My best. Thats where Faf du Plessis rated this century -- his second at Adelaide and sixth overall. It came after a week of intense scrutiny over du Plessis methods of shining the ball, a week in which he was found guilty by the ICC and fined, a week in which he made headlines for all the wrong reasons. His team-mates stood steadfastly behind him and he saw this innings as his chance to stand steadfastly ahead of them.Im just pretty proud of today. It was a big day for me to stand up as a captain and make sure I lead from the front, he said. To get through all of that and this week in the manner that I did today makes me really proud.Du Plessis expected some heat when he made his first public appearance -- he had addressed the media the day before -- but he was surprised that, after he stood alone to take South Africas total over 250, he was not wholeheartedly forgiven.I was expecting a little bit of hostility but not to that extent, he said. When I came out, I was obviously quite aware of it [the booing]. As the innings went on, it disappeared a bit. To be really honest, when I got to 100 I wasnt expecting to still get booed so that was disappointing.It also added a little to du Plessis already immense desire to do his talking with the bat. I was really motivated before today. I felt it was a character test and the only way I could do it is by scoring runs but it did help a little bit. Maybe 5%.What helped more was that du Plessis was more focused than he has been ever before. The pink ball seamed and then swung, it also turned; the Australia attack searched and, in the case of most of his team-mates, found; but du Plessis had promised himself he would not give it away easily. I have never been that switched on. Every ball I said to myself, that is not enough. I want to get a big one here. I was just more motivated than I have ever been, he said. Surprisingly, technically I was the best I have been this series as well. I felt really good.Before this innings, du Plessis contribution was a top score of 37 and he did not seem to have the same control he has displayed in the past. Today, his defences could not be breached but he also looked to score. He was not the same batsman who stonewalls for fun, he was someone who had purpose and, if he had more partners, he would have carried on. I could have gone for another day. I really wanted to bat. The way I felt mentally I could have gone for a week, du Plessis said.But with the chance to put Australia in under lights and make some early inroads, du Plessis decided not to search for an extra 20 or 30 runs and take advantage of a situation in which Australia were forced to seek an emergency opener. Du Plessis knew David Warner had spent time off the field and could not bat, he wanted to see if his bowlers could make the ball talk at night and, with the knowledge that 224 was the top score in last years day-night Test in Adelaide, he felt a total over 250 was good enough.The position of the game was that it was time for us to declare. We were trying to get some wickets, he said. I dont think we would have declared if we were seven down in the last hour of the night. We would have tried to get to 300. We got 250 but it feels like we got more. It isnt a massive score but the statistics of the pink ball says it may not generally be a five-day game. It speeds up a little because there is a lot more action on the ball - 250 is perhaps 350 with the red ball.Cheap NHL Jerseys . 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. NHL Jerseys . William Carrier opened the scoring for Cape Breton (6-4-2), but Andrew Ryan tied the game and Brent Andrews put the Mooseheads (8-6-0) in front for good with a short-handed goal at 13:49 of the second period. https://www.cheapnhljerseysjustwholesale.com/ . Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shootout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night. NHL Jerseys China . During the athletes parade, the 23-strong Ukrainian team was represented by a lone flagbearer in an apparent protest at the presence of Russian troops in Ukraines Crimean peninsula. NHL Jerseys 2020 . The (11-11-4) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 26 points. Fifth place Dallas and sixth-seeded Nashville also have 26 points, but the Stars have three games in hand on Winnipeg while Nashville has two.CAMBRIDGE, Mass. -- The mens soccer season was canceled after a demeaning scouting report on the womens team. Cross-country is under investigation for a similar strain of locker room talk.But even as scandal surrounds the Harvard athletic department, the Crimson football team remains focused on a singular goal -- the same goal, in fact, the program has had for almost a century and a half: Beat Yale.With a victory over their archrivals in the 133rd edition of The Game on Saturday, the Crimson (7-2, 5-1) would clinch a share of a fourth straight Ivy League championship for the first time in the schools history. (Harvard would win the title outright if Penn and Princeton both lose.) It would also be an unprecedented 10th victory in a row against Yale (2-7, 2-4), and it would put the seniors among their two predecessors as the winningest classes in Harvard football history.Its all coming down to the wire the last week, defensive lineman James Duberg said after practicing under the lights at Harvard Stadium. Theres absolutely a historical component to it. So theres a lot on the line.This year, more than usual.Amid a presidential election hijacked by locker room talk that fixated on womens looks and sexuality, The Harvard Crimson school newspaper reported that mens soccer players had for years been compiling a scouting report of their female counterparts that rated them on their less cerebral qualities. Athletic director Robert Scalise canceled the rest of the season, costing the team a chance at an Ivy League title; soon after, similar postings by members of the mens cross-country team led to an investigation that has not yet been resolved.Harvard coach Tim Murphy took note.Harvard kids arent good kids -- theyre great kids. But they dont walk on water, he said in his office at the Dillon Field House. And its up to us as parents and as educators to make sure they know (whats right). Because later in life, the consequences can be terminal.Asked if the football coaches addressed the scandal, if only to make sure they didnt have similar problems on their own team, Duberg said: It doesnt need to be addressed because they know were not doing anything like that.ddddddddddddI can promise you thats not taking place on the Harvard football team, he said. We pride ourselves on being stand-up gentlemen. Savages on the field and gentlemen off the field.It wasnt that long ago that Yale was in a similar predicament.Last spring, basketball captain Jack Montague was expelled from school after a woman accused him of sexual assault. Montague claimed that the sex was consensual and he has sued the school over his dismissal; he was not charged, and police and prosecutors say there is no investigation.His former teammates publicly supported him, wearing warmup shirts featuring his number and nickname during their nationally televised game against Harvard. After complaints from other students, the team apologized.Football coach Tony Reno said this week he stresses to his players the importance of representing the school -- and themselves -- whether they are on the field or off.Im very proud of how our players have responded to adversity on campus, off campus and within the team, Reno said. If you really do your job as a coach, its to try and create an environment for your players to feel like the team is much bigger than themselves. And thats what weve created at Yale.The message is getting through, linebacker Darius Manora said.There is a way to conduct yourself on campus when no one is looking. And I think the guys, especially part of this program, have done an amazing job as far as making sure you are respectful of members of the community, he said.Every single play, every day we go out, we are Yale football players.---AP Sports Writer Pat Eaton-Robb contributed to this story from New Haven, Connecticut.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25 ' ' '