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LONDON -- A dozen yachts have passed through Londons Tower Bridge after an 11-month race around the world. Nolan Cromwell Youth Jersey .Thousands cheered Saturdays parade for all 12 ships competing in the 10th running of the 21-year-old event involving a privately owned fleet of identical 70-foot (21-meter) yachts.Competitors paid to participate in the 14-stage event that concluded Friday with a race from the Dutch port of Den Helder across the North Sea to Southend, England.All 12 yachts departed from docks near Tower Bridge in August 2015. Their ports of call included Rio de Janeiro, Cape Town, Sydney, Da Nang in Vietnam, Seattle, New York and Londonderry, Northern Ireland.Two sailors died in separate accidents along the way. They were the competitions first deaths.---Clipper Round the World Yacht Race, http://bit.ly/1E9qHTy Deacon Jones Womens Jersey . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. Cooper Kupp Youth Jersey . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. http://www.theramslockroom.com/jared-goff-rams-jersey/ . -- Jonathan Drouin gave Halifax the boost it needed to edge host Sherbrooke Phoenix 3-2 in a shootout in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Three-quarters of the NFL season is over. If youre waiting for your favorite team to break out, well, its probably not going to happen. For several organizations, the season is all but over. That said, just about everyone else has something to play for, whether thats trying to win a division, claiming a top seed, or simply trying to advance into the postseason by any means necessary.While many of the remaining contests will matter for one team or the other, with one-quarter of the season left to go, we can pinpoint games that will be most important for clarifying the playoff picture. Ive gone through and highlighted the three games from each week with the most meaning over the four remaining weekends of the 2016 campaign -- you can even consider this a viewers guide for the 12 most essential games of the 64 left on the calendar.To work with dynamically generated playoff odds, I used the web simulator created by The Upshot, which generates playoff odds after identifying winners and losers for specified games by simulating the season thousands of times. When I mention games after Week 14 and how they impact playoff odds, keep in mind that unless stated otherwise, Im only identifying a winner for that particular game and then using The Upshot to simulate the remaining games, which includes games that might have occurred before the one in question. If that seems confusing, or you enjoy nerd fun -- well, then play around with the simulator yourself.WEEK 14Oakland Raiders at Kansas City ChiefsAny list of the seasons best remaining games starts with whats on Thursday night. Something has to give in this battle for the AFC West, given that both of these teams have been lucky to win a disproportionate number of their close games this season. The 10-2 Raiders are 7-1 in games decided by seven points or fewer this year, and the 9-3 Chiefs are 6-2 in those circumstances.Both teams are likely to make the playoffs, but the winner can put a stranglehold on the AFC West.Raiders win: They would move two games ahead of the Chiefs and 2.5 games ahead of the Broncos with three games to play. The Upshot then suggests that the Raiders would have an 82 percent chance of winning the division and a 65 percent chance of coming away with the top seed in the AFC. Indeed, this is the toughest matchup remaining on Oaklands schedule. If Derek Carr plays well in front of a national television audience, it might also solidify his MVP candidacy.Chiefs win: They move into an incredibly advantageous position with a victory. In addition to all but sealing a playoff berth, Andy Reids team would move into first place in the AFC West by virtue of a tiebreaker, having swept the Raiders in their head-to-head matchups this season. They also would lead the Broncos by 1.5 games while having clinched the divisional tiebreaker over their rivals, which also would come in handy if both of these teams end up as wild cards. The Chiefs would have a 68 percent chance of winning the division with a victory, but merely a 12 percent shot at the West with a loss.Houston Texans at Indianapolis ColtsThe Texans have faded badly in the South, losing three consecutive games to fall to 6-6. The good news for them is that they hold a strong tiebreaker lead in the division, as theyve started 3-0 in the South, putting them well ahead of the Colts (2-2) and Titans (1-3). The bad news is that they still have to travel to Indianapolis and Tennessee, starting with the Colts this week. Oh, and the Texans are also a significantly worse team than their divisional brethren; Houston is a dismal 30th in DVOA.?Tennessee is 18th and Indianapolis is 25th.If the Colts lose, theyre basically toast. They would lose the head-to-head tiebreaker to the Texans, and while they would be only a game back with three to play, Andrew Luck?& Co. have to travel to Minnesota and Oakland for games against playoff contenders over the next two weeks. The Upshot gives Indy just a 7 percent chance to make the postseason with a loss, and theyre a 50-50 proposition with a win. The Texans would have a 76 percent chance of making the postseason with a victory, which falls to 27 percent with a loss.Dallas Cowboys at New York GiantsThis isnt really a huge game in terms of the playoff picture for the Cowboys; they already have clinched a playoff spot and are overwhelming favorites to win the NFC East. Their chances of winning home-field advantage in the NFC would rise from 93 percent to 98 percent with a victory, but even if they lose, they would have a 95 percent chance of winning the division and an 85 percent chance of staying home in Dallas throughout January. Dallas would need to lose two more games to be in any serious threat of missing out on the divisional crown.Its a much bigger game for the Giants, who lost handily to the Steelers last week and have the leagues fourth-toughest schedule in the final quarter of the season, according to Football Outsiders. At 8-4, the Giants can all but clinch a wild-card spot by going 2-2 over their remaining four games. A loss here would drop their playoff chances from 76 percent to 63 percent, with one remaining home game against the surging Lions before back-to-back road tilts against the Eagles and Washington to end their season. Big Blue might have handed Dallas its only loss of the season in a 20-19 thriller in Week 1, but thats one of only two games the Giants have won over teams .500 or better this year -- their only other win was a three-point victory over Baltimore in Week 6.WEEK 15New England Patriots at Denver BroncosWhat is likely to be the first matchup in the to-be-legendary series between Tom Brady and Trevor Siemian?could determine whether the Patriots end up with the top seed in the AFC. The Raiders currently hold the top seed in the conference by virtue of the strength of victory tiebreaker, but the Patriots dont play in the brutal AFC West, which is why they have a 50 percent crack at coming away with the top seed (the Raiders are at 35 percent).A loss to the Broncos would open up things for the West -- before accounting for any other games, it would drop the Patriots chances of claiming the No. 1 seed down to 35 percent. It also would give the Broncos an 85 percent chance of making the playoffs, while theyre only a 50-50 shot with a loss. Losing to their perennial rivals from the East also would essentially eliminate the Broncos from contending for the AFC West title; even if they qualified for the playoffs, it probably would be as the sixth seed, meaning their playoff path probably would travel through New England in January.Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Dallas CowboysThe Cowboys are 3-point favorites at New York on Sunday night. If they do avenge their loss to the Giants, a win over the Buccaneers would allow the Cowboys to clinch home-field advantage in the NFC with two weeks to spare in the regular season. While the Cowboys arent going to bench all of their starters and give them three consecutive bye weeks before returning in the postseason, wrapping up the conference early would allow them to echo what Jerry Jones suggested and start giving those players who do need rest time to prepare for the postseason. It could be the difference, for example, between giving Ezekiel Elliott?10 carries or 25 in Week 16. (Sorry, Ezekiel Elliott fantasy owners.)A loss here doesnt really hurt the Buccaneers playoff chances, if only because most projection systems would assume theyre extremely likely to lose in Dallas anyway. It would be aggressive to count the Bucs out, given that they managed to come away with road victories over the Chiefs and Chargers in recent weeeks. Nolan Cromwell Jersey. They would still have a 48 percent chance of making the playoffs with a loss to Dallas, as their three other remaining games, all of which take place in the NFC South, are the ones that will truly determine their playoff future.Detroit Lions at New York GiantsAnother one for the Giants, who need to win this one if they lose to the Cowboys. Consecutive losses would drop their playoff odds to just 35 percent with those two NFC East road games to go. Throwing away a playoff berth after starting 8-3 would be impressive; teams who started with eight wins in their first 11 games since the league went to its current playoff format in 2002 have made the playoffs 38 out of 42 times, better than a 90 percent clip.The Lions, meanwhile, have all but done enough to make it into the postseason. They currently have an 88 percent shot at the playoffs and have the lowly Bears visiting Detroit this week. If they beat the Bears and the Giants, not only are Matthew Stafford?& Co. guaranteed a playoff berth, but they have a 44 percent chance of picking up a first-round bye along the way. With a road game against the Cowboys in Week 16, the Lions would rather not need a victory over the best team in the conference to lock up the North.WEEK 16Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay PackersThis game seemed like a possible divisional title game earlier this year, but the Lions have all but locked up the North; they have an 82 percent chance of claiming the division before any Week 14 games are played.The Vikings need to win this game to have any realistic prayer of getting into the postseason. Their playoff odds, already dim at 16 percent, would fall to 1 percent or so with a loss to Green Bay. Even if they won their three other games -- a realistic proposition, given they play the Jaguars, Colts and Bears -- the Vikings would have only a 5 percent chance of advancing past Week 17. Thanks to that easy schedule, Minnesota would have a 40 percent shot at making the postseason with a victory. Green Bay, meanwhile, would have just a 5 percent chance of making the playoffs with a loss to the Vikings, but the Packers would be a 50-50 shot if they won their three other games.Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh SteelersThis is as close to a pure playoff game as well see before Week 17. These teams have a combined 99 percent chance of winning the AFC North, and neither of them are likely to win a wild-card berth; the Ravens have only a 4 percent chance of doing so, and the Steelers are up at 6 percent. The winner of this game will be the comprehensive favorite to win the division.The Steelers are favored in this game by virtue of being at home, but the Ravens hold the tiebreaker in the North after beating Pittsburgh in Week 9, so the home team needs this one more. If the Steelers lose here, they would (ignoring the other unplayed results before this game) be 1.5 games back with three games to work with, given Baltimore would clinch the tiebreaker with a head-to-head sweep. Pittsburgh would have just a 17 percent chance of winning the division and a 25 percent chance of making the playoffs, and Baltimore would be at 25 percent and 30 percent, respectively, with a loss of its own.Denver Broncos at Kansas City ChiefsWe know this will mean a lot in terms of everything from deciding the AFC West champion to determining playoff seeding, but the specifics depend upon what happens to these two teams when they play the Raiders in Week 14 and Week 17. As it currently stands, given Kansas Citys narrow win in Week 12, this is a much less important game for the Chiefs than the Broncos. Kansas City still has a 90 percent chance of making it to the playoffs even with a loss to Denver at home, and the Broncos see their playoff hopes fall from 67 percent to 55 percent if they cant pull the upset at Arrowhead.WEEK 17Houston Texans at Tennessee TitansThe Titans have a 20 percent shot at winning the AFC South, but theyll need to win this game or convince the NFL to have a special playoff berth for the leagues most exotic team if they want to make the postseason. If they win this game, theyll have a shot: Tennessees division odds would rise to 33 percent without considering any of its other games, and if the Titans can beat the Jaguars in Jacksonville in Week 16, their playoffs odds would be right under 50 percent.If the Texans can beat the Colts in Week 14 and follow up with a win here, theyll have a 97 percent chance of winning the South. Even if they lose their other two games against the Jags and Bengals, they would have an 84 percent shot of winning the division with an 8-8 record, thanks to their superior tiebreakers.Oakland Raiders at Denver BroncosWhile theyve all but clinched a playoff berth, the Raiders arent yet guaranteed to make the postseason. If it goes on a four-game losing streak, Oakland would lose the division and have a 13 percent chance of missing the playoffs altogether, with the second-place teams from the AFC East and AFC North competing to take its spot. If the Raiders just win their lone remaining home game against the Colts in Week 16, that will be enough to carry them into their first playoff game since Super Bowl XXXVII in 2003.Theres also a reasonable chance that the Raiders will have locked up the top seed in the AFC and have the ability to rest their players in Week 17 against a Broncos team playing for its playoff spot, which would be an interesting philosophical discussion: Would the Raiders play their starters and use their whole playbook, or leave Derek Carr on the bench and save their scouting for a possible playoff matchup? The Bengals faced this decision against the Jets in 2009 and sleepwalked through the first half of a must-win game for Rex Ryans team in New York before taking out their starters; they promptly lost to the Jets in the wild-card game in Cincinnati the following week.?New York Giants at WashingtonThe Giants and Washington are still the favorites to finish as the fifth and sixth seeds in the East, but a lot can go wrong on the way to the ball. The 5-7 Eagles could still make a run into the postseason, to start. (If that seems improbable, youll only have to go back to 2015 to remember that this same Washington team was 5-7 before reeling off four straight wins to win the NFC East, or that the 2013 Chargers won their final four games after starting 5-7 to claim a wild-card berth.)After losing to Arizona last week, Washington is looking over its shoulder at teams from other divisions. Tampa Bay, Green Bay and Minnesota are its biggest rivals for a wild-card berth. The good news for Washington fans -- especially compared to the Giants -- is that theyre likely to be favored in each of their final four contests. Theyre currently 1-point favorites at Philadelphia, host the scuffling Panthers, and travel to face the injury-riddled Bears before finishing up at home against the Giants.If Washington goes 3-0, this could very well be a game where the winner gets a wild-card spot and/or the No. 5 seed, both of which would be useful. The fifth seed in the NFC probably will travel to face the NFC South winner before facing the Seahawks in Seattle, which sounds bad, but not as bad as the alternative; the sixth seed probably will face the Lions in Detroit and have to follow that by opposing the Cowboys in Dallas. If it does lose to the Eagles this week and then falls to the Giants in Week 17, Washington would need to win its other two games and get a lot of help to make it into the playoffs. 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This story is excerpted from My Giant Life by Lawrence Taylor with Williams Wyatt. Allen Iverson Jersey . To buy the book, click here. Thirty-one years ago today, Joe Theismann suffered a career-ending injury at the hands of Taylor. The Hall of Fame defender describes what that scene was like.Joe Theismann and I are linked forever because of an unfortunate incident that happened on November 18, 1985, during a Monday night game at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., against the Redskins.At the beginning of the second quarter, Theismann handed off to John Riggins. The Diesel bulled toward the middle of the line, putting his head down for the impact. Then he changed his tack, stopping and flipping the ball back to Theismann. They were trying a flea flicker. Theismann wanted to throw downfield to Art Monk.Unfortunately for the Redskins and Theismann, we read the play correctly. We were blitzing. It felt like our entire defense was pouring in on Theismann. I got a hold of him and pulled him down. As we went to the ground, my knee rammed into his lower right leg; Harry Carson and Gary Reasons also congregated at Theismann on the sack. He didnt get up. I didnt expect him to, either. I knew hed been hurt badly.Theismann later told the New York Times in a 2005 interview: The pain was unbelievable, it snapped like a breadstick. It sounded like two muzzled gunshots off my left shoulder. Pow, pow! It was at that point, I also found out what a magnificent machine the human body is. Almost immediately, from the knee down, all the feeling was gone in my right leg. The endorphins had kicked in, and I was not in pain.Everybody on the field saw Theismann sprawled out on the field and knew he was in trouble. I know I started hollering for the doctors to get to him in a hurry to give him some help. Initially, some of the Redskins thought I was taunting after the sack. That obviously wasnt the case.Its just one of those things that happened. I knew he was hurt when I heard him under the pile yelling and I understood. Thats why I tried to get everybody off him and get some help for him. I knew when youre sitting on the bottom of the pile -- I dont care if its a toe sprain, or an ankle sprain, I dont care what it is -- it seems like forever, like the people on top of you are never going to figure it out. All you want is the people to get off of you and to get some help. And to breathe again.Everybody just kind of stood around like nobody knew what had happened.At that juncture of his career, Theismann was still a decent football player and an icon in Washington. Of course, Id been playing against him for years. And during our time, we spent a lot of time together and wed see each other a lot. Just like anybody else, you hate to see somebody sit there and suffer. So I wanted to get some help out there for the sumbitch.What happened? He fractured both the tibia and the fibula. In other words, the lower leg bones in his right leg were broken between his ankle and knee. That end result left his leg bent gruesomely in different directions.A lot of time passed before they quit tending to Joe and got him off the field and on his way to the hospital. Jay Schroeder took over at quarterback. Nobody knew at the time that Theismann would never play again.An ESPN poll of viewers later voted that play as the NFLs Most Shocking Moment in History.Really, its not a moment I want to remember or care to see again. Ive never seen the play. Football is a tough game, so players are always going to get hurt while playing the game. Thats one of the hazards of the job. Believe me; Ive seen a lot worse hits on film than the one on Joe, though. Everyone who thinks they know me wants to talk about that Monday Night Football game. First of all, like I said, I have never watched the play, dont wont to watch it, and I never will watch it. I saw it in person. I dont want to see it again.I remember calling him the morning after I broke his leg. A woman answered the phone. I dont know if she was his girlfriend or wife at the time. I hear her say, Joe, Joe, that guy is on the phone! When he got on the phone, he told me that I had broken both the bones in his leg. I kidded him by telling him that I didnt do anything half-assed. I told him, If Im going to break them, Im going to break them both.To Joes credit, he never blamed me for what happened. Weve never had a problem. Ive never had a problem with Joe. And every time we see each other, we talk. We talked before then, we still talk, and there is no animosity there. I know his son very well. Hey, I did [Theismann] a favor. He had Lloyds of London [insurance]. He made about $3 million.Joe had a helluva a career, and he did well after the NFL. But hes always maintained that his legacy is that injury. As he told the Orlando Sentinel, Ill forever be known as the Godfather of Broken Legs.This excerpt from My Giant Life by Lawrence Taylor with William Wyatt is printed with the permission of Triumph Books. For more information and to order a copy, please visit this link. Mateen Cleaves Pistons Jersey .S. -- Nikolaj Ehlers registered a hat trick for the third straight game and Jonathan Drouin had a goal and five assists as the Halifax Mooseheads hammered the host Cape Breton Screaming Eagles 10-1 on Tuesday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. Ish Smith Pistons Jersey . LOUIS -- St. http://www.basketballpistonsonline.us/chauncey-billups-pistons-jersey/ .Y. -- Marcell Dareus and the Buffalo Bills defence made life miserable for Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco. NEW YORK -- Mets second baseman Neil Walker and Philadelphia pitcher Jeremy Hellickson have accepted $17.2 million qualifying offers, giving up free agency to stay with their teams.Eight other free agents did not accept the offers from their former teams by Mondays 5 p.m. EST deadline: outfielders Jose Bautista (Toronto), Yoenis Cespedes (Mets), Ian Desmond (Texas), Dexter Fowler (Chicago Cubs) and Mark Trumbo (Baltimore), designated hitter Edwin Encarnacion (Toronto); closer Kenley Jansen (Los Angeles Dodgers); and third baseman Justin Turner (Dodgers).Walker and Hellickson are signed players with Mondays decisions and could be eligible for free agency again after next season.Happy to say Im back in Orange and Bluue for 2017!! Lets go Mets! Walker tweeted on Monday. Stanley Johnson Jersey. The Mets got Walker in a trade with Pittsburgh last December. He hit .282 with 23 homers and 55 RBI in 113 games with New York before his season was cut short by back surgery.The 31-year-old Walker, a first-round pick in the 2004 amateur draft, broke into the majors with the Pirates in 2009 and is a .273 hitter with 116 homers and 473 RBI in 949 career games.Hellickson was traded from Arizona to Philadelphia last November. The 29-year-old right-hander went 12-10 with a 3.71 ERA in 32 starts for the lowly Phillies this year. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' ' 

The NFL is reviewing two plays Sunday by Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict -- a low hit on New England Patriots?tight end?Martellus Bennett, who said Burfict apologized after the game and stated it wasnt intentional, and an alleged stomp on Patriots running back?LeGarrette Blount after a late touchdown. Terrell Brandon Jersey .The Bennett play came with 11:22 remaining in the fourth quarter of the Patriots 35-17 win, on third-and-2. Burfict was seen lunging at the lower left leg/knee of Bennett as a pass was thrown downfield to receiver Danny Amendola for a 17-yard gain. Burficts lunge might have been the result of quarterback?Tom Bradys pump fake in that direction. Burfict also appeared to stub his left toe as he reacted to the fake.Regarding the second play, coaches film of the game appeared to show Burfict deliberately stepping on Blounts leg after his late fourth-quarter touchdown run, as Blount lay on the ground.?In reference to the first play, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said he wasnt concerned because the league looks at every play.He goes on the pump fake, Lewis said. We were coaching him to keep his head up in order to make a better football play and not react as hard as he can. He [Brady] pump-faked a couple of times and ended up getting sacks, or he pump-faked a couple of times and made plays for them, and that was one of them.From our coaching standpoint, we want to make sure, as we come in to defend the ball, we are able to defend with the arms so you have the chance to get the ball loose and off of them.Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Monday that the Patriots would let the league talk about that play. Its their decision.A replay on the CBS broadcast showed that Bennett was slow to get up after the hit.Things happen in a game. It usually doesnt happen that way, but he apologized. He said he didnt try to do it, Bennett said after the game. Its part of the game.Burfict was also seen helping Bennett up after tackling him on one play.?A players history can factor into potential NFL discipline. Burfict has been fined $204,329 since entering the league in 2012, not including three lost game checks for a total of $502,941 in base salary this season.A decision on potential discipline for Burfict is expected no later than Wednesday afternoon, a league source told ESPN. NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan and his staff have been reviewing tape of the two on-field incidents.Burfict has not been fined this season since returning in Week 4 against the Miami Dolphins. He was suspended for the first three games of 2016 for repeated violations of player safety in the Bengals-Steelers AFC wild-card game last season, including a hit on Antonio Brown that resulted in a concussion for the wide receiver.Late in Sundays game, Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was penalized for taunting. On the play before, he butted helmets with Burfict as emotions were rising.Gronkowski said after the game that he hadnt seen Burficts low hit on Bennett, and added, It didnt affect anything.During Bradys weekly interview on sports radio WEEI on Monday, the QB said he didnt see the low hit.You have to deal with that sometimes, Brady said. I think we were dealing with that most of the day. ... I havent seen it, so Im sure Ill have some different thoughts.Later in the interview, when asked if Gronkowskis taunting penalty is the type of penalty that is OK to accept based on the circumstances, Brady said, It always gets kind of chippy with the Bengals. Theyve had a history of that with particular players on their team, and it just kept going back and forth. Gronk was making a bunch of good plays on them, and Im sure they didnt like it.Its just one of those things. Id rather us not take those. Id rather us just be poised and get back to the huddle and make them pay on the scoreboard, but sometimes in football, it just happens.Asked whether he views the Bengals as a dirty team, Brady answered, I think they just play a tough, physical style, and when they hit you, they hit you hard. I dont say dirty. Ive never said that about any team. Its football. Its a physical sport. Some teams play more physical than others. The trademark of that team is to read the quarterback and break on the quarterback and hit hard. Thats how its been for a long time. Richard Jefferson Cavaliers 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. Chris Andersen Jersey .Y. -- Bills receiver Stevie Johnson has a bone to pick with the NFL schedule maker. http://www.authenticcavaliersauthority.com/shaquille-oneal-cavaliers-jersey-c-13/ . The Canadian squad, skipped by Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg, got on the board first with two in the second end, and followed that with two more apiece in the fourth and sixth ends. OXON HILL, Md. -- Agent Scott Boras says baseballs new labor contract will cause Latin American players to turn away from the sport and play soccer.The deal agreed to last week places limits on bonuses for players who reside outside the United States, Puerto Rico and Canada, restricting teams to signing pools that start at $4.75 million for the year starting next July 2.Baseballs previous collective bargaining agreement put signing pools on residents of the U.S., Puerto Rico and Canada who are subject to the amateur draft each June.Why are we as an industry saying that were going to succumb to the other sports and not pursue best athletes? Boras said Wednesday at the winter meetings.When were making $10 billion, should we really build the Berlin Wall to youth? We just cut off the American players and limited them well below the NBA and the NFL, and now were doing it with the Latin players, as well. Were cutting off our soil. Because now I would imagine FIFA is over in Venezuela, `cause theyve coveted South America, and theyre building soccer fields as we speak in the Dominican and there because these athletes are going to turn to something that is better for them. Brad Daugherty Cavaliers Jersey. Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred did not respond immediately to a request for comment. Players association head Tony Clark said nothing to add.Boras said changes in the new agreement that could lessen revenue sharing for large-market teams should encourage them to maintain high payrolls despite an increase in the rates for exceeding the luxury-tax threshold.Under the old CBA, I think the luxury tax was the Center for Disease Control, and now the luxury tax should be Starbucks, because if you want championship coffee, you better be visiting there often, he said. 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MANHATTAN, Kan. Carlos Henderson Broncos Jersey . -- Kindred Wesemann scored 16 points and Kansas State made 12 of 18 free throws in the fourth quarter to turn back No. 23 Auburn 71-66 in the SEC/Big 12 Challenge on Thursday night.Auburn, ranked for the first time since the final poll of the 2008-09 season, used a 10-0 run, capped by four free throws by Katie Frerking, to take a 62-57 lead with 5:09 to play.Shaelyn Martins 3 then started a 10-2 run for Kansas State for a 67-63 lead at 1:48. After Brandy Montgomerys 3 made it a one-point game, Breanna Lewis followed her own shot and Martin made 1 of 2 free throws after an Auburn miss. The Tigers missed a pair of 3s before the teams traded turnovers and Martin capped the scoring with a free throw with five seconds left.Lewis finished with 13 points and nine rebounds as the Wildcats (7-0) had a 39-26 rebounding advantage.Frerking finished with 22 points and Janiah McKay added 15 for the Tigers (6-2), who had three players foul out. Carlos Henderson Youth Jersey .C. Lions has come to an end. Banks told TSN on Jan 2 that he had no interest in playing out the option year of his contract with the Lions in 2014, and he again made that clear in a conversation with Lions GM Wally Buono last week. Chad Kelly Jersey . -- Jimmie Johnson held off a teammate, passed a pair of Hall of Famers, and dominated once more at Dover. http://www.broncosonlinenfl.com/broncos-brendan-langley-navy-blue-jersey/ . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. CHICAGO -- Sunderland midfielder Lynden Gooch has been invited to the U.S. national team training camp for the first time and could make his debut in Fridays exhibition against Cuba in Havana.The 20-year-old from Santa Cruz, California, made his Premier League debut on Aug. 13 and has six starts and one substitute appearance this season for the Black Cats.Julian Green, a 21-year-old Bayern Munich midfielder who was on the 2014 World Cup roster, also was among the 23 players selected Sunday. Green has been dressing regularly for Bayern this season but has made just one appearance, as a second-half substitute in a German Cup match in August.Coach Jurgen Klinsmann also picked Reading midfielder Danny Williams. He omitted veteran goalkeepers Tim Howard and Brad Guzan in favor of three youngsters: San Joses David Bingham, Moldes Ethan Horvath and Leons William Yarbrough. While Howard has been starting for Colorado, Guzan has not played for Middlesbrough since August, assuming a backup role to Victor Valdes.New York Red Bulls midfielder Sacha Kljestan was picked after scoring twice last month in his return to the national team after an absence of more than two years.The Americans have played in Cuba twice before, winning in 1947 and 2008, the latter a World Cup qualifier.The U.S. also plays New Zealand on Oct. Brendan Langley Broncos Jersey. 11 at Washington. The Americans open the final round of World Cup qualifying in the North and Central American and Caribbean region against Mexico on Nov. 11 at Columbus, Ohio, then play four days later at Costa Rica.Klinsmann expects to make roster changes before the game against New Zealand.The roster:Goalkeepers: David Bingham (San Jose), Ethan Horvath (Molde, Norway), William Yarbrough (Leon, Mexico)Defenders: Steve Birnbaum (D.C.), John Brooks (Hertha Berlin, Germany), Geoff Cameron (Stoke, England), Timmy Chandler (Eintracht Frankfurt, Germany), Omar Gonzalez (Pachuca, Mexico), Fabian Johnson (Borussia Moenchengladbach, Germany), DeAndre Yedlin (Newcastle, England)Midfielders: Paul Arriola (Tijuana, Mexico), Alejandro Bedoya (Philadelphia), Michael Bradley (Toronto), Lynden Gooch (Sunderland, England), Julian Green (Bayern Munich, Germany), Perry Kitchen (Heart of Midlothian, Scotland), Sacha Kljestan (New York Red Bulls), Christian Pulisic (Borussia Dortmund, Germany), Danny Williams (Reading, England)Forwards: Jozy Altidore (Toronto), Jordan Morris (Seattle), Chris Wondolowski (San Jose), Bobby Wood (Hamburg, Germany) Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' ' 

Time Magazine released its annual list of the 30 Most Influential Teens of 2016?Wednesday, and in the least surprising news ever, some athletes made the list. Thon Maker Jersey . Named alongside impressive and notable individuals such as Amandla Stenberg, Jaden Smith, Malala Yousafzai and (of course) Kylie Jenner, are some of sports brightest young stars.Lets take a look at those who made the list, shall we?Gymnastics superstars Simone Biles and Laurie Hernandez? OBVIOUSLY.Snowboarding phenom Chloe Kim? DUH.Olympic swimming champion Katie Ledecky? OF COURSE.Sixteen-year-old lacrosse equipment company owner Rachel Zietz? YUP.Interestingly, no male athletes made the list. Because, you know, who run the world?See something entertaining on social media that you think deserves to be shared? Let me know on Twitter, @darcymaine_espn. Khris Middleton Bucks Jersey . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. Chris Copeland Bucks Jersey . Their experience showed Tuesday as the No. 10 Badgers blunted a Saint Louis surge to win 63-57 and advance to face West Virginia in Wednesdays finals of the Cancun Challenge. http://www.basketballbucksauthority.com/giannis-antetokounmpo-bucks-jersey-c-12/ . -- 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. ATLANTA -- After a week off, the Atlanta Falcons feel their best is yet to come.Theyre leading the NFC South, some injured players are healing, and the schedule looks mighty favorable the rest of the way.The Falcons (6-4) host the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday -- the first of four homes games over the final six weeks of the regular season.You hope to be playing your best football, coach Dan Quinn said. If youre really putting the work in through practice, youre going to keep getting better. If you keep getting better down the stretch, that leads to better things.Running back Tevin Coleman insists hell be ready to go after missing the last three games with a hamstring injury. When healthy, he teamed with Devonta Freeman to give the Falcons a dynamic 1-2 punch in the backfield.Im real excited to be back, Coleman said. Youre going to see a show.The Cardinals (4-5-1) have slipped three games behind Seattle in the NFC West, and theyve got to finish strong to have any shot at a wild card.Its a far cry from where this team started out.After reaching the NFC championship game last season, Arizona was a trendy pick to go all the way. The Cardinals certainly didnt shy away from expectations, making it clear they expected to finally win the franchises first Super Bowl title.Now, those goals seem laughable.As if the disappointment on the field wasnt enough, coach Bruce Arians became ill and was briefly hospitalized after last weeks loss at Minnesota. Hes back with the team and plans to coach against the Falcons.More relief than anything, Arians said. It was a scare.Some things to watch for Sunday at the Georgia Dome:BEYOND JULIO: Julio Jones is always the primary target in the Atlanta passing game, but he often faces double- and even triple-coverage. When thats the case, quarterback Matt Ryan has been more than willing to go to his other options. Seven other players have at least 10 catches, including Mohamed Sanu with 39 and Freeman with 31. Jones, of course, leads the way with 61 receptions for 1,105 yards and five touchdowns. But hes actually far behind his pace from last season, when he had one of the greatest receiving years in NFL history with 136 catches for 1,871 yards.JOHNSONS IMPACT: The Cardinals have a number of problems. David Johnson is not one of them. A third-round pick out of Northern Iowa in 2015, the running back has scored more touchdownss in the past two seasons (25) than any other player in the NFL. Vin Baker Jersey. Johnson was running neck-and-neck with Dallas Ezekiel Elliott for the NFL lead in yards from scrimmage. Elliott leads with 1,502 after Thursdays game, ahead of Johnsons 1,373. He scored twice against Minnesota -- once on a run, another when hauling in a pass.PUMMELING PALMER: Carson Palmer took some brutal hits against the Vikings as the injury depleted offensive line again showed its inexperience. John Wetzel, who took over at left tackle when Jared Veldheer went down for the season with a torn triceps, had never even played in an NFL game before this season, bouncing around on several practice squads. Likewise, Earl Watford also didnt have much experience when he took over for injured Evan Mathis at right guard. Palmer was hit 15 times against the Vikings, four of them resulting in sacks.BEASLEYS RISE: Outside linebacker Vic Beasley is thriving in his second season with the Falcons. Giving the team the sort of pass rush that has long been a major weakness, Beasley already has 9.5 sacks -- putting him near the top of the league and more than doubling the output from his rookie season. This is the most sacks by an Atlanta player since John Abraham has 10 in 2012, and Beasley still has six more games to add to his total. Look for him to take advantage of Arizonas problems up front.BRYANTS MISSES: Atlantas Matt Bryant has long been one of the NFLs most accurate kickers, but hes coming off a tough game against the Eagles. The 41-year-old missed just his second field goal try of the season, though it should be noted both have been from beyond 50 yards. The bigger shock was botching an extra point for the first time since 2008. Even with the longer PAT put in by the league a year ago, Bryant had been automatic until he sent one wide of the upright in a 24-15 loss at Philadelphia. Hes a huge weapon for the Falcons high-scoring offense, so they dont need this to become a habit.---AP Sports Writer Bob Baum in Phoenix contributed to this report.---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry .---For more NFL coverage: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' ' 

COLUMBIA, Mo. Wesley Matthews Jersey . -- Missouri linebacker Eric Beisel has waited patiently over the last three years for an opportunity to showcase his abilities.Now, less than desirable circumstances have given him that opportunity, and he is making the most of it.In a 51-45 loss to Middle Tennessee State on Oct. 22, Missouri senior linebacker and leading tackler Michael Scherer suffered an ACL injury, ending his collegiate career five games early. In a 35-21 loss to Kentucky a week later, senior linebacker Donavin Newsom suffered a thigh contusion that has sidelined him ever since.It means a lot to not have them as much as we have had them in the past, and it really makes you realize what you had, Beisel said. Both of those guys are two of my good friends. Weve grown close over the years. Theyre great leaders, great teammates.Scherer said the toughest part about not being able to play is his inability to help his teammates on the field, but that he hopes to help players like Beisel in other ways.The truth is, the defense were running now, Ive played a lot of snaps in and I know a whole lot about it, Scherer said. Its a tough position theyre in right now, but Im just trying to do whatever I can to help them out.Now in his junior year, Beisel discussed his changing role within the program.Ive taken the opportunity to step up as a leader, Beisel said. The more Ive played and the more successful Ive been, people have been looking toward me for advice and momentum. ... Its rewarding.A St. Louis native, Beisel chose Missouri over Arkansas, Kansas State and Nebraska, among others. At home games, No. 38 leads the Tigers out of the tunnel and onto Faurot Field carrying the state flag, an honor coach Barry Odom selected him for.I gladly accepted, Beisel said. Ive been a Missouri fan my whole life. I love the university of Missouri, I love the state of Missouri and I thought if I leave my talents here then I could take my team to a championship.During his first two seasons, Beisel had 22 combined tackles. He made his first career start against Kentucky this year, tallying five tackles, three of them for losses. Last Saturday in a 31-21 loss to South Carolina, he led the Tigers with 14 tackles, including two for losses.Despite his personal success, Missouri (2-7, 0-5 Southeastern Conference) has struggled, and is on an 11-game conference losing streak.It would be rewarding to me if we were winning right now, Beisel said of his own accomplishments. The statistics dont matter. What matters is winning for the university, for the state of Missouri and for all the fans who remain loyal to us.Teammates and coaches are not surprised by Beisels recent success.Eric is the type of guy ... you actually wont see him, but you already know hes putting in work because hell do it late at night, and its showing on the field right now, Newsom said. After practice, Im in here eating, like, starving, and hes out there running back and forth doing footwork drills.Beisels next opportunity to add to his tackle count will be Saturday when the Tigers host Vanderbilt (4-5, 1-4 SEC).He understands the playbook, Odom said. Hes playing well. Hes playing fast ... Im proud of him and I anticipate him having three really good weeks here coming up.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org Steve Nash Mavericks Jersey . Q: Team Canada announces their Olympic roster three weeks from today. Who is general manager Steve Yzerman watching? LeBrun: Over the last 48 hours, hes taken in the home-and-home between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche with Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene being the obvious targets. Harrison Barnes Mavericks Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. http://www.mavericksteamofficial.com/wesley-matthews-mavericks-jersey/ . The judges scored it 48-47, 48-47, 49-46 for Jones (19-1). It was the champions closest call. Despite the loss, it was a remarkable show by the confident Swedish challenger, who had the best of the early rounds and then hung on in the fourth and fifth. Shami to RootThe first three balls of the over in which Joe Root got dismissed highlighted the importance of using the crease appropriately. The first ball was from the corner of the crease. The angle brought the ball into the batsman, but it moved away after pitching and rapped Root on the back thigh. The second ball was from closer to the stumps. That came in after pitching to hit Root on the body again. The next ball, once again, was bowled from the corner of the crease. This went away beating Roots outside edge. The ball that dismissed Root was delivered from the centre of the box; by that time Roots mind was already cluttered. It swung in late, and beat the inside edge to trap Root in front.Duckett against AshwinIn all three innings of this Test series, R Ashwin has dismissed Ben Duckett. The first two dismissals were almost identical, for he planted the front foot straight - instead of going slightly across - and got beaten by the turn. In Rajkot, the ball got the outside edge and in the first innings in Visakhapatnam he was bowled. To address this issue, in the second innings, Duckett stood on off stump as opposed to standing on middle stump in the previous innings, and also employed a different approach. The moment you struggle against spin, the most obvious response is to go on the offensive. Often that stems from the lack of confidence in the defensive technique. Ducketts dismissal - gloving a sweep - showed that that approach can never make up for the lack of skills in Test cricket. Natural variationAshwin has shoown immense control of his variations. Jose Barea Mavericks Jersey. He has spun the ball at will, and also taken it away from the right-hand batsmen both in the air and off the pitch. This morning was different, though. Some balls went straight after pitching and some turned viciously. This time, I felt, it wasnt always on purpose. We did a split-screen analysis of his release of the ball that went straight and the one that turned, and we saw no visible difference. The wrist, the shine and the fingers worked the same way on both occasions but produced different results. If the bowler isnt sure of the response off the pitch, what chance does a batsman have? But credit must be given to Ashwin for bowling the probing line and length outside off, giving the ball the best opportunity to cause damage when it behaves unexpectedly.Giving Jayant confidenceCaptains have a huge role to play in the evolution of a cricketer, more so for the bowlers. With the second new ball, Virat Kohli had the option to use Ravindra Jadeja for another longer spell with Ashwin from the other end, but he chose Jayant Yadav. While theres no guarantee of picking up wickets at any stage of the game, there are phases when the likelihood of wickets falling is higher. Thats where the captains role matters. Kohli, quite rightly, has given the debutant requisite confidence. Jayant responded with a beauty to Ben Stokes, and two more wickets in the end. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' ' 

PITTSBURGH -- Fred Couples shot an 8-under 62 to take a four-shot lead over John Huston at the midway point of the Senior Players Championship. Charles Harris Jersey . Couples finished the rain-delayed second round at Fox Chapel Golf Club early Saturday morning with a 36-hole score to 12 under. Its the second straight year the Hall of Famer has taken the lead at the midway point of one of the Champions Tours biggest events. The 62 tied a Champions Tour record for lowest round in a major, last matched by Olin Browne during the 2012 Senior Players. Couples was 7 under through 11 holes on Friday before rain interrupted play. He two-putted for par from 60 feet on the par-3 third when play resumed at 8 a.m. Saturday. Five more pars followed before he finished up with a birdie on the par-4 ninth to reach 12-under. Huston shot 3-under 67 and is at 8 under as he pursues his first major title. Huston was two shots back when play was suspended, including an eagle from the fairway on No. 15. He slipped four back after bogeying the 17th. Jeff Hart and Duffy Waldorf are four shots behind Couples at 7 under. Kenny Perry shot a 7-under 63 to get to 6 under for the tournament. Perry eagled the short par-4 seventh and birdied the ninth to move into a tie for fifth with Mark OMeara. Newly minted Hall of Famer Colin Montgomerie, making his Champions Tour debut, is at 1 under after shooting an even-par 70. Montgomerie was at 4 under at one point before posting a triple-bogey 7 on the par-4 15th. Couples won the Senior Players in 2011 and was in control last year after a second-round 63 but he shot 1-over on the weekend to finish four shots behind winner Joe Daley. Officials moved up tee times for the third round hoping to dodge another round of storms expected in the area late Saturday afternoon. The 6,696-yard course a few miles up the Allegheny River from downtown Pittsburgh has been inundated with rain all week. Weather cut the pro-am to nine holes on Wednesday and play was delayed five hours on Thursday. Only 15 of the 81 players in the field managed to finish the second round on Friday before a torrential downpour caused officials to halt play. Raekwon McMillan Womens 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. Cordrea Tankersley Youth Jersey . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. http://www.dolphinsteamauthenticshop.com/c-71-dolphins-cordrea-tankersley-jersey.aspx .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals. Sydney will back themselves to take on the Western Bulldogs midfield authority rather than simply try to negate it.With the AFL ladders top spot on the line and eager to avoid slipping to a 10-4 record like the bunch of teams beneath them, the Swans will aim to pile on the pressure at the SCG on Saturday.Assistant coach Stuart Dew said that could prove the difference against a side that wins the contested ball even they lose games.Its a big a challenge to try and match them, and even beat them - that would be a big way to win the game, Dew said.But no ones been able to do it so far.We have tto back ourselves. Raekwon McMillan Youth Jersey. Its really hard given how many will roll through there, so well try and match them in there with our players.How much pressure we put on them will determine the effectiveness of their ball use.Dew said the Dogs success lay in their ability to play as a cohesive unit.Theyve got so many options that can go through there, he said.They dont rely on to or three.You see some teams stack in a couple of players but theyre a real even spread. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' ' 

Loughborough Lightning host Team Northumbria in Mondays latest Vitality Superleague clash, live on Sky Sports 3 from 7. DeMarre Carroll Jersey .30pm. With just two rounds of the regular season remaining, both teams are out of contention for a top-four place. Northumbrias hopes ended long ago, while a combination of results on Saturday ended Lightnings ambitions.Loughboroughs crucial double-header began on Saturday with a 10-goal defeat against Manchester Thunder and coupled with Team Baths victory over Team Northumbria, Karen Atkinsons side cannot now overcome the nine-point gap. Lightning end their season with two home games and will look to finish on a high note after the disappointment of Saturday evening in Manchester. Lynsey Armitage will be the main threat for Team Northumbria under the posts But Team Northumbria will provide strong opposition, having picked up three victories of their own this campaign despite being tipped to struggle by many at the start of the season.Lightning will be looking to avenge defeat from their trip to Newcastle earlier in the season, where they slipped to defeat by just one goal, Northumbria clinching victory in the last few seconds. Loughborough Lightnings Rachel Sweet in action Lightning head coach Atkinson said: Im really looking forward to playing at home in front of the Sky cameras on Monday, where we can hopefully reverse the result of our away loss to Northumbria.Watch Northumbrias trip to Loughborough on Monday from 7.30pm on Sky Sports 3 HD.By purchasing a Sky Sports Day Pass for £6.99 or Sky Sports Week Pass for £10.99, you can enjoy access to all seven Sky Sports channels and watch on a TV with a NOW TV Box or on a range of devices. Also See: Vitality Superleague fixtures Table Live on Sky Sportswomen Mike Bibby Hawks Jersey . -- Arizona knocked off some quality opponents, rolled over a few overmatched ones and grinded out victories even when things didnt go so well. Kirk Hinrich Hawks Jersey . Each of Houstons starters scored in double figures as the Rockets improved to 2-0 against the Spurs this season, with both victories coming on the road. They also moved within 3 1/2 games of San Antonio (22-7) for the lead the Southwest Division. http://www.nbahawksproshop.com/womens-dennis-schroder-basketball-jersey/ . The 18th player to shoot 60 on the tour, Jamieson settled for par on the final hole when his 15-foot birdie chip grazed the edge of the hole and stayed out. After opening with rounds of 66 and 73 to make the cut by a stroke, he had 11 birdies in the bogey-free round. Pretend youre Hazel Nilson. Its 1955, youre in your 40s, and youre shopping for a new Ford.The salesman is telling you about the new options available for the first time this year: factory-installed air conditioning, wooden appliqué side moldings, and this strap on the seat that you can snap around your waist to keep you from flying out the windshield in a collision. Seems like it might be uncomfortable, and youve never flown out the windshield before, but ... well, youd sure like to live to see the Cubs win a World Series.You get the seat belts. And, while youre at it, the moldings. Good choice, Hazel.If theres anything we learned in the moments before and after the Cubs finally won their third World Series, its that a lot of people were living for this moment, just as White Sox fans in 2005 were staying alive to see their club win one, just as Red Sox fans were trying to hang on long enough to see Boston win one. Is there anything in baseball still worth staying alive for? Yes, though the answer to that question is far more speculative than it was one week ago.On a team levelNo, the Indians World Series drought does not immediately get promoted to national crisis just because the Cubs drought has been retired. But were operating on a long timeline here -- I plan to live at least 50 more years, and Im optimistic youll make it to 100, which gives us plenty of time for things to get historical.Consider the Cubs, for instance. It had been 108 years since they last won the World Series, but in how many of those years would it have seemed like this? In 1909, a Cubs championship would have been only 24-point news. In 1910, hardly noticed. In 1935, an L.A. Times article headlined Cubs Beat Cards Twice, Clinch Flag doesnt mention anything extraordinary about the Cubs making the World Series. When did the Cubs drought become The Cubs Drought?The answer is going to vary by the fan, but a reasonable estimate is going to be not less than 60 years, and probably a decade and a half more than that. In a where-are-they-now piece on Ernie Banks, the writer Rich Cohen assesses the state of Cubs romance in 1969, when Chicago blew a late-season lead to the Miracle Mets: At this point it had been 24 years since the Cubs had played in a World Series. A drought, but not epic. In other words, here was a chance for the Cubs to win and for their fans to live normal lives. Its as if, in 69, two roads diverged, and the Cubs took the one less traveled by: the losing road, where misery begets misery and wearing a Cubs hat is a way of letting people know you are holier, for your kingdom is not of this world. Emphasis mine; emphasis crucial.A decade after that, the Cubs were seen not so much as cursed as just a really, really lousy organization. Decades-long complaints about cheap ownership and management were focused on just how bad the Cubs were -- not so much unlikely to win the World Series as unlikely to produce a good product, period. Fans protested in front of Wrigley in 1981: For the first time in modern Cub history, there is evidence that the fans are tired of being the dinosaurs of the National League, a newspaper account at the time said.As to the drought: It was a relatively minor storyline. When the Cubs went to the playoffs in 1984, the date 1908 doesnt appear in The New York Times article announcing it. Instead, the Cubs (and the Tigers) were sentimental favorites because they are among only 10 franchises still in place since the turn of the century; they have remained in their historic, urban ball parks; they have resisted the evils of artificial turf, and they were the opponents in the last war-affected World Series, in 1945, when pennant-winning teams didnt need a crap-shoot league series to qualify. A few years before that, in 1979, a Cubs pennant push was acknowledged with just the faintest touch of romance by the L.A. Times, Pennants dont come easily to the Cubs. They won their last one in 1945, their last World Series in 1908, back when Tinker and Evers were playing catch with Chance. Theyve had some famous nosedives since.The Billy Goat curse, to that point, seems to have been little more than a local gag, especially among the writers who hung out at the Billy Goat Tavern. Legendary metro columnist Mike Royko didnt mention the curse in his 1970 obituary of the goat-owning Bill Sianis. By 1997, when Royko wrote his final column, he launched it with this: Its about time that we stopped blaming the failings of the Cubs on a poor, dumb creature that is a billy goat. This has been going on for years, and it has reached the point where some people actually believe it.So somewhere between 1984 and 1997, the Cubs drought became not just a living thing, but a life source all its own, spawning its own storylines, emotional breakdowns, self-fulfilling prophecies and legends that some people actually believed. Cleveland has, by that timeline, only a decade or so to go to match the Cubs for droughtiness.Its not a given that itll ever be the same for Cleveland, though. There are twice as many teams to beat now as there were in the Cubs first half-century of futility, and the number of teams that are going to have outstanding droughts could multiply. As is, eight teams have never won a World Series, including the Rangers (who began play in 1961), the Astros (62) and four other teams birthed in the 1960s or 1970s. Seven teams have droughts of 48 years or more, long enough for their teams local Eddie Vedder or John Cusack to bemoan the total absence of baseball euphoria in their lifetimes. To a middle-aged Brewers fan, there is practically no difference between her angst and that of a middle-aged Cubs fan.One way this might play out is that the very forces that make Cubs-like droughts more possible could make them more diluted -- that the Indians might go 150 years without us ever caring about them on a national scale. Or perhaps we wont become jaded to the long sufferings of long-suffering fans, and more droughts will just mean more empathy.If that happens, we could live to see Cleveland win fairly soon. The Indians already have their own curse, as reported by the L.A. Times in 1984:After Bobby Bragan was fired as manager of the Cleveland Indians in 1958, he stood on second base at Municipal Stadium and proclaimed a curse against the team. At least thats the way the story goes.To remove the curse, a self-proclaimed witch, amid a cloud of burning herbs and incense, performed an occult ceremony Friday at the same spot [where] Bragan was said to have stood 26 years ago.The witch ... asked to be identified only as Elizabeth. ... Calling on a supreme goddess, she said: Remove the curse that was put on the Cleveland Indians by a rather misguided individual.That curse is not nearly as famous, but maybe now that Cleveland is the droughtiest team in baseball, it will take on late liffe as surely as the black cat and the smelly goat did related to the Cubs. Tracy Mcgrady Hawks Jersey. A few good fictions and theres no telling how much well come to embrace the poor Clevelander.On a personal levelI grew up in the perfect era for record-breaking: The records that defined baseballs history were both old and under constant assault. I saw Pete Rose break the hit record, Rickey Henderson break the stolen-base record, Cal Ripken become the iron man, Nolan Ryan pass Walter Johnson in strikeouts, Mark McGwire topple Roger Maris. There were a dozen cards in every set just commemorating the records that had been broken the year before.Now name a record thats been set since Barry Bonds hit his 756th home run. Francisco Rodriguez and Mariano Rivera set new saves records, but the save didnt even exist 50 years earlier and the closer barely did before the mid-80s. Various strikeout-rate records have been set, but nobody cares. Aroldis Chapman probably throws harder than any pitcher in history, but we know that only because of technology that didnt exist for most of history. Ichiro did something -- consecutive 200-hit seasons, maybe? -- that qualifies more as a Fun Fact than a record. (Its not a record if nobody had ever thought to follow it beforehand.)Not only are there few records being broken, but there are almost none under threat. Pitchers dont throw nearly enough innings, or start nearly enough games, to approach any of the counting-stat records, either for single seasons or careers. The offensive era that goosed so many record chases in the 1990s was killed by legislation; the reckless baserunning era expired in the wake of the games strategic evolution. The only prestige record in any kind of danger at all is career home runs, and were so cynical these days that anybody who hits too many home runs -- record levels of home runs -- is immediately treated with suspicion.But there is one personal achievement that is, theoretically, as plausible now as it was when it was set, and its built for our live-look-in media: the hit streak. Nobody has come close to Joe DiMaggios 56 games, and if MLBs Beat The Streak game is any indication -- nearly 100 million entrants, and nobody has reached even 50 -- its really, really hard! The average major league hitter gets at least one hit in about 66 percent of games, which means that we should see a 56-game streak in one out of every... oh, 16 billion trials. A season has a lot of trials, of course, but if every hitter and every pitcher and every game were exactly average, wed see a streak like this every 500,000 or so years.But players arent all average, and given the distribution of talent on the far end of the tail, someone is disproportionately likely to do it. Ichiro, for instance, from 2001 to 2010, got at least one hit in almost 82 percent of his starts. If my math is right, and my assumptions are reasonable, we should expect a streak like DiMaggios in about one in 50 Ichiro careers. So thats all we need: 50 versions of the most singular player of our lifetime. Cool, cool.The worse those odds, the more well love it if somebody gets close. Nobody besides DiMaggio has topped 44 since 1900 (or 45 before that), which would give us all a powerful two-week buildup to the final mark. And unlike a home-run chase, or Miguel Cabreras Triple Crown, the margins between history and not history would be inches every at-bat -- there would be an urgency for almost every plate appearance, like the urgency of the ninth inning of a perfect game.For a variety of reasons -- fragmented culture, cynicism about cheating, a relatively modern awareness of how outside factors like ballpark, era, rules changes and so on dictate when records are set -- I dont expect to ever care about a record the way we cared about Ripkens streak or McGwires 62nd. Maybe if somebody undeniably clean takes the career home run record. Maybe something so outlandish (a 50-game winning streak, a 19-year-old hitting .450) that Im not bothering to imagine it. But Im there for the 57th game of a hitting streak, and Im there partly because I know youre all there, too.On a historical levelWe are not likely to see the first female major leaguer in 2017. There are no women in the affiliated minor leagues, no woman was drafted in the June draft, and no woman is playing Division I baseball. Most girls are steered away from baseball and toward softball at an early age. Baseball at the highest level is a single-sex sport, and whether this is sustainable for the rest of our lives is an open question, as all questions about the future are.Clearly, from MLBs perspective, its sustainable in 2017. Major League Baseball is popular. Commissioner Rob Manfred is not fending off constant scandals about the lack of women on major league rosters. It is generally accepted that women are excluded from play not because the sport is sexist (though composition of front offices doesnt exactly rule that out), but because the male body is generally different than the female body, and because there is no widespread development system for female outliers to get baseball experience or be discovered.But were talking about our entire lifetimes here. Its not hard to imagine a future some decades from now when we make a cultural decision that spending our billions on a field where women are entirely absent -- even by the influence of biology -- is unacceptable. Unacceptable not because any of the people at the top of the sport are bad, or uncaring, or sexist, but because it is simply not good for the culture to celebrate a boys-only club. (I wrote a book about a baseball season and regret how utterly it fails the Bechdel test. My 5-year-old has asked me whether girls are even allowed to play baseball -- and periodically asks again for reassurance.)This is entirely speculative, but a half-century gives us plenty of time to speculate with. If baseballs maleness does become an economic, political or cultural liability, I dont know how it will get handled. Will we regulate performance-enhancing drugs in a semi-legalized way that allows an even playing field for male and female bodies? Will MLB invest in youth baseball for girls, creating a broader pool of young players from which elite standouts might emerge? Will the game actually go co-ed because its determined to just be better than way, as the independent Sonoma Stompers did this summer? Can a separate, professional league be viable enough to solve this? Are these speculative solutions problematic in their own ways? Theyre all questions that we might struggle with before were 108.But there couldnt be a cooler story in baseball right now than seeing a woman play in and succeed in the major leagues. Its worth staying alive for. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' ' 

CINCINNATI -- The Cincinnati Reds reinstated RHP Michael Lorenzen from the bereavement list and optioned OF Kyle Waldrop to Triple-A Louisville. Adrian Peterson Youth Jersey .Lorenzen left the team on Tuesday for what manager Bryan Price described as a family medical emergency.Waldrop was 0-for-2 in his third stint with the Reds after being recalled on Tuesday. Marcus Williams Youth Jersey . Cuban testified Thursday that he was upset when the companys CEO told him news that would reduce the value of his shares, for which hed paid $7.5 million. But he said he did nothing improper when he sold those shares over the next two days. Marshon Lattimore Womens Jersey . With the first unit struggling of late and Amir Johnson - one of the teams iron men - hobbling on an injured right ankle, Patterson knew he could get the nod in a challenging matchup against one of the leagues up and coming players at his position. http://www.shoptheofficialsaints.com/Elite-Marcus-Williams-Saints-Jersey/ .J. -- Marshawn Lynch said Thursday it will be good to get back to football after the Seattle quiet talking running back wrapped up his final mandatory media session of Super Bowl week. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida State quarterback Sean Maguire has a broken bone in his right foot, putting freshman Deondre Francois in position to open the season as the starter.Coach Jimbo Fisher revealed the injury Saturday after the teams practice, saying Maguire broke the bone Wednesday. The injury wasnt known until Friday when the senior felt discomfort toward the end of practice.Maguire is in a walking boot and Fisher said a screw will be inserted into the foot Monday. Fisher also said it is likely that the 6-foot-3, 232-pound senior would miss 3-4 weeks and could be ready to return by the Seminoles second game against Charleston Southern on Sept. 10. Florida State opens the season Sept. 5 in Orlando against Mississippi.He was sad about it but there was no hesitation from him on quickly getting it fixed and coming back as soon as possible, Fisher said about Maguire.It is Maguires second injury in less than nine months. He missed spring practices after having surgery for a broken left ankle suffered in the Peach Bowl loss to Houston. Maguire started five games of the final six games last season and was able to consistently move the offense as he completed 59.3 percent of his passes with 11 touchdowns and six interceptions.Francois put himself into contention for the starting spot with a solid spring and threw a pair of touchdowns in the spring game. Marcus Williams Womens Jersey. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound redshirt freshman ran the scout team last season but was considered by many recruiting services to be the nations top dual threat quarterback in the 2015 recruiting class.Francois potential and athleticism as a running and passing quarterback has drawn comparisons to former Florida State standout Jameis Winston.Eyeballs are going to be on him anyway so not one thing changes, Fisher said of Francois. He has had some good and some bad practices. He is right about where I thought he would be. He started practices as the co-starting number one, so I must feel pretty good about him.A bigger concern for Fisher would be who steps in if Francois was injured. J.J. Cosentino has seen limited action and struggled in the Peach Bowl while true freshman Malik Henry was an early enrollee but hasnt worked with the first unit.This would be the second time in four years a redshirt freshman has started at QB for the Seminoles. In 2013, Winston won the Heisman and led them to the schools third national championship after a 13-0 season. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' ' 

PITTSBURGH -- Sidney Crosby saw a small opening and took advantage for one memorable goal. Brad Kaaya Womens Jersey .Crosby put Pittsburgh ahead to stay with a dazzling score in the second period, and the Penguins beat the Dallas Stars 6-2 on Thursday night.There arent too many players in the league that would even think to make that type of play, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. Its a heads-up play by an elite player that thinks the game at an extremely high level and differently than most.Crosby also had two assists as Pittsburgh bounced back nicely from Wednesdays 5-3 loss to the New York Islanders. Eric Fehrs third goal of the season was No. 100 for his career, and Patric Hornqvist, Conor Sheary, Nick Bonino and Ian Cole also scored.Crosby got his league-leading 16th goal in the final 30 seconds of the second. Crosby, from behind the goal, initially tried to bank a shot off Stars goaltender Antti Niemi. When that plan was unsuccessful, he batted his own rebound out of the air, off Niemi and into the net.I was just trying to get it to the net on the first one, Crosby said. The second one, it was just kind of laying there for me. It was pretty slow, so it was a good one to get.Marc-Andre Fleury made 33 saves for Pittsburgh. Fleury, who won for the first time in five starts, has six wins in his last nine home games.He wasnt surprised by Crosbys goal.I see him do that in practice a lot on me, Fleury said. I was glad though because it was big for us.Tyler Seguin and Devin Shore scored for the Stars, who continue to struggle on the road. Niemi, playing in his 400th career game, stopped 34 shots.Dallas has three wins in 14 road games this season. The Stars have lost three straight and seven of their last 10 overall.I think we all take pride in here, Seguin said. Its just not good enough. Its frustrating and we have to dig deeper, especially in those big moments and find ways to win hockey games.Crosby has 16 goals in 18 games after missing the first six because of a concussion. He has six goals and 12 points in his last eight games.The Penguins are 7-0 following a regulation loss and 16-0-1 after the previous 17 regulation defeats dating to last season. Pittsburgh also snapped a four-game skid against the Stars.The defending Stanley Cup champions were an inconsistent group throughout the majority of November, alternating wins and losses most of the month.The Penguins hope Crosbys goal can help turn things around in December.I think we expect better of ourselves every game, Crosby said. Were working hard, but I still think we can execute better.Game notes Stars D Stephen Johns, a Pittsburgh native, registered an assist in his first game against his hometown team. ... Seguin has 13 points in his last 14 games. ... Stars F Jason Spezza has 48 points in 41 career games against Pittsburgh. ... Penguins F Scott Wilson replaced Jake Guentzel in the lineup. ... Penguins F Chris Kunitz is skating, and getting closer to a return, but missed his sixth straight with a lower-body injury. ... Penguins D Trevor Daley, who played 11 seasons in Dallas, faced his former team for the first time.UP NEXTStars: Complete a four-game trip Saturday at Colorado.Penguins: Continue a three-game home stand Saturday against Detroit. Teez Tabor Lions Jersey . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. Teez Tabor Jersey . Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek defeated Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on the indoor hard-court at Belgrade Arena. The victory improved the Czech pairs impressive cup doubles record to 14-1. http://www.authenticnfllionslockroom.com/Youth-Michael-Roberts-Elite-Jersey/ . Irving scored 23 points, Tristan Thompson had 20 points and 10 rebounds and the Cavaliers beat the Denver Nuggets 117-109 on Friday night. Connacht warmed up for their Champions Cup double header with Wasps by thrashing Benetton Treviso 47-8 in the Guinness PRO12 at the Sportsground.Hooker and man-of-the-match Tom McCartney bagged a brace of tries and late inclusion Danie Poolman, who replaced the injured Matt Healy, and Denis Buckley also touched down for a 28-3 half-time lead.With their bonus point secured, the westerners added two more tries by the hour-mark from John Cooney and Quinn Roux, before replacements Vittorio Flammini and Jack Carty swapped scores in a scrappy final quarter.Treviso, who suffered a 46-3 loss at Munster last week, hit the front in Galway thanks to a fourth-minute penalty from Ian McKinley, after Connacht flanker Jake Heenan had been dispossessed in a tackle.Pat Lams men improved as the first quarter progressed, Heenan being hauled down short before a kickable penalty was turned down and McCartney, from a standing start, drove over in the clinical fashion for a 13th-minute try.Despite losing winger Cian Kelleher to the sin-bin for taking a player out in the air, Connacht pressed on and ended the first half with four tries - all converted by scrum-half Cooney.His new half-back partner, South African Marnitz Boshoff, also played well, kicking asstutely down the line as the provinces try-hunt gathered pace. Kenny Golladay Lions Jersey. Poolman was next over the whitewash in the 25th minute, benefiting from a brilliant one-handed pass from blindside Nepia Fox-Matamua.Treviso were soon down to 14 men, their tighthead Simone Ferrari paying the price for persistent ruck infringements.Connacht took full advantage with two seven-pointers before the break, McCartney going over from close range after a bout of pressure from the forwards and lovely hands from Kelleher.Cooney and Bundee Aki set up prop Buckleys 37th-minute score. A clever training ground move from a lineout, involving Boshoff and Poolman, saw Cooney cross in the 49th minute and second row Roux rumbled over from a maul five minutes later.Connachts front row replacements ceded advantage in the scrum as Treviso got on top in successive set pieces, forcing a 66th-minute try. The scorer Flammini saw yellow for cynical play six minutes later.Despite losing Boshoff to an arm injury, the hosts gave the 5,903 attendance a seventh and final try to cheer thanks to Cartys show-and-go effort which he converted himself. Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Jerseys From China Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys China NFL Cheap Jerseys ' ' '