botched hold. He punted just once and shanked that attempt for

Australian concerns about the readiness of their young batsmen to cope with Asian conditions have been underlined by the decision to send Travis Head to Sri Lanka ahead of the dead rubber third Test in Colombo, which starts from August 13.Head was initially omitted from the ODI squad to face Sri Lanka in limited-overs matches, but following Australias heavy defeats in consecutive Tests to surrender the Warne-Muralitharan Trophy, he will now train with the Test squad before remaining as part of the ODI team. This drastic change in plans emphasises the urgent nature of Australian worries about their substandard displays in this series.The coach and selector Darren Lehmann categorically ruled out the possibility of Head taking part in the Colombo Test, but admitted the panel could now see the very real need to give young players as much exposure to Asian conditions as possible. Head must now be considered a strong chance to be taken with the Test squad to go to India next year, provided he can maintain his upward curve of run-making in the Sheffield Shield as captain of South Australia.Well probably look at if there are any players who go home at the end of the Test series, but with Trav, we want him to come in for this prep for this Test, Lehmann said. Hes not going to play. Theres no doubt about that. We see him as a really exciting young player for the future ... give him as much experience around one our Test group, and two our one-day group as we possibly can. Weve been impressed with him. Thats why he has come in a bit early. Hes a young player who has the attributes we think are quite important here. We want to give him as much experience, because hes a young guy who has had some success. He hasnt had enough international exposure and we think its a really good time to do that, with an eye on the future as well.Heads progress as a young player has been watched closely by the selectors for some time, as they are eager to get another young batsman into the Australian side across all formats with the prospect of forging a long career in the manner of Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Steven Smith before him. Earlier this year he was withdrawn from the Australia A side to play a winter series at home in order to allow him to gain greater exposure to English conditions with Yorkshire.Youre always looking at those things, Lehmann said. When you havent had the success youd like, youve got to look at different things. Were really happy with the group. Obviously wed like different results. But we are just bringing him in for the experience more than anything else.Another factor in Heads selection is the desire to familiarise him with the Australian team set-up and players, ideally to form relationships that will help him when he does play. The left-arm spinner Jon Holland had a contrasting experience last week when he was thrust into the Test team without having spent much recent time around the national side, and without any of his Victoria team-mates having made the tour. Cheap Cubs Jerseys . Their 38th instalment is arguably their biggest fight card to date, including three-title fights and a main event which was selected by the fans. The promotion boasts 14-straight years of business and is operated by MFC president Mark Pavelich, who is often overlooked in this country for the foundation hes established for MMA in Canada. Chicago Cubs Pro Shop . At a news conference Tuesday where it was thought that the fiery Schallibaum may be shown the door after a dismal finish to the Major League Soccer season, team president Joey Saputo said no decision has been made on whether the Swiss Volcano will be back in 2014. https://www.cheapcubs.com/ . -- Jakob Silfverberg is making himself right at home with the Anaheim Ducks, scoring four goals in his first four games. Wholesale Cubs Jerseys .Y. -- Vancouver Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo had little trouble picking up his first shutout of the season against a Buffalo Sabres team thats having trouble scoring goals. Custom Chicago Cubs Jerseys . They reached the 100-point plateau for the fourth time in five games, bested the visiting Trail Blazers by 34 in the paint and scored 19 of the final 25 points in regulation. OAKLAND, Calif. -- After too often finding themselves on the wrong end of close games a year ago, the Oakland Raiders have thrived in those situations this season.Derek Carr and the Raiders found a new way to win Sunday, using a go-ahead, fourth-down 21-yard touchdown pass to Michael Crabtree and a botched hold on a potential tying field goal to beat the San Diego Chargers 34-31 .Guys have a lot of confidence because we work really hard especially in those situations, Carr said. We spend a lot of time throwing routes, spend a lot of time going over coverages, spend a lot of time in two-minute drills, end of game situations. You hang our hat on weve done this before. Lets be confident when we get on the field.After using a late 2-point conversion to win the opener, stopping a late Tennessee drive in a Week 3 win and using a late score and defensive stop to beat Baltimore last week, the Raiders (4-1) survived against the Chargers (1-4) to post their first three-game winning streak in five years.That has put an Oakland team that hasnt made the playoffs since 2002 in a tie for first place in the AFC West with Denver.Its nice, but the road still goes through Denver, Carr said. They are Super Bowl champs, division champs. I will always pay respect to them because thats what theyve earned. We have earned absolutely nothing yet.The Chargers know just as well how small the difference can be from winning and losing -- only they seem to always be at the wrong end.San Diego had already lost three games it led at the two-minute warning, blowing a 21-point lead to Kansas City and a 13-point fourth-quarter advantage last week versus New Orleans.Then came the latest loss that was sealed when Drew Kaser couldnt hold the snap on a 36-yard field goal attempt that could have tied the game.Just when you think youve seen it all, something like that happens, coach Mike McCoy said.Here are some other takeaways from the game:BOSAS DEBUT: Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa madee an impressive debut after missing training camp during a nasty contract dispute and sitting out the first four games with a hamstring injury.dddddddddddd He came in on the second drive and had a sack and a tackle for loss in the first half. He added a second sack in the fourth quarter.It felt pretty natural, Bosa said. Its nice to get the butterflies out because I was pretty nervous coming into this game.VALUABLE FILL-IN: The Raiders signed Perry Riley Jr. on Tuesday and put the former Washington linebacker right into the mix. With Malcolm Smith hindered by a quadriceps injury, Riley got the start. He forced a fumble by Antonio Gates on the opening drive and finished with seven tackles.I knew when we got him what he was going to bring to the table, linebacker Bruce Irvin said. Tough, hard-nosed competitive guy who makes plays. He showed that on the first possession.ROUGH DAY: Kaser had tough day even before the botched hold. He punted just once and shanked that attempt for just 16 yards. Oakland took over on the 32 and drove for a TD that made it 34-31.COOPER SCORES: Raiders receiver Amari Cooper hadnt scored a touchdown in four games before breaking through against the Chargers. He scored on a 64-yard pass from Carr in the third quarter and added a 2-point conversion after Crabtrees TD. Cooper also nearly had three more scores, but couldnt get both feet down inbounds on two throws into the end zone and was unable to re-establish himself after being interfered with on a third play.First one is always the hardest, no matter what it is, Carr said. Im just happy for him because he works his tail off.DIVISION SHOWDOWNS: Both teams remain in the division next week with the Chargers hosting the Broncos on Thursday night and the Raiders hosting Kansas City on Sunday.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '