Sao Paulo, Brazil - The World Cup kicks off in style today a

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Sao Paulo, Brazil - The World Cup kicks off in style today as host nation Brazil battles Croatia in the opening match of Group A play at the Arena de Sao Paulo. Pau Gasol Jersey . Follow all the action live on TSN Radio 1050 in Toronto, 690 in Montreal, 1260 in Edmonton and on TEAM 1410 beginning at 4pm et/1pm pt. As the host country, the pressure is squarely on the shoulder of the Brazilian squad to make good on their status as pre-tournament favorites and win their sixth World Cup title. The key for Brazil will be how manager Luiz Felipe Scolari does with keeping his young team on an even keel in front of their home crowd. Leading the star-studded Brazilian team is 22-year-old Neymar, who figures to be one of the faces of the tournament. The Barcelona man is viewed as the future of the Brazilian national team, and he made quite an introduction for himself at last summers Confederations Cup, scoring four goals in the tournament and helping Brazil to a 3-0 win over Spain in the final, which earned him recognition as the best player in the competition. Experienced players such as Ronaldinho, Kaka and Robinho were left off the Confederations Cup roster, and were replaced by youngsters Fred and Hulk, who will help Neymar with the scoring onus. Scolari has a plethora of options in midfield with creative players like Chelsea trio Ramires, Oscar and Willian, while Inter Milans Hernanes is another offensive option. Defensively, experienced goalkeeper Julio Cesar will anchor a group that includes David Luiz, Thiago Silva and Dante as options in the middle, while full backs Dani Alves and Marcelo give the team plenty going forward in two- way roles. Croatia, meanwhile, returns to the worlds biggest footballing stage after missing the 2010 event in South Africa. Croatian head coach Niko Kovac is armed with a talented roster that certainly has a fighting chance to reach the knockout stage, despite a difficult draw. Kovacs club is led by a strong midfield which contains Real Madrids Luka Modric and Sevillas Ivan Rakitic. The former Tottenham man, Modric, will be responsible for generating offense from his midfield position and feeding the ball forward to players like Mario Mandzukic and Ivica Olic. The presence of Rakitic will help Modric in the middle of the field, while both Mandzukic and Olic will be responsible for putting away the chances. Olic will have to carry the offensive load against Brazil, however, as Mandzukic will be unavailable after he was sent off in the clubs qualifying victory over Iceland. Croatia will have one big miss in midfield as Niko Kranjcar will not feature in the tournament due to a hamstring injury. Kranjcar has totaled 16 goals in 81 international appearances, and his experience will be missed in a midfield short on depth. Captain Darijo Srna anchors the back line with considerable international experience, having been capped 110 times for his country. Hell need to keep his defenders organized and clam on the ball against the likes of Brazil and Mexico if the side is to reach the knockout round for the first time since 1998. Brazil hosted the World Cup once before, in 1950, and that team was also expected to hoist the trophy, but were upset by Uruguay in the final. That defeat is still talked about in Brazil today, so the current team will aim to make sure they get off to a winning start. Tony Parker Jersey . Needing to bulk up on both sides of the line, the Falcons agreed to terms with guard Jon Asamoah, defensive end Tyson Jackson and defensive tackle Paul Soliai. Asamoah and Jackson played last season with Kansas City, where Asamoah lost his starting job. Derrick White Jersey . The move is retroactive to Aug. 1. Hosmer was originally hit on the hand in the first inning of a July 20 loss to Boston. He has played most of the time since, but missed a few contests due to the injury, then departed Thursdays win over the Twins and had tests that revealed the fracture. http://www.shopspurs.com/womens-manu-ginobili-basketball-jersey/ . He was still a kid, going into his senior year of high school. Thursday, the point guard stood in front of a couple dozen members of the media and spoke with poise about how much hed grown since then, and how hes ready for the next level.CORTLAND, N.Y. -- The New York Jets are banged up in a big way at cornerback. Dee Milliner, a major part of Rex Ryans defence in his second season, was helped from the practice field after injuring his left ankle. A half-hour earlier Sunday, rookie Dexter McDougle was carted off after tearing a ligament in his left knee. "Those things happen and its unfortunate, but youve got to move on," Ryan said before the team announced the severity of McDougles injury. "Who plays in their place, Ive got to find out whos still out there." Veteran Dimitri Patterson, projected as a possible starter opposite Milliner, missed practice for the second straight day with ankle and calf injuries -- making the Jets secondary extremely thin. Their next preseason game is at Cincinnati next Saturday. Milliner, expected to be the teams No. 1 cornerback, went down after defending wide receiver Quincy Enunwa on a long pass and writhed in pain on the sideline at SUNY Cortland. "He came down and rolled his ankle," Ryan said. Trainers rushed over to Milliner, the teams No. 1 draft pick last year, and examined him. "I was focusing on the ball," Enunwa said. "He might have run into me or something. Id have to go back and look at it, but I dont know honestly what happened." Added quarterback Michael Vick: "It hurt me to see Dee on the ground." Milliner got up after several minutes, but didnt put any weight on his leg before being carted to the medical tent. Milliner grimaced while trainers placed his foot in a tub of ice. He was then carted to the locker room. Ryan didnt want to speculate as to whether Milliners ankle was sprained or broken, but thought the fact he was told he rolled it would indicate it could be a sprain. Milliner struggled as a rookie last year before rebounding with a solid final month. After parting ways with Antonio Cromartie in thee off-season, the Jets envisioned Milliner being their top cover guy -- and he said during camp he had the confidence to believe hes the best cornerback in the league. Danny Green Jersey. McDougle was expected to make an immediate impact, either as a backup or potentially as a starter over Patterson. The third-round pick out of Maryland was hurt during a 1-on-1 drill with wide receiver Stephen Hill, who jumped over the cornerback to catch a pass. McDougle went down, tore off his helmet and stayed on his back as fellow cornerback Darrin Walls and wide receiver David Nelson came over to check on him. "I guess he came down, a cleat got caught," Ryan said. "I just listened and was there for him, but he felt a sharp pain, and that was it." He walked off the field, but was eventually carted to the locker room to be further examined. "Thank you everyone who has sent me your support and prayers," McDougle wrote on his Twitter page. "This is a tough blow but I promise, I will be back better than ever. (hashtag)GodSpeed." McDougle missed nearly all of last season at Maryland with a shoulder injury, and said he teared up while standing on the field at MetLife Stadium last Thursday night before making his NFL debut. "I know he was like, Oh, youve got to be kidding," Ryan said. Ryan said both Milliner and McDougle would have MRI exams to check on the severity of their injuries; the team was still awaiting results on Milliner. With them sidelined along with Patterson, Walls and Ellis Lankster worked with the starters. Kyle Wilson, Johnny Patrick, Ras-I Dowling and Brandon Dixon are the only remaining cornerbacks. Backup Jeremy Reeves has been hobbled with a knee injury. "Itll be adversity for some and opportunity for others," Ryan said. "Well put the best 11 out there and well be able to play defence." Wholesale NFL T-shirts Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping NFL Jerseys Wholesale China NFL Gear Wholesale NFL Camo Jerseys Cheap NFL Hoodies Camo China NFL Jerseys ' ' '