Öffentlicher Bereich » ralia 1 David Warner, 2 Joe Burns, 3 Usman Kha

MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- For Mark Richt, the first nine months back at Miami have been hectic.The first order of business was assembling a staff and salvaging a recruiting class. Then came legal issues for a handful of players, though none of those matters will have a decided effect on the season. That was followed by a probe into players having access to luxury rental cars, which led to Miamis top three tacklers from a year ago being jettisoned.Plus, there was the small matter of figuring out what he had for a football team.Our coaches and players have really just done all we can do, Richt said. Now its time to go line up and play -- and see what we got.In other words, finally, football.Miami opens its first season of the Richt coaching era Saturday night at home against Florida A&M. The Hurricanes new coach will be calling plays, something he hasnt done in a decade and a decision he says has energized him in ways he didnt expect. And hell be relying on quarterback Brad Kaaya, who would unquestionably be considered Miamis most important player.Its something weve all been looking forward to since last December, honestly, said Kaaya, who turns 21 on Saturday. Im just eager to get out there with this team to see what we can do and put on film.Kaaya said he had trouble sleeping this week, his mind loaded with dreams about what Saturday will be like. Richt said he expects to experience some sleeplessness and nerves as well.First time I called plays in the scrimmage in the spring, I didnt sleep that night, Richt said. Wired. Excited.The same applies now to his homecoming. Richt graduated from Miami in 1982.On the other sideline Saturday, theres going to be some homecomings as well.Florida A&M has no shortage of players from the Miami area, and Rattlers coach Alex Wood is a former Hurricanes assistant -- helping the team win two national titles during his time in Coral Gables.Itll be fun to go back, said Wood, who was 1-10 in his debut season at Florida A&M a year ago. They dont play at the Orange Bowl anymore like they did when I was there, but we are, and I am, looking forward to it.Most of Miamis unanswered questions going into the opener are on the defensive side of the ball, especially after Al-Quadin Muhammad and Jermaine Grace were dismissed from the program after an investigation found violations related to the rental-car matter.Miami native Manny Diaz, the Hurricanes new defensive coordinator, offered a succinct answer about how a defense overcomes depth issues.Unbelievable effort, Diaz said, and unwavering violence.---Heres some of what to know going into Saturday night:HONORING THE PAST: Richt wont be the only Miami alum getting cheered Saturday. The Hurricanes invited Ray Bellamy -- the first black player to receive a football scholarship from Miami back in the late 1960s and now a longtime academic advisor at Florida A&M -- to serve as an honorary captain. And Hurricanes grad Sam Dorman, a diving silver medalist at last months Rio Olympics, will be recognized in an on-field ceremony after the first quarter.AT RUNNING BACK: Joe Yearby rushed for 1,002 yards for Miami last season, but Mark Walton -- who had some off-field and now resolved legal issues overshadow his offseason -- earned the starting job. Miami also gets back Gus Edwards, who missed last season with injury.WHATS IN A NAME?: Miami plays at the the newly canopied, newly renamed Hard Rock Stadium. The Miami Dolphins home has been renamed every three years, on average, since it opened in the 1980s so confusion is understandable. Is it Pro Player Stadium? Hard Rock Cafe Stadium? Wood asked, before being told what the actual name is. For the record, it hasnt been Pro Player Stadium since 2005.FOR OPENERS: Richt will try to become the sixth consecutive Miami coach to win his opening home game with the Hurricanes. Also Friday, the Hurricanes announced that theyve sold more than 40,000 season tickets for 2016.THE HISTORY: Florida A&M is 1-9 all-time against Miami, losing the last nine matchups. The lone Rattlers win came in 1979, when Richt was a backup quarterback for the Hurricanes. Since then, the Hurricanes have outscored the Rattlers 441-56 -- an average of 49-6. Their most recent meeting was 2014, a 41-7 Miami victory that was the first of Kaayas collegiate career.Erik McCoy Saints Jersey .875,000, avoiding arbitration. Clippards deal Monday means all eight Nationals players who filed for arbitration wound up settling before a hearing. Marcus Davenport Youth Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. http://www.saintsrookiestore.com/Saints-Wil-Lutz-Jersey/ . For the Wild it was their first win of the season and they now have a record of 1-1-2 while the Jets fall to 2-2. Jets start a six game home stand Friday with another divisional game, home to the Dallas Stars. Michael Thomas Jersey . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. Marshon Lattimore Jersey .J. Ellis hit two-run homers and the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers defeated the San Diego Padres 4-0 Saturday night.Match facts July 26-30, 2016 Start time 10.00 local (04.30 GMT)Big Picture Once upon a time, Sri Lanka beat Australia in a Test series. Like most fairy tales, it was a little bit gruesome - Steve Waugh and Jason Gillespie met grisly fates during Sri Lankas win in the first Test - and somewhat miraculous - persistent rain in the second and third Tests ensured draws that gave Sri Lanka a 1-0 victory. In the coming years, their achievement took on even more mythic proportions. Immediately following that series in 1999, Australia won a world-record 16 consecutive Tests. For a good couple of years, Sri Lanka were the last of the giant-killers.Yet the happy ending of that tour was just that - an ending. Never again have Sri Lanka beaten Australia in a Test, let alone a series. They lost 0-3 at home in 2004 despite the presence of champions such as Muttiah Muralitharan, Kumar Sangakkara, Mahela Jayawardene, Chaminda Vaas and Sanath Jayasuriya. In 2011, Sangakkara and Jayawardene were still there and Australia were ripe for plucking; having suffered an Ashes debacle at home, Australia had slipped to fifth on the Test rankings, below the fourth-placed Sri Lanka. But still Australia emerged with a series win.Now, the last of those legends have faded into retirement, and everything seems stacked against Sri Lanka. Australia are back on top of the Test rankings, Sri Lanka have slipped to seventh. Australia have more or less a full-strength squad; Sri Lanka have several bowlers injured. Even Muralitharan, he of 800 Test wickets, has changed camps and is coaching the Australians on this tour. But there is one solitary link back to that 1999 triumph - that was the series in which Rangana Herath made his Test debut, and Sri Lankas hopes rest largely on his stocky shoulders this time.Australia are yet to lose a Test under Steven Smiths captaincy, and he will be desperate to ensure that continues on his first tour of Asia as skipper. He will have his strike weapon Mitchell Starc back after a long injury lay-off, and a twin spin attack likely at his disposal. Smith himself is the No.1-ranked Test batsman in the world and his fit-again vice-captain David Warner is eighth. And thats without even mentioning the bloke averaging 95.50. If Sri Lanka want another fairy tale, theyll need a touch of the miraculous once again.Form guide Sri Lanka: DLLLL (last five completed matches, most recent first)? Australia: WWDWWIn the spotlight To overcome Australia, the Sri Lankans may just need something special from a one-man band. Fortunately, they have the Mike Oldfield of cricket. In the past five years, no Test player has accumulated more five-wicket hauls or ten-wicket matches than Rangana Herath. And only one man - Stuart Broad - has equalled him for Man-of-the-Match awards in that time. At home, Herath is an ever-present threat, and no player is more important to Sri Lankas chances in this series. There is no Dhammika Prasad, no Dushmantha Chameera, no Shaminda Eranga. But while Herath remains, Sri Lanka can dream.dddddddddddd.Last time Australia played a Test series in Sri Lanka, Nathan Lyon was as green as the Adelaide Oval outfield, on which he had not long finished working as a groundsman. He began the tour with five first-class matches to his name and was thrust in at Galle as the latest in a long line of spinners tried since Shane Warnes retirement four years earlier. It would be Lyon who would finally end the spin cycle, signalled by his taking Sangakkaras wicket with the first ball of his career. He returns as Australias most successful Test offspinner of all time, with 195 wickets to his name. Almost certainly on this trip he will become the 16th Australian to the milestone of 200 Test wickets.Team news By naming a squad of 15, Sri Lanka have given themselves plenty of options. A debut for either Dhananjaya de Silva or Roshen Silva seems likely, while the make-up of the attack needs to be determined with so many bowlers unavailable due to injury. Suranga Lakmal is doubtful due to hamstring tightness, which could mean a debut for Vishwa Fernando.Sri Lanka (possible) 1 Dimuth Karunaratne, 2 Kaushal Silva, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Dinesh Chandimal (wk), 5 Angelo Mathews (capt), 6 Dhananjaya de Silva, 7 Kusal Perera, 8 Dilruwan Perera, 9 Rangana Herath, 10 Vishwa Fernando, 11 Nuwan Pradeep.Australias XI has been confirmed, with the only question-mark in the lead-up having been whether they would opt for two spinners. Steve OKeefes work in the warm-up match - he took 10 wickets and scored an unbeaten 78 - extinguished any doubts, and on match eve Smith announced that OKeefe would be part of the XI.Australia 1 David Warner, 2 Joe Burns, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Steven Smith (capt), 5 Adam Voges, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Peter Nevill (wk), 8 Steve OKeefe, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh Hazlewood.Pitch and conditions A couple of days out, the Pallekele pitch had a slight covering of grass but that was expected to be shaved off before the Test. It is expected to spin as the match wears on, though perhaps not so much as as it does in Galle.Stats and triviaThe all-time head-to-head record between these two teams is 26 Tests played, 17 wins to Australia, eight draws, and just a single victory for Sri LankaAcross all formats this year, Sri Lanka have won just a single game against Test-playing opposition: a T20 against India back in FebruaryAustralia would need to win at least 2-0 to ensure they do not drop any points on the Test rankings tableQuotes I have trust in all 11 players, but unfortunately our top bowlers are unavailable. But we cant refuse to play the game because of that. We hope the players who do play can do the job. Well have to play very well to beat the No.1 team.Angelo Mathews, the Sri Lanka captainThe challenge for us is batting long periods of time. We know thats what wins games in these conditions.David Warner on Australias challenge in Sri Lanka ' ' '