4) Speaking of which, if you invested time in the Cleveland Browns-Washington game, it is time to vote on the most interesting thing you saw. Arizona Cardinals Jerseys . Was it Johnny Manziel "flipping off" the Washington bench, or the five holding penalties called against the Browns defence….in the first quarter?5) You will notice that I didnt mention the name of the Washington team. CBS analyst Phil Simms says he might do the same, while his play-by-play partner Jim Nantz feels it is not his place to "take a stance" on the controversy that will not go away. Whos right? I will only say that Nantz is, indeed, "taking a stance" by using the "R" name--hes saying he has no problem with it.6) Milos Raonics steady rise in the world tennis rankings is worthy of praise, but wheres the breakthrough victory that will signal the dawn of true greatness? The two views of Raonic are that it is inevitable, and that it will never come.7) It is time to tell MLB commissioner Rob Manfred how to save time and make games shorter. Are you with me in admitting that the appeal of the "sport without a clock" has waned?8) So lets begin with the toughest question--Should baseball actually use a clock to make the pitcher deliver the ball to home plate within 12 seconds of receiving it in his glove? The answer here is "yes", because the "discretion of the umpire" is a phrase that doesnt serve baseball well in any application.9) For instance, umpires can be encouraged to call more strikes, which usually means theyre supposed to call "high strikes", but they dont. Isnt it time for strict adherence to one strike zone, never mind the idea that umpires have their own strike zones? And, that strike zone, should you need a reminder, is between the top of the knees and the mid-point between the batters pants and the top of his shoulders, as he is about to swing.10) Batters arent supposed to step out of the batters box with both feet. So why are they allowed to do that for just about any reason, or for no reason? Stop them with called strikes.11) Mound conferences. The manager or pitching coach is allowed one trip, after which the pitcher must be changed. Whats wrong with applying the same restriction to catchers and infielders?12) Intentional walks. Why not save the time it takes to deliver four wide pitches and just wave the batter to first base?13) Video review. Baseball has lost its way with the introduction of challenges to umpires calls. Their number must be limited, and so too, the length of time they consume. Did it not occur to MLB that the only valid criticism of this innovation would be if the umps wore the headsets for more than, say, 90 seconds?14) And now it is time to offend the purists (I used to be one myself), or have I done that already? If the reason for this overhaul is to shorten games, there must be something done when an extra-inning game stretches to the ridiculous length of five or six hours. Draw the line where you think it belongs--Ill pick 12 innings--and for all innings beyond that, softballs international tie-breaker applies. (Each half-inning begins with a runner at second base).15) Kudos to the Montreal Alouettes for battling the Saskatchewan Roughriders to the very end of last Saturdays game, won 16-11 by the defending Grey Cup champs. But is there anyone not named Tom Higgins who would have done what the Montreal coach did after cutting Saskatchewans lead to two points with just over three minutes to play? What Higgins did was to order a one-point convert following the Als lone touchdown, when a successful two-point try would have evened the score. Ah, but what if the two-point play failed? Well, Montreal would have trailed by two, needing a field goal to win, which basically was what Montreal needed if the deficit was a single point. In summary, there was much to gain and little or nothing to lose by trying for two, and Higgins didnt.16) How good are the Calgary Stampeders? Well, if youre not willing to answer by saying "Theyre the best team in the CFL", try this: "Theyre good enough to be 6-1 without the services of the leagues top player in 2013, Jon Cornish". And wont it be good to see Cornish in action again on Sunday in Ottawa? (Ya, okay, perhaps not if youre Ottawa).17) Do you want the latest reason why its so frustrating being a Chicago Cubs fan? In their recently-completed four-game series against the Mets, the Cubs managed to hold the Mets to 16 hits, exactly four per game. And they split the series.18) Heres a stat that baseball needs to adjust--the "hold", which is awarded to a relief pitcher if he takes the mound with his team leading by three runs or less and departs without surrendering the lead. On Sunday, St. Louis closer Trevor Rosenthal walked three batters and was responsible for two of them crossing the plate, but because that still left the Cardinals in front for a one-run victory, Rosenthal, blown save and all, got his first "hold" of the season. What he got that he deserved was "the hook".19) If there must be a hockey question in August, here it is--what is the name of the Carolina Hurricanes head coach? (I had to look it up. Why dont you do the same, because the point of this exercise is lost if his name appears here. Or maybe you know it, which puts you ahead of me, unless you can name the NHLs five rookie general managers. It took me a couple of minutes, but hey, its August).20) Will the Los Angeles Clippers continue to employ cheerleaders, or would owner Steve Ballmer suffice? Frostee Rucker Elite Jersey . The league announced the decision on its website Saturday, shortly before AC Milan was due to kick off against Genoa at 6 p.m. local time. The 25-year-old Morosini died about an hour earlier after suffering cardiac arrest during his teams Serie B match at Pescara. Carson Palmer Jersey . Atletico built a provisional three-point advantage over Barcelona before the defending champion hosts Elche on Sunday. Barcelona then visits Atletico in the following round. "We will have to wait and see if Barcelona wins tomorrow to stay leader, as it is accustomed to doing," Atletico coach Diego Simeone said.MONTREAL -- Rachel Homans Canada team is one win away from going through the Scotties Tournament of Heart final with a perfect record. The defending champions from Ottawa scored an early three and hung on through some difficult ends before scoring one in the 10th for a 5-4 victory over Chelsea Careys Manitoba rink in the first-versus-second game on Friday night. "Pretty crazy," said Homan, whose team has won 12 straight matches. "Some really amazing shots by every one of my teammates and a few wed like back. "The ice caught us a couple of times, but we battled and stayed in it to the end." The Ottawa-based Homan squad, looking to defend the title won last year in Kingston, Ont., will play in the final on Sunday night at the Maurice Richard Arena. Carey will play in the semifinal against the winner of the third-versus-fourth game Saturday between Saskatchewans Stefanie Lawton and Albertas Val Sweeting. "We lost, but we played really well, so you come out and try to put the same game together and hope it goes better," said Carey. "Well try to win the semifinal and get back at them." Homan started with a bang, scoring three in the second end with a daring double takeout after Careys first stone drifted left and nicked a guard. "We like making big shots," said Homan. "They played amazing, but because we got up that three we could make mistakes and still win in the end." She threw another double in the fourth to force Carey to draw for one. But Carey responded with a clever takeout that led to a steal of one in the fifth. Then a perfect draw into a crowded house produced another steal to tie it at 3-3 in the sixth when Homans bid for a triple takeout couldnt dislodge the shot stone. Homan finally drew for one in the seventh and handed the hammer back to Carey, which she used to take one in the eighth. "Their team didnt miss," said Homan. "We were an inch (off) here and an inch there and they kept capitalizing on our mistakes. "We had to keep hanging in tough. We knew we had a lead and had control of the game and we had to keep that and make sure the mommentum didnt shift in her favour. Ted Ginn Jr Jersey. " After blanking the ninth, Homan watched Carey crash on a guard on her final stone to hand her the victory. Carey was trying to get a stone behind the guard, but said it "didnt really matter, the game was over regardless." Lead Lisa Weagle led Canada by shooting 96 per cent and was especially tough in the final two ends. The Canada team opened the Scotties with an 8-3 win over Manitoba and ended the round robin on Friday morning with an 11-0 record after a 7-3 win over New Brunswicks Andrea Crawford. Homans side outscored its opponents 94-43 in round robin play and went to a 10th end only once against Saskatchewan. After 12 matches, she has still not had to throw a last rock in a 10th end. The win gave her squad a day off to rest up for the final. Homan said they needed it after playing four times in two days. She said they would practice, relax and spend some time with family. A boisterous cheering section from Ottawa was among the crowd of 2,309. Carey was 9-2 after beating P.E.I.s Kim Dolan 6-4. Homans rink, which defeated Canadian Olympic team skip Jennifer Jones in last years final, is looking to become the first to go through the Scotties undefeated since Linda Moore in 1985. Lawton ended the round robin on a downer -- watching her last rock hit and roll just out of the rings to give Yukons Sarah Koltun a steal for a 6-5 win. "We didnt quite finish it off," said Lawton. "Just a bad shot by myself, otherwise we would have won. "In the end it doesnt make a difference for us. It would have been nice to finish that game off, but well rest up and get ready for the playoffs." Koltun was a crowd favourite all week and the 2,061 spectators gave her a long ovation after her upset win. The 20-year-old from Whitehorse is the first player ever to skip at the Canadian junior championships and the Scotties in the same year. "Its been really cool," said Koltun. "Its so much bigger. "You feel like superstars here, where at juniors youre just another team. The crowd loved us and we loved them. Its been incredible." cheap nfl jerseys ' ' '