Funkerstation » played with, she said. I struggled with the d

Geelong star and overwhelming Brownlow Medal favourite Patrick Dangerfield has dominated voting for the AFL Players Association most valuable player award.Dangerfield won his first Leigh Matthews Trophy with a whopping 1369 votes.His former Adelaide teammate Rory Sloane was well off the pace in second place with 443 votes, while Richmond midfielder Dustin Martin was third with 297.Current players vote on the award.The margin is similar to last year, when Fremantles Nat Fyfe won with 1455 and went on to take out the Brownlow.Last year, North Melbourne ruckman Todd Goldstein was runner-up on 578 and Dangerfield (364) was third.Dangerfield took his game to a new level after making the high-profile move late last year from the Crows to the Cats.He is hotly-favoured to become only the ninth player to win the most valuable player award and the Brownlow in the same season.Apart from Fyfe last year, among current players to achieve the feat, Gold Coast captain Gary Ablett did it in 2009 and 2013.Also on Tuesday night, Sydneys Luke Parker won the Robert Rose award as the leagues most courageous player for the second-straight season.Sydneys Rising Star winner Callum Mills took out the associations best first-year player award, while Adelaides Taylor Walker was named best captain.Western Bulldogs star Marcus Bontempelli was named captain of the associations under-22 team for the season and Essendon onballer Zach Merrett is the vice-captain.Last Friday nights epic qualifying final win over Hawthorn means Dangerfield and his teammates have the week off.They will face the winner of Saturdays SCG semi-final between Sydney and the Crows in a preliminary final, with the winner going into the grand final.Dangerfield said it was a privilege to win the MVP award.Looking up at the past players and champions who have played our game, to sit alongside (them) and have my name on the trophy is a pretty special moment, he said.Asked if his first year at Geelong could have gone any better, Dangerfield replied: I will let you know in a couple of weeks time.Yet he admitted it had been a seamless transition. Ive been very lucky to come to a wonderful football club, he said.Dangerfield said he would not barrack for either side in the SCG semi-final, despite his strong Crows history.I have friends at Adelaide obviously who Id love to see do well, he said.But this time of the year, you have to remove emotion because its about us and us winning.For us and me, its business - were here to win and whoever wins (on Saturday), thats the challenge for us.Clint Capela Rockets Jersey . Ancelotti says Ronaldo has recovered from a hamstring injury but "but he doesnt feel comfortable yet so we wont risk him." Madrid is third in the Spanish league, six points behind leader Barcelona, going into Saturdays game against Valladolid. Robert Horry Jersey . Vettel was 0.168 seconds faster than Red Bull teammate Mark Webber around the Suzuka circuit. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was two tenths of a second off Vettel. "The car balance is decent, but I think we can still improve," Vettel said. http://www.therocketsofficial.com/Authentic-Charles-Barkley-Rockets-Jersey/ . Walcott is available for Saturdays home match against Southampton as Arsenal looks to extend its two-point lead at the top of the Premier League. The Gunners are currently the second highest scorers in the league but Wenger insists Walcott will add something extra to his team. Steve Francis Jersey . Kiriasis and brakeman Franziska Fritz finished two runs in one minute 55.41 seconds -- a mere 0.01 seconds ahead of Meyers and Lolo Jones, who likely bolstered her Olympic hopes by helping give USA-1 a huge push in the second heat. Clyde Drexler Rockets Jersey . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness.RIO DE JANEIRO -- Monica Puig isnt the first Puerto Rican womens tennis player to win a gold medal at the Olympics. Shes just the first to win one for Puerto Rico.And Gigi Fernandez was thrilled to see it happen.Fernandez, a Puerto Rican who won Olympic gold in doubles in 1992 and 1996 but did so while representing the United States, has dealt with plenty of social-media criticism in recent days as the wounds caused by her decision from a generation ago were reopened, in part from her own Twitter commentary. But after watching Puigs historic win on television from her Connecticut home on Saturday, Fernandez said her only regret was not being in Rio de Janeiro to watch it live.Nothing about Monica winning has bothered me at all, Fernandez, a 17-time Grand Slam doubles winner who now coaches and is a mom to 7-year-old twins, said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. What bothered me was some of the things people were saying to me. For some reason people thought I wouldnt be happy for her. Im wildly ecstatic. I cannot believe how well she played.Puig, who was unseeded, knocked off second-seeded Angelique Kerber of Germany 6-4, 4-6, 6-1. Afterward, Puig wrapped herself in a Puerto Rican flag and wiped away plenty of joyous tears.After Puigs win, there was a note awaiting her from Fernandez as well.I know her and she wrote to me, congratulating me, so thats very nice, Puig said. She played in the doubles, and I know that she won the gold medal. ... For me, its inspiring, really.Her win instantly became big news in Puerto Rico, where fans flocked into restaurants and bars to watch her final match on television.Best sport moment I have ever witnessed, former major league baseball player Alex Cora said after watching Puigs win in Puerto Rico.Yet not all the reaction was joyful, especially what was directed toward Fernandez. Tweets sent her way ranged from a handful of those coming to her defense to some being downright profane.For her part, Fernandez didnt often engage back.Im trying not to fuel the fire and let Monica have her stage, Fernandez said.ddddddddddddut during the opening ceremony of the Rio Games, Fernandez started this new round of old debate with a tweet .Puerto Ricos flagbearer for the opening was Jaime Espinal, a wrestler born in the Dominican Republic. Fernandez tweeted a photo of the Puerto Rican team walking into Maracana Stadium with words in Spanish that translated to asking if Espinal is Dominican or Puerto Rican.Double standard, she wrote.That opened the floodgates, re-opening the issue that started when she decided to play doubles for the U.S. at the 1992 Barcelona Games and four years later in Atlanta. Its a decision that Fernandez insists wasnt easy, but was made simply because she wasnt even sure Puerto Rico could qualify for doubles -- her specialty -- and get into those Olympics. So when a chance to play for the U.S. and partner with Mary Joe Fernandez came, Gigi Fernandez felt she was making the smartest move.If I was destined to win a medal, it would have been in doubles and Puerto Rico did not have another player that I could have played with, she said. I struggled with the decision. But now its behind us.She was the first Puerto Rican professional athlete, part of a group -- Mary Joe Fernandez and Gabriela Sabatini also included -- that, as Puig said Saturday night, all played a role in inspiring her to pick up the game.Puig knocked off the worlds second-ranked player in Kerber in the final, and also beat No. 4 Garbine Muguruza earlier in the tournament.I cannot believe how well she played, Fernandez said. To take out two of the top five players and win gold is just remarkable. I dont know what possessed her -- but she needs to carry it for the rest of her life.And when Puig goes back to Puerto Rico, Fernandez knows what awaits.A heroes welcome, probably a parade and they might rename the capital of Puerto Rico to Monica, Fernandez said. She definitely deserves everything shes going to get. ' ' '