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"Clint, Tim?" "Hello Mr. Carlos Lee Authentic Jersey . 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. Jose Altuve Jersey . Johnson spent the last five seasons with Pittsburgh after being taken in the seventh round of the 2009 draft. He played in 52 games with 26 starts, totalling 22 catches for 216 yards and a touchdown. Jose Altuve Authentic Jersey .com) - The Edmonton Oilers have made Nail Yakupov a healthy scratch for the second straight game for tonights game against the Washington Capitals.CLEVELAND -- Corey Kluber allowed four runs in six innings, and Nick Swisher hit a two-run homer in the fifth, leading the Cleveland Indians to a 7-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Friday night. Kluber (9-6), left off the AL All-Star team despite a strong first half, wasnt his usual dominant self but pitched well enough to win. The right-hander has won three of his last four decisions. Cody Allen struck out the side in the ninth for his 11th save. Swishers homer off Hector Noesi (3-7) to centre field broke a 4-4 tie. David Murphy also homered for Cleveland, his first since May 21. Before Swishers home run, the biggest cheer from the crowd of 24,652 came when the Indians put a message on the scoreboard welcoming home NBA superstar LeBron James, who announced he was returning to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Chants of "LBJ" were heard later in the game. Adam Dunn hit a leadoff homer in the fifth for Chicago, which has lost three straight. The Indians were helped by an overturned call on a replay in the fifth. Asdrubal Cabrera was originally called out trying to steal second, but manager Terry Francona challenged the call, and Cabrera was ruled safe after a review. Lonnie Chisenhalls single tied it before Swisher homered to centre. Francona and a trainer visited Kluber in the fourth after he backed up the plate, but he remained in the game. Kluber struck out five, walked two and gave up eight hits. Kluber was among the players in an online vote for the final spot on the All-Star team. The Indians massive marketing campaign for Kluber fell short, but he enters the break with a 3.01 ERA and is fourth in the AL with 142 strikeouts. Adrrian Nietos RBI double and Leury Garcias run-scoring grounder in the second put Chicago in front. Nolan Ryan Astros Jersey. Murphys two-run homer tied it in the bottom of the inning. Adam Eatons RBI double in the fourth made it 3-2, but the Indians quickly tied it when Chris Dickerson drew a bases-loaded walk. Kluber retired the first batter in the second, but the next three reached base. Conor Gillaspie doubled, took third on a single and scored on Nietos double to left. Garcias grounder made it 2-0. Swisher singled with one out in the second, and Murphy homered to right, Eatons double to left-centre scored Garcia from first base in the fourth. Dunn homered to dead centre field, the 454th shot of his career. Noesi allowed six runs in 4 2-3 innings. White Sox All-Star Jose Abreu, who leads the majors with 28 homers, was 1 for 4 with a third-inning single. Carlos Santana had an RBI double in the seventh for Cleveland. NOTES: White Sox 2B Gordon Beckham, 1 for 30 in his last seven games, was given the night off. Beckham has been the subject of trade talks. "When you hear trade rumours, it can bother people enough to make it a distraction," manager Robin Ventura said. "It seems like Gordon needed a break." ... Cleveland optioned LHP T.J. House to the minors and called up RHP Austin Adams, a reliever. House will make a start at Single-A Mahoning Valley next week and be recalled following the All-Star break. ... The White Sox signed LHP Carlos Rodon, the No. 3 pick in the draft. ... RHP Zach McAllister (3-4) will be recalled from Triple-A Columbus by the Indians to start Saturday against RHP Scott Carroll (3-5). cheap jerseys from china cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
