Dein erstes Forum » Twenty20 tri-series in Zimbabwe, and

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- After just two drives, Aaron Rodgers is ready to begin the season for the Green Bay Packers. San Francisco coach Chip Kelly still needs a bit more time to figure out who his starting quarterback will be once the games count next month.Rodgers made the most of his only appearance of the preseason, throwing a touchdown pass to Randall Cobb in the Green Bay Packers 21-10 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Friday night.I feel good about the work we put in tonight, he said. We had two good, sustained drives. We ran a bunch of plays in those two drives and it was up-tempo and thats important.Colin Kaepernick did not fare as well as he looked extremely rusty in his first game action since last November. He completed 2 of 6 passes and generated one first down on three drives.I wish we had done a little bit more but it was good to get out there and get my feet wet, Kaepernick said.Even though Kaepernick struggled after sitting out the past two weeks with a tired shoulder and Blaine Gabbert led the Niners to a touchdown on one of his two drives, Kelly said hes not ready to pick a starter for the season opener against the Rams on Sept. 12.Youre never going to make any decisions walking off the field, Kelly said. Well sit down as a staff and see where we are.After a three-and-out on the opening drive, Gabbert led the Niners to a score on his final series. He had a nice run and two short completions before Carlos Hyde busted a 27-yard run. Quinton Patton then took a lateral from Gabbert and scampered into the end zone on a 3-yard run.Kaepernick entered to applause on the next series, but did little to show he deserves the starting job. He was quick to leave the pocket when his first option was covered, and three of his passes were broken up by defenders. He finished 2 for 6 for 14 yards and added 18 yards on four runs.After being held out of the first two preseason games despite being healthy, Rodgers played two drives against the 49ers, going 6 for 9 for 60 yards.After the first drive stalled because of penalties, Rodgers led a 14-play, 87-yard drive the next possession. He drew a 12-men-on-the-field penalty when he operated out of the hurry-up offense and capped the drive with a quick pass to Cobb, who juked Chris Davis and got into the end zone for a 6-yard score.ROOKIE WATCHPackers: Joe Callahan, an undrafted rookie out of Division III Wesley College, went 16 for 24 for 167 yards with an 18-yard TD pass to Jared Abbrederis.49ers: First-round draft pick Joshua Garnett did not start but came in after two series to get time with the first-team at left guard.INJURY UPDATEPackers: LB Jayrone Elliott and S Chris Banjo left with hamstring injuries and RB John Crockett injured his shoulder. ... First-round DL Kenny Clark did not play because of a back injury.49ers: Hyde (concussion), DL Quinton Dial (knee), WR Bruce Ellington (hamstring) left with injuries.POSITION BATTLESPackers: Free agent acquisition Jared Cook, competing with Richard Rodgers for the starting tight end role, caught four passes for 54 yards. Rodgers had one catch for 8 yards.49ers: Anthony Davis, a former starter at right tackle, played right guard in a game for the first time since college. Davis sat out last year in a temporary retirement before returning to the team this summer. With Trent Brown entrenched at right tackle, Davis is trying to get back into the lineup at guard.QUOTABLEPackers: Its three wins, but its more about the quality of play. We improved as a football team today, coach Mike McCarthy said after his team improved to 3-0 this preseason.49ers: We werent very consistent except for that one drive, Kelly said. That was the story of the game. We flashed but we werent consistent enough in any area whether it was running the football, converting, protecting, catching it.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL Nike Flyknit Shoes On Sale . Aduriz headed home Markel Susaetas cross in the sixth minute to open the scoring at San Mames Stadium. He bettered that with a long-range blast that went in off the goal frame in the 18th, and converted a penalty in the 72nd after Diego Mainz was sent off for fouling Aduriz with only the goalkeeper to beat. Nike Flyknit Sale . He just needed to be his best twisting, turning acrobatic self. "I didnt need to be anybody else, I just needed to be myself and be aggressive," said Burks, who scored a career-high 34 points to spark the Utah Jazz to a 118-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. http://www.cheapnikeflyknit.com/ . However, he did make them miss him a little less. Cundiff, who had the unenviable job of replacing Dawson last season, agreed Thursday to a one-year, $1. Nike Flykit Clearance . 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. Nike Flyknit Wholesale . The All-Pro lineman got the leg bent under him while trying to make a tackle during the first half of a 22-20 overtime loss at Miami on Thursday night. The medical staff initially thought hed torn the ligament, and the test a day later in Cincinnati confirmed it. There is a desk in the Western Province Cricket Association offices that once belonged to Thami Tsolekile. Not a kit bag or a piece of cricket equipment - a desk. And a chair, and a computer, and a few notebooks and some pens. Four seasons ago, Tsolekile was a clerk. He was dropped by his home franchise, unwanted by any of the others and his cricket career seemed to be over.It was an anti-climax for a man who had promised so much. As a double international - having also played hockey for South Africa - Tsolekile was a true athlete. He had exceptional hand-eye co-ordination, was fit, fast and skilled and cricket considered itself lucky that he had opted to use the bulk of his talent on it.He was identified as a potential challenger for Mark Boucher - at that stage the word successor was not being used - and was picked for South Africa in 2004. At 23 years old, Tsolekile knew relatively little of the world but enough to realise he was largely not wanted. A public outcry and even internal administrative strife followed his call-up, tainting his short stint.Boucher had played 75 consecutive Tests and was sent to the sidelines as punishment for his rapidly growing sense of self rather than as a response to his loss of form with the bat. He was never expected to be out of the side for very long. Tsolekile knew his inclusion was merely an experiment to see if anyone else had could play in the wicketkeepers role.After three Tests, the selection panel was convinced no-one could. Tsolekile made his debut in India and was dropped after one Test at home against England, although AB de Villiers briefly had the gloves before Boucher returned. His self-confessed lack of experience, showed, especially with the bat, where he managed just 47 runs five innings. He was not as bad with gloves on but South Africa had lost the Test at Port Elizabeth, the first of the series, and wanted a quick fix. Boucher had been considered reprimanded so two Tests later was recalled and Tsolekile faded, as far away as he could, into an office job.Being managed carelessly formed a large part of Tsolekiles retreat into anonymity. He was young and enthusiastic and having a small chance snatched away from him hurt. Although he continued play for Cobras, his spirit had been noticeably squashed. It took a call from up country to revive it.In 2009 the Highveld Lions franchise, then a struggling team, needed a wicketkeeper after Matthew Harris retired. With a history of importing players from the Cape, they asked Tsolekile if he could be lured onto the cricket field again. A new chance with a new team in a new city beckoned and even someone as disillusioned as Tsolekile could see that it would be foolish to turn them down.The change immediately paid dividends. Tsolekile took more catches than any gloveman across the franchise system in his comeback season. Given the tame nature of the Lions bowling attack then, it is not impossible to suggest that Tsolekiles success meant he took every chance that came his way in that period. His batting had also improved - he scored his second first-class century that summer - and starred in a record partnership with Stephen Cook to the end the season with an average of 58.10.Maturity was the standout improvement in Tsolekiles game. Once so hot headed - he was suspended by Western Province hockey for ill-discipline - Tsolekile had grown into a respectful adult. Administrators at Lions hailed and rewarded him for his leadership skills. He was picked as captain of the South Africa A side, elevated to vice-captain of the franchise and installed as leader when Alviro Petersen was on national dduty.ddddddddddddUnder him, Lions qualified for the Champions League T20 in 2010, ending months of sub-standard showings. Tsolekiles glovework has remained his strongest asset but with a top heavy domestic batting line-up that aspect of his game has not developed much further. Still, the selectors were satisfied enough with his progression to hand him a national contract earlier this year, something that identified him again as a successor to Boucher, who announced his intention to retire after the England series.A roadmap was laid out - in which would Boucher mentor Tsolekile - but it seemed to change course swiftly. Instead, Tsolekile was included in various A sides, such as the one that played Australia A in Potchefstroom. On a pitch that was green and where the North West Cricket Union apologised to Michael Clarke for the lack of batting practice his side had had there, Tsolekile scored a half-century. He also played in the recent two match series against Sri Lanka A, where he equalled the South African record for the most catches in a first-class innings with eight.Vincent Barnes, coach of the A side, said Tsolekile was exceptional, in those matches and was definitely ready for international cricket. Tsolekile was also due to travel to Ireland with the A side that will shadow the senior side from August. His plans have been fast-forwarded because of the enforced retirement of Boucher and he now finds himself on the cusp of playing in the years most anticipated Test contest.However, before he even got here, it seemed Tsolekile may find himself an outsider again. Both Gary Kirsten and Allan Donald said AB de Villiers will be the teams wicketkeeper in the first Test. The national selectors would not confirm that they agreed with those thoughts. Instead, they announced Tsolekile as Bouchers replacement the next day and named De Villiers as an option. While the selection panel picks the squad, the starting XI is chosen by Kirsten, Graeme Smith and the touring selector which leaves uncertainty over whether Tsolekile will play at all.With South Africa likely to want to include an extra batsman, he may not feature initially and judging by the reaction his call up has received in South Africa some would prefer him not feature at all. Tsolekile is not a popular choice. There have been calls for Dane Vilas, who was unimpressive in the recent Twenty20 tri-series in Zimbabwe, and Quinton de Kock, who will captain the Under-19 side and has yet to play a full season of franchise cricket, to replace Boucher and Tsolekiles support has been slim and grudgingly given.After years of playing cricket, it is something he is used to. When he was first called up, Tsokelile was labelled a quota player. It is a term he and others of his skin colour - such as Vernon Philander - will have to put up with for years to come. In 2004, it stuck a stigma to him that he could not overcome. Eight years later, Tsolekile no longer flinches when he hears that word. He is more secure than that.In an interview with ESPNcricinfo in December he said: I am a much better player than I was when I first played international cricket. It is something that has also been acknowledged by selection convenor Andrew Hudson. Tsolekile feels he knows his game well enough to make an impact and even though his age, he will soon be 32, may mean he cannot think of spending the amount of time Boucher did in the international game he believes he has something to offer. Now all he needs is a chance to do that. ' ' '