Dein erstes Forum » ommunity, then we can get buy-in from all parties, whet

HOUSTON -- Texans running back Arian Fosters strained right calf will keep him off the practice field until training camp this summer. Foster was injured in an off-season practice on Tuesday. Tests revealed no further damage, but the strain will keep Foster on crutches for at least a couple of days. Coach Gary Kubiak said he expects his leading rusher to be fine, but that he wont participate in the teams practices over the next two weeks. "Dont expect me to bring him back out here," Kubiak said. "Were not going to do anything to take a risk with him ... so well just go to work on getting him healthy and getting him ready for training camp." Kubiak said that Foster, who ran for 1,424 yards last season, was injured simply taking a step on a play on Tuesday. He believes Foster will be healthy in plenty of time for the start of training camp, which usually is held in late July. Kubiak expects Foster to have to be at the stadium working with the medical staff to get better for the next few weeks. "It might have ruined Arians summer," Kubiak said. "Hes going to have to be here a lot." Ben Tate is the only other running back on the roster that was with the team last season after Houston lost free agent Justin Forsett in free agency to the Jaguars. Houston added Deji Karim, who has just 290 yards rushing in three NFL seasons, and four undrafted rookies earlier this month to beef up the thin group. Tate had 65 carries for 279 yards backing up Foster last season. He missed five games with injuries in 2012 after sitting out his entire rookie season in 2010 after breaking an ankle in his first preseason game. His best season came in 2011 when he ran for 942 yards and four touchdowns in 15 games. Though Fosters injury will have Tate practicing with the first team, he wasnt that excited about the extra work hell get in organized team activities. "Its OTAs. I want more reps during the game," he said. "I dont really care about OTAs. Its always good to perfect your craft and get better, but its OTAs, its not even training camp." Despite that, hes hoping he can contribute more this season and work with Foster to make Houstons running game better. "I want to come in and get better every single day and do whatever coaches ask me to do to help this team take the next step," he said. Also on Wednesday, Kubiak provided an update on injured safety Ed Reed, who had hip surgery in Colorado last month. Kubiak said he returned to his home in Atlanta this week to begin a rehabilitation program there. Kubiak had a long talk with the nine-time Pro Bowler on Tuesday and expects him in Houston for the teams mandatory mini-camp that begins June 11. He said Reed, who signed a three-year contract with Houston after spending 11 seasons with Baltimore, will travel with the Ravens next week as they celebrate their Super Bowl victory with a visit to the White House. Mark McGwire Cardinals Jersey . Gather a group of friends, or find a league to join online, draft your team, set your lineup and compete in a number of different formats. Stan Musial Jersey .C. Lions has come to an end. Banks told TSN on Jan 2 that he had no interest in playing out the option year of his contract with the Lions in 2014, and he again made that clear in a conversation with Lions GM Wally Buono last week. http://www.authenticcardinalspro.com/cardinals-steve-carlton-jersey/ .2 billion agreement with Rogers Communications for the leagues broadcast and multimedia rights. Lou Brock Jersey . Shot outdoors against the stunning backdrop of Banff, Alta., the networks 30-minute original production airs tonight at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2. The four All-Star teams will play for $100,000 in prize money during TSNs annual skins game, airing live this weekend on TSN from The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre. Michael Wacha Cardinals Jersey .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. The growth of Smash events has provided unique challenges for event coordinators. Within the past five years alone, viewership has blossomed from the hundreds to the thousands. Although this is a boon for the Smash community, this also raises concerns about the stability of the scene. How will coordinators, for example, sustain the ecosystem while nurturing the growth of scene?In lieu of these challenges, the Smash community launched its own compendium for events utilizing Smash.gg as a platform. The compendium store sells merchandise and content provided by community members in order to raise funds for events. Events like Genesis and The Big House use these profits to fund extra perks, such as all-day friendly rooms, flights and accommodations for top players, as well as larger prize pots for the winners. Over the past two years, the compendium has quickly grown as the fundraising platform for Smash events.The necessity of crowdfundingFor many players, the compendium has been integral to helping them travel to major events. Many esports teams have added top Smash players, but there are still many players that have to cover their own travel costs. Mustafa Ice Akcakaya, a top-15 player from Germany, reflects on the compendium:The compendiums have been a great help to me, he said. And I thank the community for supporting me to go to events that I would have not been able to otherwise.In previous years, events were much more manageable for grassroots Smash organizers. Robin Harn, the event coordinator of The Big House series, ran the first Big House tournament in 2011 by hosting115 players in a University of Michigan ballroom. Since then -- thanks in part to the Smash Documentary that ignited the growing interest in Smash -- attendance has skyrocketed.Unfortunately, scalability becomes a larger concern. Smash events have grown beyond card shops and college classrooms, as organizers now have to turn to hotel ballrooms and convention centers. Production costs have also skyrocketed, now that high-quality streams, videos and peripheral content become essential to events. Harn and several others have realized that crowdfunding remains a popular option for other industries.Through a collaborative effort with other organizers and Smash.gg, Harn helped launch The Big House compendium, an online store and content platform that supports community goals and provides more resources for events. Last year, The Big House 5 compendium added $12,000 to the prize pool, funded the regional crew battles and provided flights for international players.Overall, the goal is to empower, whether its a top player needing help to attend or a content creator wwho wants more eyes on their work.dddddddddddd Tournaments such as Big House are so big yet grassroots. There is still no financial support from Nintendo, which is why the compendium style efforts are so valuable, said Harn.As Shantanu Talapatra, the CEO of Smash.gg, explained, Most other organizations focus on a top-down approach. We want to enable the esports market from a bottoms-up standpoint, where tournament organizers, content creators and players can use our platform as a resource to grow their tournaments, sales and branding.Improvements to the compendiumThe compendium hasnt been without issues, as many complained about how the earlier compendium operated. In older iterations, the event organizers predetermined the reward levels of compendiums and many community members complained that their money was going toward rewards they had no interest in. Others have complained about compendium fatigue, which is when the novelty of the compendium quickly wears off as the community becomes less enthused about buying similar items.In regard to the long term sustainability of compendiums, Harn stated, Sustaining Smash majors is still going to require eventual investment from sponsors or developers. Even if compendiums are not the answer long term, theyre a big help for now. As long as organizers create a compendium platform that empowers the free market of the Smash community, then we can get buy-in from all parties, whether its the players, spectators or content creators.While the compendium might not last forever, the community feedback helped Talapatra redesign several aspects of the compendium. Now, the community votes via Twitter to determine which players are supported with funding. Reward levels are no longer predetermined, as buyers can now allocate profits to a specific reward. The compendium continues to improve its store with unique items. The Big House 6 compendium, for example, offers top player lessons, customized GameCubes, signed controllers and top player trading cards.The benefits of the compendiumThe compendium has enabled many stakeholders of the Smash community. Aspiring content creators have an avenue to connect with a large fan base to sell their items and increase their exposure. Top players have opportunities to travel to events that they previously could not afford. Event coordinators have larger budgets to provide extra benefits for attendees. And viewers at home are treated to a much greater experience. Although the format isnt perfect yet, its a step in the right direction. ' ' '