nd final game of the 1979 Challenge Cup at Madison Square Garden. The Master (as John was affectionately called) was a very good communicat

A change of clothing, a change of ball, a change of format, a change of personnel. A change of fortune? Australia would certainly hope so. After the humiliation of the No. 1 Test side in the world being whitewashed by the No. 7, Steven Smiths men are now searching for a win - any old win - to restore a little bit of self-confidence. There are two pieces of good news for Australia that will encourage them ahead of this five-match ODI series.One: Rangana Herath is not playing. The man who claimed 28 wickets in the Test series retired from ODIs earlier this year. Two: the Australians might find the pitches for the ODI series a little more to their liking. Of course, it should be noted that there was nothing wrong with the Test pitches. But surfaces designed for 50-over matches and plenty of entertainment - those will suit Australia more.Just as in the Tests, Australia enter this series as No. 1 in the world - the difference is that their lead is so sufficient that even a total disaster will not see them drop from the top spot. A change of personnel will bring some freshness to the group. From outside the Test squad come James Faulkner, Aaron Finch, Adam Zampa, George Bailey, Travis Head and Matthew Wade.Still, that leaves nine members of the ODI party who must shake off the disappointments of the past month and find fresh spark in the shorter format. Along with Smith, and his deputy David Warner, there is Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Moises Henriques. Mitchell Marsh was originally named in the squad, but has been sent home to rest.No matter where you play, if youre not winning, things are going to be a little bit flat, Faulkner said in Colombo on the eve of the first ODI. But weve got some new faces, and Im one of them, that come into the group and bring some energy and some excitement for the five games and the two T20s after that.Faulkner is, at least, certain to play the first match, after being dropped at the end of the ODI tri-series in the Caribbean in June. But what the rest of Australias XI will look like remains a mystery. The axing of Glenn Maxwell, Australias reigning ODI cricketer of the year, alters the balance of the side, while the return of Warner from injury and the inclusion of Shaun Marsh create a top-order glut.The likelihood is that Warner and Finch will open, and it would take a brave selector to leave Marsh out, given the form he displayed in the Colombo Test. That might in turn make it hard to find room for Khawaja, who was second only to Smith on Australias run charts in the West Indies tri-series. But the dropping of Maxwell from not only the XI but the wider squad shows that almost nobody is safe.Besides the skipper, no one else is really guaranteed a spot in the side, Finch told reporters in Colombo on Friday. You have to be performing all the time. You just have to keep getting the business done, and if you dont, theres always someone breathing down your neck for your spot.When youve got young guys performing well, Travis Head to go to England and get 175 [for Yorkshire] and play well in the last domestic one-day summer, theres always someone breathing down your neck. So you have to be performing all the time, or have a real lot of credits in the bank.One player with almost unlimited credits in the bank is Starc, the Player of the Tournament in last years World Cup and arguably the most dangerous wielder of a white ball at pace in the world right now. Not only that, but Starc is coming off the sort of Test series that would seem fanciful for a fast bowler in Asia: 24 wickets at 15.16, a wicket every 26 balls. The only question is whether the selectors may wish to rest Starc at some point during the ODI series.The other query around Australias attack is whether they will opt for one or two spinners. The young legspinner Zampa has shown remarkable poise during his first year as an international cricketer and is coming off an outstanding Caribbean Premier League season. He should be the starting spinner, ahead of Lyon, who in any case could use a break after sending down 154 overs in the Test series, the most for any bowler from either side.Whatever side Australias selectors come up with, at least they can view this change of format as a fresh start. swell Gourde . Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC failed to make the postseason while Montreal Impact fell at the first hurdle losing heavily to Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round. Bouteille S well Bois .5 seconds to play in the game, Kevin Love never stopped believing that they would come out of there with a win. http://www.swellbouteille.fr/ . Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck of the Vancouver Giants were each charged with assault causing bodily harm on Aug. 18, according to the B.C. court services. Bouteille SWell Marbre . Tests earlier this week revealed a Grade 2 left hamstring strain for Sabathia, who was hurt in last Fridays start against San Francisco. Its an injury that will require about eight weeks to heal. He finished a disappointing campaign just 14-13 with a career-worst 4. S Well Bouteille Paris . "Jeff is a hard worker who was an important special-teams contributor for us last season," said Stamps GM John Hufnagel.Congratulations to the following officials that have been selected by the National Hockey League to work the 2012-13 Stanley Cup Final series between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Boston Bruins: Referees: Wes McCauley, Dan OHalloran , Chris Rooney, Brad Watson Linesmen: Shane Heyer, Brian Murphy, Pierre Racicot, Jay Sharrers The majority of players from both teams and the game officials are no strangers to the excitement and pressures that surround a Cup Final. They have been there before and know what it takes to succeed. One notable exception is referee Wes McCauley, who will appear in the Final for the first time. Inclusion as a member of the Final Four referees and linesmen is a huge accomplishment. Being selected is certainly the pinnacle of every officials career and a signal to the hockey world that they are regarded as the best of the best. Referee McCauley has had a terrific playoff run by my ratings and certainly deserves his place at the top. His uncanny feel for the game (almost a lost art) allowed for the expected playoff intensity to flourish in each game he called. Most importantly, McCauley demonstrated the courage and good judgment to make the tough call at any point in the game regardless of the score or time. He did not put his whistle away! Wes McCauley is about to enter uncharted waters. The stakes are higher and the focus of the hockey world intensifies in this final round. I remember it well. No one gets to this level of proficiency without the assistance of coworkers and mentors. The night prior to my first Stanley Cup Final game, I had the good fortune of dining with the best mentor I could have hoped for. John McCauley, then Director of Officiating (Wes McCauleys father) prepared me for what to expect and instilled in me the confidence I needed to succeed. John McCauley had been a well respected referee in the NHL until his career was cut short from a sucker-punch in the eye by a drunken hockey fan from Kapuskaing, Ontario. The blow was delivered after the Soviet National Team had trounced a collection of NHL All-Stars in the third and final game of the 1979 Challenge Cup at Madison Square Garden. The Master (as John was affectionately called) was a very good communicator, was blessed with a very quick wit and terrific judgment that served him well as both a referee and following his eye injury as Director of Officiating. One time in the Boston Garden, Wayne Cashman was upset at one of McCauleys calls and told the Master he was going to shoot a puck at the refs head. John didnt bat an eye and told Cashman if that was the case he would just skate over and stand in the opponents net. From that location he wouuld be safest guy in the building if Cash was aiming for him! It was a hot and sunny afternoon in May, 1985, when I arrived in Philadelphia prior to Game 2 of the Cup Final between the Flyers and the Edmonton Oilers.dddddddddddd It was just my third season to have participated in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and a selection to the Final could have very easily overwhelmed me. I checked into the Hershey Hotel on Broad Street that was designated as the NHL headquarters and media hotel. The lobby was bustling with activity and swarming with members of the media; the likes of which I had never experienced. As I looked for an escape route from the lobby mob scene I was approached by my boss, John McCauley, who invited me to join him for an early dinner. Looking back on it now I believe it wasnt just by chance, but more by design, that I bumped into the Master and was invited to dinner. John wanted to make sure that I got off on the right foot by preparing me for this new experience. He truly cared about his staff; each and every one of us and was the kind of boss you would go through the wall for. After we ordered dinner, John asked me how I was feeling. I confessed to being a little nervous (understatement) but was excited about the opportunity he had given me. What John McCauley shared with me in that moment is what he would also tell his eldest son Wes if John had not passed away at just 45 years of age following the 1989 Stanley Cup Final. I now pass along the Masters words of wisdom from that conversation to Wes McCauley as he too prepares for his first appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals. "You earned the right to be here (selection to Stanley Cup Final) based on your work throughout these playoffs. I assigned you to some very tough games and you passed the test with flying colors. You have proven to me that I can put you in any situation and you will neither disappoint nor let me down. Your work made the games better. I have the utmost confidence in your ability. That confidence is being rewarded with your first selection to the Stanley Cup Final. While I know there will be many more Cup Finals in your future, take this one game at a time. Prepare yourself and officiate no differently than you have in all the other games I have assigned you to. Enjoy the moment and have fun with it. I trust in your ability and most of all I believe in you!" I have no doubt that referee Wes McCauley will do a great job in his first trip to the Stanley Cup Final. If he listens closely in his heart, I would also bet that he will hear his father whisper the same words of wisdom and vote of confidence that the Master offered me. ' ' '