When it came to winning the popular icebreaker game Two Truths and a Lie, Caitlin Bickle always had an ace in the hole.Shed say her room is pink, she plays basketball and rides horses.They would always think the horses were the lie, said Bickle, a junior at Cactus Shadows (Cave Creek, Arizona). Everyone was like, What? You dont do that. But I did.Bickle didnt play with dolls as a 5-year-old. Instead, she started horseback riding. She was adept at a variety of styles, including saddlebred and barrel racing. Up until March, Bickle and her horse, Abby, traveled from state to state to compete.Thats where she developed leg and core strength -- not to mention uncanny balance. Each piece has helped her on the basketball court, where shes a 6-foot-1 wing and the No. 34 prospect in the espnW HoopGurlz Super 60 for the 2018 class. She also enjoys basketballs version of H-O-R-S-E. When she visited Berkeley last month, she played (and won) against a Cal coach and an Arizona Select AAU teammate.But early returns on horseback didnt always net the best results. She was thrown off, and even had her hand stepped on by a five-gaited horse.I honestly fell off so much, but I was like, Might as well keep doing it, Bickle said.Her perseverance has certainly paid off, notably in a different arena.A lot of kids who are tall in basketball are awkward, said her mom, Lyn. Caitlin, shes just always been very dominant on the court.She also had a knack for being a fast learner. The first time she rode a bike, she didnt need help, though the surface was grassy and uneven.She just got on and rode, no training wheels, Lyn said. It was the craziest thing.The glueIt was important to Lyn and Caitlins dad John, a doctor in family practice, that their daughter be well-rounded. In addition to basketball and equestrian, Caitlin played softball and soccer.By fifth grade, she realized basketball was the right fit. Thats when she started playing for Ben Boyd at Arizona Pure, which later became Arizona Select.Caitlin has two older brothers: James (19) and Danny (21), a reserve in the U.S. Marines. Both attend Grand Canyon University, where Lyn works. And both study accounting, but Caitlin envisions studying therapy or law in college.The brothers helped instill toughness in Caitlin from an early age. It was always like, you wake up and youre competing with your brothers, she said.The first time Caitlin hit the court hard during rec ball with a thigh contusion -- dead leg -- her father came down from the stands after Lyn nudged him.But his daughter wasnt interested in help.Shes on the court, and she looks up at me and goes, Get away from me, John said. Like, What are you doing here? I was like, Oh, OK. She got up and shook it off and kept playing.Bickle has been part of a transformation at Cactus Shadows. The Falcons won a combined 16 games in the two years before she enrolled. With her in the lineup, they won 51 games over the past two seasons.Shes changed the whole dynamic of our program, coach Richie Willis said.Bickle led the Falcons to a No. 6 state ranking last year while averaging 13.6 points, 6.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists. She also earned first team all-state honors.Willis describes Bickle as a worker and contributor. He has even tweaked some portions of the playbook based on her suggestions.Our program has been on the rise, and Caitlin is a huge part of it, Willis said. Her IQ for the game is ridiculous.Basketball isnt Bickles only team activity at school. Shes part of the Break-away Leadership Team -- a group of student leaders who work to make the school inclusive. She has helped with fundraisers, handed out papers with compliments to students, and brainstormed ways to stop bullying.Away from school, shes working to get stronger. She regularly visits EXOS -- an athlete performance center -- before practice.Above all, her coach and parents say, she keeps her team together with an intrinsic confidence.She really serves as the glue for a team, John said. It makes me so proud when other people and evaluators say those things.You know its true because you can see it also.Which Bear will it be?Bickle narrowed her college choices to Michigan, Louisville, Cal and Baylor in August. Recently, she picked a top two: Cal Golden Bears and Baylor Lady Bears.She hopes to commit before the AAU season kicks into full swing in June.It isnt really a goal for me to go far away from my family, Bickle said. That was a big decision for the two. ... I have a very good relationship with Cal-Berkeley and Baylor.I love their coaching staffs and their campuses.While she mulls over her options, Bickle and Cactus Shadows are on a mission. They fell 49-40 to Seton Catholic last postseason in the Division II state final.I do want to make sure that our team gets to that point, but also past that point, she said. That would be amazing to be able to achieve.Bickle and Cactus Shadows will undoubtedly face some challenges along the way.No worry, though.A basketball is much easier to control than a 1,500-pound horse with a mind of its own.Hopefully Im there for another 10 or 15 years, Willis said. I dont know if there will be another player that I will be blessed by the basketball gods that will come through the doors like Caitlin.You never know, but Im a lucky guy right now. Dwayne Haskins Redskins Jersey .C. -- Kemba Walker and the Charlotte Bobcats got off to a fast start, and the Sacramento Kings were never quite able to catch up. Charley Taylor Redskins Jersey .C. -- After a listless first half, the Washington Wizards used a big third quarter run to beat the Charlotte Bobcats Bradley Beal scored 21 points and the Wizards used a 17-0 run in the third quarter to take control of what had been a close game and beat the Bobcats 97-83 on Tuesday night. https://www.redskinssportsgoods.com/Womens-Sonny-Jurgensen-Inverted-Jersey/ .com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward James Neal on injured reserve Tuesday. Sammy Baugh Youth Jersey . After Martin Skrtel put the Reds in front from close range at Stamford Bridge after only four minutes, Hazard hit back in the 17th with a superb strike. Etoo gave Jose Mourinhos team a decisive lead from Oscars back pass in the 34th. John Riggins Redskins Jersey . LOUIS -- St. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Nearly 2-plus months after the Rio de Janeiro Olympics, hundreds of workers still havent been paid and are planning to sue the local organizing committee to get their money.Among those late getting paid are about 100 freelance contractors who worked as stadium announcers, show producers and DJs, and several hundred others who worked for the Olympic News Service, which produced written summaries about the sports and athletes at the Olympics and subsequent Paralympics.Im working with a legal firm that is already representing someone involved with Rio 2016, so they have a pretty good handle what is going on, Rocky Bester, a South African freelance show producer, told The Associated Press in an interview.Bester, a spokesman for the 100 contractors, said hes never experienced such problems at previous Olympics. This was his seventh, and he said all hes received from Rio organizers is silence and excuses.Weve had robust conversations at other Olympics about payments, but its always been an open conversation, Bester said. What is happening here is that no one is talking back. Were sitting in the dark. Were mushrooms at the moment.He termed it a basic lack of respect.Rio Olympic officials blamed the delays on late payments from their own sponsors, the Rio city hall and the International Olympic Committee.We are paying, but not all the money we need to have for payments has been received, Rio spokesman Mario Andrada told The Associated Press. We are struggling a bit in making the ends meet.Cash-flow problems, budget cuts and cost overruns dogged organizers throughout the run-up to the Olympics. As the games opened on Aug. 5, organizers needed millions in a bailout from the city and federal governments, breaking a promise to use only private money to fund the $2.8 billion operating budget.The amounts owed the freelancers are relatively modest. Bester declined to offer figures but said hed been paid about half of what he was owed, but said others have received nothing. He said many are living off credit cards, running up high-interest debt.The guys who are suffering are the youngsters, Beester said.dddddddddddd Its their first Olympic Games, its a prestigious thing. The last thing that is going to enter their head is they are not going to get paid.Bester said some contractors were asked to buy their own air tickets, and many have not been reimbursed.Andrada, the Rio organizing committee spokesman, said several first-class international sponsors owe organizers, but he declined to name them.Some of the payment delays were due to a monthlong strike at Brazilian banks, which ended Oct. 7, Andrada said. Reports that organizers were slow to pay bills created a herd movement with creditors putting pressure on us, he added.Andrada estimated that Rio organizers owed creditors in the area of 100 million Brazilian reals ($32 million).He said the organizing committee had downsized from 5,000 employees when the games opened to about 400. The entity will be dissolved next year with only lawyers remaining to settle any disputed claims.Others have blamed some problems on outgoing Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes, who was credited by the IOC with driving the games. He seems to have moved on from Olympic problems.Paes office said he is headed to New Yorks Columbia University on a short-term teaching assignment when he leaves office at the end of the year. His hand-picked candidate to succeed him -- Pedro Paulo -- was badly beaten in an October election.Paes committed a reserve fund of 150 million reals ($47 million) to help pay organizing committee debts. Now he appears to have backed off.Well meet our obligations as long as we have the resources, and they are really needed. To do this, the organizing committee needs to show us their audited expenses, Paes told the Rio newspaper O Globo.The newspaper Folha de S.Paulo has also reported that thousands of fans have yet to receive payments for ticket refunds. Some who have been reimbursed say the amounts dont match what they believe they are owed.Everybody will be paid, Andrada said. The trouble is the delay. We will pay the money. ' ' '