DurhamThis year: 4th in North Group; beat Gloucestershire in quarter-finalLast year: 6th in group stageMost runs: Mark Stoneman (328)Most wickets: Scott Borthwick and Paul Coughlin (17 each)Highest total: 193 for 2 v DerbyshireHighest individual score: Calum MacLeod (83)Key features: One of three teams at Finals Day this year never to have won the tournament, Durham squeezed into the last eight thanks to a thumping win over Derbyshire and defeat for 2014 champions Warwickshire in the final round of the group stage. Durham have been scraping by all season - Paul Collingwood admits the club is going through a difficult period - but they are never better than when their backs are against the wall, as evidenced by winning the Championship in 2013 and Royal London Cup in 2014 despite ongoing financial trouble. Mark Woods return to fitness after ankle surgery looks like a huge boost in the circumstances, the England pace bowler leading the way during Durhams quarter-final victory at Bristol, and Ben Stokes has also been made available as he recovers from a calf strain. Mark Stoneman, the former captain who will be playing his final limited-overs fixtures for the club before leaving for Surrey, looks to be coming into form at the right time, too.Key player: While Stokes and Wood will provide the obvious X-Factor, Scott Borthwick might just be the man to unlock Finals Day for Durham. The legspinner has combined wicket-taking potency with a handy economy of 7.26 and, with Edgbaston having tended to aid slow bowling at this stage of the season, his craft ought to be to the fore when it comes to choking the scoring in the middle overs. Like Stoneman, Borthwick has attracted the attention of wealthier counties but he would surely love to scoop up some more silverware with Durham if he is to depart. Alan GardnerThe coach, Jon Lewis: Its been a long time since we made it to Finals Day; too long, really. Weve had decent teams in the past, but never quite done it. To reach it this year, with no overseas player, has been a really good achievement. Id be lying if I said the money issues at the club has hadnt affected us: of course they have. People have been distracted. Players feel uncertainty and we all understand them being concerned over their future. Things were difficult for a few weeks. But the chief came and spoke to all the players and put some minds at ease. Mark Stoneman is leaving us, but Im pretty confident well keep the rest of them. We have a proven record of producing players for England. Theres no need to go anywhere else. Having Stokes back for Finals Day is huge - hell play as a batsman only - and having Wood and Borthwick bowling in the middle of the innings - a proper fast bowler and good legspinner - gives us great wicket-taking potential. We used big boundaries at Durham - anywhere from 70m up to 90m - which plays to our athleticism. Well never be satisfied just with being competitive. We want an expectation of winning.NorthamptonshireThis year: 2nd in North Group; beat Middlesex in quarter-finalLast year: beaten finalistsMost runs: Ben Duckett (389)Most wickets: Richard Gleeson (14)Highest total: 200 for 5 v Warwickshire Highest individual score: Adam Rossington (85)Key features: The team that keeps defying the odds to challenge in white-ball cricket. Making their third appearance at Finals Day in four years - they won in 2013 and made it to the final in 2015 - Northants consistency comes despite the clubs dire financial situation, the continuing interest of larger counties attempting to lure their talent elsewhere and, lets be honest, the less-than-svelte physique of several players. If Northants results were reflected at a football club of similar size, it would be the manager - or in this case the coach - David Ripley gaining the offers. Ripley, who developed several of the squad at youth level, has somehow overcome the small playing staff (16) and lack of finance to build a selfless, confident team that achieved qualification to the knockout rounds of both of this seasons limited-overs competitions. Their formula is built upon a commitment to aggressive cricket at the top of the order, with five men having contributed at least two half-centuries, several seamers who hit the pitch surprisingly hard and excellent fielding. But they may be without Richard Gleeson, arguably the revelation of the season as a fast bowler, who sustained a side strain on Thursday, and overseas legspinner Seekkuge Prasanna, who is required by Sri Lanka. Steven Crook is also a fitness doubt and they have not beaten their semi-final opponents, Nottinghamshire, for a decade.Key player: As a business, Northants are an also-ran. But as a cricket club, they keep producing players. The latest to emerge from their production line is 21-year-old batsman Ben Duckett. Blessed with a hint of Jos Buttler and James Taylor, Duckett has been in prolific form this season, recently setting a new English record for the most List A runs (650) in a calendar month, during which he thrashed the highest one-day score by a Lions player, an unbeaten 220 against Sri Lanka. He is not out of contract this year, but is already attracting envious glances from richer counties wanting to entice him elsewhere. Finals Day provides a wonderful shop window to his extravagant talents. George DobellThe coach, David Ripley: We have played the underdog card quite well in recent years. I suppose that becomes more difficult with more sustained success: other teams know we are good these days and they know they cant take us lightly. We still make a positive out of a negative in terms of our small squad size: players arent looking over their shoulders. They know they will be playing and what is required of them. That gives them confidence and the ability to learn their roles inside out. It is flattering that other clubs keep coming after our players; part of our role is to produce good players and we take great pride in that. But its also frustrating. Weve had a bit of a golden age of young players though the club - David Willey has shown his quality, Olly Stone and Ben Duckett will do the same - and it isnt easy to sustain that.NottinghamshireThis year: 1st in North Group; beat Essex in quarter-finalLast year: 5th in group stageMost runs: Riki Wessels (396)Most wickets: Samit Patel and Harry Gurney (16 each)Highest total: 185 for 8 v LancashireHighest individual score: Riki Wessels (80*)Key features: This tournament represents the last chance to salvage success from a season that sees them facing relegation in the Championship. They overcame a quarter-final hoodoo by beating Essex when the game was appearing to slip away from them. However, they will need to hope a misfiring batting order has enough in them for two good performances on Finals Day. Providing he has overcome his frustrations of the Oval Test, Alex Hales availability should help that side of things while Stuart Broad certainly has a big match mentality and Andre Russell has won as many T20 tournaments as Jason Kenny has Olympic gold medals. In terms of squad, Nottinghamshire appear to have an embarrassment of riches with Imran Tahir and Dan Christian also available but the challenge will be to quickly refocus on the T20 format.Key player: For all Russells bling, Broads match-winning bursts and Hales ability to blast the ball, in Samit Patel Nottinghamshire have an experienced and extremely canny performer with bat and ball. Alongside Tahir he forms a telling spin combination; in the quarter-final he claimed four of the top six during Essexs collapse. Eoin Morgan has said that he wants extra spin options for the one-day squads over the winter, so Patel could yet force his way back into the England reckoning after his surprise recall to the Test side last year. Andrew McGlashanThe coach, Mick Newell: People who say it must be great to have such an embarrassment of riches in selection terms arent the ones who have to tell the players they will not be playing. We have three overseas players registered here but only two can play. With the weather poor and the possibility of shortened games, it may count against Imran Tahir. But we havent decided yet. We havent been good enough in the Championship of late - sides that are relegated tend to be sides that have batted poorly and we are batting poorly - but we have an opportunity to give our supporters something to celebrate and an opportunity to become one of very few sides to win all three competitions within a 10-year cycle. Winning trophies is tough but that is an exciting possibility.YorkshireThis year: 3rd in North Group; beat Glamorgan in quarter-finalLast year: 8th in group stageMost runs: Alex Lees (272)Most wickets: Tim Bresnan (20)Highest total: 223 for 6 v DurhamHighest individual score: Joe Root (92*)Key features: Yorkshire were a mess in Twenty20 in early season, still looking for all the world like a Championship side uncomfortable in the shorter format. Then something clicked. Quite what is analysed in more depth elsewhere on these pages, but in essence a change of attitude also came with a change of personnel. David Willey, although a slow starter with the bat, has added a combative presence in the early overs with both bat and ball, Adam Lyth has been properly restored to the top of the order, Tim Bresnan can no longer be measured up so easily and the return of the offspinner Azeem Rafiq after a couple of difficult years out of the professional game has restored a partnership with Adil Rashid.Key player: Even with Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow available for Finals Day (although Bairstows hand took a battering in the Royal London Cup against Kent), it is hard to look beyond David Willey for Yorkshires most influential player as he prepares for his fourth appearance at Finals Day. The barnstorming innings against Glamorgan in the quarter-final in Cardiff loudly stated that he wanted another and nobody was about to get in his way. Equally inspirational with the new ball and tigerish in the field, he fuelled Northants challenge in the past and now he has done the same for Yorkshire. David HoppsThe coach, Jason Gillespie: Why has our form improved? We gained greater clarity of our roles. We challenged everyone to think and understand exactly what they were trying to do and to stick to it once they got out there. Its tough to leave good players out, but everyone at Yorkshire understands that we have really good England players and, when they are available, they add to the side. It wont damage the spirit or the plans of the team. Weve named the same 12 that played in the Royal London quarter-final. I think county cricket is a wonderful product and the quality of cricket is very high. The difference between it and the Big Bash is partly just the weather and partly about marketing. In Australia the Big Bash is on free-to-air TV. That has to make a difference. Baltimore Orioles Shirts . The formidable trio of Canadian receivers -- individually known as Chris Getzlaf, Rob Bagg and Andy Fantuz -- will share the field at Mosaic Stadium one more time on Sunday. Stitched Orioles Jerseys . -- If this was Aaron Gordons final home game at Arizona, and it almost certainly was, then he went out in style. https://www.cheaporioles.com/ . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. Cheap Orioles Jerseys .ca NFL Power Rankings, overtaking the Denver Broncos and remaining ahead of NFC competition San Francisco, Carolina and New Orleans. Baltimore Orioles Gear . The 20-year-old Pelicans big man glanced up and smiled widely at the well-wishers -- a fitting end to a day he wont soon forget. Davis responded to his selection earlier in the day as a Western Conference All-Star with 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the New Orleans Pelicans overcame a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Minnesota Timberwolves 98-91 on Friday night. Jennifer Azzi couldnt eat. The 1996 Atlanta Games were about to open for the U.S. womens basketball team, and food was the last thing on her mind as she sat next to Lisa Leslie for breakfast in the Olympic Village.I just had this nervous excitement, and then I look over, and Lisa couldnt eat either, Azzi said. We were all just so over-the-top excited.U.S. national team director Carol Callans memory drifts to a different point that day, when the teams bus pulled into the parking lot of the Georgia Dome.It was a school-girl level of excitement, Callan recalled. People were screaming on the bus. Theyd been playing and training together for a year, and it was time to see the end result.As the U.S. womens team prepares to begin its quest for a sixth consecutive gold medal in womens basketball in Rio, the groundwork laid by the groundbreaking team of 1996 has never been more evident.That team readjusted the balance of power in the world, USA Basketball coach Geno Auriemma said. Starting 20 years ago to today, theres never been a more dominant team in the Olympics in any sport than the U.S. womens national team.The 1996 Olympic womens basketball team accomplished things that had never been done by preparing in a way that had never been done. For the first time in program history, the womens USA Basketball team trained and played together for nearly a year in preparation for the Olympics. In the end, that group made more than history, going 60-0 (52-0 in pre-Olympic competition and 8-0 in the Games) and capturing one of the most visible gold medals in an Olympics that was a marking point because of the overwhelming success of female athletes.The 1996 team created stars in players such as Leslie and Sheryl Swoopes, set a new bar for the level of play in womens basketball, and launched two professional leagues, including the WNBA, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this season.Callan calls the creation of the 1996 team, and in a way, all that came after, a perfect storm.The womens college game was growing in popularity, as Connecticut won its first national championship in 1995 and had a burgeoning rivalry with Tennessee. The NBA was exploring a business model for professional womens basketball in the United States and was willing to put some money behind the USA womens team as a marketing project.The U.S. team was coming off a pair of disappointing performances, finishing with bronze at the 1992 Barcelona Games and at the 1994 world championship.We knew we had to make some changes, Callan said. We created a program that allowed the team to train together over a sustained period, like the rest of the world does.USA Basketball convinced Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer to leave her program for a year to coach the team. It assembled a roster mixed with veteran players such as Teresa Edwards, who had been playing for years in anonymity overseas, and young guns such as Leslie and Dawn Staley, who were best known for their NCAA résumés and were about to break through on a different level.USA Basketball scheduled a years worth of exhibitions, a 22-game college tour that introduced the team to the country, and a full slate of international games to prepare the U.S. womens basketball team for international competition. A handful of those games were on national television.The college tour began in Atlanta, with VanDerveer taking the players to the Georgia Dome and asking them to visualize their place on the medal stand.In between games and trips, there were autograph sessions, photo shoots and media interviews. There was no social media. The players were tightly bonded and exceedingly focused.It was almost like we were still girls waiting to become grown women, Edwards said. We grew up really fast, and the grown-up part of us allowed us to be great basketball players.But the kid part of us really enjoyed each others company. We laughed so much. We messed up each others hair and fixed it back. We paid for each others dinners. Wed send room service to the wrong rooms. We had fun. But when it was time to play, we killed each other. We brought the best out of each other.Azzi remembers a day when the U.S. women practiced at Georgetown while legendary coach John Thompson stood on the sideline and watched. Thompson came into the huddle at the end of practice to address the team.You are making people respect you, he told them, and the compliment stuck with Azzi and her teammates.We showed peoplee a different level of basketball, Azzi said.dddddddddddd. No one had seen professional womens basketball in the States. We would go into college arenas, and teams thought they were going to be able to beat us. We were beating national championship teams by a significant margin. It was the first time for people to see the game played by women at that level.Once-in-a-lifetime opportunityThe legacy of the 1996 team goes beyond the history that was written, the ripples of that seminal experience casting off in all directions. They established professional basketball in the United States, cementing a place for pro womens team sports in the landscape. To the players on that team who eventually would go on to coaching careers, such as Staley (South Carolina), Azzi (San Francisco), Swoopes (formerly of Loyola) and Katy Steding (Boston University). To the influence over the U.S. teams current batch of stalwarts such as Diana Taurasi, Sue Bird and Tamika Catchings. To the other side of the country to the coach who cemented her own Hall of Fame legacy without taking home a medal.Coaches dont receive medals in the Olympics, so while the players stood on the platform after beating Brazil in the final in front of nearly 33,000 fans that last day, VanDerveer stood just off to the side. She didnt need a medal to realize shed created a gold standard.VanDerveer was demanding, unrelenting. She had the most talented roster in the history of the game, and she wanted those players to give her everything, from the first game to the last. After all, she was giving significantly as well.VanDerveer had resigned from her head-coaching job at Stanford, taking the year away to not only lead the U.S. women back to the gold-medal stand, but to prime the country for professional womens basketball and to alter the culture of the womens national team program.It was a really difficult decision, said VanDerveer, who turned her program over to longtime assistant coach Amy Tucker and brought old friend Marianne Stanley in as co-head coach for one season. You put so much into your own program. The hardest part of it was having to resign for that year. But I recognized it as an once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.People told VanDerveer she was never going to be able to go back to the college game after her experience coaching the best team in the world. Her name came up as a coaching candidate for the WNBA and the American Basketball League, which was going to have a team in San Jose and feature Azzi as its founding player. But VanDerveer never wavered about her commitment to return to Stanford.I was excited about going back, she said. I had learned things from the Olympic experience that I wanted to take back to my team.Twenty years later, VanDerveer is a member of the Naismith Hall of Fame and is on the cusp of reaching 1,000 career wins as a college coach. Many players on that 1996 team regard her as the best coach they ever played for.Ruthie Bolton knew that playing the Olympics on home soil had the potential to make or break womens basketball in the United States.There was so much at stake, Bolton said. We didnt want another feeling of sadness, agony and defeat. We made sure that didnt happen. Tara was preparing us to have a state of mind that was above and beyond. It was like going overboard a little, but we didnt want to leave any questions of whether we were ready.Azzi said that experience challenged everybody to the core.At one point, everybody had a meltdown, she said. But we were all in it together, in a very professional way. It was a sisterhood with a level of trust and respect that I had never experienced before.The legacy of the 1996 womens basketball team is one that changed the landscape of the sport, setting a tone for everything that came after.Players like Lisa and Dawn and Sheryl taught Diana Taurasi and Sue Bird what it mean to be on the national team, Callan said, and those players have taught the next generation.Seimone Augustus, who helped the United States win gold medals in 2008 and 12 and is in Rio for her third Olympics, had a poster in her room as a kid of the 1996 team.My dream, my goal, was to be like those strong women I saw in that poster, Augustus said. To be able to be a part of that legacy and tradition thats so rich in success and winning means a lot. ' ' '