Clanregeln » just an exhibition for the Cavaliers, who were fig

Whatever else one might say about the present sublime-to-ridiculous-and-back-again waywardness of the England team, however much those shuddering odds of 4-1 on India finally wreaking vengeance for 1959 by taking the Tests 5-0 over the coming weeks depress those of us hunkering down for winter, they assuredly dont do dull or predictable with any competence.No passage of play this year, for this observer, matched the second morning at Newlands when Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow butchered their way to a Test sixth-wicket record, but even then, such are this columns treacherous traits, the feeble response of the bowlers induced a measure of queasiness. The see-saw nature of the summer series against Pakistan was more rewarding, producing a result as just as it was almost impossible to forecast from one match to the next. Then came that palpitating rubber in Bangladesh, and especially the Mirpur Test, where the advantage swung between sessions like a pendulum on steroids and the final day was akin to a prolonged cocaine trip. Nor did the Perth Test lose much by comparison. Never mind the quality, feel the tension, the suspense and the human frailty.Why do we watch sport? To be stimulated, roused, distracted from quotidian matters, yes, but ultimately we want it to lift our hearts and make us smile. For those with a strictly vested interest, granted, the nature of the contest takes a distant second place to the result, but the sheer length of time we are exposed to the skills of the opposition makes cricket unique. Admiration for anyone who is doing their utmost to destroy your day might not come easy, but come it can. Home crowds may not applaud visitors boundaries as respectfully or politely as they once did, but applaud they do.How intriguing, then, to follow the recent Mirpur Test in tandem with baseballs World Series, the finale of which was hailed as one of the greatest games the sport has ever witnessed. For all its hypnotic theatrical qualities and historical subtext (the Chicago Cubs had not won the trophy for 108 years, the Cleveland Indians for 68), this widespread appraisal seemed a trifle hyperbolic because the game lacked one crucial ingredient: there was no true ebb and flow. The Cubs, who won 8-7, opened their account in the first inning and never trailed, completing a comeback that saw them become only the sixth team ever to overcome a 3-1 deficit in a best-of-seven Series. The whole, however, was a good deal better than the sum of its parts, though most of the games were bloodless, rarely altering the viewers mood.The Bangladesh series was much more of a rollercoaster ride, culminating in a final day in Mirpur that epitomised everything that spectator sport offers. The first session found England creating and spurning chances, pegging back Bangladesh yet never dimming the batsmens exuberance as a healthy lead and a fearless mindset assumed panic-inducing proportions for the fielding side. Then, after lunch, it was suddenly, increasingly, all England, three wickets followed by an often forceful century opening stand. Then, lo and behold, came that thunderous clatter of skittles that turned match and nation on its head for one last, joyous time.The first three days of the Perth Test were barely less engrossing. Divining the eventual outcome after day one would have defied Nostradamus. South Africa buckled early in the face of a hostile attack and a bouncy strip, regained credibility through Quinton de Kocks infectious freedom from caution, then lost Dale Steyn while suffering one of those onslaughts that make David Warner the planets most intimidating opener. That they proceeded to take 10 for 86, and ultimately command for good as JP Duminy matched de Kock for percussive positivity, could be attributed to nothing more radical than the benefits of a good nights sleep, but Faf du Plessis apparent ability to pick chins up from the floor will certainly have done his long-term captaincy claims a power of good.In both these matches, not unnaturally, ran flaws aplenty, triggered by pressure and nerves and abrupt bouts of individual and collective self-doubt. At times we might have been watching school XIs go toe to toe. Did that detract from the buzz or the glow? Not from this neck of the woods, not for a nanosecond.It all comes back to what we crave from sport. Do we want our spines tingled, our senses delighted or our brains stimulated? Do we only want to see our team succeed, or is the priority witnessing quality regardless of origin? Its never remotely that clear-cut, of course. Were greedy and we want the lot. But what the hell; lets ask ourselves this: whats more vital to our continued custom - excellence or drama?Lets start by considering what we have lost this decade already by way of undeniable skill. To gauge the burden on the best contemporary acts one has only to rummage through the Wisden Guide to International Cricket from just five years ago, a roll call of the then-active that encompasses an extraordinary number of titans. Bidding adieu to VVS Laxman, Michael Clarke, Kevin Pietersen, Matt Prior, Daniel Vettori, Zaheer Khan, Mitchell Johnson and Graeme Swann would have been bad enough but then there were Sachin Tendulkar, Kumar Sangakkara, Rahul Dravid, Mahela Jayawardene, Jacques Kallis, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Muttiah Muralitharan. Finding even half-adequate substitutes for that little lot was always going to take time.Of the current brand leaders, nonetheless, it is far from impossible to envisage Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Stuart Broad, AB de Villiers, R Ashwin, Kane Williamson and Mitchell Starc all matching James Anderson, Alastair Cook and Dale Steyn as major record-breakers. What is especially heartening is how wide the talent is spread. According to the ICC rankings, the top 14 Test batsmen after the end of the Bangladesh-England series were drawn from seven nations, while the top 15 bowlers represented one more. Come centurys end, the following World XI could span nine: Quinton de Kock (SA, wkt), Kane Williamson (NZ), Joe Root (Eng), Virat Kohli (India, capt), Kusal Mendis (SL), Ben Stokes (Eng), Mitchell Starc (Aus), Yasir Shah (Pak), Kagiso Rabada (SA), Mehedi Hasan (Bang), Alzarri Joseph (WI). Then there are those topsy-turvy team rankings, crying out as they do for a proper world Test championship but encouraging for all that. At the end of the Bangladesh-England series the top seven were separated by a comparatively piffling 24 rating points, with the leadership having changed hands between four sides five times this year. Compare that with the 74 months Australia spent atop the table from its 2003 inception, since when no team has managed more than 21 months and five have reached No. 1. Whether this betokens a levelling down or up is as subjective as it gets.The same could be asked of statistics. Of the ten Test partnership records, four have been overhauled this decade and six since the start of 2006, only twice at the expense of the three weakest nations. Congested schedules might have a greater impact on bowlers than batsmen, but by the same token, arent we supposed to be living in an age of ever-shortening attention spans?Besides, excellence itself can be contestable. Sure, nobody can argue with Steyns astonishing strike rate or de Villiers versatility, but the range of climates and pitch conditions means that other feats are less clear-cut. How much store do we place by Ashwins 220 scalps in 39 Tests when 70% of those have come in India, 21 have come at nearly 55 apiece in Australia, and his appearances in England and South Africa amount to three? Injuries, too, can distort. Was Stokes 258 against South Africa the work of a man inspired or the product of an attack shorn of Steyn and Philander?Then theres the sort of excellence that negates, even destroys, all vestiges of an even contest, sapping then draining it of drama. Australia under Mark Taylor, Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting beat opponents before the toss; ditto the West Indies sides guided by Clive Lloyd and Viv Richards. Thrill as we did to such talent, the absence of resistance underlined how deeply cricket of all sports, because of the time it takes to anoint a winner, is damaged by the slings and arrows of outrageous one-sidedness.On that score were in a better place now, but what of the future? Given that technology now allows so many of us to watch matches from a neutral standpoint, the need for vibrant, compelling games has never been greater, which is why those dwindling TV audiences in Australia for last years Boxing Day Test against West Indies, and the purported reason, should be of major concern. The broadcaster blamed indifferent cricket, and now we have on the table the ICCs adventurous and mostly spiffing plans for two Test conferences of six teams apiece, as outlined on this site by Tim Wigmore. If elevated to Test status without becoming Full Members, Ireland and Afghanistan would probably take every bit as long as Bangladesh to pass muster against the big boys, but by them playing each other (and Zimbabwe) there ought to be a greater preponderance of competitive cricket, which should permit confidence to bloom.The question for this brave new world is ultimately this: will the unpredictability and the drama compensate for the lower quality and eventually raise standards? Heart may be rather more certain than head, but this profoundly anachronistic game of ours has defied the doom-mongers for far too long not to be optimistic.Charlie Coyle Jersey . Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shootout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night. Jakub Zboril Bruins Jersey . -- Matt Kuchar and Harris English ran away with the Franklin Templeton Shootout, shooting a 14-under 58 on Sunday in the final-round scramble to break the tournament course record. http://www.cheapbruinsjerseys.info/authentic-jake-debrusk-bruins-jersey/ . Ronaldo produced a spectacular individual performance on Tuesday, scoring all three goals and guiding Portugal into the next years World Cup in Brazil with a 3-2 victory in Sweden. The Real Madrid forward has scored 66 goals in 2013, but the last three may be the boost he needs to upstage Messi after FIFA unexpectedly extended the voting period for the Ballon dOr to Nov. Custom Boston Bruins Jerseys . Kyle Denbrook, a soccer player from Saint Marys University, took the CIS male athlete of the week honour. Stanley, a fourth-year business administration student from Charlottetown, scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Dalhousie on Friday and tallied again in a 1-0 win over Saint Marys on Sunday. Ray Bourque Bruins Jersey . Ferrer, trying to win his fourth title on Mexican soil, will next play South Africas Kevin Anderson, who eliminated American Sam Querrey,7-6 (2), 6-4. Also Wednesday, Gilles Simon (6) of France beat Donald Young of the United States 6-4, 6-3, Ukraines Alexandr Dolgopolov downed Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-4 and Croatias Ivo Karlovic defeated Dudi Sela of Israel 7-6 (4), 6-2.SALT LAKE CITY -- Lorenzo Bonam scored 17 points as Utah eased past Concordia 96-53 on Tuesday evening.Utah put the game away early in the first half with a 19-2 run that pushed the lead to 32-11. The Utes shot 51.4 percent in the first 20 minutes and improved their ball control from the first game with just three first-half turnovers.We fixed a few things that were broken in our last game, Utah coach Larry Krystkowiak said. Its just part of the process early on.With as many new faces as we have, (Kyle Kuzma) and Lorenzo and some of those guys are doing a pretty good job of expressing how important some of those (details) are. We just need to trust the process. Its written in our practice facility to trust a lot of things. Cant get too up and too down, but weve just got to keep making improvements.Bonam bounced back from a horrific seven-turnover opener with just one against Concordia. Kuzma finished with 13 points and eight rebounds and Tyler Rawson added 12 points and eight rebounds. Parker Van Dyke scored a career-high 15 to go along with five rebounds and four assists.Its been a long time coming, said Van Dyke, who missed the last two seasons due to a Mormon mission trip. Its almost been three years since my first game as a freshman. Its good to be back and its good to make some shots tonight and play some good D. I think tonight was just a good game for my confidence and prepared me for the rest of the year.The Cavaliers were simply overmatched in every way. They didnt have the athleticism to keep up physically and outrebounded 51-33. Concordia werent skilled enough and shot just 32 percent from the field, including 5 for 17 from beyond the 3-point line.Christopher Edward scored a team-high 12 points for the Cavaliers while Latrell Wilson chipped in nine points.When we come up and play a Pac-12 team, its a great opportunity to test ourselves on aa significant road trip in a great environment, Concordia coach Brad Barbarick said.dddddddddddd Its a great experience for our kids playing on the Pac-12 Network. All of those things are positives for our program in recruiting.Whenever we can get our name out there in a game like this, it just helps us (with) name recognition and the opportunity to establish ourselves a little bit more. Were new to D2. This is our second year in the GNAC. We were NAIA for a long time. ... For us to step up and play here at Utah, thats a great experience for our kids and its great for our program.BIG PICTUREConcordia: Tuesday was all about experience for the Division II program. The game is just an exhibition for the Cavaliers, who were fighting an uphill battle from the opening tip.Utah: The Utes are still developing into what type of team theyre going to be with just two significant returners on the roster. The first four games are simply warmups that include two Division II programs while Utah finds its identity.EASING INKrystkowiak doesnt seem concerned about any strength of schedule issues due to opening the season with a pair of Division II teams and Coppin State.With our team, there needs to be a sense of confidence that youre gaining, Krystkowiak said. You dont want to get pummeled. That can be pretty dangerous.You do what you thinks best in the scheduling. And I thought in this particular year, things are going to start amping up. ... Thats the key for us, to try to get firing on some more cylinders and get prepared for league play.UP NEXTConcordia: The Cavaliers play California-San Diego Friday in the Doubletree Shootout.Utah: The Utes host Coppin State on Friday as they wrap up an opening stretch of with three games in six days. ' ' '