Andy Carroll had a quiet transfer deadline day. Jamie Langenbrunner Jersey . He trained, prepared himself for his first home start of the season and got rid of some overdue baggage, finally shaving off his overgrown beard. It was three years to the day since he was the most expensive British signing in history. January 31st, 2011 changed the Gateshead lad forever. Playing and scoring goals for his boyhood club, Newcastle United, Carroll was enjoying the dream life - on the pitch. Off it was a constant battle. That Andy Carroll came with some serious baggage. Multiple assault charges finally saw him granted bail on the condition of him moving to a permanent residence, rather than a hotel. Newcastle teammate Kevin Nolan took him in and put a curfew on Carroll to help him stay out of trouble. "I said he could stay, I cleared it with the Mrs, of course, first, Nolan later reflected. She was down in Liverpool a lot of the time so we were like roommates. He was a pretty good cook. Pasta with tomatoes, chicken; things like that." On the field, Nolan wanted nothing changed and loved making runs from midfield to get on the end of a knockdown by the big striker. Back at the family home, issues around Carroll continued when his car was set on fire in the driveway and graffiti was written all over the garage door. The Nolan family stuck by him as the midfielder revealed to the Guardian, back in 2010: "Andy has got to be indoors for 10.30pm and he has got to be in bed by 11pm. Wed already got the kids on curfews, so its no trouble to enforce.What I have learnt about Andy, though, is that hes always asleep at the wrong time, like when I get him up early to do the school run with me. He gets up at 10 to eight and we leave at five past. We then have our breakfast at the training ground. I dont know if he likes it but thats the way it is." Carroll would later see the assault charges dropped and as he moved out of the Nolan household, he did with much less baggage. Nolan told the Daily Mirror in 2012: "When you look back on it now, it was bizarre him staying with us, but it worked. In our family, thats what we do for our friends. Ive been brought up like that by my mum and dad. "I know Andy was very grateful for what we did for him, thats why were so close. He has his family there for him but sometimes you need other people as well." Carrolls 35 million pound move to Liverpool in 2011 was called a dream move by Nolan, who was obviously delighted for his mate, but the dream soon turned out to be a nightmare for Carroll. It was not a move that came too soon for him. It was simply a move that should never have come at all. Liverpool captured the Englishman on the day they let Fernando Torres leave. The 35 million pound figure they paid was never what Carroll was worth. It was simply a number Newcastle, on the final day of the transfer window, would allow their goal scorer to leave for. Incredibly, Liverpool took the bait and Carrolls life changed forever. Sure, there were some good moments, such as scoring the winner at Wembley over Everton in the FA Cup semifinal, but there were some tough moments too and when Kenny Dalglish was replaced by Brendan Rodgers as manager, it was only a matter of time that Carroll would be moved on. Nineteen months after signing at Anfield, Carroll was reunited with Nolan, this time down south at West Ham, agreeing to a season-long loan. "He has learned so much. There is a different lad standing in that dressing room now. There is a man who can look after himself and do the right things on a daily basis," Nolan said. Carroll did enough last season to convince the Hammers to pay Liverpool 15 million pounds and hand the striker a new six year contract. Except, once again, Carroll came with baggage, this time in the case of a heel injury that he picked up on the final day of last season against Reading. The injury proved to be far worse than original thought and with Carroll out for months; West Ham struggled badly, causing many to panic, including the clubs co-owner David Sullivan. "Had we known he would be out for this long, we would not have signed him," Sullivan told the BBCs Football Focus in December. "We are not a rich enough club to deal with that. You know any player can get injured, but we cant buy a player knowing he is going to be out for half the season. When we signed him we were assured by the medical staff that the very, very latest he would be back was September 1st. That would have meant he would only miss two league games." Sullivan has every right to look after his investments but it seemed a bizarre thing to say publicly. Even if he privately believed it, it is not as if the money spent on Carroll could have gone on another player who would have instantly changed the clubs fortunes. You only have to look at the long list of strikers bought for a lot of money, in the Premier League, to know many do not work out. Injury or no injury, that label is yet to be attached to the now 25-year-old Carroll. The jury still remains out on what he can actually become. On Saturday he started his second game of the season, at home to Swansea, and in the first half showed exactly why West Ham wanted to spend that amount of money on him. Carroll was magnificent, finding pockets of space to hold up the ball and supply wide men, choosing his battles in between Chico Flores and Dwight Tiendalli, to regularly win aerial duels, and then winning two significant headers that set up the games two goals, in a 2-0 West Ham win. The beneficiary? Nolan of course. Like Carroll, the 2013-14 season had been a season to forget so far for the Hammers captain but he had no injury to blame for his torrid campaign. Nolan scored 10 goals from midfield last season and had been expected to score regularly again this season but, heading into Saturday, the 31-year-old had as many league red cards as goals this season (2). After the second red card, against Fulham in December, manager Sam Allardyce had seen enough, fining him two weeks wages (100 thousand pounds), saying: "Our captain was irresponsible. Not just today but for the future because he is suspended. Hes let everyone down and himself. I just dont quite understand where hes lost his cool and why its happened." Nolan sat out seven games through suspension but on Saturday he was reunited with his mate, playing just behind Carroll, giving West Ham fans what they hope to be a glimpse at the partnership that can keep their team in the Premier League this season. Except, once again more baggage comes with Carroll. In the second half on Saturday he was sent off for extending a wild arm to Chico Floress head. Allardyce called it an injustice and plans to appeal against it but if that is unsuccessful Carroll will again sit out for three more games. Once Carroll returns he will have gone nine months without playing a full 90 minutes. He will have three months to not only play a pivotal role in saving West Hams season but also attempt to get on Roy Hodgsons England plane to Brazil. At the moment he appears to be completely off Hodgsons radar but in just 45 minutes on Saturday he showed why he should be more than just considered if he can play regularly. Carroll offers something completely different to the England manager, who has enough quick forwards looking to get in behind a defensive line. Carroll showed against Sweden in Euro 2012 that he can be a real handful for international defenders if the quality of the deliveries into the box is high. West Ham became the final Premier League team to score a headed goal this season on Saturday and if they can improve their crosses and get Carroll heavily involved down the stretch then do not rule out the forward making an unlikely late, successful attempt at the 23rd and final player seat on the plane to Brazil. Time is certainly running out but if Carroll can remove the personal baggage, he may well be packing his own baggage to the World Cup. Ken Daneyko Jersey . But back-up Peter Budaj has put up two wins and an overtime loss while starting three games in four nights since Price went down with a suspected groin injury. Cory Schneider Jersey . -- So much for concern that running back Marshawn Lynch would be absent from the Seattle Seahawks minicamp. http://www.officialdevilsfanstore.com/authentic-eric-tangradi-devils-jersey/ . LOUIS -- David Ross never expected to be on a World Series podium.With the Rogers Cup set to take place in Montreal next week, Blainville, Quebecs Aleksandra Wozniak reflects on preparing for the event in her home province with her personal blog on RDS.ca and TSN.ca. I took a few days off after Wimbledon, but now Im back in training - seven hours a day, six days a week. Ive finished my preparation for the tournament at Stanford before returning to Quebec for the Rogers Cup. And Ive spent a lot of time on the field and in the gym. Im really happy to go play at Stanford, a place where Ive kept some precious memories. This is where, in 2008, I won my first title on the WTA Tour at age 20. This time, Im going through qualification before I get to see my name on the main board - an event that will feature top seed Serena Williams. It seems that when a tennis player returns to play in a tournament that he or she has already won, the organizers generally give some more attention to that former champion. Sometimes youre entitled to special treatment because theyre happy to know youre returning. There are certainly a lot of tournaments in a year and each player usually has an established route for the season. Sometimes the former champions dont return to where theyvewon. But as a former champion, I keep so many great memories and beautiful thoughts it feels good to go back. Not to mention that Stanford University is beautiful, with a great atmosphere and people who love tennis. Theyre true enthusiasts and its nice to play there. I was also very happy to learn that the organizers of the Rogers Cup gave me a pass for the tournament, which begins next week in Montreal. Ive supported Tennis Canada for several years and they believe in me, knowing all the efforts that I put in to heal my injured right shoulder. Tennis Canada knows that I work hard to improve my lot in the sport. I was 378th in the world but now Im up at 103rd. There was a time when I was one of the few Canadians on the professional tour, but I continued to get great support along with other new players. Going through the qualification stage doesnt bother me, but I am very pleased with this pass in Montreal. Upon my return to competition, the most important thing was playing as many events as possible just to get into shape. I hadnt played for a year and wanted to find my bearings and rebuild my confidence. New Jersey Devils Gear. Then when you start winning more regularly, its good to get to play in places like Montreal. And the Rogers Cup is my favorite tournament. When I was younger, my parents took me to this tournament so I could see my idol Monica Seles in action. Watching her in my hometown made me want to be like her. It made me dream. And its great for encouraging young people to play tennis. And of course, I get to play at home - where I reached the quarterfinal round two years ago and was the first Canadian in 20 years to get that far in the tournament. It will be very fun to play at home in front of family and sponsors, not to mention the fans who bring a beautiful energy. Ill try to play my best tennis for my supporters and go as far as possible against the best in the world. I would like to repeat what I did two years ago, taking one game at a time. And of course, Eugenie Bouchards success in the WTA is spilling over in courts across the country. With Eugenie and others making their mark, were demonstrating to the world that Canadians wont be easy prey and were very competitive. A few years ago, I was the only Canadian in the Top 50. Today, we have Eugenie and Sharon Fichman - not to mention the guys! All of these good performances are inspiring our youngest to play tennis. I am very pleased to see Eugenie succeed on the world stage. We all work very hard to climb to the top and we do it our own way. I reached 21st in the world a few years ago but unfortunately, injuries slowed my progress. But Im a very persistent and determined girl and will continue my journey by staying focused on my career. A heavy loss - Dr. Francis Jean Its with great sadness that I learned of the passing of Dr. Francis Jean, the founder of The Iris Visual Group. They were my first major sponsor, well before my win at Stanford. Francis believed in me and always encouraged me - even when things werent going so well. He sent me little words of encouragement and was very active in the tennis world. He was a true sports enthusiast and was loved by all. My deepest sympathies to his entire family. https://www.facebook.com/WozAlekshttp://...iak.com/Twitter @alekswoz Cheap Throwback Baseball Detroit Tigers Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Colorado Rockies Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Houston Astros Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Kansas City Royals Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Los Angeles Angels Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Los Angeles Dodgers Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Miami Marlins Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Milwaukee Brewers Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Minnesota Twins Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball New York Mets Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball New York Yankees Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Oakland Athletics Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Philadelphia Phillies Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Pittsburgh Pirates Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball San Diego Padres Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball San Francisco Giants Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Seattle Mariners Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball St. Louis Cardinals Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Tampa Bay Rays Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Texas Rangers Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Toronto Blue Jays Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Washington Nationals Jerseys ' ' '