and other athletes if they want to remain employed. If you wrote that Broad was a coward or that Pietersen was in a state of funk, youd

Older readers may remember the days when cricketers had problems, or worse. These days they have issues. He has issues with the short ball, we say - meaning that the cricketer in question has taken a blow too many and no longer plays the short ball with confidence.In other words, hes scared. Yeller. He cant take it. He dont like it up im. Thats the essential truth, but we prefer not to put it that way. Its not even a problem. Its a set of issues. So when Stuart Broad elects to play the bouncer by crowding the square-leg umpire, its because he has issues.He has admitted as much. Some thought the frankness did him credit but no favours. On the other hand, you dont have to be Sherlock Holmes, or for that matter the Analyst, to work out that a batsman imitating the nuptial dance of the crowned crane is not entirely at ease.So yes, he has issues. Kevin Pietersen had issues with left-arm spin. Good left-arm spin had him perplexed; but bad left-arm spin was far worse. It twisted his poor mind like a pretzel. Here was naked self-doubt in a man whose self-belief was his stock-in-trade. Here was proof that behind all the swagger was a human being like us. There was also a hint that he might even be mildly agreeable.Issues. So much less of a problem than problems. Its a term that has come into use across society. Your bodys not falling apart, you have medical issues. A lot of quite tough words, some of them uncompromising, insulting and demeaning, have been scratched out of common use. A person in a wheelchair has mobility issues.Sport has picked this up with alacrity. Thats partly because we have a natural tendency to let sportspeople off lightly - to embrace the euphemism. Thats especially true for specialist journos, who must keep going back to cricketers and other athletes if they want to remain employed. If you wrote that Broad was a coward or that Pietersen was in a state of funk, youd never get another quote. So you say that they have issues, and the game can continue.Its not only expedient. Its the nature of the times. We scorn hard truths and prefer to conceal them with softer words. So we seldom say that Lance Armstrong, Hansie Cronje and Tiger Woods were stinking, lying hypocrites who did exactly as they pleased while setting themselves up as men of conspicuous virtue. They had issues…Part of me revolts against such muddling and soft-soaping. Part of me thinks that we should call a spade a spade and a hypocrite a hypocrite. The crystal-clear, downright unambiguous condemnation of such people seems to be a good thing rather than a bad one.But theres another side to this. In 2013, Jonathan Trott abandoned a tour of Australia because he couldnt take it anymore. It was a crack-up, a breakdown, a personal collapse - call it whatever you like. His body was fine but his mind could no longer face the challenges of Test cricket in the course of a disastrous tour that left its scars on everyone who took part in it. But Trott was not vilified. He was treated with understanding and compassion. He wasnt a coward; he had issues. And we all have issues. Most people thought, well, there but for the grace of God go I. The world did not see this as a moral failure. Just issues.Compare and contrast this with the treatment given to Phil Tufnell on an Ashes tour in the 90s. He too had a crack-up. He went on a crying jag and eventually found himself in a psychiatric hospital. He discharged himself and went back to the team hotel, feeling easier after what was, perhaps, a cathartic release. The management took him to task and fined him ￡1000.So yes, better to suffer from issues and get the benefit of a little compassion than to be forced to suffer for the crime of suffering. Marcus Trescothick was a brave pioneering spirit in this when his own anxieties made touring impossible for him. He spoke frankly of his breakdown at the airport, and again, he was treated with understanding. It was something of an education for everyone touched by the story. Graeme Fowler has written movingly of his own psychological troubles in his book Absolutely Foxed.Im suspicious of euphemism and all forms of soft soap, but Im in favour of compassion and understanding. Like most of us, I expect. So if the idea of issues allows a few people to be given a gentler judgement than they deserve, it has also allowed others to be given the understanding they need - to the benefit of everyone else as well.Fake Braves Jerseys . The Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all won on Sunday meaning the Rangers will host the Rays in a play-in game on Monday. 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And even though they are now in separate divisions, battles between these former division rivals are always spirited affairs.Vancouver and Dallas last met on Nov. 13 at Rogers Arena with the Canucks taking the full two points thanks to a 5-4 overtime win.That victory is one of just four Vancouver (8-10-2) has had this month, along with seven losses. But the Canucks, who are 2-6-1 on the road, got their second road victory of the season Tuesday night in Glendale, a 4-1 win against the Arizona Coyotes.And after such a strong performance in their second win of the month against Arizona, the Canucks like their chances of coming into American Airlines Center on Friday and leaving with at least a point against the Stars.We came out strong in the third, we didnt sit back, Canucks center Bo Horvat said after Tuesdays win. We kept the pace going, we kept it on them, and it turned out great for us tonight.Horvats line, which also features Sven Baertschi and Alexandre Burrows, accounted for an impressive eight points in that road win against the Coyotes.And that performance, along with several other recent strong showings by that trio, has not gone unnoticed by Canucks coach Willie Desjardins, a former Stars assistant.Ive liked that line for three or four games, Desjardins said. I think (Burrows) helps them. He talks to them a lot, helps them prepare for shifts. And the other two guys have lots of talent.The Canucks currently have a minus-17 goal differential, making them one of only two teams in the Western Conference who currently have a worse differential than the Stars, who are minus-16.Dallas (8-8-5) is 5-7-1 in November and on Wednesday night the Stars lost 5-2 to the Nashville Predators in the Music City.ddddddddddddAt home, the Stars are 5-3-2 this season, including going 2-1-1 during a recently-concluded four-game homestand earlier this week.Despite seeing his team lose to a Central Division foe by three goals, Stars coach Lindy Ruff saw plenty of positives to take from their loss in Nashville.You build off a lot of the good stuff you did in the game -- and there was a lot of good stuff in the game, Ruff said postgame. Our energy was good. I thought the second period on where our breakouts were coming on our own end was good; cleaned up a few mistakes.Dallas has gotten at least a point in 11 straight games against Vancouver and the Stars have defeated the Canucks six straight times in Dallas.And if the Stars are to extend their run of recent dominance over the Canucks, then they must play better in the third period than they did in Nashville.Dallas hit the ice on Wednesday down 2-0 to the Predators, but cut that lead in half when Patrick Sharp scored his first goal of the season 5:32 into the final frame.However, Nashville regained its two-goal edge 37 seconds later and went up 4-2 with another goal five minutes later.Sharp speaks for his teammates in saying that if Dallas is to climb out of the middle of the pack in the Central and in the West, better third periods need to become a regular thing.Yeah, disappointing third period, Sharp said. We kind of put ourselves in a good spot there on the road trailing by one against a tough team. Its not a bad spot to be in, but a couple of mistakes ended up being the difference in the game. ' ' '