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Given his particular line of work, professional stuntman Eddie Braun knows about danger -- and he plans for the worst.Thats why he paid bills several months in advance. He set up emergency cash reserves to take care of his family and engaged in an emotional talk with his teenage son about looking out for his mom and three sisters.Brauns simply putting things in place before he buckles into his steam-powered rocket cycle this weekend and flips the switch to launch him over the Snake River Canyon in Idaho. Hes replicating the jump that could have cost his boyhood idol, Evel Knievel, his life four decades ago.I tied up loose ends, as I would for any life-or-death type stunt coming up, said Braun, a longtime Hollywood stuntman who will launch sometime between noon Mountain time Friday and 7 p.m. Saturday, depending on wind conditions. The last thing I want burden my family with on top of the shock of me being ...He took a deep breath.I feel very optimistic about this jump, the 54-year-old Braun continued. I wouldnt be doing this if I thought it couldnt be done.As a tribute to Knievel, Braun named his rocket Evel Spirit. Its identical to the model Knievel used for his failed canyon attempt on Sept. 8, 1974, when he walked away with only minor injuries. Braun wants to prove Knievel couldve made it had his parachute not prematurely deployed.Brauns endeavor is more than three years in the making and cost him around $1.5 million out of his own pocket, with corporate sponsors hard to line up. Hes drawn the interest of ABCs Good Morning America, which will air an interview with him Friday morning. Only fitting since Knievels launch was shown on ABCs Wide World of Sports.This is about the kid Evel inspired and about the Evel spirit, said Braun, who will launch from a spot about five miles away from Knievels site just outside of Twin Falls, Idaho.Along for the journey are two sons yearning to fulfill the legacies of their dads: Kelly Knievel, who was present the day of the crash, and rocket designer Scott Truax, whose father constructed the original X2 Skycycle for Knievel. Scott followed his dads blueprints down to the last bolt, except with one deviation -- updating the parachute system.Brauns rocket will reach a top speed of 400 mph in about 3 seconds and an altitude of 3,000 feet before the engine cuts off and the parachute deploys. Braun says he expects to soar about 1,500 feet -- or 0.28 miles -- over the canyon.For the last few months, theyve conducted various tests on the rocket. First and foremost, a static fire test in which they welded the rocket to the ground to make sure it was generating the kind of power they needed to soar so far.Passed with flying colors, Braun said.The parachute test was a different story.Shredded it, Braun recounted.They feel theyve addressed the issues. But its a guess.We just dont know, Braun said. We know what Evels problem was -- his parachute coming out early. What we dont want with mine is it coming out too late. Therein lies the secret -- what is that magic formula?Because up to the point of me climbing in it, theres no real test that can be done.Watching Brauns attempt closely will be Michael Hughes, a self-taught rocket scientist in Apple Valley, California. He almost teamed up with Braun a few years ago. But Hughes wanted to build rockets on his own.On Oct. 18, Hughes will attempt to rocket over the ghost town of Amboy, California, once a familiar spot along Route 66.The 60-year-old Hughes is unique in that his launch pad also doubles as a motor home. He successfully completed a jump on Jan. 30, 2014, in Winkelman, Arizona, but hurt his left and ribs on the fall back to earth because his parachute shredded.Of course, hes hoping for the best for Braun. But the parachute design concerns him.If his rocket ever starts tumbling, which Knievels did, it will land and not be a happy ending for him, explained Hughes, a limo driver in his spare time. You can get rolled up in the parachute.Braun tried not to make a big deal of the jump to his family. But he did have a serious conversation with his son. Braun told him that should anything go wrong, the son would one day walk his sisters down the aisle at their weddings.I had him promise, Braun said. Because thats important to me.---On the Web: www.evelspirit.com; http://www.madmikehughes.com/ Cheap Nike Authentic Air Jordan . -- Devin Hester is done returning kicks in Chicago. Cheap Authentic Air Jordan Online .Y. - Free agent outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, fresh off winning the World Series with Boston, reached agreement with the rival New York Yankees on a seven-year contract worth about $153 million, a person familiar with the negotiations said Tuesday night. http://www.cheapauthenticairjordan.com/ . Giroud, who wasnt in the starting lineup for two matches after allegations about his private life and a decline in form, scored twice in the first half. Tomas Rosickys chip made it 3-0 before half time at Emirates Stadium, while defender Laurent Koscielny scored an unmarked header in the second half. Wholesale Authentic Air Jordan . -- When the Florida Panthers fell behind by two goals in the first period to the top team in the NHL, it appeared they were on their way to yet another loss. Authentic Air Jordan China . But the quarterback hopes to stay involved in football after officially calling it quits Tuesday. "Id love to look at those opportunities as they arise," Pierce said in an interview from his Winnipeg eatery. Afghanistan Cricket Board CEO Shafiq Stanikzai has presented an argument in favor of the proposal for two-tier Test cricket, saying the side deserves the opportunity to play Tests through their solid performances in the ICCs Intercontinental Cup first-class multi-day competition for Associates.We think that we are ready to play Test cricket and we have proven that, Stanikzai told ESPNcricinfo in a recent interview. Since we entered into the Intercontinental Cup arena, we were beaten only once. That was in the [2013] Intercontinental Cup final where we got beaten by Ireland but thats the only loss we have in a four-day game or multi-day game.Afghanistan are currently in second place behind Ireland on the 2015-17 Intercontinental Cup table after four rounds, with three wins and a rain-marred draw against Scotland. Afghanistans overall record in the first-class competition is outstanding with 14 wins, one loss and four draws. Right from their debut in the competition - a high-scoring draw in which they claimed first-innings points against a Zimbabwe XI in 2009 - they have made an effort to demonstrate their versatility rather than be pigeonholed as a limited-overs specialist outfit.Nowhere was that more evident than in their victory against a then elite Canada outfit in 2010, who at the time were preparing to play their third successive ICC World Cup. Set a target of 494 to win in the fourth innings, Afghanistan recorded the ninth-best successful chase in first-class cricket history spearheaded by Mohammad Shahzads unbeaten 214. That win propelled them to a maiden Intercontinental Cup title later that year with a win over Scotland in the final. That victory also broke Irelands streak of three successive titles.Overall, Afghanistan have scored 400 or more in an innings six times and batted for more than 100 overs in an innings on 11 occasions in the Intercontinental Cup, showing their versatility. They havee also shown adaptability to foreign conditions, notching victories in Scotland, Kenya, Canada, Namibia and twice in the Netherlands.ddddddddddddhree of Afghanistans last six Intercontinental Cup wins have come by an innings margin, while the other three were by margins of ten wickets, eight wickets and 201 runs. Stanikzai says there is not much more for them to prove against Associate-level competition in multi-day cricket and they are eager for a chance to show their skills in a Test scenario.We have a real good package for every single format of the game, he said. If you have a look at the Afghanistan cricket team, we have almost a different squad for every single format. We have T20 specialists, we have ODI specialists, we have multi-day players, specialists not just in batting but in bowling as well. So we are carrying a different bunch of players in every single format we are playing.Stanikzais point is backed up by the fact that core players from their limited-overs squad - bowlers Hamid Hassan, Shapoor Zadran and Rashid Khan, and batsmen Noor Ali Zadran, Javed Ahmadi, Najibullah Zadran and Gulbadin Naib - were all absent from Afghanistans starting XI in their most recent Intercontinental Cup win over Netherlands. Afghanistan also has a domestic four-day competition since 2014, which features teams from five regions, although this has not yet been assigned first-class status.It means the talent is huge in Afghanistan and things have shaped up quite nicely and we have improved quite rapidly in the cricketing world, Stanikzai said. Afghanistan is a team that is ready to play Test cricket. We are just looking forward for this [two-tier] proposal to get passed by the ICC board. My stance and Afghanistan Cricket Boards stance is quite clear that we need more opportunities. ' ' '