Two former teammates who will lock horns in Saturday nights All-Stars game are both still pinching themselves ahead of the first season of the AFLs national womens league.Western Bulldogs midfielder Ellie Blackburn and Melbourne defender Melissa Hickey, both marquee signings, have this week been in camp with their respective squads gearing up for Saturdays clash at Whitten Oval.Blackburn, who had previously played for the Demons in exhibition games, said it would be a little strange playing against her old teammates, but was looking forward to the contest featuring some of the best female talent from around Australia.It will definitely be different playing for the Bulldogs instead of Melbourne, but for me its the start of something new and Im so excited to be playing for the Dogs, the 21-year-old told ESPN.It will be a chance to showcase womens footy at the highest level; there are so many talented footballers playing this weekend and we can all come together and play a really great standard of football.The nationally-televised contest will feature players who will likely be early selections in next months inaugural AFL womens draft.Teams will be 16-a-side, with six interchange players, while the ball is slightly smaller than the one used in previous exhibition contests. The changes have been made with the aim of reducing congestion and increasing scoring.Hickey said she was proud to again be running out for Melbourne, adding the club had fully committed to embracing the womens game.Im really lucky to be playing for the Dees ... Ive been around the club for three years now and I feel were part of the culture and theyve really welcomed us into the inner sanctum, she told ESPN.[Theres] been nothing but genuine support and buy-in from the whole club and the players, whenever we come to the club. Its really special to continue that journey with them. I was absolutely thrilled when it was announced I could join them [as a marquee player].Ive been part of the Demons since 2013, with the exhibition series, and played every game with them ... Saturday should be an even better standard [than previous games].Here in Victoria weve had 12 months of improvement and it [the standard] has increased here, and Im sure the same is happening in the other states ... its probably not ideal the amount of time we get to train together to develop understanding of how each other plays, the game style and structure, but the 16-a-side [match] should be a very free-flowing and high-scoring game, so hopefully its a great spectacle and a great display of womens footy.Hickey, 31, knows she is nearer to the end of her career than the start of it, but said she was so thankful the womens league was being introduced before she hung up her boots.Its amazing - I have to keep pinching myself, its a dream come true to be able to play in the league next year, she said. I think they initially started talking about 2020 as a date when it could start so I was concerned thatd be at the very end of my career; so when it was announced for next year, I was rapt.Im 31 but Im feeling the fittest Ive ever felt, so Im not too concerned about it; hopefully Ive got a few good years still left in me.Blackburn is at the other end of the spectrum, and could potentially forge a decade-long career at the highest level.Me coming into it at the age I am now is really beneficial and Im really fortunate that weve now got access to a womens league; Im only 21 and hopefully I can stick around for the next decade and play some really good footy, she said.While they will be on opposing sides come Saturday, the duo is on the same page when it comes to the importance of the leagues introduction.From a young age I used to joke around with my mates that I was going to be one of the first females to play AFL and to think back, it was literally a joke because we never thought it would happen.But when the AFL announced theyd set up a national womens league in 2017, it was overwhelming and it took my breath away, Blackburn said.Since then, theres been so much build-up and hype around it - its been amazing and the response has been truly wonderful. Theres so much excitement, all the girls are constantly talking about it, always using the hashtag #journeyto2017 - its always in our thoughts. Its something thats going to be great for the sport itself and for womens sport.As a young girl growing up, my idols were all male footballers and now, they [younger women] can look up and see someone they want to aspire to be, Hickey said. We get to go out to schools and a lot of the kids look up at you and say they play and love footy ... its very powerful to have female role models. Andy McDonald Jersey . Catch all the action on TSN2 at 11pm et/8pm pt. The nine-time Big 12 champion Jayhawks are positioning themselves for another title, as they have run out to a flawless 6-0 mark in conference play thus far. Michael Del Zotto Jersey . To the surprise of many, it isnt the Wolverines but their in-state rivals the Michigan State Spartans. https://www.cheapducks.com/1107c-devin-shore-jersey-ducks.html . LOUIS -- Heading into the final stretch of the season, the issues for the Chicago Bears banged-up defence only seem to be getting worse. Matt Beleskey Jersey . -- Derrick Rose shook off poor shooting early to hit clutch shots late and Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 104-95 preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. Troy Terry Jersey . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency. The Greatest Opening Weekend Ever provided a valuable lesson in how we stereotype programs instead of focusing on personnel. Houston beat Florida State in a New Years Six Bowl last postseason, while Oklahoma lost a semifinal to Clemson by three touchdowns. And Houston was a 10-point underdog versus OU on Saturday? LSU struggled on offense in the second half of last season. The Tigers returned eight offensive starters. And those same players struggled on offense against Wisconsin.A team defines its jersey. Its not the other way around.1. Alabama coach Nick Saban twice mentioned his relief that his defense held USC to 64 rushing yards without needing safeties for run support. His explanation taught a lesson in the value of defensive line depth. Once their gas tank is out, its out, Saban said. The little guys out there ... can run 100 yards and be tanked on the sidelines and two minutes later come back up and say, Coach, Im ready to go, and run just as fast as they were before. But when the big guys run out of gas, that tank is not getting refilled until tomorrow.2. If you saw the highlights Saturday, you saw South Alabama coach Joey Jones leading his team onto the field in celebration after a Mississippi State field goal failed and the Jaguars won 21-20, their first victory over an SEC team. Unfortunately, the game wasnt over. Jones didnt give himself any up-downs for the mental error, but he said Sunday: I was in a meeting with the team. I said, We got eight penalties for 57 yards. Yall got seven for 42. Ill take the other one. That was my fault. He laughed as he described it: Im yelling at them to get off the field. They followed me out there.3. They could teach philosophy classes about this one: If your punt returner fields the ball on your own 3-yard-line, spins out of two tackles and goes 97 yards for a touchdown (called back for an illegal block), how do you grade him? Stanford special-teams coach Pete Alamar split the difference on Christian McCaffrey: a minus on assignment and execution, a plus on effort. You think, This is not going to be good, Alamar said. And he is special. Still, I yelled: No! No! No! Yes! Yes! Yes! Alamar positioned McCaffrey on the 10 and gave him two steps leeway. McCaffrey took four steps back to field the punt. When he came off the field, we talked about it, Alamar said. He knew.4. It comes as nno surprise that Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald handled a soul-crushing loss with class.dddddddddddd. The Wildcats fell to Western Michigan 22-21 after quarterback Clayton Thorson fumbled at the Broncos goal line in the final minutes. You band together. You stick together. Walk used to say it all the time: Some people point fingers, others point thumbs, Fitzgerald said, Walk being his mentor and predecessor, the late Randy Walker. We need to have a bunch of guys be thumb-pointers and look inward and look at how we can coach better and how we can play better. Northwestern went 5-0 in one-play games last year.5. From the This May Not Mean Anything But Department: USC sold out its allotment of 18,000 seats at Cowboys AT&T Stadium and bought more on the secondary market. UCLA returned a couple of hundred seats from its allotment of 4,000 at Texas A&M. The discrepancy could have been a result of the lure of the Crimson Tide and the Trojans resuming their rivalry after 31 years, while the Bruins and the Aggies have no relationship. Or it could be that football tradition at USC is deeper and richer than it is at UCLA.6. Three teams with double-digit losing streaks ended them Saturday against FCS opponents. Hey, its all in scheduling. Kansas coach David Beaty cried when his players presented him with a game ball after a 55-6 defeat of Rhode Island, which ended the Jayhawks 15-game slide. UCF, also winless last season, won its first game under coach Scott Frost by shutting out South Carolina State 38-0. And Eastern Michigan stopped a 10-game slide by beating Mississippi Valley State 61-14. The longest losing streak in the FBS now? Charlotte at 11 games. The 49ers play FCS foe Elon on Saturday.7. And lets not forget Louisiana-Monroe, which defeated FCS Southern 38-21. You may not care about that if youre not a Warhawk, but LSU, Tulane, Louisiana Tech and Louisiana-Lafayette all lost on Saturday. Louisiana, as every Southern football coach knows, has the most high school football talent per capita in the country. When ULM is all that stands between the states FBS schools and an offer, youve got a football problem. Perhaps all the heartache in Baton Rouge this year will provide some perspective. I doubt it. ' ' '