there should be a reward; if theres no fielder in the vicinity, or th

Jim Harbaugh will see a close friend and former comrade on the other sideline Saturday, but game day is not usually a time for the intense Michigan coach to play nice.The Wolverines are ranked No. 3 in the initial College Football Playoff rankings and Harbaughs squad cant afford a stumble when it hosts improving Maryland in Saturdays Big Ten contest (3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.First-year Terrapins coach DJ Durkin did an exceptional job running Michigans defense during Harbaughs first season at the helm and is now working on establishing Maryland (5-3, 2-3) as a viable program. Durkin also was on Harbaughs Stanford staff from 2007-09.An upset at the famed Big House would rate as Durkins first signature win as a head coach.As a competitor, you look at things as a great challenge. Thats why you want to go play against the best and see how you measure up, Durkin said at a press conference. Thats the approach weve got to take. We certainly understand what theyre capable of. Thats what makes it fun. Thats why you want to play in these types of games and be a part of this conference.Durkin credits Harbaugh for aiding his development as a coach -- theres a long list of things that Ive learned from him, certainly, he said -- and Harbaugh was only too happy to shower him with praise early in the week.Hes done a fabulous job, Harbaugh said at a press conference. Ive always respected DJ as a tremendous competitor at the highest level. You see the energy, you see the strength, you see the competitiveness, execution on the field.The flip side of that is that we know this will be a big game, a championship game. This will be a real test for our club.The Wolverines (8-0, 5-0) hold a one-game lead over Ohio State and Penn State in the Big Tens East division. The stakes were already high but the initial rankings made the task even clearer.Alabama and Clemson are ranked ahead of Michigan in the CFP rankings with Texas A&M and Washington looming right behind. But Ohio State is No. 6 and it reasons that the loser of the Michigan-Ohio State contest later this month will be all but eliminated from one of the four spots.That means the Wolverines need to avoid upset attempts in coming weeks and keep their record unscathed as long as possible.Michigan possesses one of the nations top defenses but a closer-than-expected 32-23 victory against Michigan State last Saturday, and the high number of yards allowed, prompted some concern.Michigan was allowing a national-best 207.9 yards per game entering the contest against the Spartans. That figure now stands at 231.3 after the defensive unit allowed 401 yards to the Spartans, a teetering squad that lost their sixth consecutive game.I think this was probably one of our worst games, senior cornerback Jourdan Lewis said. The first drive, they did some perimeter-running -- stuff we hadnt seen yet. We calmed down and then just took our foot off the pedal and stopped concentrating. Thats what happened.That shouldnt have been close. And we made it close because we didnt execute.The play of Lewis and sophomore outside linebacker Jabrill Peppers (team-best 12.5 tackles for losses) are among the reasons for why the Wolverines lead the nation in total defense, scoring defense (11.6 points per game) and passing defense (120.1).Maryland, which has lost three of its last four games, relies heavily on the ground attack of sophomore Ty Johnson (624 yards, 10.4 average) and true freshman Lorenzo Harrison (575 yards, 7.3 average). Senior quarterback Perry Hills passed for 1,070 yards and 10 touchdowns against only three interceptions.The Terrapins, who allowed a season worst for points in last Saturdays 42-36 loss to Indiana, will try to slow a Michigan attack that has topped 40 six times. Junior weak-side linebacker Shane Cockerille has a team-best 73 tackles and junior outside linebacker Jesse Aniebonam leads the squad with 5.5 sacks.Wolverines sophomore quarterback Wilton Speight has passed for 1,691 yards and 13 touchdowns against three interceptions while senior receiver Amara Darboh has 38 receptions for 664 yards and five touchdowns after accumulating a career-best 165 yards against Michigan State.Slowing down the Michigan offense will be necessary if Maryland is to pull off the upset. And Terrapins senior defensive end Roman Braglio is relishing the chance.Its definitely an opportunity of a lifetime to do that, Braglio said. Were going to take full advantage of it. Theyve got a big target on their back. Thats what happens when youre at the top of the mountain. Were going to come and try to take it. Adidas Nmd Wholesale China . -- Whether Jeremy Hill deserves a prominent role in LSUs offence this early in the season is a matter for debate. Wholesale Adidas NMD R2 . -- Ken Appleby made 32 saves for his first shutout of the season to lead the Oshawa Generals to a 2-0 win over the Belleville Bulls on Wednesday in Ontario Hockey League action. http://www.nmdukonlinestore.com/ .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Adidas Nmd Cheap Uk Sale . Rousey will put her perfect 8-0 record and hardware on the line against another undefeated fighter, 7-0 Sara McMann in the main event of UFC 170, which will be held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas Nevada on February 22nd. Wholesale Adidas Nmd r1 Uk . The defending champion beat Gael Monfils of France 7-6 (6), 6-3, while second-seeded Andy Murray of Britain dispatched Edouard Roger-Vasselin, also of France, 6-3, 6-3. Making his first appearance since injuring his wrist a month ago, Del Potro had difficulty with his service games in the first set. Its encouraging that a current player and a recent retiree have called for an overhaul of the law governing the dimensions of a cricket bat. However, I dont understand why both Josh Hazlewood and Ricky Ponting would agree that the change should only apply to bats used in Test matches.The shorter forms of the game also need to be a fair contest between bat and ball, unless theyre viewed more as entertainment, rather than being worthy of carrying the term cricket in their name.For more than a decade it has made no sense that bats keep improving dramatically while boundary dimensions are being reduced. This combination could only be satisfactory to a connoisseur of clouting or a sadist who had it in for bowlers.As the improvements in bat-making started to really take hold, it became obvious that they were changing the balance of the game in favour of batsmen. Edges that in the past would have been a catching opportunity for second or third slip were suddenly carrying two-thirds of the way to the boundary. This should have sounded alarm bells for lawmakers.The improvement in bats also coincided with a shift to a more conservative mentality in field placements. While this was at first a trend among captains who, influenced by the ubiquity of short-form cricket, erred on the side of containment, it became an obsession when point- and square-leg fieldsmen were regularly posted on the boundary from the reasonably early overs of a Test innings. By then the alarm bells in the halls of officialdom should have been deafening.The more recent improvements in willow manufacture mean the ball is now pinging off the bat at such speeds that bowlers and umpires are in grave danger of being seriously injured. When an umpire starts wearing a helmet or a protective shield on his arm, it shouldnt be difficult to interpret their view. Hopefully it wont be the gut-wrenching sound of sirens that finally influences officials into changing the law.Id only thought of the danger posed to bowlers and umpires in matches. However, former Australian wickketkeeper Ian Healy made the excellent point that young net bowlers engaged to prepare T20 batsmen were even more exposed to the danger posed by batsmen wielding lethal weapons.dddddddddddd. This could also apply at junior cricket levels, where there are large variations in the size and strength of players.One of the primary duties of crickets lawmakers is to maintain a balance - like an evenly weighted pair of scales - between batsmen and bowlers. When the balance is too much in favour of batsmen, it usually results in disgruntled bowlers fighting back by resorting to such drastic tactics as chucking or Bodyline. A good rule of thumb for lawmakers in maintaining that balance is, the mishits should by and large stay within the field of play. If a bowler is good enough to induce a mishit, there should be a reward; if theres no fielder in the vicinity, or there is but he drops the catch, then its bad planning or bad luck, but a mistimed shot shouldnt finish in the stands.When limited-overs cricket first captured the publics imagination, the points of excitement stressed (apart from a tense finish) were improvements in fielding and running between wickets. There wont be much brilliant fielding or the daring Virat Kohli-style of running between wickets if the bulk of the runs are scored in boundary hits.Administrators who believe a high proportion of fans crave sixes should consider the motive of those patrons. I liken six-craving fans to guys who frequent an establishment because the waitresses are topless. When another bar opens down the road shortly afterwards, with waitresses who are even more skimpily attired, they quickly shift their patronage.Its good that modern cricketers are clamouring for a change to the law regarding bat dimensions. However, itll be an even more effective clarion call when it is a current batsman who asks that changes to bat size should occur in all forms of the game. ' ' '