Fotoalbum » Charlotte landed a sidewalk slam onto a chair in the center

TORONTO -- Its a sport Brian Burke loves, and one that he is happy to follow closely whenever he gets the chance. Rugby, not just hockey, has been in Burkes heart for decades. Hes played it, watched it and will now take part in directing it as well. Rugby Canada announced Tuesday that Burke is joining its board of directors, giving the former NHL executive a chance to get involved in what he calls his "second favourite sport." "Im really excited about it," said Burke. "I think its a great sport and I think the future of rugby in Canada is very bright." The former general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs first played rugby following a brief playing career in hockey. When he was a 23-year-old law student, Burke said he noticed the Harvard Business School Rugby Football Club practising near where he lived and asked if he could join. "I never played before, never watched before. My older brother played a little bit but I wasnt familiar with the sport," he said. "But I learned to love it. I played for two years after I graduated even though I was practising law." Now 58 years old, Burke is an avid fan of the game. He said he goes to as many of Canadas international games in Toronto as he can, and once even saw the senior mens team play Japan in Bordeaux, France in 2007. "Brian has a deep understanding of professional sports in North America and, with his successes and contacts across the National Hockey League and beyond, were happy to have him involved with Rugby Canada," Graham Brown, chief executive officer of Rugby Canada, said in a release. Burke has had a long relationship with Rugby Canada. Hes spoken at several events put on by the organization and said hes known former president Rick Bourne since around 1990. He said his first priority will be to get more familiar with the senior womens team, who captured its first Nations Cup title earlier this month after beating England, 27-13, for the first time in 20 years. Burke is already impressed with the men, who defeated the U.S. Eagles 27-9 on Sunday in the first leg of qualifying series for the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England. Canada, ranked 15th in the world, hosts the U.S. in the finale Saturday at Torontos BMO Field. The winner of the total-points series advances directly to the World Cup, while the loser gets another shot with a series against Uruguay. "Theyre beating sides that used to beat them easily, theyre in most matches. Theyre not in the elite group yet but theyre on their way," he said. Burke also sees potential in rugby sevens, which will make its Olympic debut at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro. "It bears very little resemblance to 15s. But I think to me, the most exciting thing about sevens is we can attract an audience with our sevens program," he said. "We can get people watching rugby to say, This is cool, and then next thing you know theyre watching 15s." Prior to his tenure with the Leafs, Burke served as a GM with the Hartford Whalers, Vancouver Canucks and Anaheim, winning a Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2007. Hockey is still the priority for Burke, who is currently a part-time scout with the Ducks. A dual citizen, Burke was also GM for the United States mens team that won a silver medal at the 2010 Winter Games and is the director of player personnel for the 2014 Sochi Games. Adidas Nmd Sko Dame . The International Olympic Committee released the official list of bid cities on Friday after the deadline for applications had passed. The candidates -- all previously announced in their own countries -- are: Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing; Krakow, Poland; Lviv, Ukraine; Oslo, Norway; and Stockholm. Adidas Basketball Sko Danmark . Uniteds eighth defeat of a wretched campaign means Liverpool, which currently occupies the fourth and final Champions League place, could go nine points clear of its fierce rival by beating West Bromwich Albion on Sunday. Charlie Adam scored both of Stokes goals at Britannia Stadium either side of Robin van Persies equalizer, with a miserable day for seventh-place United capped by first-half injuries to centre halves Jonny Evans and Phil Jones that forced them off. http://www.dknmdskotilbud.com/ . 10 Texas Rangers jersey for one last time. Young formally announced his retirement Friday after returning to Rangers Ballpark, his baseball home for all but the last of his 13 major league seasons. Adidas Nmd Danmark . Having already announced that the race will start May 9 with three stages in Northern Ireland and Ireland and finish in Trieste on June 1, the rest of the route was unveiled Monday. Adidas Nmd Herre Sort Tilbud . 24 Baylor in a Big 12 clash between teams trending in opposite directions. Andrew Wiggins made 10-of-12 from the foul line and scored 17 for Kansas (14-4, 5-0 Big 12), which capped a stretch of four straight games against ranked opponents unscathed. Charlotte and Sasha Banks were determined to prove in their Hell in a Cell match on Sunday that anything the men could do in WWE, the women can do better.Lets just say they werent far off.In the first womens match of its kind in WWE history, and the first time a womens match closed a pay-per-view card, Charlotte regained the Raw womens championship in a brutal and thrilling classic that wont soon be forgotten.This wasnt just a great match for women, it was one of the top matches overall in 2016 and a blown spot or two (including a partially underwhelming finish) from perfection. It was also the latest chapter in arguably the top rivalry within WWE as the two superstars traded the belt for the fourth time since July 25.Both competitors put over the bitterness in their rivalry in very real and violent ways, constantly pushing the boundaries of whether the injuries they appeared to be sustaining were real or part of the story line.The match came to its conclusion shortly after Banks back gave out while attempting to powerbomb Charlotte through a table inside the ring. Charlotte regained her feet and twice threw Banks onto the table, which never broke, producing a somewhat awkward ending. Charlotte then connected on her Natural Selection finishing move to get the pin.The theme of Banks story line back injury, which was suffered at SummerSlam during their vicious (although often sloppy) match, played a central role from the very beginning Sunday.Following a pair of dramatic entrances that saw Charlotte carried to the ring on a throne and Banks being driven into her hometown arena via Escalade, both wrestlers stood in the ring as the cage was lowered. But Charlotte jumped the reigninng champion and threw her outside of the ring, which led to a brawl in the crowd.dddddddddddd.Charlotte then powerbombed Banks through the announcers table in an incredible spot before the match began. Banks stumbled around the outside of the cage, unable to stand because of her back. But as the medical team laid her onto a stretcher and the announcement was made that she was unable to continue -- meaning the belt would change hands to Charlotte -- Banks dramatically reinserted herself into the match.Charlotte further aggravated the injury by springboarding Sasha into the cage, causing her to land awkwardly on the back of her neck. Moments later, Charlotte landed a sidewalk slam onto a chair in the center of the ring.The physicality only continued leading up to the finish, which included a second blown spot as Charlotte was awkwardly pushed onto a table setup at ringside that didnt quite break as expected.Banks went on to score a near pinfall following a trio of suplexes she executed in honor of her late wrestling hero Eddie Guerrero. She honored Guerrero again seconds later with a five-star frog splash, but it still wasnt enough to secure the pin on Charlotte.The match set a new standard not only for womens pay-per-view matches, but for what can be expected between these two superstars within their rivalry. Banks raised her game to a higher level unseen since her NXT classics with Bayley, and Charlotte continued to show why shes one of the top overall superstars in pro wrestling.For full match recaps and ratings from WWE Hell In A Cell, click here. ' ' '