CHICAGO -- Like too many ballplayers with interesting and sometimes controversial pasts, Aroldis Chapman would prefer that his game do the talking. If so, its always going to be a short conversation.Chapmans game involves throwing 100-plus-mph fastballs past hitters, rarely for more than an inning. Thats it. In Chicagos 5-2 win Saturday night against the Giants, 12 of the 16 pitches he threw registered three digits on the radar gun. What was rare is that at the end of an eventful week, the Cubs expensive new closer -- via Cuba, Cincinnati and finally New York -- stood still long enough to field a handful of questions.I love the responsibility. I love that it falls on my shoulders, Chapman said through a translator after closing out both of Chicagos NL Division Series wins at Wrigley Field to pick up his first two postseason saves. Yet a city desperate to break a century-and-counting World Series drought is already counting on even more.The pressure is on, but I can handle that. I understand the city and the fans are up and hyped up, Chapman added, but thats fine, too.To describe Chapmans arrival in July as rough does not do it justice.He came in a trade with the Yankees barely two months after serving a 30-game suspension as the first violator of MLBs new domestic violence policy. He was accused of choking his girlfriend and then firing a gun during an argument late last year in his Florida home, though charges were never filed.Making matters worse, his welcome-to-town news conference was a disaster. Theo Epstein, the Cubs popular president of baseball operations, went to great lengths to explain that the front office made clear the importance of his off-field behavior. Chapman said that was news to him. If so, it didnt affect his reception in the clubhouse.You notice when guys fit in, said backup catcher David Ross, the Cubs unofficial clubhouse judge. With him it was seamless. He doesnt speak great English, but hes always smiling. He made friends quick.It didnt hurt, of course, that Chapman posted 16 saves in 18 opportunities, with a 1.01 ERA heading into the postseason. Or that he averaged -- yes, averaged -- a pitch speed of 101 mph.Asked what impressed him most, Ross said: Other than his velocity? ... Hes got a calming presence. Moments never get too big for him, which calms everybody else down.Everybody on Chapmans side, anyway. When it comes to opposing pitchers, not so much.He has that mentality, fellow Cubs closer Hector Rondon said. Were in the same role, but hes different from me. Me, I dont care where anybody else is looking, Im focusing only on home plate.Aroldis, he looks at the hitter, Rondon added, like hes showing who is in charge.Chapman comes by that toughness honestly. Hes the son of a boxing coach who didnt take up baseball until he was 13. But he was selected to Cubas vaunted national team at age 17 and was a bona fide star soon after, thanks to a breakout performance at the 2007 Pan Am Games. A year later, he made his first attempt to defect.The Chicago Tribune reported last week that after Chapman was caught trying to escape, he cooperated with the Cuban government in the prosecutions of four men accused of offering to smuggle him out. All four were convicted of human trafficking and sent to prison; two alleged in a 2013 lawsuit that Chapman was an informant for Fidel Castro and should be held responsible for their torture while in prison.The newspaper also said Chapmans cooperation allowed him to return quickly to the national team. In the summer of 2009, while in Netherlands for a game, he took advantage of that reprieve and defected. Chapman hasnt addressed the newspapers report, but he told The New York Times earlier this year he isnt interested in rehashing the past.That likely includes Game 2 of the 2010 NLDS, when Chapman allowed 3 runs -- all unearned, thanks to miscues by the Reds outfielders -- against the Phillies in what turned out to be a three-game sweep. Ditto for the skull fracture he suffered after being struck by a line drive in a March 2014 spring training game against the Royals.Few things serve a closer better than a short memory. Chapman checks that box, too. Big as the moments he experienced this weekend and in postseasons past may have seemed, he cant wait to find out whats next.In Cincinnati, maybe the crowds werent the same, Chapman said finally. But already, I love this.---Jim Litke is a sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jlitke(at)ap.org and at https://Twitter.com/JimLitke . Wholesale USWNT Jerseys . 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Berra made 42 saves and Kris Russell scored at 1:32 of overtime, lifting the Calgary Flames to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday night. AUBURN, Ala. -- Despite the elation Auburn felt after toppling LSU a week ago, there were still some potentially dangerous problems lurking under the surface.Auburn (3-2) had failed to score a touchdown in any of its six trips to the red zone, and head coach Gus Malzhan yearned to give his receivers more vertical routes to try and take the top off the defense.Against Louisiana-Monroe (1-3), both of those boxes were checked off. Auburn dominated the Warhawks Saturday 58-7 to notch its third win of the year and end the season-opening five-game homestand on a high note.Sean White threw for 239 yards and a pair of touchdowns, both of which were 48-yard deep balls on play-action routes. The first went to freshman Kyle Davis, and the second to senior Tony Stevens for his fifth-career scoring catch.We talked about that two weeks ago, that we need to give our guys more chances down the field, Malzahn said. Thats been kind of an emphasis, and we did that today. Hit a couple, one I think was a pass interference, came close on another. But you gotta take chances down the field, its good. I think we had two of our freshmen catch touchdowns, all on deep balls.Kerryon Johnson spearheaded Auburns rushing attack, accounting for 146 of the Tigers 410 yards on the ground. Auburn outgained Louisiana-Monroe in total yards 688-251, the fourth-most in school history.White ended the day going 14 of 17 for 239 yards before giving way to backup John Franklin III midway through the third quarter and Auburn leading 42-7. Franklin scored his first touchdown at Auburn two plays later, racing 80 yards untouched on a read option. He addeed his first-career scoring pass a drive later, dropping a perfectly thrown 39-yard pass to freshman Nate Craig-Myers in the end zone.ddddddddddddAny touchdown is a pretty touchdown to me, Franklin said. It was definitely a nice pass to Nate (Craig-Myers). He got open and made it easier for me to drop it in. I was just thinking, `Dont miss this touchdown. Its too easy right now.The Warhawks only score came as time expired in the first half, a 2-yard pass to Marcus Green that got Louisiana-Monroe within 28-7.I just told them we have to bounce back, said Louisiana-Monroe head coach Matt Viator. We win and lose as a team. They beat all of us -- players and coaches, everybody. They outplayed us and outcoached us, so thats just the way it is. We all have to learn from it and get better.THE TAKEAWAYAUBURN: The red zone issues that plagued Auburn against LSU were nearly nonexistent. The Tigers scored touchdowns on four out of the five trips inside the 20, and the only trip they didnt score on came from the backups with less than a minute remaining.LOUISIANA-MONROE: The Warhawks dropped their third consecutive game, but will get a chance to right themselves against Idaho on a more level playing field.FIRST-DOWN FRENZYAuburns 36 first downs are the most since 2002 when the Tigers picked up 37 against Western Carolina, and three short of the school record.UP NEXTAUBURN: Travels to Starkville to play Mississippi State next Saturday.LOUISIANA-MONROE: Returns home to host Idaho next Saturday. Cheap NFL Womens Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys From China Youth NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL T-shirts Wholesale NFL Jerseys Wholesale Black NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Womens Jerseys ' ' '