RECIFE, Brazil -- Costa Rica has turned the table on the teams World Cup expectations. Or at least on everyone elses expectations. Costa Rica followed up its surprise win over Uruguay with another World Cup stunner on Friday, beating four-time champion Italy 1-0 to secure a spot in the next round and eliminate England in the process. After entering the tournament as an expected underdog in a group featuring three former world champions, Costa Rica is now on top. "Maybe there are a lot of people who didnt have faith in us because we were in the Group of Death, said Costa Rica captain Bryan Ruiz, who scored the key goal. "But the other guys are the ones who are dead and were going to the next round." Ruiz gave his side the lead in the 44th minute, heading in off the underside of the crossbar following a cross from Junior Diaz. Goal-line technology was used to show that the ball bounced down and in after hitting the bar. There was a frenetic end to the first half, as moments before Ruizs goal Costa Rica had a penalty appeal waved away when striker Joel Campbell was bundled over by Giorgio Chiellini. Costa Rica leads Group D with six points, while Italy and Uruguay have three each before Tuesdays showdown. England has zero points after losing to Italy and Uruguay. Italy (1934, 1938, 1982, 2006), Uruguay (1930, 1950) and England (1966) have won a combined seven World Cups. Costa Ricas only other appearance in the knockout phase came in its World Cup debut in 1990, when it beat Sweden and Scotland under experienced coach Bora Milutinovic before ultimately getting eliminated by Czechoslovakia. "Those who havent supported us may believe in us right now," Ruiz said. Italy, meanwhile, can still advance with a win or even a draw with Uruguay, since it leads on goal difference which is the first qualifying criteria. "We gave our all. They did well to block every pass," Italy coach Cesare Prandelli said. "Theres no worry now. We just need to regain our energy." It was exactly 24 years ago to the day that Costa Rica beat Sweden 2-1 to advance at the tournament in Italy. "There are no more Cinderellas in football, especially in a competition like the World Cup," Italy captain Gianluigi Buffon said. It marked the fourth consecutive World Cup in which Italy failed to win its second match, although only in 2010 did the Azzurri not advance. "Well play a great match against Uruguay," second-half Italy substitute Antonio Cassano said. "Im convinced we will. ... If we regain our energy we can (advance) comfortably." While it was nowhere near as hot as Italy feared at the Arena Pernambuco -- 29 C (84 F) and 70 per cent humidity according to FIFA -- the Azzurri still struggled to keep up with the speedy Ticos for long stretches. Costa Rica coach Jorge Luis Pinto lined up five defenders but his squad was able advance forward with one swift, sweeping movement -- just like in the 3-1 win over Uruguay. "We did what we needed to do, we took away the game from the Italians," Pinto said. The Azzurri hardly threatened until Mario Balotelli had chances in the 31st and 33rd minutes. First, Balotelli was set up with a long, vertical pass from Andrea Pirlo and tried to lift the bouncing ball over the charging goalkeepers head but missed the target. Then the Azzurri forward had an effort from beyond the area stopped by goalkeeper Keylor Navas. "If we had scored goals on those two chances for Balotelli, the match would have changed," Prandelli said. Costa Rica kept its poise after the threats from Balotelli and in the 36th minute Buffon had to make a diving save to stop a shot from midfielder Christian Bolanos. In the 43rd, Chiellini made an uncharacteristic error -- gifting the ball to Campbell near midfield -- and then raced back and committed what appeared to be a clear foul. However, Chilean referee Enrique Osses motioned to play on. Prandelli attempted to stir things up by adding Cassano, Lorenzo Insigne and Alessio Cerci in the second half, providing the Azzurri with four forwards instead of just Balotelli, but the 2006 winners rarely came close to equalizing. "Its a deserved defeat," Prandelli said. "They were much more aggressive than us. They kept coming constantly and we werent able to stop them." ------ Italy: Gianluigi Buffon, Ignazio Abate, Andrea Barzagli, Giorgio Chiellini, Matteo Darmian, Daniele De Rossi, Antonio Candreva (Lorenzo Insigne, 57), Thiago Motta (Antonio Cassano, 46), Andrea Pirlo, Claudio Marchisio (Alessio Cerci, 69), Mario Balotelli. Costa Rica: Keylor Navas, Giancarlo Gonzalez, Michael Umana, Celso Borges, Oscar Duarte, Christian Bolanos, Joel Campbell (Marcos Urena, 74), Bryan Ruiz (Randall Brenes, 81), Junior Diaz, Cristian Gamboa, Yeltsin Tejeda (Jose Cubero, 67).
Cody Kessler Jersey .J. -- Rampage Jackson scowled, howled, then bellowed to the crowd: "Im back! Im back!" With rebuilt knees and a new promotion, Jackson might have one more act left in MMA.
Myles Garrett Jersey . Patrik Bartosak turned away 50-of-52 shots for the Rebels (28-26-4), who halted their losing streak at seven games. Trailing 2-1 after 40 minutes of play, Feser forced overtime with his second goal of the game at 5:35 of the third period.
http://www.footballbrownsnflprostore.co ... rsey/.Pete Morelli said the back judge threw a flag on Cowboys linebacker Anthony Hitchens on a pass to Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew in Dallas 24-20 wild-card win Sunday. But the head linesman said there wasnt enough contact and that Hitchens was face-guarding, which isnt a penalty in the NFL.
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Ibraheim Campbell Jersey .com) - The Oakland Athletics needed to rely on a lot of young pitchers to win an American League West title this season.Cleveland, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - Brian Hoyer threw two interceptions for the first time this season, but his two second-half touchdown passes helped the Cleveland Browns edge the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 22-17. Hoyer passed for a season-high 300 yards on 21-of-34 efficiency for Cleveland (5-3), which entered November above .500 for the first time since 2007. Terrance West and Taylor Gabriel each had a touchdown grab. Hoyer, who beat out first-round draft pick Johnny Manziel for the starting quarterback position during training camp, improved to 8-3 as a starter with Cleveland. Mike Glennon went 17-for-33 for 260 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions for the Bucs (1-7), who have lost four straight games. Three of those losses came by six points or less. The two picks in the first half were not good at all, said Glennon. Should have been potentially two touchdowns. Theyre throws that I need to make. Mike Evans racked up seven catches for 124 yards and two touchdowns and Bobby Rainey gained 121 yards from scrimmage in defeat. Trailing 17-16, Clevelands special teams came up with a huge play early in the fourth quarter. Craig Robertson flew in to get a fingertip on Michael Koenens punt. KWaun Williams pounced on the short kick at the 35, setting Hoyer and the offense up with terrific field position. They took advantage. Two plays into the drive, Gabriel put a double move on Alterraun Verner and Hoyer hit him in stride for a 34-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion failed, and the lead was five. After punts both ways, Glennon got the ball back with 2:37 to play and 77 yards to go. The drive started well, with Evans making consecutive catches for 31 and nine yards. After the two-minute warning, Glennon misfired twice to set up 4th-and-1. Evans then caught a pass for nine yards and a first down, but was flagged for offensive pass interference. Glennon then dropped back on 4th-and-11 and looked for rookie tight end Austin Sefarian-Jenkins, but the ball was thrown too far out in front and fell incomplete. The Browns were able to run out the remaining 1:39. Earlier, Hoyer connected with Andrew Hawkins for 20 yards early in Clevelands first ddrive, then fired a strike to Travis Benjamin for 31 yards on 3rd- and-17.dddddddddddd The drive stalled at the 31, and Billy Cundiff opened the scoring with a 49-yard field goal. Raineys 34-yard reception on a dump off led to Patrick Murrays second field goal try. After his first kick was blocked on the games first possession, Murray got off a 55-yarder that was on line, but missed short by less than a yard. Late in the first, Glennon looked deep to Evans, but Joe Haden deflected the pass and Donte Whitner picked it off. Whitner saw plenty of green in front of him and picked up blocking downfield, returning the interception 54 yards to the Tampa Bay 21. Hoyer threw across his body on the first play of Clevelands drive to a wide open Ben Tate, who caught it while falling out-of-bounds at the five. Tate was then stood up twice on goal-line runs and Hoyer was sacked on third down, as the Browns had to settle for another Cundiff field goal. Rainey keyed an 8-play, 80-yard drive afterward, as the Bucs finally entered the scoring column. He gained 44 yards on five carries, and Glennon found Evans for a 24-yard touchdown to put the Buccaneers in front. Murray hit from 40 yards away late in the half to extend the lead, and Cundiff beat the halftime buzzer with a 43-yard kick, as the Browns went to the break down 10-9. Cleveland burned nearly six minutes off the clock on the first series out of halftime, with West hauling in a 2-yard touchdown pass from Hoyer to cap the 11-play trek. Evans second touchdown catch restored Tampas lead. After Spencer Lanning punted out of his own end zone to give the Bucs possession at the Cleveland 45, Glennon found Vincent Jackson for 15 yards to move the sticks. Two plays later, Evans found the end zone for another 24-yard score and a 17-16 edge. Game Notes The Browns only needed eight games to pass their win total from last season ... Hoyer is 6-1 as a starter at home ... Earlier this week, Tampa Bay signed DT Gerald McCoy to a seven-year, $98 million contract and traded safety Mark Barron to the Rams for a two 2015 draft picks (4th and 6th) ... The Bucs were 0-for-2 in the red zone.
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