Termine » You cant underestimate 6-foot-11, offensive re

It was the chairmans idea.How could he get the NFL, one of the largest global brands in all of sports, to agree to hold regular-season games in a Premier League stadium? It had never been done.Maybe the NFL thought Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy was, as he said, a little bit mad in 2012 when he suggested the two agree to hold NFL games in his clubs new 61,000-seat stadium beginning when it opens in 2018. But the NFL listened.Levy proposed equipping the stadium with a retractable pitch -- a grass soccer field over a synthetic surface for NFL games -- which would make it possible to hold two games in the same stadium on the same day. Over time, Levy also agreed to configure the stadium so the sight lines would be as good for NFL games as they would be for soccer games and to build a dedicated NFL-sized locker room and NFL-sized medical and media facilities.We worked together, Levy said, because it needed to be viewed as a combined joint soccer and NFL stadium. In fact, the way we designed the whole experience is one side of the stadium is a dedicated soccer entrance and the other side is a dedicated NFL entrance.If it ever got to a stage where the NFL decided it wanted to have a permanent team in London, this stadium could literally be, whatever the team was, it would be their stadium as opposed to an NFL team feeling theyre renting Tottenhams stadium.That is a big reason why Mark Waller, the NFLs executive vice president of international, told ESPN.com earlier this year that he could see the league putting a team in London by 2020 if the ownership decided that was something we wanted to do.The NFL has been building a fan base in England since it started its International Series there in 2007. The league has held 14 regular-season games in London -- all at Wembley Stadium -- and will hold three more there this season, including one at Twickenham Stadium, home of Englands national rugby team.Starting in 2018, the NFL will hold at least two games at Tottenhams as-yet-named stadium for a 10-year period, although Levy said, Weve encouraged them to engage with us in a wider way.If the NFL decides it wants to base a team in London, Levy said the Spurs?would like to host it.We would welcome very much close cooperation with the NFL and a dedicated team, Levy said. Obviously a decision is entirely theirs whether they do bring a team to the U.K., and where it would be located is something that would be talked about. But yes, we would be very much welcome to that scenario.When Levy became chairman for the Spurs in 2001, he had three objectives: improve the quality of the team, build a world-class training facility and build a new stadium.When the stadium, which will be adjacent to Tottenhams current White Hart Lane home, is complete, Levy will have achieved all three. Last season, the Spurs finished third in the Premier League, their highest finish of Levys tenure. And a couple of years ago they moved to a new training facility, where they soon will break ground on an addition for player housing.But the stadium and the accompanying neighborhood revitalization project -- both of which are known as the Northumberland Development Project -- are Levys baby. The project includes the construction of new homes, a hotel, a medical facility and a grocery store, among other things.I have lived and breathed this project from day one, the 54-year-old Levy said. It is absolutely my ambition to make this work. When I first started talking about it internally at the club, again I think people around me thought I was mad as well. I guess its my tenacity to get it done because there were many times with the NFL where there wasnt going to be an arrangement. We just kept going back and saying, What about this? What about that?When we first went to them, we went to them with the idea of a joint stadium in some shape or form without going through all the details at that stage. As we sat down and we went through all the operations, we worked out, What does the NFL need? What does soccer need? Basically we had a checklist of all the various things we wanted to achieve, and then at the end of the day it was the best solution.Levy said he researched stadiums in the United States, and while he said he didnt want to give away any trade secrets, the major difference between venues there versus in England is the scale. Theyre enormous, Levy said. So while Tottenhams video boards will be the largest in a European stadium, they wont touch the size of some in the U.S.And although Levy looked at the retractable grass field at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, home of the Cardinals, there were logistical differences there, too. That field retracts outside the indoor stadium, where it can be exposed to sunlight. At the Tottenham site, where land is at a premium, the grass field will retract under the stands and be exposed to artificial light.But unlike Wembley Stadium, the Spurs new venue wont need to be reconfigured to accommodate an NFL field. So the turnaround time from hosting a soccer match on the grass field to an NFL game on the synthetic surface will be two hours.One of the idle thoughts we have at the moment is, would you really be able to play an NFL game and an EPL game on the same day as a doubleheader? Waller said. It wouldnt be absolutely out of the question. I dont think youd want to do it on a regular basis, but on a unique feature, that might be a really interesting idea.Said Levy: I dont think its something wed want to try our first game, but that is certainly realistic. How exciting the idea of having the two biggest leagues in the world from a television perspective -- fantastic! -- play on the same day.While the NFL likes to cite a string of statistics that shows how well it is trending in England -- such as that it has sold out every game at Wembley -- Levy is a bit more conservative in his assessment of whether England can support a full-time NFL franchise.It starts with kids.Kids in school in England dont think about NFL, Levy said. They think about soccer, and to a much, much less extent rugby and cricket. You wouldnt put the NFL in that list at the moment, and therefore one has to be cautious about the timing of the decision and how that is done.I think its possible and I think it can work, otherwise we wouldnt have invested what weve invested in our stadium, and we wouldnt have entered into the arrangement with the NFL. I just think that everyone needs to have their feet on the ground, and just because you sell out three games of 80,000 or 90,000 people [doesnt mean] that a franchise is an automatic success.One NFC front office executive, speaking on the condition of anonymity, says he worries about issues beyond the size of the fan base. He wonders if commissioner Roger Goodell and the league are being overly aggressive with their overseas ambitions during a time when player safety is being emphasized.I would say 2020 is probably the realistic goal in Rogers mind and the owners minds, he said. Theres been so much talk about international. My biggest concern is were trying so hard to go international in so many places too fast that too many bad things can happen. Theyre talking about playing in China. Are you kidding me? Its a bad idea. There are enormous questions about London that havent been answered, but its player safety, player safety, player safety. Regardless of the timeframe, Levy emphasized two things would help put a U.K. franchise in position to succeed. One is the continued engagement of fans, young and old. The other is ensuring that the stadium experience is a real NFL experience, because if its not, not only will the fans attending the game know it, so will the ones watching on television.Tottenham is committed to making the stadium experience special, and if and when the NFL is ready to move a team to London, it will be waiting.Clearly we wouldnt both be putting all this into this stadium if there wasnt the prospect of one day a team eventually coming to London, Levy said. But there are certainly no guarantees that A) a team comes to London, and B) they have to use our stadium.I think were all putting the effort in in the hopes that they will do it. The Arizona-Michigan State game is one of the top matchups on college basketballs opening weekend. And its almost impossible to say how it will play out.The 10th-ranked Wildcats and No. 12 Spartans are national powerhouses just starting the process of reinventing their rosters, while dealing with injuries and other concerns, as they tip off their seasons Friday night from Honolulu in the Armed Forces Classic, beginning at 7 p.m. ET.They have some new guys, they have some old guys, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said of Arizona. Where we are a little bit weak right now is that our old guys dont have as much experience as theirs. But I like our new guys a lot.Arizona has four new starters, including two true freshman starters -- guard Rawle Alkins and power forward Lauri Markkanen, a 3-point shooter and NBA lottery prospect who was the teams leading scorer with 21 points in its final exhibition game against Chico State on Sunday.Izzo is set to unleash what is called his finest recruiting class, a four-man group led by wing Miles Bridges, who had 53 points and 15 rebounds in two exhibition games. Forward Nick Ward and guard Cassius Winston will be key parts of the rotation, and guard Joshua Langford is expected to play after missing both exhibitions due to a hamstring injury.Michigan State -- also replacing four starters from last season -- will be without big men Ben Carter and Gavin Schilling due to knee injuries. That leaves Ward, at 6-8, as the teams tallest player.Arizona, meanwhile, will be without returning leader scorer Allonzo Trier due to reported ongoing eligibility issues; coach Sean Miller has not commented on those. The Wildcats also lost redshirt freshman forward RRay Smith to a third ACL injury during the first exhibition.dddddddddddd He has retired from basketball.Miller was down to seven scholarship players in the second exhibition but said sophomore post player Chance Comanche should be good to go after serving a suspension due to academics. Comanche (6-11) joins a front line that includes 7-footer Markkanen, 7-foot center Dusan Ristic and 6-9 forward Keanu Pinder, a junior college transfer.With Chance, were a much different team, Miller said. You cant underestimate 6-foot-11, offensive rebounder, defensive rebounder, the ability to give us great size and depth up front.Between the teams, as many as seven true freshmen are expected to see significant minutes.As for the returnees, Arizona has senior combo guard Kadeem Allen, a defensive ace who averaged 8.4 points per game last season. Ristic, a junior, is a skilled low-post scorer. Junior Parker Jackson-Cartwright takes over point guard duties from Allen, who will be more off the ball this season.Michigan State is expected to surround Bridges with senior guard Eron Harris (9.3 points per game last season as a 22-game starter), junior point guard Tum Tum Nairn, sophomore guard Matt McQuaid and sophomore forward Kenny Goins.X-factors will be all over the court with new guys and veterans in much bigger roles.Our worries is just our depth and size right now, said Izzo, who has never coached against Miller. Our strengths are I think we can shoot the ball and I think we can be a team that can run very well. Our other worry is whether we can defend and rebound. NFL Jerseys From China Stitched Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys From China Jerseys From China Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '