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Ive played my last game as captain. It was a pretty enjoyable match to go out on, and I won the toss.It will take some adjusting to running around without that title next year. Will I run out onto the ground second, or last? Im not sure where Ill fit.Captaining the Saints for the past 11 years has been an incredible honour and its something Ill certainly miss, but the time is right for someone else to lead the club.Leadership is something Ive always prided myself on, and Ill continue to lead strongly next year - it just wont be in an official capacity.Ive always maintained that whatever is in the clubs best interest, I would do. If me continuing in the role was the right move, I was committed to leading again. Richo and I have discussed the captaincy on multiple occasions over the past three years and that dialogue continued this year. Based on the development of our younger leaders, we have decided its time for someone else to step into the role.Im totally comfortable with the decision, but I have to admit I have a bit of an emotional attachment to being captain. Its a position I have a lot of respect for and I guess its shaped my identity to a certain degree. Im honored to have held the position for such a long period of time, so therell be a little bit of an adjustment now. Ill have to do a few things differently to allow the next person to grow the way they need to.Despite captaining a few teams in my junior days, I certainly wasnt 100 percent ready to be skipper when I first took it on in 2005. However, like any young leader I grew into it. In Robert Harvey, Fraser Gehrig, Andrew Thompson and Aaron Hamill, I had a plethora of fantastic mentors to learn from and they offered invaluable council. In making this decision now, we have afforded the next captain the same level of support as theyll still be able to utilise me, Leigh Montagna and a few other senior players as sounding boards.Captains are constantly challenged and the ability to learn on the job is imperative. Ive always been an assertive leader - which is one of my great strengths. But on occasions that strength has become a weakness when I have been either too demanding or demonstrative. I recall challenging a young player publically in a team meeting and it had a really adverse effect on them for probably a month - it crushed their confidence. In my eyes I was just holding them accountable in front of the group but they obviously didnt view it the same way. Thankfully the player involved rebounded after that down month and hes now a really strong player for us, but I had to realise everyone is different, and I couldnt treat everyone the same. This is but one lesson any new captain must learn and Im excited about the opportunity to help fast-track my successors development in areas such as this.Ill have to try to tread a fine line next year in some respects, ensuring I allow our next skipper to make his mark, but driving high standards for the good of the team will never be something I refrain from doing.Obviously a captain does more than just toss the coin at the start of the game and interact with media.Essentially the captain is an extension of both the playing and coaching groups; a bridge between the two. As captain Ive always been in constant dialogue with coaches, understanding their messaging and making sure the players understand that. Since Richo has been coach, in our last meeting before taking the field, hell go through our plan as to how we can win and how we want to play, but then Ill discuss expectations around effort and execution of everyones role. If there are any new players in the team Ill address them in front of the group on what we expect from any player pulling on a Saints jumper.Ive always been strong at articulating a message during the pre-game or half-time speech so everyone understands it and is inspired by it. Although after 11 years Im sure Ive been quite repetitive at times and sounded a bit like a broken record! Thats the challenge that comes with longevity in the role - trying to keep the message fresh and finding different ways to keep the group motivated.Being captain can definitely consume you - youre constantly thinking about the group and its biorhythms. Im not sure if that feeling will reduce because the title is gone - Ill have to wait and see.Looking back at my time as captain is an interesting one. We went through a period of strong, sustained success under Grant Thomas and Ross Lyon without quite reaching our ultimate goal, and then soon after we committed to a deliberate, transparent rebuild. That period was particularly challenging given the expectation to keep winning and play finals. When you fall short of that, its tough. That challenged me in different ways as a leader but Im potentially even more proud of the group through that period than I was when we were absolutely flying. With the group we had through that period of sustained success it was easier as captain because we had so many leaders. So to see how far weve come in the past couple of years, watching the young guys become strong leaders, Im really proud of that.Its always difficult judging leadership from the outside, but two captains I have an enormous amount of respect for are Bob Murphy and Luke Hodge. Murphy really inspired me last year with what he was able to do with a similar group at the Bulldogs - we had similarly strong teams in the late 2000s and both went through serious rebuilds, but Bobs leadership through that really impressed me me. Hodgeys done everything and clearly three flags as skipper speak to his success as a leader. I like his uncompromising style. He appears to hold his group incredibly accountable and is so ruthless on the field. Theyre my two standouts from the current crop of captains.As for who I think will take over from me, its difficult to settle on one name. Thats a good problem to have and is a reflection of our even spread of candidates. Itll probably come from the young guys in the leadership group currently - Jarryn Geary, Jack Steven, David Armitage, Mav Weller and Jack Newnes are all exceptionally strong leaders who have supremely high standards. Thats why Im stepping down now - because there are a number of really good leaders coming through.The club will certainly be in great hands with whoever we choose as captain, and Ill do everything I can to support them. I also know Ill be first to mock them if they stumble during their first pre-game address! Yeezy Scarpe Sito Ufficiale . -- Former San Diego Chargers safety Paul Oliver was found dead at his Atlanta-area home Tuesday night, and a medical examiner said Wednesday that the ex-player committed suicide. Yeezy Boost 350 Italia . Batiste, who briefly signed with the Eskimos in 2006, has spent time with several NFL teams including the Pittsburgh Steelers and Washington Redskins. http://www.yeezyscarpeitalia.it/ .C. -- Todd Fiddler scored a hat trick, including the overtime goal, as the Prince George Cougars survived an 8-7 win against the Kamloops Blazers in Western Hockey League play Sunday. Scarpe Yeezy Nuove . Speaking Thursday on TSN 1050 Thursday, the Leafs GM also touched on the questions surrounding the teams leadership and the struggles of his big-name free-agent signing. “Its not from lack of effort from the coaching staff. Yeezy Boost 700 Italia . The 20-year-old Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. Davis responded to his selection earlier in the day as a Western Conference All-Star with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 98-91 on Friday night. WASHINGTON -- The day began with manager Davey Johnson calling a team meeting in which he appealed for more aggression at the plate and mistook his starting pitchers heat pad for a neck brace. It ended with the Washington Nationals accomplishing something they hadnt done all season -- coming from three runs down to win a ballgame. The Nationals swept a day-night doubleheader from the Minnesota Twins on Sunday, climbing back to .500 and showing signs of an offensive breakthrough by pounding out a combined 24 hits in the 7-0 opener and 5-4 nightcap. "I dont know if Ive ever played a doubleheader," said shortstop Ian Desmond, "where you pretty much had to win both." That sums up the angst that was spreading among the preseason NL East favourite Nationals, even though there are still 100 games to go before the finish line of the regular season. "Its good to get back to .500 -- and get on with it," Johnson said. Desmond doubled home the go-ahead run in the seventh inning of the second game after Jordan Zimmermann dominated the opener, allowing two hits over seven innings. Zimmermann (9-3) struck out eight with a season-high 111 pitches while dropping his ERA to 2.00. He moved into a tie with Bostons Clay Buchholz, Arizonas Patrick Corbin and St. Louis Adam Wainwright for most wins in the majors. Zimmermann had Johnson worried before the game when the pitcher showed up for the team meeting with something on his neck. The right-hander has had a stiff neck off-and-on for a couple of weeks. "Im hoping he wears that neck brace every time he goes out," Johnson said. "That was a heck of a game." Zimmermann later clarified that it was actually a heating pad, a precautionary measure after feeling some tightness a few days ago. "I didnt want to take any chances," Zimmermann said. "So I figure heat it up and itll be good to go." Johnson also joked that he might have to hold more team meetings after watching his offence score five runs in the fifth inning of the first game. The Nationals had totalled just 14 runs in their previous seven games. "Ill have it every day if we get 14 hits and seven runs, but it wasnt much of a meeting," Johnson said. "It was about three minutes or something like that. I was just cheering em up." Asked what he got from the meeting, second baseman Anthony Rendon said: "Swing." "Just be aggressive," Rendon said. "Thats basically what he was trying to say. Just go out there and try to hit." And thats what they did. The Nationals scored a pair in the fourth and five in the fifth to chase starter Scott Diamond (4-5), using a lineup that had a pair of natural second basemen in the outfield -- Jeff Kobernus in centre, Steve Lombardozzi in left -- and a converted third baseman, Rendon, at second. Regular centre fielder Denard Span missed the first game after fouling a pitch off his right foot in Saturdays 11-inning lloss, but played in the nightcap.dddddddddddd. Usual left fielder Bryce Harper is on the disabled list with a sore knee and was en route for his Monday appointment with renowned specialist Dr. James Andrews. The Nationals, who have come from two runs down to win only twice this season, climbed their way back from a 4-1 hole in the second game. They scored single runs in the first, third, fifth, sixth and seventh, with Desmond extending his hitting streak to a career-high 12 games with his double off reliever Anthony Swarzak (1-2). "Normally, early on in the season, when we would get behind, we would just kind of fold and give away at-bats," said Span, who had an RBI triple to tie the game in the sixth. "And (tonight) we just kept fighting and having good at-bats." Tyler Clippard (5-1) pitched the seventh to get the win, Drew Storen handled the eighth and Rafael Soriano the ninth for his 16th save. The nightcap was played before a small crowd -- it was the makeup from Fridays rainout -- and was mostly a tedious game of attrition between recent Triple-A call-ups. Minnesotas Samuel Deduno laboured through five innings in his fourth start since arriving from Rochester, and Washingtons Nathan Karns lasted only three innings in his third start since getting a promotion from Syracuse. Both teams wasted plenty of chances -- they combined to leave 18 runners on base -- and the Twins managed only two runs in the second and two in the third against Karns, who is expected to go back to Syracuse once Stephen Strasburg comes off the disabled list in a few days. Pedro Florimon hit a two-run homer in the third for Minnesota, but more typical was Eduardo Escobar getting stranded at third after a leadoff triple in the sixth. "Hit some balls right on the screws, seemed to go right at them," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "They got a couple of big hits and ended up getting the win. Very frustrating game for us." The Twins helped out the Nationals cause in the first game with some flubs in the field. First baseman Justin Morneau allowed an extra run to score when he failed to come off the bag to field a late, off-target throw from Florimon, and Washingtons five-run barrage in the fifth was possible because of a grounder misplayed by second baseman Brian Dozier, who somehow wasnt charged with an error. "I know they gave it a hit, but this is the big leagues, folks," Gardenhire said. "Thats an error. Thats two steps to his right." NOTES: The second game included a 12-minute rain delay. ... Minnesota CF Aaron Hicks left the nightcap with a strained left hamstring after running to first on a groundout in the fifth inning. ... Twins RHP Ryan Pressley left the first game in the seventh inning with a sore right triceps. "He should be just fine," Gardenhire said. ... Kobernus made his first major league start in the opener and got his first career hit, an infield single in the third. ' ' '