mmunity within the United States of America -- thats very important t

A hamstring injury to Johnathan Thurston has soured another emphatic home victory for North Queensland after their 36-0 NRL thumping of Canterbury in Townsville.Thurston starred as the Cowboys opened up a 20-0 lead over the Bulldogs after 45 minutes on Thursday night before the superstar playmaker was forced to leave the field. He didnt return.Clive Churchill medallist Thurston was confident the injury wouldnt leave him sidelined for long. However early indications were he could miss around two weeks.Its not too bad - it is just more of a precaution, Thurston told the Nine Network.I felt a twinge when I put in a grubber kick and, when I went to run, I couldnt accelerate.I should be right (for next week). It is just cotton wool.North Queensland didnt let up after Thurstons injury, piling on three more tries in his absence to embarrass the Bulldogs at 1300 Smiles Stadium in the opening game of round 20.Antonio Winterstein scored three tries for the home side, while Julian ONeill scored two, with Jason Taumalolo laying a tremendous platform up front.That was our most-complete performance of the year, Cowboys coach Paul Green said.Defence is the hardest part of the game to get right and I was pleased with that tonight.On Thurstons injury, Green said: It wasnt one of those gunshot ones.We have a long turnaround. He was upbeat. A win always helps. Hopefully, he will be alright.The loss throws doubt on the Bulldogs premiership claims, after they came into the match on the back of four straight wins. The visitors were outclassed across the park in a match they will want to quickly forget.Dogs coach Des Hasler was scathing of his side.We were dreadful, he said.It was disappointing, no doubt about it. There were just too many unforced errors.It was poor execution from us and we paid the price. We will take the opportunity to learn some lessons from it.The win consolidates premiers North Queenslands spot in the top four, while Canterbury could slip below that if results go against them during the remainder of round 20.The Cowboys opened with two tries in the first eight minutes through Winterstein to set up an early 12-0 lead and never looked back.Javid Bowens four-pointer in the 24th minute gave North Queensland a 16-0 halftime lead and, when Justin ONeill scored in the 45th minute, the match was all but over.Ethan Lowe, ONeill and Winterstein only added to the Bulldogs woes, all crossing for tries as Thurston sat sidelined with ice strapped to his leg.Canterbury completed at just 63 per cent, making a number of uncharacteristic errors in the North Queensland humidity.It just wasnt there for us tonight, Bulldogs playmaker Josh Reynolds said.The Bulldogs are the third side North Queensland have kept scoreless in Townsville this year, alongside the Sydney Roosters and St George Illawarra.The Cowboys have outscored opposition teams 303 to 108 in their unbeaten nine home matches in 2016. Willie Roaf Youth Jersey . Brad Jacobs and his Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., team took control of the game early. Taysom Hill Youth Jersey . -- Three close looks at the bucket, three misses. http://www.authenticsaintssportsonline.com/saints-michael-thomas-gold-jersey/ .J. -- Pitcher Carl Pavano is retiring after 14 major league seasons. Thomas Morstead Youth Jersey . After the whistle, Thornton skated the length of the ice, pulled Orpik to the ice from behind and punched him in the face several times. Custom New Orleans Saints Jerseys . Soukalova missed only one target and completed the 15-kilometre course in 40 minutes, 32.6 seconds for both victories in this seasons individual discipline. Darya Domracheva of Belarus was second, 34. CAMDEN, N.J. -- After Philadelphia 76ers players voices were heard in a team meeting, the organization on Friday issued an apology to singer Sevyn Streeter, saying it should have allowed her to perform the national anthem Wednesday night.We are sorry that this happened. After receiving feedback from our players, basketball operations staff and ownership group, we believe that the wrong decision was made, and Sevyn should have been welcomed to sing, the team said in a statement.We apologize to her, and in an effort to move the conversation forward, we have reached out to offer her an opportunity to return and perform at a game of her choice. We are waiting to hear back.Streeter was slated to sing before the 76ers season opener against the Oklahoma City Thunder, but she said in an interview with The Associated Press late Wednesday that she was told she would not sing just minutes before her performance because she was wearing a We Matter jersey.The anthem issue has been a major topic in the sports world in recent months, starting with the decision by San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick?not to stand while it is played. Kaepernick cited racial injustice and police brutality among the reasons for his protest, and athletes from many sports -- and many levels, from youth all the way to professional -- have followed his lead in various ways.Sixers players were informed of the Streeter situation by a team representative Thursday before holding a team meeting to discuss the issue and what they wanted to do moving forward.I didnt think it was right, Sixers guard Gerald Henderson said. We talked about it and collectively we thought that was the best decision [to let her sing in the future]. We felt like she should have been able to sing, and for whatever reasons, that didnt happen. I think it is a good idea to reach out to her, and hopefully she can come back and sing her song.Forward Jerami Grant also said he is hopeful that Streeter will accept the offer to come back and sing -- but added that if she doesnt, the players will talk about something else they want to do as a team.We havent figured that out yet, he told ESPNs Jeff Goodman.Coach [Brett] Brown came to us and allowed us to come up with an idea of what to do, Grant added. He gets it. He knows how we feel about this, he knows me and a couple other guys didnt like what happened with the decision not to allow her to sing.We need to move forward. We cant change the past, but were trying to right the wrong.Grant also addressed Streeters We Matter jersey.I dont really look at it as a political statement. It was just a statement in general. We matter. We matter as people, he said.Brown said he wanted his players to share their thoughts in the meeting and said our players voices were heard.If we as an organization had to do what we did again, that decision would not have been made, Brown said after practice Friday. I applaud the ownership group because it happened real quickly yesterday. Immediately we had [a representative] come out. ... I sat with my players, I said, Thiss is whats happened.dddddddddddd Youve heard it and in your perfect world, what do you wish would happen? And clearly there was some anxiety with that decision.We made a mistake and we move on, Brown later added on behalf of the organization. Our players voices were heard, and that was their choice, too, to extend an invitation and bring her back.Streeter said she was told two minutes before walking out to perform the anthem that she could not wear my shirt while singing the national anthem. ... I was never given any kind of dress code. I was never asked beforehand to show my wardrobe.Streeter has written songs for Chris Brown, Ariana Grande and other stars. In 2013, she had a top-40 hit with It Wont Stop, a duet with Brown that reached Recording Industry Association of America gold status.The singer, born Amber Denise Streeter, said she was very hurt by the NBA teams actions.I was angry -- extremely, extremely angry -- and disappointed and honestly brought to tears by all of it. It broke my heart, she said. Honestly, I was very excited about being able to perform the national anthem. I was really looking forward to that.A source told ESPN that any on-court performer -- singer, dancer, entertainer -- must sign a contract that gives the 76ers the right to cancel a performance if the standards described in the contract are not met. The Sixers declined to say why Streeters performance was canceled, but according to a report by CBS Philly, the contract prohibited political statements. The 76ers offered her an alternate shirt, but she refused it, the report said.I also felt it was important to express the ongoing challenges and ongoing injustice we face as a black community within the United States of America -- thats very important to me, Streeter said. Yes, we live in the greatest country in the world, but there are issues that we cannot ignore. This cant be ignored.The Sixers play at home Saturday afternoon against the Atlanta Hawks,?and players did not say whether the team has anything planned for the anthem.We talked about some things as far as declaring something to make our stand, Brown said. We are not in a position to do that. I think our best effort to date has been Jerami and Hollis [Thompson] and organization presenting [a $10,000 community initiative check to the International Institute For Advanced Instruction/Gateway to Re-Entry nonprofit]. Trying to do it in ways that we feel is responsible and still bold enough to make the stance we want to make.We simply want to say that we apologize. We made a mistake and we want to move on.The Sixers players, though, made it clear they want to see Streeter sing the anthem at one of their games.She wanted to wear a T-shirt that she felt was important, Henderson said. I dont know if telling her that she couldnt sing was saying that her statement was unimportant. But she should be able to do what she chooses and that is why we are going to call her back. ' ' '