The Original Game » .Amid the rolling, undulating hills of New Zealands

From the general feeling in the British and Irish isles, the task awaiting Warren Gatland in New Zealand is a thankless one. Justise Winslow Jersey .Their first tour match is just seven days after the Aviva Premiership and PRO12 finals, the players will have reached breaking point and then come the worlds best side who havent lost at home since 2009. As Wales coach, Gatland has faced the All Blacks 10 times and lost on each occasion.It is rugbys version of Mission Impossible; the expected 20,000-strong army of Lions fans may as well save their time and watch from the comforts of living rooms and pubs.But if anyone can pull off the most unlikely of victories against the All Blacks, it is Gatland. One of their own, he knows the opposition inside out, he thinks like them, has their very DNA in his own rugby bones and every sinew of his being must be strained to breaking point if the Lions are to beat Steve Hansens side.Amid the rolling, undulating hills of New Zealands north island lies the Gatland household on the banks of the Waikato River where his wife Trudi lives. Brought up on Hamiltons Laurence Street by his parents Kaye and Dave, he went to school 10 minutes drive away at Hamilton Boys High School and captained their first-team in both cricket and rugby.An abrasive hooker, he made a record 140 appearance for Waikato and would have won full All Blacks Test honours but for the presence of Sean Fitzpatrick.His coaching career is a joint love affair between Waikato and the British and Irish isles.His first gig was at Taupiri in 1989 on the eastern bank of the Waikato river and later that year he headed to Ireland to take charge of Galwegians in a player/coach capacity. Following five years there his stock rose. After a short spell as assistant coach back in New Zealand with Thames Valley in 1996, Connacht then came calling later that year and in 1998 he replaced Brian Ashton as Ireland coach.He left Ireland in 2001 and then came the move to London Wasps in 2002 -- complete with three Premiership titles and a Heineken Cup. He then headed back to the familiar surroundings of Waikato and the Chiefs but in 2007 got the call from Wales and two Grand Slams, a further championship and a World Cup semifinal followed.This rooting in home union rugby has brought home the importance of the Lions to Gatland. In 1993 he was part of the Waikato side that thrashed the Lions 38-10, an appearance he marked with a try, at Hamiltons Rugby Park.Sixteen years on and he was part of Ian McGeechans backroom staff for their tour of South Africa. McGeechan, who was on his seventh and final Lions tour as a player and then coach, was impressed by Gatlands respect for the jersey. He understood why these quadrennial jaunts against one of the big three, where a bunch of players were charged with forging lifelong unity in a matter of hours, were no rugby anachronism.I remember when I was head coach in South Africa in 2009 and he [Gatland] was an assistant coach, and I asked him to speak to the team before one of the early provincial games, McGeechan wrote in his column for the Telegraph. He said no. He said he had not earned the right to do that at that stage. It showed great respect.Four years on, in 2013, and Gatland masterminded the Lions first series win since 1997 with a 2-1 triumph over Australia. He attempted to bring back much of the traditional touring aspects of the Lions with an emphasis on off-field bonding and also showed he is not one to shy away from making controversial calls when he dropped Brian ODriscoll for the third Test.Though his decision was vindicated with a 41-13 triumph, the vitriolic backlash from ex-players and armchair pundits shocked Gatland. At one stage he thought he could do without reprising the role in 2017 but the lure of the Lions proved too much, as did the temptation of gate-crashing his motherlands party.With the role confirmed, now comes the task of moulding his backroom staff. It wont be a case of jobs for his chums; in 2013 he chose then England coach Andy Farrell over his long-time Wasps and Wales ally Shaun Edwards. Its about the bigger picture so expect him to pluck a name from left-field and he may look to tempt Scotland coach Vern Cotter, who interviewed for the top Lions role, to join the brains trust.Then comes the task of assembling the squad. A total of 51 players ran out for Sir Clive Woodward on the Lions ill-fated 2005 tour but Gatland is likely to favour a smaller group like his class of 2013. His choice of captain will be fascinating. He could stick with 2013 Lions and Wales captain Sam Warburton or go for Englands Dylan Hartley; the latter moulded in Gatlands image, an abrasive New Zealand-born hooker.Gatlands gameplan will also be fascinating. His direct approach with Wales, one focused on forcing space through physicality, is likely to be tweaked to counter the All Blacks threats. Winning the collision area and coping with the New Zealand counter-attack will be top of his list. Then will come the task of drawing together the most effective 15 possible from Wales, England, Scotland and Ireland.The Lions have already been written off. But this canny Kiwi thrives off winning and baring his teeth as the underdog. Mission Impossible? With Gatland at the helm its more improbable. He will have plenty of tricks up his sleeve and judging by how difficult a task it is to win on New Zealand soil, theyll need them. Udonis Haslem Jersey .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. Goran Dragic Jersey . -- The plastic that was taped across the lockers in Oaklands clubhouse came down and the champagne that was on ice went back into the cooler. http://www.authenticbasketballshopheat.c...ce-heat-jersey/ . Spiller left Week 3s 27-20 loss to the New York Jets with a thigh injury, but fully practiced with the team all week and expects to be ready to go on Sunday.Mason, OH (Sports Network) - World No. 1 and four-time runner-up Novak Djokovic and five-time champion Roger Federer were a pair of third-round winners Thursday at the $3 million Western & Southern Open, a hardcourt ATP Masters 1000 event. Last years runner-up Djokovic blew away helpless Belgian David Goffin 6-2, 6-0 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, where Federer upended the Serbian star in last years marquee finale. Djokovics quarterfinal opponent on Friday will be 6-foot-9 American favorite John Isner. Meanwhile, the fifth-seeded former No. 1 Federer had to come from behind in order to beat 11th-seeded German Tommy Haas, 1-6, 7-5, 6-3. Last year, the 17-time Grand Slam king Federer became the first player in the Open Era to win five Cincinnati titles. A Day-5 upset camme when oft-injured but capable Russian Dmitry Tursunov took out third-seeded French Open runner-up David Ferrer, of Spain, 6-2, 6-4. Dwyane Wade Jersey. Seventh-seeded Argentine slugger Juan Martin del Potro avoided an upset by getting past Spanish left-hander Feliciano Lopez, 6-4, 1-6, 6-4. The 6-foot-7 former U.S. Open titlist del Potro was a hardcourt champ in Washington, D.C., two weeks ago. Del Potro will meet Tursunov on Friday. The recent D.C. runner-up Isner upended 12th-seeded Canadian Milos Raonic, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4, on Thursday. Raonic was last weeks Canadian Masters runner-up to the great Rafael Nadal in Montreal. This is the last Masters tournament before the U.S. Open, which will commence August 26 in New York. The 2013 Cincinnati champ will collect $583,800. 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