Black- and Whitelist » turned it over in his own end.

"Clint, Tim?" "Hello Mr. President, hows it going?" The US World Cup campaign formally ended Wednesday with a cosy two minute chat on the phone between the President, the captain and Americas latest superhero. The team might not have scaled 2002s quarterfinal heights, but they leave Brazil with something not even Qatari petrodollars could buy. They have changed the conversation with how old football perceives soccers new frontier. No one connected with the United States Soccer Federation could have dreamt that. Or for that matter Major League Soccer. Especially when you factor in they were drawn in a group with a nation thats made it through to 15 straight quarterfinal appearances, another still smarting from how extremely close they got in 2010 to finally become Africas first ever semi-finalist and Ronaldo who proved in the playoffs one player could indeed carry a nation. How very American of him. Bookies in London had the US at even money to finish bottom of the group. Defy those odds they certainly would. It was one thing to target victory in their opening fixture and quite another, the manner in which they achieved it. Ghana should have been home and dry well before John Brooks Jr. popped up on the edge of the six-yard line in the 86th minute. Then to discover afterwards Brooks had disclosed to a couple of team mates on the eve of the match he dreamt hed score the winner was that Hollywood moment all of America could relate to - underlined by a visit to the victorious locker room by none other than Vice President Joe Biden. On to the Amazon Rainforest and that much anticipated date with Ronaldo was next on the agenda. The drama that unfolded that particular prime time Sunday evening was watched by over 25 million. To put that into a clearer sporting perspective last falls World Series averaged just a shade over 15 million whilst the NBA Finals averaged 15.5 million. Speaking to the beautiful games growing stateside support that 25 million viewing audience represents a 20 per cent leap on the number which watched the US v England match at South Africa 2010. Going into the tournament it was well established that outside of Brazilians, the US was the second largest ticket buying nation with close to 200,000 tickets purchased from US Zip codes. What that figure didnt tell us was what percentage of those 196,000 were immigrants who would be in Brazil to cheer on their nation of birth. That question was answered by the pictures we witnessed on match day and did not go un-noticed by the English media in attendance for US games. Back home in the living rooms and pubs in cities right across the US it reinforced the message of soccers growing appeal and allure. Come Tuesdays round of 16-match against Belgium viewing parties stretched right across the MLS landscape. Fabled NFL stadiums Soldier Field and Cowboys Stadium drew crowds of 25,000 and 20,000 respectively. As Barrack Obama and his 200 strong staff settled in to watch the game at a White House viewing party workers across the country went on a collective dental appointment which according to Yahoo Finance would cost the US economy over $700 million. These types of things were only supposed to happen in Asia, Europe or South America. With the USs World Cup over, as MLS players return to their clubs and European based players finally get their delayed vacations now comes the hard work to ensure those part time fans become connected to soccer year round. Just because someone will willingly don the stars and stripes in support of their nation doesnt mean theyll automatically transfer that emotional connection to Major League Soccer. Certainly as in previous World Cup cycles MLS and its clubs will register an uptick at the box office and the merchandise store. This will be especially so for the clubs who had players who featured in Brazil. A nice problem MLS faces will be keeping hold of the players whose stars shone in Brazil. An entirely different one stems from yesterdays France v Germany quarterfinal. Listening into ESPN Radio a tweet was read out from a listener saying, "Im enjoying your commentary whilst spraying my corn in Alabama. Last time I checked Alabama doesnt have an MLS franchise, and yet here was a soccer diehard listening on the radio whilst working on a Friday afternoon. The defining image for me of the US World Cup wasnt a Tim Howard save, Demspeys or Julian Greens goals. Or even Jürgen Klinsmann berating the fourth official in his best Anglo-Saxon when only one minute was added to the end of extra time in the Belgium game. Instead it came from the twitter account of Major League Baseball. "Looks like @ussoccer is the only thing that matters right now," was accompanied with various images from MLB Stadiums of players watching the big screens as they took in the action of the US v Belgium during batting practice ahead of that evenings MLB games. Bill Clintons Soccer Mom has evolved into Barrack Obamas Soccer Sophisticats. Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca @TheSoccerNoel TSN Radio is an official licensed radio broadcaster of the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ Brazil. Check www.tsn.ca/radio for the broadcast schedule in your home town. Nike Shoes Black Friday 2019 . And follow TSN.ca right through Deadline Day for all the updates. Getting Creative The Pittsburgh Penguins will try their best to acquire Ryan Kesler from the Vancouver Canucks before the Trade Deadline. Nike Shoes Black Friday Discount .ca! There is plenty of blame to be shared as a result of the most recent NHL player (Pittsburghs Brooks Orpik) to be evacuated from the ice on a stretcher following an ugly incident Saturday night in Boston. http://www.nikeshoesblackfriday.com/. -- First baseman Carlos Pena and outfielder Brennan Boesch have signed minor league deals with the Los Angeles Angels. Cheap Nike Shoes Black Friday . I kind of got a taste of being able to pick a suit with the draft lottery, I went with the bow tie. Fake Nike Shoes Black Friday . The 20-year-old Inoue landed a series of combinations and the bout was stopped 2 minutes, 54 seconds into the sixth round. Inoue, the first Japanese boxer to claim a world title in just his sixth professional fight, improved to 6-0 with five knockouts. DENVER -- The Colorado Avalanche didnt need a shootout to get off to their best start in franchise history. When they faced one, they were once again successful. Ryan OReilly scored the only goal in the shootout, Semyon Varlamov stopped 35 shots and the Avalanche beat the Minnesota Wild 3-2 on Saturday night. Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon had a goal apiece to help the Avalanche sweep the home-and-home series with the Wild. "It was a good couple games against Minny, they obviously play a pretty tough game," MacKinnon said. "Down low, theyre tough to defend. Its always nice to get on the board a little bit, but obviously getting two wins is huge for us." Colorado and the New York Rangers were the only teams to yet have a game decided in a shootout before Saturday. Despite their lack of experience, the Avalanche came out on top. "(I was) nervous, same as usually," Varlamov said. "Nobody, none of the goalies, nobody likes the shootouts." John Mitchell added two assists for Colorado, which won a rare penalty-free game. "I was a little bit (surprised) considering how much time was spent in the offensive zone," Minnesota coach Mike Yeo said regarding the lack of penalty calls. Mikko Koivu and Matt Cooke scored goals and Josh Harding stopped 23 shots for the Wild. Minnesota has dominated the Avalanche in Colorado since the 2007-08 season. The Wild came into Saturday with a 12-2-2 record since midway through that season, and they had won six of their past seven at Pepsi Center. The Avalanche looked as if they would win comfortably despite Minnesota carrying the play when Cooke spoiled the shutout bid with 3:27 left to make it 2-1. "I think we had five or six grade-A chances in the first period alone and sometimes thats frustrating," Cooke said. "But its up to us to just try to keep each other positive and the fact that were getting those scoring opportunities is a good thing. We just need to stay on it." Harding came off for an extra skater in the final minute, and Koivu beat Varlamov on a slap shot with six seconds left to send the game into overtime. "Nobody wants to give up a goal with 4 seconds left," Varlamov said. "The third period we sat back the last 10 minutes and they started to get more chances around the net and that is why we gave up two goals. It is what it is. We were able to get two points." Neither team could score in the extra period, sending the Avalanche to their fiirst shootout of the season.dddddddddddd Despite never having competed in an NHL shootout -- or coaching in one -- coach Patrick Roy didnt hesitate in picking his shooters. He chose the only players to score in one in the teams last practice. "It made it kind of easy," Roy said. Harding made saves on P.A. Parenteau and MacKinnon before OReilly broke through. Jason Pominville couldnt match the goal and Minnesota lost for the second straight night. "I just tried to open up my blade and try to look like I was going to shoot it and kind of put it through," OReilly said. For Minnesota, getting a point after trailing late was some consolation. "Thats a huge point for us. It was great the way we played the game," Yeo said. "We lost the skill competition at the end of the game, the shootout, whatever you want to call it. Bottom line I really believe we deserved the win in regulation." Coming off a tough loss to Colorado in St. Paul on Friday night, Minnesota was looking to get even but Saturdays game started like Fridays ended. Landeskog, who sealed Fridays 3-1 win with an empty-net goal, gave the Avalanche the early lead when his backhand from the side of the net deflected off Harding and into the goal 2:22 into the game. It was his ninth goal of the season. The Wild nearly tied it later in the first when Cookes backhand slipped under Varlamov and lay on the goal line for a moment and the goalie covered it up. It was reviewed and determined the puck never completely crossed the line. Minnesota had another great chance in the second period when Torrey Mitchell got ahead of the defence, took a pass from Cooke and had a breakaway on Varlamov. The goalie stopped the backhander to preserve the one-goal lead. "Some nights you get a hot goalie and we surely did that tonight," Koivu said. Colorado added to the lead later in the second when Marco Scandella turned it over in his own end. Mitchell got the puck to a wide-open MacKinnon, and the rookie beat Harding with a wrister at 12:56 of the period. It was his fifth goal of the season. NOTES: It was the second time in the Colorado/Quebec franchise history that the team played a penalty-free game. The other happened April 9, 2000, against Detroit. ... Mitchell reached 100 career points with his two assists. ... Wild LW Zach Parise played in his second straight game after missing one with a foot contusion. ... Avalanche C Paul Stastny returned after missing two games due to back spasms. ' ' '