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Jack Bird has pledged his long-term allegiance to Cronulla and is confident fellow backline aces Valentine Holmes and Ben Barba will also remain at the NRL premiers.Bird and Holmes are among the hottest properties off contract at the end of next season, while Barbas future is up in the air following his 12-match suspension for testing positive to cocaine after the Sharks historic grand final triumph in October.Barba is said to be the target of cashed-up rugby clubs in Europe and Japan after being granted a release from his Cronulla contract, but Bird delivered some welcome news for Sharks fans on Wednesday.Obviously hes a big loss, but Im sure hell be back during the year at some time and hes got all our support behind him, Bird said at the Auckland Nines launch in Sydney.Bird is hoping to settle his own future sooner rather than later and says as long as the Sharks table a reasonable offer hell almost certainly stay put.I just want to be comfortable where I am. Im happy to stay at the Sharks. I want to stay at the Sharks, he said.Birds loyalty pledge comes as a raft of rival clubs circle, with Newcastle and Gold Coast understood to be willing to throw huge money at the NSW State of Origin representative.Bird admits money is a factor but so too is camaraderie, with the rep ace keen to remain alongside his grand final teammates, including housemate and fellow young gun Holmes.Its a short career. Youre going to take as much as you can get to have a good career and be set for after footy, said Bird, who also harbours long-term captaincy aspirations at the Sharks.But Im not really demanding that much, to be honest. Im not that kind of guy. I just like playing footy if I got offered the minimum wage Id probably play.Bird is even willing to give Holmes first crack at the fullback position left vacant - for at least three months - by Barba.Im happy at centre. To be honest, it doesnt really bother me (where I play) besides winger, he said.But in saying that, anywhere to be around the ball I guess. I enjoy the halves but Im not much of an organiser. Im more of a runner.Bird collected Holmes from the airport following his return last week from NFL trials in America and is convinced the electrifying winger has the talent to make the code switch.Hed be a class wide receiver, to be honest. Hes got the speed, he can catch the ball, Bird said.But I dont think hes going anywhere to be honest. Hell be at the Sharks for a long time.Julian Brandt Jersey .ca. Kerry, Just watched the shootout in the Coyotes/Leafs game and I have to ask, why was the James van Riemsdyk goal allowed to count? All of the video replays we were shown on TV were inconclusive about whether the puck had entirely crossed the line or not. Marvin Plattenhardt Jersey . But by the time the game started, the Toronto Raptors forward felt even worse. 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The head of USA Boxing came out swinging Tuesday with an open letter to Tyson -- a former Olympic hopeful himself -- that accuses the former heavyweight champion of trying to poach fighters who might be candidates for the U.The NCAA will distribute millions of dollars in March Madness money to member schools as a reward for academic performance by athletes, starting in 2019-20.The NCAA announced Thursday that the Division I Board of Directors and NCAA Board of Governors approved the change to the revenue distribution model. The money will come from the NCAAs multimedia rights deal for the mens basketball tournament.The NCAA agreed to an eight-year extension of that contract with CBS and Turner this year. The agreement now runs through 2032 and ups payment to the NCAA to about $1.1 billion per year, an increase of about $330 million annually. For the first six years of the new distribution, 75 percent of the increase in rights fees will be used to create academic distribution units similar to the units that are earned by conferences based on team performance in the NCAA Division I mens basketball tournament.After the first six years, the NCAA said, the percentage of growth allocated to the academic unit will equal the percentage applied to all other distributions.The creation of an academic distribution unit underscores the NCAAs commitment to putting its money where its mission is -- with students, NCAA President Mark Emmert said in a statement.Academic units will be awarded to schools that earn:- An overall, single-year, all-sport Academic Progress Rate of 985 or higher. The APR is used to hold schools accountable for the academic progress of their student-athletes by measuring eligibility and retention of each player for each academic term.- An overall all-sport graduation rate of 90 percent or higher.- A federal graduation rate that is at least 13 percentage points higher than the federal graduation rate of the student body at that school.The academic unit revenue, like athletic performance units revenue, will be paid to a conference and distributed in a manner agreed upon by its members.University of Colorado Chancellor Philip DiStefano, who co-chaired the working group that conceived the academic unit, said the formula should allow for all schools, no matter the resources or admissions standards, to have a realistic chance of earning an academic distribution.DiStefano said any concern that incentivizing academic performance with payments could lead to misconduct or schools steering athletes toward less strenuous course work is outweighed by the benefits.When you do things thaat are bold, you certainly take a risk, DiStefano told the AP.dddddddddddd I would look at it as were incentivizing institutions to do better and to make sure that more students are graduating.The amount of money in an academic unit is impossible to precisely project because it will be determined by how many schools qualify. The NCAA projects about 66 percent of the 349 Division I schools will qualify for an academic unit. Based on that, the NCAA estimates a unit could be worth $55,678 in 2019-20 and $111,356 the next year. By 2031-32, the NCAA projects each academic unit could be worth $541,368.The Knight Commission, a watchdog group that promotes reforms in college athletics, said it applauded the NCAAs decision to reward academic performance with revenue. The commission first called for a similar policy 15 years ago.It is critical to align the incentives in college sports with educational values, said former University System of Maryland Chancellor Brit Kirwan, who is the outgoing Knight Commission chairman.Ramogi Huma, Executive Director the National College Players Association advocacy group, said the new revenue distribution is another way for the NCAA to avoid sending money directly to athletes.This wont help graduation rates because NCAA sports still turns a blind eye to its own studies showing players are forced to spend 40 hours per week or more in their sport alone, Huma said in an email to the AP. Instead, the players have called for a portion of new TV money to be put in an educational trust fund so players have resources and more incentives to complete their degree. Graduation rates would soar.Huma added the NCAAs plan would reward schools that already have high graduation rates.Either way, this money was going to go to the colleges which will, in turn, waste it as they have always done, he said.There are no restrictions on how the money can be used, but the conferences are being asked to keep track of it and the NCAA committee on academics will monitor the usage. DiStefano said the hope is the money will go back into academics.This is a first, DiStefano said. Weve not really incentivized with colleges and universities based upon academics. This is the first step. I think there are other steps we could certainly take. ' ' '