e his heart. But while Kipnis family and friends intend

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 wicketkeeper 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. 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.Swell Flasche Kaufen . Capitals head coach Adam Oates said Ovechkin was injured in the first period against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday and clarified it was not a head injury. Swell Bottle Schweiz Kaufen . Malkin got tangled up with Detroits Luke Glendening early in the third period and his left skate took the brunt of collision with the boards behind Pittsburghs net. http://www.swellflascheschweiz.ch/ . Kiriasis and brakeman Franziska Fritz finished two runs in one minute 55.41 seconds -- a mere 0.01 seconds ahead of Meyers and Lolo Jones, who likely bolstered her Olympic hopes by helping give USA-1 a huge push in the second heat. Swell Flasche 500 Ml . Thousands of fans at Mosaic Stadium will be cozying up to each other in an effort to stay warm in chilly temperatures and block the Prairie wind that locals say can knock your socks off. Swell Flasche Marmor .ca NFL Power Rankings, overtaking the Denver Broncos and remaining ahead of NFC competition San Francisco, Carolina and New Orleans.CLEVELAND -- Jason Kipnis was raised on Chicagos North Side, and like so many other kids, he grew up idolizing Ryne Sandberg, watching Sammy Sosa smash home runs and listening to Harry Caray.He bled Cubs blue.And he never once blamed Steve Bartman -- they went to the same high school, by the way.We have a joke, the Indians second baseman said, referring to the infamous fan vilified in Chicago for a failed attempt to catch a postseason foul ball. The only thing Im mad at Bartman for is missing an easy flyball.Kipnis wishes those Chicago fans who havent been able to let go would finally forgive Bartman and turn an ugly moment into something special.I would love to see him throw out a first pitch, he said. Everyone would go nuts.Kipnis was in high school when Bartman, innocently sitting in a front-row seat down the left-field field lane, became an unintentional celebrity in Game 6 of the National League Championship Series in 2003. The slight man, wearing a Cubs cap and headphones so he could listen to the game on the radio, reached out and tried to catch a foul ball in the eighth inning as Cubs outfielder Moises Alou tried to close in.The Cubs were derailed during the Bartman Game, blowing a big lead and losing, and then dropping Game 7 to the eventual world champion Marlins.Kipnis lived close to Bartman and very vividly remembers seeing police staked out around his house to prevent any zealous fans from getting at him. There are Cubs fans to this day who hold a grudge toward Bartman. He has remained in hiding.He didnt deserve that, Kipnis said. He never asked for all the stuff that probably happened to him afterward. I dont think he deserved any of that. He was probably actually a pretty loyal fan and he wanted a ball, and its just the way events turns that turned him into this scapegoat.The likelihood that he would return to throw out a first ball or anything like that is probably slim, none and no chance, Frank Murtha, a longtime friend and spokesman for Bartman, told CNN Saturday.Kipnis now finds himself in a unique situation in his first World Series, facing the team that helped shape his life. The Cubs are in his DNA. Theyre the team he learned to love, the one that taught him the game and the one that often broke his heart. But while Kipnis family and friends intend to remain true to their Cuubbies over the next week, his loyalties are not divided.ddddddddddddheres zero conflict at all, he said Tuesday on the eve of Game 1. Lets be clear about that.Kipnis, though, said watching the Cubs wrap up their first NL pennant since 1945 on TV was emotional. Some of his friends were at Wrigley Field on Saturday night, and when the last out was recorded, part of Kipnis was there, too.I didnt know how to handle it, he said. I didnt know if I was happy, mad, sad. I was emotional. I was choked up, I was like, Oh, no, what does this mean right now? But its nothing more than excitement for the games.He was 11 in that magical summer of 1998 when Sosa and Mark McGwire seemed to belt a home run in every at-bat. Baseball was bulked up and booming and Kipnis was under its spell.As he reminisced during an interview session, the two-time All-Star seemed to remember every swing.Thats when I was really watching baseball closely and turning into a baseball fan, said Kipnis, who is dealing with a sprained left ankle suffered in Clevelands ALCS celebration. In the 98 season, it was Hey, Sammys up, get to a TV every time. And on WGN there were always recaps of the games. Thats pretty much what I grew up on.Despite his Second City roots, Kipnis knows hell be treated like a complete stranger -- and sworn enemy -- when the Series shifts to Wrigley for Game 3. Hes taking solace that there will be a few welcomed faces in the crowd.But the Friendly Confines wont be very friendly.He wouldnt have it any other way.If theyre Cubs fans, theyll boo as they should if youre a baseball fan, he said. But Ill have enough there that youll hopefully hear a couple cheers.Kipnis knows what a championship would mean to fans for both teams, who have gone a combined 174 seasons without celebrating a World Series title.They have the only drought that could make our drought look small, he said. Theyve got us by 40 years. Both franchises have been yearning for this championship, but its pretty neat one of them will come to an end.And Kipnis isnt torn over which one he hopes continues.Theres not one part of me that doesnt wish this curse would keep going, he said.The Associated Press contributed to this reporte his heart. But while Kipnis family and friends intend