When the new AFL womens league kicks off next year, it will be more than just something to fill the off-season void.For a generation of female athletes, it will mean another door opening in the male-dominated world of professional team sports.Earning a decent wage as a woman in sport has never been easy, and there are still barriers to participation.Many of the future AFL womens stars started out playing on male football teams because there were no girls teams, or didnt get the chance to play until they finished school.But netball great Liz Ellis can see small steps being made towards equality for girls like her five-year-old daughter Evelyn.The first Saturday of the Olympics, her and I sat and watched the television and we flicked between the womens rugby sevens, the womens basketball and the womens soccer, Ellis told AAP.They were the three things on offer. And she looked at me and said Mummy, why dont boys play sport? ... I said because theyre busy ironing.That whole mindset has changed. Kids this age are looking at the television and saying big girls play sport so of course Im going to play sport and I would imagine that would translate to the schoolyard.Winning over girls like Evelyn is becoming increasingly important for the rival codes.While netball remains a powerhouse, the number of girls playing Auskick grew 21 per cent in 2016 and soccers popularity continues to grow.We keep talking about the competition at the elite level but I actually think the competition is starting now for the junior dollar, Ellis says.Thats good, because it will keep all the sports on their toes. Theyll make sure that their product is exactly what the marketplace wants.Increasingly, the market is demanding fair and equitable pay deals.The AFL drew heavy criticism when it proposed paying most female footballers a $5000 salary for the 22-weeks of their inaugural pre-season and season proper.A fairer deal has since been agreed upon, with the minimum wage lifted by 70 per cent from $5000 to $8500 to help players cover the cost of private health insurance.The deal also covers football boots and runners, an interstate travel allowance, income protection insurance, out-of-pocket medical expenses and childcare for mothers of infants.While the league is not expected to be profitable anytime soon, the AFL views its development as an important step towards engaging more female fans.Netball has lead the way on compensation, increasing its minimum wage to $27,375 and including private health cover for all players, while female cricketers earn at least $18,000 if they play both the one-day and Twenty20 domestic leagues.At the other end of the spectrum, some W-League soccer players receive an allowance of just $60 per week, while the struggling WNBL has no broadcast deal and no minimum wage for its players.Its a disappointing state of affairs for Lauren Jackson, widely considered Australias greatest female basketballer, who is pushing for change in her role as commercial operations manager with the Melbourne Boomers.The WNBL has always had to fight to retain quality talent given the better pay on offer overseas, and Jackson says its no surprise players are being tempted to swap codes.Right now its happening because professional sports in Australia dont pay women enough money to stay in one code, she told AAP.Basketball is one of the only sports where you can go overseas as a woman and make lucrative money, enough money to mean you dont have to work in the future if you dont want to.The next couple of years are going to be crucial for the survival of the WNBL. I think theres enough people that want to see it succeed that well make it succeed ... (but) systems are going to have to be put in place.Jackson isnt sure if she would have been tempted to try her hand in the AFL womens league. Her mum, a former Opal, played the odd game of footy alongside her big brothers in the Ovens and Murray amateur footy league but basketball was always the family passion.Ellis personally reckons she would have made a decent ruckwoman, and says shes not surprised by the code-hopping.Of course I would have had a go at it, she says.I wasnt surprised to see players sign up for it. I think its terrific. What it does is create that level of competition because its made sports like basketball and cricket all step up and say right, weve got to look after our athletes. I couldnt think of a better thing.But while womens sports have made progress in recent years, theres still a long way to go.Jackson describes a recent phone conversation with a close friend who casually referred to a young male tennis player as acting like a woman on the court.People dont realise theyve got these sort of attitudes but when youre saying you throw like a girl or youre acting like a woman, youre offending the hell out of me, she says.Its so prevalent in our society and its just there. Nobody addresses it because nobody wants to talk about it. Its this attitude that women arent as good as men.Its something that we have to change for the next generation of kids so that they dont have to face these problems and feel like a lot of women in sport. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping . But the quarterback hopes to stay involved in football after officially calling it quits Tuesday. 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The 43-year-old closer, in his 19th and final big league season, has said hed like to play the outfield. Yankees manager Joe Girardi says hes thinking about allowing Rivera to do it this weekend, when the Yankees finish their season with a three-game series at the Houston Astros. OAKLAND -- Oakland As right-hander Kendall Graveman was 12 starts into the season and was searching for answers. He was 2-6 with a 5.28 ERA, and opposing hitters were batting .309 with 11 home runs against him.Thats when pitching coach Curt Young made a suggestion that helped turn Gravemans season around.Curt came up to me and said, You got to find what works for you, what makes you have a chip on your shoulder, whats going to lock you in, Graveman said.Graveman said he remembered how locked in he was in 2014, when he visualized his pitches before every game and rocketed through the Toronto Blue Jays system, earning five promotions and finishing the season in the major leagues.It was something that I just had to get back to, visualize throwing every pitch to both sides of the plate to lefties and righties, Graveman said. Its almost like youre visualizing a pitch that you want to make in a big situation to try to get someone out, but also just visualizing quality pitches.I think for me it sets up nicely because I get to see the movement when I visualize it. Youve seen it so much after you throw it and watching video that I think that just reinforces it. The minds a powerful thing. I think we know that now in the game of baseball. You start really thinking positively before a start, I think positive outcomes will happen.In his past six starts, Graveman has gone 4-0 with a 2.68 ERA, and opposing hitters are batting .232 with two home runs.Graveman will take a career-high five-game winning streak into his start Saturday against the Tampa Bay Rays and left-hander Drew Smyly.Smyly has lost a career-high seven straight games and is trying to escape the worst slump of his career. Hes 2-11 with a 5.64 ERA. Smyly, who missed 105 last year because of a left shoulder injury, entered this season with a career record of 24-15 with a 3.24 ERA.Its just been a slump, man, Smyly said. I wishh I had an answer but I dont.dddddddddddd You just got to keep grinding, keep searching. Im healthy. I feel fine. Every chance I get Im competing my hardest, so hopefully I can get it turned around. It is what it is.Despite Smylys struggles, the Rays have no plans to take him out of the rotation, manager Kevin Cash said.Were very confident he is going to pitch his way out of this, Cash said before the Rays 1-0, 13-inning loss to Oakland. Were looking forward to getting him on the mound (Saturday). I sat down and talked to him casually with him after his start in Colorado. Hes doing all the right things. The results just arent coming. Sometimes youve got to let it kind of work its course and one start, one, two good innings of something clicking can be really beneficial for him.Smyly gave up five runs and needed 100 pitches to get through five innings in a 7-4 loss to the Rockies on Monday at Coors Field.First of all, I believe hes healthy, too, Cash said. Weve talked to Drew. I think its just inconsistencies in his off-speed pitches. He has not gone into a start here recently where hes really had his wipeout cutter or wipeout breaking ball and it becomes difficult. Youre facing some good hitters, good lineups and to go out there with just a fastball -- he tries to get really picky with the fastball knowing that he doesnt have that. I know thats kind of been the focal point for him, to try to get one if not two of those off-sped pitches going for him.Graveman, who relies heavily on a nasty sinker, is 1-1 with a 2.04 ERA in three career starts against Tampa Bay. He took the loss on May 14 at Tropicana Field, allowing four runs over 5 2/3 innings in a 6-0 defeat.Smyly is 1-2 with a 6.87 ERA in six appearances against the As, including three starts. 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