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Middlesex sat down, as most sports teams do, at the start of the season. They discussed cricket, of course they did. But they also picked through how they wanted to be viewed, and how they were going to go about their business in 2016 and beyond. The results were written down, and pinned to the home dressing room wall at Lords. The All Blacks call it the no dickheads policy. At Lords, it is the Middlesex DNA.Team spirit is a tenuous and fragile notion, but the Middlesex DNA can be tangible and visible. It defines director of cricket Angus Frasers recruitment - based as much on personality as playing prowess - and has ensured it is an easy team to come in to, with a series of youngsters slipping in seamlessly as injuries and international call-ups are juggled.It is the Middlesex DNA that makes them riotous celebrators of each others successes; wickets taken, centuries scored, matches won (each greeted with a trip to the Lords Tavern). Thus the team has no social divide, as batsmen mix with bowlers, the newest signing with the oldest lag. It is no coincidence; there is science to their chemistry. Everyone is mates, whether youre 22 or 36, Nick Gubbins, a batsman at the bottom end of that spectrum, says. We want to work hard for each other, and for the next man in to see that everyone is united.By the time they left The Oval after the final day of their fifth game of the season was washed out for a fifth draw, Middlesexs belief that they could win the title - written into the Middlesex DNA - was being tested. The batsman had been scoring runs, and the bowlers taking wickets, yet they were winless and exasperated. There was mitigation: two of those five draws had come on the deadest of Lords pitches - and a sixth would follow there a week later, against Somerset, by which point they had lost 618 overs to bad weather. That Lords pitch would become such a problem that when they drew again there against Lancashire, captain James Franklin said that they would officially complain to their landlords, the MCC.That game at The Oval was Gubbins 22nd first-class match, and he crossed the Thames more frustrated than most. The baby of a seasoned side, he had looked a class apart in coasting to 91, before a leading edge popped to mid-off. Still without a ton, three of his eight half-centuries had ended in the nineties, and it was becoming a problem. At The Oval, he had bottled a gimme, and he knew it. Toby Roland-Jones, one of the teams japesters-in-chief and a centurion himself, took to gently ribbing Gubbins; hands up, he would joke, if youve scored a ton.Gubbins is playing his 30th first-class game this week. He now has three centuries, including an unbeaten double. He was the first man to 999 Championship runs this season, has passed 50 nine times and averages more than 60. The first of the three tons, in that draw against Somerset, was watched in secret by his nervous parents and Gubbins admits he may have shed a tear. A weight had been lifted.I had been lying in bed wondering, he says. Once I got there, I cant describe the feeling, and since then I havent worried about hundreds. I probably got into a selfish mindset, as our psychologist would call it, thinking about the hundred not the team, whereas now its all about the team. What can I do for them? Can I get us off to a good start? My outlooks changed.Middlesex have mirrored Gubbins newfound appetite for conversion, winning four of their last six to top the table. There have been remarkable victories at Scarborough (all three of Yorkshires losses since the start of 2014, each as extraordinary as the last, have come to Middlesex) and Taunton. They even won at Lords, in three days against Durham.Others have helped to build on last seasons second place. John Simpson, the pugnacious, punchy wicketkeeper, has taken his all-round excellence to a new level, just like Roland-Jones, part of a revolving door seam attack (the win at Taunton came without Tim Murtagh, Roland-Jones or Steven Finn). Ollie Rayners offbreaks, meanwhile, have brought 35 wickets and a new contract. Rayners role was once merely to keep the over rate down, as well as provide a few runs and bucket hands at second slip. Now, though, liberated by the captaincy of Adam Voges and Franklin, he is, put simply, trying to get batsmen out. Pitches have been more helpful, but Rayner has helped himself, too; it has been conspicuous that he has spent the summer chatting to opposition spinners about how they go about their shared craft.But it is Gubbins, with more than 900 of his Championship runs in coming in the first innings, who has helped to decisively shape games.This is quite a contrast. Before, he was the original wide-eyed junior pro, known as much for playing the fool as hitting the ball. In 2015, he tripped celebrating a catch during a T20 at Lords; at a pre-season photoshoot he again went viral as Murtagh tricked him into imitating DJ Bravos Champion dance. Both incidents - as well as a cheery disposition and a tongue-out smile when he bats - have made him an easy target for a sledge. His glut of runs has spoken for itself, though. Throughout, he has been brutal on either side of the wicket to anything short, driven elegantly down the ground, and had sound judgement outside off. While he is constantly compared - for a shared school, county, role in the side and left-handedness - to Andrew Strauss (with whom he chats occasionally), it was a chance pre-season conversation with Alastair Cook, and constant dialogue with his team-mates Nick Compton and Sam Robson, that inspired his breakout year.Compos a massive help, he says. We live close by, and we go for coffee and just chat batting. We set targets together before the season, and he helped hone my process at the crease, and how Im building my innings. I set myself a modest amount to reach, and then I build from there. Robbo, too. The way he started the season was massive for me, because it gave me time to just work out my game. I also chatted to Cook. He said how he doesnt have a huge number of shots, but when the ball is in his area, he punishes bowlers. That made me really consider my strengths, then work hard on them.Unsurprisingly, the ECBs lead batting coach Graham Thorpe has been in touch and, while he plans to spend his winter playing for Subiaco in Perth (where work with Justin Langer has already been lined up), it seems likely he will tour with England Lions; a full international tour would be premature, even if those close to him are convinced the Strauss connection will eventually go one step further. Perhaps the most important thing is that Ive just learnt from experience to stay level and in the moment, he says. Ive had a good year, but that doesnt guarantee a good end to it, or a good one next year. That said its definitely nice to talk about something Ive achieved, not the silly stuff.Gubbins believes it is the Middlesex DNA that has underpinned their unbeaten run to the top of Division One. With three games to go, including a potential decider against this great Yorkshire side (another team with a distinct identity) at Lords, Middlesex are in position to win the Championship for the first time in 23 years. In the 17 years before that, they had won it six times. A barren run, they feel, that needs ending; now that really would be achieving something. Dexter Manley Redskins Jersey . Colin Wilson had two goals and an assist, and Mike Fisher scored a goal and helped set up two others in the Predators 6-4 victory over the Red Wings on Monday night. Sonny Jurgensen Jersey . 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The ACC announced Wednesday that it is moving all neutral-site conference championship games out of North Carolina as a result of the states controversial House Bill 2 law that limits the legal protection of the LGBT community.The conference council of presidents issued a statement saying its decision reaffirmed our collective commitment to uphold the values of equality, diversity, inclusion and non-discrimination.Every one of our 15 universities is strongly committed to these values and therefore, we will continue to host ACC championships at campus sites, the statement said. We believe North Carolina House Bill 2 is inconsistent with these values, and as a result, we will relocate all neutral-site championships for the 2016-17 academic year.This means the ACC football championship game scheduled for Dec. 3 will no longer be played in Charlotte. Conference commissioner John Swofford said in a statement that a new location will be announced at a later date.Sources told ESPNs Brett McMurphy that Orlando, Florida, is the prohibitive favorite to host the game. The ACC will meet with officials there Thursday about the possibility of moving it to Camping World Stadium.The biggest hurdle is that Floridas high school state football championships (Class 4A-1A) are scheduled for Dec. 2 and Dec. 3 at Camping World Stadium. The Florida High School Athletic Association has not been notified that there could be changes to the schedule, a spokeswoman told ESPN on Wednesday.To move the game, there would have to be a written agreement by both parties, Jamie Rohrer of the FHSAA told ESPN.Nashville, Tennessee, has also been contacted by the ACC about the citys interest in hosting the football title game, a source told McMurphy.As far as possibly holding the ACC title game on campus -- like other conferences have done -- a source said that was very unlikely.The NFLs Carolina Panthers said they were disappointed by the ACCs decision to move the conference title game away from Bank of America Stadium, but they remain steadfast in providing an inclusive environment.Other ACC sports affected by the North Carolina neutral-site ban are baseball, womens basketball, womens soccer, mens and womens swimming and diving, mens and womens tennis, and mens and womens golf.The Central Florida Sports Commission confirmed Wednesday it is interested in hosting all the neutrall-site events that would need to be relocated.ddddddddddddMiami athletic director Blake James told the Miami Herald on Wednesday that he wants to evaluate whether Miami or the South Florida area could serve as a host.We will evaluate what opportunities are out there and see what makes sense for us to try to be part of the conversation going forward, James told the Herald. If there are events we can bring to South Florida, I think it would be great for our institution, our students and our fans.The ACCs move comes on the heels of the NCAA announcing Monday that it would?move seven championship events?-- including the first- and second-round games of the NCAA mens basketball tournament -- out of North Carolina.The ACC council of presidents made it clear that the core values of this league are of the utmost importance, and the opposition to any form of discrimination is paramount, Swofford said in a statement. Todays decision is one of principle, and while this decision is the right one, we recognize there will be individuals and communities that are supportive of our values as well as our championship sites that will be negatively affected.Hopefully, there will be opportunities beyond 2016-17 for North Carolina neutral sites to be awarded championships.In February, the NBA decided to move its All-Star Game from Charlotte to New Orleans.The ACC and SEC must also decide what to do with the Belk Bowl, which is scheduled for Dec. 29 in Charlotte. Teams from both conferences participate in the ESPN-televised game.The SEC has a contractual relationship with the Belk Bowl, SEC commissioner Greg Sankey said in a statement. The current circumstances merit further dialogue with our Conference membership.An ACC spokesperson said the leagues presidents have not discussed the Belk Bowl.At this point, there isnt a change [in the ACC playing] in the Belk Bowl, a spokesperson said.The NCAA could decertify the Belk Bowl, meaning any student-athletes that participated in the game would be ruled ineligible. However, an industry source told McMurphy its unlikely to because the NCAA doesnt want to make the Power 5 leagues mad.The NCAA declined comment about the Belk Bowl and the NCAAs stance on having a bowl game in North Carolina. ' ' '