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Nottinghamshire admit they face a fight to keep Alex Hales after two other clubs made approaches for the player.While Hales may appear an unlikely target in some ways - as an England opener in all three formats, his availability for county cricket is limited - such is his ability in white ball cricket, in particular, that he could prove a huge asset in a relaunched T20 competition which might well, sooner or later, become the centrepiece of the domestic season.That has quickened the interest of Essex, for one, a county with sharpened ambition under the cricket chairmanship of Ronnie Irani.Hales is out of contract at Nottinghamshire at the end of the season and, as things stand, the club have not opened contract talks with the player.We want Alex to stay, Mick Newell, Nottinghamshires director of cricket, told ESPNcricinfo. But we havent wanted to clog his mind with contract talk when he is trying to earn an England contract. We have had a couple of approaches for him from other clubs but, as an England player, people may wonder how much they are going to see of him.His game has matured. He has come to terms with practice. His general approach has improved through being around guys like Alastair Cook and Joe Root and he has learned a lot about how to prepare.It was a brave decision not to play at the start of the year. I admire that. He gave others the chance to perform and Sam Robson and Adam Lyth did that. But apart from England, he has played pretty much non-stop for three years with the Big Bash and Notts and he felt he needed a break. It was a ballsy decision.With Hales largely unavailable to Nottinghamshire anyway, the club have made moves to find a replacement batsman. As well as confirming they had made an approach for Warwickshires Varun Chopra. Essex are interested here, too. Newell also hinted they had interest in the Durham pair of Scott Borthwick and Mark Stoneman.We have put in a 28-day approach for Chopra, Newell said. And we have put in 28-day approaches for the top order batsmen who are available. Weve made contact with those counties.Meanwhile, Newell rated Warwickshire as the best team in Division One of the Championship and said they had every chance of lifting the trophy at the end of the season. Accepting that his side were on the wrong end of the game he admitted he had some relief when rain saw the final day abandoned at around lunch time.Warwickshire have so much experience and they dont have the same injuries as Yorkshire, he said. Rikki Clarke is an outstanding bowler these days and Boyd Rankin is bowling very quickly. And with Trott and Bell available all the time... I think Warwickshire might be the best team.Newell also said he hoped that Stuart Broad, who is keen to return to the England white ball teams, would be released by England to play in Nottinghamshires T20 match against Durham on Friday - and suggested that Jake Ball should also feature.Hales is already confirmed to play in the Championship match that starts at Trent Bridge on Sunday and has expressed his desire to play in both. Imran Tahir, who lands on Friday morning - having flown from the Caribbean - is also expected to play on Friday night.Ball did not reappear on the third day of Nottinghamshires Championship game at Edgbaston having carried a heavy workload on the second day. Although he reported a sore elbow, Newell said he would have been fine to bowl had a couple of wickets been required for victory.Hes been in the 12 for the last three Tests, Newell, who is also an England selector, said. There are question marks over Jimmy Anderson so Ball has to have a fine chance of being in the 12 and possibly making his debut.He surpassed what we even expected from him here. He bowled with exceptional pace; as quick as Ive seen from him. Hes up to mid to high 80s, I think.I was a bit concerned before this game as he hadnt bowled much over the previous few weeks, but hes done very well. He has a lovely action, he has worked hard in the gym and he feels ever more confident in the England environment. Im sure hell play Test cricket.With a Test debut at Lords highly likely - England look resigned to being without Anderson or Ben Stokes - Ball may well be rested from Nottinghamshires next Championship game with an eye to keeping him fresh for his Test debut. They will have Broad, Tahir and Harry Gurney back for that game.If Jake is going to get a Test call, we want him going into the best shape possible, Newell said. We will look at Jakes workload with the prospect of giving him a rest. He has bowled an awful lot. Dallas Stars Shirts . Galatasaray said in a statement on its website Monday that Mancini signed a three-year contract and will be paid 3.5 million euros for the upcoming season, with his salary upped to 4. Stitched Stars Jerseys .B. - Sebastien Auger made 44 saves as the Saint John Sea Dogs edged the visiting Acadie-Bathurst Titan 2-1 on Saturday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. https://www.cheapstarsonline.com/ . -- Former San Diego Chargers safety Paul Oliver was found dead at his Atlanta-area home Tuesday night, and a medical examiner said Wednesday that the ex-player committed suicide. Wholesale Stars Jerseys . Self was acquired from the Buffalo Bandits in a trade for Alex Hill midway through last season, and made his debut in Rochester on March 16, 2013. Stars Jerseys 2021 .Y. - Free agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, fresh off winning the World Series with Boston, reached agreement with the rival New York Yankees on a seven-year contract worth about $153 million, a person familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday night. It was a little more than three years ago -- on Nov. 1, 2013 -- that?Daniel Sedin?and Henrik Sedin signed matching four-year contract extensions with the?Vancouver Canucks.They did so with a clear, shared thought in mind: that by the time those contracts expired and the twins were 37 years old, they would have helped the next generation of core Canucks players take over and could each enjoy their last few years in supporting roles.That certainly remains the plan, although I would argue the clock is ticking on said plan.Thats what were hoping for, its what weve said all along, Henrik, the teams captain, told ESPN.com on Friday. No one would be happier if someone came in and we were second-liners when this ended. That would be great, because that would mean we were a very competitive team. Were not going to give it to them. Were going to fight the best we can to be the leading guys [because] its where we want to be and we feel like we still have it in us.The two players remain the faces of the Canucks franchise in their 16th season, not just with their consistent play on the ice but with their charitable and classy ways off it. It makes you wonder how the twilight years are going to look for them if this retooling-on-the-fly doesnt pan out.Two years ago, it looked promising. We made it to the playoffs and felt we were [going] in the right direction, Henrik said. And then last year, there were different circumstances, we had injuries, that was unfortunate. This year, I think were a deeper team. I think we can compete -- which is a different feeling from last year. But we want to see this team moving in the right direction, and I think it is. In saying that, we need young guys to step up, we need them to play a bigger role and to take over. Thats what were looking for.The Canucks carry an eight-game winless streak (0-7-1) into Brooklyn against the?New York Islanders?on Monday night after losing 6-3 to the?Toronto Maple Leafs?over the weekend.Canucks fans on social media are screaming for the team to go for a massive rebuild.Vancouver GM Jim Benning and team president Trevor Linden still believe the current plan can work, of course. The team has gotten younger over the last few years. But fans are restless.I asked both Sedins where a significant rebuilding effort -- which isnt in the cards right now -- would leave them and whether they think about things like that given how things are going.The answer from both Sedins, as you might expect: They dont think about something like that.We got a game tomorrow, thats how I think about it, Daniel saidd.dddddddddddd We love Vancouver, we want to get to a point where this team can be successful again and we want to be part of that. But ... its not entirely up to us. Were really respectful of Jim and Trevor and what they want to do. But were going to our best to be a big help to this team and help get it back to where the Canucks belong, where we were 6-7 years ago.Added Henrik: I dont want to think about that now. Were in a dogfight now. We know this team can fight for it this year. Thats where we want to be.Sure, there is a lot of hockey left to be played. Perhaps Bo Horvat and Jake Virtanen and the rest of that young crew will make believers out of the Canucks faithful by the end of the season. Regardless, what the twins just cant fathom is ever being elsewhere.Vancouvers our team, Henrik said. Its where we want to play. Its where we want to live. Its where we want to win. We cant see ourselves playing for a different team. We want to help this team get to a place where it can get something going.But, moving forward, its not only up to us, if teams want to do something, they can force you out. But were going to do our best to stay competitive and thats our only thought process.I know what youre thinking, that the theres no way the twins would say it publicly if they truly thought this team was headed in the wrong direction. But I sensed a genuine sincerity in their words Friday when they talked about believing in where this team was headed.It made me think about the 2007-08 season, when their Swedish countryman Mats Sundin was honestly surprised -- and, I suspect, hurt deep-down -- when the Maple Leafs asked him to ponder a trade before he declined to waive his no-trade clause. Sundin, loyal to a fault to his team, genuinely believed the Leafs were still in the fight and didnt understand why anyone would think otherwise.The Canucks might very well get things going and prove the twins right for that same belief. But if it doesnt go right, Im also guessing the Sedin brothers will be the last ones to see it because of their loyalty. They will believe to the end.All of which is going to make things interesting as their current deals tick away. Both contracts expire on June 30, 2018. And know this: The twins feel theyve got plenty of hockey left in them.We feel like we can still play at this level, Daniel said. We feel good, our bodies are healthy. Well see what happens the rest of the season, but we feel good. ' ' '