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TORONTO — Its mesmerizing, but very much unglamorous; uncomplicated, and still bewildering to a point of frustration. Rugby is so many things, but above all, rugby is truth. Saturday at BMO Field (8pm et/5pm pt on TSN), Canada will challenge Ireland for two, 40-minute periods of hellish contact, and the game will lay bare talents and limitations. It is why labels — sometimes convenient things — are frivolous in a game where two teams of 15 large men engage in a kind of ceaseless percussion, slamming into each other forevermore, conducting the brutal symphony. The strongest arent always the strongest; the fastest sometimes never get up to speed. And so too does the word amateur mean little. It doesnt really matter if you play for love or money when youre at the bottom of a ruck, the slow-rolling human onion, and a forearm is squeezing your throat, and a knee is jabbing your spine, all so you can move an oval inch by messy inch. But Irelands interim head coach Les Kiss was only trying to be complimentary at a Tuesday press conference, when he explained how amateurism imbues Canadians with something special. "There is another reason they play that is outside the professional realm, and there is another heart and desire that comes to the game," he said. Although many of Irelands rugby superstars — Brian ODriscoll, Rory Best and Jonathan Sexton — are away on a tour of Australia along with the very best from Britain and Ireland, Kiss has a roster full of pros. Ireland is ranked eighth among the International Rugby Boards top 100 countries, and Canada is 13th. Canada has never beaten Ireland. Kiss spoke slowly, making sure his point wasnt misinterpreted. "I dont see any less desire and passion and intent in their game when they put on the Canadian jersey." But something about the sound of the word amateur twists Canadian captain Aaron Carpenters face, like its a blister in his brain. "[Some might say] Oh, youre an amateur team, but then the guys go, Well, no; in our minds we are professionals," he said. Carpenter, who looks like a cube with flesh stretched across it, is among the few Canadians making a living playing rugby in Europe. But he speaks on behalf of teammates who juggle rugby life with real life. "We train like professionals, we eat like professionals. So what is that boundary? Just because we dont have a professional league in our country, that is the reason were amateurs?" The boundary has always been the touchline. Beyond it, Canadians are respectable, good-natured, but still dilettantes; within it, the game has revealed intimidating Canadian power and purpose, a daunting opponent in every World Cup. Heading into Saturday, Canada is riding a three-game winning streak, defeating the USA, Fiji and Tonga in a Pacific Nations tournament. Since 2008, head coach Kieran Crowley, who won the World Cup with New Zealand in 1987, has developed Canada into a team made not just of impressive strength, but also confident skill. Ryan Hamilton, Nathan Hirayama, Adam Kleeberger, Jason Marshall and Jebb Sinclair were young at the 2011 World Cup; now they are leaders. Nearly halfway to the 2015 World Cup, Ireland is a good test before two qualifying matches against the Americans on August 17th and 24th. But funding the mens national program, always difficult, is becoming more awkward. Prior to the 2011 World Cup, Sport Canadas Athlete Assistance Program allowed Rugby Canada to spread government funding. Less than $20,000 per athlete per year is not substantial, but it gave some the chance to train full-time at Rugby Canadas B.C. hub. But after several senior players retired following the 2011 tournament, and with Rugby 7s — a quicker, less crowded cousin of the 15s game — becoming an Olympic sport in 2016, funding was altered. No longer could the superhero-sized forwards at the front hope for funding, only the nimble backs, capable of playing the 7s and 15s game, are eligible for 17 government stipends. Few forwards have full-time pro contracts; the rest, for now, play for nothing. Crowley is confident his players are developing, and believes he has depth, but it is only really in select positions. He is trying to build a car, hoping he has all the parts for an engine. "The tight five [forwards at the front] is an area we have major concerns in, simply because those guys arent getting the games at the level they need to, or they coaching they can," Crowley said. For decades, Canada was recognized around the world for grooming forwards of otherworldly strength. Some European players once thought mountainous Canadians lived in the bush, hewing wood by day then breaking bodies on the field at night. That label could diminish. "Were doing everything we can to get [players] over to New Zealand and Europe and they are starting to pick up contracts, which is great. But there is no money for them to train and play in Canada right now," said Gareth Rees, Canadas team manager, and its greatest player. Rees and former national teammate Al Charron — the biggest of Canadas bygone big men — continue to negotiate sponsorship deals and potential playing opportunities overseas. A North American professional league, and ground sharing with Major League Soccer teams, has long been discussed, but its simply a dream. Some Canadians players will leave, because rugby demands, then demands more. "I find it frustrating that we may lose some of these athletes to go and work and support their families, who are world class," Rees said. "They may not get on a plane to go to the World Cup." And though hope maybe the one thing Rees has in abundance, he knows Crowleys coaching, alongside 7s coach Geraint John, breeds needed confidence. With so little to go around, they share all they can. Crowley helped John coach the 7s team to Pan-American gold in 2011. John is Crowleys valued assistant, helping ease the transition for well-worked 7s players joining the national team. "I think we undervalue that constantly," Rees said. "Most unions, those two coaches are fighting each other to get players and it is kind of destructive. I think it is very healthy the relationship they have, and the total commitment they have to the Canadian cause, not just the Canadian 7s or 15s." The limitations could be disheartening, but Canadas resolve has steadily hardened into an unbreakable thing. "We try and work with one another to try and get the best for, not only the best result for Canada, but the best result for the player," Crowley said. "We want the players to be able to perform each time. Were working together on that." Maybe its a mistaken belief, but damn you, and your labels and your expectations. "It annoys us because we train like professionals, and the guys know that theyre in the gym when theyre not on the field. And when they are on the field, theyre training like us guys overseas are," Carpenter said. The ledger shows a hard, frustrating reality, yes; but the truth lies on the field, too. All things must be earned Saturday night, victory or defeat. And the long push will go on. Nike Air Max 98 Rea . President of baseball operations Larry Beinfest was fired Friday after 12 years with the Marlins. The move came as the team neared the end of its third consecutive last-place season in the NL East. Nike Air Max Plus Rea . "Hes going to have hip surgery on Jan. 7, and hell be expected to rehabilitate for four to six months beyond that," Canucks general manager Mike Gillis said Friday in an interview. http://www.reaairmaxsverige.com/air-max-90-rabatt.html . Now that hes hitting streaking teammates with pin-point passes for easy layups, Love is asserting himself as one of the true superstars in the league. Nike Air Max 90 Sverige . - Blake Griffin had 30 points and 12 rebounds, J. Nike Air Max 270 Sverige . - NASCAR announced a 33-race schedule for the 2014 Nationwide Series with virtually no changes from this years slate. Its now three straight weeks at No. 1 for the Chicago Cubs since regaining the top spot in our rankings. They might not be on a record winning pace anymore, but the Cubs have won 10 of their past 11 games and were the unanimous pick at No. 1. The Cubs have been No. 1 for 17 of 19 weeks, including the preseason.While the Cubs are strengthening their hold on the top spot, the Washington Nationals are doing the same at No. 2, where they were the unanimous pick this week.After the two NL teams, the next four spots are all AL teams, with the Toronto Blue Jays leading the way at No. 3, while the Texas Rangers (No. 5) and Baltimore Orioles (No. 6) inch their way up closer to the top.Another AL team making a big move this week is the Detroit Tigers, who jumped from No. 12 all the way up to No. 8. The Tigers are 10-2 in their past 12 games.This weeks voters are Jim Bowden of ESPN Insider, Eric Karabell of ESPN Fantasy, Christina Kahrl of the SweetSpot Blog Network/ESPN.com, David Schoenfield of the SweetSpot Blog Network/ESPN.com and Jayson Stark of ESPN.com. Most of the team comments come courtesy of the SweetSpot Blog Network.Past rankings: Week 17 |?Week 16 |?Week 15 |?Week 14 |?Week 13 |?Week 12 |?Week 11 |?Week 10 | ?Week 9 |?Week 8 |?Week 7 |?Week 6 |?Week 5 |?Week 4 | Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1 | Preseason1. Chicago CubsRecord: 69-41 Week 17 ranking: No. 1The Cubs are 12-4 since the return of Dexter Fowler from the DL. In that stretch, Fowler is hitting .283 with two homers, eight RBIs and 15 runs scored.?--?Joe Aiello (@VFTB), View from the Bleachers2. Washington NationalsRecord: 66-45 Week 17 ranking: No. 2Tanner Roark is tied with Jake Arrieta and Adam Conley for most scoreless starts in the majors with seven, but hes the only one to go at least seven innings in each of those outings. His ERA is down to 2.88. Remember when Matt Williams moved him to the bullpen??-- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot3. Toronto Blue JaysRecord: 63-49 Week 17 ranking: No. 4After going 1-for-4 on Sunday, Devon Travis is batting .357 (10-for-28) while atop the batting order in August. In his first start since he was acquired from the Pirates at the trade deadline, Francisco Liriano delivered six solid innings and gave up two earned runs Friday. -- Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit4. Cleveland IndiansRecord: 62-47 Week 17 ranking: No. 3If the highlight of your week is not being swept by the team with the worst record in the league, you might be having a bad week. Corey Klubers strong showing in Saturdays 5-2 win over the Yankees was one of the few highlights. In five starts prior to that, the Tribes rotation was 0-4 with a 15.58 ERA.?--?Susan Petrone, Its Pronounced Lajaway5. Texas RangersRecord: 65-47 Week 17 ranking: No. 6The trade deadline has paid dividends thus far for Texas. Deadline acquisitions Carlos Beltran (RBI single) and Jonathan Lucroy (two solo homers) were key in a 3-2 Texas victory on Saturday in Houston, and the win helped keep the Rangers in the drivers seat in the AL West. Lucroy followed that game with a 2-for-6 effort in Sundays 11-inning win. --?Brandon Land (@onestrikeaway), One Strike Away6. Baltimore OriolesRecord: 63-47 Week 17 ranking: No. 9After taking two of three from the White Sox in Chicago, the Orioles are clinging to a one-game division lead. They now head west for seven games against the As and Giants, hoping to return home still in first. --?Matt Kremnitzer (@mattkremnitzer), Camden Depot7. San Francisco GiantsRecord: 63-48 Week 17 ranking: No. 5A tough second half has seen the Giants lead over the Dodgers in the NL West shrink to just one game. In the past two weeks, the rotation has struggled, and Eduardo Nunez got off to a slow start before a 4-for-5 effort Saturday. -- Jeff Wiser (@OutfieldGrass24), Inside the Zona8. Detroit TigersRecord: 61-50 Week 17 ranking: No. 12Justin Upton?is quietly becoming the player the Tigers thought they were getting. His isolated slugging percentage (ISO) has gone up from a pre-All-Star Game mark of .146 to a post-break showing of .208, which is much more in line with his career .198 ISO. That gives him a .801 OPS since the All-Star break, which is much better than his .670 first-half showing.?--?Richard Bergstrom (@rbergstromjr), Rockies Zingers9. Boston Red SoxRecord: 60-50 Week 17 ranking: No. 10An up-and-down week for Boston was highlighted by a complete-game shutout of the Dodgers by knuckleballer Steven Wright?on Friday. With plenty of run support, Wright limited Los Angeles to three hits while striking out nine and lowering his ERA to 3.01. -- Ryan P. Morrison (@ryanpmorrison), Inside the Zona10. Los Angeles DodgersRecord: 62-49 Week 17 ranking: No. 7On their 40-man roster, the Dodgers currently have 14 players (12 of them pitchers) on the disabled list. Additionally, a new blister for the recently acquired Rich Hill will push the southpaws return date back and leave the team shuffling its rotation yet again. --?Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit11. St. Louis CardinalsRecord: 58-53 Week 17 ranking: No. 8After going 2-4 against the lowly Reds and Braves, the Cardinals fell to 12-11 since the All-Star break. More alarmingly, theyve been outscored 115-97. Their 4.50 ERA since the break ranks 26th in the majors.?-- ESPN.com12. Miami MarlinsRecord: 59-52 Week 17 ranking: No. 13Ichiros first 2,999 hits were amassed against 872 pitchers, with John Lackey (37-for-122) his most frequent victim. His 3,000th hit came off Chris Russin on Sunday. Since the All-Star break,?Christian Yelich?is batting .348 with four homers and 18 runs driven in. -- Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit13. Houston AstrosRecord: 57-54 Week 17 ranking: No. 11Since getting to 2.5 games behind the Rangers on July 24, the Astros have gone 3-10, including dropping two of three to the Rangers over the weekend. Astros outfielders are 28th in the majors in wOBA (even George Springer is hitting just .213/.300/.371 since the All-Star break).?-- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot14. New York MetsRecord: 57-54 Week 17 ranking: No. 14The Meets got a much-needed win Sunday, but still went just 3-4 on the week and have fallen two games behind in the race for the final NL wild-card spot.dddddddddddd Six of the players in the Opening Day lineup are currently on the DL (including pitcher Matt Harvey).?-- ESPN.com15. Pittsburgh PiratesRecord: 55-54 Week 17 ranking: No. 15Pittsburgh sold high on All-Star closer Mark Melancon when it flipped him to the Nationals at the trade deadline. Tony Watson appears primed to seize the opportunity, however, as he has allowed just two earned runs since June 7. -- Ryan P. Morrison (@ryanpmorrison), Inside the Zona16. Seattle MarinersRecord: 57-53 Week 17 ranking: No. 16The Ms retired Ken Griffey Jr.s No. 24 on Saturday, and the team slugged its way to another high-powered win over the Angels. Just 3.5 games behind in the wild-card race, Seattle isnt finished. Shrewd bullpen moves over the weekend highlighted the franchises willingness to keep fighting. -- Jeff Wiser (@OutfieldGrass24), Inside the Zona17. Colorado RockiesRecord: 55-56 Week 17 ranking: No. 17Fans are jumping on, off, then back on the Rockies bandwagon so fast theyre in danger of pulling their Twitter finger muscle. Call it an introduction to a young and exciting but inconsistent roster thats still playing meaningful games in August at a time when many in Denver usually hop over to the Broncos.?--?Richard Bergstrom (@rbergstromjr), Rockies Zingers18. New York YankeesRecord: 56-55 Week 17 ranking: No. 18The Yankees began the week by bidding adieu to Carlos Beltran and Ivan Nova at the trade deadline, and they ended it by saying goodbye to both Mark Teixeira and Alex Rodriguez. Between, they went 4-3 against the Mets and Indians, and they are still hovering around the .500 mark. The Yankees are currently a team in transition, and the changes made this week will help ensure a bright future for the franchise. --?Stacey Gotsulias ((@StaceGots),?Its About the Money19. Chicago White SoxRecord: 53-58 Week 17 ranking: No. 19Chicago has won just a single series since the All-Star break after Sundays loss to the Orioles. The bullpen has been the weakest link, with the worst ERA in the American League the past two weeks. -- Jeff Wiser (@OutfieldGrass24), Inside the Zona20. Kansas City RoyalsRecord: 53-58 Week 17 ranking: No. 20Alex Gordon, signed to that $72 million extension, continues to struggle, hitting just .199 with 18 RBIs in more than 300 PAs. Hes hitting .160 with runners in scoring position and .141 with men on base.?-- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot21. Philadelphia PhilliesRecord: 52-61 Week 17 ranking: No. 23Hector Neris has been solid for the Phillies this year. He has struck out at least 10 batters each month while minimizing the damage, registering a WHIP of 1.02 and racking up 21 holds in the process. If Jeanmar Gomez ever gets traded or injured, Neris could be in line for some save opportunities.?--?Richard Bergstrom (@rbergstromjr), Rockies Zingers22. Milwaukee BrewersRecord: 49-60 Week 17 ranking:?No. 24A new era was ushered in following the departures of Jonathan Lucroy, Jeremy Jeffress and Will Smith, as Milwaukee called up its most highly touted prospect since Ryan Braun, shortstop Orlando Arcia.?-- Gabe Stoltz (@Stoltzy3), Disciples of Uecker23. Los Angeles AngelsRecord: 49-62 Week 17 ranking: No. 21Mike Trout celebrated his 25th birthday on Sunday by robbing Leonys Martin of a grand slam -- but also striking out four times against James Paxton. Still, his lead in WAR over Jose Altuve continues to grow, 7.3 to 6.4.?-- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot24. San Diego PadresRecord: 48-63 Week 17 ranking: No. 25Derek Norris awful year with the bat continues, as he is hitting .103 (6-for-58) with 24 strikeouts since the All-Star break. Now that the Padres have finished a homestand against the Phillies, Reds and Brewers, the softer part of their schedule continues with a road trip to face the Pirates, Mets and Rays. -- Diane Firstman (@dianagram), Value Over Replacement Grit25. Tampa Bay RaysRecord: 45-65 Week 17 ranking: No. 27Tampa Bay did well in several last-second deals at the trade deadline. As usual, they got some production for today, but also plenty of upside for down the road. Its not easy to play for both the present and future, but the Rays walk the rope as well as anyone. --?Jason Collette (@jasoncollette), The Process Report26. Oakland AthleticsRecord: 48-63 Week 17 ranking: No. 22Sonny Gray was put on the disabled list with a strained forearm, as his miserable season continues (5.74 ERA).?-- David Schoenfield (@dschoenfield), SweetSpot27. Minnesota TwinsRecord: 45-66 Week 17 ranking: No. 29The Twins have emerged in recent months as one of the best offensive teams in the game, and that has helped them to a 20-13 record since July 1. However, they still have the American Leagues worst record, which says plenty about their brutal first half. -- Nick Nelson (@NickNelsonMN), Twins Daily28. Cincinnati RedsRecord:?45-65 Week 17 ranking: No. 29The Reds finally dropped a series after winning six in a row following the All-Star break. The big surprise of the second half has been the unexpected resurgence of Brandon Phillips, who has hit .336/.360/.464 since July 1. --?Chad Dotson (@dotsonc), Redleg Nation29. Arizona DiamondbacksRecord: 45-66 Week 17 ranking: No. 26Outfielder David Peralta had a breakout campaign for Arizona in 2015 but has been mostly broken in 2016, as his third DL stint of the year (wrist) began over the weekend. Zack Greinke returns to the mound for the struggling D-backs on Tuesday. -- Ryan P. Morrison (@ryanpmorrison), Inside the Zona30. Atlanta BravesRecord: 41-70 Week 17 ranking:?No. 30Atlanta is 4-2 since the Matt Kemp era began, despite the sluggers hitting .181 in his first six games. The Braves showed everyone that a mere trade deadline wont stop them from trading when they shipped lefty reliever Hunter Cervenka to the Marlins for two prospects. -- Martin Gandy (@gondeee), Chop County ' ' '