on the type of player he is and what he can be." As to the | Forum

MELBOURNE, Australia -- The scorching weather finally brought play to a halt on the fourth day of the Australian Open when the temperature topped 43F (109F), but not soon enough for some players who criticized officials for not stopping matches earlier. Tharold Simon Seahawks Jersey . The Extreme Heat Policy was enacted at Melbourne Park just before 2 p.m. Thursday, suspending all matches on outer courts until the early evening and requiring the closure of the retractable roofs at Rod Laver and Hisense arenas before play could continue on the show courts. It was the first time since 2009 play had been halted due to heat at the Australian Open. For Maria Sharapova, playing at Rod Laver Arena, the call came too late. The rule dictates the roof cant be closed until the end of a set in progress, so she was forced to finish a grueling third set against Italian Karin Knapp under the blazing sun. "Everyone knows there is no tiebreaker in the third set (at the Australian Open), so once you start that set, youre going to be out there until youre done," she said after closing out the 3 1/2-hour match, 6-3, 4-6, 10-8. Other players wilted in the heat. American Varvara Lepchenko received medical treatment during her match against 11th-seeded Romanian Simona Halep, lying flat on her back during a changeover as trainers rubbed iced on her body. "At first I didnt understand what was going on but then my legs, my arms started to get heavier. I couldnt focus at one point and started feeling dizzier and dizzier," she said. She continued but only won one more game in a 4-6, 6-0, 6-1 defeat. "They definitely should have just not started the matches in the first place," she said. "And the same goes for a couple of days ago when I played my (first) match." The heat wave began Tuesday when the temperature peaked at 42C (108F). The tournament referee did not halt play then because the Extreme Heat Policy also takes into account other factors, such as humidity and wind speed. The distinction is lost on the players, who have grumbled all week about the conditions which some have described as inhumane and dangerous. On Tuesday, Canadian Frank Dancevic blacked out and hallucinated during his match, while Chinas Peng Shuai vomited and suffered cramps. No. 25-seeded Alize Cornet of France sobbed on court Thursday after her draining 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory over Italian Camila Giorgi, then blasted officials for not halting play sooner. "On Tuesday, I dont know why they didnt stop matches," she said. "It was an oven. An oven. It was burning. Why today and not Tuesday?" The heat hasnt just affected players -- its also kept fans away. Total attendance was just 49,860 on Wednesday, down from Mondays high of 63,595. The unshaded seats on the outer courts were virtually empty Thursday, with spectators congregating under trees or in the upper reaches of stands where temporary covers provided a little relief. New Zealander Helen Naylor escaped the sun after watching fellow Kiwi Marina Erakovic play for a bit on Court 13. "Even the seats are really hot -- God knows how (the players) are running around out there." Relief is as least in sight. Friday will be another scorcher, with an expected high of 44C (111F), but Saturday it will only reach 23C (73F). That may feel downright chilly by comparison. Frank Clark Seahawks Jersey . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. Thomas Rawls Seahawks Jersey . Cote was eligible to become a free agent Feb. 15. Cote helped running back Jon Cornish run for a league-high 1,813 rushing yards en route to being named the leagues most outstanding player. http:///...ba-rubin-jersey.aspx . Once again, DeLaet finished tied for second at a PGA Tour stop on the weekend, this time at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. The pride of Weyburn, Sask.TORONTO – It wasnt so long ago that Nazem Kadri played the role of highly hyped prospect trying to crack the Maple Leafs roster. Kadri was electric in his first NHL training camp in the fall of 2009, a flashy performer who wowed with an array of theatrics on the ice. Though he was quickly returned to juniors with the London Knights when camp concluded, Kadri would, over the course of the next two seasons and even beyond, live in the spotlight associated with a super-touted top-10 pick in the city of Toronto. Due to play in his first NHL game on Saturday, 19-year-old Morgan Rielly now finds himself occupying similar skates. Reflecting back on an experience that was not without its share of drama and outside noise, Kadri offers the following words of wisdom. "Just worry about the team and yourself and what you have to do," he counseled Rielly in conversation with the Leaf Report on Friday afternoon. "I think thats when you start steering yourself sideways when you start listening to what everyone else has to say outside the rink, what everyone else expects of you, what this person thinks youre going to do. Thats really just distractions he doesnt need right now." Just as it was with Kadri, the debate has been ongoing internally as to whats best for Rielly at this moment and over the long-term for his development, a season in the NHL or a trip back to junior in Moose Jaw. When training camp concluded last month, Leafs coach Randy Carlyle theorized that to say Rielly was "unequivocally" ready to play in the NHL "is a tough question to ask and a tougher question to answer at this point". In trying to further that assessment, he and the Leafs opted to keep their promising defender when the regular season began earlier this week, the prospect of a 9-game audition on the table in October. Then under the leadership of the Brian Burke and Ron Wilson, Kadri didnt garner such a look, the flaws in his dazzling game too difficult to ignore. Outside noise in the city was rampant in the days, months and years that followed, a chorus of voices debating how the club was handling the progression of his development. Even Kadri seemed to infer last winter that he was held back by Wilson, who was replaced by Carlyle in March of 2012. "It was tough for me because I did everything I could and thought I put myself in a pretty good position in order to help the team that year," Kadri said of his first training camp, during which he dazzled with three goals and five points in six games.. "Obviously I had a few flaws defensively, but I thought my offensive production might be able to outweigh that and maybe the coaching staff could see through that. "They decided to send me down and it waasnt a bad thing," he reflected. Shaun Alexander Seahawks Jersey. . "I went back and developed pretty well and standing here a couple years later Im glad it happened." The patient approach – which saw him bounce between the Leafs and Marlies – was eventually rewarded. The now 22-year-old centre was a standout for the better part of 2013, ending the year with 44 points in 48 games. Jake Gardiner was a different case, but also suitably hyped when he was pried from Anaheim in the Joffrey Lupul-Francois Beauchemin swap. He arrived at training camp in the fall of 2011 as a long-shot to crack the Leafs roster, but wowed the organization as a 21-year-old and stormed his way to all-rookie team honours. Handling the pressure associated with being the next big thing, Gardiner – still finding his place in his third NHL season – said expectations in his own mind were always held in check. "He seems like a pretty relaxed kid," Gardiner told the Leaf Report of Rielly, "and thats how I went into it too. "I wasnt expected to make the team right away so I dont think I felt much pressure. I just kind of rolled with it once I started playing well and kept going." "There is a lot of expectation," he continued, "but hes still young so I dont think theres too much pressure on him." Rielly sat in the press-box for the opening two games of the regular season, but with Mark Fraser sidelined for up to a month with a left knee injury, an opportunity opened for him to get his first look against the Senators in the Leafs home opener on Saturday. The clock will starting ticking on his audition – one year of his entry-level contract will be burned after 9 games. What looms for the organization is an opportunity to assess whether he is, in fact, ready to play in the NHL as a teenager. Though they will likely exercise the utmost patience with their top young asset, the Leafs do believe his game could translate right away, Riellys cerebral nature and easy flow on skates among his more prominent traits. "He plays the game with his head and his legs and his hands," Carlyle said of Rielly ahead of the Saturday tilt, his Leafs sitting a perfect 2-0-0 to start the season. "Hes got all three assets that separate him from other people in his age-group. "Hes a strong puck-mover, he can get the puck through from the point on the power-play, hes got great wheels to get up and down the ice, hes smart in his reads so I dont know what more I can say that doesnt put an exclamation point on the type of player he is and what he can be." As to the expectations of his debut? "Just go out and play," Gardiner advised, "do your thing." 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 Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '