Beloved by a generation of schoolboys and older boys alike, Sid OLinn was the lesser-known half of the famous LF Palmer Sports of Johannesburg, his chirpy partner in the business being the wicketkeeper Johnny Waite. The shop was first located in the CBD but then moved to an ivy-covered nook at the Wanderers Stadium on Corlett Drive, becoming a much-loved city institution in the process.If Waite wasnt on hand to offer advice about bat grip and pick-up, OLinn was. He was a reserved, dapper man and, like Waite, affected a short-back-and-sides, cardigans and Hush Puppies. His service was as immaculate as his frequently used forward defensive and he was always eager to chat about the swirls of the contemporary game. Visiting LF Palmer was both a shopping expedition and a walk through the looking glass - an adventure looked forward to for weeks.OLinn was famous as a footballer long before he attained similar status as a cricketer. In 1947 he went with the Springboks to Australia and, later that year, he and Stuart Leary found their way to Charlton Athletic in London, arriving from Southampton just in time to be whisked off to see a home game against Grimsby Town. The match was played in heavy rain, with 35,000 diehard supporters tucked in to their trench coats lining the terraces. The Cape Town colonials couldnt believe their eyes.Having made an instant impression with a goal against Huddersfield on debut (OLinn was on the subs bench but was called into action at the last minute) he settled down to ten happy seasons at the Valley. A bustling inside-right, his contract ran to 60 pages. It stipulated that there was to be no drinking or dancing after Wednesdays; riding a bicycle or motorbike was forbidden and skating was expressly prohibited. Post-war rationing was in full swing. OLinn, Leary - and a host of other South Africans, like Dudley Forbes, the Firmani brothers, Eddie and Peter, and John Hewie - became used to eating eel, whale steaks and rabbit.When OLinn wasnt watching Eddie Firmani banging in goals for Charlton Athletic, he was deputising for Godfrey Evans at Kent. In the middle of July 1952, he took a fighting, five-hour hundred off a more than handy Surrey attack featuring Alec Bedser, Stuart Surridge, Jim Laker and Tony Lock. Surrey went on to win that seasons County Championship with three matches to play, so the innings might have signalled an arrival; it didnt. He drifted in and out of the Kent side, never being awarded his county cap. Some, like Forbes, believed it was because he had a rebellious streak and refused to address Kent captains as Mister.In 1957, OLinn moved up from the Cape to Johannesburg, taking up a clerical post with British Petroleum after his long stint at Charlton. With his summers free, he played with Waite at Transvaal, and in the final trial to pick the 1960 side to England, he put the selectors in a quandary by scoring a hundred and a 90 for the weaker of the two sides. Sid never looked very good, Waite once told me. He was awkward and had this funny backlift. Still, he made those runs [in the Kingsmead trial] and couldnt be left out, so the buggers were forced to pick him.They came up with this absurd idea that no wives or girlfriends were going to be allowed to tour. That complicated things because although Sid and his wife had separated, she was living in England at the time and they were bound to have met while he was on tour. I remember him coming round and begging me to come to his in-laws with him because he was going to formally divorce her, he was so desperate to play. After he broke the news they chucked us out. They were pretty bloody bitter and twisted, I can tell you. Although OLinn played in all five Tests in England, the tour was an unhappy one. The trip was shadowed by the Geoff Griffin no-ball affair, and the manager, Dudley Nourse, lacked the soft touch required to step delicately around the anti-apartheid demonstrators. Having lost the first Test by 100 runs and the second at Lords by an innings, it was always going to be an emotionally sapping tour. Too much fell to Jackie McGlew, the captain.After batting at No. 7 in the first Test and No. 3 in the second, OLinn, came good in the third. With South Africa behind by 199 runs on the first innings, he scored 98 patient runs, taming Freddie Trueman and combining in a seventh-wicket partnership of 109 with Waite. The heroics werent quite enough: while England were forced to bat again, they glided easily to an eight-wicket win. With it, they pocketed the series.For all his dash as a footballer and obduracy as a left-hand batsman, there was more to OLinn than met the eye. He was born in the great desert of the Karoo in 1927 as Sidney OLinsky, and probably thought it prudent to reinvent himself as a gentile. This he did with a certain shrewd facility, whether giving selectors an offer they couldnt refuse or by dispensing carefully listened-to advice to star-struck little boys on the shop floor.Philadelphia 76ers Pro Shop . The Australian is competing in his final season in Formula One and still looking for his first win this year. He will look to end Vettels run of six straight race wins on Sunday. Webber, who is fifth in the championship, earned his second pole from the past three races and 13th of his career. Wholesale 76ers Jerseys .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. https://www.cheap76ers.com/ . James, who turned 29 on Monday, injured his groin Friday during the Heats overtime loss at Sacramento. He sat out the following game, a 108-107 win Saturday in Portland, before coming back to help send the Nuggets to their seventh consecutive loss. 76ers Jerseys ChinaCustom Philadelphia 76ers Jerseys . The incident occurred at 19:56 of the second period of the Kings 4-2 road win over Edmonton on Sunday. Nolan punched Oilers forward Jesse Joensuu in the jaw in front of the Kings goal during a scrum.The most non-traditional hockey journey to one of the sports most history-laden franchises begins officially Wednesday night in Ottawa. Auston Matthews will pull on a Toronto Maple Leafs sweater for his first, real NHL game.The kid from Scottsdale, Arizona, who chose hockey over baseball six years ago, is now charged with being the Original Six teams savior as?the Leafs begin their Centennial season in the midst of a massive yet promising rebuild. At the middle of it all is Matthews, whose path from Arizona to Michigan to Switzerland and now Toronto is something to behold.There are so many things that run through your head, Brian Matthews told ESPN.com this week as his sons big moment approached. Probably a lot of the same stuff that was running through my head at the World Cup and at the draft: memories, emotions, road trips, all of these things that you thought were long lost and forgotten and they come rushing back in. You kind of relive moments that have nothing to do with whats happening at the time -- enjoyment and fun from previous years and how we got here.On Tuesday, young Auston -- along with linemate and fellow rookie William Nylander?-- was the last player to come off the ice at the teams practice facility in Toronto. A rink rat, like hes always been. There were no visible signs that it was the eve of a seminal moment in his young life.Afterward, the 19-year-old center allowed that he has indeed taken time to think what Wednesday night represents for him.Its going to be a dream come true. Its something that you think about ever since youre a little kid. My parents will be there. Its going to be a special moment.Brian and Ema Matthews, like many parents of gifted athletes, are central to the story. Ema lived with Auston last season when he played pro hockey in Switzerland during his NHL draft year, and this season it will be dad living with Auston in his Toronto pad.At some point we wont be there, well just be going to games, said Brian, a chief technological officer for a New Jersey-based manufacturing company. But this seemed to be the best possible plan for this transition.Matthews is still a kid, with enormous pressure on his shoulders, living in a foreign country. The decision to have dad live with his son seems awfully smart at this juncture.The job that his parents have done with him, with the maturity, the respectfulness and the politeness, it just comes out loud and clear, said Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello on Tuesday. We found that out right away when we had the opportunity to sit down with his parents and sisters. And then, spending some time with him, prior to the draft. He certainly has a presence about him, the way he handles himself beyond his age. Right now he just has to not expect too much of himself. He has to grow. Hes still young, [its his] first year in the league, there are a lot of highs and lows.To that end, the Leafs organization is ensuring that Matthews has only hockey to focus on this season. The demands are constant -- everyone in hockey-crazy Toronto wants a piece of young Matthews. But the Leafs, in conjunction with Matthews agent, Pat Brisson, are taking steps to make sure hes not overwhelmed.I have a tremendous respect and relationship with Pat Brisson,, said Lamoriello.dddddddddddd We talk often. Theres open communication about whats best for [Matthews] future. Everyone is on board.Matthews will be available to the media like any other player at practice and games, but Leafs PR director Steve Keogh will sift through the mountain of other daily requests to ensure that the young player isnt overrun.?Lamoriello believes the Leafs have a head coach who is perfectly suited to bring Matthews along -- and, in a way, protect him, too.Mike Babcock is, day in and day out, just outstanding at doing that, said Lamoriello. And I think thats basically our biggest asset, with the young group that we have.The season of pro hockey in Switzerland last season plus his experience at the IIHF world championships in Russia last spring and at the best-on-best World Cup in Toronto last month have all helped prepare Matthews for the level of competition hell face in the NHL.I think its benefitted me a lot, said Matthews. Just going against older, more mature players who have experience in the NHL and professional hockey for a long time.That Matthews chose the Swiss League last year, a tough test for a teenager, didnt surprise his father.Hes always sought after the best that he can go against, said Brian. It doesnt matter which sport. Hes always looking for another challenge. A big part is that hes willing to take on and accept the consequences; he just wants a shot. So if he gets to go up against the best, whether it was Switzerland or in Mini Mites, or now the NHL, thats all he wants -- that challenge, the ability to face it, to test his abilities, to see what he needs to work on.He knows he has a ton he has to learn, but you have to start somewhere and I think hes just looking forward to just getting it going.It was 31 years ago that Wendel Clark went from being taken with the first overall NHL pick by the Maple Leafs to rookie forward with the club just a few months later. Even though Matthews has benefitted from his pro experience during the past year, Clark says that his first official game wearing that Leafs uniform will be something that stands alone.The exhibition games are one thing, and playing in the World Cup certainly helps, but theres still that very first game, Clark said Tuesday. Thats the real kickoff to his career. That first game, the warm-up, putting the sweater on, its really happening now. Its fun.And to think, if the Winnipeg Jets hadnt moved to Arizona some 21 years ago, it might have never happened. Auston Matthews might have never have become a fan of the sport.I think he would have played baseball, it could have been football, it could have been a number of different sports, his father said. But if the Coyotes had not been in our backyard and he hadnt gotten that exposure early on ... I honestly would not give it a big chance as to where he would be from a hockey perspective today without the Coyotes being here. No doubt about that.The kid known affectionately by his family and friends as Papi is ready to take on the NHL. And with that, a franchise with a tortured past is officially set to the turn the page. ' ' '