"as pure a skater as there is the game as far as Im concerned

If youve been revelling in the glorious feast of World Cup action like me, you will have noticed a distinct difference between the tempo and excitement of the round robin phase versus the careful and more conservative approaches in the knockout rounds. The group stage of Brazil 2014 may never be equalled in terms of entertainment and production. Goals were flying in, teams were in the mood to attack and managers seemingly took the shackles off their players. Not unlike the pre-World Cup Vancouver Whitecaps who scored nine goals in three games leading into the MLS-imposed break. But once the knockout stages in Brazil took hold and the stakes became infinitely higher, the games changed. No less drama, but certainly less expanse, far less risk and fewer goals. Saturday night at BC Place, the Whitecaps took an early lead, did create some opportunities to stretch their advantage, but ultimately provided a performance that felt very World Cup quarterfinals-like. Germany scored first against France, Argentina tallied in the eighth minute against Belgium and Brazil got an early goal against Columbia. We could be forgiven for thinking those goals would have opened the games up and led to more of what we saw in the group stage. Instead, those matches became very well managed. Brazil did get the benefit of a David Luiz howitzer to briefly make it comfortable for the hosts, but the hallmarks of those three quarterfinals were very similar; the team with the lead wasnt going to be left exposed and wasnt going to give away possession cheaply. At BC Place, Erik Hurtado had a chance to seal the game thanks to a brilliantly weighted, defence-splitting ball from the best player on the park, Pedro Morales, but beyond that, the Whitecaps looked like a side that was committed to keeping what they had, rather than adding to it. And the stakes were certainly higher than during the World Cup break run-in. Winless in three and coming off two listless performances, Vancouver needed maximum points at home and especially against a Western rival that was missing arguably its best five players. After the season opening New York victory, coach Carl Robinson shared one particular philosophy during his post game address; the best way to kill off a game is to keep attacking, which on that occasion, Vancouver did. But instead of introducing a fresh-legged Darren Mattocks to run at a tired Seattle back line Saturday, Robinson took the advice of his assistants (Gordon Forrest and Martyn Pert) and subbed Nigel Reo-Coker on for Kekuta Manneh at the 68-minute mark. The savvy Englishman rarely gave the ball away after that. The Whitecaps, as a group, strung minutes-worth of passes together, all on the heels of Seattles best spell of the match. It was a mature coaching decision that changed the momentum back in Vancouvers favour and it was a sage, professionally executed performance by the younger team on the field. While the Whitecaps didnt reach a World Cup semi-final with the win, they did end a mini-slide, improved their league and Cascadia Cup prospects, while proving to themselves that theyre capable of grinding out a result. Something tells me theyll need the same nerve this Saturday when they host a Chivas USA side thats won three in a row, and is starting to appear in the Western Conference rearview mirror...a tasty appetizer to the World Cup final a day later. Marvin Williams Jersey . -- Derek Jeter says the New York Yankees have no choice but to move forward now that Alex Rodriguez has accepted his suspension for the 2014 season. Nicolas Batum Hornets Jersey . Azarenka needed exactly one hour in a 6-1, 6-0 rout of Austrian Yvonne Meusburger to start the night session at Laver Arena. Sharapova had a much easier time earlier in the day with cooler conditions and took full advantage in 6-1, 7-6 (8-6) win over Frenchwoman Alize Cornet, while Radwanska had to rally for a 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 victory over Russian Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova. http://www.hornetsteamproshop.com/Cheap-Cody-Zeller-Hornets-Jersey/ . - San Diego Padres centre fielder Cameron Maybin is going to be out two to three months after rupturing his left biceps tendon during a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday. Dell Curry Hornets Jersey . On Wednesday night, they showed that stellar defence and a little small ball can get the job done too. With pinch-runner Kevin Pillar aboard after Dioner Navarro opened the bottom of the ninth with a single, Anthony Gose dropped down an excellent bunt along the first-base line. Bismack Biyombo Hornets Jersey . He was 26. Edwards, the Supercup Championship leader, was in the passenger seat as an instructor for a private training session at Queensland Raceway at Willowbank, outside Brisbane, Porsche Motorsport said.EDMONTON -- Now that the Edmonton Oilers have secured their offensive future, the defence is next on their to-do list. With Thursdays signing of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the Oilers have their three key forwards -- Nugent-Hopkins, Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle -- locked up for the next six or seven years. The focus now shifts to Justin Schultz, the future of the teams blue-line who is in the final year of a two-year contract he signed as a free agent. "Long-term, Justin Schultz is definitely going to be a key ingredient for us," defensive coach Steve Smith said after Fridays skate. "Justin just has a natural gift to be an offensive player. He jumps into the play so well, hes so skilled, he shoots the puck hard, hes able to find open spots in the offensive zone and, quite frankly, hes strong defensively." The 23-year-old is still happy he chose the Oilers when several NHL teams were pursuing him and he sees himself being in Edmonton for a long time. "All of us want to be here for a long time," said the six-foot-two, 185-pound Schultz, adding hes not concerned about his contract. "Not worried about that at all. I have this year to play and well see what happens." What the Oilers see happening is Schultz leading the development of a number of key defensive players and becoming the face of that group, which is fine with him. "You want to be one of those key guys," he said. "Its nice to have the responsibility. Were all a pretty young core group of guys and some veterans who came in who can help us." But Smith noted its not just Schultz, whho had eight goals and 27 points in last years 48-game shortened season.dddddddddddd "Weve got a bunch of guys who compete real hard," he said. "Its a hard-working group and theres a lot of character in it so theres a lot of promise moving forward." He had particular praise for 25-year-old Jeff Petry, who Smith says carries the puck well and is "as pure a skater as there is the game as far as Im concerned." Smith, a former defenceman with the Oilers, was generally pleased with the way the defence played last year, although he concedes the team did struggle in its own end, partly because of the lack of commitment to defence by the young forwards. "We had some good results offensively," said Smith. "Justin coming in definitely helped us in the offensive zone. And Jeff Petry is another one. They just have abilities that just arent taught. So you look at it and say both of those guys are pretty well-rounded players and the future is very bright." Short-term, he said, the club bolstered its defence with the addition this summer of free agent Andrew Ference from Boston and Nick Schultz last year. Add a pretty consistent Vladislav Smid and the Oilers do have some steady veterans to help the youngsters. Plus, there is young Darnell Nurse, their first-round pick in last springs draft. "Hes raw and hes got some steps to take to get the NHL level, but I have to tell you were really happy with what weve seen of him so far," said Smith. The Oilers are home to the Vancouver Canucks in another pre-season meeting Saturday evening. ' ' '

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