I think bicycling has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel ... the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood. -- Susan B. Anthony, 1896Girls who break camp and ride,daughters of iron fleur-de-lis andpearl sankofa, smashing homeruns,charting backhands, in city sandlots,with floral abstractions and lightningrod detail, calculating their girl futureson urban stoops, long after dark,long before Wimbledonssilver trays spell out their planetarynames. Foremothers, women of ryeinvention in the business of movement& motion, concoction & measure,The Paper Bag, 1868,belongs to them.They rode their bicycles out of tightboxes and off their chains into a propellerof girl wind, only to discover thewide stained glass slide of themselves,they sallied forth and circled,in drums of cotton and sailboats of lace,salty & pugnacious, riding with handlebars but with no hands,Sue Sally Hale, colored in a mustache and dressed like a man just to play polo in Southern California in 1950.Juggling dream notes and sketches tenfeet in the provincial air, as their bikesflew the red dirt roads, women of wheelwind now giving historical permission totheir daughters traipsing gridirons, pitchingdiamonds, running the wooden courts,sleeping with their hands still arced inblack belt tunics and butterfly capoeira.This love song is for those who masteredthe almost falling over, in order to relishthe sublime female flight of up & away,the journey of female physical intentionAnnie Taylor, first human to go over Niagara Falls in a barrel.The great girl flight is the tumbling from asolid, to a liquid, to a gas. Full throttle withwheels calculating the circumference ofinvisibility, fending off trumpets of chivalryand doubt, giving birth to shy daughters inneed of the sweet roux of their own bluecornflower flame. Contortionist swangirls of the track and field thathail from Housing Projects and Hollers,measuring the mechanics of their owndust tracks on the road, sweating the detailsand leaving their girl trace,The Murphy Bed, 1885,is one of their contraptions.Wrapping lavender and rosemary garlandaround the velocity of their handlebars,they sing and sign to the whirling, pirouetting,dervish band of other girls with wheelsfeverishly bringing up the rear, eyes andaureoles leaned in, pressing on aroundeach bend, loop de looping the arenawith their mighty wheelworks mastery.The circumference of a girl who wontback down is a registered trademarkmotion. On wheels, no longer standingstill they learn what makes them tick.Remembering how their mothers madequiet haste of cabin fever, preferring torqueto meander, saying No to any parade ofpretty dainty wave.Cathay Williams was also William Cathay, Secret woman & Buffalo Soldier, 1866.They would rather be chased and nevercaught, than stared at and never seen,daring, wild, and crooked free, and womanenough to build their own time capsules,The Windshield Wiper, 1903,invented by a girl.Sometimes a girl can sail her bicycle,sometimes her arm is already the wheel,she is the girl-woman of the double-quickhips, twerking with her kickstand up,Virne Mitchell, pitcher, who struck out Babe Ruth. Women would later be bannedfrom the sport.They refashion new arenas for womenwho fence and cover their hair, withcrescent and purpose, then lunge withmight and fearless heart.Monopoly, the game, 1904,was invented by her kind.No bra or bodice, she is at homewith her inner workings and the quickcockpit of her mind. Nobodys Foolcomes tattooed across her back beneath herhoodie. This great grand daughter, thesister, the lover to the woman who inventedthe circular saw in 1813,then bloomers in 1851.Verve and gadget set them apart fromothers, they are comfortable in theirrunning shoes and bloomers, relaxedwith themselves in an easy loose-fittingkind of way. Sing the love song againstthe liar who has tried, since the Gamesof Hera, to tell us who they are, fillthe silence that can set in quick whena girl is told from stroller wheel towheelchair, A girls mind is not that quick.Watch closely for the girl who is intenton spinning her wheels in the cockpit,Bessie Coleman, piloting herJenny into Paris, smiling downat the ones who told her shewould never fly a plane.Near the hoop, around the arena,past the insult, into the microphone,women who invented exertion,who thought go & travel a fragrance,The female Sumo wrestlers of 1870. Hattie Stewart, pugilist, 1884. The Women of Roller Derby.Girls who GirlTrek and gad about forfreedom from inertia, in the name ofgetting the lead out, with the same DNAas the women who inventedScotchgard, 1953, andKevlar, 1965 (5 times tougher than steel).From the wombs of women whobent forward all day in high cotton,beyond the wired corsets of motherswho could not leave the house(and still be thought of a lady),into the high notes of womenprone to move, girls made fromthe cloth of loose womenremoving their corsets withoutpermission, strait-laced womenwho took years but finally learnedto disobey the rules, then who withfists and fisticuffs fought back.We march into the new Hippodrome,in the name of women who twitch & move,to honor the long-legged, the short-limbed,the lanky girls, who uncrossed their legs,who rode by emancipated on their wheels,the loud whistling women who wantedout of the house, off the plantation,into the street, inside the ring,Ernestine Shepherd, 74, body builder. Women endowed with a wheel of a mind,moving their body at the speed of girl light,with sometimes a bat, a ball, a pencil,pushing off with ink, back flip, triple flute.Who sprint and glide into home with hairfastidiously beaded and cornrowed, withthe rubberbands of their ponytails pullingback their mothers eyes. Women whodreamed beyond the screened-in porchand backyard fence. A band of womenalive and well, who still saddle up theirmythological bikes, pioneering all the way,Retractable Dog Leash, 1908,Liquid Paper, 1951,to strike out on their own. Tomboys.Girls on bikes. Dykes on Bikes. Sweetgraying daughters of Title IX. All, us,kin to the women who run the Saharashoeless and at night, and the Kenyangirls of tomorrow now sprinting with themoon, granddaughters of keen women,who cant stand the standing still,who crave the nimbus and the eddy,and the flight, our girl XX DNA isin it, wheel in hand. Well Alpine race it,balance beam it, figure skate it,The Submarine Telescope, 1845,forearm it, curl & summit, CasterSemenya it, wheel in hand, we ignitefootfall, leave our trace, plantingAchilles and Sojourner, spinning still,from a solidto a liquidto a gas.Nikky Finney has written four books of poetry, including Head Off & Split, for which she won the 2011 National Book Award. She wrote this original piece for the 2016 espnW Women + Sports Summit. Larry Bird Celtics Jersey . The visitors took a deserved lead in the 16th minute with midfielder Yohan Cabaye curling the ball beyond Adrian from inside the penalty area. John Havlicek Celtics Jersey . Cote was eligible to become a free agent Feb. 15. Cote helped running back Jon Cornish run for a league-high 1,813 rushing yards en route to being named the leagues most outstanding player. http://www.celticssale.com/kids-marcus-smart-celtics-jersey/ . Just not the game. Kyle Palmieri scored two straight goals in the third period to rally the Anaheim Ducks past the Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 on Tuesday night. Jayson Tatum Jersey . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. Kevin Mchale Jersey . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. METAIRIE, La. -- Saints coach Sean Payton expressed frustration with New Orleans special teams play this week, and now hes tinkering with the roster in hopes of doing something about it.At the very least, two of the three players hes brought in this week can help the Saints scout this Sundays opponent, the Denver Broncos.Former Broncos tight end Sam Barrington and ex-Denver safety Shiloh Keo, as well as former Green Bay linebacker Sam Barrington, all took part in their first practices with the Saints on Wednesday.All three can contribute to our special teams, Payton said, noting that the promotions of linebackers Craig Robertson and Nate Stupar to starting roles on defense, combined with a season-ending injury to safety Erik Harris, have removed three players from kick and punt coverage who were adept in those roles.Your core special teams group at the start of the season has changed, Payton said. We have to pay close attention to that so it doesnt cost us a game.The additions meant three players had to go: defensive tackle John Jenkins, defensive back Brian Dixon and linebacker Chris McCain.Jenkins was a former starter and third-round draft choice in 2013, but his snaps had diminished this season and he was a healthy scratch for last Sundays victory at San Francisco, when rookie first-round pick Sheldon Rankins made his NFL debut after returning from a fractured fibula.Payton said the decision to release Jenkins really came down to numbers and production.We were at that point in our defensive line where it was going to be hard to get (Jenkins) active and then back to addressing special teams, Payton said. He has worked hard. Weve just really never received, at the end of it, all the production we wouldve liked.Dixon remains with the Saints, but has been demoted to the practice squad. Payton could be seen scolding Dixon last Sunday after hed been flagged for fair-catch interference on punt coverage.McCain played one snap Sunday. He was flagged for lining up in the neutral zone and benched for the rrest of the game.ddddddddddddKeo and Phillips said theyre pleased to help the Saints scout Denver as much as possible -- and already have been sharing their knowledge of the Broncos. They also hope they get a chance to make enough of an impression to stay beyond this weekend.Coach told me right away, `Right now, we need you to come in and play big-time special teams, Keo said. Its definitely something I take pride in. I know everyone wants to play offense and defense. It doesnt happen for everybody, so the next thing you can do is make a name for yourself on special teams.San Francisco averaged nearly 35 yards on three kickoff returns and about 8 yards on three punt returns against New Orleans on Sunday.Payton said Phillips addition, which raises the total of tight ends on the roster to three, could provide relief for tight end Josh Hill, who has been getting a lot of snaps on both offense and special teams.With just two tight ends there is a lot of stress on a guy like Josh Hill whos been a core player, Payton said. So we pay close attention in the last five or six weeks, looking at the wire to see if the right player at that position maybe was available. John fits that description.Game notes LB Dannell Ellerbe, who missed last weeks game with a nagging quadriceps injury after playing for the first time this season in Week 8, returned to practice Wednesday on a limited basis. ... Payton said he hopes James Laurinaitis, who was placed on injured reserve late last week because of a quadriceps injury, will continue to contribute in meetings as much as he has all season. Hopefully we never lose his leadership because hes been amazing, Payton said. Id say hed be able to coach this game if he wanted to ... but I think his presence in that (linebacker) room and the building is an important one.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '