Dein erstes Forum » the remaining portion of Melancons

Sir Chris Hoy and Sir Dave Brailsford have praised Ian Drake after British Cyclings chief executive announced he will step down in April.Drakes association with the national governing body began in 1995 and he has been chief executive since 2009. But he quits after a year of highs and lows.Great Britain topped cyclings medal table at the Rio Olympics and Paralympics, but there have been numerous controversies too, including an ongoing investigation into British Cycling and Team Sky by UK Anti-Doping over allegations of wrongdoing within cycling.Both the racing team and the governing body deny any wrongdoing. In a statement, Drake, who will remain in position to give time for his successor to be appointed, said: Some time ago I made the decision that the Rio Games would be my last as CEO of British Cycling.I believe that the end of this Olympic cycle is the natural moment for a new CEO to take the organisation forward into the Tokyo Games and beyond.Drake can celebrate many successes during his tenure as cycling has become Britains most successful Olympic sport, winning seven out of 10 gold medals on the track at Beijing 2008 and London 2012 and six out of 10 in August in Rio.Sir Bradley Wiggins became the first British Tour winner in 2012, in the 99th edition, with Chris Froome subsequently winning the race three times.Meanwhile, British Cycling now has 129,000 members.Six-time Olympic champion Hoy said: It was his vision to connect elite success with inspiration to participation, instilling in all athletes the awareness that it was not enough to win medals, but that we also need to inspire people to ride their bikes.Team Sky principal Brailsford, British Cycling performance director until April 2014, said: Ians legacy to cycling has been huge. He has been the architect of the grassroots revolution of the sport over the last decade and led British cycling to unprecedented success in Rio. His passion for cycling has shone through in everything he has done - from campaigning for safer cycling through to promoting mass participation events.He has led the way in building cycling facilities and infrastructure and under his leadership British Cycling membership has grown to the largest in its history.He has done all this with the highest standards of professionalism and integrity and the sport owes him a huge debt of gratitude.Brailsfords comments come at a time when British Cyclings relationship with Team Sky is under intense scrutiny.Team Sky and British Cycling have been intertwined since the road teams inception in 2009 and first season in 2010, with many staff and riders employed by both teams.Team Sky are involved in a furore following the decision to seek permission for Wiggins to use otherwise banned substances, and Brailsfords squad is now under investigation by UKAD.It is the latest crisis engulfing the sport in Britain in a 2016 mixed with great success and bitter controversy.Drake in recent weeks has secured an eight-year sponsorship agreement with banking giant HSBC, replacing Sky as British Cyclings lead sponsor - the media company remains sponsor of the professional road team - and been part of the team which won the bid to bring the 2019 Road World Championships to Yorkshire. However, recent months have been the most challenging of his leadership.Shane Sutton left his role as British Cycling technical director in April, 100 days prior to the Rio Olympics, following discrimination allegations.Sutton denies the allegations, which prompted an independent review. The review, commissioned by British Cycling and UK Sport, is scheduled to conclude imminently.The news of Drakes departure means British Cycling is now searching for two leading figures. British Cycling on Wednesday announced it was beginning the recruitment process for a new performance director. And now it is also searching for a chief executive.Drake added: All organisations, particularly those operating at the highest level of sport, periodically require new leadership to take them to greater heights and tackle their new challenges - now is the right moment for both myself and British Cycling to move on. Stu Grimson Jersey . 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Jason Marshall Jersey . -- Running backs Darren McFadden and Rashad Jennings were back at practice for the Oakland Raiders on Wednesday despite being hampered by hamstring injuries. SAN FRANCISCO -- The Washington Nationals found a reliable pitcher for the ninth inning, acquiring All-Star closer Mark Melancon from the Pittsburgh Pirates on Saturday.Washington sent reliever Felipe Rivero and pitching prospect Taylor Hearn to the Pirates for Melancon, who supplants struggling Jonathan Papelbon as Washingtons closer. Melancon is expected to join the Nationals on Sunday for their series finale at San Francisco.Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo and manager Dusty Baker called Melancon on Saturday. Both Rizzo and Baker said they were impressed that Melancon told them he planned to immediately check in with Papelbon.It says a lot about his character and makeup, and that was a big reason why he was such an attractive target to us, Rizzo said. His performance level is great, but his makeup and character are a lot of the reason that we went out and got him. That tells me hes team-first and Mark Melancon second.A 31-year-old right-hander, Melancon has converted 30 of 33 saves with a 1.51 ERA this season and joins his fifth organization in eight years. He is making $9.65 million and is eligible for free agency after the World Series.Once considered a possible successor to Mariano Rivera when he broke into the majors with the New York Yankees in 2009, Melancon said during the All-Star break he knew a trade was possible, given his contract status.The move comes as the Pirates find themselves on the fringe of the wild-card race. While general manager Neal Huntington stressed the team remains committed to reaching the playoffs for a fourth straight season, the opportunity to deal Melancon -- who led the majors with 51 saves in 2015 and had 33 in 14 -- for two young arms with friendly long-term contracts was too good to pass up.Rivero is under team control through 2021 and hit 100 mph on the radar gun regularly during an extended relief appearance against the Pirates this month. If Melancon left as a free agent, Pittsburgh would have received a high draft pick as compensation.We knew full well that holding Mark Melancon would have been a good return, but at the end of the day we felt this was a better return for us, Huntington said.This was Melancons fourth season in Pittsburgh after he also pitched for Houston, Boston and the Yankees.He will move his family once more -- his wife and three kids.This haas been a blast.dddddddddddd Pittsburgh has a special place in heart. My family has been treated so well, Melancon said. The experiences weve had, just running through my mind all the wild-card games, just big games that weve been in. From where we started, to where we are now, it is an honor. It is an honor to be a Pirate. We got to go through those experiences together. My teammates are my best friends.Papelbon is 2-4 with a 4.41 ERA and has allowed eight runs and seven hits in his past three outing. Baker wouldnt say earlier Saturday whether Papelbon still was his closer. Baker pulled Papelbon from a game Thursday in the ninth inning.Rivero, a 25-year-old lefty, is 0-3 with a 4.53 ERA this season. Hearn is a 21-year-old lefty who was the Nationals fifth-round pick in the 2015 amateur draft.The Pirates will plug Rivero into a seventh-inning role, with Neftali Feliz working the eighth and Tony Watson in the ninth. Watson was an All-Star in 2014 in a set-up role and will take over a position where Pittsburgh has enjoyed plenty of success during its rise from mediocrity. Each of its previous three closers: Melanon, Jason Grilli and Joel Hanrahan, made the All-Star team wearing black-and-gold.Manager Clint Hurdle said he will miss Melancon but is confident in his bullpen options.I love the guy, love the family. Happy we had him. He helped us, I believe we helped him, Hurdle said. We are not giving up anything, we arent lowering the bar. We are not settling. Our organization made a baseball trade, with confidence that our bullpen is going to be in a good place. We are going to be able to compete this year, we are going to be able to add to our competition level in the years to come.Huntington hinted the team may try to take the money it will save by not paying the remaining portion of Melancons contract and use it before Mondays trade deadline. The Pirates need help in the starting rotation, which has been forced to turn to rookies Jameson Taillon and Tyler Glasnow quickly as established players Jeff Locke, John Niese and Juan Nicasio faltered.Also Saturday, Washington recalled right-handed pitcher Reynaldo Lopez from Triple-A Syracuse.The Associated Press contributed to this report. ' ' '