The campaign to reverse the trend of cuts to youth sports funding is going green.The Sports Matter program run by the DICKS Sporting Goods Foundation has launched a green shoelaces movement. Under the latest all-sports initiative, DICKS will donate $2 from every shoelace sale to Sports Matter. The green shoelaces can be purchased at DICKS stores or online at dicks.com.As I travel around the country, I see more and more young athletes who dont have the means to play, and it breaks my heart, says Super Bowl-winning coach Jon Gruden, now an analyst for ESPN and an ambassador for Sports Matter. The green laces represent more than your average shoelaces. They are a tangible way to raise awareness and start conversation around this crisis, all while raising money for kids who really need it the most.Projections show that 27% of U.S. public high schools might not have any sports programs by 2020, according to Up2Us Sports, a New York-based non-profit. With billions of dollars slashed from youth sports budgets in recent years, DICKS and its foundation have pledged more than $50 million to support teams and raise awareness of the issue. To date, the Sports Matter program has helped nearly 2,000 youth sports teams.Sports helped me get through some tough times in life, and taught me a lot about how to be a man on and off the field, says Texans receiver DeAndre Hopkins. Kids need more chances in life, and I hate to imagine a world where sports arent around to help kids stay out of trouble and succeed.Green shoelace users can show their support as well by taking a picture of their casual or athletic shoes or cleats laced up with green shoelaces and use (hash)SaveYouthSports. You can be sure Vikings receiver Stefon Diggs will make such a fashion statement.Seeing what kids are exposed to nowadays makes the positive influences of coaches and teams more important than ever, Diggs says. The opportunity to play sports is huge in a kids life in so many ways, and not being able to afford joining a team is tragic.Thats why Ill be standing with others who purchase green laces in support of Sports Matter, and proud to wear them during Week 13 on `Thursday Night Football. `DICKS foundation also will use money donated to help raise awareness for and support underfunded youth sports programs.Other athletes involved in the program include Justise Winslow of the Miami Heat, Dexter Fowler of the Chicago Cubs (now a free agent), Isaiah Thomas of the Boston Celtics, and Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Hornets.The initiative also includes a short film profile of the Fifth Ward Saints football organization outside of Houston. It shows the importance of football in the lives of generations of Houston-area kids. At the end of the film, DICKS Foundation donates a $100,000 grant, including new equipment, as a gift.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFLSportsMatter.com/greenlaces Cheap Columbus Blue Jackets Jerseys . The incident occurred at 19:56 of the second period of the Kings 4-2 road win over Edmonton on Sunday. Nolan punched Oilers forward Jesse Joensuu in the jaw in front of the Kings goal during a scrum. Cheap Toronto Maple Leafs Jerseys . Varlamov made 33 saves and Ryan OReilly had a goal and scored in the shootout as the Avalanche beat the New Jersey Devils 2-1 on Thursday night. http://www.cheapnhloutletjerseys.com/?tag=cheap-winnipeg-jets-jerseys . Louis. To which I would say two things: 1. Where there is smoke, there is or perhaps has been a little fire. Or, in other words, the two teams would appear to have at least spoken. And spoken is defined as one calling the other to inquire, no more, no less. Cheap Dallas Stars Jerseys . It says Pocklingtons lawyer filed the appeal Friday in a California court. CTV Edmonton also says Pocklington gave a $100,000 cash deposit as part of the conditions of his bail, and that he will be out on bail until his appeal is heard. Discount NHL Jerseys For Sale . LOUIS -- The New Orleans Saints looked like a team playing out the string. ARLINGTON, Va. -- Just because its early in the season doesnt mean its too early for Barry Trotz to shake things up.His Washington Capitals are 9-4-1 despite some inconsistent play, but that didnt stop the veteran NHL coach from making wholesale line changes. Superstar Alex Ovechkin practiced Monday on a line with former fourth-line center Jay Beagle, and the rest of the lineup was about as jumbled as it could get.Ovechkin doesnt have a point in three games, but it was a 5-1 loss at Carolina on Saturday that prompted Trotz to take action.I dont think its to wake up Ovi, Beagle said. Just the team in general to kind of shake things up.Trotz explained it as a way to generate a combination of will and skill on every line. Will over skill is the teams motto, a year after winning the Presidents Trophy and losing to the Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round.With Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Evgeny Kuznetsov around, the Capitals dont lack for skill. Trotz put the three all-stars on three separate lines in preparation for a road game Tuesday at the Columbus Blue Jackets.Ovechkin said players accept Trotzs decisions and that he and Beagle have some chemistry since theyve been put together a few times in recent years.Its always going to be changing and moving around the bodies, said Ovechkin, who has seven ggoals and four assists.dddddddddddd I think its a regular, normal thing.Backstrom, Beagle and others consider it something of a wake-up call, given that Washington has lost two of three and not been on top of its game lately.I feel like especially the top players, including myself, weve got to get going here, said Backstrom, whos centering leading scorer Marcus Johansson and T.J. Oshie. Weve got to start playing better. Weve just got to be better. We have to create more chances, produce more and help the team out a little more.Beagle has been helping plenty and is surprisingly fourth on the team in goals. The defensive-minded grinder plays the kind of straightforward style previous coach Adam Oates wanted to see more from with Ovechkin, and that could have something to do with Trotzs thinking.Theyve got a lot of skill and theyve got a lot of will, Trotz said of Ovechkin and Beagle. Hopefully they can help each other -- that combination of someone getting pucks, someone shooting pucks, someone helping along, all that stuff. That line should be fine. All the lines have a unique quality to them. I just think theres a balance there.---Follow Stephen Whyno on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SWhyno . 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