Kritik und Lob » ve no other place to play.CHWL commissio

CLEVELAND -- Major League Baseball said the umpires were wrong. The Athletics knew that all along. "We saw what we saw last night," Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. One day after umpire Angel Hernandez and his crew failed to reverse an obvious game-tying home run by As infielder Adam Rosales in the ninth inning following a video review, MLB executive vice-president Joe Torre said an "improper call" was made in Wednesdays game between the Indians and Athletics. However, despite pointing out the critical error, Torre said the "judgment" call will stand. The Indians won 4-3, and went on to sweep the four-game series with a 9-2 victory over the As on Thursday. Melvin, who had been in contact with MLB officials since shortly after Wednesdays game, said he never thought the ruling would be overturned. "No, I didnt think there was any chance at that," he said, "because thered been calls before that have been missed and nothings happened because of it." Few, though, seemed as egregious as this error. The As were already down by six runs in the series finale when Torres statement was released. In it, the former Yankees manager made it clear the umpires had blown the call. "By rule, the decision to reverse a call by use of instant replay is at the sole discretion of the crew chief," Torre said. "In the opinion of Angel Hernandez, who was last nights crew chief, there was not clear and convincing evidence to overturn the decision on the field. It was a judgment call, and as such, it stands as final. "Home and away broadcast feeds are available for all uses of instant replay, and they were available to the crew last night. Given what we saw, we recognize that an improper call was made. Perfection is an impossible standard in any endeavour, but our goal is always to get the calls right. Earlier this morning, we began the process of speaking with the crew to thoroughly review all the circumstances surrounding last nights decision." Before MLBs ruling, Melvin said he still believed he witnessed a home run and nothing will ever change his mind. The stunning decision not to reverse the call was the talk of the sports world with everyone seeming to agree the As had been wronged. Retired Atlanta third baseman Chipper Jones didnt mince words with his take on the umpires blown call. "What good is instant replay if u dont have umpires who interpret it correctly?" Jones wrote on Twitter. "Some course of action has to be taken w/ umps. Even worse than that, there were 2 other umpires looking at it with him. What the hell were they lookin at?? Musta been "get away day"! In New York, Mets manager Terry Collins said that human error is part of the game. "Once in a while were going to make a mistake. I will always defend that," he said. "Pretty soon this game is going to be played by robots and well all be watching it." With two outs, Rosales sent a drive to left that appeared to easily clear the 19-foot-high outfield wall and strike a metal railing. Melvin asked Hernandez and his crew to review the hit, and three umpires left the field to view replays in a designated area near their dressing room. After a lengthy delay, the umpires returned and instructed Rosales, who was set to sprint home, to stay at second, a decision that shocked him the As, the Indians, 14,000 fans in attendance at Progressive Field and people watching on television. Following Thursdays game, Rosales shrugged when he was told about Torres ruling. "Thats the final decision," he said. "I mean, theres nothing else you can do about it. Once it happened, it happened. Its over, that was yesterday. Just got to move on from it and continue forward." Bartolo Colon (3-2) was tagged for three homers in four innings by the Indians, who swept a four-game set from the As for the first time since 1999. "He didnt look awful," Melvin said. "The velocity was there, the balls he got in the middle of the plate they hit and they did it the whole series. So, sometimes the other team just beats you and today that was the case. We had a couple chances early on, and we didnt come through. "And every time they had an opportunity, they did." Melvin brought his lineup card to home plate before Thursdays game for his first face-to-face meeting with Hernandez and his crew since the disputed ruling. Melvin was cordial and returned to the dugout after having joked earlier he hoped he wouldnt get ejected. Did he say anything to the umps? "Nope," he said. "Just Hi. Thats fine by me." Randy Marsh, MLBs director of umpires, attended Thursdays game. Marsh did not comment specifically on the disputed play, but was sent to Cleveland to speak with the umpires and make sure the replay equipment was functioning properly. Marsh said everything appeared to be in order. For the As, their four days in Cleveland couldnt have gone much worse. Oakland came to town after winning two of three against the Yankees, but the majors top-scoring team managed just eight runs in four games against the Indians. "Theyre playing great, cant do anything wrong," Melvin said. "And were struggling. Thats what happened. What happened last night shouldnt affect today. They just beat us." NOTES: Josh Donaldson homered in the sixth inning for the As. ... Oakland continues its 10-game trip on Friday in Seattle with the opener of a three-game series. ... Melvin said Jarrod Parker (sore neck) will make his scheduled start on Saturday against the Mariners. ... Oakland pitchers have given up 22 homers in the past 12 games after allowing 20 over the first 24. .... The As are 6-14 since opening the season 12-4. AP Baseball Writer Ben Walker in New York contributed to this report. Nike Shoes Ireland Sale . LOUIS -- St. Cheap Nike Shoes Ireland . 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At last years National Womens Hockey League All-Star Game in Buffalo, commissioner Dani Rylan confidently predicted the fledgling league -- the first to pay players regular salaries -- had enough investor capital and sponsorship commitments to fully fund a second season in 2016-17.She was wrong.Citing cash flow problems and a drop-off in attendance, Rylan confirmed Friday that the league has asked players on its four teams to take significant salary cuts for the rest of the season. A person familiar with the leagues finances but not authorized to discuss them said the cuts are 50 percent, and follows two pay periods where direct deposits to some players arrived several days late.The leagues coaches, general managers and paid staff are not affected, Rylan said. Most of the leagues front-office employees are volunteers.Teams have a $270,000 salary cap with player salaries ranging from $10,000 to $25,000.We fell short on some projections, and we had to pivot and make a business decision, Rylan said on a conference call Friday. Unfortunately, we had to make this decision to save the season.Its a decision we did not take lightly. It came after trying everything we could from a business perspective to avoid it. Were doing everything we can to build the league, and sometimes that means taking a step back -- a step I have not wanted to take.The cuts, Rylan said, ensures the league will complete its 21-game regular season and the playoffs. (Teams have played between four and six games so far.) But the league did not consult with the NWHL Players Association.And the timing, more than a month into the season, angered many players.New York Riveters captain Ashley Johnston said the players had no inkling this was coming before Thursday night, when Rylan informed them by phone and email.To hear its something that needs to happen is a tough thing to hear, Johnston said on the same conference call as Rylan. Its kind of like going through different stages of mourning. Youre sad. Youre frustrated. All the things that you would expect.Said Rylan: The players reacted pretty emotionally. It was difficult news to receive. But many of them reached out to me directly, asking how they could help.Rylan offered one piece of encouraging news: Dunkin Donuts, the leagues first corporate sponsor, pledged an additional $50,000 to go directly to salaries.We believe in the league and we believe in the opportunity to give these women a chance to succeed, said Tom Manchester, the firms vice president of field marketing, in a telephone interview. As a sponsor, its not about dasher boards and signnage and traditional marketing elements.dddddddddddd We genuinely want these women to succeed in a sport where the men get paid a lot more money to play. We want these women to get an equal chance.The NWHL launched last season with great fanfare and expectations as the American answer to the Canadian Womens Hockey League, which paid bonuses but not salaries. U.S. national teams stars Hilary Knight, Meghan Duggan, Brianna Decker and others eagerly signed up even though NWHL founder Rylan remained secretive about the leagues financial underpinnings. Only three investors were ever publicly identified, the first being Joel Leonoff, a Canadian entrepreneur whose daughter Jaimie tended goal for the Connecticut Whale.Players said the league met every payroll. But there were rumblings about late payments to vendors and venues. Former chief marketing officer Mike Moran sued the league and Rylan for breach of contract to recover a $200,000 investment. Last February the league cut ties with George Spiers, another executive and investor. Three franchises switched arenas after last season, leaving only the Buffalo Beauts in their original home.This season is considered pivotal for anyone aspiring to play in the 2018 Winter Olympics. Twelve U.S. national team players are skating in the league, including Knight, Duggan, Decker, Kelli Stack and the former University of Minnesota star Amanda Kessel. The league also features 10 Canadians, one Austrian and one South Korean.NWHL contracts allow players to opt out for virtually any reason, though its not clear whether any will. At this point, most have no other place to play.CHWL commissioner Brenda Andress did not immediately respond to an email asking if NWHL players would be welcome in her league.This is the place where we all want to play, said Johnston, who is not on the national team. Were all invested in this league. We all want to see it succeed.It would be easy right now for everyone to pack up their bags and go home, but Im never one to really think that the easy thing is the right thing to do. Its going to be figuring out the next step, where we go as a team and a league as a family from here.Though Rylan believes the league will ultimately succeed, the pressing need for more sponsors and investors puts that in doubt.After yesterdays news, it would be pretty foolish of me to guarantee anything, she said. But we have every hope and expectation the league will be around for many years to come. ' ' '