foot of the pin, and he stayed in front Tuesday until he completed a 4-under 67 for a two-shot lead over Jason Dufner in PGA Grand Slam of Golf. Nike Epic React Flyknit Cheap . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., has nothing but good things to say about former U.S. marine Liz (Girlrilla) Carmouche ahead of their co-main event Wednesday on the UFCs "Fight for the Troops" televised card in Fort Campbell, Ky. http://www.nikereactsale.com/epic-react-flyknit-shoes.html . Didier Drogba gave away the penalty that put Senegal one goal away from a major upset, but the veteran striker will get another chance -- probably his last -- at the World Cup after Salomon Kalous injury-time strike sealed the Ivorians place in Brazil next year. Nike Odyssey React Wholesale .2 billion agreement with Rogers Communications for the leagues broadcast and multimedia rights. Nike Epic React Flyknit For Sale . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. Ten years later, Carmelo Anthony still remembers where he stood.He points to a spot between the 3-point arc and the sideline, recalling the position from where he watched a celebration some teammates couldnt bear to face.Everybody was walking off the floor. There was confetti, things on the court, Anthony said. Everybody was celebrating and I stayed, I stayed right there on the court. I just wanted to see it and kind of feel it.The Americans havent felt it since.The U.S. had just lost to Greece in the semifinals of the 2006 world basketball championship, a team coached by Mike Krzyzewski and led by likely future Hall of Famers LeBron James, Anthony and Dwyane Wade falling to a team that had no NBA players.That 101-95 loss in Japan is the only defeat in 76 games since Krzyzewski took over in 2005.Whether it was an upset depends on who you ask, but theres no debating what it meant to a U.S. team that hasnt looked back.As the U.S. rolls into Rio and Greece tries to qualify this week , people on both sides remembered the buildup, the game and the aftermath.---Jerry Colangelo had overhauled USA Basketball after the Americans embarrassing performance in the 2004 Olympics, when Anthony was part of a team that managed only a bronze. But it would take a while to get the U.S. program to where it is now.From `04 to `06, it wasnt no organizational structure, Anthony said. It was just come together, put a team together and just try to go out there and win.Colangelo set out to change that by selecting players months in advance, then bringing them to camp and making roster cuts -- something the U.S. has stopped doing.We really had tryouts, Chris Paul said. Like, you think about it, you get to the highest point of your professional career, the NBA, and we had tryouts for the USA team. I remember diving on the floor against Luke Ridnour and stuff like that. So when you think back like that, it puts it all in perspective.---James, Anthony and Wade, who had just been MVP of the NBA Finals, were the headliners of the team. Paul had won Rookie of the Year.The rest of the team was good, but far short of a Dream Team -- even though thats what U.S. teams with NBA players always get called across the globe. Kobe Bryant was the biggest absence after knee surgery on the eve of the Americans training camp.A lot of people probably couldnt even name that team if you wanted to, Paul said. We had guys like Kirk Hinrich, Elton Brand, Brad Miller.The rest of the roster: Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard, Joe Johnson, Shane Battier and Antawn Jamison.---The Americans arrived in the semifinals with a 7-0 record but had some struggles along the way. Puerto Rico scored 100 points on them in the opener, and the Americans were down 12 to Italy in the second half before Anthony bailed them out with a then-U.S. record 35 points.Spain and Argentina, the reigning Olympic champion, were also 7-0 and met in one semifinal. The overlooked team was Greece, which had won all seven games in the worlds after winning the 2005 European championship.I think we had a really good group with inside and outside players, and also we had a team who could play smart to get the advantage, said Panagiotis Yannakis, who coached Greece.dddddddddddd--Realizing the Americans advantage in athleticism, Yannakis plan was to play three guards who could control the tempo. Theodoros Papaloukas was one of the best in Europe, Vassilis Spanoulis was bound for the Houston Rockets and Dimitris Diamantidis a steady leader.If they could protect the ball and pound it inside to 6-foot-10 Sofoklis Schortsianitis -- nicknamed Baby Shaq -- the U.S. transition game would be stalled.Some of the teams are afraid, but some other teams dont have the guards to protect the ball, Yannakis said. Dont give them the opportunity to use their hands, because USA players, they use a lot of their hands on the ball. Thats the reason we used three guards. All of them, they had the skills to control the ball.---The U.S. led by 12 in the first half, but Greece stormed ahead by making 25-of-33 shots (76 percent) in the second and third quarters. Carving the Americans up on the pick-and-roll, the Greeks got 22 points from Spanoulis, 12 assists from Papaloukas and plenty of help from the U.S., which made 59 percent of its free throws.Most of the U.S. players quickly retreated to the locker room as the Greeks danced at midcourt.I just remember the end of the game, Anthony said, and just standing on the court and Greece fans are going crazy, their team is going crazy.---Yannakis believed his team could do it -- We had the faith to play with anyone, he said -- but Sacramento Kings center Kosta Koufos, who will play for Greece this week but was then a high schooler in the U.S. who stayed up well past 3 a.m. to watch, was surprised.Youve got to understand Team USAs dominance through the years and that was definitely an upset for them, he said.Colangelos take?Would I consider it an upset at the time? Oh, for sure I would have. I still do, he said. I think we mightve played that team 10 times and won nine of those 10. But that was back to the old adage that on any given night.---Greece couldnt duplicate its effort in the final, getting blown out by Spain. The Americans beat Argentina for bronze, then went home to build a better team. Jason Kidd and Deron Williams were added to bolster a backcourt that would include Bryant the next year, when they powered through an Olympic qualifier they were forced to play in by not winning the worlds.The teams would then meet again in Beijing, the Americans cruising to a 92-69 victory. But they would never forget the game two years earlier.I mean, the stars were aligned for Greece that night and I chose and still do, as much it pains me, to say out of adversity comes opportunity, Colangelo said. And I think we were emboldened by the fact that we paid a price early, that we were potentially vulnerable and I think that helped prepare us for our future success.---Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney ' ' '