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. David West Jersey .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. DAngelo Russell Warriors Jersey . In the lead up - which seemed to begin the moment Mike Geiger blew the whistle in Houston last Thursday night - the Impact rumour mill went into overdrive. The speculation went into meltdown mode, of the golden nugget variety. Klay Thompson Warriors Jersey . -- Charlie Graham stopped 67 shots as the Belleville Bulls edged the visiting Guelph Storm 6-5 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. https:///...City-Edition-Jersey/ . Coach Mike Munchak says Fokou stretched ligaments in his left knee Oct. 13 against Seattle, which could keep out up to five weeks even though the linebacker didnt need surgery. Tom Poynton, the Derbyshire wicketkeeper, has announced his retirement from the game aged 26. Poynton was involved in a car crash in 2014 - in which his father was killed - and the ankle injury he sustained has continued to cause problems, prompting his decision to quit.Until last month, Poynton had been involved in every game for Derbyshire this season. However, the ankle flared up again and is expected to require further surgery, with Poynton deciding it will no longer hold up to the rigours of playing professionally.Its been a really difficult decision to retire from the game I love, but the medical diagnosis and advice means I know that its the right decision, Poynton said. Im grateful to everyone in the Derbyshire cricket family and further afield who have helped me during my career, both on and off the field.Ive loved playing for Derbyshire, a club Ive been associated with for over 10 years, and Im sad to leave. I now need to focus on the next stage of my life after cricket. Theres a few opportunities that Im going to pursue and Im excited about what lies ahead.Poynton came through Derbyshires acaademy, representing England Under-19s and going on to play more than 100 matches for the county. Kevin Durant Jersey. He made his Derbyshire debut aged 17 and in 2012 was involved in the third-highest ninth-wicket partnership in first-class history, putting on 261 with Wayne Madsen and scoring his maiden hundred.In all, Poynton scored 1155 runs in first-class cricket, to go with 107 catches and 10 stumpings. While recovering from his injuries during the 2014 season, he worked in the clubs marketing department.Derbyshires chief executive, Simon Storey, said: Tom is a model professional and leaves the club with a gap to fill on and off the field. He is a natural leader and fine cricketer who has overcome great personal tragedy in the process of representing his home county.He has shown huge commitment and courage to get back playing first-class cricket at Derbyshire and on behalf of the whole club - members, sponsors, supporters and staff - we all wish Tom every success in the future. ' ' '