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Durham began 1992 in a state of buoyancy. For a full century, Durham had been a minor county. Now, finally, they were a first-class team. And there was always the sense that Durham were not merely the 18th first-class team, but something more: flag-bearers for the entire north-east, giving a region deprived of professional cricket an identity at last.Twenty-five years on, the club approaches 2017 in trepidation and despair. They will begin the season demoted to Division Two of the County Championship as punishment for having to receive an ECB bail-out of ￡3.8 million, and, as if that was not bad enough, they will start on minus 48 points, as well as with points deductions in the other two formats. Chester-le-Street has also lost its status as a Test match venue.How did it ever come to this?****With hindsight, it was in these heady early days that the roots of Durhams demise can be found. At the start of the countys first-class existence, two decisions were made which, together, would underpin its descent to the brink of insolvency.The first mistake was the ECBs insistence that Durham develop a Test match ground. At huge expense, Chester-le-Street, which opened in 1995, became not just a beautiful ground, but one able to host Tests. The trouble was that in 13 years of hosting Test cricket, Durham was never able to make the games pay, with the glorious exception of the Ashes Test in 2013. The rest of the time Durham were lumbered with hosting unappetising tourists at an unappealing time of year, the attraction of games further undermined by often being scheduled from Friday to Tuesday, and so effectively denying Durham any chance to sell day four tickets in advance.The consequences were dire. For all their investment, Durham only earned an average of ￡300,000 from England matches from 2008 to 2015. The average at other Test grounds was ￡1 million. The fundamental problem is that almost since day one the club has not generated sufficient revenue to cover its fixed overheads, says David Harker, Durhams chief executive. The requirement to have a venue capable of staging international cricket without then earning the required receipts from international cricket is the single biggest cause of the problem. Another county chief executive reflects: They bet the farm and lost.The second mistake was Chester-le-Street itself. The town is simply too small to have a first-class ground, let alone a Test one. Only 25,000 people reside in Chester-le-Street, which is easily the smallest of all the centres of population that are the main hosts of the 18 first-class counties. In an age when counties have to increase their non-cricket income, Chester-le-Street lacks the population to do that. The train from Newcastle to Durham is only 11 minutes. For Durham, those 11 minutes might have been the difference between being stable and almost going out of business. Our out of town situation is certainly a factor, especially for T20, Harker says. When Durham was created, no one appears to have seriously suggested that building the ground in Newcastle would have been preferable. Yet such a ground would be ideally suited not just to packing in T20 crowds on Friday evenings in high-summer, but also - even more importantly - staging corporate events all-year long.The ECBs demands when elevating Durham and the small population around Chester-le-Street were bad enough. But those two factors alone might not have proved disastrous had it not been for a third obstacle, perhaps the most potent of all. The north-easts dire economic reality has made it harder for Durham to sell tickets to fans for Twenty20 or Test matches, and meant that fans who do come are less willing to indulge in the half-dozen pints that many who go to T20s down south regard as par for the course. Lavish spending from corporates is also harder to find. In 2015, Durham brought in just under ￡600,000 in gate receipts and membership income from domestic cricket. Other Test grounds earned another ￡500,000 on top of that; even the first-class counties that dont host internationals earned ￡200,000 more than Durham.Better and more innovative marketing could have helped, but only up to a point. Ultimately, Durhams plight should be seen as part of the wider decline in north-east sport, which is itself inextricably linked to crude economics. In the Premier League in 2014/15, Sunderland had the sixth-highest attendance in the Premier League but only had the 15th-highest revenue. Last year, Sunderland finished 17th in the Premier League, yet were still the leading north-east club. Only in two previous seasons in the 128-year history of English league football has the top north-east club finished lower. Never has it been harder for sporting clubs to fight against regional socio-economic deprivation than it is today.None of this is to deny that Durham have been partly complicit in their downfall. Bidding for Tests they couldnt afford was foolhardy, even if this error highlights the ECBs original mistake in pushing them to develop a Test ground. Durham were also guilty of negligent planning over player contracts during the run of three Championships titles in six years from 2008. The club was ill-prepared for how to react when England players, including Paul Collingwood, Steve Harmison and Liam Plunkett, lost their central contracts. And, with hindsight, the club made poor decisions to award sizeable long-term contracts to Harmison and Ian Blackwell when they were past their peaks. For these reasons, Durham mislaid their prudence. And so, in 2012, Durham spent over ￡2 million on salaries. It remains the only time that any county has breached the salary cap.Among the counties there is no little sympathy for what has happened to Durham, and a belief that the punishments meted out to them fall well beyond reasonable. Even before the ECB bail-out, Durhams ￡8 million debt was about half the average at other Test match grounds outside London. The difference is that, partly because of their revenue potential from internationals and the underlying land value of the grounds which are located in the city centre, other counties venues have been able to raise larger amounts from public bodies, in the case of Glamorgan and Warwickshire, or private benefactors, in the case of Hampshire and Yorkshire. While those counties found men - Rod Bransgrove for Hampshire, and Colin Graves for Yorkshire - to bail them out, Durham did not. The only consortium that showed an interest in buying Durham was backed by a man who the ECB privately admitted would not pass their fit and proper person test.Durham have received further sympathy due to their not-inconsiderable efforts to turn things around. By 2015 the club had shaved ￡800,000 off their 2012 wage bill. Their total player remuneration was just over ￡1.3 million - ￡200,000 less than the average for all first-class counties, and ￡350,000 less than the average in Division One of the County Championship. Given these constraints, coming fourth in Division One this year was a remarkable achievement; Durham estimate that they would have needed to reduce player salaries by a further ￡500,000 a year over the past four seasons, rendering fielding a competitive team impossible. Back-office staff costs fell almost ￡200,000 from 2013 to 2015 when Durhams total spending, just in excess of ￡400,000, was half that of the other Test match grounds. It is not as if Durham were blasé about the need to rein in spending before the ECBs bailout and sanctions.The ECB have helped counties before, of course. But, as they stressed in the press release revealing Durhams fate, the financial support given to Durham was unprecedented. The determination not to be seen as the lender of last resort underpinned the severity of the ECBs sanctions. To chief executives of a slightly conspiratorial bent - though they preferred not to go on the record - such sanctions also highlighted the counties financial dependence upon the ECB, and served to weaken their opposition to a new eight-team domestic T20 competition, from which the 18 first-class counties would stand to gain about ￡1.5 million each. The relegation was certainly avoidable, says one chief executive. This sanction was particularly bizarre. It was also pre-planned, as rumours have been circling since August. Punishing the players and supporters of Durham for the commercial failure of international cricket seems very wrong.****At this juncture, it seems unlikely that Durhams fate will be the start of a new trend. Most counties are in a far better financial position than five years ago. Even unfashionable counties have innovated - Northants regularly stage concerts, including Elton John; Derbyshires press box also acts as a university lecture theatre - to ensure their financial viability. The notion that the smallest counties are lumbered with the most debt is also fundamentally untrue. It is actually the Test-staging counties - Durham, Hampshire, Warwickshire and Yorkshire - that are in worse financial positions. Too late for Durham, the ECB has also sanitised the bidding process for international cricket, stopping counties outbidding each other, and sometimes paying far more than they could afford, to stage the most appealing fixtures. The ECB also believes that a new domestic T20 competition would raise extra cash and help shore up the financial positions of the counties. Still, the underlying irony of Durhams plight remains. Hampshire, who benefit the most from Durhams fate by retaining their Division One status despite finishing in the bottom two, are the most indebted county in the country. Without Rod Bransgroves financial backing they would face a situation every bit as perilous as Durhams.As for Durham, the club are confident that the threat to their future has now passed. But years of grim austerity loom and, perversely, in some ways the ECB have made it even harder for Durham to generate funds. Their punishment in T20 cricket, which appears insignificant set against that in the County Championship, threatens to be financially debilitating. Durham need two wins just to eradicate their points deduction; in practice this could see them knocked out of the competition in its early stages, meaning that fans will be less likely to attend knowing that chances of progress to the quarter-finals are remote.For years Durham were county crickets feel-good story. Just 22 seasons into their first-class existence, they had already won three Championships titles and the homegrown talent that underpinned the team, and is the countys raison dêtre, was at the heart of Englands success, too. Now, despite all these achievements, there appears little to feel good about for cricket in the north-east. Ultimately that is just very sad.This article first appeared in All Out Cricket magazine, which this month features an exclusive interview with Joe Root. To order a years subscription for just ￡39.99 - in time for Christmas, if thats your thing, click here . Moritz Wagner Jersey . -- Matt Kuchar and Harris English ran away with the Franklin Templeton Shootout, shooting a 14-under 58 on Sunday in the final-round scramble to break the tournament course record. Dave Bing Jersey . - NASCAR announced a 33-race schedule for the 2014 Nationwide Series with virtually no changes from this years slate. https://www.cheapwizardsonline.com/469k-don-ohl-jersey-wizards.html . -- Lou Brocks shoulder-to-shoulder collision with Bill Freehan during the 1968 World Series and Pete Roses bruising hit on Ray Fosse in the 1970 All-Star game could become relics of baseball history, like the dead-ball era. Jack Marin Jersey . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. Phil Chenier Jersey . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . What just happened?In the two weeks after ELeague ended, the professional Counter-Strike scene has been shaken in a way possibly never seen before. This comes despite the much-awaited 2016 French shuffle not taking place at all. Well, not yet at least.First it was Na`Vi, which recruited Aleksandr s1mple Kostyliev from Team Liquid two weeks ago to replace Danylo Zeus Teslenko. To fill the void left by s1mples departure, Liquid confirmed that Jacob Pimp Winneche will indeed be joining the team, despite its grand final run at ESL One Cologne without him.This week the Swedish scene was shook. Godsent, per Fnatics official statement, traded Simon twist Eliasson and Jonas Lekr0 Olofsson to the Black and Orange side for the trio of Robin flusha R?nnquist, Jesper JW Wecksell and Freddy KRIMZ Johansson -- though trade might be putting it lightly. Highway robbery is more like it.In what stands as of writing as the latest change, FaZe finally let go of its sole Portuguese member Ricardo fox Pacheco to pick up ENCEs star player and former Ninjas in Pyjamas member Aleksi allu Jalli. Lets also not forget the first roster change prior to ELeague ending: SK Gamings coach Wilton zews Prado returning as a player in the second best Brazilian team, and DreamHack Summer champions, Immortals.So, who came out on top of the silly season?To complete Fnatics roster, the team also added John wenton Eriksson, who was its temporary stand-in during Olof olofmeister Kajbjers time off. For a team that relied on simple tactics but high individual skill, it seems they would need to re-invent themselves entirely -- regardless of how good twist may turn out to be once given a chance.Meanwhile, Godsent obviously won that trade, and in my opinion look better going into the rest of 2016. The group should rebuild around Markus pronax Wallstens leadership, and should boast enough skill with DreamHack Winter 2013 champion Andreas znajder Lindberg having also leveled up his play in the past year.The odd team out is NiP. Its fresh off missing the playoffs at the major, and was sent packing in the quarterfinals of ELeague. Its hard to believe it did not want to pick up any of these players, especially given the rumors that JW would be joining team. This suggests no one wanted to join the team. It is a sad time for NiP, but it makes sense given the teams continuously deteriorating performance and the organizations issues.The Swedish scene seems badly diluted overall. Question is, is it too diluted to compete? Splitting the talent into three parts, it runs the risk of ending in a North America-type situation where no team can contend for titles. A lot of it will come down to player development and how well old stars like flusha adjust to taking on larger roles.Liquid may become more consistent with Pimp, and could remain competitive, but I have a hard time imagining them ever making the semis again without s1mples explosiveness. Josh jdm64 Marzano will need to step up, and Pimp must avoid the pitfalls that saw him removed from previous teams due to personality issues -- not unlike s1mples troubled past.On the other hand, Na`Vi is easily the biggesst winners of the offseason, though that comes with an asterisk.dddddddddddd It added a player with potential to become the worlds best, and replaced an aging member. The honeymoon period could see Na`Vi dominate, but what will determine this rosters success is how well s1mple fits in during the longer term, whether the issues that plagued his previous teams will continue, and if his respect for the Na`Vi players is enough to help him move past it.Similarly, SK will benefit from its main competitors making changes, allowing the team extra time to get back on track once Fernando fer Alvarenga is back from his surgery. This is valuable time Fnatic could have used to catch-up; now both parties have to start again from scratch.Down a couple of notches in the world rankings, FaZe also came out better than it went in, having been mostly a forgettable team thus far in 2016. We saw allu perform well in the grandest of stages in CS:GO last year with NiP, and his presence will be an improvement over fox in the sniping department. Leadership issues persist, but at least FaZe will have more skill, which has been its game plan since the team was put together, at the expense of teamwork and tactics.The most curious move of the off-season was zewss return as a player, and to Immortals no less. The Brazilians failed to qualify for the major -- again -- but had beaten Godsent and NiP to win DreamHack Summer shortly after winning CEVO Professional Season 9 Finals over Virtus.pro. It was a very good team, and on paper this seems like a setback. Perhaps zewss intangibles and leadership will be enough, but frankly it seems like a massive gamble from a team who did not need one.Finally, as with NiP, it is curious to see EnVyUs hold the fort despite such a long run of disappointing results. The French shuffle never materialized -- which is likely smart of G2 -- but why would not Vincent Happy Schopenhauers team at least make a change with another team? Beats me.Whats next?In terms of roster changes, Tomá? oskar ??astny is expected to join mousesports as soon as his contract runs out, reportedly sometime in September. It is another move that, on paper, should improve the team; it takes some pressure off of Nikola NiKo Kova?s burdened shoulders. Still, I am not convinced its enough. Oskar shined as the teams number one option in HellRaisers, but will not have such luxury in mousesports. Only time will tell.The rest of 2016 seems like a waiting game. The first major is expected in the first quarter of 2017, and many contracts will expire come Jan. 1. To me this part seems like a limbo -- a temporary state where teams play out the rest of the year, and then see whats what.I would not be surprised if more changes took place before the next major. One team forcing a change at an inconvenient time -- in the middle of the year, whether it is during a break or not -- can set off an avalanche of roster move, rolling down the scene likes dominos.For more CS:GO commentary, follow Tomi on Twitter: @lurppis_ ' ' '