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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. Andres Galarraga Jersey . Marcus Olsson, 23, joins Blackburn on a free transfer from Swedens Halmstads. He made 139 appearances and scored 17 goals in his four years with the club. He earned his first caps for Sweden this month, featuring against Bahrain and Qatar. Phil Diehl Jersey . A day after FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke said three stadiums would not be ready in time for the Dec. 31 deadline, Brazilian officials said they actually plan to deliver all six remaining venues after that date. They claim only three are delayed, with the other three being handed over after the expected date only because of problems accommodating the schedule of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who wants to be present for the ceremonies. https://www.cheaprockiesjerseys.us/1494t...ey-rockies.html. Beckham finished 2 for 4, adding a double in the first inning. Chicago has won eight of 12 to get back to .500 (27-27). The White Sox are 6-3 against Cleveland this season after losing 17 of 19 to their American League Central rival in 2013. Mike Aviles went 1 for 2 with a walk and drove in Clevelands run. Cheap Rockies Jerseys . PETERSBURG, Florida – Heading into Thursday nights action, Dioner Navarro had caught 14 innings combined from starters Drew Hutchison and Mark Buehrle. Charlie Blackmon Jersey ... maybe even more than that. Maybe all season I have to take a few blows.(Sports Network) - The Toronto Raptors will try to make sure that the Miami Heat stay winless on the road when the World Champions head to the Air Canada Centre on Tuesday. You can catch all the action live on TSN2 at 7pm et/4pm pt and on TSN Radio 1050 Toronto. Toronto has won two of its first three games this season and recorded a 97-90 road triumph the last time out Saturday against Milwaukee. The Raptors spoiled the Bucks home opener and received 18 points from Rudy Gay, 17 out of DeMar DeRozan and 14 by Kyle Lowry, whos nursing an injured left ring finger tendon. Gay had a career-high 15 rebounds (13 defense) and led eight players with at least five boards. "Im just trying not to be one-dimensional," Gay said. Toronto, which squandered a 12-point lead, had a 60-38 advantage on the glass and halted a 10-game losing streak to the Bucks. Milwaukee had won eight in a row as the host. The Raptors started the month of November with three consecutive back-to-backs and will visit Charlotte and Indiana after hosting the Heat. Toronto and Miami will play four times this season. The last time Toronto played a reigning NBA champion four times was 2008-09 versus Boston. The Heat opened defense of its second straight title by disposing of Chicago at home, but dropped back-to-back road tilts in Philadelphia and Brooklyn. The Heat got on track with Sundays 103-93 home victory over the winless Washington Wizards, as LeBron James scored 25 points and Chris Bosh added 24. Dwyane Wade netted 20 points for the Heat, who shot 52.dddddddddddd percent from the field and later had a 23-point lead later in the contest. Miami also avoided its first three-game losing streak since January, 2012 and handed out a season-high 32 assists. Miami also had four players with at least five assists. Mario Chalmers had the most with eight and also scored six points. "The intensity was better and the consistent ball movement was better than its been," Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra said. Wade said the bevy of assists made it easy for everybody on the team. "You can feel it, and its special when it happens," Wade told NBA.com. "It just makes the game so much easier." Miami is 32-4 in the regular season since the previous All-Star break and James has scored in double-figures the last 499 games. That run includes a 221-game stretch as a member of the Heat. Hall of Famer and NBA all-time leading scorer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar had a streak of 508 consecutive games with 10-plus points. Michael Jordan tops the list at a ridiculous 866 games. Following their trip to Canada, the Heat will return to south Florida for four straight games versus the Clippers, Celtics, Bucks and Mavericks. Bosh is listed as questionable for personal reasons as Bosh and his wife welcomed the birth of a new baby daughter on Monday. Miami took all three meetings with Toronto last season and is riding an 11- game winning in this series. The Heat are 12-1 in the last 13 games against the Raptors, losers in five straight as the host to Miami. ' ' '