Dein erstes Forum » Glavine, a 10-time All-Star and a two-time Cy Young

GENEVA - Call it four-man bobsled still, but women can start taking part in the event this season.Bobsleds world governing body, known as the FIBT, has opened the four-man competitions to mixed gender teams.Teams consisting of a female pilot driving and men push-starting the bob could now be seen on the World Cup circuit from December and at the world championships in February next year.I strongly believe women can drive a four-man and be competitive, FIBT President Ivo Ferriani said in a telephone interview on Thursday. For us, its the natural evolution of our sport.The 2018 Winter Olympics staged in Pyeongchang, South Korea, is a natural target for mixed teams, though Ferriani cautioned it was too soon to create too much speculation.Its important to make the first step, the Italian officials said. To analyze the situation and give the opportunity, and to have some terms of reference.Previously, women competed only in two-athlete bobs and men competed in twos and fours.There are no plans for adding fours to the all-female competitions, but Ferriani said the rules are open on what the gender balance can be in a four-member crew on the mens circuit.At the moment we dont have any limits, he said. I think, personally, a woman pilot with three men can be strong.Two-time Olympic champion Kaillie Humphries of Canada has said she wants to pilot a bob pushed by three male teammates.Ferriani said mixed teams could first take part in World Cup races at a Dec. 15-21 meet in December at Calgary, Canada.They must prove in the qualification process they are at the right level, he said.After the eight-meeting World Cup circuit, the world championships are held Feb. 23-Mar. 1 in Winterberg, Germany. Ryne Sandberg Cubs Jersey . The biggest collapse in franchise history was a long time ago, and he was too busy trying to make sure it didnt happen again. Mark Grace Cubs Jersey . Thats how the Ravens won when Ryan was their defensive co-ordinator from 2005-08, and that is precisely the formula Baltimore used to beat Ryans New York Jets on Sunday. http://www.cubsauthentic.com/cubs-andre-dawson-jersey/ .85 million contract with the two-time Gold Glove outfielder. Parra earned his second Gold Glove last season when he set a club record with 17 outfield assists. Brandon Kintzler Cubs Jersey . Judging by his performance Saturday night, Cotto has plenty left in the tank. Cotto became the first Puerto Rican fighter to win world championships in four weight divisions, stopping Sergio Martinez in their WBC world middleweight title fight Saturday night. Carlos Zambrano Cubs Jersey . Hicham Khalouas late goal improved Almerias chances of avoiding relegation in a match dominated by contentious calls, including three penalties. One day after Barcelonas 4-3 win at Real Madrid featured three penalties, referees again dominated a wide-open game that saw Almeria ultimately move out of the relegation zone and one point ahead of Getafe which took its place.NEW YORK -- Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine and Frank Thomas were elected to baseballs Hall of Fame on Wednesday, while Craig Biggio fell two votes short and tainted stars of the Steroids Era remained a long way from Cooperstown. Maddux was picked on 555 of 571 ballots by senior members of the Baseball Writers Association of America. His 97.2 percentage was the eighth-highest in the history of voting. Glavine, Madduxs longtime teammate in the Atlanta rotation, appeared on 525 ballots and received 91.9 per cent. Thomas, the first Hall of Famer who spent the majority of his career as a designated hitter, was at 478 and 83.7 per cent. Thomas said he accepts the view of many Hall of Famers that players whose accomplishments are muddied by accusations of steroid use, such as Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, dont belong in the Hall. "Ive got to take the right stance, too. No, they shouldnt get in," he said. "There shouldnt be cheating allowed to get into the Hall of Fame." The trio will be inducted July 27 along with managers Bobby Cox, Joe Torre and Tony La Russa, elected last month by the expansion-era committee. Maddux and Glavine, who played under Cox for most of their careers, will become the first pair of 300-game winners to be inducted in the same year. "Its exciting for me to go in with my teammate," Maddux said. The only other time three players were elected together in their first appearances was in 1999 with Nolan Ryan, George Brett and Robin Yount. Biggio received 427 votes and 74.8 per cent, matching Nellie Fox in 1985 and Pie Traynor in 1947 for the smallest margin to just miss. Traynor made it the following year, and Fox was elected by the old Veterans Committee in 1997. Biggio, who spent his entire career with the Houston Astros, appeared on 388 ballots last year in his initial appearance -- when writers failed to elect anyone -- and appears to be on track to gain election next year. "Obviously, Im disappointed to come that close," he said in a statement. "I feel for my family, the organization and the fans. Hopefully, next year." Mike Piazza was next with 62.2 per cent, up from 57.8 last year. Jack Morris was 78 votes short at 61.5 per cent in his 15th and final appearance on the writers ballot, a drop from 67.7 per cent. Morris replaces Gil Hodges (63 per cent in 1983) as the player with the highest-percentage of the vote not in the Hall. Jeff Bagwell dropped to 54.3 per cent from 59.6, and Tim Raines to 46.1 from 52.2. Controversy over how to evaluate stars tainted by the Steroids Era continued to impact the vote totals of players with stellar statistics. In their second appearances on the ballot, Roger Clemens dropped from 37.6 per cent to 35.4, Barry Bonds from 36.2 to 34.7 and Sammy Sosa from 12.5 to 7.2. Bonds, baseballs career home run leader, is the only seven-time MVP in major league history. Clemens is the lone seven-time Cy Young Award winner. "As for what they did, I dont think any of us will ever really know," Thomas said. "But I can just tell you, what I did was real and thaats why Ive got this smile on my face right now because the writers, they definitely got it right.dddddddddddd" Mark McGwire, appearing for the eighth time, fell from 16.9 to 11 per cent -- down from a peak of 25.6 in 2008. Rafael Palmeiro will be dropped from future ballots after falling to 25 votes and 4.4 per cent -- below the 5 per cent threshold necessary to remain eligible. One voter submitted a blank ballot. "I can go home and sleep at night and rest," Thomas said, "so I dont have to worry about all the nonsense that the other people are going through, because I know I wont be getting a call in the middle of the night from someone saying, oh, he did this or he did that." Deadspin.com announced Miami Herald columnist Dan Le Batard had turned his ballot over to the website, which allowed readers to vote on how it should be cast. "I hate all the moralizing we do in sports in general, but I especially hate the hypocrisy in this," Le Batard said in remarks posted by Deadspin. "I always like a little anarchy inside the cathedral weve made of sports." BBWAA Secretary-Treasurer Jack OConnell declined comment. Maddux reached the major leagues in 1986 and Glavine a year later. They become the first primarily starting pitchers to enter the Hall whose careers began after Bert Blyleven, who debuted in 1970. And they are the first teammates on a starting rotation to be elected together since 1946. Add in Cox, and the induction will be dominated by Braves. "Its fitting, given the influence those two guys had on my career," Glavine said. "The thing that would have disappointed me the most had it not happened would have been a lost opportunity to go in with Bobby and Greg." Eighth on the wins list with a 355-227 record and a 3.16 ERA over 23 seasons, Maddux won four consecutive Cy Young Awards from 1992-95 and a record 18 Gold Gloves with the Chicago Cubs, Atlanta, the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Diego. An eight-time All-Star, he won at least 13 games in 20 straight seasons. Glavine, a 10-time All-Star and a two-time Cy Young winner, was 305-203 over 22 seasons. A two-time AL MVP, Thomas hit .301 with 521 homers and 1,704 RBIs in 19 seasons with the Chicago White Sox, Toronto and Oakland. Thomas becomes the sixth ex-Blue Jay to enter the Hall of Fame, following Phil Niekro, Dave Winfield, Paul Molitor, Rickey Henderson and Roberto Alomar. Of those players, only Alomar entered the Hall as a Jay. Writers who have been members of the BBWAA for 10 consecutive years at any point were eligible to consider the 36-player ballot. Next years vote will be even more crowded when Randy Johnson, Pedro Martinez, John Smoltz, Carlos Delgado and Gary Sheffield become eligible, five years after their retirements. The BBWAA last month formed a committee to study whether the organization should ask the Hall to change the limit of 10 players per ballot. In a sign of how some newly eligible players have taken votes from holdovers, Lee Smith dropped to 171 from 272 last year, his percentage falling to 29.9 from 47.8. ' ' '