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rning a team to the LA area.Im so grateful for the from LAM's blog

Chris Woakes, the England fast bowler, has admitted the players have to pinch ourselves after the dramatic turnaround in their one-day fortunes over the last year. Since crashing out of the 2015 World Cup at the group stage, England have completely revolutionalised their approach to ODIs, culminating in a record-strewn performance at Trent Bridge that saw them set a new mark for the highest total by any team.Englands 444 for 3 was built on 171 from opener Alex Hales - an ODI record for an Englishman - and included Jos Buttler striking a 22-ball fifty, another national best. It was the latest astonishing feat from a team that began the revival against New Zealand last summer, during a series in which they passed 400 for the first time and then recorded their highest successful ODI chase, also at Trent Bridge.Victory over Pakistan gave England their fourth series win out of six since the World Cup (excluding an abandoned ODI in Ireland) and they are yet to lose a limited-overs match at home this year. Woakes nevertheless suggested England had been short of their best in the first two matches against Pakistan - victories by 44 runs (DLS method) and four wickets - and that the 169-run thumping handed out on Tuesday wasnt perfect, at least from a bowling perspective.Its credit to the way the guys have played, the way its led from the coach, the captain and all the way through, Woakes said. We are encouraged to play our natural games and the batsmen have led that. Its only happened since 12 months ago, that series against New Zealand, but we do have to pinch ourselves a little bit because the improvements have been dramatic from where we were. Hopefully that can continue.We realise theres still a lot of improvement to make, we arent the finished article, and I think that showed in the first two games of the series - although we were winning we felt we could improve and we showed that. It still wasnt perfect, probably the perfect performance with the bat, but still things to work on.There were certainly a few flaws in Englands fielding display, with dropped catches by Hales and Buttler preventing an even more emphatic margin of victory. Woakes was the pick of the attack, his 4 for 41 including the final wicket to cap off another special performance. Just an amazing day, really, to set a world record is phenomenal. Its a really amazing achievement by the team, he said.Hales innings was the second time this summer that one of Englands openers had threatened the previous individual record, set by Robin Smith in 1993 - Jason Roy fell just short when dismissed for 162 against Sri Lanka at The Oval. With a power-packed line-up to follow them, including the consistently productive Joe Root and the scorer of Englands fastest ODI century in Buttler, there was speculation about whether England could go even further, though Woakes suggested that the 500 barrier might remain safe for a while yet.Who knows? If the boys keep batting the way they are you can never say never but it would be a really freakish day, he said. Weve seen 400 reached a lot more often but whether 500 can happen, Im not sure it can to be honest. I hope not as a bowler.Woakes also became the latest England player to be asked about the tour of Bangladesh, scheduled to depart in a months time, and while he would not confirm his own preference either way, he said you have to respect the briefing given to the team by Reg Dickason, the ECBs head of security.Its a tricky one, he said. Im going to sound like a bit of a broken record from what the lads have said before, we are trying to concentrate on our cricket for this series. We are having all the discussions with Reg, the security people, [Andrew] Strauss, and Im sure by the end of the series everyone will have to have made their minds up and Im in exactly the same boat. You have to respect the security level that Reg has reported back on. IRVINE, Calif. -- Technically, the Los Angeles Rams game Saturday with the Dallas Cowboys is just a preseason opener at a temporary home for a relocating team that hasnt made the playoffs in 11 years.But that temporary home is also the teams traditional home, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where theyll play as the host team for the first time in 36 years, giving the day huge sentimental and symbolic importance for fans.Im really ecstatic to see my team back on the field in LA, said longtime fan and local native Dan Salcedo.For now fans have to watch a rebuilding Rams team, though with reasons for excitement including explosive young running back Todd Gurley and No. 1 overall draft pick quarterback Jared Goff, who for now will back up starter Case Keenum.The young players have been getting the Hollywood treatment already.The teams training camp is the focus of this years Hard Knocks on HBO, which had its red-carpet premiere this week.Hip stars like rapper Kendrick Lamar visited the team at training camp, and their games are likely to become a new version of the Lakers sideline for celebrities.Their jerseys, hats and stickers have begun flourishing on store shelves and car bumpers alongside Lakers and Dodgers gear, and tens of thousands have already watched the team at camp.Unlike Brooklyn when it lost its Dodgers, or Cleveland when it lost its original Browns, LAs famously relaxed fans didnt shed many public tears when the Rams skipped town for St. Louis.But that doesnt mean the Rams didnt leave a hole that theyve now begun to refill.I was heartbroken when they left, said Salcedo, 40, who wore an old-school Rams Jack Youngblood jersey as he attended a team scrimmage at the Coliseum last week. When they announced they were coming back I was ecstatic.There are also plenty of young fans who never knew the LA Rams, many of whom are just as excited as the old-timers at the new-old franchise coming to town..ddddddddddddRefugio Gonzalez, 26, who lives in nearby Pomona, is feeling especially lucky as he adopted the team based solely on their merits back in 1999 while they were in St. Louis.I turned on the TV one day and they were playing the Titans in the Super Bowl, Gonzalez said at the scrimmage. They won, and the next season I started following them and fell in love with the team and the players. Marshall Faulk, Kurt Warner, Tory Holt, Isaac Holt. The Greatest Show on Turf. Ever since then I started following them, became a big fan, cant miss the games on TV and now they are here in Los Angeles. Having the opportunity to come see them in person, its an awesome experience.Itll be a seasons worth of sentimental games at the Coliseum, where the Rams will play until their state-of-the-art new home is built in Inglewood. Plenty of former USC players and coaches, including Seattle Seahawks coach Pete Carroll, will get to return to the Coliseum, which the Trojans call home.The Rams played at the Coliseum -- and won four NFL championships there -- from 1946 until 1980. They then played their next 15 seasons at Angel Stadium in Anaheim before moving on to St. Louis in 1994.The Cowboys are a fitting opponent for the homecoming. They have a typically large following in a town that has lacked an NFL team, they have long held their training camp in Southern California and owner Jerry Jones was among the NFL power brokers who most strongly fought for returning a team to the LA area.Im so grateful for the owner of the Dallas Cowboys, Salcedo said. He was an engine to bring the Rams back here to LA. Im grateful for them, but Im an LA Ram fan. Were going to beat the Cowboys. As far as the first game of the season, were going to rock.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Cheap Jerseys 2020 Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Jerseys 2020 Cheap Jerseys Store Cheap Jerseys Jerseys From China ' ' ' 

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