Offtopic/fun » between 2002 and 2010.Texas

RIO DE JANEIRO -- With the deftest of kicks, Spains Patricia Garcia etched her name in history as the player who officially signalled rugbys return to the Olympic Games after a 92-year hiatus. Rugby has arrived at the Olympics, but the womens sport cannot afford to miss this opportunity to grow the game worldwide.On Friday, Bill Beaumont, chairman of World Rugby, labelled sevens introduction into the Olympics as a game-changer. Brazil had a lot to live up to.The opening day at the Deodoro Stadium did its best to play up to sevens reputation as a sport anchored on entertainment both on and off the field. Songs in the charts and those tunes more arrowed on a mass drink-swaying sing-along boomed out of the PA system even before spectators were allowed into the stands. Once theyd traipsed in, with the stadium two-thirds full, a camera panned around the stadium spotting fans dancing to the various beats, all attempting to wear as little clothing as possible under the beating sun.Athletes before and after they played were either soaking up the rays in the stands or walking around the grounds confines, talking on phones to friends and family back home or catching up with players from other nations.And all the time a crocodile -- now unofficially named ruckadile -- swam along the Rio Pavuna.It was welcoming, unique, friendly and fun -- the perfect cocktail for attracting new followers and players of the sport but now comes the challenge to grasp this opportunity and use it to inspire future generations.Brazil already have the perfect athlete to inspire a new following: the brilliant, diminutive, electric Edna Santini. Standing at just 1.50m, she slips under flailing arms and has the pace to exploit any wayward positioning. Its the type of raw ability that causes folk to involuntarily leap from their seats in expectation. She has the star quality to become a continent-wide face for the sport but below this squad in the Olympics, the signs are optimistic.The legacy planning in this part of the world seems sound. Dotted around the stadium were various rugby-focused charity projects; one was Instituto Rugby Para Todos whose mission is to promote the education of children through the principles of rugby. Inspire the young, eager-eyed children and you have a foundation.And then there is World Rugbys IMPACT Beyond Rio programme, which was instigated in March 2015 reaching 175,000 players, coaches and young match officials.But thats just Brazil. World Rugbys vice-chairman, Argentina-born Agustin Pichot, wants to see the ripple effect of rugby in the Games carry to the other Latin America countries with Colombias qualification for the womens tournament a key catalyst in growing the game there while Argentina are already established as one of rugbys power-houses.But this talk of legacy is not just of Latin American importance. The USA has huge room to grow and they have the infrastructure and playing pool to become one of the worlds top sides in both mens and womens rugby but they need to start producing the goods on the field to get wider exposure. And then at the other end of the scale in terms of financial resources are Fiji.While the mens Fiji side are favourites to win the tournament, the women are less fancied but theirs is an inspirational story that needs to be told.In a country that has never won an Olympic medal, Fiji are daring to dream of their prospects here in Rio and if Fijis women end up medalling then it will be one of the most remarkable stories to emanate from the sport in recent times.The brilliant Litia Naiqato used to baffle her coaches. She was their fittest player but was tailing off in training sessions; only after looking into her circumstances did Chris Cracknell, Fiji womens head coach, find that she was running five miles to catch the bus in the morning to training and then five miles back in the evening. She was exhausted. Then Cyclone Winston struck in February and her village was obliterated. Yet here she is in Rio playing in a team that has three players under 18, five who have played the sport less than a year and Raijieli Daveau who played netball for Fiji with the Olympics her first ever rugby tournament.They dont use GPS equipment, instead they utilise the natural facilities available in Fiji such as their Sigatoka sand dunes. Regardless of whether they medal, they are here, beating the USA because of natural ability, good coaching and a love for the sport.On such tales, future generations can be inspired.Beaumont wants clubs worldwide to be inundated with new players after the Games, looking to play both 15s and sevens. Furthermore, he hopes those clubs who play the traditional 15s will look to sevens and see an opportunity to offer an easier pathway into the sport.The womens game has the potential to take rugby away from the traditional powerhouses and develop a sport with worldwide appeal. Get this opportunity right, grasp the legacy and having the sport in the Olympics will prove to be that game-changer for the womens rugby.Wholesale Fake Jerseys . -- Most satisfying to Russ Smith about No. Fake Jerseys Online . After taking two big hits this week -- losing at home and dropping back-to-back games for the first time all season -- Indiana struck back by playing its most complete game of the year. https://www.fakejersey.com/ . Supported by three-run homers from Jayson Werth and Wilson Ramos, the young right-hander went seven strong innings in the Washington Nationals 8-4 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday night. Fake Jerseys 2019 . The formidable trio of Canadian receivers -- individually known as Chris Getzlaf, Rob Bagg and Andy Fantuz -- will share the field at Mosaic Stadium one more time on Sunday. Fake Jerseys Free Shipping . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side.Tulane baseball coach David Pierce, who led the Green Wave to the American Athletic Conference regular-season title this past season, was announced Wednesday as the new coach at Texas.Pierce replaces Augie Garrido, the winningest coach in college baseball history, who was forced out after 20 years after the Longhorns had a losing season and missed the NCAA postseason for the third time in five years.Texas athletic director Mike Perrin searched for Garridos replacement for a month before putting the traditional powerhouse program in the hands of Pierce, who has deep ties to the state of Texas but just five years experience as a head coach.As a kid growing up in Texas, I dreamed of being a Longhorn and wearing the burnt orange, Pierce said. Today that dream is coming true ... Texas is second to no one, Pierce said in a statement released by Texas.Terms of Pierces contract were not immediately released.Pierce, 53, is the third coach at Texas since 1968. Garrido won national titles with the Longhorns in 2002 and 2005 and had six 50-win seasons between 2002 and 2010.Texas recent slide __ and first losing season in 20 years _ pushed Garrido into a special assistants role within the athletic department.dddddddddddd He had one year left on a contract worth more than $1 million per year.While Garrido racked up 1,975 victories dating back to 1969 with five national titles overall, Pierce has an overall record of 197-109. He was the head coach at Sam Houston State for three seasons before spending the last two seasons at Tulane. He also was a longtime assistant at Rice.Pierce has led his teams to the NCAA postseason in every year as a head coach but has not yet advanced to a super regional.David has deep roots in Texas and has strong recruiting connections throughout our state and surrounding states. But beyond that, he is a great man who has a passion for leading and developing young men in all aspects of life, Perrin said. In talking to David and visiting with others in the college baseball world, it was clear that he is highly respected. ' ' '