DURHAM, N.C. -- One by one over the past few years, Duke has taken care of nearly every item on its program-building checklist.The Blue Devils have posted three straight winning seasons. Theyve won an Atlantic Coast Conference divisional championship and played for a league title. Theyve reached four straight bowls, finally winning one.Now Duke wants to take yet another step forward and win a conference title.That will be a big challenge in a league that has two College Football Playoff contenders in Clemson and Florida State, but its another sign of progress that the Blue Devils goal cant be summarily dismissed.We have high expectations, which is a good thing when it comes to Duke football, coach David Cutcliffe said, and we know they have set their sights high.Bowls have become an every-year thing at Duke. Nobody on this years roster knows what its like to miss the postseason. Thats a 180-degree turn from the late 1990s and 2000s, when the Blue Devils went 17 years between bowl appearances and went winless four times in that span.Duke is coming off its first bowl victory since 1961, an overtime win over Indiana in the Pinstripe Bowl, and the Blue Devils say ending a year with a win kept them hungry for more during the offseason.We love having that trophy. We love having the rings from that bowl game, quarterback Thomas Sirk said. We want to win another bowl game. We want to win an ACC championship and ultimately play in the College Football Playoff.Other things to watch for this season from Duke:SIRKS WORKSirk hopes to be ready for the opener Sept. 3 against North Carolina Central after rupturing his left Achilles tendon during a conditioning workout in February. Sirk missed the 2013 season after rupturing his right Achilles, and that familiarity with the comeback process has made this rehab easier. He was listed as the starter on the preseason depth chart. Sirk -- a dual-threat QB who led the team in rushing last season and was co-MVP of the Pinstripe Bowl victory -- says he wont alter his style: I dont think its going to change who I am, he said.GROUND GAMEDuke ranked fifth in the ACC in rushing last season, and needs more from its stable of experienced running backs, none of whom averaged more than 46 yards in 2015. Cutcliffe says that starts up front with three starters back on an offensive line that he says could be the biggest, most physical offensive line wed had. He says the goal is to develop a power-running game thats less dependent on zone blocking and finesse.KEY GAMESTwo losses from 2015 haunt the Blue Devils: a 30-27 loss to Miami that led to a complete overhaul of the leagues instant replay system after numerous officiating errors were noted on the Hurricanes game-ending kickoff return for a touchdown, and the embarrassing 66-31 loss to rival North Carolina the following week. Duke faces the Tar Heels on Thursday night, Nov. 10, and ends the season at Miami on Nov. 28.SEASON OPENERDuke opens with crosstown opponent N.C. Central on Sept. 3, and the school will unveil the second phase of construction at remodeled Wallace Wade Stadium -- the crown jewel of which will be the five-story, 90,000-square-foot tower of boxes and luxury suites that replaced the sports medicine building that used to double as the press box.PREDICTIONWin 7, Lose 5. Brooklyn Nets Store . Wilson hit Schenn from behind during Tuesday nights game in Philadelphia, earning a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct. He has a phone hearing with the department of player safety, which limits any potential suspension to five or fewer games. Caris LeVert Jersey . -- Its been a long road back for Sean Bergenheim. https://www.cheapnetsonline.com/1225g-theo-pinson-jersey-nets.html . 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For domestic heavyweight Mosharraf Hossain to return to the Bangladesh ODI squad, it needed a by-chance intervention from Venkatapathy Raju.The former India spinner was in Dhaka to conduct a ten-day spin bowling camp in mid-August. After watching left-arm spinner Mosharraf, Raju spoke about him to Bangladesh head coach Chandika Hathurusingha, who brought him into the preliminary squad midway into its pre-season training camp. In less than a month, he is in line to play international cricket after eight years.[Venkatapathy] Raju said I have variation and extra bounce, Mosharraf told ESPNcricinfo after joining the preliminary squad. It gave me confidence. In our country, there is more emphasis on the negative parts of a cricketer. You can even find fault in [Muttiah] Muralitharan if you are looking for it. They look for problems here. But there is about 90% positive in a cricketer. Raju focused on the things that work in my bowling. He said that I have a good overall record. He said I was unlucky and that I should be playing [at the top level]. For someone who has taken more than 300 first-class wickets, been a proven match-winner in the Dhaka Premier League, and the Man of the Match in a Bangladesh Premier League final, this was just reward, but perhaps a bit of luck was at play too: here was someone who couldnt break into the national team for a long time despite being a regular top performer in domestic cricket, but he gets unexpectedly and immediately called up on the word of a foreign coach visiting on a brief stint. Then again, Mosharrafs career had already been marked by misfortune, with two major incidents almost derailing it.The first was a few months after his international debut in 2008, when he joined the now-defunct rebel Indian Cricket League as part of the Dhaka Warriors team. Mosharraf, 26 at the time, was among the defecting players banned for ten years by the BCB; the following year, after they had quit the league, they were given indemnity.Mosharraf said had he foreseen the backlash from the BCB, media and fans, he wouldnt have gone to the ICL. I was quite young when I went to play in the ICL. The contract with them was that we would play two tournaments per year, and we were free to play everything else for the rest of the time. I thought it was a good offer, but when we arrived in India, the scenario had changed [back in Bangladesh].The reaction was such that we felt that we were in trouble. We didnt think at first that we would be cornered but I would call it bad luck. If I had known this would have been the situation, I wouldnt have gone. Then there was the second major incident: whenn he was caught up in the BPL corruption investigation in 2013.ddddddddddddHe was provisionally banned for eight months, before the investigating tribunal announced that he was not guilty of any wrongdoing and the ban was lifted.This was also bad luck, Mosharraf said. I dont think about it anymore. I was just playing a game and then few months later I heard it became a major issue.It was likely clouded decision-making on his part that led to the defection to the ICL, and a case of being at the wrong place at the wrong time in the BPL 2013, but now Mosharraf gets another chance on the back of his consistency with bat and ball.After completing the camp under Raju, he had gone on a holiday to India with his wife when the call came. Within a day of his arrival, he was asked to return to Dhaka quickly and join the preliminary squad camp.They dont usually call up a player in the middle of a camp, so I was happier. I was in India when selector Sumon bhai [Habibul Bashar] got in touch with me through my [journalist] friend Zahid Chowdhury. He said I have to join the Bangladesh camp.There were no air tickets, all of which seemed to be booked till August 30. I took a taxi from Kolkata to the border in Benapole. The situation was quite difficult but when they recognised me, they helped me get through immigration quickly. Then I took another taxi till Jessore, from where I caught a flight to Dhaka the next morning and joined training that day.Mosharrafs domestic numbers back up the call. In the recently concluded Dhaka Premier League one-day tournament, he took 12 wickets and scored 350 runs in 14 matches for Legends of Rupganj. This form, and not his age, Mosharraf said should be taken into account.I have done well on some important occasions, in the BPL final and also in the ICL where I bowled to international cricketers. I took big wickets like Inzamam-ul-Haq, Damien Martyn. I have been consistent in domestic cricket, in the National Cricket League, Bangladesh Cricket League, Dhaka Premier League and the BPL. I havent really fallen into poor form in the domestic scene.Performance should always be taken into account. If a player has fitness and performance, then those should be given priority. A much older player like Misbah-ul-Haq is doing so well while another who comes from the Under-19s into the national team can fail at the highest level.Now that he has got his chance, the in-form Mosharraf will be hoping to put the controversies behind him and make headlines for the right reasons. ' ' '