ern Kentucky on Wednesday night. ' ' '

Leicesters fairytale year continued after it was ranked as the UKs Greatest Sporting City for 2016, according to research from ESPN and the University of Bath.Propelled by a historic Premier League title for Leicester City FC, the city beat the likes of London and Manchester to the award after it scored highly in the most of the 12 factors fans were asked to identify as key to a great sporting city.The city climbed 17 places from 18th last year and earned a maximum score in five factors -- success, matchday atmosphere, local talent, community and social.Leicester City captain Wes Morgan said: Its hard to explain exactly what impact last season had on this city but just by walking around the streets you can see theres blue in almost every shop window, which just goes to show the support the people of Leicester have given to us.To see 250,000 people turn out for our Premier League trophy parade was a moment I and every person there will never forget and I know the pride the people of Leicester showed at our title win extends across the citys rugby, cricket and basketball teams too.Here at the football club, I know there are lads who regularly attend Tigers games and we often see players from the Foxes and Riders at King Power Stadium, which shows what a brilliant sporting city this is.Im involved in a tattoo shop in the city centre and since we won the league Id say around 70 per cent of the tattoos we do are LCFC-themed. That underlines just how much the people of Leicester love sport and their teams, so its great to see the city recognised for that.Leicester is followed in the rankings by 2015s top two -- Manchester dropping from first to second and London from second to third. Liverpool in fourth and Leeds in fifth rounds out the top five.At the other end of the table, Blackpool ranked bottom for the second year in a row, behind York in 48th, Luton in 47th and Bournemouth in 46th. Full results for the research, conducted in collaboration with the University Bath, are available here.Leicesters City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: Leicester Citys success last season has given the whole city a huge boost, and that positivity is clearly reflected in this research. Were obviously enormously proud of our football club, but Leicester is also home to one of Englands most successful rugby clubs, the countrys oldest basketball club, an ambitious cricket club, and a very successful womens hockey club.I think its fair to say that, when it comes to sport, Leicester -- a city of just 330,000 people -- enjoys punching above its weight. Being recognised as the best place in the country to be a fan is a huge accolade, so I am delighted that ESPNs research has confirmed Leicester as the UKs Greatest Sporting City.This year, ESPN also divided the research into individual sports to reveal the best places to be a fan of football, cricket, rugby union and rugby league. On the back of Leicester Citys historic title-winning season, Leicester received the accolade of the best city to be a football fan. Leeds ranked as the best city for both cricket and rugby league fans, while Cardiff is the top town for rugby union lovers.Leicester Tigers director of rugby Richard Cockerill said: This has always been a sporting city, with great local support for all of our teams and sportspeople, and it is good to see that status earning recognition from a wider audience.Our neighbours at Leicester City have obviously enjoyed a memorable year and all of the citys sports have been extremely proud of each others achievements in representing this part of the country in major competitions in the UK and further afield.At Tigers, we have enjoyed consistent success over very many years backed by a very committed and loyal support. It is always our ambition to be at the forefront of our sport while also recognising and cheering the successes for our teams and sportspeople across the county.Wasim Khan, CEO, Leicestershire County Cricket Club, added: The recent successes of Leicester City FC, coupled with the significant progress made by Leicester Tigers and the Cricket Club, further illustrates the heritage and pedigree of sport in the city. The sporting family in Leicester has some of the most passionate and loyal collective fans in the country and this recognition is for them as much as the clubs themselves.As part of the research, ESPN asked fans to rank 12 factors that help make up a great sporting city, in order to provide weightings for each citys results. This year, fans ranked Value for Money as the most important factor, as it received 19% of the vote. A citys Matchday Atmosphere was ranked by 17% of fans as the most important, while Club Success for a citys professional teams received 15% of the votes.Commenting on the research, Professor Thomas Curran, University of Bath, said: It is not easy to earn the accolade of ESPNs Greatest Sporting City, so the city of Leicester deserves all the congratulations it receives. To rank highly, a city must perform well in a variety of key factors which rely on a combination of fan opinion and third party data. To score top marks in five factors is a great achievement.Steven Saunders, Senior Editor of ESPN.co.uk, said: Leicester topping the rankings as ESPNs Greatest Sporting City 2016 is another amazing achievement for the city, especially considering the traditional sporting powerhouses such as London and Manchester that it has beaten to the top spot.Cheap Hockey Jerseys China . -- Whether Jeremy Hill deserves a prominent role in LSUs offence this early in the season is a matter for debate. 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Self was acquired from the Buffalo Bandits in a trade for Alex Hill midway through last season, and made his debut in Rochester on March 16, 2013.MORAGA, Calif. -- Saint Marys got a big lift from backup center Jordan Hunter when he hit a 3-point shot from midcourt just before halftime.Jock Landale, who starts ahead of Hunter, added his own signature moment early in the second half with a midcourt steal and a soaring dunk that helped get the 12th-ranked Gaels back on track after suffering their first loss of the season.Landale had 15 points and seven rebounds, Evan Fitzner added a season-high 12 points and No. 12 Saint Marys bounced back from its first loss of the season to beat UC Irvine 84-53 on Sunday night.Hunters 3-pointer was the first of his college career.That was pretty awesome, Fitzner said. That was big-time. Its a big play because going into the second half you kind of feel that momentum.Hunter rarely plays and was on the court fewer than 60 seconds when he made the halfcourt heave.I practice that all the time so it was just second nature when I let it go, Hunter said with a laugh. The ball came my way, I jumped in front of Dane (Pineau) and I just let it fly.Saint Marys (7-1) was crisp offensively most of the game and shot 56.3 percent from the floor, a vast improvement from two nights earlier when the Gaels went 16 of 51 in a 65-51 loss to Texas-Arlington.Landale, the leading scorer for Randy Bennetts team, bounced back from one of his worst games of the season to pace Saint Marys. Landale had seven points as part of a game-opening 12-3 run, then scored on an emphatic dunk early in the second half.We struggled the other night so its always good to get one back, Fitzner said. We didnt really have as good as energy as we had tonight. It always helps when youre making shots. Our guards did a good job of giving us open looks tonight.Jordan Ford scored 12 points and Emmett Naar added 10 to help the Gaels win won their third straight over the Anteaters.Eyassu Workue scored 14 points and Tommy Rutherford had 11 for UC Irvine. The Anteaterss (5-6) have lost four of six.ddddddddddddThe Gaels never trailed and won for the fifth time in six home games this season.Two days after looking sluggish and out of sync in the loss to Texas-Arlington, Saint Marys shot well but couldnt shake Irvine until going on runs of 9-2 and 8-3 late in the first half.Fitzner scored seven points over the final 6:05 and Jordan Hunter added a buzzer-beating 3-point heave from midcourt to put Saint Marys up 38-25 after the Anteaters had trouble inbounding the ball. Hunter, a 6-foot-10-inch backup center, had not attempted a 3-pointer in 30 previous games with the Gaels.Bennett called it the play of the night.It changed that game, Bennett said. Going in up 13, its a difference. It really is. It helped us and then we came out in the second half and you could kind of feel the momentum.POLL IMPLICATIONSBeating an overmatched Irvine team helps the record but wont make voters forget what happened earlier in the week. The Gaels will drop from No. 12 based on their loss to Texas-Arlington and could wind up falling out of the Top 25 altogether.BIG PICTUREUC Irvine: The Anteaters showed some spark early but eventually faded. Its a matter of consistency. Too many times Irvines players stood around rather than moving without the ball. Their usual strong defense also allowed the Gaels to shoot 64 percent in the second half.Saint Marys: It might not be enough to keep the Gaels from dropping out of the rankings, but they needed to have a feel-good moment and they got it against Irvine. Getting Landale back on track is a good sign.UP NEXTUC Irvine: The Anteaters continue their five-game trip against Nevada on Wednesday night.Saint Marys: The Gaels dont leave McKeon Pavilion until conference play begins. They will host Western Kentucky on Wednesday night. ' ' '