So the Rajkot Test, the Indian teams first, wary embrace of regular DRS has passed without what the police refer to as untoward incidents. Cheteshwar Pujara will offer us his thoughts about DRS at a later date, no doubt - about his very smart referral in the first innings, which got him past a dream home Test century.We must realise that Rajkot, of course, has not quite marked the beginning of a beautiful friendship: the DRS is on trial all through the series against England. We can only hope that by the time it is done, this prickly relationship will be free of the old hang-ups, and that the Indian team will join the rest of the cricket world in using the DRS as standard practice.Virat Kohlis men belong to a generation younger to that of the DRS-scarred class of 2008. To be fair, even that lot would probably have given the DRS a shot outside of ICC events at some point had the system not found itself trapped in front with an identity crisis: What am I? What have I become? A broadcasters add-on? A regulatory requirement? A political tool for the powerful in a sulk?In 2016, things are clearer. The DRS is a regulatory requirement that is a few steps closer to being under the ICCs full control. The eventual intention is for it to be consistently applied in the international game. For the first time, Zimbabwe too used a version of the DRS in a home Test versus Sri Lanka last week. It was DRS lite - with ball-tracking, sans stump mic - but no one was complaining.Indias reservations over the DRS have been quelled for the moment due to several factors. Like improvements in the quality of the replay footage used by the Hawk-Eye tool - from 75 frames per second in 2011, we now have 340, which provides more data to predict the path of the ball.Also, there has been the addition of Ultra Edge technology, which was introduced at the start of the year in the South Africa v England series. This combined sound-based edge detection with simultaneous camera frames to help pick up finer edges, added a new component to the information available to the umpires. Taken together, these made for a sustained push for the argument in favour of the DRS.What added an extra layer of persuasion was the decision to take the DRS out of the cricket broadcasting environment and into a neutral laboratory. Anil Kumble, the head of the ICCs cricket committee, and Geoff Allardice, the ICCs general manager, leaned on science to ask questions of the technology tools at hand and to set up new parameters for DRS technologies of the future.Kumble, captain of India in that 2008 DRS-disaster series, tackled the project not as a cricketer who had a bone to pick with technology. It was studied as a mechanical-engineering problem that required a mechanical-engineering approach as a solution. Good thing Kumble, currently the India coach, has a degree in the subject.The exercise began in September 2014 with a set of meetings between Kumble, Allardice and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) engineers in Boston. Sanjay Sarma, MIT professor of Mechanical Engineering says, Accuracy is a key question that any engineering task asks about measurement technologies. How precise is it? How repeatable is it? Has this been characterised? Anil Kumble and Geoff Allardice came to us with these questions.A cricket fan, Sarma had his own mixed feelings about the DRS. On the one hand, I do believe in reviews, in technology, and in the visual benefits of DRS. On the other hand, I didnt know if and how DRS was being calibrated.The DRS had more than an identity crisis; rather, it came with a built-in structural flaw. Given that analogies about parachutes and safety equipment have been used in the context of the DRS in the past, here is another. Lets compare it to a house constructed without a blueprint and assembled on the go with a variety of materials added on randomly. Going to MIT and getting DRS technologies tested independently was like asking an architect to check if the doors in a house already built would always shut correctly and that the roof wouldnt possibly collapse. What MIT did was invent the equipment that would answer those questions and also give the ICC clear technology parameters for the use of DRS in future. The September 2014 meetings marked the beginnings of a year-long project, which involved Sarma, Dr Jaco Pretorius of South Africa, and Stephen Ho, an American research scientist at MIT. While Sarma and Pretorius were from cricket-playing nations, Ho, like the students involved as consultants in the research, had no knowledge of the sport. Sarma says, They all found the sport quaint, but over time have started playing gully cricket in our lab retreats and in the hall at MIT.Two US engineering firms, Mide and Bell-Everman, constructed the equipment, the Swinging Arm that tests the Real Time Snicko/Ultra Edge, and the Frame, which studies the ball-tracker. Two sets of tests were conducted using these tools, the first in a closed environment, like at Loughborough University last year and the other in a real match environment. Ultra Edge for example was tested behind the scenes with no public notice during the September 2015 England v Australia ODI at Lords.RTS and HotSpot, which are owned by BBG Sports, one of two cricket technology providers along with Hawk Eye, went through their offline testing at a suburban ground in Melbourne in April 2016. This was two months after being observed at work during the New Zealand v Australia Test in Christchurch. HawkEye was put to the offline MIT-ICC tests in April 2016 in Winchester, UK and then observed a month later during the England v Sri Lanka Test in Durham. The only other ball tracking technology available to cricket, Virtual Eye of New Zealand will be tested in February 2017 towards the end of the southern-hemisphere season.The equipment used to test the DRS now sits locked up in crates that are in the ICCs possession in Dubai. The MIT team, Sarma says, has recommended that the tools used in the DRS are characterised/ qualified periodically, i.e. tested to check if the parameters arrived at earlier still hold true. During the course of the project, the impact of physical conditions on the DRS tools, like wind on the speed of sound, for example, was also studied but found to be small in relative terms, or easily tackled.The ICC now owns a proper blueprint with which to build and add to their DRS house. The chief executives meetings in February will possibly involve discussion about what could be the next series of issues to be tackled on the way to a consistently applied DRS, with mandatory tools like the ball tracker and sound-based edge-detection systems. Cost would definitely be one: a five-year-old estimate says a basic DRS system costs US$5000 per day; that figure would be higher today, with far more sophisticated technologies involved. Apart from the monies, the fact that the DRS package will be owned and controlled by the ICC raises even more questions.If the ICC does take full control of the DRS from broadcasters, it has to decide in which matches the system is to be used. All formats? All formats across mens and womens cricket? How can the logistics involved be brought in sync with the current cricket calendar? Given that in every match that features the DRS, the ICC appoints its own DRS-trained third umpire along with the two on-field umpires, how many more ICC-approved third umpires would need to be DRS-trained and sent out to work matches? That is in the future and outside the ambit of the systems most reluctant followers.For the Indian team, though, there is one element of the DRS that will prove challenging, but which cannot be fixed by machines or scientific tests. It is to do with how the technology is used by the players in the middle, and here the Indians will have to catch up quick.In Rajkot, Pujara experienced all sides. After his inspired first-innings referral, in the second he walked off glumly, leg-before to one from Adil Rashid that pitched outside leg. At the other end, M Vijay had respectfully turned his back to the departure, without alerting his partner to the possibility of a review. It was, no doubt, an instinctive response, born of a DRS-free Test match habit. It led Sachin Tendulkar to say that the third umpire needs to intervene in such instances. Lets not get into that now or we will be here for another eight years.Yes, the umpires decision must be respected, but in the Indian Test teams new world, sometimes, the old rules dont apply. http://www.redskinsrookiestore.com/Redskins-Deangelo-Hall-Jersey/ . -- The Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake played to a 0-0 tie Saturday night that left the top of the Western Conference standings unchanged. http://www.redskinsrookiestore.com/Redskins-Samaje-Perine-Jersey/ . Jane Virtanen scored two, and Alex Roach and Elliott Peterson rounded out the offence for the Hitmen (40-15-6). Brady Brassart chipped in with three assists. Colton McCarthy scored twice, Brayden Point had a goal and two assists, and Jack Rodewald also scored for the Warriors (15-35-9), who were 2 for 5 on the power play. http://www.redskinsrookiestore.com/Redskins-Shawn-Lauvao-Jersey/ . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. http://www.redskinsrookiestore.com/Redskins-Clinton-Portis-Jersey/ . Westbrook has missed 27 games since having a procedure on Dec. 27 to deal with swelling in his injured right knee — the third operation on the knee in nine months. http://www.redskinsrookiestore.com/Redskins-Montae-Nicholson-Jersey/ . General manager Jarmo Kekalainen told Aaron Portzline of The Columbus Dispatch on Friday that he wants to see Gaboriks contributions go beyond the scoresheet before considering a long-term deal for the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. The enormous expectations and pressure on the Chicago Cubs might have actually been lessened somewhat by playing the San Francisco Giants?in the Division Series. Not because the Giants arent a worthy opponent; quite the opposite, the Giants are rolling again. They have their own compelling story to tell and this series isnt solely about the Cubs and their bid to win a World Series for the first time in 108 years. The Cubs quest remains the primary theme of this postseason, but the surge by the Giants -- another masterful performance by the mythical Madison Bumgarner, Bruce Bochy, Jeff Samardzija, Hunter Pences hair and, from nowhere, Conor Gillaspies home run -- gives people something else to talk about. That is good for the Cubs.Here are five questions.How good is the Cubs rotation?So good, that one potential Cy Young winner, Kyle Hendricks, will have to wait until the second game to make his start after Jon Lester. So good, Jake Arrieta, who has gone 40-14 the last two years, wont start until Game 3. So good, John Lackey, who was signed by the Cubs in the offseason to make critical postseason starts, will have to wait until Game 4. Still, there is a minor concern with Arrieta, though not from him. In his last start, he allowed seven earned runs, the second-most runs hes allowed in a start as a Cub. In his last six starts, he went 2-3 with 21 earned runs allowed in 35 2/3 innings. Hes healthy and more rested than at this time last year. Maybe he has a great October ahead.What is the status of the Giants rotation?It is in good shape other than Bumgarner having to wait until Game 3 to start. The Giants spent last winter and the 2016 trade deadline making sure they had enough starting pitching after Bumgarner. Johnny Cueto went 18-5 with a 2.79 ERA, making him one of the best No. 2 starters in the game. After a couple of terrific starts he made in the postseason last year for the World Champion Royals, there should be no more talk of whether he is up for the challenge of the biggest games. Samardzija, who pitched for the Cubs for seven years before he was traded to Oakland for Addison Russell, went 12-11 with a 3.81 ERA this year. Left-hander Matt Moore, acquired in late July, pitched some really good games down the stretch. And then theres Bumgarner, who shut out the Mets in the wild-card game, lowering his road ERA in the postseason to 0.50, a record, by far. He has made 13 postseason starts and allowed no runs in six of them, tying Tom Glavine for the most scoreless postseason starts in history (it took Glavine 35 starts to get his six). A pitcher has thrown a shutout in a winner-take-all game 19 times. Only Bumgarner has done it twice. He has pitched 23 innings in winner-take-all games and not allowed a run. If the Giants can win one of two in Chicago, then hand it to Bumgarner in Game 3, this series could get very interestting.ddddddddddddHow much better offensively are the Cubs than last year?Remember, the Cubs got shut down by the great pitching staff of the Mets in the 2015 NLCS. That could happen again -- anything is possible in baseball -- but the Cubs are a significantly better offensive club in 2016. They scored 119 more runs than last year, placing them second in the NL in runs scored to the Rockies. Just as important, they struck out 221 fewer times than last year. First baseman Anthony Rizzos approach to hitting -- he chokes up with two strikes and sometimes just tries to put a ball in play -- hasnt gone unnoticed by other Cubs. The addition of Ben Zobrist, who is a tough out, even with two strikes, has made a difference. In spring training, Maddon said he was dazzled by how much better a two-strike hitter Kris Bryant was compared to last season. It showed. It has shown with all the Cubs.Who will close for the Giants?The Giants led the league in blown saves (30). They lost more games (nine) that they entered the ninth inning with a lead than any team in baseball; five of them came in September. They lost 10 games that they led by three or more runs, most in the major leagues. The bullpen blew eight games in which Bumgarner was in line for a victory, most in the major leagues. The bullpen is the primary reason that the Giants went 30-42 in the second half, the worst second-half record ever by a team that made it to the postseason. Sergio Romo, a former Giants closer who got the final out of the 2012 World Series, is seen as the closer now, but even thats not guaranteed. Bochy will mix and match down there. There is no one better at that than him, but its highly unlikely that he will go back to Santiago Casilla, especially at home, where Casilla occasionally gets booed. The Giants had a tremendously deep and effective bullpen in each of their three championship seasons over the last six seasons. They dont have that same depth this year.How good is the Cubs defense?It is the best in the National League. Russells shift to shortstop in June 2015 was the big move. Russell, and the overall Cubs defense, has gotten better with every game he plays at shortstop. Jason Heyward has brought tremendous defense to right field. Javier Baez has provided great defense at whatever infield position he plays. Bryant can play third base or the outfield. This gives Maddon all sorts of options. Defense was Maddons signature with his Tampa Bay Rays teams. He may be a new-school guy with the way he relates to players and because hes the most interesting man in the world, but he is as old school as it gets when it comes to the actually playing of the game. To him, you simply cant win without a good defense.Prediction:?Cubs in five. Wholesale Jerseys 2018 Cheap Jerseys Online Wholesale Jerseys Cheap NFL Hoodies Wholesale NFL Jerseys Stitched Jerseys Wholesale NFL Womens Jerseys Cheap NFL T-shirts China Jerseys Wholesale Youth NFL Jerseys China Stitched NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Outlet White NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys NFL China Cheap NFL Jerseys Camo ' ' '