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VAISON LA ROMAINE, France -- It was the sort of incident that, sadly, was waiting to happen. Bobby Smith Stars Jersey .The shambolic finish to the 12th stage of the Tour de France on Thursday was littered with senseless crowds,? which ruined a dramatic finale. Not only did the incident halt the attack of British two-time Tour champion Chris Froome and Australian Richie Porte, but it turned the finale into a farce.In the shortened 178km stage from Montpellier to Mont Ventoux, Froome (Sky) and Porte (BMC) each crashed into a television motor bike that had been stopped by a virtual wall of fans. This happened as the two, along with Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo), were extending their lead on the group of rivals with 1.2 kilometers to go. The replays showed Porte riding straight into the back of the motor bike, striking his chin as he went to the ground, with Froome and Mollema following suit.In addition to the crowds, another contributing factor to the crash was the lack of barriers leading up to the finish. Because the distance of the stage was shortened due to gale-force winds, organizers had not brought more barriers down from the initial finish at the summit of Mont Ventoux.Some might argue that this years Tour has become farcical, remembering the embarrassment of the one-kilometrer-to-go arch falling onto British rider Adam Yates (Orica-BikeExchange) on Saturday. And to think Thursdays crash came just five days after Froomes impassioned plea for crowds to respect the riders and not run too close to them.But the drama didnt end with the crashes. First came the sight of Froome dropping his broken bike, after he got back up on his feet and ran for 50 seconds. Who could have imagined? The yellow jersey wearer, a two-time Tour winner, running as if he was in a triathlon transition zone through the still cheering and shocked masses. He stopped to resume cycling only when the neutral service gave him a spare, but ill-fitting, bike. Finally, his Sky team car reached him to provide a better bike.Then as Mollema raced ahead, the rivals he, Froome and Porte had worked so hard to drop caught up with the chaos, only to sweep by Froome and Porte, who finished 19th and 25th respectively. Meanwhile, Belgian rider Thomas De Gendt (Lotto-Soudal) won the stage.But the race jury overturned the provisional results and declared a new race leader in Yates, who began the stage in second place overall. Froome and Porte were awarded the same finishing time as Mollema, who placed 10th at 5:05, and Froome was officially put back into first place overall with a lead of 47 seconds on Yates and 54 seconds on Colombian Nairo Quintana (Movistar). As for Porte, he was up from 14th to 11th overall -- but still at 2:22 to Froome.Froome: Expect the unexpected at the TourYates welcomed the overturn. I dont want to take the jersey like that, he said. Id rather take it with my legs and not a crash in a bad situation. If I was in the same situation in the yellow jersey, Id want the same outcome.Froome did not attend the post stage media zone or news conference that is normally required of the yellow jersey wearer. But he spoke to French Television and released a statement on the Team Sky website: Mount Ventoux always throws up something different, and today was no exception. Obviously its really unfortunate what happened in the last couple of kilometres, but ultimately I think common sense has prevailed and the commissaries have come to the right decision -- so Id like to thank them for that. You always have to expect the unexpected at the Tour, and Ive said all along that this would be my biggest challenge yet. Now Im just looking forward to tomorrows time trial.On Friday, the Tour will resume, as it always does after a crisis, for the Stage 13 time trial, 37.5 kilometers from Bourg-Saint-Andéol to La Caverne du Pont DArc. But as Froome, Porte and the rest of the peloton continue on, the understandable and justified calls for crowds to be controlled must be addressed.A lauded trait of the Tour is the interaction between riders and fans who flock in the hundreds of thousands to watch the worlds biggest bike race. But for years, concerns have been brewing at increasing levels of extreme behavior. The reasons have been many. Fan excitement is one. In the 1993, as Italian Giuseppe Guerini (Telekom) was soloing toward victory on the prestigious Alpine finish at lAlpe dHuez, he was bowled over by a spectator who was standing in the middle of the road to take his photo. Guerini still won the stage and the offending fans, to his credit, apologized the next day.However, in recent years, the frenzy has seen more violent intent. Sentiment toward American Lance Armstrong during his reign as the Tour champion from 1999 to 2005 turned from bitter to extremely volatile as suspicion grew that he was doping. Once encouraging messages of support -- that were either verbalized or painted on the road -- became direct personal insults. Suspicion that Armstrong doped eventually proved correct after he confessed and was banned for life in 2012. He was also stripped of his tour titles.Porte: I dont know what they are going to do.Froome and Porte have both experienced the ugly and angry tone of the crowd, as have other riders. In 2013, when Froome won at Mont Ventoux, after dropping Quintana, he rode to victory through a chorus of boos and jeers. Quintana was otherwise greeted by cheers. Just last year, Froome had urine thrown at him, and Porte was punched during a stage.Even on Thursday, when Froome received his yellow jersey, he was also greeted by boos. Porte was at a loss to explain how the crowds became so uncontrollable. I dont know what [race organizers] are going to do. They need to do something about it because its not fair, Porte said. Its not really the motor bikes, is it? Its the crowds. They are in your face the whole time, pushing order, and at the top there, that was just crazy. We were 23 seconds in front and next thing for something so silly, you know everyone is back on us.De Gendt called for action to be taken: There were a lot of people in the last kilometer, he said. They should do something about that. There was not even a place for one moto.Trouble is, after Froomes plea for respect last week clearly fell on the deaf ears, one cant help but ask: What is the solution? Gump Worsley Stars Jersey . Each of Houstons starters scored in double figures as the Rockets improved to 2-0 against the Spurs this season, with both victories coming on the road. They also moved within 3 1/2 games of San Antonio (22-7) for the lead the Southwest Division. Ben Bishop Jersey . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. http://www.thedallasstarshockey.com/mike-modano-hockey-jersey/ .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. NORMAN, Okla. -- For the past five years, Oklahoma coaches have had few worries about who would lead the Sooners offensive line. First All-American Gabe Ikard, then Ty Darlington starred at center and the two erudite linemen proved to be vital cogs on teams that won a pair of Big 12 Conference titles.Oklahoma will start this season at No. 3 in The Associated Press rankings and is considered a serious contender for a spot in the College Football Playoff for the second straight year, but one of the primary questions for the Sooners will be how quickly a young offensive line can develop and open the way for stars such as quarterback Baker Mayfield and running backs Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon.Much will depend on junior Jonathan Alvarez, who is moving from guard to take Darlingtons place at center, and on the two other returning starters, sophomores Dru Samia and Orlando Brown. Their teammates and coaches believe they will be up to the challenge.Its been good so far, Mayfield said. Jon did a good job of watching Ty. Ty was a very smart player, always knew what he was doing, so he got to watch Ty for a couple of years. Now hes on his own, hes controlling his own path now. Hes done a good job of putting us in a good situation.It also helps to have Orlando and Dru at the tackles, to have experience, too, so we can kind of surround those younger guards with experience and try to teach them the ropes.The 6-foot-3, 308-pound Alvarez played center in high school and started at that position against Tulsa last season. He has the added benefit of being able to pick the brain of Darlington, who remains on the Oklahoma campus, about the nuances of playing center.Last year, when I was at guard, I still always heard what he was telling the centers, Alvarez said. Ty would always explain to me why he was making these calls. It helped me get my train of thought going a lot more. It helped me prepare the way I need to.As important as Alvarez will be to the Sooners fortunes, so, too, are Samia and Brown, who started as freshmen at right and left tackle. The 6-foot-8, 340-pound Brown is imposing physically, much like his father, the former NFL lineman by the same name, while the 6-foot-4 Samia has bulked up 30 pounds this season to 305 pounds, something offensive line ccoach Bill Bedenbaugh said will make a huge difference in his effectiveness. Esa Lindell Stars Jersey. Bedenbaughs primary concern is figuring out who will play on the outside of the Sooners line and developing depth. Several candidates have emerged during preseason practices, including junior college transfer Ben Powers, redshirt freshmen Bobby Evans and Cody Ford and redshirt sophomore Alex Dalton.Junior Christian Daimler (who has yet to play in three years with the Sooners), redshirt sophomore Quinn Mittermeier and seniors Erick Wren, Sam Grant and Jamal Danley also could figure into the mix.Alvarez said the Sooners experienced linemen want to help teach the newcomers, but at some point, they have to pick it up on their own and figure it out. They cant have somewhere all the time. I cant tell them what to do. They have to figure out what to do on their own.Bedenbaugh wasnt satisfied with the lines performance in Oklahomas first preseason scrimmage, calling it very average and too inconsistent. He is aware hes under pressure to have a solid group of linemen ready for the Sooners opener against No. 15 Houston on Sept. 3. Two weeks after that, No. 6 Ohio State will visit Norman in a much-anticipated game.Ideally youd like to have a two-deep, Benenbaugh said. (But) that doesnt happen very often. What youd like to have is eight guys, a starting five and then a tackle that can play both positions and a backup center. I dont know how its going to work out. Were still young and inexperienced so well see how it shakes out. . But if we can get eight guys and some guys can roll, then well be fine.Having good line depth is critical for the fast-paced offense preferred by offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley.It gives you more confidence to do it as a coach, Riley said. It gives you the confidence if a guy gets nicked up here or there that you can keep going on with it. ... We were lucky last year. Injury-wise, we stayed pretty healthy until the last game. The depth did show up a little bit there. It was a major factor in that last game. Itll be a major factor at some point this year, too.---AP college football website: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '