remained together for almost half the route before a group of 26

I keep a folder on my computer entitled Crimes Against Defending. In this folder, I collect examples of poor defensive play, poor marking from set pieces and any other offence against the art of defending. Yes, good defending is an art form - and it is on the verge of becoming extinct. Every weekend – regardless of what league or international fixture I watch – I see more and more examples of awful defending that leave me shaking my head in disbelief. Some of the best players in the world, both male and female, are committing defensive errors that would give a U14 coach a heart attack. The first example came in the German women’s 3-0 win over England at Wembley Stadium on Sunday. After England made a bright start to the game, rattling a shot off the German crossbar in the opening minute, they were forced to defend a German corner kick. England’s defensive set up was baffling, to say the least. Time and time again – even at the highest levels of the game – I continue to see teams setting up to defend corner kicks without putting defensive players on either post. I cannot understand the logic of this approach, and in the case of England, it led to them conceding the first goal of the game. The German corner kick was delivered into the perfect area; head height, level with the six-yard box and the first post. This position is ideal because the goalkeeper cannot come out to challenge the cross and a header from this distance is very difficult for the goalkeeper to save. If the header is good, she can only reasonably be expected to make a reaction save within four feet either side of her set position. England’s decision not to put a player on either post meant that Karen Bardsley, England’s goalkeeper, had to defend the entire 24-foot width of her goal on her own – against a header from six yards out. The red shaded area in the picture below just highlights what a difficult task this is for Bardsley. (Click here for enlarged photo) In training, if uncontested crosses were whipped into this area for attackers to head home, goalkeepers the world over would be furious. They would be conceding goal after goal without much hope of making a save. In this example, the ball actually came off of England defender Alex Scott’s head before nestling into the bottom right corner of England’s goal – exactly the position where a defender should have been. Had there been a defender there, it would have only required a side-foot clearance and the goal would have been saved. How this would have affected the eventual outcome of the game is impossible to say – Germany were clinical and full value for their 3-0 win – but to concede a goal that early in a game against one of the best teams in the world is a recipe for disaster. One positive to come out of the game for England was that it was watched by a crowd of over 45,000 - a fantastic turnout for a women’s friendly. Another example that went into my Crimes Against Defending folder this weekend came in Crystal Palace’s 3-1 win over Liverpool. When did defending corner kicks become about turning your back on the ball and wrapping your arms around the attacker, rather than about heading the ball away from danger? Look at the foul being committed by Crystal Palace’s Brede Hangeland on Liverpool’s Martin Skrtel, pictured below: (Click here for enlarged photo) If this sort of defending occurred anywhere else on the pitch, it would immediately be called for a foul. Yet referees everywhere allow this to go unpunished in the penalty area. The only way to remedy this type of defending is for referees to award a penalty kick for this type of foul. A strong argument can be made that Hangeland is denying Skrtel an obvious goal-scoring opportunity – it is a header from eight yards out, after all. On the evidence of what I’m seeing every weekend, defending isn’t being taught to young players anymore, let alone to professional players. Awarding a penalty kick for clutching and grabbing in the penalty area will force players to do what they are supposed to do – play the ball rather than the man. Detroit Tigers Shirts . Anything less than gold for either nation is considered a disappointment. Yet for Switzerland, advancing to the semifinal might be a victory in itself. Detroit Tigers Pro Shop . They were expecting him there all along. The Pacers announced Friday night that George has been cleared "to return to normal basketball activity," a decision made three days after he was concussed in Game 2 of the Indiana-Miami series. https://www.cheaptigers.com/ . PETERSBURG, Fla. Fake Tigers Jerseys . Gomes drove in all three runs, including a go-ahead two-run homer in the eighth inning, and Cleveland rallied for a 3-2 win over the Chicago White Sox on Sunday. Tigers Jerseys 2020 . TSN Hockey Insiders Pierre LeBrun and Bob McKenzie both reported Thursday that there have been ongoing trade discussions between the Oilers and Los Angeles Kings over forward Sam Gagner.VITTORIO VENETO, Italy -- Stefano Pirazzi won the 17th stage of the Giro dItalia on Wednesday, the first professional victory of his career while Nairo Quintana retained the overall leaders pink jersey. Pirazzi made an obscene arm gesture as he crossed the finish line and was reduced to tears following his win. "It wasnt a nice gesture, Im sorry, forgive me," Pirazzi said. "But its been five years of anger, five years of criticism. As the days went by, my moral was going down. I was here to get this victory finally, that was the target. "I was unleashing all that. Five years of criticism is a lot for a young guy. I really had to deal with a lot. Today I reached a goal that I wanted since I was a young boy watching the Giro. Im very happy. Ill enjoy it and never forget this moment." Pirazzi, who had led from the breakaway, made his move with little more than a kilometre remaining and edged out Tim Wellens and Jay McCarthy in a sprint at the end of the 204-kilometre (127-mile) stage from Sarnonico to Vittorio Veneto. The peloton crossed the line 15:36 behind Pirazzi as the top overall standings were unchanged. Quintana remained 1:41 ahead of fellow Colombian Rigoberto Uran and 3:21 ahead of Cadel Evans, with Pierre Rolland only five seconds further back. Victorias Ryder Hesjedal, the 2012 Giro champion, finished 33rd in Wednesdays stage and was in ninth overall, 4:16 back of Quintana. Svein Tuft of Langley, B.C., was in 158th after finishing 144th in stage 17. Quintana had moved into pink after Tuesdays tough leg, which was marrred by confusion after some teams believed part of the route had been neutralized -- meaning the times for that section wouldnt count.dddddddddddd "In reality there is no controversy," Quintana said. "I know what happened. Theyre creating a story which isnt there. "It would be unjust (if they took time away from me). The organization said the race wasnt neutralized so why remove an advantage that I won?" The peloton remained together for almost half the route before a group of 26 riders managed to get away. After the previous tough stage -- where the cyclists had to deal not only with both the legendary Gavia and Stelvio climbs, but with snow and rain as well -- the peloton was happy to keep a steady pace and let the escape go. The best-placed rider in the break was Damiano Cunego, who was more than 48 minutes behind Quintana, and so the pink jersey group allowed the gap to go out to more than 12 minutes. Thomas De Gendt attacked from the breakaway on the approach to the last of three classified climbs, the ascent up the Muro di Ca del Poggio. Pirazzi followed and caught the Belgian cyclist near the summit, and they were soon joined by Wellens, McCarthy and Matteo Montaguti. There were attacks off the chasing group but the quintets advantage continued to grow and it swiftly became apparent they would not be caught before the finish. The Giro returns to the mountains in Thursdays 18th stage, a 171km (106-mile) leg from Belluno, with a summit finish up to Rifugio Panarotta. The race ends on Sunday in Trieste. ' ' '