rebuilding. They had to convince the teams they were talking with th

Rob Howleys complete focus is on Wales this season -- but he could also be part of the British and Irish Lions coaching staff in New Zealand next summer.Howley, a former Lions Test player who filled Lions coaching support roles in South Africa seven years ago and then during the successful 2013 Australia tour, takes charge of Wales with Warren Gatland heading up Lions business.Gatland is due to name his support team for the New Zealand mission on December 7, with Howley among a number of coaches likely to be in the frame for a 10-match expedition that begins on June 3.I thoroughly enjoyed the experiences in 2009 and 2013, Howley said. There is no doubt that the experiences as a player and a coach -- that six to eight-week period with the Lions -- you come back and our (Wales) environment no doubt benefits from those experiences you have as a coach.And no doubt, that will happen post-2017, with Warren coming back.Howleys priority during the next 10 months will be Wales four-Test autumn series and then the RBS 6 Nations Championship, with an added significance of holding a strong world ranking position ahead of next years 2019 World Cup pool draw.Wales found themselves in the same 2015 World Cup group as England and Australia, being handed a ferociously-tough draw on that occasion largely because they had slipped down the global standings.Team Wales comes first and foremost, Howley added. From a coaching, management and conditioning perspective, its about Wales for the next 10 months.I am so keen on our home record. In the last three-and-a-half years its about 70 per cent (success).In the next 10 months, we have got six home games, and you look at the world rankings and what is at stake for everyone involved, we want to better our home record. Its a huge carrot and motivation for the players.We need to improve our home record, and if we better that in terms of the 70 per cent, I am sure from a world rankings perspective, we will be in good shape.My role for the next 10 months from a Welsh perspective is that we are as successful as we can be, and thats the challenge.Jordan 12 For Sale Uk . The recently retired Stern was elected Friday to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and will be enshrined with the class of 2014 on Aug. Cheap Jordan 12 For Sale . Parker had 26 points and eight assists and San Antonio beat Toronto 112-99 Monday night. "We won that game because of Tony Parkers aggressiveness," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "His juice; his aggression all night long. http://www.airjordan12uk.com/ . Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night. Cheap Real Jordan 12 . -- Its been a long road back for Sean Bergenheim. Air Jordan 12 Retro Uk . Nine days before the opening ceremony, organizing committee chief Dmitry Chernyshenko said Wednesday that Sochi is "fully ready" and will deliver safe, friendly and well-run games that defy the grim reports that have overshadowed preparations.NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. -- Theres an old expression you hear from general managers every winter. It goes kind of like this:Buying is easy. Selling is hard.So for a team that hasnt held a storewide clearance sale in almost 20 years, you have to hand it to the Chicago White Sox. Theyre turning out to be every bit as good at this as Macys.Two days and two monster trades into their Everything Must Go sale, theyve made two of the best winter-meetings sell-off deals of modern times. And it has changed the face, and the direction, of their franchise. Already.I dont know where their farm system was ranked before this week, said one rival farm director Wednesday night. But its ranked really high now.One day after reeling in two potential superstars (Yoan Moncada and Michael Kopech) in the trade that sent Chris Sale to Boston, the White Sox didnt quite top that haul Wednesday, when they agreed to the stunning trade that shipped off?Adam Eaton?to Washington. But all three pitchers they received -- Lucas Giolito, Reynaldo Lopez and Dane Dunning -- have top-of-the-rotation upside.So if there was any doubt that the White Sox meant it when they started making noises last month about retooling, we would like to make this important announcement: No further doubting will be permitted by the proper authorities.This. Is. Happening. And guess what? Its not done happening, either.Theyre obviously not done, said a National League executive. [Todd] Frazier is probably next. Why keep him? And Id expect Jose Quintana to get moved. Once you trade Sale, whos one of the five or six best pitchers in baseball, thats what you do. You just keep going.So fasten those seat belts. They could all go now: Frazier and Quintana, Jose Abreu and David Robertson, and who knows how many more. They might not go this week, said White Sox general manager Rick Hahn. They might not even go this month. Some of them might not go until July. But its much more important to do it right, Hahn said, than to do it quickly.To truly appreciate the incredible work Hahn has already done, you need to take a step back and consider the perspective of recent franchise history. And by that we mean: They never, ever do this.Most of the guys theyve traded for this week were in preschool the last time their owner, Jerry Reinsdorf, signed off on Sell mode. That was in 1997, when Reinsdorf and pretty much the entire South Side was scarred permanently by what would forever be known as the White Flag Trade, which you should probably Google if youre not familiar with it.After all the abuse heaped on the franchises powers that be back then, it took nearly two decades for this team to be able to face reality and understand it was time, once again, to sell, sell, sell. But here we are.Its a decision that wass actually made over a month ago.dddddddddddd Hahn and executive vice president Kenny Williams gathered their most trusted scouts and decision-makers in their annual organizational meetings. And after several days of kicking around all their options, they came to a conclusion theyd been talking themselves out of for years.Theyd been patching the roof long enough. And the damned thing was still leaking.The direction they chose, Hahn said this week, doesnt fit with how we have acted over the last several years. Weve been in a more of a win now and patch and play type of situation.But of course, they werent winning. They hadnt enjoyed a winning season since 2012. They hadnt won a postseason game since 2008. They hadnt won a postseason series since Ozzie Guillen, Mark Buehrle and the boys swept the World Series in 2005.Meanwhile, that other team in town -- yeah, you know, that team -- was heading in a slightly different direction. So if this wasnt the time to go print up those For Sale signs, then when the heck was it?The last thing you want to be is caught in between, Hahn said. You dont want to be a club thats not good enough, not capable of winning a championship, but at the same time is just sort of mediocre or stuck in the middle.The funny thing is, though, that to pull this off, they had to do more than simply talk about rebuilding. They had to convince the teams they were talking with that this time, they meant it -- that this time, they were on the same page, all of them: Hahn and Williams and Reinsdorf. No kidding.At the GM meetings, another exec said, they were openly saying that this was what they were going to do. They were ready to rebuild and change the mix. And that told me that even Jerry was on board. Id never heard them say it before. This was the first time. They never said once, Were not trading Chris Sale. So this time, you had to believe they meant it.Yessir. They meant it, all right. And now theyve pulled it off. But it feels so strange, after all those years of going in the other direction, that even Hahn has to admit hes having a hard time handling all the praise hes getting -- for breaking up a team he built.The weird part for me, he said Wednesday, after announcing the Sale deal, is that we walk around here [and] you have a lot of people congratulating you. ... Its a little awkward -- because we traded Chris Sale. Thats not something you feel great about.Yes, but if youre going to sell, you might as well nail it. And two days into Sale-A-Thon 2016, Hahn and his front office have already proved theyve got the hang of this. Fortunately, this time, there isnt a white flag in sight. ' ' '