Chat-World » BroughSome might question how he has

Footballs World Cup. A Super Bowl ring. The tiny Ashes urn in cricket. And, of course, the yellow jersey. No list of the most famous trophies in sports can be complete if it doesnt include that gaudy shirt from the Tour de France -- and British speedster Mark Cavendish aims to get his hands on the first one this year. Over the next three weeks, 21 of them will be distributed at the 100th Tour. None will be more important than the last one -- worn by the overall winner on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on July 21: Many pundits believe that will be either Britains Chris Froome or two-time Tour champion Alberto Contador of Spain. But it would be a mistake to reduce the Tour to a two-horse race. Multiple heartbreaks, crashes and other dramas await over the meandering 3,404-kilometre (2,110-mile) trek along wind-swept sea sides, through flat plains and Alpine and Pyrenean mountain punishment, and even to a medieval island citadel in the English Channel. The first story could be written by Cavendish: the "Manx Missile" is a favourite to win the mostly flat Stage 1 over 213 kilometres (132 miles) from Porto Vecchio to Bastia in the race debut on the French Mediterranean island of Corsica on Saturday. The Briton, whose muscle, timing and accelerations make him the finest sprinter of his generation, has already won other coveted prizes in his sport. In 2011, he won both the green jersey given to the best Tour sprinter and the rainbow-striped jersey awarded to cyclings road-race world champion. The yellow jersey, however, has eluded his grasp. "Its not just one of the most iconic symbols in cycling, its one of the most iconic symbols in the world of sport," Cavendish said. "To be able to wear that for at least a day in your life, its a thing to make any riders career. Its a thing you dream about when youre a child. It would be a beautiful thing." Cycling could use some beautiful things. This is the first Tour since Lance Armstrong was stripped of his record seven victories for doping, which he finally admitted to on U.S. cable TV after years of denials that were exposed as lies by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. Despite millions spent on fighting drug use in the peloton, blasts from cyclings checkered past keep on coming: Ahead of this race, French media reported that a Senate investigation into the effectiveness of doping controls pieced together evidence that a urine sample provided by long-beloved French rider Laurent Jalabert contained EPO, cyclings designer drug, at the Tour of 1998. Tour organizers will be hoping the racing drama of the next three weeks will push such miseries to the background. In the traditional pre-race presentation, the 22 teams took a stage one after the other Thursday in Porto Vecchio, with its idyllic mountain backdrop on Frances "isle of beauty." Hundreds of fans clapped politely, as white yachts stuck up like teeth from the shimmering blue Mediterranean. Contador predicts an action-packed race in this comeback year for him. The 30-year-old Spaniard was stripped of his 2010 Tour title and missed out last year over a doping ban. He could be the biggest danger for Froome. Both riders excel in mountain climbs that feature heavily this year. But Contador said there would be more to this Tour than simply their rivalry. "This year wont just be the story of two riders; well have more actors in this film," he said. "This year will see more action than in past years," he added. Of Froome, he said: "I would have no motivation to be here if I thought I couldnt beat him." Among longer-shot contenders are 2011 Tour winner Cadel Evans of Australia -- though at 36, his legs arent the freshest -- and his young BMC teammate Tejay Van Garderen of the United States, plus Spaniards Alejandro Valverde of Movistar and Joaquim Rodriguez of Katusha. Bradley Wiggins, the 2012 Tour winner and a Sky teammate of Froome, is sitting out this year due to injury. Last year Froome was more impressive than Wiggins in the mountains, but that race was more heavily weighted to time trials -- Wiggins specialty -- than in this years edition. Like Wiggins last year, Froome has had a nearly flawless run-up to the Tour: the 28-year-old Kenyan-born Briton won four of five races he started. He said hes confident, but not fond of the "favourite" moniker. "Its an absolutely privilege for me to be in this position," he said, but "there is a certain amount of pressure that comes with it." "Coming in as the race favourite sets that precedent of people looking to beat you ... so it definitely opens doors that people may be ganging up," he said, acknowledging the possibility that Valverde, Contador and Rodriguez might form a Spanish alliance against him. Contador is high in Froomes mind. "I dont think we have seen Contador at his best yet," he said. "His goal was never to perform well at any of the races building up to the Tour, but then to come to the Tour at his absolute best. I believe hell be here at his best -- and thats what well expect." Andy Schleck, who inherited the 2010 title stripped from Contador for testing positive for the muscle-building drug clenbuterol, said this years mountainous course would have suited him under normal circumstances. But hes coming off a rough year -- including a crash injury to his lower back that kept him out last year. The Luxembourg rider considers himself an "outsider" -- not a favourite. The race spends three days on Corsicas winding, hilly roads. It then sets off on a clockwise run through mainland France along the Mediterranean, into the Pyrenees, then up to Brittany and the fabled Mont-Saint-Michel island citadel before a slashing jaunt southeastward toward the Alps before the Paris finish. "The Tours always full of surprises," said Garmin-Sharp team director Jonathan Vaughters, insisting his American squad could have contenders like Ryder Hesjedal of Canada and Andrew Talansky of the United States. "The easy answer is: Yes, its Chris Froome vs. Alberto Contador -- but I think were going to try and make the answer not as easy." Anthony Rush Jersey . Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek defeated Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on the indoor hard-court at Belgrade Arena. The victory improved the Czech pairs impressive cup doubles record to 14-1. Josh Sweat Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. http://www.cheapeaglesjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-treyvon-hester-jersey . The deal is pending a physical, assistant general manager Bobby Evans said. Traded from Seattle to Baltimore on Aug. 30, Morse also can play first base and right field to give manager Bruce Bochy some flexibility in writing his lineup. Paul Worrilow Jersey . On June 12, just as the sun sets on the magnificent historical city of Sao Paulo the inventors, innovators and purveyors of “joga bonitowill” open their campaign. The opponent, Croatia and all its football might and will. As opposites do attract we are set for a corker of an opener. Malcolm Jenkins Jersey . Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night.The half-time hooter sounds this week on the first phase of the Super League season and I thought it was a good time to look at the standout performers so far. It is not easy to recall all of the action from the 66 games we have had so far, so I have chosen to look at the Opta scoring system as a guide. I will begin by saying that it is not perfect, but I would be interested to meet anyone in the world who has a better way of objectively measuring the performance of the players in our top league.The people at Opta watch every match and record every action, good and bad. They award points to each player for the positive things he does and take then off him for any obvious mistakes or errors. They then add a weighing to this dependent on the time in the game, the position on the pitch and the score at the time. Scoring a 50-metre try under the post in the 50th minute when your team are already 50 points in front does not earn you as many points as it would if you were five points behind with 50 seconds remaining. He is fit, fast and a tough competitor. More than anything else, he knows how to play, and would be my tip for Man of Steel at this stage. Phil Clarke on Wigans John Bateman The scoring system does not have any favourites or bias and is done the same for every game. So unlike the voting system for the Man of Steel, it is consistent and happens after every match.So, which players rank the highest at the half-way point? Some of the names might surprise you, you may disagree with it, but this is the team of the year so far according to Optas scoring.Full-back: Zak HardakerThe Rhinos have clearly struggled in 2016 and their full-back has not played as well as he did 12 months ago, but he is still up there as one of the best players in the competition. Despite not firing like he did in 2015, Zak Hardaker is still the best-performing full-back His three closest contenders are Tony Gigot from the Dragons, Matt Russell at Warrington and Dan Sarginson for the Warriors.Wingers: Denny Solomona and Dom ManfrediNot only is the Tigers left winger one of my favourite players, he is also one of the most improved players competition.On the other wing is a man who is perhaps the most enthusiastic player when it comes to returning kicks from his corner of the field. Denny Solomona is one of the most improved players in Super League Matt Russell is probably the only player who is more difficult to stop and put down than the lad from Leigh who plays for the Cherry and Whites.Ranking just behind these two with a slightly lower average game score are Jermaine McGillvary at the Giants, Corey Thompson at Widnes and a possible contender for Young Player of the Year, Tom Johnstone from the Wildcats.Centres: Leroy Cudjoe and Anthony GellingIt may come as a big surprise to many that the player with the highest game score after Round 11 is the Giants right centre. He has played in every minute of every match and been better this year than in 2015, according to the stats. I cannot wait to see him play against Wigan on Thursday night, especially if he is opposite Anthony Gelling. In spite of the Giants Super League standing, Leroy Cudjoe has been a top performer The next three players to rank below were Kallum Watkins, Josh Griffin at Salford - who has played both centre and wing this season - and Kirk Yeaman at Hull.Stand-off: Danny BroughSome might question how he has made it into this team when his side are at the bottom of the table. Well, his runs, passes, tackles and kicks have earned him more points than any other stand-off. Huddersfields Danny Brough has led his side well during a tough period Surprisingly Kurt Gidley ranks second and Kevin Brown sits just below.Scrum-half: Joe MellorAt 25 years of age, the Vikings No 7 is peaking. He has not missed a SSuper League game for over a year and is one of the main reasons why Widnes sit in fifth spot.ddddddddddddThe second highest ranked scrum-half is Richard Myler. His move to France seems to have helped him kick-on with his career, and he looked fantastic last week at St Helens. Joe Mellor has helped propel the Vikings in to fifth spot in the standings Luke Gale never fails to impress me and demonstrates a level of intelligence and understanding that is greater than most players in the sport.The fourth ranked player will surprise most people, but perhaps not Chris Chester. Liam Finn does not have the speed of his rivals but has set up lots of tries for the Wildcats and made many kicks which have helped his team to win almost half of their games. Props: Chris Hill and Adam CuthbertsonThe job description for most front rowers is quite straightforward but these two add a level of subtlety that sets them apart - the Wolves front rower is certain to be a candidate for Man of Steel.Adam Cuthbertson has tried as hard this year as last but it makes a huge difference when youre not on the winning side. He has not caught the eye as much as he is more closely monitored by his opponents but he is still the stand-out front rower in the Opta ranking. Leeds Rhinos Adam Cuthbertson has maintained his good form in 2016 Four other big men who have done well in the first half of Super League XXI are Craig Kopczak of Salford, Castlefords Andy Lynch, Adam Walker of Hull KR and Kyle Amor from St Helens.Hooker: James RobySome teams ask their hooker to do different things and as a result may not spend as long on the field or make as many runs and metres, which will obviously affect their ranking. However, if we consider them all to have the same time to attack and defend then it gives us a level field from which to compare them. Without James Roby, St Helens would have really struggled James Roby - It is perhaps as well that the Saints No 9 has not been one of their injured players in 2016, as they would have struggled without him.Just behind him sit Daryl Clark from Warrington, who has looked great for most of the season and has an incredible strength that allows him to push defenders away. Danny Houghton is Mr Consistency at Hull and deserves to be in a top four team. Will this be the year?In the absence of Paul Aiton, Eloi Pellisier has been given greater time and looked great in most of it.Second Row: John Bateman and Glenn StewartWigan used ex-Bulls back rower Bateman as a centre last week and he could almost get selected in any position - he is that good. He is fit, fast and a tough competitor. More than anything else, he knows how to play, and would be my tip for Man of Steel at this stage. Glenn Stewart has been part of a resurgent Catalans Dragons outfit in 2016 Glenn Stewart might just be the most important player Catalans have ever recruited. They have had loads of attacking player, but none who seem as determined to defend as he does.The next three players were Liam Farrell, Ben Currie and Brett Ferres.Loose forward: Jamie Jones-BuchananThe veteran Rhino has missed four of their matches, but performed well in the others. Jamie Jones-Buchanan scored a crucial try against Hull FC last week His three closest competitors are Michael Lawrence at Huddersfield, Ukuma Taai also from the Giants and Atelex Vea in the six games he has played for the Saints.Do you agree with Phil Clarkes views? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below if viewing on skysports.com. Alternatively you can tweet us @SkySportsR Also See: WATCH: Super League top 10 WATCH: Best of Boots N All St Helens v Leeds: Key battles Sky Live: Wigan v Huddersfield ' ' '