Allgemeines » Dragons opened the scoring through Kurt Mann in th

For the first time in 14 years, neither Roger Federer nor Rafael Nadal will be among the worlds top eight men playing at the ATP Finals. The poignant reality is injuries have dogged them so much this year that both were forced to call it a season within six weeks of each other.The last time they were anywhere near a tennis court together was in street clothes. Federer flew in for the opening of Nadals new tennis academy in Mallorca, Spain, in mid-October, another sign that the end of their tour-dominating days is upon us.Nobody likes Federers and Nadals absences, or these force-fed glimpses of how the tour will looks a little less lustrous when their departure is permanent, especially if some of the #nextgen hopefuls the ATP has been promoting dont get on with dominating already. (Yes, Nick Kyrgios, were especially looking at you and your latest questionable move. )Federer and Nadal may yet rise up here or there and grab another Grand Slam title. Or two. But all the wishful thinking in the world wont bring their heydays back. And Federer and Nadal both know it.The two are good friends, and they smiled a little wistfully at each other at the ribbon-cutting for Nadals academy last month. They publicly commiserated about their season-ending injuries and beat back retirement questions. They seemed like two aging lions hoping to stay in the title hunt as long as they can. Even the gift that Nadal presented Federer as thanks for coming -- a poster with photographs from all 34 matches theyve played, many of them epics -- underscored how much time is under the bridge. Nadal was ranked a pedestrian eighth in this weeks world rankings, and Federer has slid to No. 16 because of his inactivity.And yet, while the 30-year-old Nadal is five years younger than Federer, its Federer who seems to have more jump in his step and big hopes in mind. The Swiss star had never had an injury that required surgery until he hurt his meniscus in January at the Australian Open and had his knee repaired. This is new territory for him, and he told Nadal hes taken heart during his rehab work from Nadals many injury comebacks before his left wrist gave out this year.Youve done it a million times, Federer said, so I can be inspired by the way you made it look so easy when you came back. You came back to the worlds top 10, top five, even world No 1. Thats something that Im going to be thinking about when I come back to the tour in January.Nadal hasnt been as specific as Federer about how much longer he wants to play: I am enjoying what I am doing, especially when I am healthy; when Im not healthy, for sure I dont enjoy it, Nadal allowed. But when asked if he knew in his own mind when he might retire, Nadal dismissed the suggestion he knows his end is very near.I cant give an answer to questions that I cannot answer to myself, Nadal said. If you start to think about when youre going to retire, then your work is not 100 percent focused on what you want to do. So I cant say and I cant think about it now. Im not worried about it at all. When it happens, it happens. When that day arrives I am sure I will know it.Its not a day for which I have to prepare.He has a point. Theres an old saying in boxing that the truth will find you inside the ring. The same is true in tennis. Theres nowhere to hide on the court and no teammates to carry you. Though Federer still reliably pops up in tournament semifinals, even at the Slams, he hasnt won a major since Wimbledon in 2012 and hasnt won a title of any sort since October of 2014.That kind of drought can -- and has -- driven off a lot of less relentlessly optimistic and well-balanced champions into quitting. Many wouldve said forget it a long time ago. Not Federer. In a video interview posted on the ATP website after he pulled out of the US Open, he actually called these tougher times something he finds super interesting, and almost, in some ways, something fun. His reasoning? He said hes never had a five-month gap like this to repair his body and work on his game since turning pro.Nadals future is cloudier. Hes looked like a man with too many hard miles on the odometer for a while now. He did win two titles early this year, but he didnt get past the third round of any major in 2016 and hasnt won a Grand Slam title since the 2014 French Open. Yet true to his full-tilt personality, it took Nadal a while to give into the reality he, too, needed to call it a year. Its probably telling for all his greatness that hes never won the year-end finals. The best he could do was a second-place finish, twice.Nadal now concedes he was still in pain when he played singles and doubles in the Rio Olympics, and again all through his lackluster fall campaign in which he lost a five-set shocker to Lucas Pouille in the fourth round of the US Open and then dismissed by Grigor Dimitrov in Beijing. A week later, Nadal suffered a first-round loss against Viktor Troicki in Shanghai, another opponent he used to trounce.So Federer and Nadal were wise to quit punishing themselves and put off their returns until the new year, even if the ATP Finals will miss them. Federer, who won the title six times and finished the runner-up four other years, has been posting photos on Facebook and Instagram about how hes been spending his time in Switzerland hiking the Alps, while getting in a light hit on a modest-looking clay court and doing agility drills in a low-ceiling gym.On Monday, Nadal tweeted a photo of himself at a mountain lookout point at Sainte-Agnes on the Cote dZur of France, along with the message: Just resting these days.Both spots look beautiful. But its different than seeing Nadal and Federer walk on-court at an ATP Finals, unzip their racket covers and then hunker down across the net from each other knowing a three- or four-hour epic might be just ahead.Those days were great.Those days increasingly feel gone. Cheap Custom Blues Jersey . Their 38th instalment is arguably their biggest fight card to date, including three-title fights and a main event which was selected by the fans. The promotion boasts 14-straight years of business and is operated by MFC president Mark Pavelich, who is often overlooked in this country for the foundation hes established for MMA in Canada. Al Macinnis Jersey Large . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. http://www.custombluesjersey.com/ . MLS Commissioner Don Garber and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez also will attend the session, which was announced Monday. The league has discussed placing its next two expansion teams in Miami and Atlanta. Authentic Custom Blues Jersey . The Dutchmans tenure got off to a poor start when referee Guido Winkmann awarded a penalty within two minutes for Niklas Starks clumsy challenge on Alexandru Maxim. Wholesale Custom Blues Shirts . -- Arizona knocked off some quality opponents, rolled over a few overmatched ones and grinded out victories even when things didnt go so well. Mitchell Moses and Luke Brooks have given West Tigers fans a look at the future without Robbie Farah in the NRL joint ventures win over St George Illawarra.Moses led the way for the Tigers in attack and defence in the 25-12 win at ANZ Stadium on Sunday, setting up a crucial second-half try and calmly slotting the match-sealing field goal.Brooks wasnt far behind. His kicking game kept the Tigers on the front foot and he scythed through the Dragons goal-line defence in the 26th minute to put the Tigers ahead for the first time - a lead they never relinquished.The win will in part justify the decision by Tigers coach Jason Taylor to dump Farah to reserve grade.It was gutsy and it was gritty and with that I am really happy, Taylor said.The Wests Tigers are not known for that sort of performance. We kept turning the Dragons away and that is really exciting we were able to win a game like that.However, Taylor wasnt gloating that his decision to dump Farah had perhaps proven to be the right one.It isnt about vindication, it is about a direction we want the team to keep moving toward and it impacts upon both our attack and our defence, he said.It is part of what I want to continue, these guys (Moses and Brooks) taking ownership.The win keeps the Tigers faint finals hopes alive.Will we make the finals? I dont know. But we are giving it a crack, Taylor said.In playmaker Benji Marshallss 250th game, against the club he won the 2005 premiership with, the Dragons were good in patches but again their attack lacked thrust.ddddddddddddCoach Paul McGregor admitted calls for him and Dragons boss Peter Doust to step down were affecting his team.Emotion is a lot in sport and they have a lot on their shoulders at the moment, he said.A few clubs go through it at different stages of the year and at the moment we are going through it.The Dragons opened the scoring through Kurt Mann in the fifth minute. That was matched by first-half Tigers tries to David Nofoaluma, Brooks and James Tedesco for them to lead 18-8 at halftime.The Tigers stretched that lead when Moses put Josh Aloiai over in the 58th minute.Adam Quinlan gave the Dragons some hope when he brought the Dragons within 12 points in the 68th minute.The home side had the chance to further close that gap before 15,087 fans but couldnt crack the Tigers line despite a generous amount of possession.Moses one-pointer sealing with a one-pointer three minutes from time.Dragons forward Leeson Ah Mau was put on report for a first-half high tackle on Tim Grant, who was taken off on a medicab and didnt return.Tigers forward Chris Lawrence left the field early in the second half with a leg injury. ' ' '