Only for Guild Members » Also on Tuesdays schedule will be seventh

If youve been revelling in the glorious feast of World Cup action like me, you will have noticed a distinct difference between the tempo and excitement of the round robin phase versus the careful and more conservative approaches in the knockout rounds. Chris Archer Jersey . The group stage of Brazil 2014 may never be equalled in terms of entertainment and production. Goals were flying in, teams were in the mood to attack and managers seemingly took the shackles off their players. Not unlike the pre-World Cup Vancouver Whitecaps who scored nine goals in three games leading into the MLS-imposed break. But once the knockout stages in Brazil took hold and the stakes became infinitely higher, the games changed. No less drama, but certainly less expanse, far less risk and fewer goals. Saturday night at BC Place, the Whitecaps took an early lead, did create some opportunities to stretch their advantage, but ultimately provided a performance that felt very World Cup quarterfinals-like. Germany scored first against France, Argentina tallied in the eighth minute against Belgium and Brazil got an early goal against Columbia. We could be forgiven for thinking those goals would have opened the games up and led to more of what we saw in the group stage. Instead, those matches became very well managed. Brazil did get the benefit of a David Luiz howitzer to briefly make it comfortable for the hosts, but the hallmarks of those three quarterfinals were very similar; the team with the lead wasnt going to be left exposed and wasnt going to give away possession cheaply. At BC Place, Erik Hurtado had a chance to seal the game thanks to a brilliantly weighted, defence-splitting ball from the best player on the park, Pedro Morales, but beyond that, the Whitecaps looked like a side that was committed to keeping what they had, rather than adding to it. And the stakes were certainly higher than during the World Cup break run-in. Winless in three and coming off two listless performances, Vancouver needed maximum points at home and especially against a Western rival that was missing arguably its best five players. After the season opening New York victory, coach Carl Robinson shared one particular philosophy during his post game address; the best way to kill off a game is to keep attacking, which on that occasion, Vancouver did. But instead of introducing a fresh-legged Darren Mattocks to run at a tired Seattle back line Saturday, Robinson took the advice of his assistants (Gordon Forrest and Martyn Pert) and subbed Nigel Reo-Coker on for Kekuta Manneh at the 68-minute mark. The savvy Englishman rarely gave the ball away after that. The Whitecaps, as a group, strung minutes-worth of passes together, all on the heels of Seattles best spell of the match. It was a mature coaching decision that changed the momentum back in Vancouvers favour and it was a sage, professionally executed performance by the younger team on the field. While the Whitecaps didnt reach a World Cup semi-final with the win, they did end a mini-slide, improved their league and Cascadia Cup prospects, while proving to themselves that theyre capable of grinding out a result. Something tells me theyll need the same nerve this Saturday when they host a Chivas USA side thats won three in a row, and is starting to appear in the Western Conference rearview mirror...a tasty appetizer to the World Cup final a day later. Wilson Ramos Jersey . Got Jacks? Pulling off a comeback for the ages, feisty Stephen F. Austin became the latest No. 12 seed to pull off an upset, tying the game on Desmond Haymons did-that-just-happen four-point play with 3. Blake Snell Jersey . The Toronto Argonauts running back hurt his left ankle during the teams practice Friday afternoon at Rogers Centre. http://www.officialraysgearshop.com/Rays-Matt-Duffy-Kids-Jersey/ . After deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league would consider pulling out of Sochi if something "significant" happens before players arrive, those set to participate are trying not to worry about that scenario.Wimbledon, England (SportsNetwork.com) - Australian Open champion Li Na, former Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova and former world No. 1s Victoria Azarenka and Venus Williams posted first-round victories on opening day at The Championships, Wimbledon. The second-seeded Li bested Polands Paula Kania, making her WTA-level debut, 7-5, 6-2 on the famed Centre Court, while the sixth-seeded 2011 Wimbledon winner Kvitova cruised past fellow Czech Andrea Hlavackova 6-3, 6-0, and the eighth-seeded Azarenka handled 32-year-old Croat Mirjana Lucic-Baroni 6-3, 7-5 on No. 1 Court at the venerable All England Club. The 32-year-old Li has reached at least the semifinals at all of the majors except for Wimbledon, where shes a three-time quarterfinalist, including last year. Her second-round opponent will be Austrian Yvonne Meusburger. The left-handed Kvitova has reached at least the quarterfinals here four straight years and will meet German Mona Barthel on Wednesday. Azarenka fought to get past the 1999 Wimbledon semifinalist Lucic-Baroni, winning on her fifth match point. The Belarusian struggled with her serve, with eight double faults, but made the most of her opponents 29 unforced errors. The two-time Australian Open champion just returned to tour action last week after being sidelined with a foot injury for three months. Monday marked her first match win since the fourth round at the Aussie Open in January. Azarenka reached back-to-back Wimbledon semifinals before pulling out of her second-round match here a year ago because of an injury. Next up for the Belarusian star will be Serbian Bojana Jovanovski. The 30th-seeded Williams picked up her first Wimbledon win in three years with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory over Spaniard Maria-Teresa Torro-Flor. The 34-year-old Williams owns seven major tiles, including five Wimbledon crowns, and shes now 72-11 lifetime at Wimbledon. Her second-round opponent will be Japans Kurumi Nara. Tenth-seeded Australian Open runner-up Dominika Cibulkova, of Slovakia, whipped Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak 6-1, 6-2 on Centre Court; 12th-seeded Italian Flavia Pennetta drubbed Slovak Jana Cepelova 6-2, 6-3; oft-injured former U.S. Open semifinalist Yanina Wickmayer, who has been working with fellow Belgian and former world No. 1 star Kim Clijsters, dropped 17th-seeded former U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur 6-3, 6-4; and Russian Maria Kirilenko doused 18th-seeded American Sloane Stephens 6-2, 7-6 (8-6). Stosur struggles mightily on grass, having suffeered six first-round exits in 12 trips to the All England Club and never advanced beyond the third round here. Tampa Bay Rays Jerseys. Stephens saved five match points against Kirilenko before play went to a second-set tiebreak. Stephens had reached at least the fourth round at the last six Grand Slam events, including a run into the Wimbledon quarterfinals last year. Stephens is still a solid 31-13 at the majors, but a pedestrian 55-54 everywhere else. In other action involving seeds, No. 22 Russian Ekaterina Makarova overcame 43-year-old Japanese Kimiko Date-Krumm 3-6, 6-4, 7-5; No. 23 Czech Lucie Safarova edged out German Julia Goerges 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (7-3); hot American Coco Vandeweghe converted on her 13th match point in taking out No. 27 Spaniard Garbine Muguruza 6-3, 3-6, 7-5; and No. 32 Russian Elena Vesnina took care of Austrias Patricia Mayr-Achleitner 6-0, 6-4. Vandeweghe corralled her first-ever WTA title, on grass, in The Netherlands just two days ago. Muguruza shocked Serena Williams in the second round at the French Open last month. Several other women advanced, including Meusburger, Jovanovski, Barthel, Nara, Aussie Casey Dellacqua, and American Lauren Davis. Rain forced the suspension of some action, as fourth-seeded 2012 Wimbledon runner-up Agnieszka Radwanska was leading Andreea Mitu 4-2; 14th-seeded former French Open runner-up Sara Errani was tied with Frances Caroline Garcia 6-2, 6-7 (3-7); 16th-seeded former world No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki was ahead of Israeli Shahar Peer 6-3, 2-0; and Portuguese Michelle Larcher de Brito was leading 28th-seeded two-time Grand Slam winner Svetlana Kuznetsova 2-1 when rain started to fall just after 8 p.m. local time. The current world No. 1 Serena will open her fortnight Tuesday against Georgian Anna Tatishvili. The American great is a 17-time major champion, including five Wimbledon championships, just like her older sister, Venus. Meanwhile, third-seeded French Open runner-up Simona Halep will face Brazils Teliana Pereira and fifth-seeded Roland Garros champion Maria Sharapova will take on Brit Samantha Murray. Sharapova captured her lone Wimbledon title by upsetting Serena in the final here 10 years ago. Also on Tuesdays schedule will be seventh-seeded former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic, 11th-seeded former top-ranked star Ana Ivanovic, 13th-seeded two- time 2014 Grand Slam semifinalist Eugenie Bouchard, and 19th-seeded Sabine Lisicki, who was last years Wimbledon runner-up to since-retired Marion Bartoli. Cheap Baltimore Orioles Gear Cheap Boston Red Sox Gear Cheap New York Yankees Gear Cheap Tampa Bay Rays Gear Cheap Toronto Blue Jays Gear Cheap Chicago Cubs Gear Cheap Milwaukee Brewers Gear Cheap Pittsburgh Pirates Gear Cheap Cincinnati Reds Gear Cheap St. Louis Cardinals Gear Cheap Arizona Diamondbacks Gear Cheap Colorado Rockies Gear Cheap Los Angeles Dodgers Gear Cheap San Diego Padres Gear Cheap San Francisco Giants Gear ' ' '