ootball. On Saturday, it was fitting that Manchester Uniteds most recent dagger into the chest was delivered by Frenchman Yohan Cabaye, a wonderfully g

Aasif Karim Brett Lee had a hat-trick. Kenya limped to 174. Adam Gilchrist hit a ball out of Durban. Me and my mates enjoyed the Durban sun at the 2003 World Cup and got drunk. It was Australia in their glory years.Then a 39-year-old Kenyan came on to bowl. The crowd had lost interest. The left-arm spinner had first played for Kenya 23 years earlier. He got Ricky Ponting. He had captained the Kenyan Davis Cup team. He got Darren Lehmann. This was his third World Cup. He got Brad Hogg. In his penultimate game against the best team on earth, the old man had 2-2-0-3.His 13th ball was picked for a single. So was his 19th. They were the only two runs in his first eight overs. Every dot ball sobered Australian fans. Andrew Symonds and Ian Harvey shut up shop against Karim. At the end of every over there was laughter at Australia and cheers for Karim.Karims last two balls went for five. His figures were 8.2-6-7-3. Australia scored 171 for 2 in 23 overs against everyone else. Australia smashed Wasim and handled Murali. Karim stopped them.Pravin Tambe T20 is for glamour and bling. Its for Chris Gayle to go viral; for Virat Kohli to thank his sponsors; for SRK to wear golden pads in music videos; for rich Indian families to milk. It is not for 42-year-old nobodies to take hat-tricks.Pravin Tambe, hes a true legspinner. He spent years working out what legspin is, getting better and better, far away from crowds and contracts. Then he got the call and tossed it up. If you are over 40 and playing in the IPL, getting hit for six by Kieron Pollard is nothing. You have spent your whole life being hit for six. Now you get paid for it. You might as well toss it up.Tambes success is what middle-aged legspinners the world over needed. One of them getting paid a tasty salary, hanging out with Bollywood royalty and giving the ball a rip. If you are a leggie like me, every time Tambe takes the ball, your wrist starts to itch.John Davison I was in an electrical goods store in Harlem in March 2003. My friend was up against a radio, listening and smiling. It was in that dodgy store that three Aussie backpackers on their way to the World Cup heard that John Davison had made 111 off 76 balls for Canada.We all knew who Davison was. He wasnt some random Canadian cricketer to us. We were all Victorians, and if you were a keen Shield cricket fan, you knew Davison was Victorias 12th man. And an occasional offspinner.When he did bowl, it was rarely good news. Wickets were not his thing; stopping batsmen playing shots was. Most of my memories were of Davison not playing but walking around the MCG with a swagger that seemed odd for a non-playing, boring offspinner. Guns out, shades on, attitude aplenty.That day I found out why he was so damn confident. Davison took ten wickets at 19 in that tournament and made 226 runs at a strike rate of 119. The swagger was justified. Colin Miller My first memory of Colin Miller was of him as a medium-pacer for Tasmania against Victoria. That was after he had played for Victoria and South Australia, and no one in Victoria claimed ownership over him back then. No one in Australia cared for medium-pacers.Then he had an injury in a club match. He bowled some offspin. Then he played for Tasmania and bowled seam with the new ball and offspin with the old. It was quick offspin from a canny old seamer. Many club cricketers turn from quicks to spinners when they get old. Miller had done it in first-class cricket. He did it so well that in 1997-98 he broke Chuck Fleetwood-Smiths 63-year-old record for the most wickets in a Shield season.The trick worked for Australia too. In 18 Tests he averaged 26 with the ball. In one of the greatest teams of all time it was the middle-aged seamer who won the Test Player of the Year.In Footscray, Millers Melbourne club, there are two ovals named after local legends. Merv Hughes has the main one, Tony Dodemaide the shabby one across the road. Miller has a better Test average than both.Bryce McGain I had followed/stalked Bryce McGain since his recall to Victoria as a 34-year-old. No one thought he would make it. Not in his teens, when he didnt play representative cricket. Not in his 20s, when he played as much in his club 2nds as firsts. And not in his 30s, when he got his game right and somehow played for Victoria.Shane Warne had retired. Stuart MacGill would too. Then Brad Hogg. Australia tried Beau Casson, Cameron White, Nathan Hauritz, Marcus North and Jason Krejza. Then they tried Bryce, who learnt his trade watching super slo-mo close-ups of the worlds best spinners; who wouldnt drink while researching his craft; who needed permission to leave work early for training. The guy was now an Australian cricketer.Bryce was massacred. When a six is hit off a spinner in Cape Town, they say you can still hear Bryce screaming. It was one of the worst Test debuts. Bryce didnt care. He even thought he could get back. There is something about Bryce. Boog Powell Jersey . Speaking to the Chicago Tribune at baseballs Winter Meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Boras called the former home of the Expos a "tremendous environment" for baseball. Mychal Givens Jersey . The Nashville Predators were glad their captain was still on their side. Weber had a goal and two assists, and Roman Josi scored the shootout winner to lift the Predators to a 4-3 win over the Flyers on Thursday night. https://www.cheaporioles.com/278i-frank-robinson-jersey-orioles.html .C. -- When North Carolina freshman Ryan Switzer reported to training camp in August he was a little miffed to learn he was third on the depth chart at punt returner. Evan Phillips Jersey .C. -- Calgarys Kevin Koe did it the hard way again. Hunter Harvey Jersey . McCarthy, a player who played some games in the second tier for Wigan at the start of this season, would go on to shine inside Evertons midfield, outplaying the man he was brought in to replace, on one of the grandest stages in English football. On Saturday, it was fitting that Manchester Uniteds most recent dagger into the chest was delivered by Frenchman Yohan Cabaye, a wonderfully gifted central midfielder who put on an outstanding effort for Newcastle at Old Trafford. KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Danny Duffy has gone from starting the season in the Kansas City Royals bullpen to leading the American League with a 2.82 ERA.Duffy pitched his first complete game to win his eighth straight decision, Cheslor Cuthbert had two hits and drove in a run and the Royals beat the Chicago White Sox 2-1 on Thursday night.Duffy (9-1) limited the White Sox to seven singles, struck out six and walked none. The left-hander has not lost since June 6 and has a 1.73 ERA in his past five starts. Duffy threw 98 pitches, 71 for strikes.Im stoked, Duffy said on getting his first complete game. Ive gotten pretty close a couple of times this year. When I went eight (innings) the first time (teammate Kris) Medlen told me, `You should expect that every night.This is a cool milestone. Im just worried about getting outs and keeping my team in the game.Duffy moved into the rotation on May 15 and has thrown eight or more innings in four starts.For him to get through nine innings under 100 pitches is just a phenomenal effort, Royals manager Ned Yost said.White Sox slugger Todd Frazier, who went 0 for 4 and struck out twice, said deception is what makes Duffy good.Deception on his off-speed pitches, Frazier said. It looks like fastballs and then, the last second, you see it and its already by you. He had me all day, just one of those games where he had me, not necessarily guessing but hes throwing one pitch somewhere I wasnt looking for, get the strike and the way it goes.Cuthbert, whose triple scored Jarrod Dyson in the sixth, is second among AL rookies with 93 hits, 24 multihit games and a .303 batting average. Dyson was initially called out trying to steal second, but the Royals appealed and the call was overturned.Cuthbert scored the go-ahead run on Eric Hosmers single off Carson Fulmer (0-2). Fulmer has an 8.47 ERA in eight relief appearances.Chicagos Jason Coats, recalled Tuesday from Triple-A Charlotte, singled home Tim Anderson with two outs in the second for his first major league RBI.White Sox right-hander Miguel Gonzalez leftt after 21 pitches with a right groin strain.dddddddddddd After Salvador Perez fouled off a full-count pitch leading off the second, White Sox manager Robin Ventura and trainer Herm Schneider came to the mound and led Gonzalez off.Gonzalez may have to go on the disabled list.I had it last year, same thing, Gonazlez said. They put me on the DL for 15 days. I came back, I was fine. I was pitching good. Nothing different. It felt about the same as it did last year. So, Im not worried about it.MORALES DROPS APPEALRoyals DH Kendrys Morales served his one-game suspension after dropping his appeal. Morales was punished by Major League Baseball for returning to the field Aug. 2 in Tampa Bay in the ninth inning after being ejected.TO BE DETERMINEDThe Royals have not decided who will start Saturday against the Twins. RHP Dillon Gee was scheduled for that start but threw 32 pitches in two innings Wednesday in a 14-inning victory over the White Sox. While Yost said Gee is still in the mix to start, that it is more murky after having to use him for more than an inning Wednesday.VOTE OF CONFIDENCEVentura said he is sticking with David Robertson as his closer, although he blew saves in the first two games of this series and six this season. At some point its going to turn for me and hopefully Ill get on a roll, Robertson said. Right now Ive definitely been doing a poor job out there and I need to pick it up.TRAINERS ROOMRoyals: RHP Wade Davis (flexor strain) threw 75 feet off a flat surface. Hes getting close, probably in the next day or so, Yost said of throwing off the mound.UP NEXTWhite Sox: LHP Carlos Rodon (2-8, 4.49) seeks his first road victory since April 13 at Miami. The Marlins will counter with RHP Andrew Cashner (4-8, 4.96).Royals: RHP Yordano Ventura (7-9, 4.64), who beat Toronto on Sunday for his first win since June 17, will start Friday at Minnesota. The Twins will start RHP Kyle Gibson (4-6, 4.86). ' ' '