Das Forum » itches for Toronto on Saturday against Felix Doubront (4-3

Sao Paulo, Brazil - The World Cup kicks off in style today as host nation Brazil battles Croatia in the opening match of Group A play at the Arena de Sao Paulo. Wholesale Nike Air Max From China . Follow all the action live on TSN Radio 1050 in Toronto, 690 in Montreal, 1260 in Edmonton and on TEAM 1410 beginning at 4pm et/1pm pt. As the host country, the pressure is squarely on the shoulder of the Brazilian squad to make good on their status as pre-tournament favorites and win their sixth World Cup title. The key for Brazil will be how manager Luiz Felipe Scolari does with keeping his young team on an even keel in front of their home crowd. Leading the star-studded Brazilian team is 22-year-old Neymar, who figures to be one of the faces of the tournament. The Barcelona man is viewed as the future of the Brazilian national team, and he made quite an introduction for himself at last summers Confederations Cup, scoring four goals in the tournament and helping Brazil to a 3-0 win over Spain in the final, which earned him recognition as the best player in the competition. Experienced players such as Ronaldinho, Kaka and Robinho were left off the Confederations Cup roster, and were replaced by youngsters Fred and Hulk, who will help Neymar with the scoring onus. Scolari has a plethora of options in midfield with creative players like Chelsea trio Ramires, Oscar and Willian, while Inter Milans Hernanes is another offensive option. Defensively, experienced goalkeeper Julio Cesar will anchor a group that includes David Luiz, Thiago Silva and Dante as options in the middle, while full backs Dani Alves and Marcelo give the team plenty going forward in two- way roles. Croatia, meanwhile, returns to the worlds biggest footballing stage after missing the 2010 event in South Africa. Croatian head coach Niko Kovac is armed with a talented roster that certainly has a fighting chance to reach the knockout stage, despite a difficult draw. Kovacs club is led by a strong midfield which contains Real Madrids Luka Modric and Sevillas Ivan Rakitic. The former Tottenham man, Modric, will be responsible for generating offense from his midfield position and feeding the ball forward to players like Mario Mandzukic and Ivica Olic. The presence of Rakitic will help Modric in the middle of the field, while both Mandzukic and Olic will be responsible for putting away the chances. Olic will have to carry the offensive load against Brazil, however, as Mandzukic will be unavailable after he was sent off in the clubs qualifying victory over Iceland. Croatia will have one big miss in midfield as Niko Kranjcar will not feature in the tournament due to a hamstring injury. Kranjcar has totaled 16 goals in 81 international appearances, and his experience will be missed in a midfield short on depth. Captain Darijo Srna anchors the back line with considerable international experience, having been capped 110 times for his country. Hell need to keep his defenders organized and clam on the ball against the likes of Brazil and Mexico if the side is to reach the knockout round for the first time since 1998. Brazil hosted the World Cup once before, in 1950, and that team was also expected to hoist the trophy, but were upset by Uruguay in the final. That defeat is still talked about in Brazil today, so the current team will aim to make sure they get off to a winning start. Nike Air Max Sale .And although FIFAs investigators are preparing to release the findings of a World Cup corruption probe, Hassan Al Thawadi dismissed any chance of Qatar losing the showpiece event. Fake Nike Air Max Replica . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings (3) - Early goal against was on the power play. https://www.wholesalenikeairmaxshoes.com/ .Shipulin pulled away from Martin Fourcade of France, Simon Eder of Austria and Fredrik Lindstrom of Sweden to finish in 35 minutes 16.8 seconds. Fourcade was 1.2 seconds back in second place to reclaim the overall World Cup lead, with Eder another 0.BOSTON -- The Toronto Blue Jays are trying to start another long winning streak. They might have a better chance if they didnt keep falling so far behind. After winning 11 consecutive games, the Blue Jays dropped their fourth in the last five with a 7-5 loss to the Red Sox on Friday night after erasing a five-run deficit. One night earlier, they lost to Boston 7-4 after falling behind by seven. "What makes it tough is we came back and tied it" on Friday, Blue Jays manager John Gibbons said, "but its never easy playing catch-up and thats what weve had to do." Josh Johnson left after 3 1-3 innings trailing 5-0, but Toronto tied it in the sixth on Edwin Encarnacions 23rd homer of the year, a solo shot. "They chipped away, did a really good job," Johnson said. "I should have still been in the game but I didnt do my job." Toronto charged back into contention in the AL East with that 11-game surge, then went on the road and lost two of three to Tampa Bay before coming to Boston. "We played so good for so long," Gibbons said. "Thats the way the game works sometimes. Youre bound to cool off a little bit." Koji Uehara keeps getting hotter as Bostons new closer. He had his third perfect save in three days. "Im going to tell them that Im not available tomorrow," a laughing Uehara said through a translator. Joel Hanrahan had blown four of his six save opportunities and had a 9.82 ERA before Tommy John elbow surgery ended his season. Andrew Bailey also struggled and blew two consecutive save chances before manager John Farrell turned to his third option, Uehara. "After he went through his throwing program, he said he was good to go" for a third straight day, Farrell said. "So, we were in a save situation, he was going to be the guy." Jonny Gomes put Uehara in that situation when he broke a tie with a bases-loaded, pinch-hit single in the two-run seventh. "Im a grinder," he said. "Im willing to take one off the neck for the team. Youve definitely got to be confident." Gomes hadnt played in five of the previous six games, but is 4 for 12 with two homers and three RBIs as a pinch hitter. He also is hitting .321 with runners in scoring position. The Red Sox had 15 hits, giving them at least 10 for the sixth time in seven games. They have 93 hits over that span. Andrew Miller (1-2) got the win with 1 1-3 scoreless innings. The Red Sox won their fourth in a row and improved to 49-33, the best record in the AL and 3 1/2 games over second-pplace Baltimore in the AL East. Cheap Nike Air Max Outlet. Theyre 16 games over .500 for the first time since they finished the 2011 season at 90-72. Last season, the Red Sox won just 69 games. With the score tied at 5, Shane Victorino and Dustin Pedroia singled in the seventh off Neil Wagner (1-2). Brett Cecil relieved and both runners moved up on a wild pitch before Mike Napoli walked, loading the bases. Gomes, pinch hitting for Daniel Nava, then lined a single past third baseman Maicer Izturis for the go-ahead run. Darren Oliver came in and walked Jarrod Saltalamacchia, forcing in the second run of the inning. Boston had led 5-0 through four innings against Johnson. But Toronto scored four runs in the next two innings and tied it in the seventh. "We battled to come back and tie it and then they dropped two on us again real quick," Gibbons said, "but the bullpen cant be perfect every night." Uehara has been. He struck out two of the three batters he faced in each of the last three games -- one against Colorado and two against Toronto. "Theyve been trying to find that guy ever since Hanrahan went down and then Bailey struggled," Gibbons said. "He seems like the perfect guy for it." The Red Sox went ahead 2-0 in the second on a walk to Napoli, a single by Nava and Stephen Drews sixth triple of the season and third in four games. Napoli singled in a run in the third before the Red Sox scored two in the fourth when Drew started the rally with a one-out double. He left the game with a tight right hamstring and Brandon Snyder pinch ran. Jose Iglesias then singled and both runners scored on a single by Jacoby Ellsbury. After four shutout innings, Red Sox rookie Allen Webster struggled in the fifth when he allowed RBI singles to Jose Bautista and Encarnacion and a sacrifice fly to Adam Lind. Izturis made it 5-4 with a sacrifice fly in the sixth. Notes: Farrell said Drew is day-to-day. ... Ellsbury extended his hitting streak to nine games and increased his AL-high total to 22 hits leading off an inning. ... Toronto SS Jose Reyes singled in the third, his first hit since he returned Wednesday after missing 66 games with a severely sprained left ankle. ... Boston rookie SS Iglesias went 2 for 4 and has 52 hits in 124 at bats. ... Johnson, who came to Toronto from Miami after last season, got his only win with the Blue Jays in his previous start, a 13-5 victory over Baltimore. ... Esmil Rogers (3-3) pitches for Toronto on Saturday against Felix Doubront (4-3) in the third game of the four-game series. ' ' '