he Nats star appeared to be angered by the play, and Washington

Dylan Hartley will be allowed to continue as England captain by the Rugby Football Union regardless of the outcome of the hearing that threatens to curtail his RBS 6 Nations participation.Hartley will discover on Wednesday afternoon the length of the suspension he must serve after being sent off for landing a swinging arm on the head of Sean OBrien in Northamptons defeat by Leinster.Champions Cup organisers have confirmed that the 30-year-old has been charged with striking, entailing a five-week suspension for a mid-range offence and eight weeks if the infringement is considered high-end.An appalling disciplinary record comprising of 54 weeks of bans for misdemeanours including biting, gouging and butting are likely to result in an increase to the sanction imposed and he could be unavailable when France visit Twickenham on February 4.RFU chief executive Ian Ritchie, however, points to Hartleys superb leadership during an unblemished run of 13 successive Test victories to explain why he should remain at the helm.I think Dylans got credit in the bank, Ritchie told BBC Sport. I think most people would say its been a fantastic year. Weve had 13 wins out of 13 and Dylan has made a huge contribution and he should be allowed to continue that.Dylan has clearly played a fantastic part in captaining the team, on and off the pitch just to be clear. His leadership credentials are very strong. Hes made a huge contribution.So you view all these things in perspective and in perspective one looks at the totality of what hes done and whats happened over the years. I think we should be supportive of that.The biggest call of Eddie Jones one-year reign has been to appoint Hartley as captain despite the disciplinary baggage that accompanies him and his judgement has been justified by the hookers influence in helping England win a Grand Slam and complete an historic series whitewash of Australia.Jones was present at Franklins Gardens on Friday night to see the dismissal and registered his disappointment by running his left hand down his face, but Hartley looks set to retain the confidence of his head coach.If hes eligible for selection its ultimately a matter for Eddie, but we should recognise and support all that Dylan has done in the last 12 months, Ritchie said. It is primarily a matter for Eddie and if you look back over it, Eddies judgement has been really good. We should recognise that and Im sure we will.Cheap Adidas Sneakers From China . LOUIS -- Mike Smith is used to facing plenty of shots, so this was nothing new. China Shoes Wholesale Market . Ibaka equaled a career high with 20 rebounds, adding four blocked shots and 15 points as the Thunder smothered the Milwaukee Bucks offence in a 92-79 victory Saturday night. [url=,http://www.shoeswholesaleonlinestore.com/],http://www.shoeswholesaleonlinestore.com/[/url] . Listen to the game live on TSN Radio 1050 at 7pm et. The Raptors traded Rudy Gay, Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray to the Sacramento Kings on Monday, in exchange for Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons, Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes. Discount Adidas Sneakers . The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive. Cheap Jordans Free Shipping . But by the time the game started, the Toronto Raptors forward felt even worse. And, for three quarters, it showed as Gay shot a woeful three-for-13 from the field.PITTSBURGH -- A series of plays during Sundays game led to a benches-clearing scuffle in the?Washington Nationals 10-7 win over the?Pittsburgh Pirates.Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper injured his left thumb in the third inning during a slide into third base. Pirates third baseman Jung Ho Kang tried to deke Harper, pretending he had the ball and leading to an awkward slide by Harper.The Nats star appeared to be angered by the play, and Washington manager Dusty Baker was seen yelling into the Pirates dugout.?In the bottom of that inning, benches cleared when Nationals pitcher A.J. Cole threw a wild pitch behind the back of Kang.Cole was immediately tossed by the home plate umpire Jordan Baker. Both benches and bullpens emptied, and players were involvedd in an ensuing scuffle near the mound.ddddddddddddn addition to Cole, Pirates left fielder?Sean Rodriguez was tossed after engaging in a shouting match across the diamond with Nationals left fielder?Jayson Werth.Harper left the game and was replaced by Chris Heisey in right field for the bottom of the third. According to MLB.com, he is listed as day-to-day but will have X-rays taken on the thumb on Monday.You dont want that to happen, Harper said. I understand the deke at second base, I understand the double play kind of thing, but that kind of thing is not part of the game.The Associated Press contributed to this report.? ' ' '