m the left side. "He came to me this morning

Iain Humes soccer resume was pretty complete already, but being named best player in a country of 1.2 billion adds a nice bow to it. The 31-year-old Canadian international forward, currently in camp with the national team in Florida, is coming off a productive and unexpected season with Kerala Blasters FC that saw him named best player in the Hero Indian Super League. While rival teams boasted marquee players like Alessandro Del Piero, Nicolas Anelka, Robert Pires, David Trezeguet, Fredrik Ljungberg, Luis Garcia, Marco Materazzi, Mikael Sylvestre, Eric Djemba-Djemba and Jermaine Pennant, the lone big name on Keralas squad was former England goalie David James, who doubled as player-manager. Kerala made it all the way to the Dec. 20 league final despite low expectations We were one of the favourites to finish last, Hume said. Hume, in his first Canadian camp since a 3-0 friendly loss to Australia in London in September 2013, played 45 minutes in Fridays 2-1 loss to Iceland. The two teams meet again Monday in Orlando. Kerala finished fourth in the nine-team league with a 5-5-4 record but reached the inaugural final by defeating league-leading Chennaiyin FC 6-1 on aggregate in the two-game semifinal. Kerala held Atletico de Kolkata scoreless in the final, only to lose 1-0 on a stoppage-time goal. A disappointing finale but still a massive achievement for a club with one of the lowest payrolls in the league, according to Hume. If wed been offered getting to the finals and losing in the 94th minute, I think everyone would have taken that with open arms, Hume said. We exceeded a lot of peoples expectations, including ourselves. The final was watched by 57 million TV viewers with Hume awarded his individual trophy after the match. With the players that were in that league and to be a Canadian lad whos not played on the world stage, to get that award was a brilliant achievement for myself and something Ill look back on as one of the highlights of my career, Hume said. Hume arrived in mid-September for the Indian leagues inaugural season, which ran October through December. Located in southwest India, Kerala is known for its natural beauty and spices. Sadly Hume did not have much time to explore, with games almost every three days. But he speaks warmly about the Kerala fans. The smallest home crowd was 40,000 and he played before more than 75,000 in the home leg of the semifinal. Theyre football-mad, he said. In pre-season, Hume says the team could walk through a local mall without drawing attention. By the end, they couldnt set foot there without being surrounded. One of the highlights of his time in India was being able to meet legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, part-owner of the Kerala franchise. The best thing about him is how humble he is as a person. Hell sit down and talk with you, and talk sports, talk family, talk everything, said Hume. He also paid tribute to the managerial and playing skills of the 44-year-old James. Talks are underway to bring Hume back next season, when the campaign will be extended a month. I really really enjoyed myself out there, as most of the people who went out there did. So its definitely something Ill think twice about. If he returns, he hopes to bring his wife and two daughters, aged four and 11, with him this time. The initial offer to play in India came out of the blue and at the last minute, so it was not feasible to uproot his family. While he went to India with an open mind, he says the level of football there was better than I expected. Some of the Indian players had excellent technique and were physically on par. Tactically they were a little behind, he added. India is trying to remedy that, looking to improve grassroots coaching, he said. Standard of play in the pro league improved every week, he said. Out of contract for the first time in 15 years, he had hoped to continue his career in the United Kingdom. But the offers he got were either unsatisfactory or too far away from the family home in northwest England. Then suddenly he ended up on the other side of the world. I sat down and talked to my wife about it and talked to my family. And it was the right time, he said. It was an opportunity Id never have put in front of me. And it was only for three and a half months. He first heard of the Indian League from a freelance journalist who passed on a contact. Hume gave the number to his agent, not thinking anything would come from it, and within two weeks he had been drafted by Kerala. Just everything thrown at me at once. Im not normally one to go so unorganized or so off the cuff but Im over the moon I did. Born in Edinburgh to Scottish parents, Hume was raised in Canada and soon was making soccer waves back in the U.K. He worked his way through the youth ranks at Tranmere Rovers, becoming the English clubs youngest ever debutante at 16 years 167 days in an April 2000 game against Swindon. In 2003, he helped lead Canada on a fairy-tale run to the quarter-finals of the FIFA U-20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates where he, along with midfielder Atiba Hutchinson, was named to the tournament all-star team. A 500,000-pound (C$900,000) move took him to Leicester City in 2005 before stops in Barnsley and Preston North End and loan spells with Doncaster Rovers and Fleetwood Town. Just five foot seven, Hume has always been a bundle of energy on the field. His patriotism has also been plain to see, via the Maple Leaf occasionally dyed into his hair in past years. Hume made headlines for painful reasons playing for Barnsley in November 8, 2008, when Hume, caught by an elbow from Sheffield Uniteds Chris Morgan as both went for a high ball, suffered a fractured skull with severe complications. There was a long recovery period, leaving Hume with a wicked horseshoe-shaped scar from his left ear to the front of his forehead. Humes time with the Canadian team has been limited in recent years. He attribute that to an influx of new talent and the difficulties of playing in lower-tier leagues where teams dont get international breaks. Teams and squads get picked and if Im not there, Im disappointed but understanding. And Im just looking forward to the next one. ... Im happy to be involved, Im happy to get another chance. ___ Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter Norman Powell Jersey .C., has been named Canadas top female official, winning the 2014 SOC Award of Excellence. Cranes career as a figure skating judge has spanned over 40 years. 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He struck out four to win consecutive starts for the first time in his career. "Thats one of the things that made me successful today, to be able to put the first two innings behind me," Tepesch said. "Treat each inning as a new inning." Alex Rios added two more hits and now has six straight multi-hit games. The Rangers have won three straight and five of six after a rough start to the season. "Early in the season everything didnt go the way we wanted it to," Andrus said. "At the same time, we still trust in each other and we knew theres a lot of baseball left. Everyone is feeling well right now as a team." Trevor Plouffe homered and Eduardo Escobar had two hits and an RBI for the Twins, who have lost four in a row since climbing two games over .500 on May 21. After Kevin Correia (2-6) set down nine straight, Roughned Odor and Shin-Soo Choo lined back-to-back two-out singles in the fifth. Andrus followed with a double to the gap in left-centre that scored both runners and broke a 2-all tie. "Its two-out hits. Thats been the theme this season," Correia said. "That one pitch or two pitches a game, you make that one pitch and its a world of difference." Gimenez made it 6-2 with a two-run double down the line in left in the eighth off reliever Jared Burton and Texas was on its way to another win. "We just got off to a bad start," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "Im so happy that were finally putting it together as a group." Minnesota had its opening day outfield back together for the first time since the first week of the season. Josh Willingham and Oswaldo Arcia were activated from the disabled list after Sundays game and started alongside centre-fielder Aaron Hicks. But the re-enforcements werent enough to overcome Tepesch, whoo didnt allow a runner past second base after the second inning.dddddddddddd Twins manager Ron Gardenhire knows it might take a few more at-bats before Willingham and Arcia are able to help lift Minnesotas struggling offence. "That can be a huge part of it, driving the baseball and let them get a few at-bats here," Gardenhire said. "It takes a little time, a little different pitching up here than down there." Tepesch dominated Triple-A Round Rock after getting demoted in spring training and has a 2.95 ERA in three big-league starts since being recalled May 14. "Hes shown these three starts what hes capable of doing," Washington said. "But you cant hang your hat on a couple of outings. If hes around here healthy, hes going to get many outings. I just want him to be consistent." Hicks, a career switch-hitter, informed manager Ron Gardenhire before the game that he has decided to only hit from the right side. The struggling prospect is hitting .250 right-handed compared to .149 from the left side. He had two singles Monday. Two replay reviews went against the Twins. Arcia slided into third after a botched play in the outfield in the first, but a review showed third-baseman Adrian Beltre tagging him before his foot reached the base. Gardenhire challenged an out call at first on Willinghams dribbler down the line in the sixth, but the call stood. NOTES: Hicks told Gardenhire before the game he had no confidence swinging from the left side. "He came to me this morning and said he wants to hit right-handed. So, obviously, when a guy has no confidence left-handed, you gotta do what you gotta do," Gardenhire said. ... This was Ron Washingtons 1,186th game as Rangers manager, tied with Bobby Valentine for most in franchise history. ... Texas P Tanner Scheppers, out since April 18 with elbow inflammation, had his first rehab outing on Saturday with Double-A Frisco and will make three more with Triple-A Round Rock before being eligible to return on June 3. ... Choo hopes to return to left field on Tuesday after DHing the last two games with a sore left ankle. ... Phil Hughes (5-1, 3.15 ERA) will try for his fifth consecutive win on Tuesday against the Rangers Yu Darvish (4-2, 2.35). ' ' '