" Nashville scored three more in the fifth, and McLemores h

BRISBANE, Australia -- After pulling out of the Brisbane International with injuries in recent seasons, Maria Sharapova is aiming to use the season-opening tournament this time as a springboard for her comeback and to see how her new support crew works in competition. Sharapova has only played one match since an early exit at Wimbledon due to a right shoulder injury and has spent months working with her new coach Sven Groeneveld. She arrived in Australia to prepare for the first major of the season with her boyfriend and fellow professional Grigor Dimitrov, who returns after losing the final here to Andy Murray last season. Serena Williams won the last Brisbane title and is back to defend it, hoping she hasnt lost any of the momentum from a stunning 2013 season when she won 11 titles including the French and U.S. Opens, had 78 wins from 82 matches -- including a 34-match winning streak -- and collected more than $12 million in prize money. Her brief off-season was not exactly business as usual -- although it was commercial. She trained in Florida with her father, Richard, so she could be close to home for the relaunch of one of her companies and to hire a CEO for it. "I was interviewing so many people. Corporate Serena was taking over," she told a news conference Sunday. "Im happy to be here right now." Corporate Serena conducted at least 10 interviews, and still has at least one more to do. She expects it to be a tough interview, like they all are. "I definitely am not easy ... Im a tough interviewer. For me, its all about business and removing a lot of emotion," she said. "I just want to get to the point." And that brings her back to tennis, where she can turn the corporate email account off for a while and concentrate on what she does best. "I took a couple weeks off, but I was already itching to get back on the court," she said. "I didnt want to lose any rhythm or anything. Didnt want to lose momentum." No. 3-seeded Sharapova is in Williams half of the draw, meaning they could meet in the semifinals. The Brisbane tournament will be Sharapovas only warmup for the Australian Open, which starts Jan. 13, so she needs to find her rhythm quickly. She said shed been practicing hard, but also concentrating on relaxing when shes off the court. Traveling with Dimitrov has helped, she said, despite or because of their major common interest. "Of course we share a lot of the same things just because we have an elephant in the room thats called tennis," Sharapova said Sunday. "But there are so many other things to life that are besides tennis, and there are a lot more things to discuss than forehands and backhands and strings and rackets, which we share similar ideas and things of." Sharapova split with coach Thomas Hogstedt after her Wimbledon loss, and said she wasnt in the right frame of mind to work with Jimmy Connors long term -- that partnership lasted one match. "You have to realize that the decisions you make, you have to make them selfishly in this business to be better, to know whats right for you," she said. "From the first time we met I really liked what (Groeneveld) had to say. Hes a team player. He works with everyone on my team, something I was missing for a little bit of time." In first-round results at Brisbane: Wimbledon finalist Sabine Lisicki had a 6-3, 6-4 win over Magdalena Rybarikova of Slovakia; Andrea Petkovic of Germany beat American Bethanie Mattek-Sands 6-4, 7-5; Japanese veteran Kimiko Date-Krumm won 6-3, 7-5 over Australias Olivia Rogowska; and Swiss player Stefanie Vogele beat American Madison Keys 6-4, 6-3. Former No. 1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki withdrew after hurting her right shoulder in practice but said she expected to be fit the Sydney International next week. While Serena Williams gets a first-round bye in Brisbane, her older sister Venus Williams will be in action from the first round at the WTA event in Auckland on Monday when she plays 134-ranked Andrea Hlavackova of the Czech Republic. In Hopman Cup Group B action at Perth, Petra Kvitova and Radek Stepanek combined to give the Czech Republic a 3-0 win over Spain. Kvitova only lost one game en route to a comprehensive singles win over Anabel Medina Garrigues before Stepanek beat Daniel Munoz-De La Nava 6-2, 6-2. The Czech pair won the mixed doubles 6-3, 6-4. Salomon Shoes Outlet Australia . QUARTERBACKS Carson Palmer (vs Colts)Last week: 30/42, 419 yards, 2 TDsWinners of their last three and now tied for the final wild card spot in the NFC, the Cardinals are worth keeping an eye on. Salomon Shoes Australia Sale . With one week left in the regular season, Cornish - voted The Toughest Player To Bring Down - is a leading candidate for the CFLs Most Outstanding Player award. 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McLemore, who was nicknamed in honour of Ortiz by his parents, finished with two hits and drove in six runs. And he had his mother, Brenda Gonzalez, in tears as he rounded the bases in the top of the sixth. "When I hit that grand slam, it was just energy running through my body," said the 5-foot-11, 209-pound player. "Its been one of my dreams to come and play in this tournament. Another one was to hit a home run. After that, I looked at my mom, and she was crying." Pausing, before breaking into a smile, McLemore added: "And I was like, Oh, thats awesome." Ben Pickman struck out 10 and allowed three hits over five innings for Nashville (1-1), which stayed in contention in the double-elimination tournament. The Southeast champion opened with a 3-2 loss to Westport, Conn., on Thursday. The one scare for Nashville came in the sixth inning when infielder Knox Preston fell awkwardly and hit his head while stumbling awkwardly into first base on a ground out. Preston was examined on the field, and required assistance to get to his dugout. Nashville manager Randy Ramirez said Preston was being tested for a possible concussion. It was two-and-done for Corpus Christi (0-2), which failed to get its offence on track. The Southwest champion will conclude the tournament playing Perth, Australia (0-2), in a consolation game Monday. Perth was eliminated following a 4-0 loss to San Lorenzo, Puerto Rico, earlier in the day. The one bright moment for Corpus Christi was how Jared Cruz responded after giving up the home run to McLemore. Cruz hit a one-out solo homer to centre in the bottom of the sixth to round out the scoring. And it came off McLemore, who relievved Pickman.dddddddddddd "It just shows that these guys didnt give up," manager Randy Ramirez said. "That was a good way to show it, more so for Cruz, because he came back and hit if further." The game began as a pitching duel. Both Pickman and Corpus Christi starter Jesus Ortiz did not give up a through three innings. That changed when Pickman fouled off three consecutive pitches before hitting a single down the first base line. Christopher McElvain followed with a double to right, and McLemore drove both home with a one-out single up the middle to key a three-run inning. Nashville manager Chris Mercado credited Pickmans single for getting his offence going. Once we started hitting the ball, I feel like the other guys feel it, and feel more positive," Mercado said. "I was trying to get them fired up, get them going. And when they did, it was fun." Nashville scored three more in the fifth, and McLemores home run in the sixth rounded out the scoring. He hit the 46th grand slam in series history, and first since Yoshiki Suzuki hit one on Aug. 18, 2011, for Hamamatsu City, Japan. It was the first grand slam by an American player since Andy Rios hit one in 2009 for Chula Vista, Calif. "I call him Pops. Hes just the big daddy," Pickman said. "Everybody loves him. Hes out front, encouraging, loud. He helps fire up the team." PUERTO RICO 4, AUSTRALIA 0 Pitcher Tommylee Sierra shut out Australia for 5 2-3 innings in keeping San Lorenzo in contention in the international bracket of the tournament. Sierra fell one out short of a complete game because he reached the Little League limit of 88 pitches per game when he recorded his 10thstrikeout of the game in the top of the sixth inning. Leonardo Lizardi got the final out for Puerto Rico, which scored three times in the fourth inning to break a scoreless tie. Australia, which was making its first LLWS appearance, was eliminated from title contention. Maverick Hamilton pitched a five-inning complete game for Australia and gave up seven hits. ' ' '