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Connacht led the way at the Guinness PRO12 awards in Dublin on Sunday night where Bundee Aki was named Players Player of the Year. The Irish province won three of the individual awards up for grabs at the Guinness Storehouse and seven of their players were named in the Guinness PRO12 Dream Team.Connacht were the surprise packages of the 2015-16 season and a 14-7 win over Glasgow in their final game saw them finish in second behind Leinster to secure a play-off place. They will take on the Warriors again on May 21 in Galway, with Leinster and Ulster facing off in the other semi-final a day earlier in Dublin. The final takes place at Murrayfield on May 28.Aki had already been named as Connachts player of the year, by both fans and his team-mates, after an outstanding season that saw him score six tries in 26 appearances.He beat off competition from Glasgows Stuart Hogg and Munsters CJ Stander in the vote, which is made up of the leagues 12 captains and vice-captains. Connachts Pat Lam claimed coaching honours Pat Lam was named Coach of the Year for leading Connacht to second and club captain John Muldoon was the recipient of the Guinness PRO12 Chairmans Award.Ospreys fly-half Sam Davies was voted Young Player of the Season by a selected media panel ahead of Leinster pair Garry Ringrose and Josh van der Flier. Try of the season - Tommy Seymour Glasgow Warriors Tommy Seymour won the Sky Sports Try of the Season award, polling 28.5 per cent of the vote for his round 18 try against Ulster - he pipped Craig Gilroy (Ulster v Treviso, round 3) and Aki (Munster v Connacht, round 18) to the title. Gareth Anscombe won the Golden Boot Cardiff Blues fly-half Gareth Anscombe won the Rhino Golden Boot Award and Ulster won the Specsavers Fair Play Award, receiving £10,000 to spend on their youth development programme.Guinness PRO12 Dream Team: 15: Isa Nacewa (Leinster, capt); 14 Matt Healy (Connacht); 13 Bundee Aki (Connacht); 12 Ben Teo (Leinster); 11 Craig Gilroy (Ulster); 10 Sam Davies (Ospreys); 9 Kieran Marmion (Connacht); 1 Dennis Buckley (Connacht); 2 Tom McCartney (Connacht); 3 Finlay Bealham (Connacht); 4 Leone Nakarawa (Glasgow); 5 Ultane Dillane (Connacht); 6 CJ Stander (Munster); 7 Josh Van Der Flier (Leinster); 8 Cornell du Preez (Edinburgh). Also See: Connacht clinch semi spot Final day PRO12 highlights Play-off dates confirmed PRO12 table Austin Corbett Jersey . PAUL, Minn. Chad Thomas Youth Jersey . Its sharpness matched my mind. This was no night to go to sleep. http://www.brownsauthenticproshop.com/Youth-Denzel-Ward-Browns-Jersey/ . Scott Kazmir allowed four hits in seven shutout innings, Michael Brantley hit a two-run homer in a three-run first inning and the Indians maintained their hold on an AL wild-card spot with a 4-1 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday night. Nick Chubb Womens Jersey . Wilson hit Schenn from behind during Tuesday nights game in Philadelphia, earning a five-minute major for charging and a game misconduct. He has a phone hearing with the department of player safety, which limits any potential suspension to five or fewer games. Myles Garrett Browns Jersey . The veteran safety was a starter for the Bengals from 2008-2012. He totaled 41 tackles and three interceptions while starting all but four of the 13 games he played last season. When you go to a sporting event, what do you think about when the national anthem is played? Do you feel patriotic? Do you feel thankful? Do you think of those serving in the military? Do you think of the War of 1812 and the bombing of Fort McHenry, which inspired Francis Scott Key to pen his lyrics?Do you even know where Fort McHenry was located? Did you even know Francis Scott Key is the author of the Star-Spangled Banner? Do you know who we fought in the War of 1812? Did you know the actual music to the song was adapted from a British song? Does any of this matter?Until a few weeks ago, when San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeled before the anthem at a football game to protest racial injustice in this country, none of that did matter much. We stood, we took off our hats, we contemplated what to order at the concession stand or why Terry Collins would take out Addison Reed for Josh Smoker.That all changed. Suddenly, the anthem means ... something. It has become another way to further divide this country, symbolic, in some fashion, of this entire political season. There seems to be little room for discussion or nuance: Youre either with Kaepernick and others who have followed his lead across different sports, or youre against.Against this background, there was a silly little stunt on Wednesday afternoon following the anthem at the Cardinals-Rockies game in Denver. Cardinals outfielder Jose Martinez and Rockies reliever Carlos Estevez had a post-anthem standoff. To what means and point? I have no idea, though I seem to remember this happening earlier this season in another game. As their teammates dispersed to get ready for the game, Martinez and Estevez remained in front of their dugouts, standing like the Queens Guard in front of Buckingham Palace. At one point, Estevez donned a catchers mask, I guess in case the game started.The delay lasted long enough that the umpires had to tell the managers to get their players off the field.Look, Im sure the two rookies thought they were just having fun. Maybe Martinez, from Venezuela, and Estevez, from the Dominican Republic, were feeling especially appreciative on this night to play major league baseball.Even if that were the case, this is not the time for such behavior. Kaepernick says he has received death threats as a result of his protest. Charlotte was burning. Seattle Seahawks star Richard Sherman had spoken earlier in the day about how players are being misunderstood. I think you have players that are trying to take a stand and trying to be aware of social issues and tryy to make a stand and increase peoples awareness and put a spotlight on it, and theyre being ignored, he said.dddddddddddd Whether theyre taking a knee or whether theyre locking arms, theyre trying to bring people together and unite them for a cause.In the middle of all this, of an issue of vital importance, we get this ridiculousness at a baseball game.I dont mean to sound so harsh. Im sure Martinez and Estevez had good intentions. But that gets to the bigger picture: Maybe its time to stop playing the anthem before sporting events. What impact does the song actually serve if its as ubiquitous as James Taylor playing in the background while youre getting your teeth cleaned? As Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Bob Ford wrote in late August:But it could also be suggested that the national anthem should be bigger than football, too, at least bigger than an August exhibition game of no particular meaning. What exactly about that trivial event is worthy of being introduced by the playing of a song that commemorates a moment in which the nations independence was in the balance?Still, it is played. It is played before nearly every game, in nearly every sport, at nearly every level where there is a public address system. Why is that? Habit is the best answer. That and the unspoken belief that the two minutes it takes to perform the anthem is less trouble than dealing with the blowback were the anthem not played to consecrate each game, no matter how insignificant.Theres a bit of an uneasy relationship sports has developed here, with the anthem, with God Bless America during the seventh-inning stretch, and, related, with the military. Im all for honoring our servicemen and women, but many of the tributes or presentations weve seen (such as the National Guard unfurling a big flag before a game) were actually paid for by the military itself. Which means paid for by U.S. taxpayers. The Department of Defense paid pro sports teams $53 million in marketing contracts between 2012 and 2015. (After Arizona Republicans John McCain and Jeff Flake prepared a report on this, the DOD reportedly banned the practice and the NFL called for teams to stop taking payments.)So maybe a sporting event should simply be a sporting event. If we want displays of patriotism, we should be volunteering in our communities, helping our neighbors and trying to understand the plights of those different from ourselves. Then we can all be proud to stand. ' ' '