Its the second week of the new womens Super League. Southern Vipers are playing Yorkshire Diamonds at the Ageas Bowl and the game is finely poised, with Diamonds 32 for 2 after seven overs, chasing 119. Vipers captain Charlotte Edwards, unsure where to turn, brings a 21-year-old left-arm spinner called Linsey Smith into the attack.Her first over is a wicket-maiden. Two overs later she removes Alex Blackwell with a brilliant head-high reflex catch. She finishes with 4 for 10, the best figures by any spinner in the entire tournament.Smith has never worn an England shirt, probably never hoped to wear one. She was not even named in the original Vipers squad; there is no handy profile of her to be found. ESPNcricinfo still has her down as a medium-pacer, although she switched to spin a while ago. The BBC commentators are baffled.Another day, another Vipers game, and an ECB employee - who shall remain nameless - wanders into the press box. After watching the oppositions innings, he turns to me and says: Who is that keeper, and why isnt she playing for England?That keeper is 22-year-old Carla Rudd, who was dropped from the Academy last year and is now fighting to remain in England contention.The Womens Cricket Super League was designed for players like Smith and Rudd.****Bridging the gap has been the Super Leagues catchphrase ever since its conception in June last year. This is the game-changer, said Clare Connor at the tournament announcement, for as many talented cricketers to be the best they can be; to drive a high-performance culture. Edwards agreed: Weve been crying out for this for a number of years, to bridge that gap between international cricket and county cricket.To understand that gap, it is important to be aware of the current domestic structure of womens cricket in England. It is entirely amateur: no money to be made by players; none available for paid coaches, none for support staff. The womens County Championship is played on Sundays (because players have jobs or studies during the week), on club pitches that are often not of the best quality. Some of these players barely train during the off season. Indoor net sessions are expensive when you dont have a ground to call your own. Its hard to see this as a sustainable model to create the England players of the future.Vipers coach Nick Denning, who had been the coach of Berkshire Women for several years prior to his appointment with Vipers, is well placed to compare the womens county set-up with that of the Super League: Professionalism is the main difference. We get our strength and conditioning coach, we get our physio, we get all these extra coaches, we get great facilities at the Ageas Bowl. You cannot replicate that in an amateur environment.Vipers Georgia Adams put it more succinctly: Its another level. This is where the ECBs ￡3 million worth of investment has gone. This is money well spent. This is the start of bridging the gap.It is not just about facilities. Connor has repeatedly said that the aspiration is for the Super League to provide a level of cricket that is semi-professional. And professionalisation is partly about pressure: how you handle it, what you do with it, whether it makes or breaks you in a match situation. The Super League provides that pressure.It has a different feel to county cricket. The stakes are higher - prize money and match fees - and the crowds are far, far bigger. For Adams, playing in front of 2240 spectators during the first Vipers game at the Ageas Bowl was an incredible experience: Looking out and seeing so many people, its completely new to me. Ive never played anything quite like this. Its brilliant.Some players thrived under the spotlight. Adams made 41 in that first game at the Ageas Bowl. Loughborough Lightnings young allrounder Paige Scholfield followed her lead in Lightnings very first home game, against Lancashire Thunder, entering the fray at 88 for 7, with her team chasing 165. The third delivery she faced was cut for four; England seamer Kate Cross was quickly dispatched for four boundaries in an over; and then there was a glorious six off Deandra Dottin. Eventually Scholfield was bowled, and Thunder won by six runs. It could have been a lot more.Scholfield admitted to being nervous walking out to bat in front of the 600-strong crowd. But, she said, the womens game is growing, so I guess weve got to get used to it if we want to play at that higher level. And its nice to have the home crowd behind you. For me I was nervous at the start, but then once we got going, it was a good backing behind us, and it almost builds your confidence really.Other players struggle to deal with the pressure. In Bristol against Western Storm, Surrey Stars lost a game they looked certain to win, thanks to a poor performance in the field: leaked runs and dropped chances. Just at the end, said captain Nat Sciver as she reflected on the defeat, when we needed a bit of composure, we put down a couple of catches. This has been a really good standard of tournament. It really shows what the step up is and for some of the county girls it is a little bit different. It is definitely a learning curve.But she promised to have a chat with the team and let them know that a bit of composure and calm can help, and in their very next game Stars pulled off three run-outs - the best a neat piece of work from 20-year-old Cordelia Griffith at short fine leg. The players were learning, game by game, what it meant to step up and deliver.They also learned from their team-mates - the six international players (three England, three overseas) in each of the squads. Sharing knowledge became another Super League catchphrase - as exemplified in several of the opening partnerships across the tournament.There was Adams, promoted to open with Suzie Bates at the last minute following an injury to Edwards. Adams paid tribute to Bates after the game: Her knowledge of the game and of the bowlers that we were facing - it just helped so much to keep me calm, keep me level out there… Suzie guided me through that innings.There was 18-year-old Bryony Smith, who looked in no way out of her depth alongside opening partner Tammy Beaumont as she played classical drives and cheeky ramp shots, taking on bowlers left and right, including the ferocious Katherine Brunt. Being around some of the girls here is just amazing, she said, after making 31 at The Oval. It gives you something to aim for.And then there was Emma Lamb, also 18, who opened in every game for Lancashire Thunder alongside her captain, New Zealander Amy Satterthwaite, and who - with scores of 25, 26, 34, 27 and 10, all at a strike rate of over 100 - was the only non-international player to feature among the top ten group-stage run scorers. To see the young ones like her blossom in this tournament has been really great, said Satterthwaite. Bryony Smith played similarly for Surrey and thats just what England will want to see from those players.These players were asked to shine among the worlds best. Those who managed it surely are the stars of the future.****I spoke to Linsey Smith after her 4 for 10 for Vipers. She seemed shell-shocked, perhaps unable to quite believe that she was the story of the day. I might just have been the first journalist to ever ask her for an interview.I wont be the last. Suddenly everyone knew her name. A review of the inaugural Super League is not complete without a mention of Smith. When she came on to bowl on Finals Day, everyone sat up, knowing that this was a player who could make things happen. It was the kind of scrutiny that some of these players had never experienced before, but which, as the womens game grows, they will need to learn to deal with.Smith seemed to be handling it just fine, thanks. I feel amazing, she said. Its a massive honour to be part of the Vipers, with such a huge variety of players at such different levels, and some world-class players. To get out there on a big stage like this is great.The Ageas Bowl, she says, is her new favourite cricket ground.****Some Super League players will grow into international cricket. Others will not. But all have had an opportunity never before on offer to English domestic female cricketers.For Smith, nothing has ostensibly changed: she went back to county cricket last weekend, and is headed back to university in September. But everything has changed, too. As a player, she said, it has helped me get better and better. Its a huge opportunity.That is the power of Super League. That is bridging the gap. Nike React Clearance .Y. - General manager Billy King says the Brooklyn Nets are looking to add a big man and confirmed the team worked out centre Jason Collins, who would become the first openly gay active NBA player if signed. Nike React Sale . "Hes going to have hip surgery on Jan. 7, and hell be expected to rehabilitate for four to six months beyond that," Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said Friday in an interview. http://www.nikereactcheap.com/ . Howard Ganz, an MLB lawyer, said in a letter to U.S. District Judge Edgardo Ramos that Rodriguezs claims do not come "remotely close" to what is needed to overturn an arbitration decision in federal court. Clearance Nike React Shoes . MORITZ, Switzerland -- Fog prevented downhill racers from getting their Olympic dress rehearsal. Nike React Discount . Calgary scored on the first shift, and Michael Cammalleri scored twice as the Flames cruised to a 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals on Saturday. Hundreds are in attendance at the New Orleans Morial Convention Center watching the Super Smash Bros. for Wii U grand finals showdown between Gonzalo ZeRo Barrios and Nairoby Nairo Quezada. The crowd has seen this matchup time and time again. Orlando, Tempe and, in the games former iteration, Super Smash Bros. Brawl.In Smash for Wii U, however, there was always an asterisk next to the matchup: ZeRo always wins. But not this time. In New Orleans, with his main character, Zero Suit Samus, Nairo flipped the matchup on its head. Two up-airs to juggle ZeRos Sheik, followed by an up-B, sends ZeRo off the top of Final Destination. Commentators Terrence TKbreezy Kershaw and Phil EE Visu are shouting just as loudly as the crowd.Now a year later, Nairo will look to do it again, but on a bigger stage: the Evolution Championship Series. This time, however, Nairo will have to weed his way through more than 2600 entrants.The rise to the topThis time last year, Nairo took third at his first ever Evo after falling to Ramin Mr. R Delshad in the losers finals. At the time, Nairo had become a staple in the previous version of the Super Smash Bros. series, Brawl, playing the game when he was 13 years old.He entered the first international Brawl tournament at Apex 2010, where he took 25th place. In Brawl, Nairo played Meta Knight, the games strongest character, and often faced the likes of ZeRo, who also used the character as his main at multiple tournaments. In 2012, Nairo, after taking top placings at a string of local and regional tournaments, made his first big splash at Apex, taking third place after losing to Japanese player Ishikawa Otori Kenta.Nairo continued to grind in Brawl after meeting top Smash competitors ZeRo, Jason Mew2King Zimmerman, Jason ANTi Bates, Samuel Dabuz Buzby, and Elliot Ally Bastien Carroza-Oyarce. At Apex 2014, Nairo took his first super major singles victory over ZeRo in the grand finals.Nairo switched to the new release of the game for Wii U alongside many of his other peers, picking up Pit as his character to play. Several months later, he began to switch between two characters: Pit and Zero Suit Samus, the latter he became famous for.2015 started off strong for Nairo as he took ninth at Apex 2015 in Smash for Wii U, second at Shots Fired, and second at MVG Sandstorm. In mid-2015 in Orlando, he took second again to ZeRo, something that became increasingly common for the remainder of the year. His Evo performance, a third place finish at the hands of Mr. R, became one of the lowest placings Nairo had in 2015 and he quickly became regarded as the second best Smash 4 player in the world.That followed with a deal with Team Liquid, one of League of Legends, StarCraft II, and Smashs most popular sponsor, on August 12. He was the organizations first and only Super Smash Bros for Wii U player.Its pretty amazing [to work with Team Liquid]. I love all of them, he explained. Whenever I get a bad placing or I just feel like I dont do well, I always feel like I let them down, but they just tell me that I did good -- or good job. They cheer me up, basically, so thats really nice of them. I like working with them a lot.Following the sponsorship, Nairo took the MLG victory over ZeRo in October, something that many fanns expected to happen, but werent certain about.dddddddddddd ZeRos return at The Big House 5 to take down Nairo showed that both competitors were neck and neck.The slump and inconsistenciesAs 2015 winded down, so did Nairos play. His string of first- and second-place finishes came to an end. Beginning with 2016s first super major, Genesis 3, Nairo took fifth after a loss to Dabuz, who was widely regarded as the third best player within the game, behind ZeRo and Nairo.While Nairo regained his footing at Shots Fired 2 and 2GGT: FOW Saga in March, the next super major showed that Nairos inconsistencies were more than apparent. At Pound 2016, Nairo took 49th place after series losses to Florida Bayonetta main Sajhmori Saj Dunn and Japanese Robin player Mr. IINairo, determined to get back what was rightfully his, came back strong with a first-place finish over Ally at the Enthusiast Gaming Live Expo in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. Again, two weeks later, at Level Up Expo in Las Vegas, he took first over James VoiD Makekau-Tyson and Larry Larry Lurr Holland.Most recently, he has proven that the disparities in his results still exist. Taking second at Dallas-Fort Worths Low Tier City 4 boded well for Nairo, but a 17th-place finish at Community Effort Orlando two weeks ago showed improvements needed to be made.Its hard to say [where I fall in with everyone else] because stuff like [17th at CEO happens], results that everyone super judges [for], he explained. I got 49th at Pound and everyones like, Nairos not even top-five anymore. You look at every result besides these and its first and second for the past few months, so you cant judge off one tournament because its not everything. I think, if Im not ranked second to a lot of people, Im still definitely top five.[Zero Suit Samus] got nerfed too, but because people think that, Oh, if shes winning, it doesnt matter, but it actually does matter. It clearly matters, he said. I think over time, shes definitely not second -- not anymore. Maybe in results because I still do well and Marss still does well, but matchup wise, not even close. Shes already become a punish character.Nairo would go on to explain the new play style of the character has thrown him off, and hell need to adapt. But back home in New Jersey, hes been practicing multiple characters, which he hopes to soon play.Evo, the summer, and getting back to the topHis next challenge, Evo, is this weekend. Before Evo, Im definitely gonna be practicing 3-4 characters to basically -- not like counter-pick everybody -- but know that [if] I lost with Zero Suit, he said, I know X character, if Im playing well, can beat them.I expect to win Evo, Nairo continued. I want to go home for a bit, recollect myself, and do a lot of studying. I think I can [be the best Smash 4 player in the world by the end of the year]. Its not out of the realm. Now, ZeRos still the best, but now its just so close and about consistency. If he gets ninth for all of summer, then people will definitely say hes not the best, but no one would know who the best is, unless someones winning every single event. Its still possible. ' ' '
