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lingzi
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Dec 5 2012, 09:02 AM
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KIEV, Ukraine - Stingy as it may be, Spains defenders are still a little worried about their rematch with Mario Balotelli and Italy in the European Championship final. A.J. Green Youth Jersey . Spains bid to win a third straight major title comes Sunday at Kyivs Olympic Stadium, where the Mediterranean rivals meet for a second time, after starting Euro 2012 with a 1-1 draw. Spain hasnt conceded since then and has reached the final with the fewest goals conceded since West Germany went on to win the tournament 40 years ago. In fact, Spains defence hasnt been breached in its last nine knockout games. After Balotelli scored twice in his teams 2-1 victory over Germany in the semifinals, defender Sergio Ramos said Friday "it would be a lie to say Im not worried about them but we are not obsessing over" Italy. "They are where they are today because of the way theyve played," Ramos said at Dynamo Kyivs stadium. "They really took the game to us, led by two strikers as they looked to hit us on the counter. We cant start worrying about them, we have to stay calm and stick to our philosophy of play. Balotellis goals against Germany on Thursday saw the mercurial Manchester City striker overcome a poor start to the tournament, which included wasting a glorious opportunity alone in front of goal against Spain. "Hes a great player and he showed that again yesterday," midfielder Cesc Fabregas said. "To score like that in the semifinal against Germany says it all. We have to try and throw him off his game because he is a player who can cause problems." One advantage for Spain is that Ramos and Gerard Pique have gelled as centerbacks after struggling in their first competitive pairing, which was against Italy. "Thats a positive aspect, it can facilitate things for us," said Ramos, who added that Spain would pay particular attention to Balotelli, Antonio Cassano and Andrea Pirlo. Spain is on the verge of becoming the first team to retain its European title after winning the World Cup. West Germany had that chance in 1976 but lost to Czechoslovakia on penalties. The current world champions needed penalties to beat Portugal in the semifinals after the game finished 0-0, despite extra-time. Though Ramos and Fabregas both scored in the shootout, Spain is hoping that its potential place in history is not decided on penalties on Sunday. And with greatness so near, its not surprising that the players are all too well aware of the stakes. "The truth is, yes, it is something we think about," Ramos said. "Thats what were playing for on Sunday, its something that will never be surpassed as no other national team has managed it before and we have the chance now to do it." "Whatever happens Sunday, Spain has already made history, but we obviously want to win this European championship again after all the work this team has done," Ramos said. "Its cost us a lot to get where we are, now we have to show our best level against a great team." ___ Paul Logothetis can be reached at: www.twitter.com/PaulLogoAP Jermaine Gresham Womens Jersey . Its not often a goalie has more open-ice hits than goals allowed. The Dallas Stars newcomer followed up a victory in his first start with a 34-save effort in a 1-0 win over the New York Rangers on Tuesday night. BenJarvus Green-Ellis Womens Jersey . "I got chills," Verlander said. He returned the favour during an important 5-3 victory, pitching eight solid innings and helping himself with a pair of sacrifices as Detroit capped an encouraging 4-2 interleague road trip through Cincinnati and Chicago. http://www.bengalsteamstore.com/jermaine-gresham-jerseys . It remains to be seen if it was enough to earn a spot in the Braves post-season rotation. Andy Dalton Youth Jersey . But just five weeks into the 2012-13 season, the new measure has had a dramatic influence on the numbers of fights across the league. Fighting in the OHL is down 32.1 per cent after 119 games, compared to the same number of one year ago. Andy Dalton Womens Jersey . 11 Georgetown at the Verizon Center. Blair was coming off his worst game of the season, a foul-plagued, two-point, two-rebound effort on Wednesday against Rutgers. He eclipsed his point total in the first minute with two baskets to give Pittsburgh a 4-0 lead and the Panthers never trailed on the way to ending Georgetowns 29-game home winning streak.ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Los Angeles Angels placed Dan Haren on the 15-day disabled list for the first time in his 10-year career on Thursday because of stiffness in his lower back. The club made the move two days after the three-time All-Star finally acknowledged his back has been bothering him since spring training. "Theres definitely a lot of inflammation and it was just causing the stiffness that Ive got to try to knock out," Haren said. "Its not really even a pain-management thing, as much as it is just getting back to physically throwing the way that Ive thrown for however many years in the big leagues. So rather than keep going out there at about 70 per cent or so, I thought it was good timing for me to take a step back and try to get back to 100 per cent for the stretch run. "The pain that I had was manageable," he added. "It was almost like my mind was telling me yes and my body was telling me no. I didnt really lead on that it was maybe bugging me in one start or another because I never wanted there to be any excuses for my bad performance. In eight or nine years of starting pitching, Ive pitched through a lot of pain. Haren is 6-8 with a 4.86 ERA in 17 starts, and has struggled through most of them in an unusually rocky season. The 31-year-old right-hander is 3-2 with an 8.67 ERA over his previous five outings, including a 9-5 loss Tuesday night at Cleveland in which he gave up seven runs in 4 1-3 innings. After that game, he told manager Mike Scioscia it was time to get himself healthy again. "I think I was doing a disservice to the team by going out there at less than a hundred per cent and trying to win ballgames," Haren said. "So I went and talked to Sosh and I said basically, rather than making 16 more starts not being a hundred per cent, Id rrather make 14 starts at a hundred per cent. Thomas Howard Jersey. If I was pitching for a team in last place, Id probably just finish off the year like this and get it taken care of at the end. But I think my last 14 starts or so are going to mean a lot to this team, and hopefully I can make a few more in October as well." Haren has been an uncommonly durable pitcher, leading the majors with 254 starts since his first full major league season in 2005. He has thrown at least 215 innings in each of the past seven seasons, the majors longest active streak. "Pride was probably a big reason why I didnt do this earlier," he said. "I wanted to just tough it out. I pride myself in taking the ball every fifth day regardless of how I feel. But the doctor told me today that I was pitching basically with just brute strength and throwing the ball, rather than using my body and pitching. "I knew a couple of days before my last start that there was a good chance I was going to give myself some time. I just tried to think ahead about whats best for the team, and maybe I would miss only one start, then the All-Star break and get slided into the back end of the rotation, it would be best for the team. Hopefully, everything goes go well from now until then." Haren expects to return to the rotation sometime during the teams four-game series at Detroit. "I think two weeks should be ample time," he said. "That would put me somewhere in that Detroit series, so Im targeting that. It would probably surprise me if it lasted any longer. Im not saying Im going to come back in 15 days and throw complete-game shutouts every five days. But Id just like to feel better going into a start." Los Angeles recalled right-handed reliever Kevin Jepsen to fill Harens roster spot. ' ' '
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