Dein erstes Forum » -20 on Nov. 16 before disposing of D

"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. Steve Young Jersey . Quarterback Drew Willy appeared to injure his throwing hand on the third last play of practice Thursday. Y.A. Tittle 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. http://www.cheap49ersjerseysauthentic.com/.S.-Cuba relations means baseball prospects get off the island and into the major leagues without payoffs to smugglers and threats from kidnappers, its hard to see the downside. Jalen Hurd Jersey . He made another correct read. The Browns, who have been shuttling quarterbacks on and off the field all season, finally got some good news on that front: Campbells ribs are only bruised. Mitch Wishnowsky Jersey . He was with the New York Jets in 2011 when the NFL locked out their players after they failed to agree on a new contract. Willy went undrafted but was given a look by four NFL teams before heading north.(SportsNetwork.com) - If you are a fan of foreshadowing, keep an eye on Lambeau Field this Sunday. The New England Patriots, perhaps the AFCs best team, will invade the frozen tundra to take on one of the NFCs top contenders, the Green Bay Packers, in a potential Super Bowl XLIX preview. The Pats have won seven games in a row, including a 34-9 victory over Detroit in Week 12, a triumph that clinched the organizations 14th consecutive winning season. New England is the first to accomplish that since San Francisco did so in 16 straight seasons from 1983-1998. During the Pats current seven-game run, quarterback Tom Brady has thrown 22 touchdowns and posted a 111.7 passer rating. Against the Lions, Brady threw two touchdown passes and carved up the NFLs then-top-ranked defense, completing 38-of-53 passes for 349 yards. LeGarrette Blount had two rushing scores in his first game back with the AFC- leading Patriots, who have won 14 straight against NFC North teams and 15 consecutive at home. I thought our guys did a good job, being ready to go, said Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. Any time you keep a team out of the end zone like Detroit, thats good. We were able to put some points on the board, make plays in all three phases of the game. The Packers, however, are 5-0 at Lambeau this season, outscoring opponents 219-85 in those games and scoring at least 50 points in each of its past two homes games. Quarterback and leading MVP candidate Aaron Rodgers has thrown 322 consecutive passes and 29 touchdowns in a row without an interception in Green Bay; both NFL record streaks. The Pack wasnt quite as impressive on the road in Minneapolis last weekend but managed to outlast the upstart Vikings 24-21 behind Rodgers, who had two touchdown passes, and Eddie Lacy, who scored twice. This week was a little bit more of a grind-it-out thing, said Green Bay receiver Jordy Nelson. But we needed to see a game like this because if you want to win it all, you have to be able to win all sorts of games. Rodgers went 19-for-29 for 209 yards while Lacy finished the game with 25 carries for 125 yards and a touchdown, along with two catches for 13 yards and a score for the Packers, who have won three straight and now sit atop the NFC North by one-half game after the Lions drubbing of Chicago on Thanksgiving Day. He had a great game and made a lot of huge plays for us, Nelson said of Lacy. He got two touchdowns, and the way him and the O-line finished off the game for us was impressive. The Patriots own a 5-4 lead over the Packers in the all-time series between the two teams and have won two straight, including a 31-27 win the last time they met back on Dec. 19, 2010. New England actually whitewashed Green Bay 35-0 in its last trip to Lambeau behind four Brady TD passes but that was way back in 2006 when Rodgers was a backup. WHAT TO WATCH FOR These are the two top scoring teams in the NFL with the Pats pacing the 32- team league at 32.5 points per game and the Packers a tick behind at 32.2. This is likely the final leg of a four-game stretch against division-leading opponents for New England and so far Bill Belichicks bunch has passed the test with flying colors, winning the first three games by an average of over three TDs per game. The Patriots topped AFC West kingpin Denver 43-21 on Nov. 2 and AFC South stalwart Indianapolis 42-20 on Nov. 16 before disposing of Detroit in Week 12, a development that enabled Green Bay to vault over the Lions. Its not realistic for us to expect to continue to blow teams out like that, or, I dont want to say blow out, but win by a large margin, Belichick said. I cant really put my finger on what it is. I thinkk its a culmination of things and preparation.dddddddddddd After Sundays game, New England travels to San Diego, which could also be tied for the AFC West lead if things break correctly in Week 13. Since losing to Kansas City to fall to 2-2 on the season, New England has been scoring nearly 40 points per game (39.5 to be exact) and Brady has taken off, averaging 315.3 passing yards per game with the 22 touchdowns against just four interceptions. Perhaps the biggest contributor to that has been the health of All-World tight end Rob Gronkowski, who is feeling good after a myriad of injuries in recent seasons and has amassed 27 receptions and five touchdowns in his last four games. The Pats have also begun to mirror their former success with the two-tight end offense when Gronkowski teamed with Aaron Hernandez, before the latters personal life went off the rails. Tim Wright, who was acquired from Tampa Bay before the season, has six TDs on his 23 receptions. If there is one team that can keep up with the Patriots, though, its the Packers, especially at Lambeau. The key to Green Bay at home has been blitzing people out of the starting blocks. The Packers have outscored their opponents by an amazing 66-0 margin in the first quarter of their last four home contests. That number expands to 128-9 at halftime. Foes have been looking up and finding the score 14-0 in the first four or five minutes of a game and that has enabled a flawed Packers defense to excel as teams become more one-dimensional. Were playing Green Bay in Green Bay, Belichick said. Thats where theyve been very dominant, really, in terms of getting ahead and playing from ahead, first quarter. The numbers are staggering. Rodgers has thrown for 18 touchdowns without an interception at home this season. Overall, the All-Pro leads the NFL with a 119.3 passer rating and has thrown for 30 scores against just three INTs. I think Aarons a great quarterback, Belichick said. He does everything well, is very smart, does a great job with his team in situations and seeing things at the line of scrimmage, putting them in good plays and (a) very accurate passer, very good with his feet, hard to sack, hard guy to bring down, has real good awareness. I think pretty much everything with his game is excellent to outstanding. Rodgers favorite target, Nelson, averages over 120 yards receiving per game at Lambeau and has scored at least one TD in the teams five home games this year. Randall Cobb isnt bad either, snaring 20 balls with two TDs in his last three at home. Teams are going to take away what we do best, and what weve done best is get the ball to Jordy and Randall, Rodgers said. Theyve had big statistical seasons so (opponents) try to take them out of the game. Minnesota did that at home and New England is better equipped than most to do it because of star cornerback Darrelle Revis, perhaps the best man-to-man coverage corner in the game. Opponents often assume Belichick will just lock up Revis with their best receiver but the Pats coach is usually a step ahead and he could use Revis to lock up Cobb and then double Nelson. Either way thats where the powerful Lacy comes in. A bowling bowl of butcher knives, no one wants to tackle Lacy in the open field, especially when things gets cold. Hes a workhorse, said Rodgers. We need him in the winter months. OVERALL ANALYSIS Something has to give here because New England has won seven in a row overall and the Packers are a perfect 5-0 at Lambeau. The guess here is home field holds up with the Patriots being far more competitive them most visitors to Lambeau. 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