like glue.He seems to be going well but right now hes not showing any more than anyone else, Froome added.In the overall classification, Froome holds a

On a sweltering July afternoon in DeSoto, a sleepy suburb just outside of Dallas, the chicken farmer sweats through his Texas A&M T-shirt as he tends to two dozen of his feathered friends in the backyard of his parents home.Chickens, says Denver Broncos pass-rusher Von Miller, are dope.Despite the oppressive 100-degree heat here in Texas and increasingly heated contract negotiations with his team back in Denver, Miller, 27, is beaming like a proud papa. This chicken coop, which is no bigger than a tennis court, is the four-time Pro Bowlers happy place, his refuge from the spotlight that tends to follow a Super Bowl MVP with charisma to burn. Theres Miller on Dancing With the Stars and the Academy of Country Music Awards. Theres Miller, nude save for his ubiquitous eyewear and fur hat, in ESPN The Magazines Body Issue. Theres Miller at the White House, where the champs were feted by President Obama -- and this champ, at least, botched the greeting.I thought I just would, like, get a handshake, but he kind of held my hand, and he talked about how cool he thought my shoes are and my dance moves, Miller explains. I was just in awe, thinking this is so surreal. Then he let go of my hand, and Im looking at my hand -- and I just tripped on the presidential rug.Its the story of my life, man, he adds with a chuckle.Its a funny anecdote, anyway, in a story about a self-described geek with a dream, one that was born in College Station, Texas, and, if the Aggie has his way, could soon be fully realized with a moneymaking poultry operation. Miller is in talks to potentially acquire a commercial chicken farm not far from his childhood home, but make no mistake, its passion, not profit, that powers Millers poultry game.Here, presumably, is ESPNs first Q&A with a chicken farmer. And check out the SportsCenter feature above for more.-----------ALIPOUR: How did you get into the poultry game?MILLER: Im not even gonna lie, man, it started off by taking an easy class in college. [Laughs.] My professor, Dr. [Morgan] Farnell, he wouldnt let it be an easy class -- you know how these electives can be, you just go in there and sleep through it. But he made it a point to make sure I knew my information. And then I learned about it and really enjoyed it. Before you know it, its my major.How passionate are you about this?Im very passionate, especially when it comes to humanely raised chickens. I take pride in healthy birds. You got all these other big-time commercial farms that raise, you know, 30,000 birds. Me, its a whole lot smaller operation, but its a lot of bang for the buck.When did you acquire your first flock?I started building this chicken farm my sophomore year in college. As I got a little bit more money, it just got bigger and bigger. I got my first flock like five years ago. And then this current flock right here, itll be three years in November. Its like family. Theyre more like pets. We got a lot of natural predators out here, so we got to watch them as well. Hawks took a couple of birds from us, and there are snakes and coyotes. But other than that, they really dont have to worry about much here at Miller Farms.Wait, lets back up. Where are the snakes at?We got a little creek.Were not visiting the creek.No.So, lets say Im a chicken. What kind of life can I expect on Von Millers farm?You can expect a long life, a lot of space, great food and youll get along with your teammates. All our chickens, they get along pretty well. Its just a great environment, like a great organization that you want to play for. For example, they get to go out in the pasture in the afternoon and the morning. I like to bring them out to natural, solid grass, their natural setting in which theyre picking up worms rather than the litter and the dirt we have in the coop. Thats what its all about for me. Its not about the commercial aspect of it. Of course, theres money involved, and being able to make a buck off of this is what makes everything go, but thats not at the foundation at Miller Farms. Its about happy, humanely raised chickens.Should I expect my owner to eat me?Im not out here to eat the birds. Now, the eggs, thats a different story. Oh, yeah, I eat eggs all day [laughs]. I think you can taste the difference between a pasteurized egg and a commercial egg.How many eggs do they produce?Weve got 10 [chickens] laying eggs, so about 20 eggs a day. We take them in the house, wash them off, put them in storage. My mom [Gloria], she has a whole system. Shes really the mastermind behind the eggs. So its really like a family operation for me and my little brother [Vince], my mom and my dad [Von]. It was something that I brought home and they just ran with it.Are the birds cool with you taking their eggs and eating them?Oh, yeah, theyre cool. I dont even think they know whats going on.Do the birds have personalities?Yeah, they definitely have personalities, especially the rooster. The rooster is the man. Hes the leader of the pack. Hes watching out for everybody. I call him Peyton. We had five of them originally -- he was the toughest one out of the whole flock. Its only one of him, so hes just chillin around. You know, if its you with 30 females, youll be pretty chill, too. But they all got personalities. I thought about creating a little TV show for the birds. You know, you have a celebrity do voice-over for the chickens, like, Mine, mine, mine, get away! [Laughs.] But if you just sit and watch them, they all work as a team. They find food. One will alert the other one to come over here. Its pretty dope.So when did it become an insult to call somebody a chicken?I think when we were little kids, you know? Oh, youre a chicken. Youre afraid. When you think about chickens, you think about them being cowards and, you know, running away. Thats what it looks like. But when you actually look at them, especially the rooster, hes one of the toughest guys in the animal kingdom.So, what happens if I call you a chicken?[Laughs.] Im going to be OK with it.Hey, Von. Youre a chicken.I mean, I understand it. Im a chicken. Chickens are dope.Rocky trained by chasing chickens. Is that Hollywood fiction?No, its not Hollywood fiction. I tried it. But, you know, Id rather chase quarterbacks. Chickens are way more athletic than the most athletic quarterback you could probably go get.What do your teammates think about all this?When they first started hearing about me raising chickens, they thought it was a joke, another one of Vons tricks. But once you really get to know me and where Im from, then you get it. And when you come see my farm and the way I raise my chickens, you get to know me a lot better as well.I know youre in talks to acquire a commercial chicken farm. Whats the next step in your poultry empire.I want to create a different lane. Youve got all these big companies that do it other ways. I want to create a lane where there can be happy, healthy birds -- and thatll be my whole slogan. Youll see the bird with a smile, saying, Hey, Im living with Von Miller and were living great, man! Victor Wanyama Hotspur Jersey . Louis Blues teammates who would also be participating in the Olympics, Alex Pietrangelo felt right at home, no different in some ways to the travel experience of any old road trip – save for the length of the journey, that is. Eric Dier Hotspur Jersey .com) - The women will also have a new champion at the Australian Open. http://www.footballhotspurstore.com/Women-Eric-Dier-Tottenham-Hotspur-Jersey/ . Durant finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds, Jackson matched his career high with 23 points on 10-of-14 shooting and Lamb scored 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, lifting the Thunder to a 94-88 win over San Antonio and snapping the Spurs 11-game winning streak. Dele Alli Hotspur Jersey . However, he did make them miss him a little less. Cundiff, who had the unenviable job of replacing Dawson last season, agreed Thursday to a one-year, $1. Kieran Trippier Jersey . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency. ARCALIS, Andorra -- Through hail, heat and constant pressure from some of his main rivals, Chris Froome rode strong during the toughest stage in the Pyrenees of the Tour de France on Sunday.The British riders furious pedaling in an uphill finish padded his lead over several opponents and put him in control with the yellow jersey entering the races first rest day.That was a tough stage and the weather made it even tougher, Froome said. One minute we were pouring water over our heads and ice packs down our backs and the next minute there was ice falling from the sky.We were just trying to ride face down so the hail didnt hit our faces, added Froome, who took the yellow jersey with a downhill attack and stage win a day earlier. It was pretty difficult out there.Dutch rider Tom Dumoulin won the ninth leg with a solo breakaway on the beyond-category finishing climb.Froome crossed 11th, 6:35 behind Dumoulin, right behind fellow British rider Adam Yates and immediately ahead of top rival Nairo Quintana of Colombia.In the back of my mind I was waiting for (Quintanas) attack all the way up the last climb, Froome said. I thought he was saving it for one big one. But that never came. I would like to think he was on his limit. It was a tough day out there. He just stuck to my wheel like glue.He seems to be going well but right now hes not showing any more than anyone else, Froome added.In the overall classification, Froome holds a 16-second lead over Yates, with Dan Martin of Ireland third, 19 seconds behind, and Quintana fourth, 23 seconds back.Its a very open race at this point but Im very happy to have the lead going into the first rest day, Froome said.Two-time champion Alberto Contador pulled out with a fever midway through the stage.Among those who couldnt keep up with Froome on the final climb were French favorite Romain Bardet, top American hope Tejay van Garderen and Fabio Aru of Italy.Bardet is sixth overall, 44 seconds behind, Van Garderen is 11th with a gap of 1:01 and Aru is 13th at 1:23.Still, Froome hasnt fully shaken Yates, Martin and Quintana.I feel that this is going to be the biggest battle of my career, said Froome, who won the Tour in 2013 and 2015. By no means did I expect this to be easy and that I would ride away from everyone. Thhe level is higher.ddddddddddddPart of an early breakaway, Dumoulin attacked with 12 kilometers remaining in the 184.5-kilometer (115-mile) leg from Vielha dAran, Spain, to Arcalis in the principality of Andorra.A few days ago if you said I would win maybe the hardest day in the whole Tour de France this year, I would say you were crazy, said Dumoulin, who was sick last week. But sometimes it all comes together and the legs were feeling good today.Im a time trialist so if I have a gap its difficult to close it on me, Dumoulin added.The stage featured five demanding climbs, including an uphill, beyond-category finish in Arcalis.We went through all states, Bardet said. In the valley, the heat was suffocating. Then in the finale it was apocalyptic.On Team Giant-Alpecin, Dumoulin won the opening time trial in this years Giro dItalia and wore the overall leaders pink jersey for six stages before withdrawing midway through the race with saddle sores.He also won two stages in last years Spanish Vuelta.Approaching the finish line Sunday, Dumoulin turned around to make eye contact with his team director in a car behind him and then, on the verge of tears, stuck his tongue out and raised his arms in celebration.Rui Costa, the former world champion from Portugal, crossed second and Rafal Majka of Poland was third, each 38 seconds behind.Contador crashed in each of the opening stages and had already dropped significant time to the other overall favorites. He was in 20th position at the end of Saturdays eighth stage, 3 minutes, 12 seconds behind Froome.It was quite a surprise to hear on the radio that he was in the car, Froome said. Its a shame. Hes a great rider and he would have only added to what is already quite an exciting race.For the second consecutive day, there was an incident involving a spectator. George Bennett of New Zealand knocked down a fan blocking his way while coming around a tight turn.Monday is the races first rest day. Then there is one more stage in the Pyrenees on Tuesday, a 197-kilometer (122-mile) leg from Escaldes-Engordany, Andorra, to Revel, France.---Andrew Dampf on Twitter: www.twitter.com/asdampf ' ' '