Freischaltung » a story as his home run highlight reel.d

Coach Shane Flanagan has identified stopping rampaging North Queensland back-rower Jason Taumalolo as key to Cronullas chances of progressing to the NRL grand final.The Sharks recognise that the defensive disruption caused by Taumololos bullocking charges so often gives master playmaker Johnathan Thurston added space to work his magic for the defending champions.If they can blunt Taumololo in Friday nights preliminary final at Allianz Stadium they will go a long way to advancing to their first premiership decider in a unified competition in almost 40 years.But thats no small task with Taumololo coming off his man of the match performance in the epic semi-final win over Brisbane and being named the NRLs best player in 2016 as voted on by his peers.He is playing some great footy, Flanagan said at the Sharks captains run on Thursday.We need to get up on him, we need to cut his time down so he is not coming at us, we are going at him.But that is a challenge in itself, the play the ball before cant be quick and we cant be sitting on our heels.He is a big man coming at you with speed and footwork. You need to be going at him rather than have him coming at you.Veteran Sharks skipper Paul Gallen , who will return from a back injury on Friday, has been mentioned as the player responsible for stopping his opposing lock Taumalolo. But Flanagan insisted it needed to be a team effort.It is everyones job, he said.He will carry the ball in the middle and carry it towards our edges sometimes. It is up to our whole forward pack to stop him.Sharks forwards Sam Tagataese and Joseph Paulo did not take part in the captains run and will miss the clash as their recoveries from respective shoulder and knee injuries continue.If the Sharks make the grand final, Flanagan said Tagataese and Paulo would be available.Cowboys co-captain Thurston has recovered from the illness he took into the win over Brisbane and centre Kane Linnett returns from a hamstring injury.Linnets return Javid Bowen to the wing and pushes Kalyn Ponga out of the visitors side.Cowboys coach Paul Greens major concern is how his players have recovered from their extra-time win over Brisbane as they face a Sharks team that earned an extra weeks rest.I think its probably more physical, mentally the boys are good, Green said in Sydney on Thursday.Theyre excited about playing this time of year but no doubt Friday nights game, it was 90 minutes and pretty epic, it took a fair it out of them.We wont really know how theyve responded until we get to the game. At this point in time weve managed the week really well and the boys are feeling pretty good at this stage.Flanagan backed out-of-sorts halfback Chad Townsend to bounce back from being substituted in the qualifying win over Canberra.KEY STATS* The Sharks have struggled with the Cowboys in the past six seasons, winning just five of 14 matches since 2011, although three of those wins have come in the past five games.* The Cowboys make more metres than any other team in the competition (1524 per game), while conceding the third fewest (1365 per game).The Sharks make the third most metres (1494 per game) and concede the fewest (1316 per game).* The Sharks have an unhappy record in grand final qualifiers, winning just one of nine since making the 1978 grand final, the 1997 Super League preliminary final against Canberra.* The Cowboys have a horrible finals record at Allianz Stadium. They won their first final there in 2005 (24-16 v Storm) but have gone on to lose their next five.Source: Fox Sports Stats Teemu Selanne Jersey . But Bourque, who has missed three games with a lower-body injury, wont be in the lineup when the Habs travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Wednesday. Brendan Guhle Jersey . Still, Brewers manager Ron Roenicke thought taking him out before the fifth inning was an unusual move. "Im looking up at the board and hes got two hits given up and one run, and Im taking him out after the fourth inning," Roenicke said. https://www.cheapducks.com/377c-jean-sebastien-giguere-jersey-ducks.html . -- Nate Robinson has played for seven teams, so beating one of them is no longer a rare occurrence. Erik Gudbranson Jersey . Tracey comes to the Blue Bombers after spending over a decade with Queens University. Most recently he was the schools assistant football coach. Jari Kurri Jersey . After dropping their final six games of December, the Wild opened the new calendar year with four consecutive wins. Following a loss to Colorado on Saturday, Minnesota rebounded the following night to blank Nashville 4-0, but then had the tables turned on them Tuesday. SAN DIEGO -- From the moment we first laid eyes on him, didnt we know this was coming? From the first baseball we saw him pound halfway to Saturn, we said to ourselves: That dude Giancarlo Stanton is going to hit 60 home runs someday.What we never imagined, though, was this. We never imagined there would come a time when Giancarlo Stanton would hit 61 home runs in one day.But then came Monday evening, in a ballpark where home run balls were supposed to go to die. Instead, Petco Park would become the place where the legend of the great Giancarlo was born, in a Home Run Derby show that will shine on forever. And why does it feel as though we will never look at him the same again?He hit 61 home runs in 13? minutes? gulped the pitcher who served up those 61 home runs, Miami Marlins coach Pat Shine. Thats almost inhuman.Inhuman. Superhuman. Whatever. It definitely wasnt human. Mere humans dont do the things that the Marlins larger-than-life rocket launcher did on this night. And were talking about things like this:? In the 30-year history of the Home Run Derby, exactly two men had ever hit 20 homers in a single round: Josh Hamilton in Yankee Stadium in 2008 and?Bobby Abreu in Detroit in 2005. Then along came Stanton -- to have two rounds like that in one night. With 24 in Round 1. And 20 more in the finals. Seriously?? The record for most total home runs in any of the first 30 Derbies was 41, by Abreu. It took Stanton a mere two rounds to tie that one.? The last time the Derby was held in San Diego, there were 40 homers hit in the entire event. Stanton hit more than by himself -- in nine minutes (over two rounds).? Sammy Sosa took part in six different Home Run Derbies and hit a total of 65 homers. Stanton almost matched him in one night.? Yoenis Cespedes won back-to-back Derbies, in 2013 and 14. He hit 60 home runs in the two of them combined, and it was enough to brand him as one of his sports most feared sluggers. Stanton just hit more homers in one epic Derby than Cespedes hit in his two combined.Ridiculous, friends. Just ridiculous. But it wasnt merely the sheer number of baseballs Stanton hit that this ballpark wasnt large enough to hold. It was where they landed, how far they flew, the sound they made, the objects they cleared -- hedges and palm trees, billboards and batters eyes.He hit more than 27,000 feet worth of home runs. His average homer soared an incredible 447 feet. He mashed five that traveled 490 feet or longer, 10 that went 480 or longer and 31 that carried 450 or longer. He hit the 10 longest home runs of the entire event. He hit 18 of the 19 longest. All by himself. How is that possible?I dont think anybody understands what he just did, said Oakland catcher Stephen Vogt, who admitted he stuck around all three hours just to watch Stanton hit. Thats superhuman. He was hitting every single ball well over 400 feet. I was actually scared for the kids in the field on some of the low line drives he was hitting. Its not normal to be able to create that much bat speed and hit the ball that far. It was very impressive and incredible. The first three rows in the stands were not safe.But if you think it was terrifying for the folks who were watching it from 450 feet away, imagine what it was like to watch this exhibition from 60 feet, 6 inches away. Only Pat Shine understood that feeling. He shook his head when he was asked to describe it.The sound of his bat, to be honest, when I throw to him, is just so much different than other guys, Shine said. Its loud. Its violent. Its a violent act. And hes intense. So its fun for about a split second. Then its on to the next pitch.Both Shine and Stantons teammates saw a lookk in Stantons eye on this night that told just as important a story as his home run highlight reel.dddddddddddd He didnt have to be here. Remember that. He had a rough first half. He didnt make the All-Star team. So he flew 3,000 miles just for this.So I figured its a waste of time, he said, gazing at his championship trophy, if I dont bring this bad boy home.He had rearranged his schedule and his life. For this one night. For this one event. For this one opportunity to make a Ruthian statement about who and what he is. Is it safe to say we got the message?I think this was one of the things that he wanted to do, said his teammate?A.J. Ramos. Last year, he didnt get to be here. He was hurt. And when he was in it his first time [in 2014], he didnt compete like he wanted to. And this year, not making the All-Star team, you knew he really wanted to put on a show.Hey, ya think? Stanton has always had a special affection for the Home Run Derby, always talked about it with a reverence that not everyone in his sport shares. Mark McGwire, Ken Griffey Jr. and David Ortiz once made his memories. Now it was Stantons turn to make someone elses memories.I grew up watching this, he said. Thats where you built it up, childhood memories of. Now I will have kids saying the same thing. They watched me do this. I like to return the favor.He returned it with back-to-back-to-back rounds unlike anyone has ever had, in any Derby ever staged. He blew away one former champion, Robinson Cano, 24-12, in the first round. He wiped out the leading home run hitter of the year, Mark Trumbo, 17-14, in the second. Then he crushed the defending champ, Todd Frazier, 20-13, in the third.Whats amazing is the ability to do it round after round, Marlins president David Samson said. What you normally see in the Home Run Derby is exhaustion set in. With Giancarlo, exhaustion is not part of his repertoire. And thats what differentiates him. He eats bananas and grilled cheese. So for me, thats the ultimate elixir.If it is, its one Frazier might consider adapting next year, because even a half-hour after the event, he was having trouble digesting what hed just seen from the man who beat him.He wasnt even using his back leg, Frazier would say afterward, incredulous over what hed just witnessed. Its unbelievable. It was majestic.Frazier loves the Derby himself. Loves competing with the other mortals who take part in it. But when he looks at Stanton, hes not even sure he sees someone from the same planet he lives on.Its a different beast, Frazier said. You look at him and talk to him and you hear his voice. Its a deep voice. Youre like, Oh man, I didnt know that was coming out. Its like the guy in that movie 300. Youre like, Thats the guy weve got to take down or were in trouble. We couldnt take him down.Since the moment Giancarlo Stanton took his first mighty swing in the big leagues back in 2010, weve been waiting for this. Finally, on one astounding evening, he left a powerful imprint -- of what he can do and what he just might become.I think we all knew what he was capable of, Shine said. And now its there. I think this is good for baseball, to have him be the home run king. Im not taking anything away from those other guys. But I think hes the perfect guy to take over the trophy. It was like the stars were lined up a little bit, for somebody who is capable of doing anything in this game. Hes capable of doing things that nobody has ever done.And on this indelible night of Home Run Derby heroics, thats exactly what Giancarlo Stanton did. ' ' '