The Original Game » oach Barnes after blowing a 22-point lead and nearly

At 11. Joe Kelly Red Sox Jersey .43am Eastern Caribbean Time on April 11, 2004, Brian Lara swept Gareth Batty towards fine leg, towards the Antigua Recreation Grounds scoreboard, and caused the number next to his name to change from 399 to 400.At 11.43pm, or thereabouts, on July 25, 2016, there are no names on the scoreboard, only vacant rectangular slots next to the batting positions, through which shines the feeble yellow-green light of streetlamps filtered through leaves. The scoreboard looms over the unlit side of the ground. The other side, separated by barricades covered with sponsor logos, is all light and noise and teenage hopes and aspirations.Its Carnival time in Antigua and Barbuda, and tonights main event is Teen Splash, a talent pageant for boys and girls from schools all around the country.The turf that Lara bent to kiss is somewhere under a platform flanked by video screens. On the platform, and near-simultaneously on the screen, contestants have been singing, dancing and performing spoken-word poetry for about two hours.Not long before he got to 400, Lara had danced down the pitch and launched Batty into the Sir Vivian Richards pavilion to go from 374 to 380, going past 375 along the way. The numbers need no explanation. Now, just below the pavilion - flanked to the right by a packed Andy Roberts Stand - is a carousel, its riders rotating and revolving simultaneously around a central pole with rows of unlit bulbs on it, planets orbiting a heatless, lightless sun.The words cricket fan are enough to convince a security guard to allow us into the visitors dressing room (the home one is shut). It should feel like a sacred place, a sanctum sanctorum, but it doesnt. Lockers, a few worse-for-wear chairs; this could be a gymnasium locker room from a sitcom set in a high school. Of all the bits and pieces of this old, great ground, this place exerts the feeblest psycho-geographic pull. This away dressing room contains no ghosts of cricket past: no traces of blood from Anil Kumbles jaw, no teardrops shed by all the bowlers ground into the dust by Lara, pummeled by Viv, defeated by the worlds flattest pitch.The strongest echoes of the past, strangely, though perhaps not, are to be found in the parts of the ground that have fallen into disuse, in the faded lettering of the scoreboard, the rusted, falling-apart staircase at the back of the double-decker stand, its entrance boarded up.This is no longer Antiguas premier cricket venue. The new, modern stadium, clearly a stadium and not a ground, occupies, like so many new, modern stadiums around the world do, a patch of land that is, between matches, nowhere in particular. An in-between place that residents of Seatons or Willikies might drive past on their way into town. A place that isnt far from anywhere - Antigua is a tiny, tiny island - but feels like it; a place that makes you wonder if its worth going all the way to watch a weak, meek West Indies side crumble without complaint against a good but by no means world-beating India. The Antigua Recreation Ground, the ARG, or the Rec, is different. It is packed now mostly by teenagers who make you feel old, and who may or may not be into cricket. It feels like a Test match here might draw healthy crowds as well, though perhaps not be as large or as young. You can imagine fans debating a players merits at the concession stalls behind the double-decker stand, leaving wet circles on the tables with the bases of their Wadadli bottles. You step out of the gates and youre in the heart of town, right next to an arch welcoming you to St Johns.There are food stalls all around you, and lanes pulsing with life lead in all directions. It may not look like this on non-Carnival nights, but unlike at the new stadium, you will never step into desolation two hours after close of play, wondering how youll ever find a cab home, with a spectacular purple sunset unfolding uselessly around you.The festivities continue well past midnight, and as the Rec becomes a speck behind you, the pageant continues on the radio. It is time for the question-answer round, and the contestants, most of them only 16 or 17, are asked their views about everything from global warming to abortion. Some questions are more innocuous, such as the one posed to delegate number 17: Do texting applications like WhatsApp ruin the ability of teens to construct proper sentences?You pass the new stadium just as he begins his answer. The Test match is over. Nothing to see here, gents. The Wadadli inside you, the English Harbour, the hot dogs and the sticks of satay, begin to take effect and you drowse in the passenger seat. Good night, Antigua, and sweet dreams. Of prancing left-handed magicians launching sixes into dancing double-decker stands. Tim Wakefield Jersey . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. Red Sox Jerseys China . Brad Jacobs and his Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., team took control of the game early. https://www.cheapredsox.com/2691z-michae...ey-red-sox.html . LOUIS -- Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59. KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- After a string of uninspiring performances by starting forward Grant Williams, Tennessee coach Rick Barnes sat the freshman down for a frank discussion.We sat there, and I dont think he would call it a pleasant conversation, Barnes said. I basically said to him, hes really disappointed me. (He is) a guy we thought would really come in here and show us an impact.Williams finally did just that by more than doubling his previous best with 30 points to help Tennessee overcome a first-half deficit against hot-shooting Lipscomb to win 92-77 on Thursday night.He helped the Vols counter the Bisons outside shooting by muscling his way into the inside to hit tough layups and get to the free-throw line, where he hit 10 of 13. It was the first 30-point performance by a Tennessee freshman since Chris Lofton -- who was in the stands for Thursdays game -- did it against Arkansas in 2005.And Williams was grateful for the harsh words from Barnes, who was critical of his entire team after the Vols squandered double-digit leads in back-to-back games against North Carolina and Tennessee Tech this week.If you have guys just telling you that youre a good player, youre doing this well, youre doing this right, youre not going to really succeed because youre not going to work on the parts of the game that arent good, Williams said. Him being blunt really helps all of us, I would say.Tennessee (6-4) and Lipscomb (4-9) were tied at 71 with 12:28 to play, when two inside shots by Robert Hubbs III and a pair of 3-pointers from Detrick Mostella and Lew Evans sparked a 19-0 run for Tennessee.Lipscomb, which struggled all night defensively and pulled in only 29 rebounds compared to Tennessees 41, went 7:24 without a basket and never recovered.We talked about it at halftime, Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander said. We said if were not better defensively well lose by double figures, and we got that (prediction) right.The Vols followed up a sluggish second half in a narrow win on Tuesday against Tennessee Tech by shooting consistently well againnst Lipscomb. Jackie Bradley Jr. Jersey. They sank 54.5 percent of their shots and went 28 of 39 from the free-throw line.Still, it was the Bisons who led 58-49 at halftime after matching the Vols 2-pointers and free throws with a flurry of shots from behind the arc. Lipscomb has been hot from deep all season and entered the game ranked seventh in the nation with 112 3-pointers made.The Bisons hit 11 of 18 from 3-point range and 62.5 percent overall in the first half. But after the break, they cooled to 25.8 percent shooting, hit only one trey on 10 attempts and found several players in foul trouble.Hubbs finished with 22 points and 10 rebounds, and Mostella added 11 points.Garrison Mathews led Lipscomb with 28 points. Josh Williams added 16, and Nathan Moran chipped in 10.The difference from the first to second half was we werent the same offensive team, Alexander said. We were the same defensive team, unfortunately. Shots stopped falling, and we were never able to put anything together at either end.THE TAKEAWAYLipscomb: After scoring a season-high 15 triples against Morehead State on Saturday, the Bisons seemed poised to exceed that against Tennessee before their 3-point shooting faded in the second half.Tennessee: The Vols were criticized by coach Barnes after blowing a 22-point lead and nearly losing to Tennessee Tech on Tuesday. They responded by a steady effort against Lipscomb, despite the Bisons hot shooting in the first half.QUOTABLEA guy like Grant can score, Hubbs said. Hes a big body. He just gets the work done. Im very proud of him. We need somebody to score like that night in and night out. We need a big body down there that can score.KEY STATSTennessee went 28 of 39 from the free-throw line while Lipscomb only hit 9 of 17. The Vols outrebounded the Bisons 41-21 and outscored them 48-28 in the paint.NEXT UPLipscomb: At Tennessee Tech on Saturday.Tennessee: Hosts No. 8 Gonzaga in Nashville on Sunday. ' ' '