Kritik und Lob » hen the NFL suspended Hardy for 10 ga

SAINT-LO, France -- The landing beaches. The war cemeteries. The museums. The first towns that were liberated more than 70 years ago.The D-Day and World War II history that is embedded in the culture of Normandy is earning extra spotlight this weekend when the Tour de France opens with two stages in the region.Saturdays opening leg starts at Mont-Saint-Michel, a World Heritage Benedictine abbey perched on a rock off the coast, and ends at Utah Beach, one of the key landing sites for Allied troops on June 6, 1944.The first stage also passes through Sainte-Mere-Eglise, where American paratrooper John Steele dangled from a clock tower after his parachute got caught during the invasion, and survived. The town is now home to the Airborne Museum.Stage 2 on Sunday finishes in Cherbourg-En-Cotentin, site of the Battle of Cherbourg.Tejay van Garderen, the BMC rider who represents the United States best hope for overall victory in the Tour, was wide eyed as he took a look around this week.It really puts into perspective what were doing here, Van Garderen said on Friday. We always say that were soldiers going to war and then you see the real soldiers and youre like, `OK, maybe this is just bike racing.Teams were driven into the official team presentation in Sainte-Mere-Eglise on WWII-era jeeps and trucks on Thursday.I like the way organizers and the local people here have put together the appropriate historical reminders, that teams have been accompanied on the jeeps by the local people in costumes, said Brian Cookson, the British president of the International Cycling Union.A legacy of the war was freedom, underlined by the diversity of the Tour teams.Van Garderen, who was in third place when he had to abandon last years Tour in tears due to illness four stages from the end, shares the BMC leadership with Australian standout Richie Porte. They are backed by riders from Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland, and Belgium.Were such an international team, Van Garderen said. It shows that the world has come a long way.The favorites for overall victory in the three-week race are two-time winner Chris Froome of Britain, two-time runner-up Nairo Quintana of Colombia, and two-time champion Alberto Contador of Spain.After Saturdays stage, a group of American, British, Canadian, French, and German riders will lay white roses in front of Utah Beachs Peace Monument to commemorate the Allied landings.We will celebrate cycling as a peace symbol, Tour director Christian Prudhomme said. The only thing that prevented the Tour de France taking place was world war, twice.Started in 1903, the Tour is beginning its 103rd edition. The only years it wasnt held came from 1915-18 and 1940-46.French rider Thomas Voeckler, whose grandfather fought during WWII, volunteered to take part in the ceremony, along with German sprinting standout Andre Greipel and Van Garderen.Amael Moinard, a French member of BMC, was born in Cherbourg and knows all about D-Day.Growing up here, Ive been into it from an early age because all our school trips were related to D-Day commemorations: Utah Beach, the Sainte-Mere-Eglise museum, the Caen memorial, Moinard said. Then the 50th D-Day anniversary was something big for me, with all the presidents from countries across the world coming to Normandy. Its nice to start here.Like the paratroopers before him, Moinard has a deep understanding of the winds in La Manche, as this area of Normandy is called. The way he sees it, the seven kilometers (four miles) of exposed road along the coast with 30 kilometers to go in the opening stage will evoke more fear about the wind -- which has the potential to split the peloton in two -- than the wind itself.As soon as you see the sea on the map each rider will say, `Its going to be windy, tricky, Moinard explained. Its going to make everybody nervous, and for sure a crash will happen. So all of the leaders and sprinters will want to be in the front.But then we take a much more protected road for the last 25K, Moinard added. So its more telling them, `Just be relaxed. Everything is going to be OK, hopefully.---AP Sports Writer Samuel Petrequin contributed to this report.---Andrew Dampf on Twitter: www.twitter.com/asdampfDeacon Jones Jersey . The 20-year-old Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. Davis responded to his selection earlier in the day as a Western Conference All-Star with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 98-91 on Friday night. Marshall Faulk Womens Jersey . -- Hunter Smith scored the winner with just 12 seconds remaining in the third period as the Oshawa Generals edged the host Sarnia Sting 5-4 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. http://www.footballramsshop.us/authentic-darrell-henderson-rams-jersey/ . 4 Villanova with a 96-68 drubbing on Monday. Wragge hit 9-of-14 from behind the arc, matching Kyle Korvers school record for 3-pointers in a game set in 2003, as Creighton (16-3, 6-1 Big East broke a conference record with 21 treys in the rout. Gerald Everett Womens Jersey . Coach Mike Munchak says Fokou stretched ligaments in his left knee Oct. 13 against Seattle, which could keep out up to five weeks even though the linebacker didnt need surgery. 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Louis Blues teammates who would also be participating in the Olympics, Alex Pietrangelo felt right at home, no different in some ways to the travel experience of any old road trip – save for the length of the journey, that is.DALLAS -- Former Dallas defensive end Greg Hardy, who remains unsigned after a tumultuous 2015 season revolving around his domestic violence case in North Carolina, was arrested on a cocaine possession charge in Texas.Hardy was booked early Monday and later released on $5,000 bond in the Dallas suburb of Richardson on a charge of possession of a controlled substance of less than one gram, jail spokesman Tim Weed said.The 28-year-old Hardy signed with Dallas as a free agent last year after Carolina decided not to bring him back as a result of the domestic violence case.Hardy was suspended for the first four games last season over the domestic incident, and his production with the Cowboys dropped off considerably after photos of bruised ex-girlfriend Nicole Holder were posted by Deadspin.The 2013 Pro Bowl player was pulled over late Sunday night for failure to signal a left turn, and a search of his vehicle revealed the cocaine and an item containing marijuana remnants, according to police documents.The former player told police he didnt know what was in a bag that police said contained cocaine, and Hardy said somebody gave him the bag at a party the previous night.Police said a substance that tested positive for cocaine was found in his wallet, but Hardy said he had been passing around his wallet at the party because he was paying for everybody and that must have been when the baggiee was put in his wallet, according to the police report.ddddddddddddHardys agent, Drew Rosenhaus, declined to comment. The NFL didnt immediately respond to a request for comment.The police report also made reference to a couple of gun club membership cards in Hardys wallet. When the NFL suspended Hardy for 10 games over his domestic case, the league cited the presence of guns in his apartment in the ruling. An arbitrator reduced the ban to four games.Hardy was convicted by a judge in the North Carolina case, but prosecutors dropped the case during his appeal because Holder couldnt be located to testify. Prosecutors said they believed Hardy had reached a settlement with Holder over the incident.Despite strong criticism for signing Hardy, Dallas owner Jerry Jones said early last season that he wanted to give the pass rusher a long-term contract.But after several missteps by Hardy and his late-season decline, Jones said during the NFL draft that the Cowboys wouldnt pursue another deal with him, even though they would be missing starters DeMarcus Lawrence and Randy Gregory on season-opening suspensions for substance abuse.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Schuyler Dixon on Twitter at https://twitter.com/apschuyler ' ' '