Sonstiges » ot surprisingly, the Chargers are arguing that Bo

By the end of this week, Englands cricketers will have had to decide whether or not to tour Bangladesh. The official word is to go, but the spectre of terrorism weighs heavily on young men to whom the world has become a small and threatening place. This very personal choice will be driven by instinct, opinion at home, and not least by the extent of their own ambitions. Of course, no one wants to give in to terrorism but it really isnt that simple. Englands cricketers know their homeland and live within its problems and parameters every day of their lives. Bangladesh is an unknown. Alastair Cook has given a lead but it is not a directive. For the sake of Bangladesh, we must hope the players follow him. For those who do not, there will be neither blame nor shame.In a very different age I toured Bangladesh with the MCC. It was 1981, just a few months before Ian Botham turned the Ashes upside down, and over a four-week period 14 English cricketers of varied talents came to see the world through a new lens. We stayed in a two-star hotel in Dhaka, along with a legion or more of cockroaches, and in essentially primitive government rest houses everywhere else. Mostly we ate eggs, though the stoical among us quite enjoyed the curries served for lunch at the matches. On some evenings we had chicken, boiled or fried - at best you would call it stringy - and on others more spicy local food made with vegetables. We didnt touch the tap water, drank a little whisky if we could lay our hands on it and slugged back dark green bottle after bottle of 7 Up. On visits to the British High Commission, we loaded up on beer treated with preservatives, which gave us crushing hangovers. No one grumbled. When we awoke each morning, the sun was shining.We played on hard-baked mud pitches against good cricketers and held our own. The crowds that greeted us in the towns did so with an almost ghoulish fascination, first staring as if we were from another planet - which we sort of were - and then breaking out in bursts of cheer and encouragement. At the cricket grounds, the reaction was different. Our best efforts were greeted by silence, as if they hadnt happened. This was in direct contrast to the efforts of their own team, which were celebrated with a manic zeal. It is not so very different on the subcontinent today, though the IPL appears to have led to a greater appreciation of the game at large - as opposed to only the celebrities who play it.The captain of that MCC tour, Michael Mence, had to return home early due to dysentery. John Hampshire stood in for him and, though afflicted by stomach ailments himself, led us with the sort of no-nonsense approach required for such demanding conditions and feisty opponents. Most of us remember these eye-opening experiences with fondness. There was no luxury, just a common purpose and the resulting camaraderie. But this was not the world inhabited by the England players today. The nearest we got to a threat of terrorism was the third afternoon of the Dhaka Test, when an abrasive section of the huge crowd lit a fire in one of the stands, possibly because we had manoeuvred a promising position in the match. We left the field for an hour or so until the police sorted it. We were amateurs, touring out of choice and doing all we could for crickets global reach. Our aims and ambitions were far removed from those of the professionals of the moment.It is a fact that Islamic militants claimed responsibility for attacks that killed 29 people in a restaurant in Dhaka only two months ago and that a week later another attack led to four more deaths. No one knows whether it is safe for England to tour Bangladesh today. Equally, no one knows if it is safe for Bangladesh to tour England or, specifically, for any tourist to shop in the centre of London. Hardly anywhere in the cricketing firmament is categorically safe anymore - parts of the Caribbean maybe. But the game must go on if at all possible, otherwise there is no game.The ECB security team has covered the bases. The experts say there is no reason to cancel the tour. Each of the players has the right to make his own choice, and those who decide against might have to accept the consequences of absence if their replacement performs well. This is a part of the circle of life. We all make choices and have to accept the result of them.Security will be detailed and tight, making life less relaxed than would otherwise be the case. Cricketers mainly limit themselves to nearby cafés, restaurants and shopping malls, and these are as much a lottery as they would be anywhere else. This might be a tour on which to train hard, play hard and bunker down. The ground and the hotel will be alive with police and armed forces. The journey to and from will be protected by an armed guard. No stone will be left unturned to ensure safe passage.This is good enough for the England captain and might well prove to be good enough for the players under his command. Cook is not a man easily diverted from his responsibilities and his commitment to the cause is writ large in the position he has taken. Eoin Morgan is less sure. Cricket remains the one sport in which the captains word still echoes more loudly than that of the coach. Morgan has understandable concerns, and probably a general suspicion that the risk, at such a time of unrest, outweighs the potential reward of three one-day internationals in foreign conditions for his fast developing team. As it happens, the two England coaches - Trevor Bayliss and Paul Farbrace - can offer an interesting perspective since both were working with Sri Lanka when the team bus was attacked by terrorists in Lahore in 2009. They can provide reassurance and also a dose of reality. Farbrace has said that he sees no reason not to tour.Either a player wants to go or he doesnt. Both options are fine. One point for the players to absorb from outside the collective is that the decision should not be clouded, consciously or subconsciously, by the challenging playing conditions or the limited attractions of Dhaka and Chittagong. There is a nice golf course in Dhaka, and a club or two, but thats about it on the recreation front. In general the pitches will be dry, bare and slow - not to everyones taste but a good rehearsal for India.If you tour Bangladesh, you tour for the cricket and for the joy of the people. You spread a gospel and inspire a movement for the game that has given you the life you love. It means a great deal to Bangladesh that England go there. More than it does to England that Bangladesh come here. Bangladesh faces the challenges of poverty, overpopulation, global warming and now terrorism. It is not a lucky country but it is a wonderful country, if not in the way of the wonders that are perceived to make this contemporary world spin round. And it is a cricketing country, where escape is found in the games of bat and ball.This is not to say that, individually, the England players have a responsibility to Bangladesh. Far from it. The responsibility is to themselves and their families. There is no case for persuasion or influence - only for reassurance and due diligence from the board, which has been both thoughtful and thorough. In this case, influence comes by example. Cook has laid out a marker. Andrew Strauss, Englands director of cricket, is bound to be on the plane too. Whatever individual choices are made, the ECBs determination to go ahead is the right thing by Bangladesh and will be seen as an inspiration to the game. Adidas Superstar Slip On Outlet . Siddikur, whose previous win on the circuit came in Brunei three years ago, finished his bogey-free round with a birdie on the 18th for a total of 17-under 199. Indias Shiv Chowrasia, who has finished runner-up in this tournament twice, was in second place after a 66. Wholesale Adidas Superstar Slip On . The 18-year-old American had five birdies in her bogey-free round for a 17-under total of 196. Lee held the overnight lead but mixed three birdies with two bogeys for a 70. http://www.wholesalefashionsuperstar.com/cheap-adidas-superstar-black.html . Dusautoir, the former World Player of the Year, sustained a torn bicep playing for Toulouse in the Heineken Cup on Saturday. The flanker, who has played 65 times for France, is expected to be out for up to four months. Cheap Adidas Superstar Supercolor . With the short-handed Warriors needing help from someone -- anyone -- to stop a three-game skid, ONeal returned from right knee and groin injuries that had sidelined him for four games and put up season highs with 18 points and eight rebounds. It was just enough to help lift Golden State to a 102-101 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. Buy Adidas Superstar . The FA rejected Wilsheres appeal that the length of his punishment was "clearly excessive" and said Thursday his suspension begins with immediate effect. He will miss league matches against Chelsea on Monday and West Ham on Dec. In theory, the NFLs current collective bargaining agreement was supposed to do away with those long contract impasses that kept rookies from attending the start of training camp. In theory, it was supposed to make life easier for teams and agents by slotting players salaries based on where they were drafted. In theory, it was supposed to do away with the art of the deal, because there was nothing of significance to be negotiated.In theory, otherwise known as famous last words.The contract impasse between the San Diego Chargers and first-round pick Joey Bosa is so, well, San Diego Chargers. This is an organization that fed on contentious contract negotiations with high draft picks under the previous CBA.Flash back to 2001, when running back LaDainian Tomlinson, taken fifth overall, missed 30 days of camp. Or 2002, when cornerback Quentin Jammer, selected fifth overall, sat out 50 days. Or 2004, when quarterback Philip Rivers, taken fourth overall, was out 25 days. Or 2005, when linebacker Shawne Merriman, the 12th pick, missed seven days.Thats four players and 112 missed days -- five players and 125 days if you count Bosa, whose 13-day impasse is the longest of any NFL player since the current CBA was adopted in 2011.?This should not be the case in Bosas situation, of course. Both sides know -- and, for the most part, accept -- what the final dollars will be. The sticking point is contract structure.The Chargers are demanding offset language, which allows them to recoup monies owed to Bosa if he were released and signed by another team, and partial deferment of the signing bonus into next year. The Bosa camp is agreeable to one or the other, but not both.Caught in the middle are Chargers fans, who struggle with memories of a painful past when rookie standoffs were common. A holdout now is just not the same as it was even 10 years ago.In 2001, the late John Butler and sidekick (and successor as general manager) A.J. Smith joined the Chargers from Buffalo and quickly announced that agents would play by their rules ... or else. In one negotiation after another, they held their ground and got deals to their liking, even if it hurt the team in the short term.Now comes GM Tom Telesco. Hes not as brash as his predecessors, but he wants you to know hes just as tough. Agents are going to play by the teams rules ... or else. Every contract the Chargers have done since 2011 has included offset language and deferred money, and theyre noot going to break precedent for Bosa, a defensive end/outside linebacker taken third overall.ddddddddddddt some point its fair to ask, when is enough enough? Owners complained that rookies were making too much money under the previous CBA, so the league successfully fought for a rookie wage scale that dramatically slashed the guaranteed dollars when players entered the league. Instead of being content with that victory, however, owners now want to recoup monies if they cut the player and he signs elsewhere. In other words, they want the player to assume some of the financial risk for bad personnel decisions, an attitude that speaks to their arrogance and sense of entitlement. Whats next, injured players returning game checks when theyre unable to suit up? But owners demand such things because players allow them to get away with it.Thats why Bosa should point the finger of blame at his fellow players as well as at Chargers management. On multiple occasions the NFL Players Association has strongly discouraged agents from agreeing to contracts that include offset language, particularly in rookie deals, but each year the number of deals featuring that (and deferred money) increases.For instance, none of the 12 players selected with the second, third or fourth picks in the 2012-15 drafts agreed to deals that included offsets and deferments. However, this year, the picks immediately before and after Bosa -- Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz at No. 2, and running back Ezekiel Elliott at No. 4 -- signed deals with both provisions. Not surprisingly, the Chargers are arguing that Bosas contract should feature that same framework.There is nothing in the CBA that says a player must agree to offsets or deferments, yet players are willingly doing such deals. Each time they do, its more leverage and a bigger hammer for teams to swing in negotiations.A part of me hopes that Bosa holds his ground, even though history says players almost always will blink first in a contract stare-down. Its tiresome listening to players complain about what they dont have when they consistently give away their leverage and show no willingness to stand collectively and fight for change. In theory, if they stood as one, they could regain some of the power theyve surrendered. But you know what they say about in theory.Famous last words. ' ' '