The CONCACAF Gold Cup Opponent was Canada

The occasion the CONCACAF Gold Cup opener demanded the squad’s attention.And the opponent was Canada, not Spain.With an enhanced performance spearheaded by Jozy Altidore, the United States recovered from a weekend embarrassment with a 2 0 victory Tuesday in the team’s tournament opener before an announced 28,209 at Ford Field.Altidore scored in the 15th minute and set up Clint Dempsey’s goal in the 62nd as the Americans improved to 24-0-2 all time in group play of the regional tournament and extended their unbeaten streak against Canada to 14, dating from 1985.Their next game is Saturday in Tampa against Panama, a 3-2 victor over Guadeloupe in the evening’s first match.“It’s a good start,” U.S. Coach Bob Bradley said. “There’s a lot to build on. We’re excited to get going. The objective on this night was two fold: rebound from a 4-0 loss to World Cup champion Spain on Saturday and begin the march to what is widely expected to be a U.S.-Mexico final for the third consecutive tournament.The Americans crackled with energy from the start, placing Canada under unrelenting duress. Central midfielders Michael Bradley and Jermaine Jones set the tone with their ball winning and distribution. Dempsey and Landon Donovan were lively and assertive, shuttling between the flanks and the heart of the attack. Altidore, 21, and Juan Agudelo, 18, were persistent threats on the front line.“It was good for us to take the game to Canada, it was good for us to be more of an attacking threat, especially after not getting many chances in the Spain game,” Dempsey said.When the Americans lost their edge, goalkeeper Tim Howard provided relief with two outstanding saves. “Howard was absolute magic,” Canada Coach Stephen Hart said. “I almost clapped.”Altidore’s performance was particularly encouraging after he fell short of expectations at the World Cup last summer and played sporadically this past season for Turkish club Bursaspor. “When you go through a stretch with your club team and not always playing regularly and not getting goals, in terms of confidence, this was very important,” Bob Bradley said.On the first goal, Michael Bradley initiated the attack from a deep position, connecting with Donovan, who launched Altidore for a run into the right side of the box.Canadian captain Kevin McKenna was positioned between the charging striker and the goal, but Altidore warded him off, turned quickly and struck a ferocious shot that seemed to catch goalkeeper Lars Hirschfeld by surprise. Late to react, Hirschfeld was beaten to the near corner, allowing Altidore to register his 11th international goal.Hirschfeld thwarted Agudelo twice in about a minute late in the half, diving to his left on a 15 yard shot and lunging right on a 25 yard blast.After the break, with more players committed to the attack, Canada took the game to the Americans but failed to equalize.Dempsey then eased U.S. anxiety. Moments after an ambitious scorpion kick was blocked deep in the box, he scored from almost the same spot with a more common technique.Altidore set it up with a cross that Agudelo, charging through the middle, appeared to nick. Initially, Dempsey didn’t seem capable of reaching it, but with an outstretched leg, connected with a sliding effort for his 20th international goal.Canada answered with severe pressure, but Howard foiled Ali Gerba twice: with a tip save on a rasping drive and a sensational block deep in the box.“Right before game time, we had that eye of the tiger back,” Howard said. “We were excited about the tournament,We feel good about the performance".

NFL lockout doesn't have marketing partners, players worried

The NFL and NFLPA are currently in the midst of a major labor dispute that has been playing out both in the board room and the court room. Since the deadline passed more than two months ago, an indefinite lockout of the players has been in full effect. Aside from a temporary stay granted by a court in Minnesota, players have not been allowed to train at team facilities, sign with new teams, or collect pay checks.A lockout occurs when two sides fail to create, or renew, a collective bargaining agreement, resulting in an impasse. Either side has the right to decertify, or file appropriate paper work to the courts in order for them to hear the case at hand.On the other side, NFL Players, the marketing arm for the players association, says it has not lost any marketing partners. Keith Gordon, the organization's president, believes the worth of its players to advertisers and sponsors could actually grow should the lockout continue into the fall. There are two types of lockouts, offensive and defensive lockouts. The offensive lockout occurs when the employer locks out the employees to try and get them to meet an agreement that benefits the employer. The defensive lockout occurs when the employer locks out the employees in order to avoid harm that can be done to the employer’s business.Professional sports have had many bright spots, but they have also had many times when their respective leagues were in quite a pickle. The “big four” sports: football, baseball, basketball, and hockey have all had labor. The main problems that can arise from labor disputes are the consequences of a shortened season or even no season at all. When owners and players cannot agree on specific terms for a new contract, they take a long time to settle on an arrangement. In pretty much every time, the argument is over money. Players think they deserve to earn more money from the league because they are the ones who work hard each day. They also try to receive more health insurance for if they get injured, they will be taken care of. Lastly, professional sports can take a toll on one’s body, so when an athlete retires from sports, they will more so than not want to retire for good. They will need to earn benefits from the league in the future so that they can continue to take care of their families.The team owners usually own the stadiums and they want more money so that they can continue to manage their dealings to the best of their abilities. If these two sides cannot come up with something, then both the players and owners suffer, but most importantly, so do the fans. Fans bring a lot of money into the league, and if there is no agreement, then the fans cannot enjoy their favorite games. Now, each league goes through a lockout and cause problem.

What DUI Arrest Will Mean For Montana's College Career, Nate Montana

joe Montana’s son, Nate Montana was arresting for suspicion of drunk driving.There note that Montana is the third child and oldest son of legendary NFL quarterback Joe Montana and Jennifer Wallace, a model/actress.Missoula County jail records show 21-year-old Nate Montana was booked into jail on a first offense DUI charged  and released about 30 minutes later after posting a $685 bond.Friday after a Missoula County sheriff's deputy stopped his northbound car on Van Buren Street for allegedly driving 39 mph in a 25 mph zone.Deputy Ken Guy was sitting in his cruiser at the corner of Holly and Van Buren streets when his radar picked up Montana's car.The traffic stop turned into a DUI arrest when Guy smelled alcohol."He requested Montana's driver's license and noted that he was fumbling with it as he produced it," sheriff's Detective Jason Johnson said. "He also smelled the odor of alcohol emanating from the window." Montana had transferred from Notre Dame to Pasadena College, back to Notre Dame and finally to Montana this past winter. The school will monitor the situation. At that point, Guy asked Montana to step out of the car and perform a variety of field maneuvers designed to test his sobrierty."He did poorly enough on those maneuvers for the deputy to ask him for the breath test," Johnson said. "Mr. Montana declined that test and he was detained."hings were supposed to get easier for Nate Montana after he transferred out of Notre Dame’s crowded QB pool and out of FBS. Now, the son of Hall of Famer Joe Montana has made his life harder through his own poor judgement.The Missoulian reports that the younger Montana, who is competing for the Montana Grizzlies’ QB job, entered a plea of not guilty after his arrest Friday for drunken driving and speeding. University athletic director Jim O’Day stated that the school would wait for the conclusion of Montana’s legal case before deciding on any additional penalties he would serve.The publicity generated by Montana’s arrest isn’t exactly what the Grizzlies were hoping for when the promising QB arrived on campus. Head coach Robin Pflugrad, who has completed just two seasons in Missoula, has now had three players arrested on DUI charges.Montana faces an open competition for the starting QB spot, with Jordan Johnston, Gerald Kemp and Shay Smithwick-Hann also in the mix. Any missed practice time or suspension resulting from Friday’s arrest will only hurt Montana’s candidacy.With the Grizzlies coming off a nondescript 7-4 season and lacking an incumbent, Montana still has a good shot to emerge as the starter. It appears, however, that he’s running out of chances to make a success out of his college career.

Analycies to the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Germany

The FIFA Women's World Cup 2011 will be the sixth instance of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the quadrennial international women's football world championship tournament. It has been scheduled to take place between 26 June and 17 July 2011.When the FIFA Women's World Cup begins in Germany this month, the host country will be looking to repeat. First, they have to emerge from Group A. While they are the favorite, the German side needs to be wary of the other teams in the group.Six nations, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Peru and Switzerland, initially declared their interest in hosting the 2011 Women's World Cup. Here's a look at them, and the expectations for each.

Germany

The defending side opens up play June 26 in Berlin against Canada. While Germany will be the favorite, Canada is currently ranked sixth in the world and can present a strong challenge in the first match.German team captain Birgit Prinz has announced she will be retiring from the National Team after the World Cup, so you can imagine the thrill it would be for her side to be champions one more time, as the final will be in her hometown of Frankfurt.

Canada

Knowing that the 2015 Women's World Cup will be held in Canada might provide extra motivation for the side to win it all. If they can replicate the German experience of defending at home, it would do fantastic things for women's soccer in Canada.If they do well against Germany, the Canadians have a chance to run the table in Group A. The first match of the group may be it's most important.

France

Appearing in their second World Cup, France tore through the qualifying for the Germany appearance, winning 11 of 12 matches, they lost only to Italy. French Captain Sandrine Soubeyrand acknowledged that they weren't all top-level opponents."All due respect to the teams we beat, who are developing nations on the international scene, but it's going to be a lot tougher for us in Germany," she said.

Nigeria

Although Nigeria finished last in their group in the 2007 World Cup, the side has much higher expectations this time. While they aren't expected to win the group, they should improve on the 2007 finish. Nigeria is just one of seven nations to have participated in all five previous FIFA World Cups.
"Don't rule us out of reaching the final of the World Cup, or better still, coming back home with the trophy," said team captain and goalkeeper Precious Dede.

How will Group A finish?
Conventional wisdom says Germany and Canada will emerge, 1 and 2. I'm not so sure. France may just upend things a little, and Nigeria could surprise. Still, Germany has to be the pick to emerge in the first spot. For number two, I see France riding their momentum to advance from the group.

Nadal and Murray Head To Head

Paris Playing like he's still upset about his only loss at Roland Garros, Rafael Nadal defeated Robin Soderling 6-4, 6-1, 7-6  on Wednesday to reach the French Open semifinals for the sixth time.The five time champion, who lost to Soderling in the fourth round in 2009 but beat him in last year's final, is 43-1 at the clay court Grand Slam and two wins away from equaling Bjorn Borg's record of six French Open titles.Nadal will face fourth seeded Andy Murray, who reached the French Open semifinals for the first time in his career. The Australian Open runner up, who injured his right ankle in the third round, defeated Juan Ignacio Chela 7-6 (2), 7-5, 6-2.Murray's win ensured that the top four seeded players made the semifinals at a Grand Slam tournament for only the 12th time in the Open era.

 Nadal was back on Court Philippe Chatrier to face the man who was responsible for his only blemish at Roland Garros. But with the wind gusting at one point blowing specks of red clay into Nadal's face the fifth seeded Swede struggled with his first serve, landing only 57 percent during the match.However, Nadal didn't appear to be bothered by the conditions, although he was broken twice. The top ranked Spaniard made only 13 unforced errors, while Soderling had 41.Emotionless for nearly the entire match, Nadal was able to handle Soderling's hard forehand and keep his opponent on the move by spraying shots to the corners of the court.And when he smacked a forehand winner to hold serve to 6-5 in the third set, the crowd roared.

After five titles in Paris, Nadal had plenty of fans in the stands  and even some admirers. Besides the Spanish flags throughout the stadium, one woman held up a sign reading, "Rafa ganador, kiss me por favor. Nadal's semifinal opponent also had an easy time Wednesday.Murray, who tore a tendon in his right ankle last week but still managed to win a five setter in the fourth round, trailed Chela 4-1 in the first set. He then won five of six games to force the tiebreak and broke early in both of the next two sets."I'm surprised I'm here, to be honest, because I haven't actually played that well," said Murray. "That's a very good sign for me, because a few months ago I was not playing well and losing badly. I haven't been playing that well. I'm in the semis of a Slam. That's a good sign."

After reaching the Australian Open final in January, Murray went through a four-match losing streak. But he is now enjoying his best clay-court season, having already reached the semifinals in Monte Carlo and Rome.He lost to Nadal in Monte Carlo but pushed the top ranked Spaniard to three sets.Murray already showed his mental resources this week when he came back from two sets and a break down to defeat Viktor Troicki in a fourth-round match that took two days to complete.Against Chela, Murray said his ankle didn't bother him too much, giving him some confidence before Friday's match against Nadal.On a windy Court Suzanne Lenglen, Chela broke twice to open a 4-1 lead with a forehand passing shot straight at Murray, who struggled physically and even looked out of breath after long rallies.But Murray saved two set points at 5-3, the second with a backhand drop shot. He then broke to level the score at 5-5 with a forehand winner and won five points in a row in the tiebreak.Murray is only the second British man in the Open era to reach the French Open semifinals after Tim Henman seven years ago. If he reaches the final, he would be the first Brit in the championship match at Roland Garros since Bunny Austin in 1937.The

other semifinal Friday will be between Roger Federer and the seemingly unstoppable Novak Djokovic. The second-seeded Djokovic is 41-0 in 2011 and has won 43 straight matches dating to last year's Davis Cup final triumph for Serbia."The best player of the world today against the best player history," Nadal said. "Going to be, in my opinion, fantastic match."