Allgemein » in for Lima Sopoaga.The All Blacks crushed

Lets hope that someday, when we think of Jose Fernandez, we can remember the smile, we can remember the charisma, we can remember the special joy he brought to every day he ever spent on a baseball field.But right now, its just too hard to get beyond the sadness. How do we even put that sadness into words as we try to process the incomprehensible news of the passing of one of baseballs shining stars, at the far-too-young age of 24?We will always have Fernandezs remarkable numbers to remind us of what he had already accomplished in a career that would last a mere 76 trips to a big league mound. But how do we measure what it is weve lost, what the Miami Marlins have lost, what the sport of baseball has lost?Where was this man heading in life? Where was he heading in baseball? Its like asking, How high is the sky? Because for Jose Fernandez, life had no limits. Every day, he looked at the world and thought, Why not? Ask anyone who ever spent five minutes around him. They would be the first to tell you there were four words in the dictionary he could never accept:That. Cant. Be. Done.So of course he made it out of Cuba, no matter how many attempts it took. Of course he jumped straight from the Florida State League to the big leagues at 20 years old. Of course he made it back from Tommy John surgery in just 13 months and looked as if hed never missed a start. Of course he would make 42 starts at home in his career and lose only two of them.This was the essence of Jose Fernandez. He approached every day thinking only of what he could do, what he would do. His world was filled only with possibilities. So on this day, the cloud above us is darkened by all those painful thoughts of what might have been. And its going to take a very long time to stop asking ourselves that question: What might he have been had he lived the rich, full life he deserved?He could have been Pedro Martinez. He was that talented. He was that unique. He was that irrepressible. He had that much natural pitching genius inside of him.Four years into his career, he had an ERA+ of 150 -- which is incredible. If youre not familiar with that stat, it compares each pitcher to the other pitchers of his time, and the average pitcher is graded at 100. So that tells you how much better Fernandez was than anyone around him.But maybe this will tell you more: Among right-handed pitchers whose careers began since World War II, do you know how many had a better ERA+ through 70 starts or more? That would be none. Zero. Behind Fernandez youll find the likes of Dwight Gooden, Tom Seaver and Roger Clemens. Fernandez was off to a greater career start than all of them. Wow.But with this man, the what might have been scenarios shouldnt merely be confined to what he could have accomplished on a pitchers mound. This was a guy who was going to make a mark on the planet.People were drawn to him. People who spanned every spectrum of American life. His teammates. His coaches. The Latino community of South Florida. Kids. And when he pitched, when Jose Day arrived in Miami, there was nothing like it. Nothing.In the 2014 and 15 seasons, his starts in Miami drew an average of 26,938 ticket buyers. When anyone else pitched, the average attendance was 21,113. That difference computes to 27.6 percent more customers roaring through the turnstiles when Fernandez pitched than for any other game.?He would bounce around the field on those days with the joy of a kid ripping open his birthday presents. His chance to take that baseball and work his magic couldnt come soon enough. And that exuberance rubbed off on everyone who laid eyes on him.Hes unique, his first manager, Mike Redmond,?once told me. Hes not the kind of guy where you come in and hes sitting at his locker with his game face on and you cant talk to him. I mean, hes hitting in the cage, hes bunting in the cage, hes in my office, hes sitting on the couch, hes talking to me about a couple of hitters. Then hes out, and hes back in. Hes joking with the guys. Hes all over the place.So hes unique. I never played with a guy like that, man. And thats how he is every day. ... Just that day that he gets the ball, he cant wait. He just really loves to pitch.There is nothing sadder, in life or in sports, than unfulfilled potential. So to have the life of this man -- with this sort of talent, this much possibility, this sense of joy, this unending love of living every day -- be cut short so soon, it is even harder to comprehend than it is to accept.Maybe someday, well be able to focus again on that talent and that joy. But right now, this just feels like one of the saddest sports stories of our lifetimes. Chris Conley Womens Jersey . After slipping from the summit during the week, the Gunners overcame struggling Crystal Palace 2-0 on Sunday thanks to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlains second-half brace. Josh Oliver Jersey . It might not have mattered. 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Crusaders openside Matt Todd has fended off the challenge of young gun Ardie Savea to retain his All Blacks starting role against Australia.The world champions take on the Wallabies at Eden Park on Saturday in the third Bledisloe, hoping to complete a trans-Tasman series clean sweep.A victory will also give the side a record 18th consecutive Test win.Todd, 28, started in the No.7 jumper against the Springboks in Durban, playing 55 minutes as the Kiwis thumped their traditional foes 57-15.The 23-year-old Savea will start from the pine, while incumbent openside Sam Cane will play provincial rugby this weekend as he works his way back from injury.Head coach Steve Hansen has entrusted Todd with the role again as he looks to keep his troops fresh ahead of their end-of-year tour.Weve been focused in our preparation this week, and theres a strong resolve within the group to put in another performance we can be proud of, Hansen said.Elsewhere, the prodigious Anton Lienert-Brown has also retained his place at centre after impressive Rugby Championship performances against Argentina and South Africa.He will resume his midfield partnership with second-five Ryan Crotty, with Highlanders gun Malakai Fekitoa taking a spot on the bench.Rampaging winger Julian Savea also comes back into the side in the place of Waisake Naholo, who has fallen out of the matchday squad altogether.ddddddddddddPlaymaker Aaron Cruden is promoted back into the squad after overcoming a groin strain, coming in for Lima Sopoaga.The All Blacks crushed Australia 42-8 and 29-9 in their first two Bledisloe encounters in August, dominating every facet of the match.Hansen expected a tougher challenge this time around.Theyve made some significant changes to their game and would like nothing better than to end their Southern Hemisphere Test season with a win, Hansen said.The stage is set for another huge trans-Tasman battle.As expected, TJ Perenara will start at half-back after star No.9 Aaron Smith stood down from the match in response to an incident in a Christchurch Airport toilet.Smiths squad replacement, Chiefs half-back Augustine Pulu, has been released to play NPC after club teammate Tawera Kerr-Barlow was named on the bench.New Zealand: Ben Smith, Israel Dagg, Anton Lienert-Brown, Ryan Crotty, Julian Savea, Beauden Barrett, TJ Perenara, Kieran Read (c), Matt Todd, Jerome Kaino, Sam Whitelock, Brodie Retallick, Owen Franks, Dane Coles, Joe Moody. Replacements: Codie Taylor, Wyatt Crockett, Charlie Faumuina, Liam Squire, Ardie Savea, Tawera Kerr-Barlow, Aaron Cruden, Malakai Fekitoa. ' ' '