Dein erstes Forum » d. Its pretty cool to get this World Cup under my bel

INDIANAPOLIS -- NFL sacks champion Robert Mathis admits he made a mistake late last season. Now its going to cost him -- four games and four paychecks. The Colts career sacks leader was suspended Friday by the NFL after violating the leagues ban on performance-enhancing substances. What exactly Mathis tested positive for remains a mystery but the linebacker said in a statement he was seeking fertility assistance. He acknowledged that he and his wife are expecting a baby. "I am deeply saddened that this situation will prevent me from contributing to my team for four games, and I regret that I didnt cross check what my doctor told me before I took the medication, " Mathis said. "I hope that my fans will understand the unique circumstances involved here and continue to know that I am a man of integrity who would never intentionally circumvent the performance enhancing substance policy agreed to by the NFL and my union." Mathis said Commissioner Roger Goodell denied Mathis request to not issue a suspension based on the circumstances. The league issued a statement Friday night about the case: "As Mr. Mathiss agent acknowledged today, his client failed to follow the protocols in the policy that the NFL and NFLPA agreed upon to address precisely these kinds of claims," the NFL said. "That policy also prescribes the disciplinary consequences of a positive test. The policy does not provide - nor should it provide - for the commissioner to override the policys procedures and assess discipline on an after-the-fact, ad hoc basis. Here Mr. Mathis actually withdrew his appeal and accepted discipline at the unions suggestion. His hearing took place only after the Players Association requested that the appeal be reinstated. "The drug for which Mr. Mathis tested positive is not approved by the FDA for fertility in males and is a performance-enhancing drug that has been prohibited for years. Importantly, Mr. Mathis did not consult with the policys independent administrator, a physician jointly approved by the NFL and NFL Players Association. Nor did he consult with his team doctor, the teams training staff, the NFLPA, the league office or the hotline established under the policy to give confidential information to players. Each of these sources would have warned against using this substance. "A cornerstone of the program is that a player is responsible for what is in his body. Consistent application of the policys procedures is critical to the integrity of the program." If the NFLs decision stands, and they almost always do, Mathis would not be eligible to rejoin the Colts until Sept. 29. He is allowed to participate in the teams off-season workouts, training camp and preseason games. The Colts quickly issued a statement saying they would support Mathis, one of the teams elder statesmen and most respected leaders. Mathis set a single-season record with 19 1/2 sacks last season and also broke Dwight Freeneys franchise career record for sacks. In 11 NFL seasons, Mathis has 111 career sacks. "We nevertheless wish to assure Robert and our fans that he remains an honoured and cherished member of the Colts family and that we support him as he deals with this difficult challenge," Mathis said. Its another black eye for a franchise whose owner, Jim Irsay, was arrested near his suburban Indy home in March and preliminarily charged with four felony counts of possession of a controlled substance and a misdemeanour driving while intoxicated charge. Irsay sought medical help two days later and did not return to the team until last weekends draft. Irsay has not spoken publicly about what happened. Mathis was considered an undersized defensive end when the Colts took him in the fifth round of the 2003 draft. It didnt take long, though, for Mathis and Freeney to form one of the NFLs most feared pass-rushing combinations. With Mathis developing his own spin moves to match Freeney, and Freeney developing his own tomahawks chop, imitating Mathis, the two close friends not only put quarterbacks on the ground, they forced fumbles at the leagues highest rate, too. Both emerged as perennial Pro Bowlers, but when they were asked to move to linebacker in new coach Chuck Paganos 3-4 defence, Mathis thrived and Freeney struggled. When the Colts announced last year that they would not re-sign Freeney, many thought Mathis would struggle. Instead, he had the best season of his career and became the first winner of the Deacon Jones Award. Defending that title might be next to impossible in 2014 -- unless he wins an appeal. "We are thrilled that we will be welcoming a new (family) member in several months, but I apologize to my teammates, coaches and Colts fans that I will not be able to contribute to my team for the first four weeks of the 2014 season," Mathis said. "I will work extremely hard during that time to stay in top football shape and will be prepared to contribute immediately upon my return." Authentic Joe Staley Jersey .Y. - Carey Price had an early feeling that one goal might be enough to settle the latest matchup between his Montreal Canadiens and longtime Original Six foe, the New York Rangers. Authentic Antone Exum Jersey .Y. - Matt Harvey wants to make sure hes on the mound in late October — if the New York Mets get there for the first time since 2006. http://www.cheap49ersjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-steve-young-jersey . - UFC 178, previously announced for Sept. Authentic Raheem Mostert Jersey . Indeed, must be among the greatest challenges in all of sports. The pressure he applies, from set to set, game to game, point to point, shot to shot. Authentic Kyle Juszczyk Jersey . -- Catriona Matthew remained atop the Airbus LPGA Classic leaderboard Friday, birdieing four of the last seven holes to take a one-stroke advantage over Charley Hull into the weekend.CALGARY - Kaillie Humphries and Elana Meyers Taylor entered the male world of four-man bobsled Saturday so they can have a race of their own in the future.Canadas Humphries and Meyers Taylor of the U.S. made their World Cup debuts as four-man pilots Saturday in Calgary.Humphries and Meyers Taylor drove all-male crews to 15th and 16th respectively in a field of 17 at Canada Olympic Park. A Latvian sled crashed in the first run and did not race the second heat.Womens bobsled has been a two-person event since it was introduced at the 2002 Winter Olympics, while the men have raced both two-man and four-man sleds since the 1932 Winter Games.(Elana) and I really want to try and get more women driving the four-man and eventually have womens four-man as its own event, so the women can have two events, two and four, and so can the men, Humphries said following the race.In the meantime, this kind of bridges the gap a little bit.Humphries defended her Olympic gold medal in womens bobsled while Meyers Taylor took silver in Sochi, Russia, this year.Hopefully its a starting point to get our own womens discipline, Meyers Taylor said. Thats what were after. If this is all we can do in the meantime, compete against men, were going to give it our best shot and go for it.Humphries finished 1.03 seconds behind and Meyers Taylor 1.68 back of winner Oskars Melbardis of Latvia, who swept the mens races in Calgary. Melbardis drove to four-man gold Saturday after winning the two-man race the previous evening.Francesco Friedrich of Germany took silver with teammate Maximilian Arndt driving another German sled to third. Calgarys Chris Spring and Justin Kripps of Kelowna, B.C., were 10th and 11th respectively.Another Latvian sled piloted by Oskars Kibermanis upended in the first run and slid the remaining two-thirds of the way down the track on its side.It was a reminder of how challenging it is to steer 1,388 pounds worth of sled and bodies 120 kilometres per hour down an icy track. Four-man has been compared to driving a school bus.Driving a four-man is no joke, Humphries acknowledged. Its a premier event, but when it goes wrong, it goes really wrong. It is a lot harder to control and to steer. Youve kind of got to take command of it.It was a hectic race day for Humphries and Meyers Taylor as the pilots had less than an hour between womens bobsled and the mens event.Meyers Taylor and brakeman Charelle Barrett won their second womens World Cup in as many races after taking gold in the season-opener last week in Lake Placid, N.Y.Anja Schneiderheinze and Franziska Bertels of Germany were second. Humphries and new brakeman Kate OBrien of Calgary took bronze.After accepting their flowers, Humphries and Meyers Taylor jumped in cars and quickly returned tto the top of the track for another pair of runs in the longer, heftier sleds with more horsepower pushing them off the start.ddddddddddddHumphries was reluctant to claim making bobsled history. The 29-year-old Calgarian points out there were mixed-gender sleds in the sports origins.I dont think we actually did make history, she explained. When the sport first began, there used to be four girls and one guy, way, way, way back. So really, in all fairness, I think were just going back to the roots of having a woman in with the men.Humphries crew of Dan Dale of Grande Prairie, Alta., D.J. McLelland of Calgary and Joey Nemet of Hamilton, Ont. also made their World Cup debuts Saturday.Im really proud of what she did today and kind of overcame having to do all four runs, two different races and drive two different sleds, Dale said. Its a testament to the kind of competitor she is.Humphries decribed their first run as sketchy, but they were faster in their second run than Krippss sled.Switching between two and four is a challenge especially today I think we saw that in my first run, Humphries said.Thats going to be the balance all year, for Alana and I to figure out how to switch between four-man and two-man. Most of the time we have a day in between to mentally wrap your head around it.Four men built like linebackers charging a sled towards the start line is like watching the running of the bulls. Its a testosterone-laden world.It was pretty cool to be in the start house with all the guys grunting and everything and Im just sitting in the corner listening to my music, Meyers Taylor said. Its pretty cool to get this World Cup under my belt.Meyers Taylor says women sledders from different countries will talk to each other, congratulate and wish each other luck before and between races.The men, they dont talk before the competition at all. You dont go say hi to Germany or whatever, the Californian said.The women in general, we tend to take it as a competition against ourselves. Were just trying to be as fast as we can down the hill. The men are competing one on one. Theyre out for blood.The Canadian bobsled and skeleton teams depart Dec. 30 for the next World Cup stop in Altenberg, Germany.Humphries will race the womens event there, but not four-man on that track. Springs team had a crash there in 2012 that put three of them in the hospital.Its a track thats not on the circuit all the time. Four-man for Kaillie this year isnt about going out and winning World Cup medals, Canadian bobsled coach Chris LeBihan said. Its about her skill acquisition of the four-man.Its not that we dont think Kaillie is good enough, but whether its really worth it based on what were trying to achieve and as a coaching staff we decided no. ' ' '