Dein erstes Forum » how to play, and would be my tip for Man of Ste

Some of the sports stories The Associated Press is covering Wednesday. A full Sports Digest will be sent by about 3 p.m. All times EST:- OXON HILL, Md. -- The World Series champion Chicago Cubs try to finish off a trade for Kansas City closer Wade Davis as big names keep moving at the winter meetings.- NEW YORK -- The Cleveland Cavaliers visit New York for the first time since Knicks President Phil Jackson angered LeBron James by referring to his friends and business partners as a posse in an interview. Game starts 8 p.m.- LOS ANGELES -- Blake Griffin and the Los Angeles Clippers host Stephen Curry and the West-leading Golden State Warriors in the first meeting of the season between the Pacific Divisions top two teams. Game starts 10:30 p.m.- KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- The Raiders and Chiefs are such bitter foes that not even a late-season game between losing teams with no hope of a division title or playoff berth would take away the importance of a matchup. Now, consider the stakes when they meet Thursday night.- WHITNEY, Texas -- Former Dallas Cowboys linebacker Dave Edwards has died. He was 76. Edwards played for 12 seasons in Dallas from 1963 to 1975 and was a key part of the Doomsday defense. He won a Super Bowl with the team and played in two others.- NORMAN, Okla. -- Baker Mayfield made his name as an underdog with something to prove. Last season, he finished fourth in Heisman Trophy balloting and led the Sooners to the College Football Playoff. Now hes bound for New York as a Heisman finalist.- South Florida football coach Willie Taggart has informed the school that he is leaving to become the coach at Oregon, a person with direct knowledge of the situation tells The Associated Press.- WACO, Texas -- Matt Rhule will be introduced at Baylor in what the school is calling a campus celebration for the new coach who comes to the Bears after consecutive 10-win seasons at Temple.- SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Second-ranked Notre Dame will be seeking to beat top-ranked Connecticut for the first time since 2013 as they try to stop the Huskies 82-game winning streak. Game starts 7 p.m.- DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- A caddie collapsed and died during the Dubai Ladies Masters, forcing the suspension of the first round and shortening the tournament to 54 holes. Charles Haley Womens Jersey . The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive. Jason Witten Youth Jersey . Bjorn, who had a 36-hole total of 8-under 134, made a testing six-foot putt to save par on the 16th and a birdie on the 17th before bogeying the final hole after a misjudged approach shot. American Kevin Streelman was in second place after shooting a 69. http://www.shoptheofficialcowboys.com/Elite-Emmitt-Smith-Cowboys-Jersey/ .Y. - General manager Billy King says the Brooklyn Nets are looking to add a big man and confirmed the team worked out centre Jason Collins, who would become the first openly gay active NBA player if signed. Trysten Hill Jersey . The Canadian squad, skipped by Jennifer Jones of Winnipeg, got on the board first with two in the second end, and followed that with two more apiece in the fourth and sixth ends. Jay Novacek Jersey . -- New England Revolution goalkeeper Matt Reis is retiring after a 16-year career to become the goalie coach for the Los Angeles Galaxy.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 ' ' '