Kritik und Lob » Cotto out of the Olympics and grew very close t

Its the second week of the new womens Super League. Southern Vipers are playing Yorkshire Diamonds at the Ageas Bowl and the game is finely poised, with Diamonds 32 for 2 after seven overs, chasing 119. Vipers captain Charlotte Edwards, unsure where to turn, brings a 21-year-old left-arm spinner called Linsey Smith into the attack.Her first over is a wicket-maiden. Two overs later she removes Alex Blackwell with a brilliant head-high reflex catch. She finishes with 4 for 10, the best figures by any spinner in the entire tournament.Smith has never worn an England shirt, probably never hoped to wear one. She was not even named in the original Vipers squad; there is no handy profile of her to be found. ESPNcricinfo still has her down as a medium-pacer, although she switched to spin a while ago. The BBC commentators are baffled.Another day, another Vipers game, and an ECB employee - who shall remain nameless - wanders into the press box. After watching the oppositions innings, he turns to me and says: Who is that keeper, and why isnt she playing for England?That keeper is 22-year-old Carla Rudd, who was dropped from the Academy last year and is now fighting to remain in England contention.The Womens Cricket Super League was designed for players like Smith and Rudd.****Bridging the gap has been the Super Leagues catchphrase ever since its conception in June last year. This is the game-changer, said Clare Connor at the tournament announcement, for as many talented cricketers to be the best they can be; to drive a high-performance culture. Edwards agreed: Weve been crying out for this for a number of years, to bridge that gap between international cricket and county cricket.To understand that gap, it is important to be aware of the current domestic structure of womens cricket in England. It is entirely amateur: no money to be made by players; none available for paid coaches, none for support staff. The womens County Championship is played on Sundays (because players have jobs or studies during the week), on club pitches that are often not of the best quality. Some of these players barely train during the off season. Indoor net sessions are expensive when you dont have a ground to call your own. Its hard to see this as a sustainable model to create the England players of the future.Vipers coach Nick Denning, who had been the coach of Berkshire Women for several years prior to his appointment with Vipers, is well placed to compare the womens county set-up with that of the Super League: Professionalism is the main difference. We get our strength and conditioning coach, we get our physio, we get all these extra coaches, we get great facilities at the Ageas Bowl. You cannot replicate that in an amateur environment.Vipers Georgia Adams put it more succinctly: Its another level. This is where the ECBs ￡3 million worth of investment has gone. This is money well spent. This is the start of bridging the gap.It is not just about facilities. Connor has repeatedly said that the aspiration is for the Super League to provide a level of cricket that is semi-professional. And professionalisation is partly about pressure: how you handle it, what you do with it, whether it makes or breaks you in a match situation. The Super League provides that pressure.It has a different feel to county cricket. The stakes are higher - prize money and match fees - and the crowds are far, far bigger. For Adams, playing in front of 2240 spectators during the first Vipers game at the Ageas Bowl was an incredible experience: Looking out and seeing so many people, its completely new to me. Ive never played anything quite like this. Its brilliant.Some players thrived under the spotlight. Adams made 41 in that first game at the Ageas Bowl. Loughborough Lightnings young allrounder Paige Scholfield followed her lead in Lightnings very first home game, against Lancashire Thunder, entering the fray at 88 for 7, with her team chasing 165. The third delivery she faced was cut for four; England seamer Kate Cross was quickly dispatched for four boundaries in an over; and then there was a glorious six off Deandra Dottin. Eventually Scholfield was bowled, and Thunder won by six runs. It could have been a lot more.Scholfield admitted to being nervous walking out to bat in front of the 600-strong crowd. But, she said, the womens game is growing, so I guess weve got to get used to it if we want to play at that higher level. And its nice to have the home crowd behind you. For me I was nervous at the start, but then once we got going, it was a good backing behind us, and it almost builds your confidence really.Other players struggle to deal with the pressure. In Bristol against Western Storm, Surrey Stars lost a game they looked certain to win, thanks to a poor performance in the field: leaked runs and dropped chances. Just at the end, said captain Nat Sciver as she reflected on the defeat, when we needed a bit of composure, we put down a couple of catches. This has been a really good standard of tournament. It really shows what the step up is and for some of the county girls it is a little bit different. It is definitely a learning curve.But she promised to have a chat with the team and let them know that a bit of composure and calm can help, and in their very next game Stars pulled off three run-outs - the best a neat piece of work from 20-year-old Cordelia Griffith at short fine leg. The players were learning, game by game, what it meant to step up and deliver.They also learned from their team-mates - the six international players (three England, three overseas) in each of the squads. Sharing knowledge became another Super League catchphrase - as exemplified in several of the opening partnerships across the tournament.There was Adams, promoted to open with Suzie Bates at the last minute following an injury to Edwards. Adams paid tribute to Bates after the game: Her knowledge of the game and of the bowlers that we were facing - it just helped so much to keep me calm, keep me level out there… Suzie guided me through that innings.There was 18-year-old Bryony Smith, who looked in no way out of her depth alongside opening partner Tammy Beaumont as she played classical drives and cheeky ramp shots, taking on bowlers left and right, including the ferocious Katherine Brunt. Being around some of the girls here is just amazing, she said, after making 31 at The Oval. It gives you something to aim for.And then there was Emma Lamb, also 18, who opened in every game for Lancashire Thunder alongside her captain, New Zealander Amy Satterthwaite, and who - with scores of 25, 26, 34, 27 and 10, all at a strike rate of over 100 - was the only non-international player to feature among the top ten group-stage run scorers. To see the young ones like her blossom in this tournament has been really great, said Satterthwaite. Bryony Smith played similarly for Surrey and thats just what England will want to see from those players.These players were asked to shine among the worlds best. Those who managed it surely are the stars of the future.****I spoke to Linsey Smith after her 4 for 10 for Vipers. She seemed shell-shocked, perhaps unable to quite believe that she was the story of the day. I might just have been the first journalist to ever ask her for an interview.I wont be the last. Suddenly everyone knew her name. A review of the inaugural Super League is not complete without a mention of Smith. When she came on to bowl on Finals Day, everyone sat up, knowing that this was a player who could make things happen. It was the kind of scrutiny that some of these players had never experienced before, but which, as the womens game grows, they will need to learn to deal with.Smith seemed to be handling it just fine, thanks. I feel amazing, she said. Its a massive honour to be part of the Vipers, with such a huge variety of players at such different levels, and some world-class players. To get out there on a big stage like this is great.The Ageas Bowl, she says, is her new favourite cricket ground.****Some Super League players will grow into international cricket. Others will not. But all have had an opportunity never before on offer to English domestic female cricketers.For Smith, nothing has ostensibly changed: she went back to county cricket last weekend, and is headed back to university in September. But everything has changed, too. As a player, she said, it has helped me get better and better. Its a huge opportunity.That is the power of Super League. That is bridging the gap.Roger Clemens Red Sox Jersey .Y. - General manager Billy King says the Brooklyn Nets are looking to add a big man and confirmed the team worked out centre Jason Collins, who would become the first openly gay active NBA player if signed. David Price Jersey . To the surprise of many, it isnt the Wolverines but their in-state rivals the Michigan State Spartans. http://www.officialredsoxfanstore.com/authentic-rick-porcello-red-sox-jersey/ . Listen to the game live on TSN Radio 1050 at 7pm et. 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The Browns coaching search remains incomplete.Miguel Cotto the promoter has been busy with his promotional company signing young Puerto Rican boxing talent and making a foray into concert promoting.Cotto the future Hall of Fame boxer has been a lot less busy.At 35, Cotto is in the twilight of his career, during which he came out of the 2000 Olympics to become one of the sports biggest and most exciting stars as well as the first Puerto Rican fighter to win world titles in four weight divisions (junior welterweight, welterweight, junior middleweight and middleweight).In recent years, however, Cotto (40-5, 33 KOs) has picked his spots to fight. He boxed only once in 2013 (following a 10-month layoff), once in 2014 (when he knocked out Sergio Martinez to win the middleweight crown) and twice in 2015, returning from a year layoff to stop Daniel Geale in a middleweight title defense and then losing a decision and the title to Canelo Alvarez in their huge fight in November 2015.Since then there has been much discussion about Cottos next move. He and promoter Roc Nation Sports talked at length about a fight in the second half of this year. There were negotiations with Mexican star Juan Manuel Marquez, also a four-division titleholder, for a major pay-per-view fight, but Marquez is a smaller man and they could not agree on a catch weight acceptable to both fighters.Then there were conversations with HBO about a fight with former junior welterweight titlist and welterweight contender Lamont Peterson on Dec. 3 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. But nothing was ever finalized with one issue being that the date was too close to the Nov. 19 fight Roc Nation Sports is co-promoting between its other star fighter, Andre Ward, and unified light heavyweight titleholder Sergey Kovalev.So for the first time since his 2001 pro debut, Cotto will go through a calendar year without a ring appearance.We have had several conversations with Roc Nation about where Miguel is at and what he wants to do. Everything is good but with different circumstances he decided not to fight in 2016, Bryan Perez, a Miguel Cotto Promotions executive and Cottos close friend, told ESPN. We had different conversations about fighting in December but we decided not to fight and do it in the first part of 2017, between February or March.According to Perez, Cottos next fight will be the last one of the three-fight deal he signed with Roc Nation Sports in March 2015. While many have speculated that would likely be the final fight of Cottos career -- he has said he is looking ahead to life after the boxing ring -- Perez said it probably wont be.The next fight is the last fight on the agreement we signed in 2015 but Miguel feels healthy and good and wants to continue fighting, Perez said. He has the last word and will decide what to do and what his plan will be but he says he wants to continue to fight and to explore facing the best names out there and getting the best guarantee (in terms of money). He will fight twice in 2017.Although Cotto won the middleweight titlle, he fought below the division limit of 160 in all three of his title fights (155 and 153 twice).dddddddddddd The mid-to-low 150s is where he intends to fight next.He will be comfortable fighting below 160, but whatever opportunities pop up and whatever fight is the best guarantee and benefits his career he will consider, Perez said. We will wait to see.Obviously, he is not going to go to welterweight.Perez said Peterson (34-3-1, 17 KOs), 32, of Washington, D.C., remains a possible opponent. Peterson has not fought since last October.Lamont Peterson is a former world champion, a great fighter and it would be a great fight but not a pay-per-view fight. But I think its a fight that could get done, Perez said, adding that even though Peterson is aligned with adviser Al Haymon it would not prevent a deal being made with Roc Nation Sports, which is owned by music star Jay Z, a longtime rival of Haymons.A far more intriguing bout would be against former welterweight and junior welterweight titleholder Timothy Bradley Jr. (33-2-1, 13 KOs), 33, of Palm Springs, California. Bradley has voiced interest in moving up to face Cotto.Thats one of the fights Tim would like before he is done with his career, Monica Bradley, his wife and manager told ESPN in August when he re-signed with promoter Top Rank.Said Perez: Bradley is a huge fight, a great fight to make. Its a great fight for the fans, a good style fight. Miguel is always willing to fight the best and if Bradley is there and available and we can agree on terms, we are more than happy to put them in the ring.That fight would entail Cottos camp co-promoting with Top Rank, which promoted Cotto for most of his career until he left to sign with Roc Nation Sports after saying he would never leave the company. It was a move that deeply disappointed Top Rank president Todd duBoef, who recruited Cotto out of the Olympics and grew very close to him through the years.We ended our business relationship with Top Rank but if theres a fight we can work on together we will work together, no problem, Perez said. We had a great relationship with Top Rank and we like and respect Bob [Arum] and Todd. I think Bradley would be a huge fight and a great fight.When asked for his view of the possible fight, duBoef was not overly enthusiastic and not anxious to go down that road. But he said he would acquiesce to his fighter.If its a fight that Tim Bradley and Monica want, I would discuss it, duBoef said.Regardless of when Cotto returns, at what weight and against which opponent, he will be back soon training with Hall of Famer Freddie Roach and looking for the biggest fight that can be made.This is the first time he had a layoff like this, Perez said. But at this point in his career its good for him. Hes been moving around in the gym to maintain his condition but its good for him to get the rest. But he is ready to fight again. ' ' '