And a very happy birthday ahead of Friday to Scotlands greatest rugby player. Such titles are inherently subjective and arbitrary, but it was the one conferred last year on Gary Armstrong, who turns 50 on September 30, by the Herald, a paper with a long record of sane and serious coverage of the Scottish game.Armstrong, who won 51 caps at scrum-half between 1988 and 1999, squeezed ahead of Gordon Brown and Andy Irvine at the top of the Glasgow-based papers list of Scotlands all-time greatest 50. ESPNs own John Griffiths in 2003 rated him number 6 in his top 50, with Irvine at No.1, ahead of Gavin Hastings and post-war flanker Doug Elliott.Certainly few players have been more warmly regarded by a greater range of compatriots, not all of them natural rugby fans. Gregor Townsend has recalled his experience as a student of walking into an Edinburgh biker bar whose walls were decorated with news cuttings about Armstrong.It also helps to have been associated with some of the happiest moments in Scotlands rugby history. Armstrong and prop Paul Burnell were the common factors in both the Grand Slam of 1990 and the Five Nations title in 1999. His deft pass was perhaps the key moment in the creation of Tony Stangers decisive try in the 1990 Grand Slam decider against England.Those 51 caps spread across a dozen years might not look so impressive to modern eyes. But there was less international rugby in the era either side of the shift to professional in 1995, and Armstrong was unlucky enough with serious injuries to devote an entire chapter of his autobiography to his medical mishaps. Scotland played 89 matches in all between his debut against Australia in October 1988 and his final appearance against the All Blacks 11 years later.He was also an unlucky Lion. He made the party to Australia in 1989, but was kept out of the tests by Robert Jones -- a rivalry which, to the credit of both, generated friendship and mutual respect -- on Armstrongs own reckoning at that time probably the best scrum-half in the world. Forced to settle on that tour for membership of a memorably happy and effective midweek squad, Donals Doughnuts, led by Irish lock Donal Lenihan, he was slated for a bigger role on the 1993 trip to New Zealand. Coach Ian McGeechan reckoned him likely to be the first name on the team-sheet, but he was ruled out of the tour by a serious groin injury.His home town of Jedburgh ranks a little behind Hawick or Galashiels as a Border hotbed, the Jed-Forest club a periodic rather than a consistent contender for honours. But it provided Scotland with world-class scrum-halves for two decades. Armstrong emerged in succession to Roy Laidlaw, Scotlands scrum-half of the 1980s -- the two facing each other in one final Scottish trial before Laidlaw retired at the end of the 1988 Five Nations.Some commentators were incredulous that the same small club could provide Scotland with consecutive number nines -- in the process squeezing out heir apparent Greig Oliver -- but as Armstrong pointed out he did not just appear out of the blue, having played at youth, under-18, under-21 and B levels before winning his first senior cap.He was, he recalled in his memoirs always a scrum-half. I must have looked like a scrum-half from day one and that was where I was put. Usually identified as the extra loose forward type of scrum-half, he always offered rather more than that.He was fearsomely committed, a quality which made him a favourite of notoriously demanding Scotland coach Jim Telfer. David Sole, the abrasive leader of the 1990 Grand Slam team, said that if you were picking one guy to go over the top you would pick Gary Armstrong. He would put his body on the line for the cause -- a phenomenal player with incredible courage. Jonny Wilkinson, a team mate at Newcastle in the later 1990s, thought of him as the junk-yard dog.But he was much more than a rugged auxiliary to the fine back rows Scotland could field in the 1990s. His aim was to keep opponents guessing, never sure whether he would pass, break or kick. The golden rule was never, ever to give his half-back partner bad ball, a priority he kept to the extent that legendary Scottish commentator Bill McLaren, writing at a time when Armstrong had already amassed 30 caps, could not recall an occasion on which he passed on rubbish ball to his partner.And he had a wider range of skills than is often remembered. Like every other team-mate, Townsend admired his toughness and commitment, but for me, his kicking game and ability to break tackles were just as impressive. Taking a therapeutic career break from the pressures of playing scrum-half in 1993, he had sufficient all-round ball-playing skills to appear at outside-half, full-back and centre for Jed-Forest before the needs of both club and country compelled a return to the number nine shirt.And he got smarter as he got older, using the opportunity to dedicate himself full-time after the switch to professionalism post-1995 to develop his game -- Townsend noting that playing and training as a professional for Newcastle had made him a more rounded player. He no longer played like a ninth forward and his first option was to quickly get the ball in my hands.His Scotland career might have ended much sooner than it did. There were the injuries, that sabbatical in the 1993-4 season and numerous offers to move to rugby league. His autobiography details how close he came to signing for the Carlisle club before a background check revealed the league teams financial instability.A lorry driver in the pre-professional eras, he was a significant beneficiary of the transformation post 1995. He was not only paid his considerable worth by the original big-money club, with whom he won an English championship in 1998, but extended his career by several seasons.His 1995 autobiography made it clear that the prospect of after-dinner speaking was enough to put him off becoming captain -- although he was a keen participant in the less formal aspects of post-match banquets -- but he wound up leading his country, captaining Scotland to the final Five Nations championship before ending with the 1999 World Cup match against the All Blacks.Scotland has hardly been ill-served since at scrum-half. Bryan Redpath and Andy Nicol were the immediate competitors to succeed him, while Mike Blair, Chris Cusiter and Greig Laidlaw have ensured that, whatever their limitations elsewhere, Scotland have fielded consistent quality in the number nine shirt.But where Armstrong left Scotland as champions they have not won, or come near to winning, a title in the 17 seasons since. Coincidence? One rather suspects not. Melker Karlsson Jersey . -- Arizona knocked off some quality opponents, rolled over a few overmatched ones and grinded out victories even when things didnt go so well. Joonas Donskoi Jersey . -- The goal posts lying flat on the field, Arizonas fans lingered on the field, congregating around the locker room entrance nearly 30 minutes after rushing out of the stands. http://www.cheapsharksjerseys.com/ . 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ATHENS, Ga. -- Freshman Tyree Crump scored 16 points and senior Kenny Paul Geno came off the bench to score a career-high 15 points and Georgia beat Morehouse 86-72 on Wednesday night.Geno entered having scored only three points in the Bulldogs first six games, but scored nine points in nine minutes in the first half and Georgia (5-2) led 36-30 at halftime.The Maroon Tigers, members of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, made just one of eight 3-point attempts before intermission.Georgia led 56-46 with 11:17 left in the game on a 3-pointer by Crump, who shot 4 of 4 from the floor, 2 of 2 from long distance and made all four of his free throws.Tyrius Walker led Morehouse (4-3) with 24 points. Jordan Wallace scored 13 and Martravious Little had 12.Junior forward Yante Maten scored 14 points, his 23rd straight game in double figures for Georgia. Freshman Jordan Harris finished with 11 pointss.ddddddddddddRED CROSSGeorgia junior Juwan Parker sat out the Morehouse game with soreness in his Achilles. Parker missed last year with an Achilles injury. Junior college transfer Pape Diatta of Dakar, Senegal, got his first career start in Parkers place.DOUBLE DUTYMorehouse Athletic Director Andre Patillo was on site doing his duties as an evaluator of officials for the Southeastern Conference.UP NEXTGeorgia: hosts Marquette Sunday afternoon. It will be Marquettes first trip to Stegeman Coliseum in Athens since the 1971 Mideast Regionals, when Al McGuires undefeated Warriors lost in the regional semifinals to Ohio State. Dean Meminger fouled out for the only time in his career.Morehouse: hosts Tuskegee Saturday in its first Southern Intercollegate Athletic Conference game. Youth NFL Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale Jerseys Nike NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys 2020 Wholesale Jerseys 2020 China Jerseys White NFL Jerseys Cheap ' ' '