teammate Marc

[jinshuiqian0713]

The worlds most anticipated sporting event is upon us. Brazil will open the 2014 World Cup at home Thursday against Croatia. You can listen to the game live on TSN Radio 1050, 690, 1260 and TEAM 1410 starting at 4pm et/1pm pt. Thirty-two nations will compete to achieve world-wide soccer supremacy over the next month with plenty of intrigue and drama to be had in the process.  The question is, who is your pick to hoist the Jules Rimet Trophy as World Cup champion on July 13? One of the obvious choices is the host team. Anything but a first place finish for captain Thiago Silva and the Brazilians would be a massive disappointment for the soccer-crazed nation. The club is stacked with young superstars like Neymar up front with experienced veterans on defence like Dante and Dani Alves. Brazil has what it takes to win it all, but will have to handle the pressure of playing on home soil. To be the champ you have to beat the champ and that is Spain. The defending World Cup champions and two-time defending European champions will be vying for a fourth straight major title in Brazil. They definitely have the horses to get it done with Xavi Hernandez, Sergio Ramos, Andres Iniesta and Juan Mata leading the way. Forward Diego Costa is also 100 per cent healthy after suffering from a nagging hamstring, adding to Spains lethal scoring weapons up front. Then there is the team who has arguably the best footballer in the world. Lionel Messi and Argentina will look to capture their first World Cup title since 1986 in Mexico. They looked to be on that path back in 2010 in South Africa until Germany trounced them in the quarterfinals. Messi was unable to score at that World Cup and will be looking for retribution. Germany always seems to be in the mix and theres no reason 2014 should be any different. Germanys strength is their midfield which could be the best in the whole tournament. Even with the absence of Marco Rues and the questionable health of Sami Khedira, the German midfield is still one to be reckoned with. Germany is one of the most well-rounded squads in the tournament and will be a tough challenge for any opponent. Uruguay is a strong entry too, but with the uncertainty of elite striker Luis Suarez due to recent knee surgery, the South American team might be in a tough position. Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portuguese club along with Belgium, Netherlands and Croatia are all teams that could surprise some people too. Its a tough call, but its yours to make. Who will win the World Cup? As always, its Your! Call. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . The 25-year-old McIlroy, who is from Northern Ireland, was eligible to play for either Ireland or Team GB when golf makes its return to the Olympics in Brazil for the first time since 1904. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . Ferguson told Uniteds in-house TV channel on Saturday that he has no immediate plans to walk away from the game, and that he still hungers for more trophies even after 25 years in charge of the club. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку!. The Durban-based Sharks withstood a furious second-half fightback to beat the Queensland Reds 35-20 for a fourth straight win which gave them a five-point lead atop the championship table. The Hamilton-based Chiefs scored two late tries to beat the Cape Town-based Stormers 36-20 for their third win, after the Stormers rallied from 24-6 down to 24-20 with six minutes remaining. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! .com) - The Kansas City Chiefs activated linebacker Joe Mays from short-term injured reserve on Saturday. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . Langer appeared to be in trouble when his second shot on the par-5 18th ended up in the rough short of the green. He hit a brilliant pitch to 5 feet and made the putt after Slumans birdie attempt rolled just wide.New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - Jaroslav Halaks 27 saves and a dominant second period kept the Islanders the toast of New York, as the current Metropolitan Division leaders dealt the crosstown rival Rangers a 3-0 defeat at Madison Square Garden. Anders Lee, Nikolay Kulemin and Frans Nielsen all lit the lamp during the middle session to help the Islanders close out a season-high seven-game road trip with five wins and remain ahead of Pittsburgh for the division lead. Certainly its going to make a lot of people on Long Island happy (Wednesday) morning, Islanders captain John Tavares said. Were excited about beating them. Obviously theyve been playing well and the top of our division is real tight, so just a big game. The Rangers entered Tuesdays anticipated showdown with victories in 13 of their previous 14 games, but couldnt maintain the momentum as Halak outplayed Henrik Lundqvist and the Isles finished with a 44-27 advantage in shots. We were the slower team, which we havent been in this last stretch, Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. We know what makes us successful and we just werent doing it tonight. They were definitely making us look pretty slow out there. Lundqvist was replaced by Cam Talbot at the start of the third period after stopping 29-of-32 chances. The Rangers star netminder was able to withstand an early barrage during the early stages of a second period in which the Islanders controlled from the opening whistle, but Lee finally broke the scoreless deadlock by backhanding through a rebound of Calvin de Haans long drive 8:49 into the stanza. The Islanders then struck twice more in the final 3 1/2 minutes of the frame, with Kulemin extending the lead to 2-0 by ripping a puck that fell to his feet over Lundqvists shoulder while stationed in the slot.dddddddddddd An Islanders penalty late in the period provided the Rangers an opportunity to close the gap. However, Nielsen blocked a pass in his own end on the man advantage, then raced up the right side and fired a wrister under Lundqvists arm for a short-handed tally 40.9 seconds prior to the intermission. We went out in the second and you could see us just getting our game going and starting to wear them down, making them have to defend, said Tavares. Eventually we got rewarded. Talbot made 12 saves in the third period, where Halak faced just six shots to polish off his sixth shutout of the season. Both teams had a few close calls before Lee ended the stalemate. The Islanders had a Matt Martin goal waved off 4:19 into the second period when teammate Casey Cizikas made contact with Lundqvist. The Rangers hit the post three times, including back-to-back attempts from Rick Nash and Derick Brassard just seconds apart, in the first. Game Notes Nielsens goal was the Islanders league-leading seventh in short-handed situations ... The Islanders have prevailed in five of their last six visits to MSG, including a 6-3 triumph on Oct. 14 behind Halaks 40 saves. Lundqvist stopped just 21-of-27 pucks in that matchup ... Rangers forward Martin St. Louis skated in his 1,100th career NHL game, while teammate Marc Staal played in No. 500 ... Islanders forward Mikhail Grabovski missed a second straight game due to a lower-body injury. ' ' '