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MARSEILLE, France -- Like fellow underdog Iceland before it, Wales learned the hard lesson that a team needs more than just an abundance of guts and heart to succeed at the pointy end of a major tournament.An abundance of quality is needed, too. In the end, Wales simply didnt have enough of it against Portugal in the European Championship semifinal.Gareth Bale, Wales sole superstar and the worlds most expensive player, tried as hard as he could but lost his battle against his Real Madrid teammate, Cristiano Ronaldo.Here are 5 things to know about the semifinal that Portugal won 2-0 in Lyon:---TOUGH FINALPortugals road to the final has been anything but convincing. Wales is the first team it beat in regular time.Germany or France, depending on which of them wins their semifinal on Thursday, have far more quality than Wales. Having put itself two goals ahead, Portugal was able to control the second half against the Welsh. Wales manager Chris Coleman didnt have players coming off the bench who could make a difference.France and Germany do.Unless Ronaldo can do something special, Portugal could get found out in the final, just as Wales was in the semifinal.---RAMSEY MISSEDWales without midfielder Aaron Ramsey was like a car with a misfiring cylinder: It lacked oomph.Suspended from the semifinal for yellow cards in the previous rounds, the Arsenal midfielders absence deprived the Welsh of their most prolific passer and goal-creator at Euro 2016.And it showed.Without his attacking runs and slinky passes from midfield, Wales struggled to capitalize on the absence through injury of Portugals best defender, Real Madrids Pepe, or place any lasting pressure on his 34-year-old replacement at center back, Bruno Alves.Andy King, Ramseys replacement who plays for Premier League winners Leicester City, worked hard from box-to-box, taking turns with Liverpools Joe Allen to drop back deep but also haring forward when opportunities presented themselves.But they were too few and far between.---BALLON DORHad Bale carried Wales to its first ever major tournament final, having already won the Champions League again with Real Madrid this season, the 26-year-old could have become a real contender to break Lionel Messi and Ronaldos stranglehold on the world player of the year award that they have hogged without interruption since Kaka won in 2007.As historic as getting Wales to the semifinal was, it surely wont be enough.Ronaldo could now have a lock on Ballon dOr voters should he carry Portugal to victory in the final on Sunday.----RONALDO DELIVERSCometh the hour, cometh the three-time world player of the year.From the outset, Ronaldo looked determined to make his mark against Wales. His last -- and only -- major final with Portugal ended badly, with him in tears after the team lost to Greece at Euro 2004.He clearly wants a second chance.For a player of his stature, Ronaldo has had surprisingly few standout matches at his seven major tournaments with Portugal, including at Euro 2016.In the 2004 semifinals, he scored the opening goal against the Netherlands. At Euro 2012, he scored both goals in a 2-1 win again against the Netherlands to put Portugal in the quarterfinals and then scored the only goal in a 1-0 win against the Czech Republic to put Portugal in the semifinals.At Euro 2016 before Wednesday, hed scored twice in a 3-3 group stage draw with Hungary.---BALE DOESNTBale was guilty of trying too hard against Portugal. But that was also out of necessity.In trying to carve out goal-scoring opportunities and make things happen for Wales, the forward dropped back too often into midfield and that blunted some of his cutting edge.Had Wales had more players of his quality, Bale could have spent more time up front, waiting for crosses and passes like Ronaldo did. Instead, Bale tried doing a lot of the work himself.A trick obviously practiced by Wales on the training ground almost paid off in the 18th minute, when instead of hoofing a corner into the box, the ball was passed for Bale to run onto. But his shot was wide.Bale also repeatedly used his speed to test Portugals defenses, notably outsprinting Ronaldo in the first half to fire a cross from the right wing that King failed to reach.---John Leicester is an international sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jleicester(at)ap.org or follow him at http://twitter.com/johnleicester Cheap Air Max 90 Free Shipping . 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Halladay signed a one-day contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday that allowed the veteran right-hander to retire as a member of team with which he broke into the majors and spent the bulk of his distinguished 16-year career. TORONTO -- The Boston Bruins?have signed forward Brad Marchand?to an eight-year contract extension worth $49 million through the 2024-25 season, the team announced Monday.The deal has an annual average value of $6.125 million per season with a full no-movement clause for the first five years and a modified no-trade clause for the remainder of the deal, according to multiple reports and confirmed by ESPN.This is an extremely exciting day for me and my family, Marchand said. I would like to thank the Jacobs family, Cam Neely, Don Sweeney, Claude Julien, the coaching staff, my teammates and our fans for their continued support and belief in me. I have been a Bruin since the start of my pro career and there is no place I would rather play. I look forward to doing everything I can to help our team achieve success and bring the Stanley Cup back to Boston.Marchand, 28, played in 77 games last season, scoring 37 goals with 24 assists and a plus-minus of 21.The three-time All-Star has 153 goals and 136 assists in seven seasons, all with the Bruins.Marchand scored two goals Saturday to help Team Canada advance to the World Cup of Hockey final with a 5-3 victory over Russia.Bruins general manager Don Sweeney had said that signing Marchand was a priority, since he had one year remaining on his current deal.It was also important to get it done now because he is enjoying tremendous success playing alongside Sidney Crosby for Team Canada. Marchand has three goals andd two assists for five points in four games for Team Canada.dddddddddddd[Marchand is] an amazing player I really enjoy to play with, and weve created a lot of chemistry over the years. I was getting a little worried now with him playing with Sid, Bruins center?Patrice Bergeron said with a laugh. Im really happy its done and we can move forward for himself and also for us as a team. I cant say enough about him. Its well deserved and hes an amazing player.When asked recently about the possibility of signing elsewhere, Marchand said: Thats a long ways away, but theres a championship games here, we got to think about that first. But well deal with whatever needs to be dealt with down the road. But its a lot of fun playing with Sid, theres no question about that. But for now well keep that to here.Marchand was also motivated to get a deal done in Boston for the chance to play with Bergeron for the foreseeable future.Its pretty impressive the way hes improved, Bergeron said. Ive always thought he was an amazing player to play with, and the way hes handled himself on the ice night in and night out, hes always been first on pucks, working hard, competing and all that, I just think hes improved his game from one year to another. He got 37 goals last year, and it wasnt a fluke. Obviously, were seeing that right now. Its great to see. ' ' '