Australia in the opening match of the two-game series in Me

METAIRIE, La. --?New Orleans Saints veterans Drew Brees and Zach Strief expressed concerns Monday that the growing mistrust in the NFL league office has spilled over from the players to the fans and is hurting the leagues popularity.We feel like [the decline in TV ratings] is a direct result, said Brees, who has been an outspoken critic of the way NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has handled controversial issues such as the Bountygate investigation of the Saints, the Deflategate investigation of the Patriots, and the Ray Rice and Josh Brown domestic violence investigations.I know the players dont have any faith in the way that things are conducted within the front office in the NFL -- certainly when it comes to any type of investigation, when it comes to any type of commissioner discipline, Brees said. Its really kind of a joke at this point, unfortunately. And it shouldnt be like that.Brees and Strief spoke to ESPN after the Saints players had their annual in-season meeting with NFL Players Association executive director DeMaurice Smith. They agreed that the NFLs declining TV ratings could be a result of probably a buildup over the last few years.Its hard to separate em. It all works together, said Strief, who is in his final year as the Saints player representative. The NFL front office has seemed to have found a way to make everything somewhat contentious. It feels like theres this constant assault on the players, like were two entities. Its like they dont think they need us to do this.?And I think over time, as its constantly in the media and its constantly a public issue, I think the fans start to feel a similar way. Its just a constant contentious issue. When you take Brady and say it affected Tom Brady and it affected the New England Patriots, well the fans feel like theyre a part of that. It does affect them and it does affect their team and it does affect how you feel about the league, and it does turn you off.?At the end of the day, the relationship between the front office and the people who are not in the front office has probably never been worse.The Saints comments echoed those of Seattle Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman, who last week blamed Goodell and the NFL for making the NFL no fun anymore, including imposing strict rules against player celebrations.Brees mentioned the crackdown on player celebrations as another factor that may have turned fans off in recent years.Brees, who was an outspoken critic of Colin Kaepernicks decision to protest during the national anthem, also acknowledged that such protests could be a turn-off to fans.I think its just been a culmination of a lot of things over the last three years that unfortunately might have just turned people off or caused them to be less engaged, said Brees, a former player rep and a former member of the NFLPAs executive committee, who said his hope when he first joined the NFLPA was that there would be a partnership between the players and the league office to move the game forward.And unfortunately weve never felt that feeling reciprocated from their end, Brees said. In fact its very much been a, Were gonna do things behind closed doors. And you just kind of believe what we tell you. And unfortunately thats jumped up and bit us, and I named all those cases ... where you certainly cant trust anything thats coming out of the league office at this point.Listen, we as players want the best for this league. This league has so many great things to offer ... and for a long time the fans were really enjoying it. And now it seems like thats taken a hit. And it really feels like its been the culmination of the last few years and the way the business of football is being run in the front office. Thats the concerning part at this point for us. Nike Air Vapormax Navy+Multi-Color . The Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all won on Sunday meaning the Rangers will host the Rays in a play-in game on Monday. Cheap Vapormax Womens . -- On the field, it was business as usual for Jameis Winston and No. http://www.clearancevapormax.com/ . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. Fake Vapormax 95 . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. Cheap Vapormax China .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. Affan Yousuf scored a brace to guide Indian mens hockey team to a 3-2 win over world champions Australia in the opening match of the two-game series in Melbourne on Tuesday.While Yousuf scored two field goals (19th minute) in quick succession, dragflicker V R Raghunath netted the winner for India in the 44th minute. Australias goals came from Matthew Willis (36th) and Trent Mitton (43rd).The Indians were quick to get off the blocks and controlled the proceedings early on.But despite several circle penetrations, both the teams failed to break the deadlock in the first quarter.Yousuf opened the scoring for India in the 19th minute with a wonderfully constructed field goal and then doubled his tally with another field strike in the very next move as India went into halftime firmly in control with a two goal cushion.ddddddddddddThe second half witnessed a completely different picture as India looked happy to sit back, absorb the pressure and take Australia on the counter.Australia, on the other hand, were incisive and precise, and drew themselves level via goals from Willis and Mitton. India, however, regained their lead a minute later from a penalty corner, which was duly converted by Raghunath.In the final quarter, India adopted a cautious approach and managed to hold on to the lead to take a 1-0 lead in the series.The second match of the series will be played on Wednesday. ' ' '