Bernardo Houssay won the 1947 Nobel Prize for medicine, Arturo Rodriguez Jurado the gold for heavyweight boxing at the 1928 Olympics, and Ernesto Guevara became a revolutionary icon. But the first Argentinian rugby player to achieve international renown for his feats on the field was Hugo Porta, who turns 65 on September 11.Like many of the greatest careers, his had elements of the serendipitous. He was initially enthused by football, and good enough to have interested the famous Boca Juniors club. And he began rugby life as a scrum-half, which he played well enough for Banco Nacion -- his first and only club -- to be called into the national squad as a teenager, before an injury crisis led to his being pressed into service as an emergency outside-half at a squad session.That was the end of the budding scrum-half. His first cap at No.10 followed shortly after, against Chile in Buenos Aires a month after his 20th birthday in 1971. And it would be the best part of another two decades -- a durability which helped persuade the young Diego Dominguez that invoking his Italian ancestry might be a better route to an international rugby career than waiting for Porta to lose form or quit -- before Argentina again wanted for an outside-half.The numbers are impressive -- a Test career which lasted from 1971 to 1990 and a total of 651 points , then the all-time record for any international player, in 52 matches for Argentina and eight for South America.Even if the 228 points scored against nations not then recognised as having full Test status are excluded, he went well past the previous man on the all-time record holders list -- Andy Irvine, with 301 points -- before eventually giving way to Michael Lynagh.And he was vastly more than an accumulator of points against weaker nations. His career coincided with the period in which Argentina started to threaten the established order. And a common factor in the landmark results of that period is the contribution of the Porta boot.He scored all 18 points in the draw against France in 1977, a further 16 including a hat-trick of drop goals in the 24-13 defeat of Australia in 1979, every point including another trio of drops in the 21-21 draw with the All Blacks in 1985 and a further 21 in South Americas 21-12 overthrow of the Boks at Bloemfontein in 1982. His 28 drop goals were also an all-time record, since overtaken by Jonny Wilkinson.Yet it was as a creator that he made the greatest impression. Carwyn James, a towering rugby intellect and himself a former international outside-half, wrote after first seeing him in the flesh of having his faith restored in the aesthetic and artistic possibilities of back play.John Reason wrote that he could play closer to an opponent without being tackled than the top matador working with a bull, and there are echoes of Jack Kyle in Reasons observation that he looked predictable but never was.Opponents were similarly awe-struck. All Black captain Graham Mourie reckoned, from his privileged open-side observation point, that Porta was the best first-five he played against, recalling memorably that he always left a free arm slack so he could sense a tackle coming and adjust: he felt that on his arm like a cats whisker.Michael Lynagh found him hard even to get near and that you could only keep doing your best and sit back and admire him through gritted teeth.In 1985 Midi Olympique reckoned him the best player in the world, while Rothmans Rugby Yearbook named him the best outside-half of the 1980s -- a decade which also saw Naas Botha, Mark Ella, Lynagh, Jonathan Davies, John Rutherford, Ollie Campbell, Tony Ward, Rob Andrew and Grant Fox. Legendary commentator Bill McLaren rated him the best he had seen.Yet perhaps the most remarkable honour was the one conferred at home, as Argentinas Sportsman of the Year in 1985. It was one thing for the aficionados of long-established rugby nations to recognise his greatness, quite another for his famously football-besotted compatriots to look past its practitioners -- who in 1985 included a near-his-peak Diego Maradona -- to a giant in a minority pastime left over from Argentinas past as an economic dependency of the British Empire.A qualified architect, Porta retired from rugby in 1990 expecting to go into the family kitchen business. But he was rapidly diverted to an old rugby stamping ground when President Carlos Menem, wanting to re-open diplomatic relations with South Africa following the release of Nelson Mandela, appointed him ambassador to Pretoria.Menem calculated correctly that Portas personality and rugby fame would outweigh any objections to the sanctions-busting of the three South America tours he led to the Republic between 1980 and 1984, the name a thin disguise adopted by overwhelmingly Argentinian squads because of their unions opposition to contact with apartheid. His time in Pretoria was followed by a spell as Argentinas Minister of Sport, no sinecure in a country which takes it so seriously.The voice heard in periodic interviews in recent years has been one of nostalgia for the amateur game. But there is no reason to doubt him when he says that he never made a cent playing rugby -- Argentina was the one country exempted from the seminal Pugh reports damning condemnation of the hypocrisy of leading rugby nations over money.And you dont have to be an apologist for the pre-1995 era to share his worries that players dont have the freedoms that I felt when I was a player or that they might not develop minds and thinking in the same way as their bodies.Idealist as he is, Porta was also enough of a pragmatist to have played his part, as a member of the Argentine Rugby Unions directorate in the early years of Argentinas evolution from rigid amateurism to the highly successful professionalism of the present.As the Pumas of today continue their thrilling challenge to the games long-standing hierarchies, they will doubtless join much of the rugby world in wishing their greatest forerunner Feliz Cumpleanos. Cheap NFL Jerseys Online . 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Anthony Davis had 31 points and 17 rebounds in his seventh straight game with more than 20 points, but that was only enough to keep the Pelicans competitive into the final minutes. Andrew Bogut had 10 points and 15 rebounds for Golden State, which rebounded from a loss a night earlier in Oklahoma City and snapped a two-game skid. The San Jose Sharks appear to be a team in flux, but theyve made sure that one of the core pieces will be around for quite a while.With Brent Burns contract situation now a done deal, the Sharks continue their five-game homestand Wednesday night versus the Chicago Blackhawks.San Jose (10-8-1) has long been anchored by Joe Thornton and original Shark Patrick Marleau, both in their 19th NHL seasons with their respective contracts expiring after the season. Joe Pavelski, at 32, and Logan Couture, at 27, are locked up through 2019.Now the Sharks top defenseman has been taken care of, as Burns on Tuesday signed an eight-year extension worth a reported $64 million.Burns, now in his sixth season with San Jose after playing with the Minnesota Wild from 2003-11, is the Sharks all-time leader among defensemen with 93 goals, and needs 14 points to surpass Dan Boyle (269 points from 2008-14) as the teams career leader in points among blue-liners.Brent is one the most dynamic players in the National Hockey League and were very excited to get this deal done, Sharks general manager Doug Wilson told the teams official website Tuesday.Burns snapped a season high-tying, three-game scoreless streak with a goal and assist in the Sharks 4-0 win over the New Jersey Devils on Monday in the opener of the homestand. He leads San Jose with seven goals and with 16 points is one shy of tying Pavelski for the team lead.While with the Sharks, Burns has two goals and five assists in 14 career games against the Blackhawks in San Jose.The Sharks, who lost in the Stanley Cup final in six games to the Pittsburgh Penguins last season, come into this game trailing the Edmonton Oilers by just two points for the Pacific Division lead. And even though Burns will be 40 when the new deal expires, hes excited about what the future holds for the club.We got some great guys coming up. ... Were going to have a great group for a long time, Burns told the San Jose Mercury News.Martin Jones is expected to start in goal for the Sharks, and iff so, hell try to build off a 26-save performance against the Devils for his second shutout in six games.ddddddddddddones is 5-2-0 with a 1.58 goals-against average with a .933 save percentage at SAP Center this season. He lost in his only start and career appearance against the Blackhawks last season.The Blackhawks annual Circus Trip shifts to California after going 2-2-0 across central and western Canada.Chicago was blanked for the second time on this trip -- 5-0 by Edmonton on Monday. The Blackhawks dropped a 4-0 decision to the Winnipeg Jets on Nov. 15, and were held scoreless for the first 42:53 before roaring back from three goals down for a 4-3 overtime win over the Vancouver Canucks on SaturdayCoach Joel Quenneville told the Chicago Sun-Times that he needs production from everyone.When you dont score in two of the three games, and you basically get production in one period out of nine, youre looking for ways to generate, he said. ... But we need four lines going.Jonathan Toews has been remarkably consistent through his first nine NHL seasons for Chicago, averaging 28 goals and 35 assists. However, the Blackhawks captain has just four goals and eight assists in 20 games, and has failed to get on the scoresheet in the last four.Facing the Sharks may help him get back on track. Hes posted 13 goals and 13 assists in 29 career games versus San Jose, leading his team to a 16-9-4 record.Chicago is 8-2-2 in its last 12 against the Sharks, however the two regulation defeats have been by shutout. The Blackhawks defense has been particularly strong, limiting the Sharks to 1.83 goals per game over the dozen matchups.Corey Crawford will likely get the chance to make up for the poor effort in Edmonton. Hes 3-0-1 with a 1.97 GAA in his last four starts in San Jose.That wasnt our team, Crawford said Monday. ... We just have to forget about it and worry about the next game. 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