PARIS - Scuffed balls, scratched balls, balls switched mid-game. Shaun Dion Hamilton Jersey . Ball-doctoring isnt only an issue for the NFL, which is investigating a report that the New England Patriots used underinflated footballs in the AFC championship game while beating the Indianapolis Colts 45-7.A look at dirty tricks in other ball sports:CRICKET: Ball-tampering is so common in cricket that some of the sports most famous names have argued it should be legalized.Spitting sugary saliva on the ball, gouging at its leather covering with fingernails or biting it, picking at its seams, scuffing it with dirt, bottle tops or sandpaper are some of the ploys used by teams over the years to alter the bounce of the ball and flight through the air to make it harder for batsmen to hit.In a 2010 interview with The Associated Press, former Pakistan bowler Sarfraz Nawaz said some cricketers even put glue on their trousers and shirt, and then it goes hard and scuffs the ball when they rub it against their doctored clothes.In a more recent example, South Africas Faf du Plessis was fined half his match fee in 2013 after he was caught on camera rubbing the ball on the zipper of his trouser pocket. The umpires changed the ball and, in an extremely rare punishment, awarded Pakistan five penalty runs.BASEBALL: Nippon Professional Baseball Commissioner Ryozo Kato resigned in 2013 to take responsibility after the Japanese leagues official ball was made to livelier — it would fly farther after being hit — without his knowing. Major League Baseball has outlawed spitballs since 1920, and pitchers have been repeatedly suspended for using pine tar and emery boards to alter the ball.TENNIS: At the 2013 Madrid Open, Anabel Medina Garrigues was filmed furiously scuffing new balls by rubbing them hard one after the other against her racket strings, apparently to make them slower and take some sting out of the game of opponent Serena Williams.Williams won the match. Asked again this week about the incident, Williams said she didnt realize at the time what the Spaniard was doing. At the end of the day, whether the ball was fluffy or slow or fast, (the result) I think really depended on what I was able to do and how I was able to play.In a statement, the WTA said: Had the umpire witnessed the scuffing of the balls, the umpire would have instructed the player to stop.If the player did not stop, it could have led to a code violation, the WTA added.RUGBY: At the 2011 World Cup, England suspended two coaches for illegally switching balls during a 67-3 victory against Romania.Englands kicker, Jonny Wilkinson, was unhappy with what he felt were substandard match balls. England got into such a fret about his kicking problems that two support coaches swapped balls for two of Wilkinsons place kicks after tries were scored. The coaches were subsequently banned for one match each. Unless it is damaged, the ball used to score a try must also be used for the subsequent kick for two extra points.In his autobiography, Wilkinson claimed the match balls veered right.The organizers claim that all the balls are the same, but theyre not, Wilkinson said. Its not exactly surprising that I wouldnt want a ball that flies miles from where its supposed to.OTHER SPORTS: Badmintons code of conduct bars players from deliberately tampering with the shuttle to affect its flight or speed.In table tennis, players have tampered with their rackets to get more grip, spin and speed on the ball, applying banned racket-enhancing substances that go by various names — speed glue, booster or tuner.In Premier League soccer, supplier Nike provides each team with 120 match balls for each season. One ball is used per game and match officials check before kickoff that it is correctly inflated. Players can ask the referee to look at the ball and have it replaced if they believe it is incorrectly inflated. DaRon Payne Jersey . Catch all the action on TSN2 and TSN GO at 9pm et/6pm pt. San Antonio took the series lead Monday night with a 122-105 home victory in Game 1. The Spurs used a balanced scoring attack and clamped down defensively late in the third quarter to claim the win. Wholesale Redskins Jerseys . Despite Barcelona showing the same vulnerability in defence, Messis best performance since returning from a lengthy injury layoff ensured that his side bounced back from a defeat by Valencia in the previous round. http://www.cheapredskinsjerseyschina.com/geron-christian-jersey/ .com) - A pair of Eastern Conference rivals will meet on Saturday as D.CHICAGO - Fans and friends paid tribute to legendary Chicago Cubs slugger Ernie Banks on Saturday, recalling how he helped break baseballs colour barrier during a Hall of Fame career in which he won over teammates and an entire city with the unwavering optimism he brought to the game and life.At a memorial service in a Chicago church, the buoyant man known as Mr. Cub was remembered for his character as much as his accomplishments on the ballfield, including his 512 career home runs. Speaker after speaker recalled Banks unflagging spirit and good cheer — he enthusiastically predicted each spring that his team would win the pennant — as well as his humility and care for others.The Rev. Jesse Jackson said Banks disarmed adversaries with optimism and branded goodwill. Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Banks was a humble hero who taught younger generations how to play the game of life. Fellow Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins said the unassuming, joyful Banks strove to be a good teammate, not a star.Billy Williams, another Hall of Famer, recalled animated conversations that he and Banks would have while driving to Wrigley Field on game days.I never did see him read a book, but he knew about everything, Williams marveled.Saturday would have been Banks 84th birthday, and several speakers called on the crowd to celebrate his life, not mourn his passing. Banks, a two-time MVP, military veteran and winner of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, died Jan. 23 of a heart attack. His coffin, which was in front of the altar, was draped in a banner emblazoned with his jersey number, 14. A choir performed a rousing version of This Little Light of Mine.Jackson, exhorting everyone to stand, led a thunderous round of applause to celebrate Banks birthday. In the hush that followed, the civil rights leader noted it was also the 150th anniversary of Congress passing the 13th amendment abolishing slavery.Smiling faces can sometimes conceal whats deep within, Jackson said, describing Banks cheerfulness as a thermostat that helped control the temperature of his times. The work of Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. was possible because of Banks, Jackson said. We rode on Ernies shoulders.Banks was the Cubs first black player when he joined the team in 1953, six years after Jackie Robinnson broke baseballs colour barrier. Tim Settle Jersey. Emanuel noted that in Banks early years with the Cubs, he couldnt stay at some of the same hotels or eat at the same restaurants as his white teammates because of segregation. He suffered the same racial taunts and indignities as other black players of his time, but if he ever got angry, he never seemed to show it. In a 19-year career full of amazing statistics, one of the most remarkable was that he was never ejected from a game.Roosevelt Johnson, 45, arrived at Chicagos Fourth Presbyterian Church at 5:30 a.m. and was first in line.I wanted to pay my respects to a true icon of the sport, said Johnson, of Zion.Chicago native Estelle Martin, 56, said she loved to play baseball as a girl and collect baseball cards. I was a tomboy. Ernie Banks was my favourite. He was everybodys favourite, she said.Banks connection to the city was evident inside the church, where the pews were filled with mourners of all ages. There were young fans who knew him only from grainy video clips and from his appearances at the ballpark after he retired, always with a smile, always chatting with fans.But there were also older men, particularly older black men who remembered the days when Banks and others made history. While he wasnt the first African American to play in the majors, Banks was the first with the Cubs in what was one of the most segregated cities in the United States.Banks was playing for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues when the Cubs purchased his contract for $10,000. He made his major league debut at shortstop and three days later hit his first home run.With his play, particularly in the first chapters of his career when he was hitting home runs at a clip that no shortstop had ever hit them before, he simply won over a city.After Saturdays service, many other Chicagoans got the chance to say farewell. They doffed their hats in respect as a procession carried Mr. Cub past his statue at Daley Plaza downtown. It then made its way up Lake Shore Drive to Wrigley Field, where Banks so often called out what became his signature phrase, Lets play two!___Associated Press writer Don Babwin contributed to this report.___Carla K. Johnson can be reached at https://twitter.com/CarlaKJohnson Cheap Nike Buccaneers Jerseys Cheap Nike Packers Jerseys Cheap Nike Vikings Jerseys Cheap Nike Lions Jerseys Cheap Nike Colts Jerseys Cheap Nike Texans Jerseys Cheap Nike Jaguars Jerseys Cheap Nike Dolphins Jerseys Cheap Nike Patriots Jerseys Cheap Nike Jets Jerseys Cheap Nike Browns Jerseys Cheap Nike Broncos Jerseys Cheap Nike Chiefs Jerseys Cheap Nike Bengals Jerseys Cheap Nike Steelers Jerseys Cheap Nike Titans Jerseys ' ' '