Bilderecke » Safeties Darian Thompson (foot) and Nat B

RIO DE JANEIRO -- Marta crumbled to her knees on the field at Brazils famed Maracana Stadium, her eyes filled with tears.The major international title that has eluded her for her entire career would not come on home soil at these Olympic Games. Brazil was ousted from a shot at the gold-medal match 4-3 on penalties after a scoreless draw against Sweden on Tuesday.Brazil will still play for the bronze medal against Canada on Friday in Sao Paulo with a chance to salvage the tournament in a smaller way than Marta and her teammates had hoped. Sweden will play Germany for the gold at Maracana.Even Swedens players consoled her after the game. Marta has played professionally in that country for the past four years.They praised our team and said they were sorry for taking Brazil out of the final. They wanted to see us playing in the final here in Brazil. But this is football. Someone has to lose, she said. They fought until the end, just like we did, and came out on top in the penalties.When she finally rose, she and Sweden coach Pia Sundhage shared a warm embrace.All of the Swedish players know Marta very well. I think she had a fantastic game, Sundhage said. She created a couple of problems for us, but at the end of the day, trying to stop her, I think we did pretty good. Marta is a very good player.Known simply by her first name, Marta Vieira da Silva won fans all over Brazil during the Olympic tournament.While womens soccer is not very popular in Brazil, Marta impressed with her intelligent play and stellar footwork. When the mens side was struggling early in the tournament, some fans crossed out Neymars name on their No. 10 jerseys and wrote in Marta in magic marker.Better than Neymar! fans cheered after one match.Marta grew up playing street soccer with the boys in Dois Riachos, a town about 1,250 miles north of Rio de Janeiro. She was only 17 when she appeared at the 2003 World Cup in the United States.For the 2006 season, Marta won the first of an unprecedented five straight FIFA World Player of the Year awards.Dubbed Pele in skirts, Marta scored seven goals at the 2007 World Cup in China, but Brazil finished as runners-up in the tournament after falling to Germany 2-0 in the final.With Marta, the Brazilians won the silver medal at both the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. Her duel with goalkeeper Hope Solo in the final at the Beijing Games was considered epic. Carli Lloyd scored the game-winner in extra time for the Americans, but it was Solo who fended off a point-blank shot from Marta in the 72nd minute.One of their biggest showdowns came at the 2011 World Cup in Germany. Solo came out the victor on penalty kicks after a dramatic 2-2 draw. Marta had both goals for Brazil, including a controversial penalty kick, but Solo was able to stop Daiane in the shootout. The Americans, knocked out in the Rio quarterfinals by Sweden, would go on to the final that year.With Marta you have to have a little extra attention to her, even though our team defense is really good and really organized. Thats a compliment to her, Solo told The Associated Press during the Olympics. I have played for coaches in the past who thought we could just play our style of soccer against Marta, and weve been punished for it. So Im very aware that we have to pay extra attention to her.Marta has scored 104 goals in 107 international appearances. She has the most World Cup goals with 15. She has 10 Olympic goals, tying her for third on the career list with Abby Wambach of the U.S.But what Marta doesnt have in her storied career is a major international title. At 33, it is conceivable that Marta could play in the 2019 Womens World Cup in France.Brazilian coach Vadao said he hoped Marta and the teams other vets -- namely Formiga and Cristiane -- dont walk away following the Olympics.I think to lose Formiga, Marta and Cristiane would be regrettable because we need their experience to lead the next generation, the coach said. Nike Blazer Clearance . Numbers Game looks into the Canadiens securing the services of Thomas Vanek in a trade with the New York Islanders. The Canadiens Get: LW Thomas Vanek and a conditional fifth-round pick. Nike Blazer Low Womens Sale . Newcastle dominated in the early stages but City weathered the storm and then raised its game in extra time. Negredo broke the deadlock from close range after a simple move in the 99th minute before Dzeko took the ball round goalkeeper Tim Krul to seal the victory in the 105th. http://www.cheapblazershoes.com/ . 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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The days of the New York Giants defense giving away games is seemingly over.A multimillion dollar infusion in the offseason has transformed Steve Spagnuolos unit from the worst in the NFL to one that is suddenly finding ways to win games.Just look at last weekend. The defense finally got a pass rush against the Los Angeles Rams and intercepted four passes, including one incredible return that Landon Collins turned into a touchdown, in a 17-0 win that gave New York (4-3) a two-game winning streak heading into its bye week.Its a far cry from a year ago when the defense was on the field six times either late in the fourth quarter or in overtime and gave up a winning score as the Giants missed the playoffs for a fourth straight season.It cost Tom Coughlin his job. Not Spagnuolo though. Ben McAdoo retained him after being promoted from offensive coordinator to coach, and general manager Jerry Reese took care of him with a free-agency spending spree in the offseason.Pass-rushing defensive end Olivier Vernon was signed to a five-year, $85 million deal. Shutdown cornerback Janoris Jenkins got a five-year, $62 million contract. Defensive tackle Damon `Snacks Harrison got five years and $46 million.Reese even took a chance on Jason Pierre-Paul a year after his hand injury, giving the defensive end a one-year $9.4 million contract.Add in veteran linebackers Keenan Robinson and Kelvin Sheppard, nickel back Leon Hall and a couple of draft picks -- cornerback Eli Apple and safety Darian Thompson -- and the Giants have a whole new look.Were definitely starting to click and play a lot better, said cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, who like Collins had two interceptions against the Rams. We still have a lot of mistakes that we have to get corrected. Once we do that, its going to be special.After seven games, the Giants are ranked 19th overall in total defense. They are 12th against the run, giving up an average of 93.6 yards, and 22nd against the pass, giving up 267.4 yards.New Yorks 141 points allowed are the sixth fewest in the NFC, and thats not bad for a team that has a minus-7 turnover differential.Defensive captain and linebacker Jonathan Casillas believes the defense has gotten more precise in recent weeks in terms of the coverages and the blitzes.We blew some coverages early in the season that allowed teeams to get big plays on us and get into the red zone and missed a couple tackles and I think we have done a lot better with tackling and we are creating turnovers, he said.ddddddddddddhat is putting people at the ball, having the right people, at the right place, at the right time, and being detailed and I think that is all coming to fruition right now.To be honest, the defense has carried the Giants this season. Eli Manning and the offense have struggled, averaging 19 points. Its not easy to win that way.The Giants have won four games by a total of 15 points. The win in London over the Rams came in a matchup in which New York gained 232 yards and had the ball for less than 25 minutes, something that has happened in four straight games.I dont think we have played as consistent as we want every game, but we have made progress every week in certain ways and continually come into our own, linebacker Devon Kennard said. I think this last game was a good turning point for us and we have to keep it rolling.If there has been a problem for the defense it is getting off the field on third down. Opponents have had a league-high 118 third-down chances and converted on 43.2 percent, which is too high.The bye should help. Safeties Darian Thompson (foot) and Nat Berhe (concussion) are both expected to be back for the game against Philadelphia on Nov. 6, the first of three straight home games.Thompson has missed the past five games and Berhe four, forcing former practice squad player, Andrew Adams, to start.The break also should help Apple, the first-round draft pick who has been bothered by hamstring and groin issues, and Rodgers-Cromartie (groin) get back to 100 percent.Were starting to get on the same page, defensive tackle Jay Bromley said. Its remarkable how good weve played and when look at the film, there are still plays that we wish we had back.Once we continue to work with the communication, and actually do things every single time the way we are supposed to do them, we could be an even better defense.If the defense can do that, and the offense finally gets going, the Giants just may be headed to the playoffs for the first time since 2011.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '