Die Regenbogenbrücke » ate Cancer UK, a charity that the rugby lea

The three big prizes are only given out in August, September and October, so is it too early to take any notice of the Super League table? Well, I guess it depends if youre a half-full or half-empty person.Most clubs have 18 Super League games remaining and while an optimistic fan might say their team have the potential to pick up 36 points, the reality is that your team will need a minimum of 20 points to finish in the top eight when we enter the next stage of the competition. But that looks a long way off for some teams. It is habits and mindset, not time or games, that become the problem to the teams in the lower half of the league table.Easter is a hugely significant milestone in the season and teams need to stay in contention to give themselves a chance when the weather starts to improve. Go on then: If Widnes finish in the top four I will be their mascot for a match! Phil Clarke The champions have started the season in a similar way to how Chelsea began the Premier League last August. Just one win in the opening five games puts them under huge pressure this week. The Giants currently sit above the Rhinos on points difference and it is unusual to see the most consistent team of the last three seasons struggle as much as they have.Huddersfields performance against Hull KR impressed me and I am certain they will win more than 50 per cent of their remaining games. Next up they have Catalans, Wakefield and Salford and I think that they will pick up six points. However, it is the top of the league that intrigues me most. Widnes and Warrington have in effect swapped places with Leeds and Huddersfield. How have they done it? Barrie McDermott has been impressed by Widnes performances in 2016 Well you could say the Wolves have bought better players. They have the two favourites to win the Man of Steel in Chris Sandow and Kurt Gidley. New players like Tom Lineham and Joe Westerman have added to the squads ability, plus you could argue that they underachieved in 2015 and are more where they should be this campaign.But how do you explain that the Vikings are top of the table? Playing one more than most of the others helps but their squad of players has remained virtually the same. Stefan Marsh, Corey Thompson, Denis Betts and Joe Mellor look ahead to Widnes trip to Wigan on Thursday Widnes have doubled the number of league points after six rounds compared with last year but perhaps more impressively, they have played the best rugby and provided the most entertainment. Admittedly, two of their wins have been against the bottom two teams but they have also beaten Leeds and Huddersfield in convincing fashion. Those wins did come when their opponents had several injuries but timing is everything in life and they had theirs spot on when they beat Hull last week. Sky Live: Wigan v Widnes Joe Mellor says Super League leaders Widnes will be out to make a statement The Vikings have now scored 39 tries in six games and in Corey Thompson they possess a player who could finish the season with the top try scorer award. In addition to him, they have Chris Houston in the second row and Setaimata Sa, but none of those players were big-money signings and I suppose you have to give credit to the coach.From what I see and hear, along with Daryl Powell, Denis Betts is the best coach in the competition and the teams improvement is a reflection of his ability, intelligence and experience. However, their game against Wigan on Thursday will be by far their hardest challenge of the season and perhaps the first time they have faced a top-four team with a healthy squad to choose from. The Warriors will be too strong for the Vikings and we will see them as a mid-table team.I am scared of making any predictions about where Widnes will finish in 2016. I have seen what Gary Lineker said about Leicester City and dont want to strip down to my underwear! I still think that if they finish in the top eight after 23 rounds they will have done remarkably well but I am still not convinced that they will be able to do that.Go on then: If Widnes finish in the top four I will be their mascot for a match!Join the Men United March Join the Sky Sports rugby league team as they walk from York City FC to Elland Road One of the greatest things about working with Sky Sports is the opportunity to meet people from other sports, to share stories with them and learn from them. Well, next week gives me the chance to do that in a different way. On Tuesday, March 22, Brian Carney, Bill Arthur, Barrie McDermott and I will be joining Jeff Stelling from Soccer Saturday on the Men United March.We are linking up with Jeff for one of the 10 days in which he will walk from Hartlepool United to Wembley, and you can join us too. Its all in aid of Prostate Cancer UK, a charity that the rugby league department at Sky have supported for the last four years after some of the team were affected by it.You may have noticed some of us wearing the little badge on screen. Its called the Man of Men, and the entire Leeds Rhinos squad wore them when they attended the Sports Personality awards at the end of last year - with Kevin Sinfield clinching the runners-up award. Jeff Stelling is walking 10 marathons in 10 days Anyone can take part in this great walk, you just need to register at www.menunitedmarch.org. If you come along you can talk rugby with us, football with Chris Kamara, Charlie Nicholas and Ray Wilkins, or just have a laugh up front with Jeff and the other walkers. Sinfield and Eddie Hemmings aim to be at Elland Road as we complete the 29-mile trek from York. It is a rugby section of this walk as we pass through the home of last terms domestic treble winners.It is a long way I know but its for a great cause and it will be a great laugh. We get to stroll through some beautiful Yorkshire countryside and listen to some stories that dont get told on television.If you cant make the walk but want to support Jeff and the rest of us then visit www.menunitedmarch.org or text JEFF to 70004 to donate £3. Also See: Sky Live: Widnes v Wigan Vikings prepare for Wigan test Chester named Wakefield coach Leeds v St Helens: Key battles Franchy Cordero Jersey . Sixteen teams have moved on. Sixteen teams have gone home. Franchy Cordero Padres Jersey . -- A.J. Burnett was happy to escape from New York. http://www.padressale.com/padres-greg-garcia-jersey/. A-Rod is also disqualified from any post-season play. So at the tender age of 38, he will miss all of next season. As a result of missing the coming season, hes also out $25 million (which coincidentally is my hourly rate). San Diego Padres Jerseys . Minutes before the final whistle of Sporting Kansas Citys 3-0 victory over a shorthanded Montreal Impact squad on Saturday afternoon, Saputo tweeted: "Our fans deserve better. Franmil Reyes Padres Jersey . According to a report from ESPN, Lynch wants a new contract from the Seahawks, and will likely skip all off-season workouts until he can renegotiate his deal with the Seahawks.Baseballs most prominent agent, Scott Boras, openly criticized the Toronto Blue Jays stagnant offseason on Sunday, likening the team to a "car with a huge engine that is impeded by a big corporate stop sign." Speaking to Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports, Boras, the man who represents the likes of Texas Rangers slugger Prince Fielder, 2013 AL Cy Young winner Max Scherzer of the Detroit Tigers and Washington Nationals phenom Bryce Harper, places the blame on general manager Alex Anthopouloss failure to dip into the free agent market on the shoulders of Jays ownership, a group Boras deems "a successful and committed ownership that needs to give their baseball people financial flexibility." "There is no one who has the asset base of Rogers," Boras said to Rosenthal. "[Torontos] a premium city. Its a premium owner with equity. And its a very, very good team that with additional premium talent could become a contending team." Outside of catcher Dioner Navarro, the Jays, tipped to be after free agent pitching and a second baseman, have remained entirely inactive while the likes of Ubaldo Jimenez, A.J. Burnett and Masahiro Tanaka found new clubs. Because the team has two protected first-round picks, the Jays seemingly would have leverage when it comes to compensation-eligible free agents. Anthopoulos, for his part, defended ownership on being informed of Borass remarks. "Our ownership has been outstanding and given us all the resources we need," said Anthopoulos. The Blue Jays and Boras have traditionally had a frosty relationship. Borass very first major contract showdown was between the Jays and reliever Bill Caudill in 1984. After acquiring the pitcher from the Oakland As, Boras negotiated a five-year extension for his client at $1.5 million a season that made him the highest paid player on the team. Caudill flamed out due to injury and was released in 1986 after pitching only jjust over 105 innings for the team.dddddddddddd The acrimony from the deal lingered. In 2009, the Jays drafted lefty starter James Paxton of Ladner, BC. The Jays could not come to an agreement with Paxton, who was being advised by Boras at the time, and he chose to head back to the University of Kentucky to play for its baseball team. Blue Jays president Paul Beeston called into question the actual nature of Paxtons relationship with Boras. "Because it was Scott, the way you deal, you deal through him," Beeston told the Globe and Mail at the time. "You dont deal through the family." The NCAA allows its athletes to have "family advisers," but forbids them from having agents, as it would compromise their amateur status. Due to Beestons comments, the NCAA launched an investigation into Paxtons arrangement with Boras. Paxton did not participate with the investigation out of fear of being suspended by the school. Kentucky, fearing that the school would face sanctions if it allowed Paxton to play whilst under investigation, filed a motion that allowed Paxton to keep his scholarship and remain part of the team, but did not let him actually play in any games. Part of that filing included the suggestion that Paxton breached the "no agent" rule. Paxton, now a member of the Seattle Mariners, was eventually declared ineligible and left the school for a Texas team in the independent league. Boras currently represents two of the last three compensation free agents on the market (with starter Ervin Santana the other) in Stephen Drew and Kendrys Morales. The Jays dont appear to have any interest in Morales, but could explore the possibility of slotting Drew in at second base. The 30-year-old former Red Sox shortstop has never played a game at second in his career. The Blue Jays open their exhibition schedule on Wednesday against the Philadelphia Phillies in Dunedin, Florida. ' ' '