RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- The first test of Brazils ability to host the World
Cup and Olympic Games over the next three years begins on Saturday when the
eight-nation Confederations Cup tournament kicks off.
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renovated stadiums around Brazil are ready, give or take a lick of paint and a
final sweep. And violent protests on the streets of two of the biggest cities,
Rio and Sao Paulo, have tested authorities ability to deal with civil unrest.
The tournament starts in the capital Brasilia with a game between the host and
Asian champion Japan. It ends in Rio de Janeiros Maracana Stadium two weeks
later. The tournament is held every four years - always one year before the
World Cup - between the champions of each football confederation. Workmen were
still applying cement onto walls, attaching glass panels and painting at several
stadiums as the clock ticked down to kick-off, but FIFA President Sepp Blatter
said he was not worried about the last-minute preparations. "Theres a lot of
work that will be done in the last minute," he said. "So for me it is not a
surprise that two days to go there is still work somewhere. It means that
something is not finished so we should just say, okay, and finish it." While the
paint and cement dry, tournament officials have been keeping an eye on the
street protests, handling team complaints, and hoping Nigeria turn up on time.
In the capital Brasilia, about 200 people burned tires and blocked the main road
in front of the Brasilia stadium which will host the Confederations Cup opener.
The protest was organized by local groups complaining about the excessive cost
of the Confederations Cup and World Cup. A black cloud of smoke was seen near
the stadium Friday morning as protesters held banners complaining about the
local government. Thousands of protesters marched in Rio and Sao Paulo on
Thursday to rage against increases in bus and subway fares, and some clashed
with police. Officials said roughly 5,000 protesters were in Sao Paulos central
area, where they clashed with police who fired tear gas to try to disperse the
crowd. Police said 40 people were detained, some with knives and gasoline bombs.
Police in Rio said about 2,000 people protested there. FIFA expressed "full
confidence" that Brazilian police can cope with disorder in the streets after
the violent protests. Asked about the protests, FIFA spokesman Pekka Odriozola
said that "we are monitoring the situation and we are in touch with the local
authorities." But he insisted that FIFA has "full confidence and trust in the
local authorities" to cope with "any circumstance." In Recife, Uruguay was
forced to go looking for a new practice pitch because the stadium chosen by the
squad was not in good condition following heavy rains. "For the World Cup, we
have to be on alert so the same mistakes dont happen again, especially the
delays, the increased costs and the use of public funds," congressman and former
Brazil striker Romario said. Latin America is represented here by Brazil,
Uruguay and Mexico, Europe by Spain and Italy, Africa by Nigeria, Asia by Japan
and the tiny footballing nation of Tahiti, which had an easy passage to the
tournament against weak opposition in the Oceania group. Italys star forward
Mario Balotelli exited the training pitch with a right leg muscle problem, two
days before the Azzurri play their first game against Mexico. The Italian
football federation said that Balotelli walked off a closed training session
with team physician Enrico Castellacci but that it was only for precautionary
reasons and related to a previous physical problem. Nigeria gave world football
authority FIFA a shock on Thursday when its players threatened to go on strike
and not travel to Brazil because the countrys football association suddenly cut
players bonus payments. Nigerias players, in Namibia for a game, missed their
connection to Brazil and will arrive late on Saturday or Sunday, leaving them
very little time to prepare for their first game on Monday. Their first game is
against the part-time players of Tahiti, who should present little threat. The
competition is split into two groups, with Brazil, Japan, Mexico and Italy in
Group A and Spain, Uruguay, Nigeria and Tahiti in Group B. Brazil, Italy, Spain
and Uruguay or Nigeria are favoured to reach the semifinals, with many football
fans hoping for a Brazil vs.Spain final at the iconic Maracana on June 30.
Brazil has dominated global football for years, but has slipped in the last
decade, with Spain rising to become the top global team, holding the world and
European titles. Brazils football-mad supporters have been embarrassed to be
relegated to 22nd in FIFAs latest rankings, sandwiched between Ghana and Mali,
and are looking for salvation from the latest goal-scoring sensation Neymar, who
signed for Barcelona last month. Neymar will be wearing the No. 10 shirt for
Brazil, a weighty burden considering it was worn by Pele, arguably the best
player ever. Luiz Felipe Scolari, the Brazil coach who led the countrys national
team to its fifth World Cup title in 2002 and is back for a second spell in
charge, is playing down Neymars influence. "Hes not going to play with 11
jerseys on his back. He plays with one jersey," Scolari said Friday. "I have
nothing to demand from him." On Sunday, Mexico play Italy in Rio and Spain play
Uruguay in the rain-soaked northern city of Recife. Tahiti meets Nigeria in Belo
Horizonte on Monday, ending the first round of games. Brazil, a rising global
economic power which still suffers from some of the headaches of a developing
nation, should be able to handle the Confederations Cup with ease because it
faces two massive challenges over the next three years. Next year it hosts the
World Cup in 12 cities across a country which is similar in size to Europe, and
then in 2016 Rio will host the Olympic Games.
Joel Ward Sharks Jersey . The Swede became
the first golfer to win the PGA Tours FedEx Cup and European Tours Race to Dubai
in the same season. "It is still taking a little time to sink in what Ive
achieved this week as was the case when I won the FedEx Cup but then it just
kept getting better and better as the days went on and I am sure this will be
the same," he said.
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. -- Jonathan Drouin gave Halifax the boost it needed to edge host Sherbrooke
Phoenix 3-2 in a shootout in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action. NEW YORK
-- One year later, the New York Mets finally landed All-Star outfielder Jay
Bruce to boost a struggling lineup. And now, hell provide protection for Yoenis
Cespedes rather than an alternative to him.Minutes before Mondays trade
deadline, the third-place Mets obtained Bruce from the Cincinnati Reds for young
infielder Dilson Herrera and minor league left-hander Max Wotell.The 29-year-old
Bruce was hitting .265 with 25 homers and a National League-leading 80 RBI. He
made the NL All-Star team for the third time.This was an opportunity to deal
from a position of relative strength in the system to acquire some offense that
we felt we needed, general manager Sandy Alderson said.Bruce is expected to
arrive Tuesday, manager Terry Collins said.New York also re-acquired lefty Jon
Niese from Pittsburgh for reliever Antonio Bastardo. Niese will work out of the
bullpen at first but also gives the Mets an experienced starter who could fill
in for a rotation missing injured Matt Harvey and rehabbing Zack Wheeler.The
moves follow last years trade-deadline acquisition of Cespedes, whose offensive
spark helped the Mets reach the World Series for the first time since
2000.Before getting Cespedes from Detroit for pitcher Michael Fulmer, the Mets
nearly completed a deal with Cincinnati for Bruce. When talks fell through, New
York soon turned its attention to Cespedes.Look, it was an extraordinary
turnaround last year. All we can do is try to acquire as many good players as we
can to put ourselves in a position to maybe have that magic again, Alderson
said. I do think, given our situation right now and the quality of players we
have right now otherwise in the clubhouse, somebody like Jay Bruce can be a
catalyst for more productive performance out of the other players that we have,
especially sitting in the middle of our order.The banged-up Mets began Monday
with a 54-50 record, 6 1/2 games behind NL East-leading Washington and 2 1/2
games back for the NLs second wild card. Their .237 batting average was the
lowest in the major leagues.Bruce has been a clutch hitter this season, and New
York is in dire need of one. Dreadful with runners in scoring position, the Mets
ranked 13th out of 15 NL teams in runs.I think hell make a big impact, Collins
said.Bruces dangerous left-handed bat should slot in nicely behind Cespedes --
if and when the right-handed slugger is healthy enough to play.Hampered by a
strained right quadriceps thats been nagging him for weeks, Cespedes was out of
the starting lineup Monday night against the New York Yankees for the second
consecutive game.Bruce joins a crowded outfield that includes two other
left-handed hitters in Curtis Granderson and Michael Confortto.
Joe Thornton Jersey. Alderson acknowledged
that Bruce is not an absolute perfect fit for us.We start with the need for
offense and work from there, the GM said.Bruce, however, is under team control
next season and does provide another type of protection for Cespedes, because
the Cuban star can opt out of his contract and become a free agent again after
this years World Series.We would not have done the deal without the extra year
of control, Alderson said. We were not looking for a rental player, certainly
not looking to give up the kind of talent we did for the next two months.Bruce
homered in five straight games in late July, a career best. A downside has been
his career-long penchant for following a torrid streak with an incredibly cold
one.Bruce has a .249 career average with 233 homers in nine major league
seasons. He is earning $12.5 million this year, and his contract includes a $13
million team option for 2017 with a $1 million buyout.New York clinched the NL
East title in Cincinnati last September and return for a three-game series from
Sept. 5-7.Cincinnati is into its second year of rebuilding, trading any
high-priced veteran it can. The Reds dealt starters Johnny Cueto and Mike Leake,
All-Star Home Run Derby winner Todd Frazier and closer Aroldis Chapman in the
past year.They tried to trade second baseman Brandon Phillips to the Nationals,
but blocked the deal. They also had the framework of a three-team deal in place
that wouldve sent Bruce to Toronto in the offseason, but that fell
through.Herrera, 22, was once regarded as the Mets future second baseman. He
made his major league debut in 2014 and hit .215 over 49 big league games in the
`14 and `15 seasons. He was batting .276 with 13 homers and 55 RBI this year at
Triple-A Las Vegas.We liked Dilson very much, no question about that, Alderson
said. Its not that our estimation of Dilson has gone down, we realize we have
some other options and seem to be well-covered there.Traded from the Mets to
Pittsburgh last December for second baseman Neil Walker, Niese struggled during
his time with the Pirates. He went 8-6 with a 4.91 ERA and was moved to the
bullpen earlier this month.The 29-year-old Niese is making $9 million in the
final season of a deal he signed with the Mets in March 2012, a contract that
includes a $10 million team option for 2017 with a $500,000 buyout.Bastardo, who
went 4-1 with a 2.98 ERA in 2015 with Pittsburgh, posted a 4.74 ERA in 41
appearances for the Mets. Bastardo agreed to a $12 million, two-year deal with
New York in January and is owed $6.5 million in 2017.
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