Regimes change every few years, the rupee is dropping, and climate change is heating up our seas, but the one great, immutable truth about life is that nowhere in the universe does time move slower than in a Sri Lankan government office.The islands bureaucrats are a marvel of evolution. Having come to life in a primordial soup of bribes, backhanders and political favours, these folk have, over billions of years, become perfectly adapted to moving at speeds that make sea cucumbers look like rocket ships, to answering questions with statements of peerless ambiguity, and to being exquisitely adept at maximising the frustration of every non-bureaucrat in a few-kilometres radius.The SSC ground happens to be in the clotted heart of Colombos administrative district. Yet, although the Australia team may never set foot inside the National Identity Card Centre, which is a few minutes away, or the Ministry of Public Administration and Management, which is visible from the ground, they were on day one of this Test, given a thorough government-office treatment. They were made to wait for hours, run around, given brief hope, which was promptly crushed; they were sneered at, and mistreated, and by the end of the day, they were ready to tear their hair out.Bureaucrat-in-chief for Sri Lanka was Dhananjaya de Silva, whose maiden Test hundred was a thing of superlative casualness. So unfazed was he by a scoreline of 26 for 5 at his arrival, he was like the civil servant who comes to work to find a queue stretching around the building outside his office, yet before work takes a long tea-and-biscuit break while chit-chatting to colleagues. He stood slouched at the crease all day, unfurling somnolent drives, and languid flicks to the leg side, appearing as if he was doing almost nothing. Meanwhile, Australia chased leather all over; patrons shunted from room to room to room in the building, all, in the end, for no tangible reward.Several times, the visitors thought they had him. He was given out caught at short leg off the 11th ball he faced, but that decision was overturned. Twice, when he was in the forties, Australia were so convinced he was out they chanced their own reviews, but had them turned down. On 73, his outside edge was not snared by Peter Nevill. On 104, he was dropped at short cover by Shaun Marsh. Patrons at a government office know what it is like to fill out the same form over and over, and after hopefully taking it to the desk, being told that the words must be written in black ink, not blue, or that a different stamp is required, or that the office is shutting early, so the date is wrong and the whole thing must be tried again another day. In the evening, so frustrated was Mitchell Starc that he began to hurl the ball at de Silvas stumps, in his follow-through, though there was little chance of running the batsman out. De Silva, still slouching, had the expression of someone who sees this kind of thing all the time. So he sent in Starcs direction a blank, condescending stare: If you make a fuss, it will only make things more difficult for you.Dinesh Chandimal was by far the more experienced hand in their partnership, which suggests Chandimal should be the more efficient of the two. But, just as in bureaucracy, the opposite was true. Chandimal scored 64 from 204 balls - a strike rate of 31, where de Silvas was 48. Having been embedded in this institution for several years now, Chandimal has less to prove. Already having risen to vice-captain of the team, incentives are slim. He was even more excited about his partners century, than de Silva was himself - possibly because every run de Silva made was one fewer required of him.Sri Lanka are far from impregnable in this match, but De Silvas insouciance has delivered them a strong position. The pitch is not spitting yet, but it is already taking so much turn that Jon Holland was seen in dustier and dustier whites through the day, in what may be a brazen attempt to take the pitch home with him.And Australia are also yet to face the slow, loopy slider, which is the ball that in Sri Lanka has wreaked havoc upon them in a manner that brings to mind Godzillas destruction of a Tokyo city block, or a standard Sri Lanka Cricket officials effect on Sri Lankan cricket.For large parts of Saturday, Australia found themselves getting absolutely nowhere. De Silvas sublime hundred has left them with no choice but to try again another day. Cheap Basketball Hoodies . Goals from Jerome Boateng, Franck Ribery and Thomas Mueller extended Bayerns unbeaten run to a record 37 matches. "This record is incredible," Bayern coach Pep Guardiola said. China Basketball Jerseys . 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Tim Tebow signed a minor league contract with the?New York Mets?on Thursday and?will begin his professional baseball career in the?fall instructional league on Sept. 19 in Port St. Lucie, Florida.Mets general manager Sandy Alderson insisted that signing Tebow, a former NFL quarterback, is not a publicity stunt.While I and the organization, I think, are mindful of the novel nature of this situation, this decision was strictly driven by baseball, Alderson said on a conference call with Tebow and agent Brodie Van Wagenen on Thursday to announce the agreement that includes a $100,000 signing bonus. This was not something that was driven by marketing considerations or anything of the sort. We are extremely intrigued with the potential that Tim has.He has demonstrated over his athletic career that he is a tremendous athlete, has got character, a competitive spirit. Aside from the age (29), this is a classic player-development opportunity for us. As an organization, were going to provide that development opportunity for Tim.The decision nonetheless was made at the highest levels of the organization -- by Alderson and chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon -- and did not intimately involve the teams baseball-operations personnel. The Mets were one of 28 teams to attend Tebows showcase last week in Los Angeles.Tebow acknowledged his upcoming baseball journey is not one that will be necessarily easy.I know this is a tough game, Tebow said. But Im looking forward to putting in the work and I felt like this was the best fit.Tebow, who hasnt played organized baseball since his junior year at Nease High School in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, in 2005, has been working out with former big league catcher Chad Moeller in Scottsdale, Arizona, since Memorial Day. Tebow spent almost two hours last week at the Southern Californias Dedeaux Field running a 60-yard dash, shagging fly balls, throwing from the outfield and taking swings against former major league pitchers David Aardsma and Chad Smith in his audition for clubs.Tebow won the Heisman Trophy for the Florida Gators in 2007 and helped the team take two national championships.?He played professionally for the Denver Broncos and New York Jets from 2010 to 2012. He spent training camps with the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles in 2013 and 2015, respectively, but never played in the regular season for those teams.Since 2013, Tebow has been a college football analyst for ESPN.?Alderson said Tebow will be excused a couple of days each week from fall instructional league to fulfill that commitment.Tim is committed to his role at SEC Network and ESPN this fall, Stephanie Druley, ESPN senior vice president, event and studio production, said in a statement. We have always been supportive of Tims athletic pursuits. His new schedule will allow him to continue as a college football analyst on SEC Nation this fall.Former major league pitchers Dallas Braden, who is now an ESPN analyst, and C.J. Nitkowski questioned how serious Tebow was about playing baseball based on the arrangement to give him excused days off each week.After Tebow participates in the fall instructional league, which primarily is for teenage prospects, Alderson is not ruling out sending Tebow to the Arizona Fall League or a winter league. First, the Mets want to better gauge Tebows readiness and determine whether it would be more beneficial to receive individual instruction during the offseason.Even if Tebow never reaches the majors, Alderson insisted this is a win for the Mets because of the example Tebows work ethic and character will set for the minor leaguers.Still, Alderson insisted Tebow has on-field potential.Any player evaluation starts with tools, Alderson said. From that standpoint, withhout grading everything out, suffice it to say Tim has been a great athlete.dddddddddddd He has demonstrated more than rudimentary baseball skills. We think, with his commitment to success, that this is an opportunity that is worthwhile.In terms of power, in terms of arm, in terms of foot speed, all of those things, we think he can be a baseball player. I think that is underscored by his competitiveness and his determination to succeed and to improve. From our standpoint, this is another opportunity for us to develop a player and see where it goes. We understand most players dont make it to the major leagues.Alderson said theres no guarantee Tebow will be invited to major league camp during spring training. He also added Tebows signing is a standalone proposition and unrelated to Van Wagenen representing other Mets clients, including Yoenis Cespedes -- who has an opt-out this winter -- as well as Noah Syndergaard and Jacob deGrom.Brodie represents a number of players on our team, Alderson said. But in the course of our conversations regarding Tim, none of those players were mentioned, none were in mind. I think Brodie is professional enough to keep all of those things separate.The Mets will not be able to capitalize on Tebows fame from a marketing standpoint, either. For that to happen, Tebow must be added to the teams 40-man roster and sign the group licensing agreement. MLB.com and Mets.com, in fact, are rejecting any fan who tries to make a custom Tebow jersey through the website.Tebow said he came close to pursuing baseball a year ago, but the Eagles?interest tabled it.Its been something that Ive been thinking about for a little while and came close to pulling the trigger on last year, Tebow said. Then, actually, when I was in the middle of going through a day of training for baseball, [then-Eagles coach] Chip Kelly called and then I had to figure that out. ... We all know how that turned out.Former Broncos teammate Eric Decker, now with the New York Jets, said he expected Tebow to be signed.When you have 30 scouts coming to your workout, someone is going to sign you, Decker said. Well see how he does next spring in whatever camp it is. Best of luck to him.I believe Tim has a big heart and hes a good person. Hes such a competitor that this is an outlet for him. But from the outside, I can see how it looks as a publicity stunt. I mean, hes got a good gig right now with the SEC Network. Im sure he could do a daily talk show if he wanted. Hes well-liked. I think this is him being competitive, wanting to get that fire again.Asked about his preferred position, Tebow said hell take his cue from the organization. But he noted hes a lefty thrower, so theres a limit.My best position is whatever they feel like it is, he said. I feel comfortable in the outfield. I feel comfortable at first base.What would Tebow deem success during his baseball pursuit? Is it major leagues or bust?I would consider success giving everything I have, he said.Decker said thats the kind of teammate that Tebow has been in the past and what he expects him to be in the future.Guys will have to respect what hes done during his tenure in the NFL and who he is and the college football player he was. Theres going to be mixed emotions (among his new teammates), Im sure, Decker said. Hes going to be a good teammate. I think hes going to be very respectful.Hes not going to come in with a chip on his shoulder or (say), Im Tim Tebow, heres the red carpet. Hes not that type of guy in my experience. Guys will respect his work ethic and the person.ESPNs Darren Rovell and Rich Cimini contributed to this report. cheap falcons jerseys cheap ravens jerseys cheap bills jerseys cheap bears jerseys cheap bengals jerseys cheap cowboys jerseys cheap lions jerseys cheap texans jerseys cheap colts jerseys cheap jaguars jerseys cheap chiefs jerseys cheap rams jerseys cheap dolphins jerseys cheap vikings jerseys cheap saints jerseys cheap giants jerseys cheap jets jerseys cheap eagles jerseys cheap steelers jerseys cheap 49ers jerseys ' ' '