Dein erstes Forum » games since Jose Castillo in May 200

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France -- Germany coach Joachim Loew is drawing on the experience of routing World Cup host Brazil 7-1 two years ago as he prepares for Thursdays European Championship semifinal against France.Germany went on to win the 2014 World Cup after embarrassing Brazil in the semifinal in Belo Horizonte and Loew is clearly relishing the adversity of facing another host nation bidding to reach the final.Super, when its like this. No really, its a motivation, Loew said from his teams tournament base on Monday. In Brazil, I think it was exactly the same for the semifinal. The whole land of 200 million was standing behind this team. But we came through fine and now well come through fine.Expectations in France are surging after the side impressed in defeating Iceland 5-2 on Sunday to reach the semifinal.Loew said the home side will have fanatical support behind them in Marseille and that the team will be high on confidence after growing into the tournament by scoring decisive goals late in games.Two teams with outstanding individuals are playing, teams with a clear mindset, said Loew, who had identified France as one of the main favorites before the tournament.They are different from the Italians, not quite so defensive. They have strong players going forward, (Paul) Pogba from midfield, (Blaise) Matuidi. So its a game of two teams at eye-level. Its super that there are such games. I love these knockout games against such strong opponents.Of Frances three major titles, two were won on home soil -- the European Championship in 1984 and World Cup in 1998. France followed up by winning Euro 2000 as world champion, a feat Germany is now trying to match despite the absence of several key players for Thursdays match.Midfielder Sami Khedira is out with a left groin injury and fellow midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger is doubtful after taking a knock to his right knee in Saturdays quarterfinal win over Italy.That 6-5 win on penalties came at a cost for Loews side. Striker Mario Gomez was ruled out for the rest of the tournament after tearing a muscle in his right thigh, while defender Mats Hummels was booked and will be suspended against France.The unfortunate Gomez, who missed the World Cup win through injury-induced poor form, celebrates his 31st birthday on the day of the final.Borussia Dortmunds Julian Weigl or Liverpools Emre Can could step in if Schweinsteiger, whose season was disrupted by two serious injuries to the same knee, doesnt recover in time.Well have to find solutions, said Loew, who added that the win over Italy had taken a physical and mental toll on his side.Mario Goetze could return for Gomez, or Thomas Mueller could move inside to lead the line despite his puzzling failure to score in 10 games over two European Championships. Mueller even missed a penalty in the shootout against Italy.Loew said he wasnt worried about the forward who contributed nine of Germanys 24 goals in qualifying.The penalty would have done him good, but I know Thomas for a long time and he doesnt let such things get to him. He says the important thing is that the team wins and he runs a huge amount for the team. Ive the feeling that hell score when it really matters.Loew has helped Germany to reach six consecutive semifinals at major tournaments. Now the task is to reach a second successive final.We have respect for the French, but we know what we have to do, regardless of our personnel issues. Im looking forward to the game like I was against Italy, Loew said. Cheap New Balance Shoes China .C. -- Rodney Hood connected from all over the court while freshman Jabari Parker was busy swatting shots and scoring in transition. Discount New Balance Shoes . Philadelphia is 2-0 against the Senators this season and scored five goals in each victory. The Flyers recorded a 5-0 win in Ottawa on Nov. 12 and then earned a 5-2 home decision on Nov. 19. The Flyers have claimed three straight and four of the last five encounters with the Sens overall and Philly has won two in a row and three of its past four tests in Canadas capital city. http://www.newbalancediscount.com/ . Pirlo limped out of Sundays 1-0 win over Udinese after just 13 minutes. Juventus says Pirlo underwent tests on Monday which revealed he has "a second-degree lesion to the collateral medial ligament in his right knee. New Balance Shoes Cheap Online . PETERSBURG, Fla. Wholesale New Balance Shoes . The Swede became the first golfer to win the PGA Tours FedEx Cup and European Tours Race to Dubai in the same season. "It is still taking a little time to sink in what Ive achieved this week as was the case when I won the FedEx Cup but then it just kept getting better and better as the days went on and I am sure this will be the same," he said.ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Pittsburgh closer Jason Grilli and Los Angeles Angels counterpart Ernesto Frieri each gave up three runs Sunday. The final outcome came down to one pitch that Mike Trout missed. Pedro Alvarez homered for the fourth straight game, Starling Marte capped a three-run ninth inning with a tying single, and the Pirates added four more in the 10th to beat the Angels 10-9 and complete their first interleague sweep on the road. Trailing 6-3 entering the ninth, the Pirates pulled even against Frieri -- his second blown save in 19 attempts. The right-hander issued a leadoff walk to Neil Walker, ending his string of 22 consecutive batters retired, then gave up a single to Gaby Sanchez and a one-out grounder by pinch-hitter Andrew McCutchen that scored Walker. Next came a pinch-hit RBI double by Russell Martin over the head of rookie left fielder J.B. Shuck, followed by Martes clutch hit. "I got to hang out in the air conditioning in here for about six innings, so I felt fresh when I got out there," Martin said with a grin. "But our guys battled back and had great ABs collectively, top to bottom, and it was fun to be a part of. We have no quit, thats for sure." Martin drove in the final run -- and ultimately the decisive one -- with an RBI single in the 10th. "Ernies been throwing the ball as well as anybody in the league," losing pitcher Kevin Jepsen said. "Anybody can have a rough game. When youre pitching in the back of the pen when the game is on the line, its just more magnified. He was one strike away a couple of times, so it wasnt like he had no shot. Sometimes thats how close you come. But Ernie is very resilient and hell be fine." Alvarez led off the 10th against Jepsen (0-2) with a double to centre field over Trouts head -- seven innings after Trout had shifted over from left after an injury to Peter Bourjos. A pair of one-out walks, one of them intentional to Walker, loaded the bases and brought up Travis Snider. He promptly lined a single to left that bounced over Shucks head for an error and all the way to the fence as all three runners scored. "When those guys get guys on base, they take advantage. Thats why theyre playing as well as they are," Jepsen said. Grilli closed it out despite giving up five hits, including RBI singles by Alberto Callaspo, Shuck and Brendan Harris. The right-hander finally ended it by striking out Trout with the potential tying and winning runs at third and second. "We pushed all the chips in and got what we needed to get from our guys -- and at the end of the day, the gunslinger got it done," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. Mark Melancon (2-1) pitched a perfect inning for the win. Pittsburgh starter Charlie Morton was charged with six runs -- three earned -- and four hits through 5 2-3 innings in his third start of the season. The right-hander missed the first 65 games while recovering from elbow surgery last June. Pirates catcher Tony Sanchez, the teams No. 1 draft pick in 2009, went 1 for 4 in his major league debut -- as the designated hitter. His first time up he hit a ground-rule double against Joe Blanton that struck the 18-foot wall in right field halfway up and became wedged at the bottom of the out-of-town scoreboard.dddddddddddd The ball remained there until the end of the half-inning, when a maintenance worker climbed a ladder and plucked it out before giving it to Pirates right fielder Garrett Jones. "When I walked up to the plate, my legs started shaking uncontrollably," Sanchez said. "I told (Angels catcher Chris) Iannetta: I cant stop shaking. I dont know what to do. And he said: Just breathe. Just breathe. So I took one step out of the box and took a breath, but that didnt help. Then Blanton threw me a ball that I could handle. It felt really good off the bat, and I could not stop smiling. I didnt think I was going to get the ball back. I thought it was going to be stuck up there." Blanton, who is 1-10, allowed three runs -- one earned -- and six hits in 7 1-3 innings. The right-hander struck out six, walked none and retired his last 14 batters. His only victory was May 23 during the Angels four-game sweep in Kansas City. "Sometimes you have those years," Blanton said. "Baseball is a crazy game sometimes, and youve just got to keep executing out there and doing your work between starts and dont give up no matter what happens." For the third straight game, Alvarez homered his first time up after tagging Jered Weaver on Friday and Jerome Williams on Saturday. He is hitting .272 with 19 homers and 50 RBIs over his last 55 games, after batting .089 with one RBI in his first 13 games. "Hes got his confidence back," Martin said. The Angels pulled ahead 5-1 in the second, parlaying errors by second baseman Walker and third baseman Alvarez into five runs -- three of which were unearned. Pittsburgh came back with a pair of unearned runs in the third. Bourjos hurt his left thumb on a takeout slide and came out of the game. Newly acquired Brad Hawpe entered in right as the Angeles shuffled outfielders and then drove in the teams sixth run with a two-out single in the fourth. NOTES: Albert Pujols grounded out with the bases loaded, making him 1 for 9 in those situations this season. ... Blanton is 0-12 with six no-decisions in the last 18 games in which hes allowed a home run. ... Pittsburghs only other three-game sweeps against AL clubs were at home against the White Sox in 1997, the Indians in 2001, and the Royals last June. ... Sanchez is one of eight first-round picks on Pittsburghs 25-man roster. ... Angel Stadium was the site of Mortons major league debut on June 14, 2008, when he pitched for Atlanta and won 9-4. ... Pirates RHP Duke Welker made his big league debut with a perfect eighth inning. ... A home run Tuesday night in Seattle would make Alvarez the first Pirates batter to connect in five straight games since Jose Castillo in May 2006. Alvarez moved up from fifth to third in the batting order with McCutchen and Martin out of the starting lineup. ... Pirates LHP Jeff Locke puts his NL-best 2.01 ERA on the line in the opener of the two-game set at Safeco Field. Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '