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Shandor Alphonso never envisioned his hockey career taking him to officiating. He didn’t have to look far to see it was possible.As a young http://www.sandiegochargersteamonline.com/derwin-james-jersey , black player, all Alphonso had to do was watch ”Hockey Night in Canada” or the Stanley Cup Final and he saw fellow minority Jay Sharrers working as a linesman.”To be able to see someone who kind of looked like me working at the biggest stage of his job, it was unreal,” Alphonso said.The 34-year-old Alphonso is the NHL’s only African-American official, and Calgary Flames assistant Paul Jerrard is the league’s only black coach. With the sport’s expansion to some nontraditional markets across the United States, there are almost two dozen black players in the NHL, but Sharrers, Alphonso and Jerrard serve as inspiration for more to follow into positions of authority.”I think it’s an evolutionary process,” said Sharrers Authentic Aaron Donald Jersey , who recently retired. ”It’s definitely moved slowly, but I think when you just look at the amount of black players that are now in the league and the fact that that has increased, it would stand to reason that hopefully the opportunity for officials would present itself.”Sixty years after Willie O’Ree of the Boston Bruins broke the color barrier as the NHL’s first black player, the league is still taking steps to increase its diversity. Alphonso is an ambassador for the ”Hockey is for Everyone” campaign this month, which is Black History Month.Sharrers acknowledged the expense of playing hockey has been a hurdle for minority children for years, but said he is optimistic that more will not only lace up their skates but move into other roles.”It just stands to reason that that would be a natural progression, that there would more officials of color,” Sharrers said. ”The league has been very proactive since they partnered with Willie and created the diversity taskforce almost 20 years ago to expose and to present to people of color that hockey is a great game and it’s a viable opportunity.”Opportunities have existed for minorities to get into coaching and officiating, though the majority have ended up as goaltending coaches like former NHL goalie Fred Brathwaite. Jerrard played five games in the NHL and then went into coaching Aaron Donald Jersey Elite , where he’s a visible role model – even if that’s not a role he was looking for.”I’m just another coach who’s trying to do a good job in the league and stay in the league,” said Jerrard, 52, who has been an assistant with the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars and Flames along with several American Hockey League teams. ”I guess I am now in a little bit of a position of a role model, but my drive to be a role model isn’t due to the color of my skin. It’s just the way I wanted carry myself as a human being, the way I want to be looked at: doing the right thing and working hard.”Jerrard hopes kids seeing minorities on the ice playing or officiating or behind the bench coaching shows that ”if they’re skilled, driven and passionate, there’s an opportunity for them.”That’s what happened for Alphonso http://www.losangelesramsteamonline.com/aaron-donald-jersey , who knew he wasn’t going to make it to the NHL as a player and wanted to stay in the game. He thought to himself, ”If Jay Sharrers can do it, I could do it” and followed him up the ranks.Now Alphonso is the one kids can look up to, and Sharrers – who became the NHL’s first black referee in 2001 – believes his younger counterpart can have an even bigger impact.”Being that his skin is a lot darker than mine and I’m very light-skinned, it wouldn’t register necessarily with someone unless they knew my background to know that I was a person of color,” Sharrers said. ”I think for him having both parents being black and being much more of a visible minority, if you will, I think that’s definitely a role that he will now assume.”Alphonso welcomes that position and would love to one day meet a fellow official he inspired to go that route.”It’s huge for younger kids to see there are way more things to hockey than just being a hockey player,” Alphonso said. ”That’s hopefully what we can inspire these kids to do and get them more involved with the game down the road.”— BASEBALLNEW YORK (AP) Major League Baseball imposed stricter limits on mound visits by players in an effort to speed games but decided against 20-second pitch clocks for 2018.After more than a year of negotiations Authentic Todd Gurley Jersey , the Major League Baseball Players Association refused to agree to the changes but also signed an agreement that it will not oppose the rules.Article continues below ...The amendments to the playing rules announced Monday include a general limit of six mound visits per nine-inning game without a pitching change, whether by a manager, coach or player.To assuage players’ concerns about sign stealing, MLB will install new telephone lines from dugouts to video replay rooms. MLB said the lines will be monitored, and a person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press all conversations on the lines will be recorded. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because that detail was not announced.MLB has the right to make playing rules changes absent an agreement with one year notice and made proposals during the 2016-17 offseason for a pitch clock and more restrictions on mound visits.SAN DIEGO (AP) – Eric Hosmer and the San Diego Padres have finalized their $144 million, eight-year contract.The team announced the signing Monday night after Hosmer passed his physical. The first baseman, who spent his first seven major league seasons with Kansas City before becoming a free agent this offseason, can opt out of the deal after five years.The contract is the largest in Padres history.Hosmer gets a $5 million signing bonus payable within 30 days of the contract being approved by the commissioner’s office. His salary is $20 million each year from 2018-22 and would be $13 million annually from 2023-25 if he doesn’t terminate the deal.A four-time Gold Glove winner and 2016 All-Star, Hosmer will be introduced during a news conference Tuesday morning at Padres camp in Peoria Todd Gurley Jersey Elite , Arizona.HOCKEYPHILADELPHIA (AP) – The Philadelphia Flyers have acquired goaltender Petr Mrazek from the Detroit Red Wings for two conditional draft picks.Flyers general manager Ron Hextall made the move Monday night, a day after losing his second goalie to injury in less than 10 days. Starter Brian Elliott had core muscle surgery last Tuesday and is expected to miss up to 6 weeks. Backup Michal Neuvirth was injured in Sunday’s win at the New York Rangers. The team didn’t update his status before making the trade.Mrazek was 8-7-3 with a 2.89 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage this season for Detroit. He’s 72-58-20 with a 2.60 GAA and a .912 save percentage in 166 appearances in six seasons for the Red Wings.The Flyers sent a conditional fourth-round draft pick in 2018 and a conditional third-round draft pick in 2019 to Detroit.SOCCERBARCELONA, Spain (AP) – Police in Spain have cleared four West Bromwich Albion players who were being investigated for the theft of a taxi in Barcelona last week.Catalonia’s regional police said on Monday no charges will be filed against the players. Police did not say why the investigation was archived.Jonny Evans, Gareth Barry, Jake Livermore, and Boaz Myhill were accused by a taxi driver of stealing his vehicle early Thursday morning.The players issued a public apology on Friday for breaking a team curfew and breaching the ”standards of professionalism required of us as representatives of West Bromwich Albion.”Last in the Premier League, West Brom was in Barcelona for a midwinter training trip.West Brom said the players ”will be subject to the full rigors of our internal disciplinary procedures.”