pro game treff » will miss the semifinal thanks to a second booking of th

The 1990s, the Queens Park Oval, West Indies playing - India, if memory serves, but mine is more likely to spit in my soup - and Carl Hooper slid down the wicket, like a cobra on cocaine, to lift some poor sap - Anil Kumble? - back over, first his head, then long-offs, then ours in the press box, which fell silent, everyone listening for the ball crashing onto the roof, except we did not hear it: either it was caught unseen on the top tier of the then Republic Bank Youth Stand or the ball cleared the peaked media building roof, sailed across St Clair Avenue and landed unheard in the grass of then King George V (now Nelson Mandela) Park.It might have been the stroke that inspired the young Kieron Pollard, todays hardest hitter, whom I like to imagine sitting that day, open-mouthed, in the Schoolboys Stand; but however far anyone hits the ball, no one, then or since, could match Carls careless, flowing grace in that accelerated, unpredictable glide down the wicket. Australian spin legend Shane Warne even when he too was hit clear out of the ballpark, publicly admired the athletic elegance of the man his captain Steve Waugh included in his 100 Best Cricketers list.The Oval crowd, which back then knew a bit more about cricket and a bit less about how to get on TV by wearing embarrassing outfits, went crazy. Slowly the cheering subsided and Hooper tapped his bat. The person sitting next to me (Tony Cozier? Christopher Martin-Jenkins? Peter Roebuck? I cant ask those three now) leaned towards me and asked, Do you know how you can tell Carl Hooper is going to be out next ball? He looks to be in astonishing form.It wasnt the next ball, but it wasnt that much longer before Hooper, who on that form ought to have made a double-century, was slouching back to the pavilion - and even then with the unconsidered grace of the ballerina turning heads in the supermarket - out for one of the many unmemorable scores that lowered his Test average from over 50 to the mid-30s.There was never a cricketer who looked as good as Hooper. Next to him, Jacques Kallis, the only other man to have scored 5000 runs, taken 100 wickets, held 100 catches and collected 100 caps in both Tests and ODIs, seems an oaf. In the slips or covers, players like Jonty Rhodes, Gus Logie and AB de Villiers may have approached Carl Hooper at his best - and all three would probably admit that Hooper looked better; but those men, and most others, with only a fraction of his ability, consistently did better.This was an athlete with a physique so fine, they wouldnt have to Photoshop his image for the Carl Hooper video game: broad shoulders, prominent chest, ridiculously narrow waist, a six-pack before the term was popular, long, strong limbs rippling with muscle, and all of it wrapped in an elegance more befitting of a gymnast, if not a ballet dancer. Indeed, you have to leave humankind altogether to find his natural physical comparisons: a barracuda slicing through the water; a cheetah racing so fast it seems not to be moving at all - or even the jeté-jumping gazelle it chases. Carl Hooper could get out caught off a thick top edge more stylishly than most batsmen could late-cut between the slip and the wicketkeeper.And he did. Often. Get out stylishly.It was as enraging to tally his score as it was enthralling to watch him bat, however long or short his innings might be; and it was usually not just too short, which you might forgive, but shorter than it ought to have been, which you could not forget. Just watching him walk towards the wicket, swinging his bat like a baton, you could hear, in your minds ear, the string section being tuned for a symphony - which was almost always not just left unfinished but ended before its own overture!After his first few appearances at the Oval, as he walked to the middle, you would hear, from the then-knowledgeable crowd, what sounded at first like an affectionate contraction of his surname - Hoops - until you realised people were dismissively predicting the usual, unnecessary, entirely avoidable way he would soon get himself out: Oops!But there were and are many West Indian cricketers who I could theoretically hate to love ahead of Carl. The great Viv Richards, e.g., who could have grounded a criminal charge of chewing gum with intent, seemed not to notice that Brian Lara could carry his bat as easily as he could towels and water bottles.None of the modern West Indies players who habitually throw away their wickets, even Marlon Samuels, the closest Ive seen to Hooper in unrealised potential, can hold a candle to Carl when it comes to letting us down. Because no one Ive ever seen was potentially as good as Carl Hooper. Not Viv, not the legendary Sir Garry, not the otherworldly Kanhai, who caused a generation of West Indian sons to be named Rohan and handed a cricket bat in the crib. Not even Lara, who took back the record from Matthew Hayden just to prove that he could, or Mikey Holding or Malcolm Marshall or Curtly Ambrose or Courtney Walsh, all of whom could take ten wickets for fewer runs when needed most.Carl Hooper was beauty and grace personified. In most of the cricket world, that beauty would have been nurtured, that grace finessed, that explosive potential developed carefully, so as not to set it off prematurely and waste it. In the West Indies, though, our interest is in denying potential, in stifling possibility, not in shaping it. You couldnt run successful slave societies for 300 years without acquiring the knack, and the habit has stuck. Every time Carl Hooper walked to the wicket, he filled me with the hope that makes all West Indians go on, even as our little economies grind to a halt. Because I could see in Carl his beauty, because he had shown it to me himself, so often, over so many games, in a century in his second Test, in yet another impossible catch in the covers, in awe-inspiring sixes; in his grace, I saw our own hope.And, too many times, the glory that should have been his slipped away from him because he lacked the concentration, or the professionalism, or whatever it is he had to lack that day to be sure he would not do as well as he ought to.He would be shot down before he could soar. And usually it was he whod pulled the trigger.You could line up all our greats and none of them would be as great a disappointment to me as Carl Hooper - because Carl was the most West Indian of them all. Carl Hooper is me; if I ever stopped loving him, Id have to hate him. Cheap Buccaneers Jerseys China . -- The Missouri Tigers might not have a roster full of superstars. Buccaneers Jerseys China . The 28-year-old from Calgary matched his career best after missing just one shot in his two rounds of shooting in the mens 10-kilometre sprint competition. Smith finished in 23 minutes 15. http://www.cheapbuccaneersjerseysauthentic.com/ Ronde Barber Jersey .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals. Cheap Buccaneers Jerseys Authentic . - Raiders general manager Reggie McKenzie never doubted he would bring back coach Dennis Allen for a third year despite back-to-back 4-12 records. MARSEILLE, France -- Portugal likes to leave it late at this European Championship, whether Cristiano Ronaldo is having a good game or not.The Portuguese have been level after 90 minutes in every game this tournament, a run that continued Thursday as Ronaldo and his teammates drew 1-1 with Poland after extra time, before advancing to the semifinals with a 5-3 victory on penalties.With Ronaldo once again far from his best, two of the Real Madrid stars supporting cast stepped up.Eighteen-year-old Renato Sanches, Portugals youngest ever starter at a European Championship, scored the equalizer and took man-of-the-match honors with his smart movement and neat footwork.Then substitute Ricardo Quaresma struck the winning penalty in the shootout, five days after he scored an extra-time winner against Croatia in another late show by the Portuguese in the round of 16.Quaresma fired his spot-kick past Lukasz Fabianski to line up a match against either Wales or Belgium in Lyon on Wednesday, securing Portugals fourth semifinal at the last five European Championships.It was enormous pressure. I had an entire country in my hands, Quaresma said. I knew it was going to be a goal.Poland winger Jakub Blaszczykowski had come into the match at the Stade Velodrome as his teams top scorer. But he had a poor game and saw his penalty saved one-handed by Rui Patricio, allowing Quaresma to finish the job with the very next kick in front of a stand packed with Polish fans.Last week, Ronaldo had lived up to his star billing by scoring twice in a 3-3 draw with Hungary, with Portugal needing second half goals in its final group game to secure a place in the last 16. For Ronaldo, it was a rare moment of excellence at Euro 2016.On Thursday, he was back to squandering chances and misplacing his passes, leaving midfielder Sanches to step up and score Portugals equalizer in the first half. The teenager was his teams main attacking threat for much of the game.Its wonderful for the team, for me as well for scoring the goal, Sanches said. People criticize us, but we dont care because in the end were in the semis.Earlier, Poland striker Robert Lewandowski had put his team in front with the quickest goal of the tournament, scoring inside two minutes.Portugal right-back Cedric Soares misjudged a cross-field ball, allowing Kamil Grosicki to break into space on the left flank and send in a low cross for Lewandowski to convert with a first-time shot.Polands lead lasted until the 33rd minute, when Sanches lit up the game.The youngster, who has just been signed by Bayern Munich, cut in from the righht and passed to Nani, who sent it back immediately with a neat backheel.dddddddddddd. Sanches then unleashed a powerful shot from the edge of the area that took a deflection off Grzegorz Krychowiak on its way past the outstretched Fabianski.Despite becoming the third-youngest scorer in European Championship history, Sanches played down his goal, calling it simply a move that just turned out that way and I scored. He also volunteered to take a penalty in the shootout and scored with a confident strike into the top-left corner.The match might have been settled in regulation time if Ronaldo hadnt missed a golden opportunity in the 85th minute. He beat the Polish offside trap with a perfectly timed run, but completely missed the ball as he tried to convert a bouncing pass from Joao Moutinho.The Real Madrid star missed another good chance early in extra time when he failed to control the ball in front of goal. The errors meant he has yet to match Michel Platinis all-time record at European Championships of nine goals. However, Ronaldo did score with Portugals opening penalty of the shootout.After the game, Ronaldo threw away his captains armband in frustration.Defeat ends Polands best run at a European Championship.Its painful, Lewandowski said. Football is a very brutal competition.Poland had never won a game in its two previous appearances at European Championships and finished last in its group as a co-host of Euro 2012.Before the tournament, in Poland they didnt expect that wed get to the quarterfinals, Lewandowski added. We have played so defensively sometimes, but weve had a good result.Poland -- which conceded just two goals all tournament -- had chances to win the game in the second half, notably when Patricio stopped a diving header from Lewandowski.However, the Poles also came within centimeters of scoring an own-goal in the 81st when Pepes pass for Ronaldo was cut out by left-back Artur Jedrzejczyk, whose sliding challenge sent the ball narrowly wide of his own post.Midfielder William Carvalho has started the last three games for Portugal but will miss the semifinal thanks to a second booking of the tournament.Both teams face sanctions from UEFA for pyrotechnic use by their fans, while play was briefly stopped in extra time by a fan who ran onto the pitch before being overcome by pol/url] ' ' '