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lucylily123
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Dec 30 2012, 12:38 PM
Post #1
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- Posts:
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LONDON -- With the European Championship less than two weeks away, Spain showed it is in good shape to defend the title by beating Serbia 2-0 in its first warmup game on Saturday. Atlanta Falcons T-Shirts . It wasnt such a successful night for two more of the continents heavyweight sides, however, with a Germany team missing its Bayern Munich stars losing 5-3 in Switzerland and the Netherlands losing 2-1 to Bulgaria. Germany and the Netherlands are in the same Euro 2012 group, along with Portugal, which drew 0-0 with Macedonia, and Denmark, which was beaten 3-1 by Brazil. But Roy Hodgson began his reign as England manager with a 1-0 victory at Norway. The friendlies give Euro 2012 contenders a chance to assess their lineups just two weeks before the tournament starts in Poland and Ukraine. Adrian Lopez made a case for starting up front for the Spanish at the Euros in place of the injured David Villa by opening the scoring in the 64th minute on his international debut, before earning the penalty that was converted by Santi Cazorla 16 minutes from time. Adrian was one of six players introduced after the break by coach Vicente del Bosque, who was without his star names from Barcelona, and they helped turn the game the world champions way in St. Gallen, Switzerland. The Atletico Madrid striker finished off a quick counterattack by heading home Jesus Navas cross after the winger was released from a long ball by substitute Benat Etxebarria. Adrian -- the leading scorer in Spains win in the Under-21 European Championship last year -- was then felled by Branislav Ivanovic, allowing Cazorla to step up to score from the penalty. He has Fernando Torres, Fernando Llorente, Roberto Soldado and Alvaro Negredo to compete with for a spot in Del Bosques squad, which will be announced on Sunday, but the coach couldnt have failed to be impressed by the debutant. While Spain looks to have good backup for its leading players, the same maybe cant be said about Germany -- arguably the holders biggest rivals for the title at Euro 2012. Germany rested its Bayern players who were involved in the loss to Chelsea in last weekends Champions League final and was made to pay as Eren Derdiyok scored a hat trick in Basel. Stephan Lichtsteiner and Admir Mehmedi also scored for Switzerland, which failed to qualify for next months tournament, while Mats Hummels, Andre Schuerrle and substitute Marco Reus were the scorers for Germany. In Amsterdam, World Cup runner-up the Netherlands lacked its trademark fluency. Robin van Persie gave the Netherlands the lead on the stroke of halftime, running onto a pass over the Bulgaria defence by Wesley Sneijder and volleying home with his left foot for his 26th international goal. Bulgaria hit back shortly after the break through an Ivelin Popov penalty after Rafael van der Vaart was adjudged to have handled the ball in the area while attempting a sliding block. And substitute Ilian Micanski scored the winning header in injury time for Bulgaria. In Oslo, Ashley Young scored Englands only goal in the 9th after combining with Andy Carrolll. Cristiano Ronaldo started in attack for Portugal but he couldnt break down a packed Macedonia defence in Leiria, with the home fans ending up jeering their own players. Denmark is the other team in a tough Group B at the Euros and the Nordic team was swept aside 3-1 by Brazil, which was starting a four-match tour ahead of the London Olympics. Porto striker Hulk, who has been linked with a move to European champion Chelsea, scored two of Brazils goals while Nicklas Bendtner grabbed a late consolation for the Danes. In Dublin, Ireland beat Bosnia-Herzegovina thanks to Shane Longs second-half goal as it prepares for a first tournament appearance in 10 years. Greece, the 2004 European champion, prepared for another shot at the title with a 1-1 draw with Slovenia. Julio Jones Authentic Jersey . Paul led off the ninth inning with a pinch-hit triple and Ryan Hanigan followed with a single Sunday as Cincinnati overcame three more errors to pull out a 5-4 win over the Chicago Cubs. Matt Ryan Jersey . So did manager Terry Collins. The Mets were roughing up on one of their fiercest rivals and a boisterous crowd at Citi Field was enjoying every minute. http://www.shopnflfalconsgears.com/nike-asante-samuel-pink-jersey/ . -- Michael Giugovaz made 40 saves to lead the Peterborough Petes to a 3-1 win over the Niagara IceDogs in the lone Ontario Hockey League game Tuesday. Tony Gonzalez Red Jersey . Youkilis hit a game-ending RBI single in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Chicago White Sox a 5-4 win over the Texas Rangers on Wednesday night. Julio Jones Black Jersey . The South Korean player had a 13-under 200 total after opening with rounds of 65 and 67 at Kuala Lumpur Golf and Country Club. "Actually, honestly, I dont like leading, that feeling.While many fans of the Toronto Maple Leafs are hoping the team can land a big centre, head coach Randy Carlyle believes they may have already done that. Carlyle told The Toronto Sun on Thursday that he is interested in seeing forward James van Riemsdyk - acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers last month - try to work down the middle. "Hes a big man and were going to try him playing in the middle for us," Carlyle told The Sun on Thursday. "Its always nice to have a 6-foot-plus centre in your top six. We feel there is an opportunity to explore him at centre. "I have talked to him and he has asked for some video work." Van Riemsdyk, whho came to Toronto in a swap for defenceman Luke Schenn, played at centre with the University of New Hampshire and at the U. Roddy White Camo Jersey. . Under-18 Program but was put on the wing in three seasons with the Flyers. Should van Riemsdyk be put at centre when training camp opens, he would join fellow newcomer Jay McClement, Tim Connolly, Mikhail Grabovski, Tyler Bozak, David Steckel and Matthew Lombardi in a competition for spots. Van Riemsdyk, who missed significant time last season with a broken left foot, had 11 goals and 13 assists in 43 games for the Flyers. Files from The Toronto Sun were used for this report. ' ' '
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