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England netballlers will turn full-time at the beginning of June as part of their quest to reach the 2019 World Cup final. The decision follows an England Netball board meeting at the end of last month and comes into effect on June 1.The England Roses will have their first training session as fully-fledged professionals on June 13 in Loughborough. England Netball CEO Joanna Adams says the landmark decision has been taken in the hope that England can close the gap on southern hemisphere powerhouses Australia and New Zealand.Its important to make these decisions in order to accelerate the development of the England Roses success and get even closer to the top two teams in the world, Adams said. England head coach Tracey Neville speaks to players during the 2015 World Cup semi-final Once again wed like to extend huge thanks to Sport England for their continued support of our athletes, without which they wouldnt be able to perform at the level they do.The news was also welcomed by Manchester Thunder head coach Dan Ryan, who was working as a pundit for Sky Sports during Monday nights 54-34 win for Hertfordshire Mavericks against the Yorkshire Jets.I think its a great step forward for the sport in this country, he said.Obviously coming from Australia Ive seen how the programmes are put in place and how athletes are living the life as professional netballers over there and the same thing in New Zealand. Dan Ryan says announcement is a big step forward for netball in England Ive always been a big believer that for England to go world number one they have to replicate what the top two countries in the world are doing. To have full-time professional athletes here in England, I think is that first major step to bridging that gap between the top three countries.Team Bath Director of Netball, Jess Thirlby, added: Moving forward, its great we are following in the footsteps of womens football and creating that opportunity now for athletes to choose it as a career and embark on that for as long as they can.A complete list of players going full-time will be announced at a later date following the completion of a selection process. Also See: Vitality Superleague fixtures Table Live on Sky Sportswomen Custom Boston Celtics Jerseys .com) - The Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks both take aim at their first wins of the season on Saturday, as the Canucks open their home slate at Rogers Arena. Kevin Garnett Jersey . 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SAN FRANCISCO -- When Mike Rizzo and Dusty Baker called Mark Melancon on Saturday from the visiting clubhouse at AT&T Park, one thing that impressed them right away about their new All-Star closer is that he planned to immediately check in with Jonathan Papelbon.It says a lot about his character and makeup, and that was a big reason why he was such an attractive target to us, said Rizzo, Washingtons general manager. His performance level is great but his makeup and character are a lot of the reason that we went out and got him. That tells me hes team-first and Mark Melancon second.Washington sent reliever Felipe Rivero and pitching prospect Taylor Hearn to the Pirates to acquire Melancon, who supplants the struggling Papelbon as Washingtons closer. Rizzo and Baker also spoke to Papelbon, who made it clear he wants to win, Baker said.Melancon is expected to join the Nationals on Sunday for their series finale at San Francisco.Pittsburgh general manager Neal Huntington tried to tell Melancon he had been traded. And tried. And tried.I felt bad because I missed his call three times because my phone was on silent, so I woke up to that, the reliever said after he awakened from his nap and learned of the deal.A 31-year-old right-hander, Melancon has converted 30 of 33 saves with a 1.51 ERA this season and joins his fifth organization in eight years. He is making $9.65 million and is eligible for free agency after the World Series; as part of the swap, the Pirates will pay Washington $500,000 on Sept. 1.Once considered a possible successor to Mariano Rivera when he broke into the majors with the New York Yankees in 2009, Melancon said during the All-Star break he knew a trade was possible, given his contract status.The move comes as the Pirates find themselves on the fringe of the wild-card race. While general manager Neal Huntington stressed the team remains committed to reaching the playoffs for a fourth straight season, the opportunity to deal Melancon -- who led the majors with 51 saves in 2015 and had 33 in 14 -- for two young arms with friendly long-term contracts was too good to pass up.Bakers bullpen is taxed.Were getting some reinforcements, he said of Melancon.Rivero is under team control through 2021 and hit 100 mph on the radar gun regularly during an extended relief appearance against the Pirates this month. If Melancon left as a free agent, Pittsburgh would have received a high draft pick as compensation.We knew full well that holding Mark Melancon would have been a good return, but at the end of the day we felt this was a better return for us, Huntington said.dddddddddddd.This was the well-traveled Melancons fourth season in Pittsburgh after he also pitched for Houston, Boston and the Yankees.He will move his family once more -- his wife and three kids.This has been a blast. Pittsburgh has a special place in heart. My family has been treated so well, Melancon said. The experiences weve had, just running through my mind all the wild-card games, just big games that weve been in. From where we started, to where we are now, it is an honor. It is an honor to be a Pirate. We got to go through those experiences together. My teammates are my best friends.Papelbon is 2-4 with a 4.41 ERA and has allowed eight runs and seven hits in his past three outing. Manager Dusty Baker wouldnt say earlier Saturday whether Papelbon still was his closer. Baker pulled Papelbon from a game Thursday in the ninth inning.Rivero, a 25-year-old lefty, is 0-3 with a 4.53 ERA this season. Hearn is a 21-year-old lefty who was the Nationals fifth-round pick in the 2015 amateur draft.Pittsburgh will plug the 25-year-old Rivero into a seventh-inning role, with Neftali Feliz working the eighth and Tony Watson in the ninth. Watson was an All-Star in 2014 in a set-up role and will take over a position where Pittsburgh has enjoyed plenty of success during its rise from mediocrity. Each of its previous three closers: Melanon, Jason Grilli and Joel Hanrahan, made the All-Star team wearing black and gold.Manager Clint Hurdle will miss Melancon but is confident in his bullpen options.I love the guy, love the family. Happy we had him. He helped us, I believe we helped him, Hurdle said. We are not giving up anything, we arent lowering the bar. We are not settling. Our organization made a baseball trade, with confidence that our bullpen is going to be in a good place. We are going to be able to compete this year, we are going to be able to add to our competition level in the years to come.Huntington hinted the team may try to take the money it will save by not paying the remaining portion of Melancons contract and use it before Mondays trade deadline. The Pirates need help in the starting rotation, which has been forced to turn to rookies Jameson Taillon and Tyler Glasnow quickly as established players Jeff Locke, John Niese and Juan Nicasio faltered.---AP Baseball Writer Ronald Blum, AP Sports Writers Will Graves and Stephen Whyno and AP freelance writer Anthony Totoraitis contributed to this report. ' ' '