he said when asked if he had arrived in Sydney thinking GWS were on a rocket to the top

EUGENE, Ore. -- A top-10 VERT Challenge showdown between No. 1 Nebraska and No. 10 Florida Friday in Eugene did not disappoint. The Huskers took home the season-opening 3-1 win at Matthew Knight Arena, but a young Gators team rallied to win the first set 27-25 and, despite the loss, will take plenty of lessons and notes as it moves forward.There is a reason they are the preseason No. 1-ranked team, Florida head coach Mary Wise said. Theyre very efficient and low error. It was the first time Shainah Joseph has played the O2, first time Caroline Knop has worn the libero jersey, first start for Taelor Kellum, the first time Allie Gregory, Darrielle King, Morgyn Greer, Rachael Kramer and Chanelle Hargreaves have played in a college match. Thats a lot of firsts against the defending national champions. Were an awfully young team to go toe-to-toe with such an experienced team this early in the season.Gator veteran pin hitters Alex Holston and Carli Snyder combined for 34 kills and 25 digs - Snyder posting a double-double (16k, 16d), while Holston slammed down a team-leading 18 kills and was one scoop shy (9) of a double-double. Team captain Rhamat Alhassan, who enters her junior season at the University of Florida as the active career leader in the NCAA in hitting efficiency (.437) and is tied for second in career blocks per set (1.47), chipped in 10 kills against Nebraska.Florida redshirt sophomore setter Allie Monserez dished out a career high 49 assists and Knop joined Snyder with double-digit digs (11). King (3) and Greer (1) had their first career kills while Gregory (6) and Hargreaves (1) contributed digs in their first UF matches.It took extra points in the first for a 27-25 Gators set win, highlighted by seven kills from Holston, plus seven digs and four kills for Snyder, and was sealed with a block from Alhassan and Joseph. The Huskers went on to close out the match with three consecutive set wins: 25-15, 25-16 and 25-21. Florida battled in the fourth, narrowing the Nebraska lead, 22-20, but the defending champion Huskers prevailed. Jeff Bagwell Jersey .Y. -- Marcell Dareus and the Buffalo Bills defence made life miserable for Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco. Jeff Kent Jersey . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . https://www.cheapastros.com/113o-roger-clemens-jersey-astros.html . Giroud, who wasnt in the starting lineup for two matches after allegations about his private life and a decline in form, scored twice in the first half. Tomas Rosickys chip made it 3-0 before half time at Emirates Stadium, while defender Laurent Koscielny scored an unmarked header in the second half. Astros Jerseys 2020 . Collaros, 25, was solid last season, posting a 5-2 record as the starter while incumbent Ricky Ray was injured. Collaros also started Torontos 23-20 regular-season finale loss to Montreal — Ray didnt dress because the Argos had already clinched first in the East Division — but was one of three quarterbacks to play that day. Aledmys Diaz Astros Jersey .Y. - New York City has been selected to host the NBA All-Star weekend in 2015, with the game played at Madison Square Garden and the slam dunk contest and other skills events held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Brilliant sunshine dapples the SCG on Wednesday morning as the Sydney Swans take the field for their main training session. This is the weather the harbour city is famed for, the kind that allows thoughts of the beach as late in the year as April and as early as September.It is also part of what defines Sydney as distinct from Melbourne, with its much derided fickle weather, weird terminology for beer glasses down the pub and embrace of that funny indigenous game where there is no advantage line: AFL.This year, though, a strange thing has happened. Sydney has somehow managed to achieve equal representation in the finals for the penultimate week of the AFL season. On Friday, the Swans will travel to the MCG to play Geelong. Then on Saturday, the leagues own venture capitalist project, Greater Western Sydney, will host the Western Bulldogs at Spotless Stadium.A further irony to this scenario is added by the fact that GWS progression to this week came at the expense of the Swans themselves, in a qualifying final at ANZ Stadium. That result arguably summed up the sense of quiet (though occasionally more vocal) resentment felt by the Swans towards their relatively new rivals, given all the outside assistance GWS have received in the AFLs pursuit of a more substantial market share north of the Murray River.But the fact of the matter is that the Swans were themselves once the beneficiaries of league assistance in dire times, and some would levy the accusation that they still are. The twin towers of Kurt Tippett and Lance Franklin both arrived through high-profile deals that had other clubs and supporters wondering at the mathematical improbability of it all.That assistance had begun as far back as 1993 and the appointment of Ron Barassi as coach. As recounted by Peter Lalor in his biography: What should have been the AFLs defining moment of expansion was a continual running sore, an ill-planned blight blight on its spreading empire. Too far away to deal with properly, too foreign to understand. The Victorians found an entrenched and hostile local opposition and were losing the battle.Year by year, piece by piece, the Swans were built up into the impressive unit they are in 2016. A grand final appearance arrived as soon as 1996, before premierships in 2005 and 2012. Through the work of Barassi, Rodney Eade, Paul Roos and now John Longmire, Sydney have put their stamp on the league in a way that now allows regeneration more or less seamlessly. The captain, Kieran Jack, is a local product, and he noted how the list has turned over since the 2012 finals.Weve probably spoken about it during the year a little bit, the development and how quickly its been able to regenerate itself, Jack said. We did a photo last week with the Adelaide game and I think there were only six players who played in that final over in Adelaide in 2012, so its happened really quickly, but its a credit to the club, the development staff, the coaches, the leaders that are around to be able to quickly bring them up to speed.Theyve probably seen it from afar the finals games with the Swans playing in it, it helps that theyve been involved, but probably the differences between the last two weeks have also helped them really simplify things, know what works, the level of play they need to play at, theyll take confidence going into Friday.The Swans possess two of the competitions most admired youngsters, the 2016 Rising Star Callum Mills and also the coaches choice as best young player, Isaac Heeney. It has been Jacks responsibility to imbue the young men with the values the club has espoused for some time, much as the likes of Brett Kirk and Jarrad McVeigh did for him. Focused on the spectre of the Cats, Jack kept it pretty simple, andd harked back to a win at Geelong earlier in the year.ddddddddddddI just think our attitude and desire to put pressure on the ball was top notch, some of the best weve done for the year, he said. so its pretty simple, thats what we need to bring.Youve got to realise these opportunities dont come around very often so thats the messaging were getting across to the young boys and youve just got to enjoy it and realise what youre playing for. We dont care what position were in medical side or form side or what the betting is saying, weve got a chance to play in a Grand Final and thats what youve got to look forward to.An hour or so after Jack speaks, Heath Shaw does the same for GWS. The Swans last premiership also happened to be the first season for the Giants, in which the fledgling club picked up two wins. Four years on and the ledger entering September 2016 was 16 wins and six losses, enough to squeeze into the top four on percentage. Their progress is in sharp contrast to the dead end seemingly reached by fellow expansion club Gold Coast.The result of generous trade and draft concessions by the AFL to its subsidiary, used with great effectiveness by a coaching group helmed by Leon Cameron, is a highly skilled and motivated group, now rested extensively ahead of battle with the Bulldogs. Shaw arrived three years ago, thinking he would help develop the team and AFL in the west of Sydney. He was happy to admit this years progress was unexpected.This quickly, nah, he said when asked if he had arrived in Sydney thinking GWS were on a rocket to the top. I knew there was the talent and the players there but they were 19-20 years old when I first got here, the previous year theyd won one game, my expectations were pretty low going into my first year but we won six games and that was a big tick for us.Next year we set the standard a little bit higher, we won 11 games, just missed finals and once again we gave that year a tick, this year we lifted again, but there was a quiet confidence about this group that wed done alright and we could do a lot better and it showed throughout this year the way we went about it.Weve had some lulls but we are confident we can beat anyone, this group has fast tracked in the last 12 months phenomenally and I am rapt to be part of this club, I am rapt I made the decision to come here and I am rapt to be playing in a prelim because a two year hiatus from finals isnt fun at all.One thing that has not developed at the same speed at the Giants is the level of support for the AFL in Sydney. While the Swans have built up a dedicated and strong supporter base, they are secondary figures to the NRL and Union culture of NSW. The Giants remain the subject of derision for the same reason, as Roy Masters thundered in the Sydney Morning Herald this week:The Giants dont belong to Sydney; they belong to the AFL who has subsidised them over $100m, gifted them No.1 draft choices, salary cap concessions and exclusive access to NSW regions to put them in a position where they can make the grand final after five years.Even Mills, on the occasion of winning the Rising Star award, remarked that the great thing about playing in Sydney is that no-one knows who he is. That may well change should both Sydney teams find a way to elbow past their Victorian opponents at the weekend.There was even an omen of sorts in the hours after Swans training wrapped up at the SCG. Where earlier the skies had been the purest blue and the sun offering plenty of sting, by afternoon the clouds had arrived and rude rain forced the deployment of umbrellas and jackets. How very Melbourne. ' ' '