For Sam Allardyce, Englands long journey back to respectability in world soccer starts with lightening up and having some fun.The national teams new coach has lined up comedians from British television to host a quiz night at Englands training camp. Hes urging players to chill out by playing pool and table-tennis in their downtime. There are photographs and messages on the walls of the national training center, one of which reads: The Journey Begins Here.I havent come here to be miserable, Allardyce said.Miserable just about sums up Englands experiences over the last two years. After a group-stage elimination at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil came the humiliating last-16 loss to tiny Iceland at the European Championship in June.The country that invented football is now something of a joke in the global game because of its implosions every two years at major soccer tournaments. Its widely believed that Englands players have the talent, but are mentally fragile on the big stage -- and thats what Allardyce has set about changing after taking over from Roy Hodgson in July.Big Sam, as he is known, wants to create an environment where his players feel comfortable and relaxed when they report for England duty. Hence the new ideas and the new look at St. Georges Park, a national training center located in a sleepy town in central England and opened in 2012 at a cost of $160 million.The facility itself is fantastic, but there are some times when you can feel like you are stuck here a bit, Allardyce said. Weve walked around saying, `What can we do to make more of an impact on the players?There will be other messages. Its the journey we are on. I just wanted to brighten this place up.The England squad met up Monday for the first time since its embarrassing Euro 2016 exit in Nice two months ago, and Wayne Rooney -- Englands captain -- was asked Tuesday for his initial thoughts on the new coach.You can see hes a relaxed guy, Rooney said, with a laugh.Allardyce is trying his best to make a good early impression. Arriving at St. Georges Park, journalists were handed a typed letter from Allardyce, saying he was looking forward to working with them and to making the nation proud of our football team.The journey starts with Englands opening qualifying match for the 2018 World Cup, against Slovakia on Sunday. But it isnt in qualifiers or friendlies where England is judged, rather in the knockout games in World Cups or European Championships -- where reputations and history is really on the line.A new era doesnt mean a new captain.Rooney will keep the armband under Allardyce, who sees the Manchester United striker as the right choice to lead the team because he is the most senior and respected member of the squad.Rooney said Tuesday he will not play for England beyond the next World Cup, so Russia in 2018 is his last shot at a trophy on the international stage. That is also when Allardyces contract runs to.Im going to try and enjoy these two years, Rooney said, and hopefully I can end my career with England on a high.I started playing football professionally when I was 16, international football when I was 17. So 15 years of international football is a lot of years and, in my eyes, I think that would be the right time to finish.By then, it should also be clear if Allardyces new approach has worked.The difficulty lies in coping with tournament football and trying to find a solution, Allardyce said. But I cant think about that until we get there. Lions Jerseys China .ca NHL Power Rankings for the second straight week, ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche. T.J. Hockenson Jersey Large . -- There were a lot of firsts for the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. http://www.customlionsjersey.com/ . I cant pinpoint a date, but I do remember a player from my youth. Brian Downing was with the Chicago White Sox at a time when I listened to every game I possibly could on the radio. That particular season the late great Harry Caray was calling the White Sox games. Wholesale Custom Lions Shirts . 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WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. -- Chaston Bennett rushed for a season-high 129 yards and Trey White scored four rushing touchdowns despite having just a dozen yards gained as Kennesaw State trounced Monmouth, 49-17 in the Hawks home finale Saturday.The Owls divided 65 carries among a dozen runners and piled up 482 yards on the ground and 513 total yards gained while possessing the ball for 36 minutes.White got Kennesaw State (6-2, 2-1 Big South Conference) on the board with a 3-yard run with 5:03 left in the 11st quarter and his 1-yard plunge with 1:32 left in the half made it 28-17 at intermission.ddddddddddddKenji Bahar was 14 of 28 for 188 yards and a touchdown for Monmouth (4-5, 0-4) and Reggie White Jr. had three catches for 67 yards and a touchdown. Lavon Chaney carried 17 times for 68 yards and a touchdown.Monmouths final two games are at Coastal Carolina and Gardner-Webb. ' ' '