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The NFL has created a position to address the lack of women in coaching and scouting roles at the team level and named former womens football pro tackle player Sam Rapoport as director of football development.Rapoports role will be to identify women who are knowledgeable about the game and train them, and to create a space for those women in the social networks that often lead to jobs in football.My role is to create programming to show them that the pipeline is open to them, Rapoport said Tuesday, and create that pipeline for females to enter into positions that were traditionally held by men.Opportunities for women and minorities have been a focus for the NFL in the past year. The leagues insularity was exposed during the crisis surrounding Ray Rices domestic violence suspension. Last winter, women in the front office planned a womens summit that was held during the Super Bowl. There, commissioner Roger Goodell announced the NFL front office was creating a Rooney Rule for women in front-office jobs, meaning that for every managerial position and higher, a woman would be interviewed before a hire is made.With 52.6 million women viewing the Super Bowl this past February, according to the NFL, the league wants to expand opportunities for women in, for example, officiating and as athletic trainers.In such a strategic hire as this, we needed to have an individual that is passionate and knowledgeable in this space, NFL EVP of football operations Troy Vincent said. Sam is an excellent fit.Currently, 30 percent of the NFLs front-office employees are women. Football operations jobs are a different story. Sarah Thomas became the first woman hired as a full-time referee last year, and Kathryn Smith is a full-time quality-control coach for the Bills.Rapoport, as a former player, is plugged into a network of women who have played the game known as professional womens football even though players generally dont get paid to play. Jen Welter, the first woman to coach in the NFL through a coaching internship with the Arizona Cardinals, had a background in womens tackle and later played and coached men. Similarly, the NFL wants to mine that talent and train women for possible jobs in coaching and scouting.Playing tackle football obviously is not a prerequisite to being an excellent coach, Rapoport said. Adam Gase coaches the Dolphins and never played (in college or the NFL), and there are others. Its not a prerequisite, but in order to be a good coach, you have to have a general knowledge of football and you have to be able to relay that info in a coherent way to players. And, to me, that translates to male or female. Do you know your stuff, and are you able to relay that in a coherent way?Connecting qualified women with NFL teams may be a bigger challenge. Rapoport has been calling general managers and owners to set up a committee on gender inclusion. With just two months on the job, she is in the early stages, but the goal is to create connections that can lead to jobs in a field where many hires are based on previous relationships in mens football.Thats how any job -- not just football, but any job thats a prestigious job -- is acquired, Rapoport said. Thats our biggest barrier. We didnt grow up in the male tackle football world, so we dont have a friend who is a coach, or, I played for him, so hell recommend me for a job.Thats a reason this position exists, and thats a big-time focus for me, just connecting owners and general managers to women who are very qualified and very passionate and ready to go.Rapoport played flag and touch football growing up in Canada and was a member of the Canadian national flag team. She has worked in football since 2003, first with a marketing internship with the NFL and later developing a national flag football program for girls during her six years with USA Football.In 2003, as a quarterback for the Montreal Blitz, Rapoport applied for her NFL internship by sending her résumé along with photo of herself in pads and a football. She wrote on the football with a Sharpie, What other quarterback could accurately deliver a football 386 miles?She got the internship.I was told it stood out among the other applicants, Rapoport said.Rangers Jerseys China . Dusautoir, the former World Player of the Year, sustained a torn bicep playing for Toulouse in the Heineken Cup on Saturday. The flanker, who has played 65 times for France, is expected to be out for up to four months. Wholesale Custom Rangers Shirts . The Islanders dealt Thomas Vanek to the Montreal Canadiens after less than a year on Long Island. Meanwhile, the Oilers dealt long-time sniper Ales hemsky to the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday for a fifth-round pick in 2014 and a third-rounder in 2015. http://www.custommlbrangersjersey.com/custom-ivan-rodriguez-jersey-large-73t.html . -- Jakob Silfverberg is making himself right at home with the Anaheim Ducks, scoring four goals in his first four games. Custom Rangers Jersey China . The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling "puts an end to my dreams of being a top player," the 27-year-old Troicki said in a statement. "I worked my entire life for it, and it has been taken away from me in one afternoon by a doctor I didnt know," said Troicki, whose ranking peaked at No. Authentic Custom Rangers Jersey . Reassurance came from Paul Tesori, his caddie and close friend whose newborn son is in intensive care in a Florida hospital. "Paul sent me a text this morning, just told me he loved me and wanted to go out and fight as hard as I would any other day," Simpson said Sunday after doing just that.CHICAGO -- Holly Holm has suffered consecutive defeats for the first time in her storied combat sports career.Holm (10-2) came up short in a five-round bantamweight fight against Valentina Shevchenko on Saturday. A former professional kickboxer, Shevchenko (13-2) picked Holm apart over the course of 25 minutes en route to a unanimous decision. All three judges scored the fight convincingly for Shevchenko (49-46).The fight, which headlined UFC Fight Night at the United Center, was Holms first appearance since she lost the UFC championship to Miesha Tate in March. Holm submitted to a rear-naked choke in the fifth round of that bout but was mostly in control until then. That was not the case Saturday, as Shevchenko consistently beat Holm to the punch on the feet.Holm, 34, is 0-2 since knocking?Ronda Rousey?out at UFC 193 in November. She had never lost back-to-back fights, dating to her professional boxing career from 2002 to 2013.We expected counterpunches, Thai clinch game, trips, and she did all that, Holm said. We trained for it. I was taught all the right things. No excuses. My coaches teach me everything. My performance was not right tonight.Holm was a betting favorite going into Saturday, though a significant amount of money came in on Shevchenko in the 24 hours leading up the bout. Fighting out of Peru, the native of Kyrgyzstan is a seasoned striker, but Holm is listed as 3 inches taller, with a 2-inch reach advantage. Holm fought at a higher weight in boxing.In the first round, the size seemed to throw Shevchenko off a bit. Holm dropped Shevchenko with a short right hand and, after giving up a takedown, popped immediately back to her feet.By the second frame, however, Shevchenko started to find her range. She caught Holm coming in with the counter right hand over and over again and started to find a home for the inside leg kick. She threw a wicked, counter-spinning back fist that Holm just managed to block. Momentum was firmly in Shevchenkos corner after the second round, and she never relinquished it.According to immediate cageside stats from FightMetric, Shevchenko out-landed Holm in total strikes 110 to 69. Shevchenko, 28, improved to 2-1 in the UFC with the win. Her loss came via decision to current champion Amanda Nunes in March.Amanda is a good fighter. She has good standing and good ground game -- and of course, I want a rematch with Nunes for the title belt, Shevchenko said.Holm seemed to be aware that she was behind on the scorecards as the fight wore on. Shevchenko opened a small cut over Holms right eye in the third round, though that didnt seem to have a huge effect on Holm. Shevchenko scored a takedown later in the round and finished with hard elbows from the top position.With the Chicago crowd chanting Holms name, the former champ tried to get her left kick going -- arguably her most devastating strike -- but the counterstriking of Shevchenko limited its effect.The UFCs 135-pound womens division has been in flux since Holms knockout of Rousey. Tate managed to hold the title for just four months, as she lost in her first title defense to Nunes at UFC 200 on July 9.I know there are competitive girls in this sport. I know theres always somebody coming in, Holm said. The top five arent the same top five they were [before]. I feel like, especially this beinng the first womens division in the UFC, everyone looks at that and says, I want to fight there.dddddddddddd So they work hard. It has created a lot of competition in our weight class, which is good. I want to feel like Im up against the best. I know these girls are tough. Thats what makes a win great and a loss devastating.Despite consecutive defeats, Holm remains one of the bigger draws of the womens bantamweight division. She has potential rematches against Tate and Rousey. The UFC has also shown interest in a potential fight between Holm and dominant 145-pounder Cris Cyborg Justino, who made her UFC debut earlier this year in a 140-pound catchweight.Holm declined to comment on which of those shed be most interested in.Coming off two losses, Ive never been in this position before, Holm said. Personally, yeah, I have some wins, but I dont really feel like Im in the place to choose. I think I just have to take whatever opportunities they give me.Barboza gets the best of MelendezLightweight contender Edson Barboza (18-4) defeated former Strikeforce champion and two-time UFC title challenger Gilbert Melendez (22-6) via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28). Barboza assaulted Melendezs body and legs with kicks, to the point that Melendez could barely stand on his lead leg by the third round.Melendez, who sat out the past year due to a drug suspension, mixed his strikes well early on but couldnt match the Brazilians offense over the course of three rounds. He hurt Barboza with a right hand in the second round and enticed him into an extended exchange but then elected to shoot a double-leg takedown in the middle of it. Barboza fought off the attempt and managed to clear the cobwebs in the process.It was one of several failed takedown attempts by Melendez. As early as the first round, Barbozas kicks and left hooks produced red welts on Melendezs body.Barboza, who trains with Mark Henry and Ricardo Almeida Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy in New Jersey, has put together two consecutive high-profile wins against Melendez and Anthony Pettis. Barboza mentioned former champion Rafael dos Anjos as a potential next opponent.Ngannou finishes off MihajlovicFrench heavyweight Francis Ngannou (8-1) steamrolled his third consecutive UFC opponent in knocking out Bojan Mihajlovic with strikes on the ground at 1:34 of the first round. Mihajlovic looked out of his league from the start. Ngannou stalked his opponent around the Octagon, calmly looking for an opening. It came in the form of a blistering left hook, which put Mihajlovic down. Ngannou swarmed the Serbian with punches to finish the fight. Ngannou is 3-0 in the UFC.Herrig returns to submit CurranStrawweight Felice Herrig (11-6) came off a 15-month layoff and submitted Kailin Curran (4-3) via rear-naked choke at 1:59 of the opening round. Herrig scored a takedown after blocking a Curran head kick in the first minute. Herrig quickly passed guard and jumped straight to Currans back. Curran stood briefly, but Herrig stayed on her and slipped her right arm under Currans chin. Curran fell backward and eventually tapped to the choke. It is the fourth submission win of Herrigs career. Curran drops to 1-3 in the UFC. ' ' '