HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Cameron Reynolds hit four 3-pointers and had his first double-double of the season, freshman Ray Ona Embo scored a season-high 15 points and Tulane snapped a nine-game skid against Southern Miss with a 71-64 win on Saturday night.Reynolds had 22 points and a season-high 10 rebounds and Blake Paul scored 10 with seven rebounds for Tulane.Reynolds hit back-to-back 3s to spark a 16-0 run that made it 18-8 midway through the first half and the Green Wave (3-7) led the rest of the way. Ona Embo scored six in a row and Southern Miss went scoreless for more than five minutes during that stretch.Tulane took a 30-17 lead into the break and led by as many as 21 in the second half. The Golden Eagles (2-8) used a 21-6 run to pull within six with 20 seconds left, but would get no closer.Quinton Campbell and Kevin Holland scored 15 points apiece for Southern Miss. Holland added a career-high eight assists. Chauncey Gardner-Johnson Saints Jersey . Sulaiman, 44, was chosen unanimously Tuesday in a vote by the leadership, the World Boxing Council said. Sulaiman becomes the sixth president of the organization. Thomas Morstead Womens Jersey . Michell Burger, a woman who lives on an estate next to Pistorius gated community, said she and her husband were awoken by the screams in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 14 last year, when Pistorius killed Reeva Steenkamp by shooting four times through a door in his bathroom. http://www.shoptheofficialsaints.com/Elite-Ryan-Ramczyk-Saints-Jersey/ . Soukalova missed only one target and completed the 15-kilometre course in 40 minutes, 32.6 seconds for both victories in this seasons individual discipline. Darya Domracheva of Belarus was second, 34. Cameron Jordan Jersey . The players spoke Jan. 13 during a Major League Baseball Players Association conference call after Rodriguez sued the union and Major League Baseball to overturn an arbitrators decision suspending him for the 2014 season and post-season. Ryan Ramczyk Saints Jersey . Pence singled in the winning run with no outs in the ninth inning to give the Giants a 7-6 victory over the San Diego Padres on Sunday.Justin Rose is one of the worlds top golfers, but how would he fare when he ditched his clubs to take part in a FootGolf challenge? The world No 10 is a keen football fan and lifelong Chelsea supporter, more recently also following the fortunes of MLS outfit Orlando City SC, but isnt known for his talents with a larger ball.With Roses foundation hosting its first Kicks for Kids tournament, the Englishman showed the youngsters how it was done by demonstrating his football technique and taking on the course for himself. Under the watchful eye of the PGATour.coms Kellly Hawkins, Rose was left to tackle a par-three with bunkers to the left and rough in front of a raised green.dddddddddddd. Would Rose impress? Click on the video at the top of the page to find out how well he did.Watch the Wells Fargo Championship throughout the weekend live on Sky Sports 4 - your home of golf Also See: PGA Tour latest news Sky Sports tries FootGolf Players struggle to say Leicester Golf live on Sky Sports 4 ' ' '

EVANSTON, Ill. -- After missing all of last season following shoulder surgery, Vic Law has returned like someone looking to make up for lost time.Law scored a career-high 26 points -- his second straight game establishing a new mark -- to lead Northwestern to an 86-72 victory over Eastern Washington Monday night in a Legends Classic opening-round game.Law, who had 19 points in the season opener, was 7-for-13 from the field.I just thought he played with great confidence, coach Chris Collins said. I really liked how he attacked the basket.Law, a 6-7 redshirt sophomore, was expected to be one of the Wildcats top players this season, though Collins wasnt sure what to expect at the start.I know hes really good, but I was a little apprehensive, the coach said. Its not easy sitting out a year and jumping right back in.Bryant McIntosh had 18 points and Scottie Lindsey and Dererk Pardon each added 12 as Northwestern improved to 2-0.Bogdan Bliznyuk led Eastern Washington (1-1) with 25 points on 10-for-18 shooting. He had 20 points on 8-for-13 shooting in the first half.Jacob Wiley added 19 points on 8-for-11 shooting for the Eagles.Bliznyuk had four points and took only three shots in the season-opening win over Division III Linfield.Northwestern quickly jumped out to a 15-point lead (24-9) less than nine minutes into the game and it appeared a second straight blow out was in order following the 94-63 opening win over Mississippi Valley State.But Eastern fought back and pulled within 42-36 in the final minute of the first half. The Eagles were within six points (53-47) early in the second half, but that was as close as they would get -- although Northwestern never was able to open a comfortable margin.Im really pleased with how we played, Eastern coach Jim Hayford said. I wish we could have played the first 10 minutes like we played the last 30 minutes.We definitely leave here with great respect for Northwestern, and I think we earned some respect from them as well.SHARP SHOOTINGAfter going 1-for-7 from the free-throw line in the opener, Law was 9-for-10 on Monday.I think the first game I missed all the free throws so I could set a new career high tonight, he said jokingly.BIG PICTUREEWU: The Eagles were picked to finish fifth in the Big Sky in a preseason poll of media covering the conference following last season 18-16 finish. If nothing else, this is a scrappy bunch that played physical on both ends and refused to quit after falling behind early on the road against a Power 5 conference team.Northwestern: Although the season is only two games old, Law clearly has emerged as the Wildcats best player. The redshirt sophomore, who missed all of last season following shoulder surgery, has the versatile game and athleticism to be a threat every night.UP NEXTEastern Washington plays at Texas on Thursday in a game thats also a part of the Legends Classic.Following a pair of home wins, Northwestern plays its first road game Wednesday at Butler. Miguel Sano Twins Jersey . 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. Custom Minnesota Twins Jerseys .com) - Richie Incognito has reportedly been admitted to a psychiatric care unit in Arizona. http://www.twinssale.com/twins-harmon-killebrew-jersey/ . 9. Price, heading to the 2014 Olympics for Canada, was named the First Star after posting wins in three starts with a 1.00 goals-against average and a .971 save percentage. Rod Carew Jersey . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Kent Hrbek Jersey . Louis Blues teammates who would also be participating in the Olympics, Alex Pietrangelo felt right at home, no different in some ways to the travel experience of any old road trip – save for the length of the journey, that is.Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho dismissed questions about Chris Smalling ahead of Saturdays clash with Arsenal but confirmed Luke Shaw will be back in the team soon. Mourinho appeared to criticise centre-back Smalling and left-back Shaw after they missed Uniteds 3-1 win at Swansea City, suggesting they had shown a lack of bravery.It subsequently emerged that Smalling had a broken toe, but Mourinho refused to confirm the injury at Fridays press conference, and brushed off questions about the England man . Chris Smalling you cannot ask, Mourinho said. You cannot ask because you have your sources, you trust your sources, you believe in your sources. Mourinho refused to confirm if Smalling has a broken toe You write what your sources tell you and you did that for 15 days, so now you are not going to ask me to comment on your sources information, so I dont say a word about Chris Smalling. Six months half price Upgrade to Sky Sports to watch Man Utd v Arsenal on Saturday and get the first six months half price You have your trustful relationship with your sources and you wrote, you spoke, you criticise, so thats fine for me. Swansea 1-3 Manchester Utd You do the big headlines with your sources and now I am not interested in commenting on that.ddddddddddddMourinho was more forthcoming on Shaw, who has been troubled by niggling injuries since returning at the start of the season from a double leg break. Luke Shaw looks set to return to the team in the next fortnight Luke Shaw I comment, yes, he said. He worked well in this period where we had a very small group, which is not the best, but he worked really well.He is ready to play. I dont have any problem with him. I am not saying he plays or he doesnt play tomorrow. Arsenals travel trouble Arsenal players travelled over 18,000 miles further than Man Utd players during the break I am saying that he is my player, a young player with potential. A young player like every young player with little problems, with things he needs to learn, things he needs to improve.But he is a player of my confidence and playing now five matches in two weeks like we are going to do, in three different competitions, for sure he is going to play.Upgrade to Sky Sports now to watch Man Utd v Arsenal this Saturday and get the first six months half price! Also See: Redknapp on Rooney Rooney ready for Arsenal Smalling suffers broken toe Man Utd video ' ' '

BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil -- For Hope Solo, the firsts keep coming.On Saturday, barring anything unusual, Solo will appear in her 200th game for the U.S. womens national team in a group stage match against France at the Rio Olympics. Shell be the first goalkeeper in history to reach the milestone in international play -- no small feat.It also will make her the 11th U.S. player -- across all positions -- to reach that number of caps.As a goalkeeper, I think shes the best one in the world, France coach Philippe Bergeroo said. Shes always good for the U.S. even when the team is in difficult times.The 200th cap is just the latest notable statistic for Solo in a long, illustrious and always interesting career.Last month, Solo became the first goalkeeper with 100 international shutouts when the United States defeated South Africa 1-0 at Chicagos Soldier Field. It was also her 150th career win.About a year ago, Solo won her second straight Golden Glove Award for the best goalkeeper at the Womens World Cup, which the United States won. Over the course of the tournament in Canada she had five clean sheets and allowed just three goals in seven games.And just earlier this week, 16-year national team veteran got her 101st shutout when the United States defeated New Zealand 2-0 in the teams Olympic opener in Belo Horizonte.Hope is obviously such an experienced player. And having been through so many world tournaments -- the limelight, the pressure, and the focus thats on you -- its an incredible resource to have her back there, U.S. defender Meghan Klingenberg said. Its also a safety net we fall back on: We try to make things as easy as possible for her, but we know that we have someone who is world class in the next behind us.Along the way shes vocally advocated for womens rights. Solo was among the U.S. players who filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for wage discrimination, saying the mens national team players have been paid much more than many on the womens team, which for years has out-performed the U.S. men on the international stage.More recently, shes called for better conditions for players in the National Womens Soccer League.But the former Dancing with the Stars contestant has also seen her share of controversy -- and the Rio Games have been no exception. She riled some Brazilians when she posted photo of herself decked out in mosquito netting and armed with insecticide, with the caption: Not sharing this!!! Get your own! (hashtag) zikaproof.As a result, fans at the group stage opener in Belo Horizonte booed her every time she touched the ball, and at one point jeered her with chants of Zi-ka! Zi-ka!Im glad the fans had fun, Solo said following the game. And if they had fun at my expense, more power to them.For now, all that drama is outside noise. The focus for the U.S. is winning a fourth straight gold medal in the sport. The Americans are also vying to be the first team to win at the Olympics after winning the World Cup.Hope Solo is solid when it comes to focusing on the games. Shes 100 percent focused on the games, Klingenberg said. Regardless of what happens -- regardless of the cheers, the chants, whatever -- I know shes focused on what shes here to do. And thats to be goalkeeper for the United States and play the best that she can. Deion Sanders Cowboys Jersey . Three came down to the fourth quarter while quarterbacks continued to shine in all four games; so important to the overall quality of the game. Darren Woodson Cowboys Jersey . -- New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis is retiring after a 16-year career to become the goalie coach for the Los Angeles Galaxy. http://www.shoptheofficialcowboys.com/Elite-Terrell-Owens-Cowboys-Jersey/ . Now tied for second in the league in shootout goals, the 24-year-old likes to see what the opposing goaltender has in store before he ultimately lands on a move. Tony Dorsett Youth Jersey .J. Jefferson has been charged with assaulting his girlfriend. Chuck Howley Jersey . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race.MADRID, Spain -- Jose Mourinho will leave Real Madrid at the end of the season after three years at the Spanish club, paving the way for his expected return to Chelsea. The Portuguese coachs final season at Madrid has been blighted by divisions and a lack of trophies, but he is free to leave three years early from his contract after the final match on June 1 without any compensation involved. "To spend three years in a first-division Spanish club is not easy -- I share his reasons for wanting to leave," President Florentino Perez said Monday. "The level of pressure has increased, so much that this is what has happened now ... he may have made some mistakes and asked for forgiveness, but the level of pressure Mourinho has been under has been unusual." Perez described that pressure in the Spanish capital as "not normal." "He is a very demanding and competitive coach ... this level has a degree of wear on a person," Perez said. Mourinho will leave having won only a single Spanish league title -- sandwiched between four Barcelona successes, including one this season -- and one major domestic cup. That league title in 2012 may have brought a record 100 points, but he notably failed to deliver the clubs 10th European Cup. "This has been an insufficient season for us and also for Mourinho himself," Perez said. Perez said no replacement is lined up, with Madrid blocked by Paris Saint-Germain from talking to Carlo Ancelotti. The agreement with Mourinho allows the colorful and outspoken coach to return to Chelsea after a six-year absence. He wont receive compensation nor will the London club have to pay Madrid for his services. Rafa Benitezs interim stint in charge of Chelsea will end after a post-season tour of the United States, having secured qualification for the Champions League and won the Europa League last week. Popular with fans and media alike in England -- in stark contrast to his many fraught relationships in Spain -- Mourinho appears to have repaired his relationship with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich to make a return to Stamford Bridge. "I know in England I am loved," he told a news conference last month after Madrid was eliminated from the Champions League. "Im loved by the fans. Im loved by the media, which treats me in a fair way. ... I know Im loved by some clubs, especially one." "In Spain the situation is a bit different because some people hate me. And many of you are in this room." Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard cant wait for Mourinho to return. "He might rub people up the wrong way but, as a manager, hes brilliant with his team. Tactically, hes brilliant with individuals and I think hes brilliant with the press," Lampard told Talk Sport radio on Monday. "I know it creates a storm, but he does protect his players." Mourinho has endured an acrimonious final season amid discrepancies with some players and a hostile ffan base.dddddddddddd. It was befitting of Mourinhos fractious time in Madrid that he was sent off after furiously berating the match officials in his teams 2-1 loss to Atletico Madrid during the Copa del Rey final on Friday. More often this season, hes been engaged in disputes internally, creating enemies and weakening his position. The decision that enraged fans was dropping goalkeeper Iker Casillas, the captain of Madrid and Spains world and two-time European championship-winning national team. But the bold decision didnt pay off -- and Mourinhos final season ends with Madrid once again in Barcelonas shadow. Perez insisted, however, that the club is "more united right now than ever." "When I came in this time, the club was divided as seldom before," said Perez, who is seeking re-election as president. "With Mourinho, we made a big leap competitively and sporting-wise. Today Madrid is where it ought to be. We had not reached that level prior to his arrival, so the balance of his stay here was positive." Mourinho was an unsuccessful player whose big break in coaching came when he was hired as an interpreter for English coach Bobby Robson at Sporting Lisbon in Portugal. Robson took Mourinho with him to FC Porto and his influence increased as he took on coaching responsibilities. The duo moved to Barcelona for the 1996-97 season, and Mourinho remained at the club under Louis van Gaal following the Englishmans departure. Mourinho returned to Portugal but failed to win any titles during stints as a senior coach at Uniao Leiria and Benfica. That changed in his first full season at Benficas rival Porto, winning the league, Portuguese Cup and UEFA Cup in 2003. The following season, Mourinho led Porto to the league and Champions League titles. Abramovich immediately hired Mourinho, who described himself as the "Special One" upon his arrival in London. The faith of the Chelsea owner was repaid when the club won the league for the first time in 50 years in 2005. Although Mourinho retained the title the following year, he failed to repeat the European success hed orchestrated at Porto despite fielding a more expensive and star-studded squad. Despite winning all of English footballs major honours, Mourinho left in September 2007 following a power struggle with Abramovich. Mourinho spent the rest of the season without a club, before being hired by Inter Milan in June 2008. He won back-to-back Serie A titles and two Italian cups before ending his reign with success in the 2010 Champions League final. After becoming the third coach to win the European Cup with two teams, Mourinho was enticed to Madrid to replace Manuel Pellegrini in 2010. Mourinho leaves Santiago Bernabeu Stadium as the clubs longest-serving coach for a decade, however its jeering fans appear only too happy to see him go. "After three years we both agreed this was the correct moment to finish," Perez said. ' ' '

PHOENIX -- Arizona Diamondbacks ace Zack Greinke is making slow progress in his return from injury -- too slow for his liking.It would have been nice to be back a week ago, he said before Wednesdays game against Toronto, his first public comments since he went on the disabled list July 3 with a left oblique strain.Greinke was to try to throw off the mound nice and easy later Wednesday, manager Chip Hale said, then probably the first full bullpen will be in a couple of days.Greinke had rounded into his usual form in a series of starts before the injury, reeling off seven consecutive victories. He is 10-3 with a 3.62 ERA.Asked if he was frustrated by the injury, Greinke said, thats a perfect word.It took a lot more time, he said. Its just a bad injury where you have to wait for it to heal before doing stuff. Im used to having stuff bother me all the time and just going through it. But with this one, you cant do that or else it gets worse.Greinke was hurt when he hit a sacrifice fly early in a June 28 game against Philadelphia. He left the game after feeling something wrong when he returned to the mound the next inning.Greinke signed a $206.5 million, six-year contract in the offseason, and the Diamondbacks have been cautious with his rehab.You dont want to ever push it and then you have to lose him for another month, start from zero, Hale said, so well be careful.Greinke has input in the recovery process.Hes the smartest guy Ive been around in baseball, Hale said. He knows his own body as good as anybody. He knows what it takes to be ready for a major league game.Greinke said he played catch from 120 to 150 feet on Tuesday.Yesterday was the first day I threw where I was close to throwing normal, he said. Every other time was really babying everything.Greinke declined to give a timetable for his return.I dont want to say the perfect plan, because then you expect perfect results, he said, and I dont want to say a plan thats slower because thats not the goal and then people would think Im not trying to get back.He said its more than likely he will require a minor league injury rehab start or two. Carey Price Jersey . -- Ohio States Urban Meyer has never had any issue acclimating to the biggest stages in college football. Dominic Moore Jersey . By having more great seasons. Manning was the only unanimous choice for the 2013 Associated Press NFL All-Pro team Friday. http://www.canadienssale.com/authentic-tomas-tatar-canadiens-jersey/ . Two pressure cooker bombs exploded near the finish line of the April 15 race in an area packed with fans cheering the passing runners. Three people were killed and more than 260 injured, including at least 16 who lost limbs. Joel Armia Jersey . -- Josh Sterk scored once and set up two more as the Oshawa Generals edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 3-2 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Jesperi Kotkaniemi Jersey . Shot outdoors against the stunning backdrop of Banff, Alta., the networks 30-minute original production airs tonight at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2. The four All-Star teams will play for $100,000 in prize money during TSNs annual skins game, airing live this weekend on TSN from The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre. MotoGP world champion Marc Marquez has stormed to a dominant pole position in a wet-dry qualifying session at Phillip Island on Saturday.The 23-year-old was the first rider to venture onto the full slick tyres and was untouchable, eventually finishing with a time of 1.30.189 -- almost a full second faster than second-placed man Cal Crutchlow.Australian hope Jack Miller looked set for a stunning front row start after finding himself third fastest at the chequered flag before being relegated down to fifth by Pol and Aleix Espargaro.ddddddddddddThe Ducati of Danilo Petrucci will start sixth ahead of Nicky Haydens Honda.Valentino Rossi was the big surprise and will start 15th after failing to qualify for Q2. Teammate Jorge Lorenzo didnt fare much better and will line-up 12th after struggling for confidence.The 2016 Australian motorcycle grand prix gets underway at 4pm AEST on Sunday. ' ' '

Following Bayern Munichs Champions League semi-final elimination at the hands of Atletico Madrid, Pep Guardiola will end his three-year stay in Bavaria without winning the trophy. Heres where it went wrong for the Catalan coach... Guardiola arrived in Bavaria having won the Champions League twice as a coach with Barcelona and with Bayern having just won the competition in 2013, he was expected to add to that tally. Draw sends Atletico through Atletico Madrids 2-1 reverse away to Bayern Munich was enough to take them through on away goals. However, while overseeing a period of domestic dominance in Germany and developing one of the most free-flowing teams on the continent, Guardiola fell short at the semi-final stage in all three of his seasons in charge… 2013/14 - Lost to Real Madrid 5-0 on aggregateGuardiola enjoyed success against Real Madrid during his reign at Barcelona, but his Bayern side were picked off by Carlo Ancelottis men over two legs. It was a surprise result that ultimately set the tone for Guardiolas Champions League experience with the club. Real Madrid defeated Bayern Munich 5-0 on aggregate in the 2014 semi-final Bayern had retained the Bundesliga title as early as March, having won 25 of their first 27 league games and drawn the other two. But the dip came at the wrong time and they went into the semi-final in less fluent form. It proved costly.Guardiolas side were unable to raise themselves to their earlier levels and Real punished them ruthlessly from a variety of set-pieces and counter-attacks. Lax in defence and sterile in attack, the 5-0 aggregate scoreline was an emphatic reflection of Reals superior cutting edge.2014/15 - Lost to Barcelona 5-3 on aggregateTwelve months on against former club Barcelona, things werent much better. Jupp Heynckes Bayern had demolished Barca 7-0 on aggregate at this stage in 2013 but Guardiolas attempts to be dominate in the Nou Camp were disastrous. After the home team wasted a number of good chances, Bayern were eventually beaten 3-0 in the first leg. Neymar and the rest were too strong for Bayern Munich in last years semi-final To go three versus three at the back, we were saying brave but it was madness to go up against that front three, Jamie Carragher told Sky Sports. Barca could have had the game wrapped up so early. Jamie Redknapp added: I thought it was footballing suicide.Bayern did win the second leg 3-2 in front of their own fans but that merely glossed over the gulf between the teams given that Barcelona scored twice early to leave their opponents needing six on the night to progress. For a second year in a row, Guardiolas only consolation was to lose to the eventual winner.2015/16 - Lost to Atletico Madrid 2-2 on away goalsDespite these semi-final defeats, Bayern started as favourites for the tie and the tournament in the last four in 2016 but were beaten once again - this time on away goals by yet another Spanish side in Atletico Madrid. Saul Niguez scored the winner in the Calderon and his goal proved significant Unable to find a way past Atletico in the Vicente Calderon, with a stunning goal by Saul Niguez the difference between sides, the failure to score away from home proved costly. We didnt win even one battle, bemoaned Guardiola afterwards.In Munich, the comeback looked on when Xabi Alonso scored in the first half, but Thomas Mullers penalty was saved and Bayern were later caught out by Antoine Griezmanns second-half breakaway.Ultimately, there was no way back and it confirmed that Guardiolas three seasons with Bayern have yielded three semi-final exits in the Champions League. Also See: Atletico oust Peps Bayern Pep: Ive given my life to Bayern Bundesliga: Bayern must wait Pep: I still have one more bullet Diego Reyes Jersey . -- Stanfords Kevin Danser knelt on one knee and hardly moved on the sideline as Michigan State celebrated its Rose Bowl victory and his Cardinal teammates made their way to the locker room. Carlos Salcedo Jersey . LOUIS -- Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59. http://www.soccermexicojerseysteamstore.com/guillermo-ochoa-mexico-jersey/ .com) - Manchester City midfielder David Silva is expected to miss the next four weeks because of a calf problem. Alfredo Talavera Jersey . -- Whether Jeremy Hill deserves a prominent role in LSUs offence this early in the season is a matter for debate. Jesus Manuel Corona Jersey . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months.In 2017 the British and Irish Lions will head to New Zealand to take on the reigning world champions. The Lions were victorious against Australia in 2013 but they have not won a series in New Zealand since 1971.Will Greenwood selects his British and Irish Lions XV if the first Test against New Zealand was tomorrow. England may have won the Grand Slam - their first since 2003 - but how many would make the Lions starting XV? All in all Will has picked five from England, five from Wales, three from Scotland aand two players from Ireland.ddddddddddddClick on the video above to see who has made Wills starting XVDo you agree with Wills selection? Have your say by giving us your comments below if viewing on skysports.com or alternatively, why not Tweet us @SkySportsRugby? Also See: Dewi: Time to tinker Barnes Six Nations review Follow @SkySportsRugby Fixtures and results ' ' '

It is a fine line New Zealand Rugby is treading by taking their first spring tour Test with Ireland to Chicago - it is a test in more ways than one.While I applaud the initiative -- Chicago is really good business -- from New Zealand Rugby, there is also a need for some caution.Chicago is heart and soul of the USA Irish community. There are a lot of Irish people there and Ireland is the perfect team, especially in the form they have been in in recent years to go there and play against the All Blacks.Eighty percent of the people going to the game will be passionate Irish fans and they will be looking for Ireland to win. It will be a home game for Ireland and they will treat it like a home game because the fans will be right behind them.It is great the game will be played in front of a new viewing public, while New Zealand Rugby can also make some serious money.But the danger is that if the game is a drawn-out affair without the razzle-dazzle, the American audience will switch off because they are not passionately behind either side - they could say Ill go for the black team or the green team.What they want to see is athletic talent, plenty of tries and some big hits.But if the games fails to deliver, a lot of spectators will be confused by the laws; they wont understand whats going on. If theres a collapsed scrum theyll say, what the hells that? And at a pile-up at a breakdown it will be a case of what are these guys doing? It wont look organised and the defensive structure wont be obvious -- they wont get it.Theres a big chance a 21-17 scoreline would leave the American public saying, what was that? Thats the danger, even though you have two of the best rugby teams in the world; its the complexity of the game that will be hard for them to understand.The difference between this game and Chicago last time against the USA Eagles in 2014 was that that was a one-sided affair and no American wants to go and watch his team get thrashed. They are a proud nation who want to go and see their team do well and they will have that chance the day before when the Eagles play the Maori All Blacks.What the NZR are trying to do is dent the outside by throwing a few stones and create a bit of impact. The diehard rugby fans that live inside America know about this game but 95 percent of sport-loving Americans havent got a clue about rugby. What NZR are doing is picking up some low-hanging fruit, putting some coppers in the bank by playing a credible top-tier nation. Its a good thing.We look at what the USA Eagles do from time to time and we tend to think that for a country of 330 million people they should be a hell of a lot better than what they are. But their talented kids usually play other sports and rugby picks up the leftovers, or people who get involved in the social side of it.A lot of people are trying to lift interest in the game there. The professional league has started and people like Mils Muliaina and Jamie Mackintosh have been involved in it; at some point they are going to create some good players who do some special things and will create some interest. To achieve that they need to have high level rugby played and what better team to do that than the All Blacks against the likes of Ireland? At least they can see what a real Test match is all about.It will be a great occasion. All Steve Hansen and the players have to do is just worry about playing the game.It will be interesting to see how Ireland play - they are a dangerous side. We need to treat them with the respect they deserve.The All Blacks have found themselves in a position where they are always trying to improve. The culture within the All Blacks at the moment is about how can they get better; how do they improve and find that perfect game?Every game they win now extends their world record and the expectation is such that they have got to a level where no-one wants to let them down and there are really good noises coming out of the camp. The competition for spots is huge.Beauden Barrett didnt start as the first-choice No.10 this year. TJ Perenara wasnt the second-best half-back and now hes kicked on. The midfield is the same. There are so many good positional stories inside the All Blacks camp that whoever gets that jersey they will step up to it; that has come about because of the depth in the squad.Talking of competition, it was a great finale to the domestic season with the Mitre 10 finals at the weekend.I was really pleased for Bryn Gatland and the North Harbour team. How Waikato ever let Gatland go is unbelievable. His composure, to put what was a pretty ugly dropped goal through, resulted in a pretty special moment for that young side.I think that side has the makings of a really good team. Michael Little impresses me. You go through players like Damian McKenzie, Nehe Milner-Skudder and even Walter Little [Michaels father] and they are not the biggest men in the world but they have got some talent and fight.And Michael Little showed that fight in the final - he wasnt going to give up. The only downside for him is that he is not as big as Sonny Bill Williams. But hes got the mongrel, the fight and the heart.The skipper, lock Chris Vui, has been injured for the last couple of years but this year he has been absolutely immense. Hes been a great leader for them and done really well.North Harbours problem now they are in the Premiership is that they have to get some sort of consistency and flow-on. They want to keep that core of players together and whoever comes in as coach now that Steve Jackson has moved on to the Blues has to retain that consistency.The perfect example of that sort of consistency is Canterbury. They never change too much. The coaches may come and go but the assistants stay and the team and culture is retained; thats why theyve got eight titles in nine years.It was interesting too, that both coaches, Jackson for North Harbour and Scott Robertson got named as Super Rugby coaches part way through the season and both teams lifted. Thats probably players thinking they should make an impression and possibly get a Super Rugby contract.And I know weve mentioned Richie Mounga during the season but hes another 10 to be considered, he is just getting better and better. You can look at where the All Blacks might be in 12 months time but this Mitre 10 Cup consistently throws up players who say, hey, dont forget about me. Balenciaga Shoes Wholesale China . It says Pocklingtons lawyer filed the appeal Friday in a California court. CTV Edmonton also says Pocklington gave a $100,000 cash deposit as part of the conditions of his bail, and that he will be out on bail until his appeal is heard. Balenciaga Shoes Cheap Sale . Bryant, who signed a five-year, $34 million contract as a free agent with Cleveland in March, reported symptoms on Monday morning, a team spokesman said. http://www.discountbalenciaga.com/ . Third-seeded Murray had the easiest path to victory on New Years Eve, barely breaking a sweat during his 6-0, 6-0 win over 2,129th-ranked Qatari wildcard recipient Mousa Shanan Zayed. Discount Balenciaga Shoes . Blackwood, 28, has played the last three seasons in the San Diego Padres system, including the past two summers with Class AA San Antonio of the Texas League. Balenciaga Discount Outlet . The mixed zone is not a place to make friends. Geelongs preliminary final could be Tom Lonergans last AFL match but the veteran defender insists hes not thinking about his playing future.Lonergan, 32, is one of three big name flag-winners to come out of contract at seasons end along with Corey Enright and Jimmy Bartel.As a 2016 All-Australian, Enright - who turned 35 on Wednesday - is clearly playing well enough to continue on.While the form of 32-year-old Bartel has been less solid, hes understood to have triggered a new one-year deal that was available to him.As the less celebrated of the three, Lonergan has drifted under the radar as a potential 2016 retiree but that suits him fine.The defender says hes all-in on the finals series and cant spare a moment to ponder what the future holds.I havent even thought about it, he said.Its not even worth talking about until we get past the next couple of weeks.The bodys been good and Ive been enjoying my footy. Its great when you do get the wins.Ill sit down with the club at the end of that period and discuss where we go from there.Lonergan said criticism of fantastic Bartel had totally past him by, saying the group wanted the bearded Brownlow Medallist playing next weekend.He is a great player and hes stepped upp on the big occasions so many times.ddddddddddddWe love playing with him and well leave it with the coaches to make that (selection) call, he said.Hes cool and calm under pressure ... I hope hes there in prelim week.Lonergan said the club was preparing for Lachie Henderson to play in their preliminary final after he showed his recovery from minor knee surgery by training on Tuesday.Geelongs two-point win over Hawthorn in last Fridays qualifying final has given the Cats a two-week break, and theyre treating it like one.Five days after the win, Lonergan said the Cats were yet to train with any intensity, focusing instead on recovery.We had a really good preparation leading into the Hawks game and well look to have a really good hit-out over Thursday and Saturday, he said.And there are no plans for a get-together to watch Saturday nights semi-final between Sydney and Adelaide to discover their opponents as a group.We spend too much time together already, Lonergan laughed.Well just watch it ourselves. Some guys mightnt even watch it. Well see enough vision next week of our opponents. ' ' '

BOISE, Idaho -- Jeremy McNichols ran for 206 yards and a career-high four touchdown to help No. 22 Boise State beat UNLV 42-25 on Friday night.Boise State (10-1, 6-1) kept its Mountain West title hopes alive and reached 10 victories for the second time in three seasons under head coach Bryan Harsin. After passing Western Michigan in the College Football Playoff rankings this week, the Broncos also remain in contention for a Cotton Bowl berth.The Rebels (4-7, 3-4) lost for fifth time in five tries at Boise State, managing only 302 yards of total offense, their second-lowest output of the season.UNLV also struggled defensively, unable to bottle up the nations fifth-leading rusher. McNichols leads the country in scoring with 156 points, 36 more than the next closest player.After UNLV converted a fumble into a field goal on Boise States opening possession, the Broncos went on a 19-play, 74-yard drive -- their longest of the season -- and took a 7-3 lead on quarterback Brett Rypiens 1-yard run.The Broncos followed that drive up with their shortest after a 73-yard punt return by Cedrick Wilson set up Boise States offense at the UNLV 6. On the only play of the drive the Broncos ran, McNichols bounced outside and won a footrace to the corner of the end zone for the touchdown, giving Boise State a 14-3 first quarter lead.That early lead helped set the tone for Boise State as UNLV never really threatened to make the game competitive.Rypien finished with 109 yards on 10-of-20 passing. Career receiving leader Thomas Sperbeck had five catches for 47 yards in his final regular-season home game.UNLVs Kurt Palandech passed for 113 yards, completing 10 of 20 passes. He also led the team in rushing with 64 yards.TAKEAWAYSUNLV: The Rebels have already topped last seasons win total of three games, but they will look to finish strong with a win in their finale next Saturday. With a victory, the Rebels could lock up second place in the West division and set their eyes on getting bowl eligible next year.Boise State: The Broncos defense delivered their most dominant performance of the season as the entire team seems to peaking at the right time. In the three games since its last-minute loss on the road at Wyoming, Boise State has committed only one turnover and averaged more than 48 points a game, while limiting opponents to just over 21.UP NEXTUNLV: The Rebels host in-state rival Nevada in the regular-season finale for both teams.Boise State: The Broncos will travel to Air Force for their final regular-season tilt in a must-win game to keep their division title hopes alive.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 Lars Eller Capitals Jersey . The players spoke Jan. 13 during a Major League Baseball Players Association conference call after Rodriguez sued the union and Major League Baseball to overturn an arbitrators decision suspending him for the 2014 season and post-season. Dale Hunter Capitals Jersey . Pert has formerly spent time as an assistant coach with Cardiff City, Coventry City, and Bahrain mens national team. "Martyn is a highly-respected coach with experience at the top levels in England," said Whitecaps FC head coach Carl Robinson. http://www.officialcapitalsfanstore.com/authentic-nicklas-backstrom-capitals-jersey/ . Brazilian national coach Luiz Felipe Scolari has confirmed that the veteran goalkeeper is set to join Toronto on loan, saying it will help him be ready for the World Cup. Christian Djoos Jersey . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. Washington Capitals Jerseys .Y. - New Orleans forward Anthony Davis was chosen Friday to replace the injured Kobe Bryant in the NBA All-Star game that will be played in his home city. After a stellar performance to open the college football season against the No. 3 Oklahoma Sooners, the Houston Cougars really threw themselves into the spotlight -- so much so, they are now gaining the attention of ESPNs No. 1 ranked NFL player, J.J. Watt, of the?Houston Texans.Watt opens the video discussing the young talent that the Cougars have and refers to how exciting they are to watch and how they have the city of Houston fired up. The Cougars were alsso mentioned?by Watt in the same company as the?Texans,?Houston Astros?and Houston Rockets,?in regard to young talent.ddddddddddddThats not bad for a team that went unranked for several years.The Cougars are now at No. 5 ?in?ESPNs Power Rankings?and will face?the Lamar Cardinals on Saturday at noon ET on ESPN3.-- Courtney Schellin ' ' '

West Coast coach Adam Simpson has been left with two headaches this week, and neither are an easy fix.Simpsons first headache is how to replace star ruckman Nic Naitanui - both this season and next.His second dilemma is finding a way to stop the Crows star-studded forward line in Friday nights crunch clash at Adelaide Oval.Scott Lycett will lead the ruck against the Crows, while the Eagles flew back-up options Mitch Brown and Jonathan Giles to Adelaide.Simpson says fans will have to wait until team selection on Thursday night before discovering what ruck combination hell use against the Crows.But finding a longer-term solution to replace Naitanui has also been on Simpsons mind.Simpson has brought forward a list-management meeting to discuss the clubs options.And although the third-year coach isnt willing to name names just yet, luring homesick GWS big man Rory Lobb to the Eagles could be a viable option.But for the moment Simpson is focusing on the Crows.Sixth-placed West Coast need to win Fridays match in order to secure a home final.If they lose, the Eagles will likely slip to seventh - consigning them to an away elimination final.Adelaide are the best attacking side in the competition, averaging 115 points per game.Eddie Betts has led the way with 65 goals, while Josh Jenkins (59), Taylor Walker (43), Tom Lynch (36) and Mitch McGovern (29) have also been important contributors.West Coast were sublime in nullifying Hawthorns midfield strengths last week, and Simpson knows theyll need to do a similar job if they are to cut off supply to Adelaides star-studded attack.Theyve got the toughest forward line in the comp to play against, Simpson said.Theyre all dangerous.Some experts have written off West Coasts flag chances in the wake of Naitanuis season-ending knee injury.But Simpson thinks otherwise, despite Naitanuis recent heroics against GWS and Hawthorn.Theres been a lot of negative talk on the back of Nic and the fact that our season is over and next season is over because hes not going to be available, Simpson said.I dont buy into that.Ill be really disappointed if we cant advance any further without Nic.Itd be ridiculous of me to think that we cant win without and our players dont believe that either.The Crows will be without suspended midfielder Rory Sloane for Fridays match. Ivan Rakitic Barcelona Jersey .Y. - Detroit goaltender Jonas Gustavsson has earned NHL first star of the week honours after winning in his first three appearances of the season. Denis Suarez Jersey . In the lead up - which seemed to begin the moment Mike Geiger blew the whistle in Houston last Thursday night - the Impact rumour mill went into overdrive. The speculation went into meltdown mode, of the golden nugget variety. http://www.barcelonasoccerpro.com/Authentic-Aleix-Vidal-Barcelona-Jersey/ . -- Bryant McKinnie came out of his stance and lowered his shoulder into a practice squad player, causing a crisp thud to reverberate in the Miami Dolphins practice bubble. Marc-Andre Ter Stegen Jersey . -- Most satisfying to Russ Smith about No. Sergio Busquets Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla.Paul Merson will attempt to end Matt Le Tissiers winning run when the Soccer Saturday pundits go head-to-head in Sky Sports Fantasy Six-a-Side for the Merseyside derby. Le Tiss has beaten all in his path so far in the charity winner-stays-on challenge, thumping Phil Thompson on Saturday Night Football as he selected hat-trick hero Sergio Aguero as his Elite Player while Thommo went for Diego Costa.The Soccer Saturday pundits with the most wins come the final weekend of the season will battle it out to land £1,000 for the charity of their choice. Fantasy Six-a-Side Pick your team here for the chance to win the ￡10,000 jackpot. The usual £10,000 is up for grabs twice this week for entrants of the free-to-play game, with Tuesdays clash between Newcastle and Manchester City plus Liverpool v Everton, with the latter the subject of this weeks head-to-head.With no player values, formations or position requirements in Sky Sports Fantasy Six-a-Side, the pundits can pick whoever they want except for only one of the four Elite Players, who are Daniel Sturridge, Philippe Coutinho, Romelu Lukaku and Ross Barkley.Heres who the Soccer Saturday pundits are selecting...Matt Le Tissiers teamPhilippe Coutinho - He has got the ability to be one of the Premier Leagues top players and Im hoping hell add to a tally of four goals from his last six appearances in all competitions.Simon Mignolet - Im expecting Everton to rest a few ahead of their FA Cup semi-final on Saturday so Ill back Mignolet to keep a clean sheet.Dejan Lovren - His performances have improved a lot recently and scoring his first goal for the club against Dortmund will have done his confidence no harm. He also scored a couple when he was at Southampton so hopefully he can get another one on Wednesday. Dejan Lovren celebrates his late winner against Dortmund Nathanial Clyne - Hes playing for his place in Roy Hodgsons side and has been the one former Saint who has really performed consistently since joining Liverpool.ddddddddddddamadou Sakho - Im putting all my eggs in the clean sheet basket here. Sakho was also on the scoresheet against Dortmund so fingers crossed hell do so again.Roberto Firmino - Im a bit surprised hes not one of the Elite Players, having scored nine and set up seven this season, and Id be very surprised if hes not in most teams. Fantasy Six-A-Side points scoring breakdown Paul Mersons teamDaniel Sturridge - Hes top drawer and I still think hes the best English forward when he is on his day.Divock Origi - He has been getting better and better and Id like to see Klopp play both Sturridge and Origi and really have a good go.Adam Lallana - He makes things happen and Im hoping hell be able to create plenty of chances, while has also got goals in him. April schedule Roberto Firmino - He is Liverpools top goalscorer because he gets himself in lots of scoring positions and tends to take his chances.James Milner - He does what it says on the tin week-in-week out and Ill be relying on him to complete plenty of passes and create a few chances.Simon Mignolet - Le Tiss has been clever in loading his team with defenders as Everton are probably going to field a weakened side. Ill be hoping that its a goal fest, but the smart money would be on Liverpool keeping a clean sheet.Who makes your VI? Pick your Sky Sports Fantasy Six-a-Side team here Also See: Play Fantasy Six-a-Side Liverpool v Everton preview ' ' '

MINNEAPOLIS -- Candace Parker and the Sparks jumped with joy on the court, joined in celebration by a guy named Magic Johnson who once made basketball championships a habit in Los Angeles.Parkers old college coach, the late Pat Summitt, was there in spirit too.Nneka Ogwumikes short jumper with 3.1 seconds left, off the rebound of her blocked shot, gave the Sparks a 77-76 victory over the defending champion Minnesota Lynx in the deciding Game 5 of the WNBA Finals on Thursday night for the franchises first title in 14 years.Parker had 28 points and 12 rebounds to earn MVP honors of the Finals and her first WNBA title, capping a trying year marked by the death of the beloved Summitt, with whom she won two NCAA championships at Tennessee.The journey to get here I wouldnt have wanted to do it with anybody else, Parker said. Its amazing when you surround yourself with good people how fun it is.Sparks coach Brian Agler started his postgame news conference by playing a recording of the Tennessee fight song, Rocky Top, from a phone in front of him at the podium. Parker cried as she leaned over to hug her coach.Ive never been around somebody that has been critiqued so hard, Agler said, and Ive never been around anyone Im happy for than Candace.Said Ogwumike: Shes been through so much. Shes probably the most misunderstood person in the league. I told her I wanted her to get one.Parker heard Summitts voice in her head, recalling the time-worn advice to focus on defense and rebounding.You cant control if shots go in or shots dont, but what you can control is defense and rebounding, Parker said.Rebekkah Brunson made one of two free throws with 23.4 seconds left to give the Lynx a 74-73 lead. Parker answered with a layup on the other end that Maya Moore countered with a jumper. Then Ogwumike hustled her way over to the loose ball after Sylvia Folwes blocked her first attempt. She coolly swished it.Lindsay Whalens heave from just inside halfcourt bounced high off the backboard, setting off the celebration for the Sparks and silencing the sellout crowd of 19,423.Moore had 23 points and 11 assists for the Lynx, who fell short of matching the WNBA record of four championships. The Houston Comets won four straight titles from 1997-2000. The Lynx played in the finals for the fifth time in the last six years. They won three.The team that won this game deserved to win the game, Moore said, so its just hard to have it come that close.Chelsea Gray reeled off 11 consecutive points for the Sparks, capping that run with a smooth up-and-under layup to put them in front 60-59 early in the fourth quarter. Parkers putback with 3:06 left gave L.A. a 71-63 lead, putting the Lynx in trouble.But Moore seized the moment with a 3-pointer that brought Minnesota within four points, and Parker forced an off-balance 3 on the other end. Whalen stole the ball from Kristi Toliver and finished the fast break with a layup to tie the game at 71, setting up the final flurry.On the next play, Ogwumike hit a jumper that appeared to come after the shot clock expired. The officials signaled for a review but never looked at the basket. Los Angeles led 73-71 with just over a minute left. Seimone Augustus answered with a jumper, but those points proved to be critical.Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, making sure to credit the Sparks for their performance was livid about the non-call afterward.Its not enough just to apologize and send out a memo that they got something wrong, OK? These players are so invested, and something must be done about the officiating in this league. Because it is not fair to these great players that we have, Reeve said.The WNBAs new postseason format with the field ordered by overall record regardless of conference sure worked well, leading to this classic matchup between the two teams that fought all summer for the top seed and featuring several of the leagues biggest stars.I hope that we gained a lot of fans from around the world and around this country, Augustus said.The game was remarkably close, with 24 lead changes and 11 ties with no team ever leading by double digits.CHAMPIONSHIP ATMOSPHEREThe sea of green T-shirts donned by almost everyone in the crowd produced a deafening soundtrack from start to finish befitting a game for the trophy.Even Johnson was there, wearing all black while sitting courtside to root for the Sparks team hes a part-owner of and spoke to after the loss at home in Game 4 on Sunday. His presence was all the more impressive considering the Dodgers, the other pro club hes invested in, were playing baseball in Los Angeles at the same time in Game 5 of their National League championship series.They had to believe they could do it on a tough home court. This team Minnesota is tremendous, Johnson said. We just beat the champions so I give them a lot of credit to.WOLF TRACKSThe Lynx had celebrity backing, too, with Timberwolves players including Karl-Anthony Towns, Andrew Wiggins, Ricky Rubio, Cole Aldrich and Nemanja Belica in the seats to support the women they share an arena with. Shkodran Mustafi Arsenal Jersey .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high seven games when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for Sundays clash at Rexall Place. Marc-Andre Ter Stegen Arsenal Jersey . Down by seven with 90 seconds left in regulation, thats where they looked comfortable. http://www.arsenalsoccerproshop.com/Authentic-Rob-Holding-Arsenal-Jersey/ .Y. - New York City has been selected to host the NBA All-Star weekend in 2015, with the game played at Madison Square Garden and the slam dunk contest and other skills events held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Shkodran Mustafi Jersey . Brad Jacobs and his Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., team took control of the game early. Mohamed Elneny Arsenal Jersey . Aside from the trilogy main event title fight, there are a number of intriguing matchups in the heavyweight, welterweight and lightweight divisions. Six months after stepping down as coach of the New York Giants, Tom Coughlin has landed his next job.The two-time Super Bowl-winning coach has accepted a full-time position with the NFLs football operations department, multiple sources told ESPN.His exact role has yet to be announced by the league, but Coughllin brings nearly three decades of NFL coaching experience to the job, the last 12 with the Giants.dddddddddddde led New York to Super Bowl victories in the 2007 and 2011 seasons. ' ' '

HIGH POINT, N.C. -- Francis Alonso scored 16 points and UNC Greensboro defeated North Dakota State 65-54 on Saturday night at the High Point University Tournament.Diante Baldwin added 14 points, seven rebounds, five assists and four steals. Mike Smith had 12 points and seven rebounds for the Spartans (2-2).A.J. Jacobson was perfect on six 3-point attempts to lead the Bison (3-1) with 18 points. Carlin Dupree added 11 points and Paul Miller 10.The Bison shot 50 percent from the floor (20 of 40) and the arc (9 of 18), but were done in by 19 turnovers and being outperformed on the offensive boards 9-2.Alonso scored 12 points in the first half when UNCG took a 39-29 lead, going on a 13-0 run over the final 6:50 of the half.The Bison were within four points midway through the second half but got no closer. Jrue Holiday Pelicans Jersey . Numbers Game looks into the Canadiens securing the services of Thomas Vanek in a trade with the New York Islanders. The Canadiens Get: LW Thomas Vanek and a conditional fifth-round pick. Custom New Orleans Pelicans Jerseys . Ivanovic was leading 7-5, 1-0 when Hantuchova withdrew after falling 0-40 behind in the second game. The match started slowly for Ivanovic, who surrendered her first two serves as Hantuchova took a 5-3 lead. http://www.shoppelicansonline.com/Authentic-ETwaun-Moore-Pelicans-Jersey/ . Takahashi, who had a 10-point lead after the short program, received 268.31 points after the free skate to finish 15 points ahead of second-place Nobunari Oda. Jahlil Okafor Pelicans Jersey . Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2. Jrue Holiday Jersey . -- Edmontons Val Sweeting is two wins away from a trip to Winnipeg to play in Canadas Road of the Rings in December.Castleford will attempt to snap a six-game losing streak in Perpignan when they face Catalans Dragons on Easter Monday, live on Sky Sports 1 HD. The Tigers last victory at the Stade Gilbert Brutus came in March 2010 and a number of key players have not travelled to France due to injury.Stand-off Ben Roberts and prop Lee Jewitt failed fitness tests on the eve of the Tigers departure for Perpignan and former Catalans forward Gadwin Springer has joined their lengthy casualty list with a groin injury sustained in the win over Leeds. Youngsters Tom Holmes and Conor Fitzsimmons have been called up, with the latter hoping to make his debut.I never complain about Easter, said Tigers coach Daryl Powell. Ive played in these games myself and recognise that its a tough time.When youve got injuries, its a little bit harder, but you just get on with it, theres no point worrying. Its a tough game, but they played the day after us so there is a little bit of an advantage there. Castleford came from behind to register a thrilling 18-14 victory over Leeds They are a fair old size and going over there is always difficult, but well go andd play with a bit of freedom about us and give it a good crack.ddddddddddddThe Dragons also have injury problems, having lost second-rower Justin Horo to a hamstring injury in their win at Salford.They are still without suspended centre Krisnan Inu, which could pave the way for out-of-favour full-back Morgan Escare to make his first appearance of the season. Catalans were impressive 26-12 victors at Salford on Good Friday Catalans Dragons: Paul Aiton, Louis Anderson, Jason Baitieri, Thomas Bosc, Julian Bousquet, Jodie Broughton, Todd Carney, Rémi Casty, Vincent Duport, Morgan Escaré, Tony Gigot, Antoni Maria, Greg Mounis, Richie Myler, Eloi Pelissier, Pat Richards, Glenn Stewart, Dave Taylor, Willie Mason.Castleford Tigers: Ryan Boyle, Ben Crooks, Conor Fitzsimmons, Luke Gale, Keiran Gill, Ryan Hampshire, Jy Hitchcox, Tom Holmes, Andy Lynch, Will Maher, Nathan Massey, Mike McMeeken, Paul McShane, Grant Millington, Adam Milner, Greg Minikin, Joel Monaghan, Denny Solomona, Jake Webster.Watch Catalans v Castleford live on Sky Sports 1 HD on Easter Monday from 5pm. Catch the match for £6.99 on NOW TV. No contract. ' ' '

Sky Sports pundit Terry Gibson believes Barcelona need to freshen up their squad in the summer to avoid a similar end-of-season burn-out next year. Luis Enriques side were knocked out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid in April before going on a run of defeats in the league that allowed Atletico and Real Madrid back into contention in the La Liga title race.Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal were the high-profile new faces in the Barcelona squad when the clubs transfer ban was lifted at the turn of the year, but Gibson thinks that Enrique needs more youth to give the squad an edge for next season. Im not sure if Luis Enriques trying to make a point to the hierarchy at the club - but he doesnt have too much faith in too many of the squad players, so hes constantly relied on the same players time and time again, Gibson told the La Liga Weekly podcast.Its an advantage to play a consistent team, which hes been able to do in the last few weeks because of not being in the Champions League. But next season if you looked at those two games against Arsenal, those two games against Atletico Madrid, thats when he could have done with some extra players. Luis Enrique has relied on a small group of starting players this season. I think its no secret that their best players are in their late 20s and early 30s. Neymar is 23, theres Rafinha and Sergi Roberto who he seems to trust, but Marc Bartras gone off to scowl, Thomas Vermaelen hasnt contributed enough, Adriano hasnt - those types need to be better and younger probably.I wonder how much they can raise from just selling the players who are on the fringes of the squad. On the face of it I was excited when they signed Arda Turan, but looking at it now - hes 29 and they probably needed a similar player but younger. Aleix Vidal is a little bit of a mystery. La Liga Weekly - 16th May This isnt a criticism of the age of the players who are serving them so well at the moment, but are they capable of playing the level that they need to at Barcelona for 60 games a season?One player who Gibson has been particularly impressed by is Barcelona striker Luis Suarez, who scored a hat-trick against Granada on the final day of the season to secure the title and claim the Pichichi with 40 league goals in the season. Watch the best of Barcelonas potent strike force: Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar Luis Suarez up-front sometimes looks like an ugly duckling in the Barcelona team, Gibson said. Although his touch is good and hes a great player, he is different and you can tell he hasnt been brought up through the same system.If ever a player was responsible at crunch time of the season in dragging his team by the scruff of the neck, lifting them across the finishing line, it was him. He has added so much to the team. He allows Messi to drift away. We see a different Messi now, whos not obsessed with the goals that he scores. If ever a player was responsible at crunch time of the season in dragging his team by the scruff of the neck, lifting them across the finishing line, it was Suarez. Terry Gibson Real Madrids 2-0 win on the final day of the season against Deportivo La Coruna meant that the gap at the top of the table ended as just one point, but Gibson thinks the best team have come out on top.We quickly forgot all the praise and adulation they were receiving from everyone when they were on that 39-game unbeaten run, he said. Luis Suarez scored a hat-trick at Granada as Barcelona won the La Liga title again They were coasting home and I think that was the problem. They didnt seem to be too fussed when they lost to Real Madrid, despite it being a Clasico, because the point gap was still significant, but then there were the defeats to Real Sociedad and Valencia and the panic button was pressed.I never had any doubt that they wouldnt win those five games, but I didnt think theyd win it in such style.I genuinely do believe that, apart from that run of four or five games, Barca have been clearly the best team in the league and I think its testament to Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid that theyve got close to such a good team. Also See: LISTEN: La Liga Weekly Balagues La Liga awards Suarez is Barcas MVP WATCH: Suarezs treble glory Get a ￡10 free bet! Ross Barkley Jersey . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. Davide Zappacosta Jersey . -- PGA TOUR Canada member Steve Saunders took a three-stroke lead Saturday in the Web. http://www.chelseasoccerjerseysonline.com/womens-willy-caballero-chelsea-jersey/ . That gave fans outside Joe Louis Arena another chance to ask for autographs from the 19-year-old whose stardom in the NHL has arrived earlier than most expected. Gary Cahill Jersey . "Hes going to have hip surgery on Jan. 7, and hell be expected to rehabilitate for four to six months beyond that," Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said Friday in an interview. Danny Drinkwater Chelsea Jersey . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- With the complicated math of baseball in the wild-card era, players in the Boston clubhouse were unaware the Red Sox are playoff bound.Dustin Pedroia hit his fourth career grand slam to help Rick Porcello get his major league-leading 22nd win, and the Red Sox clinched a playoff berth by beating the Tampa Bay Rays 6-4 Saturday night for their 10th consecutive win.Boston maintained a 5+-game lead over Toronto for the division title and ensured no worse than the ALs second wild card. While the Red Sox technically have a magic number of one, the Blue Jays and Baltimore Orioles play each other three times in the seasons final week -- meaning only one of them can win match Bostons 91 wins.Among the other wild-card contenders, only Detroit can reach 91 victories.I havent heard it, Red Sox manager John Farrell said moments after the game.Porcello was informed of the news by a reporter.Obviously, its big, Porcello said. Its the position that we wanted to be in coming into this last week of September. We definitely want the division going forward.Boston is on its longest September winning streak since an 11-game run in 1949.Pedroia stopped an 0-for-17 skid with a single in the sixth and gave Boston a 6-3 lead with a seventh-inning drive off Danny Farquhar.Everybody is obviously grinding, Pedroia said.Pedroia hit several foul balls, including one off his toe before going deep.You can see why hes as good as he is because he fought off some good pitches and got his pitch (a changeup) and crushed it, Farquhar said.Porcello (22-4) gave up three runs, eight hits and struck out nine over 6 1/3 innings. He just missed getting his 12th consecutive start of seven or more innings and three runs or fewer, which would have moved him past Cy Young (1904) and Pedro Martinez (2000) for the longest stretch during the same season in franchise history.Porcello is first Boston pitcher to have 22 wins since Martinez had 23 in his AL Cy Young Award wiinning season in 1999.ddddddddddddCraig Kimbrel, the fifth Boston reliever, reached 30 saves for the sixth straight season despite allowing Logan Forsythes solo homer in the ninth.Brad Miller hit a two-run double in a three-run second that put Tampa Bay up 3-1 and gave him 80 RBI.Tampa Bay threatened in the second but failed to score due to two nice defensive plays. Pedroia made a throw from just in front of the outfield grass at second base on Mikie Mahtooks grounder to get Corey Dickerson at the plate. Third baseman Brock Holt made a solid play along the line on Alexei Ramirezs grounder and threw him out at first to end the inning.We made a couple of really nifty plays, Farrell said. Petey with a heads-up play and then Brock made a beautiful backhand play to finish the inning.TRAINERS ROOMRed Sox: Farrell didnt rule out 3B Pablo Sandoval (left shoulder) from coming back this year if an injury replacement is required in the postseason. . Knuckleballer Steven Wright (right shoulder) threw at 120 feet on level ground for the second straight day but is not ready to throw off a mound.RAYS: DH Nick Franklin (left hamstring) was in the lineup for the first time since Sept. 15. He did pinch hit twice in-between.LOOKING AHEADFarrell said LHP David Price will start Tuesday and Sunday, which lines him up for Game 2 of the AL Division Series.HONORING BIG PAPIThe Rays will honor Red Sox DH David Ortiz in a pregame ceremony Sunday before his final game at Tropicana Field. He will be just the fourth visiting player to be honored, joining Derek Jeter, Mariano Rivera and Cal Ripken Jr. Whenever somebody takes their time to honor my career I always appreciate it, Ortiz said. Everybody has shown a lot of respect and love.UP NEXTRed Sox LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (3-7) will go against Rays RHP Jake Odorizzi (9-6) in Sundays series finale. ' ' '

This is a follow-up to the bowler streaks article published last month. In addition to providing additional analysis on the topic by specifically responding to a couple of very nice queries, I have also attempted to present a new concept to get additional insights to the vexed question of Wickets - how good are they? In summary, akin to Supply-side Economics being presented as an alternate economic theory, I have tried to present this analysis as the study of bowling from the angle of the dismissed batsmen.One often repeated query on the article centered on the number of wickets taken by the bowlers. Muttiah Muralitharans 800 was said to contain over 160 wickets against the so-called minnows while Shane Warnes 708 wickets was seen to be more valuable since it contained only 17 wickets against these weaker Test teams. This argument seemed quite sound until I pointed out a fundamental error in this assumption. Is the wicket of Shakib Al Hasan less valuable than that of, say, Ishant Sharma? The former is a top batsman of a weaker team while the latter is a tail-ender of a better team. There was no response.To solve this, I said that I would determine an index using the quality of batsman dismissed. This process will ensure that Shakib would get his due credit as a top-flight batsman with an average of 39.76, while Ishant will be accorded treatment deserving his batting average of 8.89. At one stroke this would solve all problems, including dismissals of batsmen like Bevan Congdon, Ravi Shastri or Roshan Mahanama - average batsmen from top teams.My first idea was to accord a weight to each wicket and determine a weighted wicket value. I took some steps towards that. Then I suddenly realised that the numbers 800 and 708 are etched in the minds of cricket followers, like 6996, and it would be inadvisable for me to say that Muralitharan has 768.2 wickets or that Shane Warne has 691.1, or that Jerome Taylor has really taken 142.3 wickets, not 130. So I decided not to touch the wickets measure. Rather, I would come out with a new measure called Weighted Wicket Index (WWI), which would be an additional pointer.It would be wonderful for the bowling team if Don Bradman was dismissed on 8 or Ricky Ponting was dismissed on 5. But is that information about when the batsman was dismissed, that important for me to embed in the WWI value? I should give the bowler the credit for dismissing Bradman, but at what score would overcomplicate matters and make it difficult for any follower to adopt this methodology. I have anyhow already done such an analysis when I analysed the individual spells. Moreover, context is important. I have given below two dismissals.Sehwag c Bracken b Katich 195. Sehwag c Clarke b Lyon 19It would seem that the first was not such a valuable wicket for Australia since they managed to dismiss Virender Sehwag only after he reached 195. It would also seem that the latter is a great dismissal since they got him for a low score.Unfortunately, the reverse is true. If Sehwag had got to his double-hundred in a manner other than the six he attempted, India might have won the MCG Test in 2003-04. And the latter dismissal did not do anything for Australia. That occurred while India was chasing 52 runs in Chennai in 2013 and did not mean anything.Hence context is important. But I use context mainly in ratings work. So I decided that I would consider only the batting average for determining the WWI. In general, it is important to get the wickets of the top batsmen. However, Ricky Ponting at home had an average of 57 and away, it dropped to 46.4. Brian Lara had figures of 58.6 and 47.8 respectively. Mohammad Yousuf was king at home at 65.3 and a commoner away, at 46. It was far easier to dismiss these top batsmen, and others, away from home. Hence the average I use is location-dependent.With this lengthy preamble, let me move on to the tables. The methodology is simple. For each bowler, add the location-based average of the batsman dismissed for all dismissals and divide by the number of wickets. Nothing can be simpler. If anyone thought that this table would be dominated by the Muralis, Kumbles and McGraths of the world, they are in for a shock. Those leading bowlers are required to bowl right through the innings, taking wickets of batsmen of different levels. They have to capture top-order wickets, the settled batsmen in the middle order and the late-order batsmen. So this table is dominated by those bowlers who are not necessarily the leading bowlers. They take top wickets and then leave it to the others to clean up. Only one bowler in this table has crossed 300 wickets.The table is topped by Mohammad Asif. This one-of-a-kind pace bowler from Pakistan has taken 106 wickets at a fairly low cost of 24.37 runs per wicket. He has complemented this with the quality of batsmen dismissed. His WWI is an amazing 36.64. This is some achievement. That means that the average quality of batsman dismissed by Asif is Denis Compton (away), Mohammad Azharuddin (away) or Ijaz Ahmed (home). I suggest that the readers take a minute or two to digest this fact.Surprisingly Asif is followed by three very average spinners - Nicky Boje, Paul Harris and Ashley Giles. They have completely forgettable averages exceeding or nearing 40, but have dismissed many top batsmen, most probably those batting in the middle order. I get the feeling that when it came to the lesser and late-order batsmen, the other better bowlers in the teams came to complete the task.Jerome Taylor, the West Indian fast bowler, is fifth in the table with a WWI of 35.57. On many occasions he was the only attacking bowler in the weakened West Indian line-up. Trent Boult, the New Zealand fast bowler comes in next. His WWI is an impressive 35.34. The low number of wickets helps a lot, in all these cases.Then come the most important bowlers in this table: Zaheer Khan, Ryan Harris and Andrew Flintoff. They all have WWI values around the 35 mark. Each of these formed the pace-bowling spearhead of their respective teams. That means that each time these bowlers dismissed a late-order batsman, say at an average of 15, they made up with a real top-order batsman, at 55. Mervyn Dillon completes this interesting quartet of pace bowlers.At the other end of the table, the presence of Sydney Barnes and two bowlers from the 50s, Sonny Ramadhin and Johnny Wardle, is not surprising. The quality of batsmen in the 1950s from some teams was quite low. Stuart MacGill is a surprise. He played in an era of good batsmen. My feeling is that he rarely took top-order wickets. Then comes Wasim Akram. Why should his WWI be so low? Was it the fact that, maybe, Imran Khan, Sarfraz Nawaz and Abdul Qadir took wickets of the better batsmen or that Akram dismissed a number of late-order batsmen? As did Waqar Younis, who is seventh from bottom.As I completed this exercise I started worrying about the high placement of those average spinners. I realised that just the WWI, by itself, would not be of great value. I started going through the entries and realised that I had an excellent alternative. Since these spinners had high averages, I realised that the average could come in handy. I worked out the difference between the bowling average and WWI. This is called Difference Index (DI). One has to be low and the other has to be high. So a high difference indicates that the bowler has contributed very well to the team. The following table lists the bowlers with very high and very low DI values, indicating the value the bowlers brought to their teams. This time there are no undeserving bowlers in the table. The comparison between the two tables is a real eye-opener. Asif leads this table also. He had a huge difference value of 12.28. His low average and high WWI values have helped. Just think over it. Each wicket Asif dismissed cost his team 24.37 runs but he dismissed a batsman with average of 36.64.Harris has almost similar figures to those of Asif: a low average and a high WWI means that he has an excellent DI value of 11.20. He and Asif are the only two pace bowlers with DI values exceeding 10. But for his series of injuries, Harris was a candidate for 200 wickets at a sub-25 average.Vernon Philander is an undervalued pace bowler. His DI of 9.40 confirms that. Malcolm Marshall clocks in next at 9.19. My belief that Marshall was the best West Indian pace bowler ever keeps getting strengthened. Barnes is unique: he dismissed many batsmen with somewhat low averages, hence he has a low WWI of around 26. However his career average is also well below the 20 mark. Hence he gets a place in this table.Glenn McGraths DI value is 9.00. Alan Davidsons DI is just below this value and Curtly Ambrose clocks in with a value of 8.68. Jim Lakers DI value is an outstanding 8.66, for a spinner. He is the only spinner in the top-10 and is in tenth place. This is some achievement. Colin Croft completes the table.Pause here for a minute to understand the true significance and importance of the DI.Understandably, the spinners have all the lowest values. In truth, they occupy all the low order ten places. A relatively high average and a middling WWI sees to that. Carl Hooper is in a league by himself. The others have the difference index above -10. Hooper stands supreme with a DI of -17.19. It is difficult to conceive what value he would have brought to the West Indian side, as a bowler. After all he conceded nearly 50 runs per wicket.Addition:As suggested by couple of readers I have calculated the DI as a ratio instead of a difference. This will take away the problems associated with the low scoring eras such as the Pre-WW1 periods. The table is presented below. Sydney Barnes leads the table, followed by Mohd Asif, Richard Harris, Marshall and Davidson. I did another related analysis. Without worrying about the batting averages of the batsmen who were dismissed, I decided to see how the bowlers fared if I did an analysis on dismissals, classifying the batsmen into three groups: Top Order (1-4), Middle Order (5-7) and Low Order (8-11).This is just a variation which would not differentiate between, say Ponting and Shakib. Or between Warne and Chris Martin, as batsmen. Only for this table, I have increased the cut-off to 200 wickets since I found that 100 wickets was too low a number to split into three categories. Admittedly, No. 7 is a contentious position. However, when I see that batsmen like Adam Gilchrist, Kapil Dev, Imran, Shaun Pollock, Ian Botham have all batted most of their career at No. 7, it would be unfair to the bowlers to push this pivotal position to Late Order. It is expected that the pace bowlers would occupy all the spots in the top-10 in this table. That is logical since they have the first crack at the top order. That is how it has turned out to be. The presence of Chaminda Vaas, John Snow, Zaheer and Martin in the top four positions gives me the feeling that in two or three-pronged pace attacks, the top order wickets would be split. But then come McGrath, Donald and Bob Willis, all of whom had top-class pace bowlers operating at the other end. Kapil Dev belongs to the first category. James Anderson and Graham McKenzie complete the top ten.The last five positions are occupied by the top spinners. Only 30% of their wickets have been those of the top-order batsmen. This also means that they had a high proportion of late-order wickets: Especially true for Warne, Harbhajan Singh and Lance Gibbs. Incidentally Muralitharan is one place above these six.If the cut-off had been maintained at 100 wickets instead of 200, three bowlers who have captured exactly 100 Test wickets would be at the top. Richard Motz dismissed 62 top-order batsmen, Irfan Pathan dismissed 59 and Dilhara Fernando dismissed 58.Since some of the top bowlers are missing, it is essential that I provide the relevant data for the top players. Given below are the figures for the top-20 wicket-takers. The table is self-explanatory. The two spinners, Harbhajan and Daniel Vettori are the only two bowlers with negative DI values. Both Muralitharan and Warne have good DI values. Anil Kumble shows up on the positive side of the ledger, so to speak. Most of the modern spinners have negative DI values.Another interesting table is the one ordered on the share of team wickets that the bowler has taken in his career. This table runs on expected lines. Muralitharan leads with an amazing share of 40.3% of the team wickets. He is the only bowler with a share of wickets exceeding 40%. Incidentally Bradmans share of team runs is around 25%. This bowling share percentage of Muralitharan compares favourably with Bradmans share of team runs. These are not directly comparable, of course. The team wickets, incidentally are inclusive only of the bowler wickets. Barnes is second with 39.8%. Charlie Turner, next in the table with 37.3%. A surprise is the presence of R Ashwin who has taken just over a third of the Indian wickets. The other surprise is the presence of five spinners in the top ten.The non-bowling allrounders prop up the table.Finally, I turn to the two requests from readers relating to the last article. Mansoor wanted me to show a table of bowlers who have reached the twin landmarks of 100-plus wickets and sub-20 averages at any time in their careers. This is distinct from my previous article in which I looked at mid-career streaks with such qualifications. This will be a career-to-date analysis. It is possible for bowlers to achieve mid-career streaks without ever reaching 20 average in their careers. For instance, Muralitharan, Warne, Kumble, McGrath and Walsh: the top five bowlers in the wickets table, have never reached 20 in their illustrious careers. So this is a special request and a special table. This time I have picked up the latest such occurrence, when there are multiple occurrences. In other words, the highest number of wickets at which they reached the sub-20 mark. The table is given below. Many bowlers who appeared in the streak tables do not appear here.Another reader, Sukumar, had asked for a streak analysis to be done for away wickets. All neutral Tests are Away for both teams. In important tables, we seem to always see those bowlers who do matter. Look at the top-three bowlers here. They would be in anybodys shortlist of the top bowlers. Both Warne and Muralitharan find a place here. The surprise is Richie Benaud. In the mid-fifties, Benaud was devastating in India, South Africa and Pakistan.This article attempts to respond to the statement: There are wickets and wickets just as there are batsmen and batsmen. Of course, wickets and bowling averages are the pillars of the bowler career analysis workspace. However, this article conclusively proves that there is life beyond wickets and averages. Joe Flacco Ravens Jersey . - Goaltender Philippe Desrosiers of the Rimouski Oceanic has broken a shutout record that was only three months old in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Mark Andrews Jersey . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. http://www.ravensrookiestore.com/Ravens-Jonathan-Ogden-Jersey/ . Francis told several hundred members of the European Olympic Committees that when sport "is considered only in economic terms and consequently for victory at every cost . Baltimore Ravens Jerseys . Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2. Ray Lewis Womens Jersey RIO DE JANEIRO -- The blowouts are over. The Olympics are underway.After nothing but pushovers this summer, the U.S. mens basketball team faced someone who pushed back.This is the real world now and thats good for us, coach Mike Krzyzewski said.Finally tested, Carmelo Anthony and Kyrie Irving had the answers.Anthony scored 31 points on the night he became the U.S. mens Olympic career scoring leader, combining with Irving for all the Americans baskets in the fourth quarter of a 98-88 victory over Australia on Wednesday night.Irving -- born in Australia -- added 19 points, including a 3-pointer with 1:35 left after Australia had closed within four.A team that won its first two games by a combined 101 points could never get a comfortable lead -- and for a while couldnt get one at all. The Australians, with big bodies inside, quality point guards to counter the American pressure and a wealth of NBA championship experience, stood toe to toe with the team that had blown them out of the last two Olympics in the quarterfinals.But Anthony, the first U.S. male to play in four Olympics, steadied the Americans in the first competitive game most of this new team had ever experienced.We kind of expected a game like this, a physical game, a grind-out game from playing against Australia over the past couple years, Anthony said, and going into tonight we knew it was going to come down to the end of the game where we were really going to have to buckle down and focus in and make plays down the stretch.Kevin Durant capped off the scoring with two free throws, making him the only other player than Irving or Anthony to score in the period.The Americans, who had barely broken a sweat in Brazil, trailed early in the fourth quarter before Anthony hit a flurry of 3-pointers to put the Americans on top.Patty Mills, the tournament scoring leader, had 30 points for Australia.After five easy exhibitions preceding routs of China and Venezuela to open the tournament, the Americans trailed 72-70 with about 9 minutes left. Anthony scored to tie it, hit a 3-pointer to give the Americans the lead for good, and then hit a couple more 3s that pushed it to 83-76.The team staying on a luxury cruise ship could never relax until scoring the final five points in the last 27 seconds on free throws, with Irving hitting the first three.The Americans, so carefree in their opener thatt reserves DeMar DeRozan and Jimmy Butler played rock, paper, scissors to determine who would shoot a free throw, realized they were in a fight in this one.ddddddddddddIt got real, Paul George said. It definitely got real.An enraged Krzyzewski screamed at an official after Andrew Boguts hard foul on Irving just in front of the U.S. bench in the third quarter, his face looking as red as the shirts the coaching staff wore.Bogut finished with 15 points for the Australians, who have never won a medal but four of their players own NBA rings. They nearly became the first team to knock off the Americans in the Olympics since Krzyzewski took over in 2005.We have a pretty gritty group thats pretty tough and we battled all night, Bogut said.Australia had opened the Olympics with impressive victories over France and Serbia, both ranked among the top six in the world. Then the Aussies gave the team ranked No. 1 all it could handle.The Americans clinched a spot in the medal round, though that was never going to be in doubt.This game, though, was.It was the second straight game the Americans were tied after one quarter. They quickly blew away Venezuela after it was 18-all, but the only second-quarter surge in this one was made by Australians.They used a 15-3 burst to make it 46-39, and Krzyzewski actually needed a timeout to calm his team that by then can usually make its postgame plans.Anthony moved past LeBron James as the U.S. career leader in Olympic scoring and did it quickly, using a hot start to make up the 11-point advantage James had entering the game.Irving once considered playing for Australia, where he was born while his father was playing there professionally. He exchanged a pregame hug with Matthew Dellavedova, his former backup in Cleveland, but things didnt stay nice for long.The Aussies hit hard and the Americans hit back, with George getting a technical foul for a shot at Dellavedova.It was a welcome test for the Americans, who have been so dominant under Krzyzewski that it sometimes seems the U.S. players are the only ones who dont make a gold medal sound assured.Theyve said it wont come easily.Now theyve finally had a game that wasnt.---Follow Brian Mahoney on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/Briancmahoney ' ' '

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And also to the masses home check out, to the masses smoke is not really the right approach. When the close up relationship with the Wholesale Newport Cigarettes In USA masses, depend on the masses to fumes, it promotes the Cheap Newport 100s bad routine Marlboro Lights Cigarettes of smoking. The causes of lower income in poor villages tend to be various, but there is something in common, that is, "the family members does not have to drink, " whenever, still pushing the mug to change, still smoke about, so bad habits are not the reason for poverty? Say again, understand smoking to be harmful to your body clearly, still want to pull shut with the distance of people with cigarette, is this to not give harm to masses? By doing this of working is also really worth reflecting on.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Jalen Hurts passed for three touchdowns and rushed for 68 yards to help No. 1 Alabama overcome a slow start and beat FCS team Chattanooga 31-3 on Saturday night.With the offense struggling to get going, the Crimson Tide (11-0) spotted the Mocs (8-3) the games first three points and didnt really shake them until late in the third quarter. The defense had a more Bama-like performance, and hasnt given up a touchdown in 13 quarters.Hurts was 15 of 21 for 136 yards a week after torching Mississippi State for 347 yards. He had a 47-yard TD pass to Calvin Ridley and added two 1-yarders to Gehrig Dieter, including one in the final minutes that made the score look a little closer to what most expected.Damien Harris rushed for 91 yards and a touchdown and Ridley gained 94 yards on seven catches.Alabama wide receiver ArDarius Stewart did not play in the game, but it wasnt clear if hes injured.It was a milestone win for Alabama coach Nick Saban, whose 41-5 record as the No. 1 team gives him the most of any coach. He had been tied with Ohio States Woody Hayes (40-4-1) and Florida States Bobby Bowden (40-5).Chattanoogas first-quarter field goal put Alabama behind for the first time since Kentucky scored the first three points on Oct. 1. The Mocs trailed just 14-3 until deep into the third quarter before Harris raced 25 yards for a touchdown.Alejandro Bennifield completed 16 of 21 passes for 106 yards for the Mocs, who sacked Hurts three times.Alabama wasnt exactly pushing the Mocs around early. Chattanooga stopped two runs from the 1-yard line in the second quarter before Hurts rolled right on fourth down and hit Dieter in the end zone for a 14-3 lead.That was set up by a muffed punt at the 9.THE TAKEAWAYChattanooga: Was almost even in total yards with Alabama midway through the third quarter. Didnt allow a sack to a defense that came in with the most in the nation.Alabama: It was probably the least impressive performance of the season, considering what `Bama is expected to do to FCS teams. Left tackle Cam Robinson and backup Korren Kirven, who started at right guard, both left late with injuries.POLL IMPLICATIONSChattanooga: Came in ranked No. 11 in the FCS coaches poll and shouldnt be judged much for this one.Alabama: Still a lock to be No. 1 in the AP poll and playoff rankings, especially with teams behind Tide struggling.UP NEXTChattanooga: Finished the regular season and awaits its playoff fate.Alabama: Hosts Auburn in the Iron Bowl seeking a third straight win over its in-state rival. <a href="http://www.cheapcapitalschinajerseys.com/">Capitals Jerseys Outlet</a>. Durant finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds, Jackson matched his career high with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Lamb scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, lifting the Thunder to a 94-88 win over San Antonio and snapping the Spurs 11-game winning streak. <a href="http://www.cheapcapitalschinajerseys.com/t-j-oshie-jersey/">T. J. Oshie Jersey</a>. -- The Missouri Tigers might not have a roster full of superstars. <a href="http://www.cheapcapitalschinajerseys.com/alexander-ovechkin-jersey/">http://www.cheapcapitalschinajerseys.com/alexander-ovechkin-jersey/</a>.5 seconds to play in the game, Kevin Love never stopped believing that they would come out of there with a win. <a href="http://www.cheapcapitalschinajerseys.com/nicklas-backstrom-jersey/">Nicklas Backstrom Jersey</a>. PETERSBURG, Fla. <a href="http://www.cheapcapitalschinajerseys.com/dmitry-orlov-jersey/">Dmitry Orlov Jersey</a>.R. Smith realized how easily basketball can be taken from him, and he wasnt going to take his place in the NBA for granted anymore. To get Nebraska, you really have to spend a winter there. When I was growing up in Lincoln, the cold made the world a small place. You stayed in your house to avoid the deep freeze just a short distance from the front door to the car.So fall is not to be wasted, and on Saturday afternoons Id watch the downtown fill with red -- red scarves and sweatshirts and jackets with the Huskers logo. So many people poured into Memorial Stadium on game day, they made it the third largest city in the state. All to watch the Huskers play football.Back then, I went to the most diverse high school in Nebraska in Lincoln High, and at the time, minority students made up less than 10 percent of the enrollment. Compared to the population of the city, the Huskers were a paragon of diversity, but you would never hear people talk about race when it came to football players.Nebraska was a football factory before the BCS money arrived. The young men who wore the uniform were football players first, and that was it. The team occupied a lofty space that was just a little bit closer to heaven and definitely above race -- and those boundaries were enforced by an authority structure that was predominantly white.When 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick first sat for the national anthem this season, the criticism came quick and hard like a flash flood over the prairie. The deluge didnt quiet him, and last week the ideas that Kaepernick now kneels for came to Nebraska when three Huskers, including Michael Rose-Ivey, knelt during the anthem. Nebraska has become more diverse, and so has my alma mater. Race and injustice is no longer a conversation limited to the Native American people we took the land from.Yet it was still something of a shock to see Ivey, standing at the podium in front of the big red N and discussing police injustice in black communities. He said someone told him that he and his two teammates should be lynched or shot for kneeling. He quoted from Martin Luther King. He discussed his own commitment to the idea of racial justice. He was informed and laid out the very real schism that exists in our country.Nebraska football gave him that platform.In the Nebraska that I grew up in, its hard to imagine how Ivey, or teammates Mohamed Barry and DaiShon Neal, would have kept their scholarships. Even one university regent reportedly told the the Lincoln Journal Star the players should be kicked off the team, although hes since walked that comment back.This has been real life in Lincoln and a lot of other college towns; critical thinking required of the college student is rooted out of the football player. Its a contradiction that has always made an oxymoron of football scholarship.My first published piece, a letter to the Lincoln Journal, criticized funds earmarked for a new practice facility instead of needed repairs to the library. What does a fan give up to root for a team, to turn over some measure of judgment in exchange for that community in focused pursuit? Its not without cost. As Nebraska put football first, defensive lineman Christian Peter was convicted four times of assaulting four women from 1991 to 1995 while playing for the Huskers.Nebraska was where I learned that games need to be taken seriously, for what is bad and for what is good.The weekend that Kaepernick was spotted sitting during the anthem was one of those moments. Black athletes risk being lampooned, cut, excoriated and exiled for bringing their own experience of injustice into the workplace.dddddddddddd The fact that most of the NFLs fans and coaches are white while most players are black, is a dynamic that plays into this.For generations, white coaches have wanted the talent, speed and sweat of black players, but didnt have much use for their opinions. Football, more than most, is a sport that values the subjugation of personal needs and ideas to what works best for the team.What Kaepernick said about his gesture has merit -- the kind of merit that once you hear it and if any part of you can relate to it, is hard to get out of your head. Last week, I spoke to Giants running back Rashad Jennings and he discussed the third verse of the national anthem that invokes slavery. Ive written about tennis player James Blakes pivot to activism after he was roughly taken down by police as he waited for a car to the 2015 US Open. Last year, I spoke to then Ebony senior editor Jamilah Lemieux after Michael Bennett and Richard Sherman discussed Black Lives Matter from the podium in Seattle.Heres what she said a year ago: Regardless of their political beliefs, I would wager that most black male athletes know how easily they could end up a hashtag after a police encounter, said Lemieux. As it relates to social issues, outspoken celebrities have always been in the minority. However, the scope of the public conversation around police violence and access to social media are making it harder for people in the spotlight to remain silent.It was prescient.Kaepernicks actions arent out of the blue. What may be more surprising is the response from the 49ers and the NFL. San Franciscos ownership family is unique in that the team is owned by Denise DeBartolo York and run by her son Jed York.They recognize the progressive, tolerant culture of the Bay Area, and were the first NFL franchise to announce they would be applying the Rooney Rule to their own job searches at the team level.The team is coached by Chip Kelly, an unconventional coach who has publicly backed Kaepernick when directly criticized. Then there is the NFL itself, which despite flyovers at games and flags the size of football fields, said standing for the anthem was recommended, but not required.If Kaepernick played for another team in another town, he might not have found that tolerance. Once he did, the idea was out there that players have the right to protest in their own way even though many fans dislike their actions.Thats how an idea moves from the Pacific coast and inward, to more conservative towns and different climates. It reached a high school Camden, New Jersey, when coach Preston Brown and the Woodrow Wilson Tigers took a knee for the anthem. It reached Indianapolis when the entire roster of the WNBAs Fever did the same during the playoffs It has reached the womens national soccer team with Megan Rapinoe and across countless strata of American fields.Now the idea has worked its way to my hometown in Lincoln.Im not a fan of the Cornhuskers in any conventional sense. Ive been a sportswriter too long. But this week, I can say that Im proud of Nebraska football for letting a young man speak his truth and reveal so much about himself, and the work that still needs to be done to make the world a better place. <a href="http://www.chinawholesalejerseysnfl.com/">Wholesale Jerseys</a> ' ' '

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Stanford?squeaked?past?Notre Dame,?17-10, despite the absence of Cardinal running back Christian McCaffrey? who had been ruled out for Saturday nights game.McCaffrey had also missed much of the second half of last weekends 42-16 loss to Washington State with an undisclosed injury.The runner-up for the Heisman Trophy last season, McCaffrey is the Cardinals leader this season in all-purpose yardage. The junior has 520 rushing yards and three touchdowns on the year, along with 18 catches for 154 yards with a receiving TD. McCaffrey also has returned two punts for 16 yards this season to go with 11 kick returns for 251 yards.McCaffrey is averaging 188.2 all-purpose yards, third in the FBS.Stanford (4-2) snapped a two-game losing streak.?Notre Dame (2-5) were without right tackle Colin McGovern?because of injury after starting all six games this season. Hunter Bivin started in his place. <a href="http://www.cheapcoltsjerseysauthentic.com/">Whoelsale China Colts Jerseys</a>. 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. <a href="http://www.cheapcoltsjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-peyton-manning-jersey">Peyton Manning Jersey</a>. The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling "puts an end to my dreams of being a top player," the 27-year-old Troicki said in a statement. "I worked my entire life for it, and it has been taken away from me in one afternoon by a doctor I didnt know," said Troicki, whose ranking peaked at No. <a href="http://www.cheapcoltsjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-johnny-unitas-jersey">http://www.cheapcoltsjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-johnny-unitas-jersey</a>. 31, the CFL club announced Monday. The team also has yet to decide on the future of Doug Berry, who began the season as a consultant to the head coach but took over the offensive co-ordinators duties in July. <a href="http://www.cheapcoltsjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-reggie-wayne-jersey">Reggie Wayne Jersey</a>. Coach Mike Munchak says Fokou stretched ligaments in his left knee Oct. 13 against Seattle, which could keep out up to five weeks even though the linebacker didnt need surgery. <a href="http://www.cheapcoltsjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-marvin-harrison-jersey">Marvin Harrison Jersey</a>. SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. COLUMBIA, Mo. -- No. 20 Arizona looked polished and poised as it defeated Missouri for the third consecutive season, cruising to a 79-60 victory Saturday in its first true road game of the season.Rawle Alkins led the way for the Wildcats with 19 points and nine rebounds. Kobi Simmons had 19 points on 8-of-15 shooting, and Kadeem Allen added 17 points, seven rebounds and four assists.The Wildcats (8-2) jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the first 3:12, eventually taking a 25-8 lead with 10:29 remaining in the first half. From that point, Missouri outscored Arizona 28-16 in the half, including a 7-0 run to end the opening 20 minutes.The Tigers (5-4) continued to chip away at Arizonas lead, eventually cutting the deficit to 45-41 early in the second half. However, the Wildcats responded with a 26-4 run that included a Missouri scoring drought of 6:59, halting any momentum the Tigers had mustered.I thought we did great job of coming back, Missouri coach Kim Anderson said. I was really proud of our guys and the way they competed. In the second half early, we had some chances, and then they went on a great run and for all practical purposes, put the game out of reach.Kevin Puryear had a team-best 11 points and seven rebounds. Leading scorer Frankie Hughes was held in check by the Wildcats backcourt, scoring 10 points on 2-of-13 shooting. Russell Woods had eight points and six rebounds, and Cullen VanLeer added eight points, all in the first half.A reported crowd of over 10,000 was on hand for the only currently ranked opponent on Missouris home schedule.VanLeer attributed the Tigers comeback efforts to the home crowd energy.The magnitude of the crowd was really nice to have. We appreciated everyone that came out. We were upset we couldnt get the win today, but hopefully we can continue to get bigger crowds and itll help us get rhythm and flow in the game, VanLeer said.Arizona dominated the glass, outrebounding Missouri 46-28, its worst rebounding margin of the season.The Wildcats led wirre-to-wire despite nearly doubling Missouris turnovers, 15-8, and committing 22 fouls to the Tigers 11.ddddddddddddMissouri shot 66.7 percent from the free throw line, including 9 of 17 in the second half.BIG PICTUREArizona: The Wildcats entered the game shooting 36.6 percent from 3-point range, but caught fire early against the Tigers, shooting 54.2 percent. Missouri made just 1 of 8 3-point attempts in the second half while the Wildcats made 6 of 10. Missouri was coming off a season-high 3-point output against Miami (Ohio).Missouri: A tenacious on-ball defender, Missouri point guard Terrence Phillips has struggled with foul trouble in recent games. In Mondays 81-55 win over Miami (Ohio) Phillips played only 10 minutes in the second half, finishing with four fouls. He picked up his third foul 3:56 into the second half, limiting him to just 16 minutes against the Wildcats.PIVOTAL MOMENTWoods received a bounce pass in the lane on a fast break and gathered for a two-handed slam in front of the Missouri student section that would have cut the deficit to 45-43, but missed the dunk. On the ensuing Arizona possession, Woods was whistled for a foul, leading to two free throws by Arizona forward Dusan Ristic, who finished with 12 points and six rebounds.LET DOWNFreshman 7-footer Lauri Markkanen entered the game as Arizonas leading scorer and rebounder, averaging 17.8 points and 7.2 rebounds. Against Missouri, the native of Finland had a season-low eight points to go with six rebounds, and fouled out with 2:53 remaining.Puryear discussed his approach to defending Markkanen.Just being physical with him, Puryear said. Not letting him get comfortable with where he was on the floor with the ball. He likes to operate in the mid-post area, so I tried to eliminate that.UP NEXTArizona: hosts Grand Canyon on Wednesday.Missouri: hosts Eastern Illinois next Saturday. <a href="http://www.chinawholesalejerseysnfl.com/">Wholesale Jerseys</a> ' ' '