Veranstaltungen » two fouls in the first 4 minutes, 14 secon

LONDON -- New Zealand broke England hearts with a last-gasp converted try to edge their gripping Rugby League World Cup semifinal 20-18 at Wembley Stadium on Saturday. Tournament co-host England was 20 seconds from reaching the final until Kiwis halfback Shaun Johnson slipped his counterpart Kevin Sinfield and wrong-footed last defender George Burgess to dive across the line and make it 18-18. Johnson held his nerve to slot the conversion, his fourth goal of the game, and punched the air before he was swamped by teammates. "We always back ourselves if theres enough time on the clock," Kiwis coach Stephen Kearney said. "We were fortunate." The Kiwis will defend the title in the final against favourite Australia next Saturday at Old Trafford. The Kangaroos, who have played in every final since 1957, demolished Fiji 64-0 to repeat the semifinal results from the last cup in 2008. Jarryd Hayne, who played for Fiji in the 2008 semi, scored three of Australias 11 tries against his old team. The classy Australians didnt concede a point for a third straight game, and have conceded only 22 in five matches. "Weve got a bit of pride in our defence the last few weeks," said Johnathan Thurston, who scored 10 goals and a try against Fiji. He said revenge wont be the priority in the final against the Kiwis, who shocked the Kangaroos in Brisbane in the 2008 climax. "We wont be going in there with that attitude," Thurston said. "Well be worrying about ourselves, preparing the right way. The Kiwis are a great side, its going to be a tough night for us but were looking forward to it." The first semifinal of the Wembley doubleheader, which drew about 70,000, grew into an epic from the opening kickoff. England soaked up intense Kiwis pressure, then led 8-0 before the defending champs tied the score by halftime. New Zealand went ahead 14-8, but England came back to retake the lead at 18-14 with 13 minutes to go. England was close to putting the match away, but the Kiwis were given life in the last minute by a penalty from a high tackle on Sonny Bill Williams by George Burgess. And the individual brilliance of the Kiwis trumped Englands best team effort in years. "Were bitterly, bitterly disappointed," England coach Steve McNamara said. "Its a very cruel way to finish." England barely survived a New Zealand onslaught in the first dozen minutes, when the Kiwis were denied three tries by remarkable defence. When the English turned the pressure back on the Kiwis, the forwards delivered their first try. James Graham fed Sam Burgess, who sliced through two tackles and offloaded in another for Sean OLoughlin to go over. Sinfield converted and added a penalty for 8-0 after 25 minutes. New Zealand finally replied with a try of utter genius. Kieran Foran cross-kicked on the last tackle, and wing Jason Nightingale jumped in the left corner to keep the ball in. The ball was swept right, and Luke threw a huge over-the-top pass that appeared to be bouncing over the right sideline. But Dean Whare caught the ball in mid-air over the sideline and reverse-flicked a pass straight to winger Roger Tuivasa-Scheck, who took advantage of a stunned England to score the converted try. Johnson nailed a 46-meter penalty to tie the score at the break. The Kiwis led for the first time in the 44th when England wing Ryan Hall went to intercept Kiwis fullback Kevin Locke but missed, and Tuivasa-Scheck scored his second try of the match. Johnson couldnt convert but made a second penalty for 14-8. England showed its mettle. Right wing Kallum Watkins caught the Kiwis flat-footed to cut the deficit to two, and Sinfield also delivered the final pass for Sam Burgess go-ahead try. Sinfield converted, and it was 18-14. England had the Kiwis at their mercy twice more, but second-rower Ben Westwood dropped the ball reaching for the tryline, and Hall dropped an intercept. Late penalties kept the Kiwis hopes alive in the last five minutes, and they ended up stopping Englands campaign in the semifinals for a third straight World Cup. "Im pretty devastated," Sinfield said. "The best team lost. To lose in the last 20 seconds is a killer. I dont think by any means we had the game won but I felt we were in control." Reilly Smith Jersey .com) - Nicklas Backstrom scored a pair of goals and Alex Ovechkin notched a highlight-reel tally, leading the Washington Capitals to a 4-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday at the Prudential Center. Oscar Lindberg Jersey . Off-Season Game Plan looks at what the Blue Jackets may do to build upon last seasons success to return to the playoffs again next year. http://www.officialgoldenknightsfanstore.com/cody-eakin-golden-knights-jersey-c-13/ . PETERSBURG, Fla. Maxime Lagace Jersey .C. - NASCAR team owner Rick Hendrick headlines this years electees into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. William Carrier Jersey . In the Brewers six games this season, no starter has allowed more than three runs. "We see the guy in front of us do a great job and we want to do even better," Gallardo said after the Brewers beat the Red Sox 4-0 on Sunday, his second straight scoreless start.DAYTON, Ohio -- Given a second chance, T.J. Warren put on a show in the NCAA tournament. The hard-to-guard sophomore forward scored 16 of his 25 points in the second half on Tuesday night, showing why he was the ACCs player of the year, and North Carolina State led most of the way in a 74-59 victory over Xavier in the NCAA tournaments First Four. N.C. State (22-12) didnt have much time to celebrate. The 12th-seeded Wolfpack headed to Orlando, Fla., for a game on Thursday against St. Louis in the Midwest Regional. Warren had the most to do with it. He made up for a freshman tournament flop on the same floor a year earlier and prevented Xavier (21-14) from getting any traction in the second half. "Hes just a great player," coach Mark Gottfried said. "Its hard to keep him down for a whole 40 minutes." Centre Matt Stainbrook led Xavier with 19 points and nine rebounds despite an injured left knee. Leading scorer Semaj Christon was limited to 14 points, and Xavier made only 2 of 14 shots from beyond the arc. Xavier was playing in a familiar arena less than an hour from campus. Familiar, but not entirely friendly. Fans of the Dayton Flyers -- a long-time rival -- booed loudly as they took the court, making for a mixed welcome with a lot of Musketeer fans in the stands as well. Warren made it all a moot point, helping N.C. State take all the drama out of the game over the final 11 minutes. Ralston Turner added 17 points. The Wolfpack went six years between NCAA appearances before Gottfried got them there three years in a row. This was his youngest and least-experienced team: Only two players with tournament experience. They got one of the final at-large bids with a strong closing run, winning ffive of their last six games, including an upset of Syracuse in the ACC tournament.dddddddddddd. Warren was the key. And he really wanted a second chance at the NCAA tournament. As a freshman last year, he managed only four points as N.C. State lost to Temple 76-72 at the University of Dayton Arena in its opening game. Hes grown a lot in one year, leading the ACC with 24.8 points per game this season and hitting the 40-point mark twice. He got off to a bad start on Tuesday, missing his first two shots and picking up two fouls in the first 4 minutes, 14 seconds. Warren checked back into the game and hit a jumper for his first points at the 11:29 mark. Christon, who was Warrens roommate at Brewster Academy for one year, kept the Musketeers in it during the first half. He scored off two drives to the basket, starting an 8-1 run. Stainbrooks reverse layup trimmed it to 27-26 with 2:22 left. Jordan Vandenbergs three-point play gave N.C. State a 34-28 advantage at halftime. Dee Davis hit Xaviers first 3-pointer, and Christon scored on a fast-break lay-in that cut it to 39-37. Thats when Warren took over. He had a pair of pull-up jumpers, followed by a steal and a lay-up as N.C. State rebuilt the lead to 51-42. He had another pull-up jumper and a fast-break dunk that made it 57-47 with 7:56 to go. Xavier never got closer than seven points the rest of the way, fading down the stretch. The biggest question for Xavier was how Stainbrooks left knee would hold up. The Big Easts second-leading rebounder sprained a ligament, sat out the final regular season game and was extremely limited in two Big East conference games. He was back in form, but Xavier didnt have enough other scoring options to keep up. ' ' '