solid, fundamental football game and let the big plays come to us, they

Nobody, except perhaps some of Shane Warnes opponents and text-message correspondents, has ever disputed the theory that the world is a better place with tubby spinners in it. I am not trying to be body-typist here. Tall, limby ones make a fine sight too. Anil Kumble was, so was Daniel Vettori. In his own way so was Ravi Shastri, whose long levers, to use what might be a Shastri-ism, met above his head and ran on with his action like successive arches of a viaduct.Neither is it my case that there is no joy in the tubby batsman. Inzy, Arjuna, Aravinda: wonderful. Yet batsmen are responders. They manipulate the bowlers energy. The bowlers are generators. The tubby spinner provides a spectacle unique in the athletic world. The ground is round, the ball is round, round is our spinner and round is his flight.My fellow editor Siddhartha Vaidyanathan once got into a conversation about eating with Ramesh Powar, who with his happy-man midriff, red sunglasses and occasional moonballs, changed more than the tempo of a game; he changed the entire texture. Whenever Powar went home he was given sweets and other loving food by his family, and how could he say no? Its about emotions, yaar. Somehow this answer makes me feel better about cricket than the viral video of Virat Kohlis snatch (the weightlifting manoeuvre). The reigning rajah of round now is Rangaiyya, and in this short editorial I do disservice to his bowling by focusing on his physical charms. Andrew Fidel Fernandos superb cover story has no such failings. Dont get me wrong: proper tribute is paid to the belly that turns towards the batsman like a planet rotating to face the sun, to diving stops reminiscent of the controlled collapse of a building in one of those inner-city demolitions. Along with that it is a fine appreciation of Heraths bowling with its minor subtleties, his temperament (serial optimism), his immense impact in different formats of the game, his village world of Waduwawa with its coconut and jackfruit trees. One may conclude that Herath has been a jackfruit for Sri Lanka - a reference for which you must read the story.Theres plenty more in the issue. Movies appear in two places: one of Indias leading film writers Baradwaj Rangan gives us a comprehensive tour of cricket in Hindi movies, and Brydon Coverdale recalls a few great and ghastly cricket scenes in English-language films. There is a heap of interesting numerical matter: four writers on the best stats measure, and a fascinating study by Charles Davis of dropped catches through Test history. There is an essay about a mother-daughter cricket adventure in Lima.Not unlike a cricket team, a magazine has to constantly retire old regulars and debut new ones. You may have noticed some over the past few months. Since March, Mathew Varghese has been putting together a quiz (rating: difficult). Since July, Russel Herneman has been doing us a cartoon. In August, Simon Barnes, who finished off a series of his ten best cricket moments, revived a sawn-off regular, Wordplay. This month we begin another series, on cricket in fiction, written by Benjamin Golby and illustrated by Jeffrey Phillips. Fittingly, the first entry stars a Sri Lankan spinner. White Saints Jerseys . -- When the Florida Panthers fell behind by two goals in the first period to the top team in the NHL, it appeared they were on their way to yet another loss. Cheap Saints Jerseys China . William Carrier opened the scoring for Cape Breton (6-4-2), but Andrew Ryan tied the game and Brent Andrews put the Mooseheads (8-6-0) in front for good with a short-handed goal at 13:49 of the second period. http://www.cheapsaintsjerseyselite.com/ . LOUIS -- Lance Lynn was one of the more enthusiastic participants as the St. Autographed Saints Jerseys . LOUIS -- St. Elite Saints Jerseys . Sgt. Eric ONeal says most of the arrests at Monday nights game were for public drunkenness, though one person was taken into custody on suspicion of trying to steal a seat from the stadium. EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Just last season, Minnesota Vikings coaches gave Xavier Rhodes boxing gloves to wear during drills in practice.The idea was having Rhodes better learn how to effectively play cornerback without risking penalties for grabbing at the receiver.Opponents arent winning many rounds with Rhodes these days.Rhodes picked off Carson Palmer twice, including a 100-yard touchdown return that was the longest in team history, and helped lead the Vikings to a 30-24 victory over Arizona on Sunday that stopped their four-game losing streak. The fourth-year player, drafted by the Vikings in the first round out of Florida State with the selection they received from Seattle in the trade for wide receiver Percy Harvin, is tied for fourth in the NFL with four interceptions.Those are huge splash plays that everybody notices, but hes tackling, doing everything right, free safety Harrison Smith said. Hes playing lights out.The performance was prolific enough to trigger an NFL Network interview with Deion Sanders , the Pro Football Hall of Fame member and most famous of the many cornerbacks Florida State has produced. Sanders, who became well known for his flamboyance, teased Rhodes for not adding any flair to the end of his return.Though he plays with plenty of fire, Rhodes isnt much for show. He was too exhausted for a celebration by the time he reached the end zone for the first time since high school, so much so that he requested an oxygen mask on the sideline to help recover.My legs were dead, Rhodes said, and I was just tired.The receivers Rhodes has been covering lately have been worn out, too, from Kelvin Benjamin to Odell Beckham Jr. to DeAndre Hopkins. Palmer threw in his direction nine times, with three completions for a total of 19 yards.This week coach said to play our defense, be aggressive and go out there and tackle. Tight coverage, sack the quarterback, and this week we did all of that, Rhodes said. We accomplisheed all of our goals.ddddddddddddIncluding, most importantly, victory. The defense didnt escape blame for the losing streak, with one issue an overzealous attempt to produce the kind of momentum-changing plays that Rhodes had on Sunday. The problem is when players chase them, usually out of desperation to boost a struggling team, other issues often arise.Rhodes and Smith, for example, each whiffed in overtime two weeks ago when they converged on Detroit wide receiver Golden Tate after a catch that he took into the end zone to win the game.We are all trying to make plays, Rhodes said. You just need to be disciplined.Thats just as important as aggression for a cornerback in this league, as Zimmer has long reminded his pupils. Zimmer, who coached Sanders for five seasons as the defensive backs coach in Dallas, has developed an affinity for Rhodes since taking the job three years ago.If we would just play a solid, fundamental football game and let the big plays come to us, they do, Zimmer said, adding: Theyre not always going to come, but you just have to do your job first and then the rest will happen.Just like that interception late in the second quarter with the Vikings clinging to a 13-10 lead and the Cardinals at third-and-goal at the 9. Palmer argued that cornerback Captain Munnerlyn held the intended target, John Brown, before Rhodes swooped in from behind.Im a competitive guy and he said he felt like his receiver was held on that play. I didnt think so at all. Im entitled to my space, and my space is on the field. He ran directly into me, so I jammed him up. I didnt grab. I didnt yank. I let him go. Balls in the air, Munnerlyn said. Xavier, I dont know where he came from, but he made the play and took it 100 yards.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '