Dein erstes Forum » Costa Rica has turned the table on the teams

INDIANAPOLIS -- Canadian driver Alex Tagliani has mixed feelings about replacing three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Dario Franchitti in the Oct. Kevin Walter Jersey Online . 19 season-ending IndyCar race at Fontana. He gets his shot to drive for one of the top teams in the series. But it took an injury for Tagliani to get the seat. Franchitti remained hospitalized Wednesday with two fractured vertebrae, a broken ankle and a concussion suffered in a last-lap accident Sunday at the Grand Prix of Houston. "You get the ride knowing one of your friends has been injured, and thats hard," Tagliani said Wednesday. "The good thing and the positive thing is Dario is fine and we exchanged emails, and his emails were positive and had a good vibe and it puts you at ease that he is in a good spirit after such a horrible crash. "That being said, although its an atmosphere we all want to avoid, when you are called to replace the primary and you are in the mix of it, it is an amazing opportunity to go there on an important weekend." Tagliani, from Lachenaie, Que., will drive the No. 10 Honda for Target Chip Ganassi Racing at Auto Club Speedway in California alongside IndyCar championship leader Scott Dixon. The team will be trying to help Dixon win a third series championship. Dixon takes a 25-point lead over Helio Castroneves into the finale. Tagliani believes he got the call to replace Franchitti based on experience -- he has four previous starts at Fontana, with a pole, three top-10s and a career-best third-place finish -- and a willingness to sacrifice personal gain for the goal of the Ganassi team. He was let go by team owner Bryan Herta after 13 races this season, but said he wont use his shot in the Ganassi car to prove he deserves an IndyCar ride. "I have to stay very focused at the job ahead. If Dario was in the car, he would go out to support the team and help win the championship," Tagliani said. "If you look at it as a selfish way, you would go out and prove you still have it. But just that they have selected me, shows something." Tagliani said his job at Fontana will be to both help Dixon from a technical standpoint over the course of the race weekend, then to stand between Dixon and Castroneves on the track. "Ive got some experience around Fontana and knowing the cars, and it was very important to have a good chemistry aspect with the team," Tagliani said. "But there are two things they are trying to do here -- try to get a car that can steal points away and help get as many points for Scott." Since his release following the Toronto race in July, Tagliani has been running sports cars. He said its possible hell continue with sports cars next season when Grand-Am and ALMS are merged into one series, but Tagliani also is considering a return to IndyCar. "Ive had a blast in the sports car, I really enjoyed it," he said. "We were in the fight every single weekend and I think theres some opportunities there. Ive been in touch with some teams in IndyCar. It takes a lot of money to run IndyCar, so I am looking at sports car racing very seriously. But theres also been some IndyCar teams interested in me and it was quite flattering to have some calls." Jeff Francis Jersey Online . As TSN reported Thursday, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport is under intense pressure from the federal government to focus drug testing on athletes who compete in international events representing Canada. Since funding for the tests has been frozen and the cost of testing can eclipse $1,000 per test, university athletes in a number of sports are being tested less often. Garrett Wolfe Jersey Online . Rajne Soderberg, the director of the Stockholm Diamond League event, said in an email Friday that the ban still holds. Euromeetings, the organization representing Europes top track events, "will continue to recommend that members do not invite athletes who we believe cause disrepute to our meetings and our sport. https://www.cheapjerseysatwholesale.com/ed-allen-jersey-online/ .C. -- Colin Kaepernick raced into the end zone, then pretended to rip open his shirt with both hands imitating Cam Newtons Superman touchdown celebration.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 mattch against Uruguay," second-half Italy substitute Antonio Cassano said. Josh Whitman Jersey Online. "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). ' ' '