Robbie Farahs chances of reclaiming a spot in West Tigers NRL team this week suffered a blow when he missed Wednesdays training with a calf injury.The out-of-favour hooker, who was named in NSW Cup for the second week in a row on Tuesday, was a noticeable absentee from the clubs extended session but is expected to be available.I spoke to him this morning. Hes in high spirits and hes looking forward to playing this weekend. Thats as far as I know, said teammate Jordan Rankin after training.Rankin was Farahs surprise replacement as back-up hooker in the Tigers last-start NRL win over St George Illawarra, spelling starting hooker Dene Halatau with a 20-minute cameo.A fullback or winger by trade, Rankin said his instructions from coach Jason Taylor were clear.Obviously its a new thing thrust upon me last weekend during the game, he said.It was just do whatever the halves wanted, and I just gave it to them.Its pretty plain and simple for me.Rankin said he didnt know about his new role until during the game.It was always a matter of how Dene was going to handle playing the full 80 minutes, knowing we didnt have a hooker on the bench and (prop) Joel Edwards playing as well, he said.There was a stage there where it just happened that I had to come out and fill the role for a bit so (Halatau) could get a breather.Getting the win, I thought it was not bad.Rankin, 24, also weighed into the Taylor-Farah saga, hitting out at critics of the former club captain for claiming he wasnt giving the teams young halves enough opportunities in attack.The stories about Robbie not giving them enough ball, to me it seems like a beat-up, he said.Theres no reason why Robbie cant come back and play for us this year, and theres no reason why those boys cant dominate with him there.Back-up centre Chance Peni failed to finish the session after collapsing with what seemed like a serious knee injury. 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Johnny Bench Jersey . -- New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis is retiring after a 16-year career to become the goalie coach for the Los Angeles Galaxy. ESTERO, Fla. -- Baylor was unquestionably the elite club in the eight-team Gulf Coast Showcase.And no, that symmetry wasnt lost on Lady Bears coach Kim Mulkey.Each of the last three seasons has ended the same way for Baylor -- with a loss in the regional championship round in the NCAA Tournament, one game shy of getting back to the Final Four. So Mulkey went and made the schedule for this team as brutal as possible, with the hope that whatever lessons get learned now pay off at tourney time.Early returns are promising. The fifth-ranked Bears (7-1) topped No. 8 Ohio State 85-68 on Sunday to win the Gulf Coast title, capping a very difficult November slate for Mulkeys club. Baylor has already played four ranked opponents, three of them No. 9 or higher.Its what we need for late in the season, the playoffs in our Big 12 Conference, to be able to get past that Elite Eight, Mulkey said. Were tired of finishing in an Elite Eight. We present a schedule to them that makes them have to come from behind, makes them have to work for everything -- even if you get beat, theres so much to learn from that.And even with three big wins in southwest Florida this weekend, Mulkey and the Lady Bears think they learned plenty.Baylors three wins this weekend came by 42 over Kent State, 32 over No. 18 DePaul and 17 points on Sunday, and the reason why the margin over the Buckeyes was that close was the Lady Bears were 19 for 32 from the foul line. The Bears trailed for exactly 6 minutes, 16 seconds in the three matchups, and outrebounded their opponents 156-76 -- more than a 2-to-1 edge on the glass.Were good. We know were good. But how good are we? Mulkey said. The only way you can gauge that is go play other teams across the country that people think are good.ddddddddddddThe only loss so far was at UConn, a game where the Huskies revealed yet another national championship banner and played before a packed house. Baylor didnt succumb that night until the final minutes.Theres only one team this year thats going to go to Storrs when they drop a banner, and that was us, Mulkey said. We knew that going in and we need that. We need that environment, we need that type of setting.This weekend inside a minor-league hockey arena wasnt about environment or setting. The building held only a couple hundred fans or so for each game, and the chill from the ice below could be felt coming through the court.It was about the grind of playing three good teams in less than 72 hours, and Baylor came through with flying colors.Were looking to get that competition now so we can be ready at the end and embrace the moment, Lady Bears standout Kalani Brown said.Theres another big test coming next weekend when Baylor goes to Tennessee in the Big 12/SEC Challenge. Then before long, conference play will begin.Looking forward to it, said Lady Bears guard Kristy Wallace, the MVP of the Gulf Coast tournament. Its going to be a challenge. Itll be exciting.Last season, Baylor didnt face its third top-10 team until March 7. With this schedule, theres going to be no way Mulkey wonders if her team was properly battle-tested when this seasons NCAA Tournament rolls around.I know why we did it, Mulkey said. Were trying to get past the Elite Eight. ' ' '