Thomas Godoj Thread » chased stakes in Barbados Tridents and Jamaica Tallaw

ATLANTA -- Matt Kemp once believed he would spend his entire career with the Los Angeles Dodgers.Now that he has been traded twice in 19 months, Kemp is just excited somebody still wants him. He debuted Tuesday night for the Atlanta Braves, batting cleanup and playing left field three days after he was acquired from San Diego.I never, ever thought I was going to be traded, Kemp said before the game. I always thought I was going to be with the Dodgers.Kemp wrote Monday for The Players Tribune that the Braves were his favorite team as a kid. He mentioned some of the rocky times he had with the Dodgers, when his attitude suffered.Speaking with reporters before Tuesdays game, a 5-3 loss to the?Pittsburgh Pirates, Kemp indicated that he wanted to preempt notions that he isnt a team player.Its stuff thats out there, not all stuff that I agree with, he said. I dont want people here to wonder about me as a person. Im here to be a good teammate and to help lead these guys in the right direction. Im excited about this new journey.The Braves traded troubled outfielder Hector Olivera for $10.5 million and Kemp, who is earning $21.5 million this season and will make the same salary in each of the next three years.Kemps jersey number is 27. He received loud cheers, with several hundred fans giving him a standing ovation, as he was introduced before his first at-bat in the first inning. He?went 0-for-4 and ended the game with a strikeout.Kemp met with interim manager Brian Snitker a few hours before the game. Snitker wanted to assure his new slugger that the Braves are excited to have him under contract through the 2019 season.Atlanta has the worst overall record and the worst home mark in the major leagues this season. Ticket sales have plummeted. The teams marketing department offered a three-night special through Thursday: two outfield tickets for $7.?Under president of baseball operations John Hart and general manager John Coppolella, the franchise started a major rebuilding project about the same time the Dodgers dealt Kemp to San Diego before the 2015 season. In recent years, the Braves have traded Craig Kimbrel, Jason Heyward, Justin Upton, Evan Gattis, Andrelton Simmons, Melvin Upton Jr.?and Shelby Miller, and the team let Brian McCann leave as a free agent. The only everyday player brought in was right fielder Nick Markakis as a free agent, but the goal was to acquire prospects.Atlanta is excited about the arrival of shortstop Dansby Swanson, a former No. 1 overall draft pick acquired in the Miller deal, second baseman Ozzie Albies and several young pitchers as it moves into a new ballpark a few miles north of Turner Field next year.Getting Kemp makes the team feel more legitimate.Its like we told him: Were trying to do something big here. Were in the infancy stages of it, and we really want you to be a part of it, Snitker said. I think he can be.Snitker batted Kemp between first baseman Freddie Freeman and Markakis. That trio might not sound like much to contending teams, but Kemps arrival is considered a big upgrade for Atlanta, which ranks last in the majors in runs and homers.Itll help Nick. Itll help Freddie, Snitker said. It helps everybody when you get a guy like that, as weve seen over the course of time. When one of those guys gets going, it kind of relaxes everyone else and doesnt make them feel like they have to do too much.In 254 games with San Diego, Kemp hit .264 -- 28 points lower than his nine-season batting average for the Dodgers -- with 46 homers, 169 RBIs and 247 strikeouts.Its a beautiful city;. Its a beautiful place to be, Kemp said of San Diego. They treated me well.Now, Kemp says hes all-in with the Braves.I dont think the East Coast really knows that much about me, Kemp said. This is my introduction to them and to let them know what Im willing to do for this organization.Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.?New Balance Outlet Canada . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. New Balance Canada Sale . Vettel was 0.168 seconds faster than Red Bull teammate Mark Webber around the Suzuka circuit. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was two tenths of a second off Vettel. "The car balance is decent, but I think we can still improve," Vettel said. http://www.newbalancesalecanada.com/ . P.A. Parenteau scored early in the third period to help the Avs edge Toronto 2-1 on Tuesday night. Cory Sarich also scored for Colorado (3-0-0), which is off to its best ever start. New Balance Sale Canada . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. New Balance Online Sale Canada . Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck of the Vancouver Giants were each charged with assault causing bodily harm on Aug. 18, according to the B.C. court services.Ever since Carlos Brathwaites heroics in the World T20 final in April this year, West Indian fans have been waiting to celebrate their world-champion cricketers. They were denied an opportunity to do so during the tri-series against Australia and South Africa in June, after Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Darren Sammy and Andre Russell were left out of the team because of their absence from the WICBs List A tournament.This then is an opportunity for fans to celebrate with their winning stars in a tournament that also has a strong IPL influence and the best selection of overseas talent. From a West Indies perspective, here are four points of note for this season.Emerging playersWest Indies coach Phil Simmons told Trinidad & Tobago Newsday after CPL 2015 that, The tournament is good, but not enough young West Indian players came to the fore. Just the established stars and the overseas players and as coach I would have liked to see more from the young players. I hope that improves in next years competition.Unless the WICB changes its selection policy, or is disbanded in Julys CARICOM government meeting, most of the senior West Indies players could be excluded for a longer period. Thus, big performances in a platform like the CPL will be key for a few next-generation players looking to make a mark.One of them is 20-year-old wicketkeeper-batsman Nicholas Pooran [Barbados Tridents], who made his T20 debut against Guyana Amazon Warriors in the 2013 edition of the tournament. He showed his abilities in a knock of 143 against Australia at the 2014 Under-19 World Cup. He will return to competitive cricket for the first time since December 2014, following a recovery from a car accident that injured his left leg in January 2015. Pooran will have to build on his early potential as West Indies could do with more back-up options for their first-choice wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin.The tournament also presents an opportunity for quick bowlers like Ronsford Beaton [Trinbago Knight Riders] and Delorn Johnson [St Lucia Zouks], and allrounders Kyle Mayers [Zouks] and Raymon Reifer [Tridents]. West Indies are short of options in the fast bowling department, even as the selection status of senior allrounders, Bravo, Russell and Sammy, remains unclear.Offspinner Jon-Russ Jaggesar, who played a key role in Trinidad & Tobagos title win in the Nagico Super50 competition this season with 14 wickets, will be able to test his guile against established international batsmen when he takes the field for Jamaica Tallawahs. Another young player to watch out for is Shimron Hetmyer [Guyana Amazon Warriors], who led West Indies to victory at the Under-19 World Cup earlier this year.One interesting subplot in the tournament is be the presence of Ramnaresh Sarwan, who is part of the Knight Riders squad. Sarwan hasnt played competitive cricket in almost two years but could be an important figure for the team once Darren Bravo leaves for the India Tests. After Shivnarine Chanderpauls retirement, young batsmen like Shai Hope and Jermaine Blackwood have not been convincing, so the tournament is a chance for Sarwan to remind the selectors of his quality.The clash with the India TestsOne of the biggest issues for contracted West Indies players who were likely to feature in the home Tests against India was that they would not be allowed to participate in the CPL.Earlier this month, however, the WICB released five players - captain Jason Holder, batsman Darren Bravo, allrounder Carlos Brathwaite, legspinner Devendra Bishoo, and wicketkeeper-batsman Denesh Ramdin for the T20 tournament. They have been permitted to remain with their franchises until July 11, ten days before the first Test against India in Antigua. Marlon Samuels, Man of the Match in the World T20 final, was not picked by any franchise during the draft in February thiis year.ddddddddddddDuring the tri-series in Barbados, Simmons explained the rationale behind the decision to allow players. It was an easy decision, we would have a five-day camp, then three days before the first test, he said. Its something that everybody in world cricket allows. Joe Root just played a Twenty20 game in between the England and Sri Lanka Tests and, when we were in Australia, [Usman] Khawaja played a few T20 games before the Melbourne Test and came into that game with brilliant form. Financial sustainabilityIn an interview to ESPNcricinfo recently, CPL CEO Damien ODonohoe offered an interesting insight into how the league made money, particularly through tenders for hosting the finals.We tender the finals, and last year it couldnt have been a bigger success than it was in Trinidad, he said. The government there paid a decent sum - US$3.5 million - to get the finals last year. Now were still in negotiations in relation to the finals, because Trinidads economys been badly hit with the oil prices and theyre in deep recession. They dont have that level of money to pay, which is a big challenge for us because thats a very important revenue line for us. What I explained to the government is that the final is one thing, but actually supporting the team is a huge part of making CPL work long term.Months of speculation over Guyana, Trinidad & Tobago and Florida hosting the final was put to rest when it was announced only days before the start of the tournament that St Kitts would host the final. According to local media reports in T&T, the government did not want to give US $1 million in foreign currency to host the finals when the country is facing a shortage of foreign exchange. Instead they wanted pay the CPL in T&T currency, which the organisers reportedly rejected.Unlike the IPL and the Big Bash League - where the BCCI and Cricket Australia have strong control over the organisation of the tournament and infrastructure - the WICB have sold the rights to run the tournament in the West Indies. The question, therefore, is how sustainable will it be, in the long term, for cash-strapped CARICOM governments to pay money to host CPL finals?The CPL is a welcome initiative that has also brought in funds for the domestic competitions, but many have criticised the WICB for signing a 50-year contract with the league. This was reportedly one of the factors that led to Dave Camerons election over Julian Hunte as WICB president in 2013. Concerns remain over whether the board needed to sign such a long-term contract, considering the uncertain fixtures climate in world cricket.The IPL influenceWhen CPL first started in 2013, there was no indication that linking up IPL teams was part of the leagues plans. In the inaugural year, Hollywood actors Mark Wahlberg and Gerard Butler purchased stakes in Barbados Tridents and Jamaica Tallawahs respectively.Over the last two years, however, the CPL has stumbled upon partnerships with IPL teams. The owners of IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders bought the Trinidad & Tobago team, and renamed it Trinbago Knight Riders, and Indian businessman Vijay Mallya, former owner of Royal Challengers Bangalore, purchased Tridents. As Knight Riders CEO Venky Mysore said, the IPL-CPL partnerships are potentially perfect marriages.West Indies legendary commentator Tony Cozier had earlier revealed before Mallyas acquisition that the league was contemplating disbanding the Tridents as it had done with the Antigua franchise in 2015.In the current global climate of co-operation at the ICC, perhaps what Mysore and Mallya are doing could lead to the CPL being the first of many T20 leagues where Indian players will be allowed to participate. ' ' '