Gästebuch » defending Big South champ which opens the FCS season Aug

James Sutherland, Cricket Australias chief executive, has claimed the national team had near identical preparation to South Africa despite the facts telling a rather different story.As the hosts came to terms with another disastrous batting display on day one of the Hobart Test, Sutherland said that Steven Smiths team could not blame their preparation for the poor results achieved so far this summer, following on from a 5-0 ODI defeat in South Africa and a 3-0 away pasting at the hands of Sri Lanka before that.Ive heard a little bit of commentary around preparation and I think its interesting. The first thing is that every summer is a little bit different, Sutherland said on ABC Radio. If we cast our minds forward to next year there will be more opportunities for Shield cricket, thats a different schedule again because the season will start later.But also that criticism around the preparation, I dont think the preparation is anything that Australian cricket can complain about because South Africa have had the same schedule in terms of preparation as we have. We have both played each other in one-day matches in October, came through here, had various forms of long-form or other preparatory matches.They played a game in Adelaide under lights as Shield cricket played under lights. So if you draw that comparison the team we are playing against hasnt had any different preparation. So yes, ideally you might have a different preparation but the fact of the matter is you cant.In contradiction of Sutherlands words, Australias players did not get the chance to play even a single match with a red ball in between the Sri Lanka and South Africa Test series. By contrast, many of South Africas players - those not taking part in the ODIs at home - were able to play first-class cricket during this period, and then had two warm-up matches in contrast to the one (pink ball) Shield game played before the Perth Test.Sutherland noted that there was a wider effort currently being undertaken at ICC level to reduce the amount of international cricket played while adding the context of league structures across each format. Such a move would in turn allow more room for domestic schedules to breathe.The reality is the future tours program requires us to play a certain amount of cricket at home and whatever we play at home weve got to reciprocate away, he said. So the complexity around that is greater because most countries share the same season as us. So we have to find ourselves playing matches like we did this year in October against South Africa. We couldnt play them earlier because thats not their season, their season is October. We are having them and then Pakistan later in our peak season.From that perspective the schedule is difficult and at ICC level its something were working very hard on to try and get more structure to refine the way in which international cricket is played and to be honest ultimately play less international cricket so that its more valuable and is not these random series that crop up all the time. That we have context through some sort of a league structure. The hope is there will be less international cricket which allows gaps in preparation but also ideally for international cricket to be more valuable and precious.Responding to criticism directed at the captain Steven Smith, Sutherland said that while all were impatient for immediate success, there was a strong belief within CA that Smith was the right man for the job - as evidenced by his steely innings while the rest fell around him on day one at Bellerive Oval.Were certainly very conscious of the fact that Steve has come into the role much younger...than any of his four or five predecessors, Sutherland said. I had a look the other day - you go back to Border, Taylor, Waugh, Ponting, Clarke...between 29 and 34 I think they came into the captaincy of the Australian team. Steve was 26. All of them came in being world-class batsmen. But I dont think if you look back in history, certainly in my time [as CEO], none of them have made an easy or smooth transition into the job.Its a big step up and its a real challenge and even more so if you dont have the players around you that are performing as well as they might or could or whatever. So that added challenge is there. But we have a very high regard for Steve Smith as a person, as a leader, and obviously as a cricketer and we think that with his support and as he builds the team around him and they perform hes got a very bright future as a leader for a long time. Tavon Austin Jersey . Bjorn, who had a 36-hole total of 8-under 134, made a testing six-foot putt to save par on the 16th and a birdie on the 17th before bogeying the final hole after a misjudged approach shot. American Kevin Streelman was in second place after shooting a 69. Dak Prescott Jersey . 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(STATS) -- Theyve filled an entire hand with national championship rings.Yet the North Dakota State Bison never allow themselves to become satisfied.Not when theres a whole other hand to start filling this season.Unsurprisingly, North Dakota State will enter the 2016 season as FCS prohibitive favorite yet again. Having won an NCAA-record five straight national titles, the Bison earned 152 of the 158 first-place votes Monday in the STATS FCS Preseason Top 25.Yes, its still a Bison world until proven otherwise.To me, its business as usual, said third-year coach Chris Klieman, whose team whipped Jacksonville State 37-10 in the national title game to finish 13-2 last season.Stay humble, stay hungry. Weve got a long ways to go. What you did yesterday is great, but it pales in comparison to what you can do today. 2015 was dynamite; its a new season, a new team and our goal is the same as its always going to be and has been for a long time -- be in the position to compete for the Missouri Valley Conference championship.The Missouri Valley is regarded as the strongest conference in the FCS and North Dakota State has won at least a share of its last five titles. This years team returns 14 starters and resolved any potential starting quarterback questions when Easton Stick went 8-0 last season while replacing an injured Carson Wentz.Stick will have plenty of help, as NDSU will roll out its power run game, led by senior tailback King Frazier, complementing a defense that has been the best in the nation while the Bison have built their dynasty. Linebacker Nick DeLuca and defensive end Greg Menard lead this years unit.The Bison are followed in the Top 5 by Sam Houston State, which earned two first-place votes; Jacksonville State, which earned the other four; Richmond; and Northern Iowa. Over the past two postseasons, NDSU has knocked out all of them.Last year, Southland Conference power Sam Houston (11-4) reached the national semifinals for the fourth time in five seasons before falling to Jacksonville State. Quarterback Jeremiah Briscoe will be at the controls of coach K.C. Keelers Bearkats offense, which was top-ranked in the FCS last season.Speaking of explosive offenses, Jacksonville State (13-2) returns All-America quarterback Eli Jenkins and top wide receiver Josh Barge. Plus, the two-time defending Ohio Valley Conference champions are motivated following their disappointing finish against North Dakota State.We did not give them our best shot, so we want to get back to that game and play well, coach John Grass said. You can live wiith it if you played well, but we didnt.dddddddddddd We have a hunger to get back there, but you have to take it week-by-week as each week is its own season.Richmond (10-4) returns its quarterback, Kyle Lauletta, as well. But the Spiders, who earned a three-way share of the CAA Football title, are particularly well-rounded. They return eight starters on each side of the ball.Northern Iowa (9-4) will butt heads with NDSU in the Missouri Valley, and the physical Panthers pose the biggest threat with two returning 1,000-yard rushers: quarterback Aaron Bailey and running back Tyvis Smith.The rest of the Top 10 is No. 6 Chattanooga (9-4), which has won three straight Southern Conference titles; Charleston Southern (10-3), the defending Big South champ which opens the FCS season Aug. 27 against North Dakota State in the FCS Kickoff; South Dakota State (8-4) from the Missouri Valley; William & Mary (9-4), a defending CAA co-champ; and Illinois State (10-2), a defending Missouri Valley co-champ.Defending Southland champ McNeese State (10-1) was No. 11, followed by James Madison (9-3), another CAA champ last season; Montana (8-5); Eastern Washington (6-5); The Citadel (9-4), which shared the Southern Conference title; Coastal Carolina (9-3), which is playing an independent schedule in its final season on the FCS level; Portland State (9-3); Northern Arizona (7-4); North Dakota (7-4); and Western Illinois (7-6).Rounding out the Top 25 were No. 21 Colgate (9-4), the defending Patriot League champ; New Hampshire (7-5); Villanova (6-5); Towson (7-4); and North Carolina A&T (10-2), which won a share of the MEAC title.The first teams outside the rankings were Youngstown State and Fordham.The power conferences ruled the preseason Top 25 with the CAA collecting six selections, and the Big Sky and Missouri Valley gaining five apiece. Nine conferences had at least one representative.A national panel of sports information and media relations directors, broadcasters, writers and other dignitaries select the STATS FCS Top 25. In the voting, a first-place vote is worth 25 points, a second-place vote 24 points, all the way down to one point for a 25th-place vote.The Top 25 is released every Monday afternoon during the regular season, except for Sunday morning, Nov. 20, prior to the selection of the 24-team FCS playoff field. A final Top 25 will follow the FCS championship game, which will be held Jan. 7 in Frisco, Texas. ' ' '