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Brisbane playmaker Anthony Milford has led the Broncos to a much-needed 38-16 NRL win over Parramatta.The Broncos five-eighth, who has been struggling to match his dynamic early season form in recent weeks, split the Eels line either side of halftime in a decisive spell at Suncorp Stadium on Friday night.Milford, who hadnt made a line break since the round 13 loss to the Warriors, broke a 10-10 deadlock with the last play of the first half in a welcome return to form for the majority of the 30,189 crowd.The 22-year-old broke the line 30m out from Brisbanes tryline, sprinted past another two Eels defenders and then found winger Corey Oates with a grubber to ensure the hosts had a 14-10 lead at the break.Then five minutes into the second half it was Milford scoring his first try since round 15.The pivot again danced past a static Eels defence to dive over under the posts. Milford capped his night by again bamboozling his way through several Eels tacklers in the last play of the game to send Tevita Pangai Junior crashing over.Its a display that couldnt come at a better time for the Broncos, who have slipped from first on the ladder to sixth during a run of just five wins from their past 13 matches.Its also Brisbanes first back-to-back victories since a win over South Sydney at Suncorp Stadium on April 22.Fridays win continues a dismal run in Queensland for the Eels, who have now lost on their past six visits north of the Tweed River.Oates, another Bronco who has been struggling for form post State-of-Origin, overcame an error which led to the Eels second try to score a hat-trick.Halfback Ben Hunt joined the party with a late try of his own while debutant Jonus Pearson, a late inclusion for Lachlan Maranta (groin), scored a double.The victory ensures Brisbane head into next Thursdays clash with Canterbury full of confidence while the Eels face a tough road trip to tackle in-form Canberra.Broncos coach Wayne Bennett said he had felt a return to form wasnt far away from his charges.Its been coming, Bennett said, adding the try on halftime was a huge boost.Anthonys moment there just lifted everybody.Got in at halftime pretty excited and ready to go again. Eels coach Brad Arthur labelled his teams second-half effort as below the levels theyd set during a crisis-plagued season.Having battled to keep the club competitive in a year dominated by off-field woes, Arthur demanded his players not let their season slip away.Weve done a lot of good stuff this year. We dont want to undo it with three performances where we drop our standards or become another team, he said.Regardless of whats ahead of us, or not ahead of us in terms of being able to play semi-final football, it doesnt matter - we want to do everything we can to try and win every game.Its a long pre-season and we dont want to have too many regrets. Custom San Jose Sharks Jerseys . The 25-year-old Japanese star has officially been posted by his club team, the Rakuten Golden Eagles. Brent Burns Sharks Jersey . LOUIS -- The New Orleans Saints looked like a team playing out the string. http://www.officialsharksnhlshop.com/tomas-hertl-jersey/ .4 million title. Ryan Riess emerged with the title after a session in which he started behind, but used expert skill to gather the chips to his side amid the unpredictability of no-limit Texas Hold em. Riess put his final opponent Jay Farber all-in with an Ace-King. Marcus Sorensen Jersey .Y. - New Orleans forward Anthony Davis was chosen Friday to replace the injured Kobe Bryant in the NBA All-Star game that will be played in his home city. Martin Jones Jersey . The defence is doing its part, too. Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and the guys on the other side made sure that was enough, sending the Saints to a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night. When you go to a sporting event, what do you think about when the national anthem is played? Do you feel patriotic? Do you feel thankful? Do you think of those serving in the military? Do you think of the War of 1812 and the bombing of Fort McHenry, which inspired Francis Scott Key to pen his lyrics?Do you even know where Fort McHenry was located? Did you even know Francis Scott Key is the author of the Star-Spangled Banner? Do you know who we fought in the War of 1812? Did you know the actual music to the song was adapted from a British song? Does any of this matter?Until a few weeks ago, when San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeled before the anthem at a football game to protest racial injustice in this country, none of that did matter much. We stood, we took off our hats, we contemplated what to order at the concession stand or why Terry Collins would take out Addison Reed for Josh Smoker.That all changed. Suddenly, the anthem means ... something. It has become another way to further divide this country, symbolic, in some fashion, of this entire political season. There seems to be little room for discussion or nuance: Youre either with Kaepernick and others who have followed his lead across different sports, or youre against.Against this background, there was a silly little stunt on Wednesday afternoon following the anthem at the Cardinals-Rockies game in Denver. Cardinals outfielder Jose Martinez and Rockies reliever Carlos Estevez had a post-anthem standoff. To what means and point? I have no idea, though I seem to remember this happening earlier this season in another game. As their teammates dispersed to get ready for the game, Martinez and Estevez remained in front of their dugouts, standing like the Queens Guard in front of Buckingham Palace. At one point, Estevez donned a catchers mask, I guess in case the game started.The delay lasted long enough that the umpires had to tell the managers to get their players off the field.Look, Im sure the two rookies thought they were just having fun. Maybe Martinez, from Venezuela, and Estevez, from the Dominican Republic, were feeling especially appreciative on this night to play major league baseball.Even if that were the case, this is not the time for such behavior. Kaepernick says he has received death threats as a result of his protest. Charlotte was burning. Seattle Seahawks star Richard Sherman had spoken earlier in the day about how players are being misunderstood. I think you have players that are trying to take a stand and trying to be aware of social issues and tryy to make a stand and increase peoples awareness and put a spotlight on it, and theyre being ignored, he said.dddddddddddd Whether theyre taking a knee or whether theyre locking arms, theyre trying to bring people together and unite them for a cause.In the middle of all this, of an issue of vital importance, we get this ridiculousness at a baseball game.I dont mean to sound so harsh. Im sure Martinez and Estevez had good intentions. But that gets to the bigger picture: Maybe its time to stop playing the anthem before sporting events. What impact does the song actually serve if its as ubiquitous as James Taylor playing in the background while youre getting your teeth cleaned? As Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Bob Ford wrote in late August:But it could also be suggested that the national anthem should be bigger than football, too, at least bigger than an August exhibition game of no particular meaning. What exactly about that trivial event is worthy of being introduced by the playing of a song that commemorates a moment in which the nations independence was in the balance?Still, it is played. It is played before nearly every game, in nearly every sport, at nearly every level where there is a public address system. Why is that? Habit is the best answer. That and the unspoken belief that the two minutes it takes to perform the anthem is less trouble than dealing with the blowback were the anthem not played to consecrate each game, no matter how insignificant.Theres a bit of an uneasy relationship sports has developed here, with the anthem, with God Bless America during the seventh-inning stretch, and, related, with the military. Im all for honoring our servicemen and women, but many of the tributes or presentations weve seen (such as the National Guard unfurling a big flag before a game) were actually paid for by the military itself. Which means paid for by U.S. taxpayers. The Department of Defense paid pro sports teams $53 million in marketing contracts between 2012 and 2015. (After Arizona Republicans John McCain and Jeff Flake prepared a report on this, the DOD reportedly banned the practice and the NFL called for teams to stop taking payments.)So maybe a sporting event should simply be a sporting event. If we want displays of patriotism, we should be volunteering in our communities, helping our neighbors and trying to understand the plights of those different from ourselves. Then we can all be proud to stand. ' ' '