Video´s von unseren Gassirunden » Still the Brazilian waited.

MINNEAPOLIS -- Tennessee coach Mike Munchak gambled by playing much of his starting offence in the final preseason game. Custom Miami Heat Jerseys . Minnesota coach Leslie Frazier wanted no part of that, and was reminded just how dangerous the NFL can be when one of his backups was carted off the field in the second quarter. Jake Locker went 3 for 5 for 31 yards and led the Titans to a field goal on the opening drive of a 24-23 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday night. For Locker, it was chance to get one last bit of work in and build on a solid preseason before they open the regular season at Pittsburgh on Sept. 8. "I feel really comfortable with this group," Locker said. "I like what were doing offensively and Ive got a lot of confidence in what were doing, so Im excited." Hoping to avoid a spot on the practice squad, Rusty Smith completed 13 of 21 passes for 178 yards with one touchdown and one interception for the Titans (1-3). Backup quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was 5 for 5 for 61 yards and a touchdown. Marcus Sherels returned a kick 109 yards for a touchdown and intercepted a pass in a last-ditch effort to make the team for the Vikings, who were thankful that a scary collision involving offensive lineman Seth Olsen only resulted in a concussion. Sherels entered the game with a heavy heart, having recently lost his father, and fighting for one of the final cornerback spots. "Its been tough, but with my teammates and the organization and the coaches, theyve all helped me tremendously," Sherels said. "Theyve made it a lot easier." Olsen was taken off the field on a stretcher after linebacker Scott Solomons knee collided with Olsens helmet. He received a standing ovation from the crowd and gave a thumbs-up with his left hand as he was wheeled off the field. A few hours later, Olsen was walking around in the locker room and speaking with teammates. Munchak took the unusual approach of playing his starting quarterback, starting offensive line and several of his most important skill position players in the fourth preseason game. One of the few offensive starters who did not see action was star running back Chris Johnson. But Munchak felt the risk of injury just over a week away from the season opener was outweighed by the desire to get Locker as much work as possible to prepare him for his second full season as the starter. Locker missed five games last season because of a shoulder injury and many consider this year make-or-break for the 2011 first-round pick. So Munchak threw him out there in a game that traditionally calls for coaches to rest starters, especially at the games most important position. Locker led an 18-play drive in the first quarter that ended with a 28-yard field goal by Rob Bironas. The drive did come against the Vikings second-team defence, but it was enough for Munchak, who sent in Fitzpatrick after that. "Were glad it was just one drive and not a few," Munchak said. "We thought wed have that group in for 12 plays with that offensive line group, and they went about (18) plays. "We didnt finish the drive. We got a field goal, but it was all we wanted, to break a sweat and get a workout, have a little success with that group again." Many Vikings fans wanted to see Frazier take the same approach with Christian Ponder, also about to enter his second full season as the starter. Ponder was unimpressive in the first three preseason games, completing 62 per cent of his passes for 184 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. The Vikings will no doubt ride MVP Adrian Peterson in pursuit of a return to the playoffs, but Ponders development into a consistent playmaker may be the biggest key to their chances. But after watching starting defensive tackle Kevin Williams go down with a knee injury in the third quarter last week at San Francisco, Frazier wasnt about to take any chances with the opener at Detroit so close. "From my standpoint, in todays NFL with the depth issues that you have, its not worth the risk," Frazier said. Titans second-round pick Justin Hunter had four catches for 45 yards and a touchdown. McLeod Bethel-Thompson completed 19 of 26 passes for 187 yards with one touchdown and one interception, and Blair Walsh kicked a 25-yard field goal with 1:38 to play to help the Vikings avoid going 0-4 in the preseason. NOTES: Vikings CB Bobby Felder left the game in the third quarter with a sprained right ankle, but Frazier said it wasnt serious. ... If the Vikings wouldve lost, it wouldve been just the second time in franchise history that they went winless in the preseason. The only time was in 1961, when they went 0-5. ... Titans TE Delanie Walker made his preseason debut. He had had arthroscopic knee surgery in June and missed the first three games. ... TE Jack Doyle led the Titans with five catches for 48 yards, including a 2-yard TD from Smith. Wayne Ellington Jersey . The 18-year-old centre was the Senators first-round pick (17th overall) in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. The six-foot 196-pound native of Salmon Arm, B. Edrice Adebayo Jersey . - Hitting was supposed to be the Pittsburgh Pirates weakness coming into the season yet they lead the major leagues in home runs through the first 16 games of the season. http://www.authenticbasketballshopheat.info/hassan-whiteside-heat-jersey/ . For the Athletics, hes extremely important at the top of the order, especially with Coco Crisp hurting. Jaso drove in three runs Sunday night, helping Scott Kazmir and Oakland beat the Texas Rangers 9-3.It was closing on Midnight and still we waited. The mixed zone is not a place to make friends. Media stand in one spot and hold their position tighter than moms in line for that Black Friday special at Target. One by one the Brazilian players came out, many with enormous headphones on, looking down to the ground and heading straight for the bus entrance. The star of the team was undoubtedly Neymar and his presence was felt even before he appeared, with screaming and awkward shuffling starting around me. The new king of Brazilian football is a show man, he smiled for the ladies, said a few words for the men holding microphones and ran to his seat on the bus. Right behind him stood a large man whose presence was just as big for the Brazilian travelling media. Julio Cesar was smiling ear-to-ear. He had just completed another successful match, in a 2-1 win over Chile, for his country and the joy of playing again couldnt be hidden. The aggressive Brazilian media wanted a part of him and he was happy to oblige. More than any player he took the time to answer questions, hug media friends and talk his way through his evening. For the 34-year-old there was some joy in talking about the game. That Tuesday night he would board a bus, take a charter flight back to London and head to training for Queens Park Rangers by Thursday, knowing full well he wouldnt be playing for the Championship club on Saturday. The Brazilian number one, in a World Cup year, was stuck on the bench at a non-Premier League team and didnt know when he would play again. It is a unique story and one that got even more mysterious when the transfer window closed in England last Friday and the goalkeeper remained a QPR player. QPR manager Harry Redknapp had made no secret at why the Brazilian wasnt playing. Stuck in the second tier of English football with many players on Premier League size contracts, the London club had a situation where they had two good net minders. Julio Cesars competition was Rob Green, who just happens to be playing one of the best seasons of his career and is more affordable long-term. Knowing he couldnt play him, and just importantly not afford him going forward, Redknapp wanted Julio Cesar to leave back in November saying: "We wouldnt stand in Julios way and we arent asking a fee for him. He needs to play and he could play anywhere for any team. Hes just been unlucky. Robs been fantastic and I cant take him out of the team. "However, Julios a great guy and he needs to play soon, so he can play in the World Cup." Still the Brazilian waited. And waited. January came and with it came the obligatory Redknapp in a car interview on transfer deadline day. "Hes a fantastic goalkeeper and thats not just a sale pitch to try and move him on," Redknapp told Sky Sports News. "Hes not only a great keeper but also an amazing professional and a great guy. But I think hes a goalkeeper for any big club in the world. He has got every medal there is to win, the Champions League, the lot." "I cant believe one of the big clubs havent come in and taken him to be honest," declared Redknapp. None of the big clubs came knocking. This was not an indictment on Julio Cesar. His wages? Quite possibly. His talent? Absolutely not. Julio Cesar became the victim of circumstance. Signing a goalkeeper in January is extremely rare. As he can only play one position out of 11 you have to be convinced that the goalkeeper you started the season with is worth disrupting and you have to convinced that the money being spent on the wages is worth it. Goalkeepers are a not always easy analyse, in terms of their significant impact on wins and losses, and, perhaps, more than ever are looked at in terms of actual value. Are they worth what they are being paid or can someone on far less money do a similar job? Pepe Reina was idolized at Anfield but the moment his wages got close to one hundred thousand pounds per week, when they could get Simon Mignolet for almost half that they felt that was excellent business. Mignolet has been excellent at times, and has made some blunders at times as well, very similar to Reina. Liverpool, meanwhile, used the money saved in that position to strengthen elsewhere. Julio Cesar remained a QPR player on FFebruary 1st. Goran Dragic Jersey. And still he trained and trained again. His agents continued to work on deals with Brazilian clubs, trying to secure a six month loan to help him get ready for a World Cup on home soil. However, in Brazil the same issues as Europe came up. Big clubs had established goalkeepers like Jefferson, Victor and Fabio. The other clubs are slashing costs and now is not the optimum time to buy, with many of the most important games in their season coming post World Cup. Five months and counting. On Julio Cesars calendar inside his London home the harsh reality stares right at him. He knows what Luiz Felipe Scolari thinks of him and owes him to be at his best. Former Brazilian coach Mano Menezes had pushed him aside, yet when the 2002 World Cup winning coach returned, so did a real, surprise chance for Julio Cesar to put aside the blunder he made against the Dutch in the 2010 World Cup Quarter Finals. Brazilian fans hadnt let him forget that, yet all of a sudden he was in pole position to be the starting goalkeeper in a home World Cup. "I was as surprised as you," a happy Julio Cesar said back in September when he got an international recall. "Now I need to keep working hard and maintain my form over the next eight months." Tick, tick, tick, tick... And now it is five months. Ryan Nelsen started 16 games with Julio Cesar at QPR last season in the Premier League. The first ten came under Mark Hughes and they didnt win a game. Yet, the very first match, Julio Cesars Premier League debut, saw them draw 0-0 against Chelsea and the pair were outstanding against the Blues that day. Under Harry Redknapp, results remained similar but when Julio Cesar returned from injury, he was in the starting XI, with Nelsen, to play at Chelsea in January of 2013. QPR achieved a shock 1-0 win and the pair had once again helped keep a clean sheet against a formidable Chelsea attack. Its a bond that appears to have helped hand Toronto FC, previously the laughing stock of Major League Soccer, an opportunity to get the Brazilian number one before he plays at the World Cup. No financial details have been reported and we will have to wait and see how TFC can pull this off under the cap but to have an opportunity to get Julio Cesar for around ten games before he joins the Brazilian team is an incredible opportunity. Julio Cesar is a winner and can help play a significant role in changing the culture of that dressing room, a mandate that GM Tim Bezbatchenko has spoken about often this winter. He can help Gilberto, the clubs new Brazilian striker, settle in and can make a huge impact on the clubs goalkeeper Joe Bendik. The 24-year-old American is highly thought of by Toronto FC, having recently been rewarded with a new contract, and this signing is in no way a slight against him. What an opportunity he has to work for three months with one of the best goalkeepers of this era, to watch and learn how he prepares and goes about his business. When Julio Cesar departs for the Brazil camp in the middle May, Bendik will be the clubs number one again and will be better for having the Brazilian next to him. And so it appears there are many winners in all of this but, incredibly, the biggest winner of all is Julio Cesar. The odds are 3-1 for him to be one of 23 Brazilians lifting the World Cup in Rio on July 12. Less than two months before that it now appears he will be playing at BMO Field in Toronto. It is another remarkable chapter in the offseason of this football club. It shows just how far they have come that when the news broke on Friday morning it was now believable. It appeared to be a deal this team would do. Who thought they could sign a proven Premier League goalscorer at aged 31 or bring back from Europe the heartbeat of the US team at age 26? "Well be doing alright if we get World Cup stars, wont we?" Ryan Nelsen told me last October when I asked if his DPs would have to take time away from the MLS season to play in Brazil. Alright is likely to be a massive understatement. TFC have yet to kick a ball in 2014 but the knock-on effect is in full effect. The signing of Jermain Defoe got Michael Bradleys attention and both of them got Julio Cesars attention. Now Toronto FC have everyones attention. 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