Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week, they discuss the NFL and marijuana, Canadian world champion boxer Bermane Stiverne, Steve Kerrs choice for head coach and FIFA backtracking on Qatar 2022. Dave Naylor, TSN Radio 1050: My thumb is up to the National Football League which - according to reports this week - is planning to soften its penalties for players who test positive for marijuana. Look, even if youre part of the minority which still believes pot should be illegal, its not hard to see the hypocrisy here. The NFL is a down-and-dirty league, where all kinds of nasty stuff happens and players are often welcomed back to the field despite risky and dangerous behavior. And yet, as of now, Clevelands Josh Gordon will miss this coming season because he did something that is legal in two states and which many believe is a safer way to manage the pain associated with pro football than popping pills. What would the NFL be like if the league stopped testing for weed altogether? Well, we have a pretty good idea because in Canada the CFL does not list marijuana as a banned substance. And frankly, no one cares. The NFL has followed the CFLs lead when it comes to the forward pass, two-point converts and a few other things … its time to follow its lead on pot as well. Steve Simmons, Sun Media: My thumb is up Bermane Stiverne, and if you dont know the name, youre not alone. A week ago, Stiverne, the Haitian-born Montreal-raised boxer, won the WBC heavyweight championship. Once upon a time, that was a title that began with Sonny Liston and moved through Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier and Larry Holmes and George Foreman and Mike Tyson and another Canadian of other countries, Lennox Lewis. It was the title of all titles not just in boxing, but in all of sport: heavyweight champion of the world. Somewhere in time that disappeared, just not the history; now its Stivernes time, after his sixth round stoppage of Chris Arreola in Los Angeles. He might be like Trevor Berbick, a one and done champion. But after all these years, we still remember Berbicks name. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated: My thumb is up to Steve Kerr for a wise choice. Offered coaching positions with the Knicks and Warriors, the broadcaster took door no. 2, Golden State. The job might not be all rainbows and lollipops because Warrior players are angry former coach Mark Jackson was fired, but it is a better option than Madison Square Garden, the worlds most famous asylum. Kerr wont have to answer to bullying owner James Dolan or face inevitable second-guessing from Knicks president Phil Jackson, a fair coach himself. Golden state provides Kerr with a more talented roster and a better family situation, but mostly if offers a truly precious commodity - sanity. Dave Hodge, TSN: My thumb is down to soccers world governing body, FIFA for managing to sound dumber than its president, Sepp Blatter. Blatter has finally admitted that the selection of Qatar as the site of the 2022 World Cup was a mistake, which, until now, has been obvious to all but FIFA, because if the summertime heat makes it dangerous to watch a soccer match, its probably not a good idea to play in one. But, said Blatter, people do make mistakes. Well, an embarrassed FIFA spokesman tried to distance the organization from Blatters remarks by claiming that Blatter never actually said that Qatar was the wrong choice, which means that Blatter meant...... FIFA made the right choice and it was a mistake. They cant even stand this heat. . Adam LaRoche will take that. "I like our position in the standings and I like how our team is playing," LaRoche said after Washington swept a day-night doubleheader from the Cubs on Saturday. . "Its not done, but its a huge step," Hannover general manager Dirk Dufner said. Poor defending allowed the visitors to score in the second minute, when Leon Andreasens header from Christian Panders cross sent the ball inside the far post.
http://www.cheapwhitesoxjerseysauthenti ... ago-jersey. The deal will pay Hainsey $3 million for the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons and $2.5 million in 2016-17. . Keenum will make his first appearance in a regular-season game against the rugged defence of the undefeated Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium, where the fans just set a Guinness record as the noisiest outdoor stadium in the world. .C. Lions. The clubs former starting quarterback, assistant and head coach returned Thursday as its receivers coach. HOUSTON -- When DeMarcus Cousins picked up two fouls in the first 6 minutes against Houston, it looked as if it could be a tough night for the Sacramento centre. Cousins was able to shake off the early foul trouble and took over late in the fourth quarter to lift the Kings to a 110-106 victory over the Rockets on Tuesday night. Rudy Gay had 25 points to help in the victory. The Kings trailed by three points before Cousins scored four quick points to make it 105-104. He then stole the ball from James Harden and passed to Ben McLemore for an easy layup. On the next play, Cousin took a charge from Harden to give the Kings the ball back. "DeMarcus has proven and shown many times that hes willing to give up his body in key situations," Sacramento coach Michael Malone said. "To see him do that, to be in the right spot to give his body up and give us an extra possession is big-time. He had a great game." Cousins admitted that he gets a little too excited to face marquee players like Dwight Howard. "I was so antsy, I was so pumped to play well," he said. "I guess you could say that got me in foul trouble." The late comeback ruined a big night by Harden, who finished with a season-high 38 points and had 10 rebounds and two steals. "The first half we were sluggish we didnt play with any energy," Harden said. "The second half we played a lot harder (but) we cant keep coming up short and coming out with these slow first halves." Gay has scored at least 20 points in seven of his 10 games since being traded from Toronto. Cousins had 17 points, 16 rebounds and four steals, and Marcus Thornton added 15 points. Isaiah Thomas scored six straight points for Sacramento to give the Kings a 101-100 lead with 2:39 remaining. That spurt was capped by his only 3-pointer to extend his streak of 24 straight games with at least one 3-pointer, which is the fourth-longest streak in team history. He had 17 points and 10 assists. A dunk by Terrence Jones and a jump shot by Harden put Houston back up 104-101 before Cousins went to work.dddddddddddd Howard had 15 points and eight rebounds for Houston, and Jeremy Lin added 14 points and six assists. "We shouldnt have let them stick around," Howard said. "We allowed that to happen and they played with confidence in the second half, they hit shots and they got a good win." Houston coach Kevin McHale cant figure out why his team struggles to play consistently. "Weve played some poor games and this was another," he said. "It doesnt feel like were in much of a rhythm." The game was tied when Harden took over, scoring six of the points in an 8-1 run to give Houston a 98-92 lead with 5 minutes left. He capped it with a 3-pointer with rookie McLemore right in his face and held up three fingers on each hand as the crowd went wild. Cousins made a dunk which he was fouled on to cut Houstons lead to 88-84 with about 9 1/2 minutes remaining. He slipped after the dunk and remained face down on the court laughing for a few seconds before getting to his feet and missing the free throw. His dunk was part of a 10-2 run that tied it at 90 with 7 minutes left. Quincy Acy gave Sacramento a one-point lead with a layup with about 3 minutes left in the third quarter. The Rockets regained the lead with a 10-3 run to end the quarter and make it 86-80. Sacramento had a 60-52 lead early in the third quarter before Harden got hot. He scored nine points for Houston during a 15-7 spurt that put the Rockets up 67-65. Jason Thompson received a technical after that for a clear path violation when he pushed Harden in the back on a fast break. Harden finished the play after the whistle with a one-handed dunk before making one of two free throws. NOTES: Houston C Omer Asik missed his 15th straight game with thigh and knee injuries. ... Sacramento has scored at least 100 points in its last seven games. ... All of Houstons starters have scored in double figures in the last two home games. ' ' '
