The boxing Balderas brothers -- Carlos, the 2016 U.S. Olympic lightweight, and Jose, also a standout amateur -- are going pro as the first fighters to sign with promoter Richard Schaefers newly formed Ringstar Promotions.Schaefer, the co-founder and former longtime CEO of Golden Boy Promotions before an acrimonious split with Oscar De La Hoya led to his leaving the company in 2014, founded Ringstar this past summer. He is co-promoting a Showtime-televised card on Dec. 10 that is filled with Al Haymon-managed fighters, but he does not have agreements with any of them. With the Balderas brothers signing with him, Schaefer has two sought-after prospects, Carlos in particular, to build his company around.Carlos, who will fight professionally as a junior lightweight (130 pounds), and Jose, who will campaign as a bantamweight (118 pounds), signed promotional agreements last week, and the deals were announced on Monday.Carlos Balderas was one of the most sought-after Olympians coming out of the 2016 Summer Games, and I am so pleased that he, and his brother Jose agreed to join Ringstar Sports, Schaefer said. Carlos, Jose and their entire family are the type of people that we want to do business with at our company. I am going to do whatever it takes to make Carlos the face of boxing, and his brother will be right there with him.Both of these young men are exceptional fighters with great skills and even better work ethics. Most importantly, they have a desire to be great, and so does Ringstar. I am looking forward to getting started.Schaefer said that Carlos, 20, and the 21-year-old Jose, both of Santa Maria, California, will make their professional debut in late February in Los Angeles.These are two clean-cut young men who can fight and talk intelligently. We have two young men who have an opportunity to carry the fight scene here in Los Angeles, Schaefer said. For me, this is my No. 1 priority, to help them become superstars of the sport.The sons of Mexican immigrants, Carlos and Jose were introduced to boxing by their father (and trainer) Zenon and uncles Emiliano and David (their manager) and said the sport helped give them structure and keep them away from gangs and drugs when they were growing up.Im very, very excited for the future for me and my brother, Carlos said. Im thankful to Mr. Schaefer and excited to get the ball rolling and do big things. I was looking to turn pro even before the Olympics. The Olympics was a good experience, but I am more excited for the pros. Its something Ive been looking forward to for a while now.Said Jose: [Schaefer] is a very smart man and he has a vision for both of us for what we want to be, which is world champions and superstars.Carlos, who was 175-9 as an amateur and won various titles, advanced to the quarterfinals at the Rio de Janeiro Olympics in August before losing to Cubas Lazaro Alvarez. Jose went 80-8 as an amateur.Carlos reminds me of a combination of Oscar and Fernando Vargas, and thats not a bad thing, Schaefer said. When you think about boxing in Los Angeles, and you go back to the days of the Olympic [Auditorium], there was [always] somebody who carries the Los Angeles and California boxing scene and was like the king of L.A. I believe that is missing today, but I believe the brothers will someday fill up the StubHub Center [in Carson] and the Staples Center.These kids have the skills inside the ring and they carry themselves the right way outside of the ring. The family still has a place in Mexico City and they are bilingual, so my plan is to also have them fight sometimes in Mexico. I am already in discussions with [Mexican television network] Televisa about them.Carlos was the target of several promoters, including Top Rank, Golden Boy and Japans Teiken Promotions, but Schaefer won the recruiting battle. I was myself. I think what I accomplished speaks for itself, he said. Carlos sparred with a lot of fighters, like Leo Santa Cruz and other guys [I worked with at Golden Boy], and when you ask the fighters what they think about me you get positive feedback. Im very much pro-fighter. Im there win or lose. Thats one of my strengths, my relationships. He saw that and liked that as well as my track record.Carlos said he and his brother decided to sign with Schaefer because they liked his honesty.He is a very trustworthy guy, a family man, Carlos said. He wanted to be with us from the beginning and he has the power and connections in Los Angeles, where my market is.Im looking forward to working with Richard for a long time. My brother and I chose Ringstar because we immediately felt comfortable with Richard. Im ready to start my career and grow my fan base. Im looking to do big things in this sport. Its not just about a paycheck. I want to win world titles and build a legacy.The brothers also became close with Raul Jaimes, one of Schaefers assistants, who Carlos said looked after him in Rio.My dad spoke a lot with these other promoters, Top Rank, Oscar, Mr. [Akihiko] Honda [of Teiken], Carlos said. I feel like they wanted to sign us just to sign us and not give us what we deserved. I didnt even want to have a meeting with them. They are very nice people but not the best decision for us to be with them.Said Zenon: Richard is a very smart man who is going to do amazing things for my sons. I know that my sons will be world champions. The question is, how many times? I believe that Richard has the mind to get us where we need to go. Shareef Abdur-Rahim Jersey .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. Marc Gasol Jersey . -- There were so many positives from the Orlando Magics first victory of the season that it was hard for coach Jacque Vaughn to stop praising his players. http://www.grizzliesbasketballpro.info/Mike-Bibby-Grizzlies-Jersey/ . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. Memphis Grizzlies Jerseys . Note: The Calgary Flames announced Tuesday that Sean Monahan would not be made available to Canadas World Junior team. Custom Memphis Grizzlies Jerseys . Jim Rutherford, President and General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes, announced Wednesday that the team would assign Swedish forward Elias Lindholm to his nations team for the upcoming tournament. Rio -- After an impressive straight sets win over Andy Murray and Heather Watson that catapulted Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna into the mixed-doubles semifinals in Rio, Sania has dismissed any talk of feeling pressure as the prospect of a medal appears on the horizon.Clearly buoyed by a strong performance against a pedigreed pair made up of the worlds second ranked mens singles player and the recently crowned Wimbledon mixed doubles champion, Sania says she would much rather embrace the moment than be intimidated by it.Pressure is something thats always there no matter where we play, she said. I take pride in the fact that I always come through under pressure. We would have preferred the other draw, but we were handed the tougher draw, so at the end of the day we came through and we almost played our best, though we can play better.After a stumbly start, Sania and Bopanna produced a captivating performance on the night, a notable improvement from their first round win over the Australian pair of John Peers and Samantha Stosur. Without the windy conditions that made the ball swirl unpredictably in their first match, Sania and Bopanna were a lot more assured on court.The match was played on court two, one of the three show courts at the Olympic tennis centre. Despite the loss of Bopannas serve in only the second game of the first set, the Indians were not perturbed.Watsons serve was immediately targeted as the weak link and once Bopanna scorched a single hander backhand to clinch the fourth game, the Indians claimed ascendancy in the contest. Bopannas big serve became impenetrable for the rest of the match.?I am still working on my serve every single day even though it is my strength, Bopanna said. I trust my serve so much doesnt matter if I serve two double faults, I know I can go for my second serves.Sania, on her part, uncoiled brutal groundstrokes, creaming service returns and enjoying the better of several baseline exchanges.I think people get a little surprised wheen I do make those returns, she explained.dddddddddddd I feel that if I can read the serve well enough I am able to get to it even if it is a 200mph serve. I think thats one of my biggest strengths which is why I am able to perform the way I am at that level.Sanias incisive returning did not just create trouble for Watson, but she also tackled Murrays serve with élan. Clearly feeling the aftereffects of a bruising three-set quarterfinal that he won earlier in the day against American Steve Johnson, Murray wilted.He began the match by hissing his serves across Sania on the Ad-court side but as the match wore on, he visibly dropped intensity and committed uncharacteristic unforced errors.The fifth game of the second set proved to be decisive, with Sania ripping a forehand to earn a break point on Murrays serve and the Indians going on to convert it. At 5-4, with Bopanna serving for the match, the Indians allowed two match points to slip away before converting on their third with a spanking overhead.It took them into the last four as the only seeded unit still surviving and set up a clash against the American pair of Venus Williams and Rajeev Ram, another doubles specialist. As a more settled pairing, the Indians will perhaps start favourites, though they laugh at tags such as that given how the tennis competition has unfolded in Rio, with a string of high-profile players exiting early.The seedings dont matter, with two sets and a deciding tie break anybody has a chance, Bopanna said. I dont think we are looking at the fact that we are the only seeds. We are just going there, we know we have to keep focusing and winning our matches.Sania echoed those comments.?It isnt just about tennis, she said. Nerves and many things that come into play in the semifinal so we are going to hope to bring our A game again and hopefully be better than even today. ' ' '