Offtopic/fun » of the season, thanks in large part to the play of a co

Joe Marler insists he is back on the right track after making himself unavailable for the summer tour of Australia.The 26-year-old England prop found himself in regular disciplinary trouble last season, with bans for calling Wales Samson Lee gypsy boy during the Six Nations and then for kicking Grenobles Arnaud Heguy in the head on his comeback for Harlequins in the European Challenge Cup.Those issues, and the media scrutiny they brought, led to Marler falling out of love with rugby to the point he had to tell England coach Eddie Jones he did not feel mentally able to make the trip Down Under -- where England produced a first-ever 3-0 series win.Marler told several national newspapers: It dawned on me when we met up for that camp [before the tour]. I was driving home when I was like, I dont want to be here. I just didnt have it in me. It was tough, but not enjoyable tough.I told Eddie the following day and he was really good about it, wished me luck and that was it.I wouldnt want to be running around the field with someone who is there just to pick up a pay cheque. I thought about what I would have thought as a kid if I saw my hero, or a player I looked up to, just going through the motions.Marler is confident he has conquered his demons as he prepares for the resumption of club action with Quins -- but accepts he will be tested.It was well publicised how much trouble I was getting myself into, he said. I was just losing control of it all. it wasnt just those moments [with Lee and Heguy].Ive spent the entire off-season reflecting on the year and trying to establish the lesson I can learn from it. Everything is hunky dory at the moment but theres that Mike Tyson quote: Everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face.Come a week on Saturday against Bristol, I suspect someone might punch me in the face but I can cope with stuff under pressure now that things on and off the field are rosy.Cheap 76ers Jerseys . -- San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks was fined $15,570 by the NFL on Wednesday for his hit on Saints quarterback Drew Brees last Sunday. Philadelphia 76ers Shirts . Ivanovic was leading 7-5, 1-0 when Hantuchova withdrew after falling 0-40 behind in the second game. The match started slowly for Ivanovic, who surrendered her first two serves as Hantuchova took a 5-3 lead. https://www.cheap76ers.com/ . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. Philadelphia 76ers Gear . LeBron James and Chris Bosh didnt need any more. Williams scored 11 points in 10 minutes, Alan Anderson scored 17 points, and the Brooklyn Nets finished the exhibition season with a 108-87 win over the Miami Heat on Friday night. 76ers Jerseys China . -- Team after team passed on Andre Ellington in the draft.Heres our weekly look at the fortunes of some of the games brightest young stars. Behold, the latest under-24 player rankings.HotMitch Marner, RW,?Toronto Maple LeafsAuston Matthews?ongoing scoring woes are dominating the conversation, but that goalless slump (now at 11 games) has been nicely counterbalanced by the play of right winger Mitch Marner, 19. Marner has four goals and four assists in his past six games and scored one of the prettiest goals youll see in Thursdays 6-1 drubbing of the Florida Panthers. Marners 16 points are second among all rookies.Damon Severson, D,?New Jersey DevilsThe surprising Devils hold down the top wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with a 9-4-3 record. But with Taylor Hall out for a month because of a knee injury, the pressure will be on the young Devils not to let their good start go to waste. One of those youngsters, Severson, 22, has been a pleasant surprise. The 60th-overall pick in 2012 had 12 points through Thursday, putting him in the top 10 among all defensemen. Hes also tied for the team lead in points. New Jersey wondered how it would fill the void created when Adam Larsson was dealt to the?Edmonton Oilers?for Hall. Severson has gone a long way toward answering that question.J.T. Miller, LW,?New York RangersEvery week its a challenge trying to determine which of the Rangers high-flying young stars to highlight. Why? Well, the 13-4-0 Rangers are arguably the best team in the NHL, top to bottom, and lead all teams with a whopping 4.24 goals per game -- almost a full goal per game ahead of their nearest competitor. Leading the way for a speedy, talented forward corps is Miller, a 23-year-old left winger who leads the team with 17 points -- and has the sixth-highest point total in the league. The 15th-overall pick in 2011 has continued to earn coach Alain Vigneaults confidence and has been a model of consistency. Miller has never gone more than one game without picking up at least a point.NotNathan MacKinnon, C,?Colorado AvalancheIts hard to think of the 2013 No. 1 overall pick as a kid because it feels like MacKinnons been around forever. But he is just 21, so periodic dry periods are to be expected. Regardless, its been a struggle for both MacKinnon and the Avalanche to achieve liftoff under rookie head coach Jared Bednar. MacKinnon, who is coming off a terrific turn at the World Cup of Hockey, did come up with a goal and an assist in a 3-2 loss to the?Dallas Stars?Thursday, but he has just three goals on the season and two in his past 15 games for an Avalanche team that is dead last in the Central Division and in danger of missing the playoffs once again.ddddddddddddSam Bennett, C,?Calgary FlamesThe Flames have been trying to slowly drag themselves out of an early hole, and the struggles of young stars Sean Monahan and Johnny Gaudreau have been well-documented as a key factor in that poor start. Now with Gaudreau is out long-term with a finger injury, that means everyone -- including Bennett, a 20-year-old center -- will have to step up. Bennett has had his struggles too. The fourth-overall pick in 2014 hasnt scored in nine straight games and has just one point over that span. The Flames, who were 7-10-1 and saddled with the NHLs worst power play, are looking for more from a lot of players, including Bennett.Anthony Duclair, LW,?Arizona CoyotesThe good news for the Coyotes is that there is light at the end of the arena tunnel. Plans were announced this week for a new home in Tempe. The bad news is that this is a young team that is playing very much like, well, a young team. The Yotes are dead last in the Western Conference, and their five wins are tied for the fewest in the league. One of the issues has been the slow start for promising young forwards such as Duclair, a 21-year-old left winger who is coming off a terrific rookie season that saw him score 20 goals and collect 44 points. This season has been a grind so far for Duclair, the 80th pick of the 2013 draft by the Rangers, as he has just one goal and three points. He has just one point, an assist, in his past six games, and the Coyotes have won two in a row just once this season.Young guns showdown of the weekZach Werenski?D, Columbus Blue Jackets?vs.?Andre Burakovsky, LW, Washington Capitals,?Sunday, 12:30 p.m. ETThis game has a lot more panache than might have been predicted at the start of the season, thanks in large part to the play of a collection of top-end young players in Columbus, led by Werenski. The sixth-overall pick in 2015, Werenski is very much in the Calder Trophy discussion for rookie of the year. And the 19-year-olds 13 points are one off the lead for all NHL defenders this season. Burakovsky, meanwhile, has a boatload of skill and is just waiting for the tide to come in. Coming off a 17-goal season in 2015-16, the 21-year-old has scored just twice thus far for the defending Presidents Trophy-winning Capitals -- and, in fact, has not scored since his two-goal effort in the season opener against the?Pittsburgh Penguins. ' ' '