01-08-2020, 12:52 AM
TORONTO - It appears Canadian international defender Doneil Henry is getting his wish to play in Europe, only not in Cyprus as originally thought. Allen Leavell Jersey .Two sources confirmed Saturday the 21-year-old from Brampton, Ont., is headed to West Ham United in the English Premier League, pending a work permit hearing Monday.The move would cap a strange year for Henry, whose sale to a Cypriot club was shrouded in secrecy for months.Toronto confirmed in August that Henry had been sold to the Cyprus club in March/April, only to be loaned back to the MLS team. Neither Toronto nor Henry would initially name the team, later identified as Apollon Limassol.At the end of the MLS season, Toronto said Henrys loan period was up but could be extended.Henry, who has made no secret of his desire to play in Europe, spent 2 1/2 weeks training with West Ham prior to the 2014 MLS season.It was awesome, Henry said in March. I really enjoyed it. They were great guys, great coaching staff. They were really welcoming.The time at West Ham was facilitated by then-Toronto manager Ryan Nelsen, who captained Blackburn Rovers under Sam Allardyce, who now manages the Hammers.Nelsen, who was fired by Toronto at the end of August, was a big Henry backer.Hell go to the top, Nelsen predicted in May. I had to buy Sam Allardyce a couple of bottles of red just to get him back, to tell you the truth.No hell go to the top, theres no question about that. Hes got all the tools.Englands Daily Mail, quoting its own sources, said Allardyce believes Henry is raw, but talented. The Mail says West Ham is looking for a replacement for New Zealand defender Winston Reid, whose contract is expiring.A source told The Canadian Press that top Portuguese side Porto was also interested in Henry.Toronto FC had no comment on the West Ham move. Henry was the first player from Toronto FCs academy to graduate to the first team when he signed a pro contract in August 2010.He went on to play 70 league games, making 19 starts this season. But rookie Nick Hagglund was favoured as the campaign wore on. While athletically gifted, Henry made a few costly mistakes. West Ham stood fourth in the Premier League after play Saturday with a 9-4-4 record.Henrys quest for a work permit will not be helped by Canadas current world ranking of No. 122. But he has figured prominently under current national team manager Benito Floro.Should Henry join West Ham, hed follow in the top-tier footsteps of such former Canadian internationals as Jim Brennan (Norwich City), Craig Forrest (West Ham, Chelsea, Ipswich), Tomasz Radzinski (Everton, Fulham) and Paul Stalteri (Tottenham).Terry Dunfield, David Edgar, Junior Hoilett, Simeon Jackson, Jimmy Nicholl and Frank Yallop also played with clubs in Englands top division.Hoilett, who has yet to declare his international allegiance, currently plays for Queens Park Rangers in the Premier League.Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter Steve Francis Jersey . Robert Griffin III, the No. 2 pick in the 2012 draft, set numerous rookie records and was picked AP Offensive Rookie of the Year for the Washington Redskins. Sleepy Floyd Jersey . Calgary finished atop the CFL standings with a 14-4 record and earned the right to host the West Division final at McMahon Stadium on Nov. https://www.cheaprocketsonline.com/867z-...ckets.html .Hammel pitched inside more and it helped him get into the seventh inning as the Colorado Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 3-2 on Friday night.PLA DADET, France -- On the last of four Pyrenees ascents, Rafal Majka winked at a French TV camera and tugged playfully at a motorcycles antenna. Even this late in the Tour de France, the Polish rider made winning look easy as he took Stage 17 on Wednesday. For Vincenzo Nibali, the second ride in the mountains on Frances border with Spain was more serious. "The Shark" nibbled yet more seconds away from several of his closest challengers, and the yellow jersey that he has worn for all but two days of the race seemed to fit just a little more tightly ahead of the finish Sunday in Paris. Nibali was even businesslike with his own prime minister, imploring him not to get too ahead of himself in celebration. "Its true that I received a text message from Matteo Renzi, who invited me to Chigi Palace to celebrate my victory," the cautious Sicilian said about the premiers official residence. "I replied that only after winning -- if I do so -- Ill be able to say that Ill be present." The 124.5-kilometre (77-mile) trek Wednesday was the shortest stage in this years Tour. It covered three hard Category 1 ascents from Saint-Gaudens and a final push up to Pla dAdet ski station above the town of Saint-Lary-Soulan. Majka, who also won Stage 14 in the Alps, again showed hes the best climber in this Tour and tightened his grip on the polka dot jersey awarded to the races King of the Mountains. Giovanni Visconti got the action going on the last climb with a solo breakaway with about nine kilometres (5 1/2 miles) left, but could not hold off Majka. Visconti, who also is Sicilian, was second, 29 seconds back, and Nibali was third, 46 seconds behind. With a last Pyrenean day ahead Thursday, Majka could ensure that he takes the red-dot jersey home. His closest rival for it when the stage started was Spains Joaquim Rodriguez, who swatted the air in frustration at Majka when the Pole broke away on the last climb. Majka said he felt "comfort" in the last five kilometres in part because hed been saving up energy a day earlier by riding easier. He finished in a bunch 24 1/2 minutes behind Australian teammate Michael Rogers, who won Stage 16. By Wednesday, "I felt really, really good in the last climb," Majka said, after tapping his chest, thrusting his arms skyward and shouting in joy at the victory. "For me, when there are a lot of climbs, its the best." There was a time when seemingly effortless victories smacked of something more sinister at the Tour: the use of performance-enhancers. Few know the scars of cyclings doping past more than Majkas own manager at the Tinkoff-Saxo Bank team, Bjarne Riis. Once a national hero in Denmarkk after winning the 1996 Tour, he admitted to using blood-booster EPO more than a decade later -- and was vilified for it. James Harden Jersey. He laid low for a while, but then returned to the pro cycling world. "I promised Bjarne today that I would win the stage," said Majka. The echoes of doping resonated Wednesday on the grassy Pyrenean mountainside: The last times that Saint-Lary-Soulan hosted Tour stage finishes were in 2001 and 2005 -- won by Lance Armstrong and teammate George Hincapie. Those wins were later stripped because of doping. Their names have been crossed out in the official Tour history book. Cycling has made great strides in fighting doping with enhanced blood and urine testing, along with the biological passport program, but few experts would claim that the peloton today is entirely clean. Nibali, who has called himself a "flag-bearer of anti-doping", made his latest case to become the first Italian to win cyclings showcase race in 16 years -- since Marco Pantani, who was once convicted for doping. Nibali gained just under a minute on four of his closest rivals. Second-placed Alejandro Valverde of Spain, who made a valiant recovery on the last ascent to avoid even more damage, now trails by 5 minute, 26 seconds. The exception was Jean-Christophe Peraud of France, who hugged closely on the leaders back wheel and finished fourth. With his performance, the 37-year-old Frenchman made it an even closer race for the podium spots. He is fourth overall, 6:08 behind Nibali, but just eight seconds slower than fellow Frenchman Thibaut Pinot, in third. American Tejay van Garderen, in sixth, also lost about a minute to Nibali and trails by 10:19. It came a day after his hopes for a podium spot were dealt a big blow when he lost several minutes to the other aspirants for a top-three finish in Paris. "Yesterday was a pity, it was an off day," the BMC leader said. A podium spot is still possible, he added, "but it will be hard." Stage 18s finale in the Pyrenees takes the pack on a 145.5-kilometre (90-mile) loop from Pau to Hautacam, featuring two ascents that are so hard that they defy cyclings ranking system -- one of them an uphill finish. Then its a flat stage heading northward Friday before an individual time-trial a day later, and then whats likely to be the largely ceremonial ride for the yellow jersey in Stage 21 on Sunday to the Champs-Elysees in Paris for the finish of the races 101st edition. While well-positioned to be in yellow then, Nibali was still attacking Wednesday. "I preferred to go and gain a few more seconds and to be even more serene, just in case something could happen," he said. ' ' '