Brazilians, who have spent their entire lives making peace with mosquitoes, have always viewed the alarm with skepticism. They complain their northern neighbors are frequently uninformed and unwilling to recog

LOS ANGELES -- After nearly getting no-hit and watching one of their most popular players traded Thursday, the Los Angeles Dodgers now get the privilege of facing the Chicago Cubs, owners of the best record in baseball.The teams square off in a three-game series beginning Friday at Dodger Stadium.The Dodgers took two of three from the rival San Francisco Giants the past three days, but Matt Moores gem in the series finale stood out more than the wins. Moore pitched 8 2/3 innings of no-hit ball before a Corey Seager bloop single ruined the bid in a 4-0 San Francisco victory.The trade of well-liked catcher A.J. Ellis to the Philadelphia Phillies for catcher Carlos Ruiz hours stunned many in the Dodgers clubhouse before the game, but first baseman Adrian Gonzalez said the distraction didnt affect the performance on the field.I think we were ready to go and played our best, said Gonzalez, who had his 17-game hitting streak snapped in an 0-for-3 effort.Southern California native Mike Montgomery (1-1, 2.77 ERA) will face the Dodgers for the first time in his career while making his second start for the Cubs. Montgomery delivered in impressive fashion in his first start on Saturday at Colorado, taking a no-hitter into the fifth inning before departing after allowing a solo homer to Nick Hundley.Overall, Montgomery is 1-0 with a 0.87 ERA in his past five games.Montgomery, who was acquired by Chicago from the Seattle Mariners on July 20, has made 19 career starts in the majors, compiling a 5-7 record with a 4.34 ERA.Cubs catcher David Ross will be playing in his final series against Los Angeles. Ross, who is retiring at seasons end, started his major league career with the Dodgers in 2002.Im just excited about going back to where it all started, Ross told the Chicago Tribune. Being on the West Coast was different for a guy being from Florida. The whole California thing was just different than how I was raised and how things are out here.The Cubs (81-45) were off Thursday after completing a sweep of the San Diego Padres on Wednesday. Chicago has won eight of its past 10 games. The Cubs captured three of four from Los Angeles in a series May 30-June 2 at Wrigley Field.Bud Norris will start for the National League West leading-Dodgers (71-56). Norris last pitched in relief on Monday at Cincinnati, where he gave up for a run on two hits in two-thirds of an inning.Norris (6-10, 4.69 ERA) last started Aug. 19 against the Reds, allowing six runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings and taking the loss as the Dodgers fell 9-2. He struck out three and tied a season high with four walks.Since joining the Dodgers on June 30, he is 3-3 with a 5.67 ERA.Norris last faced the Cubs on June 10 as a member of the Atlanta Braves, allowing one run on four hits with six strikeouts and no walks in seven innings, earning the win in the Braves 5-1 victory.For his career, Norris is 5-5 with a 3.39 ERA in 12 career games (11 starts) against the Cubs.Carsen Edwards Jersey . Supported by three-run homers from Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos, the young right-hander went seven strong innings in the Washington Nationals 8-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night. Bill Russell Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla. https://www.cheapceltics.com/662n-isaiah-thomas-jersey-celtics.html .ca! Hi Kerry, Its another day and here we are looking at another dubious hit to the head. In this case Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky elbowed Saku Koivu in the head about a second after he dished off the puck to a teammate, knocking him unconscious. Boston Celtics Pro Shop .J. -- Seven games into a disappointing season, New York Giants defensive catalyst Jason Pierre-Paul is getting the feeling hes back. Walter McCarty Jersey . Team physician Dr. Steve Traina performed the surgery Friday. Robinson was injured in a spill underneath the Nuggets basket during the first quarter of Wednesday nights loss to the Charlotte Bobcats.RIO DE JANEIRO -- After months of dire predictions from abroad about the mosquito-borne Zika virus, some Brazilian fans are doing some stinging of their own: Theyre booing U.S. athletes and taunting them over the fears that kept some competitors at home.From the beach volleyball arena to the soccer stadium, boisterous Brazilian fans are having fun with what had been one of the biggest concerns heading into South Americas first Olympics.The mockery began during the first game by the U.S. womens soccer team, when veteran goalkeeper Hope Solo was greeted by chants of Zika! Zika! every time she touched the ball. The jeers were heard again Saturday during a 1-0 U.S. victory over France.Solo, who irked Brazilians before coming to the Olympics by tweeting a photo of herself wearing a hat with mosquito netting and sporting a giant bottle of bug repellent, might seem an easy target.Lauren Fendrick and Brooke Sweat didnt stir any controversy, or even make any comments about the virus, in the run-up to their match Sunday in womens volleyball. All the same, the two Olympic newcomers got rousing jeers of Zika from fans in bright green and yellow Brazilian jerseys every time they served against Poland.Solo has a lot of fans in Brazil and made a very derogative post on social media making fun of the country, said Rodrigo Porto, a 37-year-old engineer. Every time she kicks the ball, the whole stadium will scream back Zika at her.Porto says he took part in yet another round of Zika-laced taunts Saturday directed toward another American, defending Olympic beach volleyball champion Kerri Walsh Jennings.Brazilian fans are loving, but when they are disappointed and want to make fun of someone, they are relentless, he said.Not every American is getting booed. On Sunday, crowds cheered loudly for gymnast Simone Biles.It would be hard to blame U.S. athletes or foreign tourists for being worried about Zika, which can cause birth defects in babies born to mothers who have been infected.In May, 150 health experts from several countries posted a letter to the World Health Organization calling for the games to be postponed or moved until more about the disease is known. That call came despite the fact that the Olympics are taking place in the Southern Hemispheres winter, which usually decimates the mosquito population.The WHO has warned for months of a very low risk of Zika spreading during the Rio Olympics. In addition to the low temperatures -- August is Rios second-coldest month with average daytime highs of 79 degrees Fahrenheit (26 degrees Celsius) -- many in Rio have developed immunities after living with the virus for about a year.That stands in contrast to places where the virus is just now arriving. In Miami, at least 15 people are believed to have been infected through mosquito bites in what would be the first such cases in the mainlandd U.ddddddddddddS.The most recent data compiled by the Pan American Health Organization showed a steady decrease in suspected Zika cases in Brazil since its peak in February, when about 16,000 cases were reported in a single week, and almost no cases of the virus as of late July. At the Copa DOr hospital in the touristy Copacabana beach neighborhood, doctors were at a loss to remember even a single case of Zika, chikungunya or other mosquito-borne diseases since June.I dont know if the risk is zero, but certainly Rio is one of the safest places in the hemisphere right now, arguably even more than Miami, said Dr. Peter Hotez, a tropical medicine expert at the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas.Lee Igel, one of the authors of the letter, said hes happy that some of the dire warnings didnt pan out. But he stands by the letters contents and cautions that much more research is required.He cited new evidence showing Zika can remain in sperm for longer than the previously thought 90 days, and he called that a serious risk as 500,000 tourists descend on Rio, with some likely to have sex with Brazilians whove been previously infected, perhaps unknowingly, with Zika.Its a virus that has evolved. We still dont know the long-term consequence, and every day theres new information popping up, said Igel, a sports and medical ethics expert at New York University.Still, anxiety over Zika has run high for months among some athletes preparing for Rio. Golfers Jason Day and American tennis duo Mike and Bob Bryan pulled out of the games, while basketball player Pau Gasol of Spain said he was considering freezing his sperm because of the virus.Tourists in Rio have been bombarded with free bottles and cans of mosquito repellent, courtesy of SC Johnsons OFF! Brand, an official sponsor at the games.South Korea equipped its athletes with mosquito-repellent uniforms and Australia distributed special antiviral condoms.But Brazilians, who have spent their entire lives making peace with mosquitoes, have always viewed the alarm with skepticism. They complain their northern neighbors are frequently uninformed and unwilling to recognize Brazils quick identification of the virus here and efforts to eradicate it.And they are not about to let that go unanswered.I think it is just pathetic to be afraid of Zika in Rio at this time of the year, said Nathalia Ferreira, a 29-year-old pharmacist. I expected people to be more informed. I am more afraid of getting some kind of flu from someone who flew here.---Joshua Goodman is on Twitter: https://twitter.com/apjoshgoodman His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/joshua-goodman---AP Writers Mauricio Savarese, Jimmy Golen and Tales Azzoni contributed to this report. ' ' '