Dein erstes Forum » Maybe we were owed one by the football gods

VANCOUVER - The Vancouver Whitecaps say captain Jay DeMerit will miss at least the next six weeks of action after tearing a tendon in his left ankle. The injury happened in the first half of Saturdays 3-3 road draw against the Philadelphia Union. The team said the 34-year-old DeMerit will rehab the ankle instead of opting for surgery. The veteran defender tore his left Achilles tendon in the first game of the 2013 season and missed six months of action. Vancouver is 5-2-6 in Major League Soccer so far in 2014 — with DeMerit having started 11 of those matches — but the Whitecaps have allowed an average of more than 1.5 goals against per game. Vancouvers next game is June 25 at home against the Montreal Impact. Celtics Jerseys China . Left back Armero opened the scoring in the fifth minute when his deflected shot rolled past Greece goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis. Striker Teofilo Gutierrez poked in Colombias second goal from a deflected corner in the 58th and James Rodriguez capped it off with a low shot in stoppage time after a slick backheel flick from Juan Cuadrado. Wholesale Celtics Jerseys . You can watch the game on TSN at 7pm et/4pm pt and listen to the game on TSN Radio 690 in Montreal. After starting the month of November on an 0-3-1 slide, the Canadiens have recorded wins in three of their last five outings (3-1-1). https://www.cheapceltics.com/ . The punch happened in the fourth quarter of Milwaukees 116-102 loss to the Kings on Wednesday when the two players became entangled while battling for rebounding position. Cheap Celtics Jerseys . Behind the talents of rookie Johnny Gaudreau, the Flames will look to keep pace Thursday night when they face the Minnesota Wild in the second of a six-game homestand. Fake Celtics Jerseys . Knapp defeated American Alison Riske 6-3, 7-5 to secure Italys victory in the best-of-five series. She held a 5-2 lead in the second set, only to let Riske tie it at five.PITTSBURGH, Pa. - The way Ramon Foster figures it, the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive line deserved a little bit of good karma. Heck, probably more than a little bit.Every spring over the last five years it seemed the Steelers would make retooling and rebuilding the offensive line a top priority. And every fall the five guys penciled in to start would either get hurt or get shuffled around to cover up a leak.It was frustrating and, at times, borderline cruelly comic:—Centre Maurkice Pounceys ankle injury that kept him out of the 2011 Super Bowl;—The busted knee for guard David DeCastro that hampered his rookie season in 2012;—Tackle Marcus Gilberts various nicks and scrapes;—The shredded knee that limited Pouncey to all of eight plays in 2013.So calling the line patchwork would be an insult to patches.Finally, mercifully, those days appear to be over. The backbone of Pittsburghs first division title since 2010 — and the most productive offence in franchise history — is the jelling of a line that has come of age now that its found a way to stay out of the trainers room. Pouncey, DeCastro and left tackle Kelvin Beachum didnt miss a start, while minor injuries forced Foster and Gilbert to sit a handful of games combined.Maybe we were owed one by the football gods, Foster said with a laugh.Either way, the group that takes the field Saturday night when the Steelers (11-5) host Baltimore (10-6) in the wild-card round is thriving. All five are young — ranging in age from 24-28 — but have each started at least 33 games. It goes from perennial All-Pro Pouncey to Beachum, a sixth-round flier in 2012 who has blossomed into an undersized but competent revelation protecting Ben Roethlisbergers blind side.The line — with more than a little help from tight ends Heath Miller, Matt Spaeth, fullback Will Johnson and tailback LeVeon Bell — kept Roethlisberger upright and the Steelers rolling. Roethlisberger took every snap and was sacked just 33 times, easily the fewest in a season in which hes played every game — even though he set a career high with 608 passes. His protection got better as the season went along. Roethlisberger hit the ground just twice during the four-game winning streak that propelled the Steelers back to the post-season afterr a two-year absence.ddddddddddddThe results were scoreboard stretching. Pittsburghs 436 points were the most in the franchises 82-year history. Antonio Brown broke every significant team single-season receiving record, and Bell found enough room to finish second in the AFC in yards rushing and second in the league in yards from scrimmage.The season included a 43-23 domination of the Ravens on Nov. 2. While Baltimore managed to get to Roethlisberger three times, he still lit up the Ravens depleted secondary for 340 yards and six touchdowns.Hell likely need to be just as effective on Saturday with Bells status uncertain. The running back is dealing with a hyperextended right knee that forced him to miss practice again Thursday.Pittsburgh won the last meeting even with Bell being limited to 20 yards on 10 carries. If hes unable to go, it puts more pressure on the line to give Roethlisberger time to work against a defence that finished with 49 sacks, second most in the league. Baltimores front seven will be bolstered by the return of nose tackle Haloti Ngata, who sat the last four games after violating the NFLs policy on performance enhancing drugs.We know theyre going to be coming, Beachum said. Theyve got some great players, but were playing with a lot of confidence.A feeling that trickles from the top down.The Steelers hired Hall of Famer Mike Munchak as their third offensive line coach in as many years. Munchaks calming presence simplified the blocking scheme. It also worked in lockstep with offensive co-ordinator Todd Haleys commitment to a creative scheme that requires Roethlisberger to get the ball out of his hands quickly.Foster calls Munchak by far one of the best coaches Ive been around, one who isnt prone to wild mood swings.If you have a bad play, hes not going to make it seem like youre the worst player in the world, Foster said. He wants you to build on top of that.The foundation set over the last four years is at last paying dividends the Steelers believe will extend into Saturday night and beyond.Weve got to put it on our shoulders, Foster said. Its like Ben said, this team goes as far as the offensive line goes and weve got to be good.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '