RECIFE, Brazil -- Germanys Thomas Mueller stayed on track to retain his Golden Boot title at the World Cup by scoring his fourth goal of the tournament in the 1-0 victory over the United States.
Mike McGlinchey Super Bowl Jersey . U.S. coach Juergen Klinsmann wasnt too upset. His team also qualified for the knockout stage after Portugal beat Ghana 2-1 in the other final match in Group G, which saw both teams eliminated. Mueller scored five times in South Africa in 2010 and scored his fourth on Friday in a rain-soaked Recife. With two wins and a draw, Germany topped the group with seven points, while the U.S. progressed with four. Portugal also finished with four points but the U.S. had a better goal difference. "We controlled the match and did not allow any chances until late in the match," Germany coach Joachim Loew said. "We failed to score a second goal that would have settled the issue earlier." Mueller scored in the 55th minute with a side-footed shot from the edge of the area as tropical downpours drenched the Arena Pernambuco. He now has nine goals in nine World Cup games. "We clearly dominated the match and we played not a bad game against a top-fit American team," Mueller said. "I finally scored a pretty goal. I manage it every now and then. We still have big targets ahead of us." Germany, a three-time champion, now travels to Porto Alegre to play the runner-up in Group H on June 30. Both teams knew before kickoff that a draw would see them through, but neither held back. The game pitted Loew against his good friend and predecessor Juergen Klinsmann, now in charge of the U.S. team. The two coaches smiled as they shook hands and patted each other on the shoulder after the match. Klinsmann warmly embraced the German players/ Germanys goal came after a corner by Mesut Ozil. U.S. goalkeeper Tim Howard did well to punch out a header by Per Mertesacker but pushed the ball into the path of Mueller who rifled a shot inside the far post from the edge of the penalty area. Mueller played despite needing five stiches to close a cut above his right eye sustained in the 2-2 draw with Ghana on Saturday and still visible five days later. The United States had a chance to level the match in stoppage time, but Alejandro Bedoyas low shot inside the box was swept away by the sliding Mario Goetze, a late substitute. The Americans won a corner but Clint Dempseys header at the far post went high. Loew reshuffled his lineup by bringing in forward Lukas Podolski for Goetze and midfielder Sebastian Schweinsteiger for Sami Khedira. Center back Geoff Cameron was replaced in the U.S. lineup by Omar Gonzalez. There were many empty seats in the Arena Pernambuco when the match kicked off but fans streamed in during the first half, apparently delayed by traffic jams as torrential rain flooded parts of this northeastern Brazilian city. Germany was quicker off the mark and Howard intercepted a low cross from Podolski before Michael Bradley made a good clearance and Gonzalez defended well to deny Mueller a shot from close range. Howards 103th cap was a record for a U.S. goalkeeper and he did well to stop Ozils shot in the 35th minute. Graham Zusi had the first good shot for the U.S. but his effort in the 22nd went high. Referee Ravshan Irmatov of Uzbekistan collided accidentally with Jermaine Jones in the 28th and the American midfielder went down hard but got up. The referee shrugged off the challenge. Miroslav Klose came on for Podolski at the start of the second half but failed to score and grab sole possession of the World Cup scoring record that he now shares with Brazils Ronaldo at 15. Ozil beat Gonzalez to a cross at the start of the second half but sent his header high, while Klose connected with a cross from Schweinsteiger but was off balance and did not get off a clean header. Lineups: United States: Tim Howard; Fabian Johnson, Omar Gonzalez, Matt Besler, DaMarcus Beasley; Jermaine Jones, Kyle Beckerman, Graham Zusi (DeAndre Yedlin, 84th), Michael Bradley, Brad Davis (Alejandro Bedoya, 59th); Clint Dempsey. Germany: Manuel Neuer; Jerome Boateng, Per Mertesacker, Mats Hummels, Benedikt Hoewedes; Philipp Lahm, Bastian Schweinsteiger (Mario Goetze, 76th), Mesut Ozil (Andre Schuerrle, 89th), Toni Kroos; Lukas Podolski (Miroslav Klose, 46th), Thomas Mueller.
Richie James Super Bowl Jersey . The Calgary Stampeders running back received the West Division nomination for the CFLs top individual award Thursday in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada and leagues eight head coaches.
Nick Bosa Super Bowl Jersey . 4 jersey of former defenseman Rob Blake this coming season. The ceremony will take place prior to the Kings January 17 game against Anaheim.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at
cmonref@tsn.ca. Hey Kerry, I was watching the NBC coverage of Sundays Canadiens-Rangers game, and Mike Milbury and Ed Olczyk went off on the Canadiens for over-selling and embellishing to sell calls. In the third period, Carl Hagelin hit Alexei Emelin with a high stick and Emelin went down like a ton of bricks. Embellishment? Probably, but it didnt change the fact that it was a high stick. Did the sell by Emelin negate the high stick and the official basically said, "play on?" Or was this just a missed call? Morgan,New York, NY Morgan: I believe the play that you are referring to occurred with 8:24 remaining in the third period and the score tied at two. Carl Hagelin attempted a dump-in shot from the centre red line. Alexei Emelin lowered his posture to execute an active stick sweep check and contacted the puck as Hegelin was in the act of shooting. Emelin was legitimately struck in the mouth area with the blade of Haglins stick on the follow-through of an attempted shot. Emelins reaction to rotate his body away from the stick contact, then fall and grab his mouth was reasonable and not an effort to embellish and draw a foul. A player is permitted accidental contact on an opponent if committed in a normal windup or follow through of a shooting motion. No penalty was warranted to Hagelin on this play. I concur with Mike Milbury and Eddie Os analysis with regard to obvious embellishment committed by PK Subban and Tomas Plekanec in the second period of Sunday nights game. Even though the stick of Rick Nash did catch Subban in the face the upward launch with both legs was not a natural reaction or fall from being struck in that manner. Plekanecs theatrical performance was the absolute worst when he threw his head back and grabbed at his face after the flat blade of Brian Boyles stick slapped nothing but shoulder pad! Even though Boyles stick did not quite fit the criteria of a "high stick (above the height of the opponents shoulders) it was used in a careless manner and could certainly result in a slashing pennalty.
Marquise Goodwin Super Bowl Jersey. Plekanecs embellishment was also worthy of a penalty that should have resulted in an on-ice numerical strength of four aside. Given Plekanecs blatant overreaction it could even been deemed a stand alone embellishment penalty if the ref wanted to send a clear message but I doubt he would receive much support. Power plays and special teams can often be the difference in these games as we have seen. Once the referees are fooled into calling a penalty or fail to respond to efforts of embellishment on a play the floodgates can open up without so much as a splash on the frozen pond. In the first round of these current playoffs there were six diving/embellishment penalties assessed. None were a stand alone diving penalty but deemed to be embellishment that was committed following the initial infraction. The first two embellishment penalties were assessed in Game 2 against Mats Zuccarello and Derek Dorsett of the Rangers in their 4-2 loss to the Flyers. The Rangers management was not impressed with those penalty calls and expressed their displeasure to the series supervisor. I wonder if the Ranger brass is singing the same tune after Sunday night. Since joining TSN in January of 2011 I have stated on numerous occasions the need to clean up the unmanly act of diving. When uncalled, embellishment rewards cheaters. I am often asked how the ref can call both an initial penalty and a dive; isnt it one or the other? In reality, embellishment is most often committed after a player has been legitimately fouled. When that occurs both illegal acts should be penalized. Three years ago I suggested that a double minor penalty be assessed to the diver when he was legitimately fouled and the referee was calling a minor penalty. It would take some guts for the refs to impose a strict standard on a call like this but the game would be better for it. The referees also have to know their calls would receive the full support of management. Until players that embellish are penalized by the referees and held accountable by the League with published fines and suspensions as prescribed in rule 64.3, this illegal act will continue to plague the game. Its time for everyone involved to man-up. ' ' '