us, Stewart continued. I think with the benefit of hind

Murray Stewart could well have been chasing gold for South Africa instead of Australia in Rio de Janeiro. Had things gone his way 16 years ago, the kayaker probably would have been a teammate of Wayde van Niekerk and Caster Semenya rather than Mack Horton and the Pearls.I thought my brother and I -- I thought it was really unfair on us, Stewart told ESPN of his familys migration to Australia in 2000, as a result of instability in South Africa.It was a combination of factors. We were quite fortunate in that nothing too untoward had happened to our family. You just have to look around to your core group of friends, everyone has a story.I think it was a very well-time opportunity for my dad; he had an offer for work that came with permanent residency for the whole family and I think, at the time, my parents saw that as their one and only opportunity to get into Australia. I think my dad was just over 50 at the time, and once youre over 50, its definitely a lot harder to meet the immigration criteria.So I guess it was a little pre-emptive of what may have happened in the future rather than that something too terrible had happened to us [already] as a family.In the long run, its been by far the best move for us, Stewart continued. I think with the benefit of hindsight you realize how hard the decision was for your parents, for them to kind of leave everything behind, uproot and relocate. I think Im very indebted to them for making that tough call.Stewart, one of Australias few gold-medal hopes in the second week of the Olympics, won through to the final of the K1 1000 as the fastest qualifier with a blistering semifinal sprint that saw him defeat Denmarks world champion, Rene Poulsen.But he could have missed out on Rio altogether too.Struck down by glandular fever in the months leading up the Summer Games, Stewart was overlooked for a spot in the K4 and K2 crews after he was unable to race in key selection regattas.The K4 omission was particularly tough, given Stewart was part of the gold medal-winning crew at the London Games four years ago.Defending the title in the K4 was the one thing that kept me going after London, Stewart told ESPN.The K1 and proving what I can do in the K1 was the other thing. So having raced that event in London and not quite raced to my potential through a combination of factors, I definitely have some unfinished business in that K1.Definitely, I would have loved to be there to defend the title Stewart added. It wouldnt have been the same crew -- two of the guys would have definitely been out -- but still to defend that title would have been good. But the crew that is going to race, theyre still going to have a very good shot.So from the countrys point of view, theyre still going to be very competitive in the K4. But Im lucky Ive still got another race to focus on.And from a purely personal point of view, the K1 offers Stewart the opportunity to really repay the courage of his parents, his father in particular, for their decision to leave friends and family in South Africa.I was always aware of what he [Stewarts father, Robbie] did in canoeing in South Africa, Stewart told ESPN, noting that his fathers dreams of international competition were killed by his countrys isolation as a result of apartheid.So he represented South Africa in a few different aspects of paddling, surf lifesaving, sprint kayaking, marathon paddling; but he didnt really force me down that route.When I chose to give the water polo and swimming away and focus on ski paddling and then later on sprint kayaking, he was very supportive.Whether his K1 challenge results in a medal will come down to the three minutes and 30-odd seconds of lung-busting arm torture at Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas in Copacabana.And as for any lingering unrest at being an uprooted teenager?I think Australia, were so passionate about our sport, that it definitely filters through to the Olympic athletes, Stewart told ESPN of his pride in representing Australia.We get tons of support, not just from the friends and family, but also the Australian community. 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Jeff Green scored 13 points and Kris Humphries 12 for the Celtics, who nearly blew an 18-point, second-half lead. Sullingers 20-20 was the first by a Celtics player since Kevin Garnetts first game in Boston in 2007. Garnett was dealt -- along with Paul Pierce -- to Brooklyn during the off-season. LOS ANGELES -- Yasiel Puig is expected back in the Los Angeles Dodgers starting lineup Sunday against the Arizona Diamondbacks.Puig has been limited to three pitch-hitting appearances since July 20 due to tightness in his right hamstring.Puig is hitting .255 with seven homers and 32 RBI in 272 at-bats. He flew out to center field as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning of the Dodgers 9-7 victory over Arizona on Friday night. He remained in right field for the last two innings, making one putout.He came in yesterday and pinch-hit and took a good swing on a slider, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said on Saturday. I expect him to be in there tomorrow against (LHP Patrick) Corbin.This the seccond time this season hamstring issues have sidelined Puig, who spent from June 3 to June 21 on the disabled list with a strained left hamstring.dddddddddddd dont feel hes 100 percent, and every day weve given him hes gotten better and better, Roberts said. If theres a chance he could regress then Im not going to put him in there.With three off days over an eight-day span, the Dodgers elected to carry Puig on their 25-man roster instead of a fifth starter.Its just balancing the fact I dont think hes a DL, but I dont want to put him in harms way, Roberts said. ' ' '