Pirate Galaxy » Bison within 10-7.Im not a big fan of SDSU

In the afterglow of the London Olympics, Sport Englands funding allocation for the next four years was always going to be a tough one for cricket. The emphasis was on Olympic medals, legacies, and the importance of minority sports, which were suddenly held to be a vital part of the nations fabric.That the ECB emerged with some relief, with a reduced grant of ￡20m - and with a further ￡7.5m awarded to the Chance to Shine initiative to promote cricket in State schools - owed much to the boards strengthened commitment to engage with South Asian cricketing communities. Easy to say, difficult to make a real and lasting impact.That both professional and recreational cricket is becoming more multi-racial is undeniable. Integration is happening. But progress has been patchy, slowed variously by old-school league officials or clubs with little appetite for change, and by the itinerant nature of many cricketers with Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi and Sri Lankan antecedents, many of whom still play ad-hoc cricket in Sunday park leagues, where facilities are poor and pitches are rarely of a quality for players to progress.Sport Englands Director of Sport, Phil Smith, outlined the challenge when he told ESPNcricinfo: Participation in cricket has traditionally been very strong within South Asian communities. Over 40% of current regular cricketers in England are non-white, making cricket one of the most diverse sports already.Some individuals are playing regularly in informal settings or unaffiliated leagues outside the realm of formal cricket structures of the county cricket boards, so the challenge for the ECB is to bring this community into the mainstream of the game.The ECB has worked in the past with the traditional club sector, queasily aware that a vibrant yet informal Asian catchment was largely passing them by. Nick Marriner, policy and research manager at the ECB, said: Theres a massive untapped demand for more participation amongst the South Asian community. We know a lot of South Asians play cricket outside the traditional affiliated club network. Previously weve not really engaged in that way.The solution is both imaginative and unproven. With the help of the Club Cricket Conference, the ECB will focus on five target cities: London, Birmingham, Leicester, Leeds and Bradford, where research has shown there is most potential for progress.Paul Bedford, head of non-first-class cricket at the ECB, said: There was the highest level of latent demand for playing cricket in the South Asian community than in any other group. In a high proportion of cases, we werent as close to [tapping that demand] as we should have been. We have also identified the cities where people wanted to play cricket more than anywhere else.The Club Cricket Conference is little known outside the Home Counties, but a programme of fixtures and tours against Affiliate and Associate nations has recently shown it has an appetite for regaining its influence of half a century ago, when it would produce representative sides to face touring teams.Two years from its centenary, the Club Cricket Conference has the chance to re-establish itself as a driving force in Englands club network. It has been asked to act as a catalyst to persuade South Asian park cricket to become more mainstream and to awaken the county boards, run largely by well-meaning elderly white middle-class men, to the untapped potential on their doorstep.The county boards responsible for the five cities chosen have until October 1 to prove themselves fit for investment. Good things are happening in Leicester already, according to Bedford, and they need to be, because, strikingly, the Leicestershire Premier League does not include one club from the city itself.Land in Birmingham has been identified that can be developed, but Yorkshires passive approach at amateur level has yet to show the foresight of the county club itself, which in the past 15 years has made giant strides in terms of minority ethnic communities. Announcing that you are from the ECB in Yorkshire league circles is not always a passport to popularity; heaven knows what they will make of the Club Cricket Conference.The task is to win over hearts and minds, to find community leaders who can instil the right virtues, and to prove to the traditional clubs and the tens of thousands of informal South Asian cricketers that the pace of integration will be quickened. For a body with only a handful of full-time paid employees, it is an onerous task.Gulfraz Riaz, the conferences development manager, says eight leagues representing 2300 cricketers have been persuaded to affiliate in the past eight months. We are not saying it is a takeover, he said. We are saying there are certain guidelines that must be followed for the good of cricket.Representatives of communities need to understand their responsibilities. There is the need for a player pathway, there are welfare issues, there is the need for child protection and first-aid training, there are constitutional issues, insurance, community cohesion, player registration, coaching opportunities. That is where the conference, under the umbrella of the ECB, can provide guidance.The conference is most recognised these days as a fixture bureau, helping clubs arrange friendly games outside the normal league structure. It can also offer representative cricket for men and women against county 2nd X1s and a developmental U-21 side, and is building links with university cricket, all of which offers opportunities for the best players from park leagues who are willing to embrace a more integrated future. The next task is simple but potentially hugely beneficial. They plan to develop an online ground-sharing scheme in which traditional clubs, which tend to play league cricket on a Saturday, will hire out their grounds on a Sunday to South Asian cricketers seeking better facilities either because council upkeep of their squares has deteriorated, because their grounds have been closed, or simply because the thriving parks cricket scene is simply outgrowing the facilities available. Ground shares are already happening, but the possibilities are much greater. Ground shares are the first stage to a sense of belonging and, for the best players, a pathway to a first professional contract.Asian guys will be able to play on better grounds, traditional clubs will get a bit of revenue, and equally importantly, we will encourage integration, Riaz said. Some players will say, We would like to be part of this club and still have our own identity on a Sunday.We see traditional English clubs struggling financially and we have these thriving cricket communities looking to better themselves. Ground shares can be the first stage in closer relationships. Once you get junior members from an Asian background involved in traditional clubs then change quickens. Parents want to sit on the committee. They say, I might not drink alcohol but I can help organise a barbeque with halal food, I can support fund-raising events. The knock-on effects are potentially huge.My club in Watford has about 20% Asian membership. At the time of the Pakistan floods we raised ￡4000 in an afternoon of cricket, food, auctions and raffles and collected donations of 150 bags of clothes. Times are changing and we are working together. The sense of a cricketing family is absolutely vital. It is about the right people from the right communities saying the right things at the right time.Riaz accepts the argument that many South Asian cricketers have been too itinerant for their own good. Players do tend to join and leave clubs in fours and fives. Thats disruptive and thats a fact, he said. Our brief is to achieve sustained integration, which will provide a pathway for park cricketers and will help to sustain traditional English clubs. In some places the mindset hasnt changed from 30 years ago. In wanting to be recognised, sometimes you have to meet halfway.Tomorrow in our series on engaging with South Asian communities in England: Tim Wigmores profile of Shiv Thakor, the exciting young Leicestershire allrounder and England U-19 captain Bernie Kosar Womens Jersey .S. Open champion Justin Rose birdied the first hole with a blind shot he hit to a foot of the pin, and he stayed in front Tuesday until he completed a 4-under 67 for a two-shot lead over Jason Dufner in PGA Grand Slam of Golf. Denzel Ward Womens Jersey .com) - Following a late-game loss to the reigning NBA champs, the Toronto Raptors will look to sustain their recent high-level play as they travel to Indiana to take on the Pacers. http://www.brownsrookiestore.com/Browns-Sione-Takitaki-Jersey/ .B. -- The Baie-Comeau Drakkar took over sole possession of first place atop the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League on Thursday with their sixth straight win. 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It sure sounds like a typical win for North Dakota States FCS dynasty.But it didnt amount to being quite that Saturday as the top-seeded Bison advanced in the FCS playoffs with a 36-10 quarterfinal-round triumph against a rival South Dakota State squad that handed them their only loss in the regular season.NDSU (12-1) had to overcome its first double-digit deficit of the season to overpower the eighth-seeded co-champion from the Missouri Valley Football Conference. The Bison are two wins away from extending their record run of five straight FCS national championships, but the semifinals figure to be tough as well when they host No. 4 seed James Madison (12-1) at the Fargodome Friday night.In the only previous meeting, NDSU beat James Madison 26-14 in the second round of the 2011 playoffs -- the first win in the Bisons run of FCS championship seasons.Year in and year out, this football team continues to get better, and thats the thing Im most excited about as a coach, NDSUs Chris Klieman said. We do continue to improve. We dont really plateau in the season. We continue to gain momentum.It helps that NDSU has never lost at home in the FCS playoffs -- an 18-0 mark this decade -- because SDSU won 19-17 with a last-second touchdown at the Fargodome on Oct. 15.The visiting Jackrabbits (9-4) jumped to a 10-0 lead Saturday by scoring on their first two possessions, but NDSU eventually settled into its usual style of physical domination. Sophomore quarterback Easton Stick ran for two touchdowns and threw for one and the Bison rushed for 302 yards while controlling the ball for 40 minutes, 55 seconds. It included a second-quarter touchdown drive that lasted 12:09.It was vital that NDSU kept SDSUs potent offense on the sideline. Quarterback Taryn Christion had 444 yards of total offense in the Jackrabbits regular season win, but he gained only 139 Saturday.We played the way we had to play, owning the time of possession and limiting their plays and keeping a really good offense down to under four plays, Klieman said. That was the formula for our success.No possession epitomized the game, if not the Bison season, like their vintage touchdown drive that provided their first lead of the game. The Bison held the baall for 20 plays while going 82 yards before Stick scored on a 3-yard run to make it 14-10 with 1:48 left in the first half.dddddddddddd SDSUs gassed defense bit on a faked handoff and Stick rolled right on a bootleg to the front corner of the end zone.Their best defense was their offense, Jackrabbits coach John Stiegelmeier said.NDSUs lead stayed that way into the third quarter and SDSU safety Nick Farina intercepted Stick at the Jackrabbits 1-yard line. But that staved off a score only momentarily as on the second play of the Jackrabbits ensuing drive, Bison defensive tackle Grant Morgan tackled running back Brady Mengarelli in his end zone for a safety, which extended the lead to 16-10 with 9:13 remaining in the quarter.The Bison got the ball right back and Cam Pederson kicked a 35-yard field goal at the 5:27 mark to put them ahead 19-10. He added a 45-yard field goal before the third quarter was over.In the fourth, Stick ended a 90-yard drive with a 14-yard run and he later connected with wide receiver Darrius Shepherd for a screen pass that resulted in a 67-yard touchdown pass.Stick completed 12 of 21 attempts for 188 yards, rushing for 83 yards on 16 carries. King Frazier carried the ball 15 times for 101 yards and Lance Dunn finished with 13 carries for 91 yards, including a 49-yard first-quarter touchdown to pull the Bison within 10-7.Im not a big fan of SDSU at all. Im pretty sure my brothers arent, either, Frazier said. I just felt like we came out with a chip on our shoulder with something to prove. That first game isnt really how we shouldve performed. And we came out and did our thing today.SDSU, which has never had a 10-win season, got everybodys attention with its 10-0 lead. The Jackrabbits capped the games opening drive with one of the more unique touchdowns of the college football season. Coming out of a timeout, they lined up in a deceptive formation of upright linemen, and a squatting Mengarelli took the handoff down low and emerged untouched for a 5-yard run.Linebacker Christian Rozeboom collected a game-high 12 tackles for the Jackrabbits. For NDSU, Greg Menard (sack) and Robbie Grimsley were in on five tackles each and Tre Dempsey had his Missouri Valley-leading sixth interception of the season. ' ' '