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Australia 3 for 288 (Smith 110*, Renshaw 71, Handscomb 64*) v PakistanScorecard and ball-by-ball detailsIt is hard enough for touring teams at the Gabba without providing instances of charity to the hosts. Luis Gonzalez Jersey . On a night when floodlights and the pink ball ushered in Brisbanes biggest ever non-Ashes Test crowd, Pakistan allowed the throng of 26,343 to salute a century for Australias captain Steven Smith with a pair of contrasting reprieves.The first, in the final over before the tea break, came via an unexpectedly sharp leg break from Azhar Ali and an equally surprising fumble behind the stumps by Sarfraz Ahmed. Several hours later and Mohammad Amir fizzed the second new ball across Smith to coax the thinnest of edges. This time Sarfraz took it crisply - yet it was a nick so fine no appeal was made.The fact Amir took the second new ball at all felt almost as remarkable as his return to the Pakistan side from an infamous jail sentence. Having bowled tidily early, his right knee had plugged in the Gabba outfield and seemed to have suffered an injury akin to that inflicted on Simon Jones in 2002. Yet Amir found a way to return, in a show of resilience Pakistan must now emulate collectively in order to find a way back into this first innings.Smiths innings was the centrepiece of Australias day, equal parts patient and punchy, but it would not have been possible without a pair of tremendous supporting hands from the young batsmen Matt Renshaw and Pete Handscomb. Renshaws discipline in early stands with David Warner and then Smith blunted the new ball in the hands of Pakistans pace attack and also compelled Yasir Shah to bowl a high volume of overs early in the match.While Wahab Riaz was able to find Renshaws outside edge before he could go on to three figures, Smith and Handscomb then fought their way through to the whole final session with hope for more runs on resumption. Handscomb did not always look comfortable but fought his way through, at the same time showing no desire to depart from the batting methods that have served him well at domestic level.Renshaw played an exemplary innings, showing his usual sound judgment around the off stump but also showing an ability to hit with power through midwicket and down the ground. In doing so he invited further comparisons with another tall Queensland opening batsman in Matthew Hayden - Australias selectors will dream of more such performances.There had been some swing for Amir and Rahat Ali in the early overs, but Renshaw and Warner did very well to cover any movement and also punish any errors in line or length - in Warners case he started by punching Rahat to the cover fence first ball. Wahabs greater pace was unable to make much of an impression, and Misbah was left to call on Yasir as early as the 11th over of the innings. Bounce was plentiful even if the Gabba pitch will likely quicken up in pace on day two, but Yasirs early overs were characterised by a somewhat odd tactic - attacking the leg stumps of Renshaw and Warner with a 6-3 leg side field. For the most part the batsmen took advantage of this, the only semblance of a chance coming when Yasir strayed wide of the off stump and Warner edged fractionally short of slip.However Amir was brought back in the lead-up to the break and was able to pin Warner as he shuffled across the stumps to try to work the ball to the leg side. Goulds finger was raised and Warner did not review; ball-tracking showed the ball would have clipped the outside of the leg stump.Khawaja got started with one neat leg glance, but he was soon to be on his way when he lifted a Yasir delivery on the pads directly into the midriff of Misbah. Renshaw finished the session with a boundary from Azhar, before finding more gaps when play resumed - leaping out once to flay Yasir over cover.Smith also played admirably straight, refusing to be tempted into a surfeit of deliveries angled across him by the Pakistani left-armers, and the pair were looking increasingly secure until Wahab found a modicum of away movement to coax an edge from Renshaws bat.Coming in at No. 5, Handscomb again demonstrated his idiosyncrasies, staying deep in his crease to the pacemen while also trying to dance down the wicket to Yasir. There were a few nervy moments for him before the break, but Smiths passing of 50 gave the hosts some cause for optimism as the match crept into the floodlit night.Intriguingly Misbah resumed with twin spin after dinner, and Smith and Handscomb were duly able to get back into rhythm. The genuine concern for Amir left the tourists a bowler short, with Rahat also looking sluggish at various points. The second new ball brought Amirs welcome return and the aforementioned unappealing edge from Smith, and after a protracted period in the 90s, the Australian captain was able to drive down the ground for Test hundred No. 16.Of all the surprises thrown up by the first nights pink ball cricket in Brisbane, a wicketless final session was surely the most startling. No-one will be more grateful for that than the No. 6 Nic Maddinson, who can now look forward to batting in sunlight on day two - whenever Smith and Handscomb exit the stage that is. Josh James Jersey . Thats not a comment on the suspension that banished the Portland Winterhawks general manager and coach from his Western Hockey League teams bench for most of the 2012-13 season. Custom Jeff Bagwell Jersey .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. http:///...rsey-large-556y.html . It might not have mattered. While the Dodgers are preparing for the playoffs, the Padres showed their future has promise behind two rookies. The slide in NFL ratings could be as much a trend as a blip.The presidential campaign, the growing move away from cable, the increase in live streaming sports and competition from compelling baseball have all been given as reasons for a double-digit decline in viewership through the first five weeks.All legitimate explanations, experts say. But one of the main selling points of live sports to the networks -- theyre appointment viewing that most people dont like to record and watch later -- could be eroding, as the fan base fragments, even for Americas most popular sport.Its not to say that less than the majority of people are going to sit down and watch the game at a certain time, said Dennis Deninger, who teaches sports management and sports media courses at Syracuse. Its just to say its retreating, and that retreat puts into question the value thats been attached to TV rights that were locked up for the long-term.According to Sports Media Watch , viewership for last weeks games was down 26 percent for Monday night, 15 percent for Sunday night (against the second presidential debate) and 20 percent for Thursday night. Overall, for the first four weeks of the season, ratings across the league were down 11 percent.The decline was concerning enough that league executives recently sent an internal memo to the NFL media committee, comparing this years slide to a lesser decline during the 2000 election cycle and conceding that, While our partners, like us, would have liked to see higher ratings, they remain confident in the NFL and unconcerned about a long-term issue.The current TV contracts, worth between $8.5 billion to more than $15 billion each, expire in 2021 and 2022. What the networks are willing to pay when its time to renegotiate will be the best indicator of how big an impact Americas changing viewing habits have had on the NFL, and whether pro football remains the nations undisputed entertainment king.But theres still a lot of uncertainty over how new technology will impact viewership. Best example: Yes, you can live stream Thursday night games on Twitter, but what if your connection is shaky? And how much better will that connection get over the next five years?There will be some instances where the composition of (the media deals) will change vastly, and others wheree theyll continue to engage with traditional partners, said Adam Jones, the director of PwC Sports Advisory Services. Doug Rader Jersey. All the deals may not yield the same premiums. But we could see a shift in the actual structures of the deals, from traditional rights fees to a smaller base with more digital-based bonuses and incentives on the back end.PwC does not talk about specific sports leagues, though in a recent newsletter , it predicted a moderation in growth of rights fees for North American sports over the next five years.Though Jones says it will take time to see if this seasons sports ratings are cyclical or more long-term, it should be acknowledged that the market is not limitless when it comes to consumption through traditional broadcast.None of this is to say the NFL is hurting. That same league memo that recognized this years ratings issues said overall NFL viewership has increased 27 percent over the past 15 years. In 2015, the NFL accounted for 63 of the top 100 TV shows. Even with recent legal troubles for daily fantasy -- which could also be partially responsible for the ratings dip -- fantasy football is still considered a growth area for the NFL. The current numbers also dont take into account how many people are streaming the games.Deninger says giving viewers more options is the NFLs best long-term bet. He says the league, to some extent, has to feel some of the same effects as all other televised entertainment products -- the increase in nonlinear viewing. He said that according to comscore.com , Google sites that include YouTube draw 182 million unique users every month, all of whom are turning into clips of things they want to watch, when they want to watch them. Other websites post similar stats.The nonlinear sites where you go select whatever you want, they arent complaining about any drop off, he said. More and more, people are not waiting for things to be delivered to them, one way or another.How well the NFL bucks that trend -- or goes along with it -- will help shape the ratings and, from there, the dollar signs for the leagues next round of media-rights deal.AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '
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