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Sao Paulo, Brazil - The World Cup kicks off in style today as host nation Brazil battles Croatia in the opening match of Group A play at the Arena de Sao Paulo. Follow all the action live on TSN Radio 1050 in Toronto, 690 in Montreal, 1260 in Edmonton and on TEAM 1410 beginning at 4pm et/1pm pt. As the host country, the pressure is squarely on the shoulder of the Brazilian squad to make good on their status as pre-tournament favorites and win their sixth World Cup title. The key for Brazil will be how manager Luiz Felipe Scolari does with keeping his young team on an even keel in front of their home crowd. Leading the star-studded Brazilian team is 22-year-old Neymar, who figures to be one of the faces of the tournament. The Barcelona man is viewed as the future of the Brazilian national team, and he made quite an introduction for himself at last summers Confederations Cup, scoring four goals in the tournament and helping Brazil to a 3-0 win over Spain in the final, which earned him recognition as the best player in the competition. Experienced players such as Ronaldinho, Kaka and Robinho were left off the Confederations Cup roster, and were replaced by youngsters Fred and Hulk, who will help Neymar with the scoring onus. Scolari has a plethora of options in midfield with creative players like Chelsea trio Ramires, Oscar and Willian, while Inter Milans Hernanes is another offensive option. Defensively, experienced goalkeeper Julio Cesar will anchor a group that includes David Luiz, Thiago Silva and Dante as options in the middle, while full backs Dani Alves and Marcelo give the team plenty going forward in two- way roles. Croatia, meanwhile, returns to the worlds biggest footballing stage after missing the 2010 event in South Africa. Croatian head coach Niko Kovac is armed with a talented roster that certainly has a fighting chance to reach the knockout stage, despite a difficult draw. Kovacs club is led by a strong midfield which contains Real Madrids Luka Modric and Sevillas Ivan Rakitic. The former Tottenham man, Modric, will be responsible for generating offense from his midfield position and feeding the ball forward to players like Mario Mandzukic and Ivica Olic. The presence of Rakitic will help Modric in the middle of the field, while both Mandzukic and Olic will be responsible for putting away the chances. Olic will have to carry the offensive load against Brazil, however, as Mandzukic will be unavailable after he was sent off in the clubs qualifying victory over Iceland. Croatia will have one big miss in midfield as Niko Kranjcar will not feature in the tournament due to a hamstring injury. Kranjcar has totaled 16 goals in 81 international appearances, and his experience will be missed in a midfield short on depth. Captain Darijo Srna anchors the back line with considerable international experience, having been capped 110 times for his country. Hell need to keep his defenders organized and clam on the ball against the likes of Brazil and Mexico if the side is to reach the knockout round for the first time since 1998. Brazil hosted the World Cup once before, in 1950, and that team was also expected to hoist the trophy, but were upset by Uruguay in the final. That defeat is still talked about in Brazil today, so the current team will aim to make sure they get off to a winning start. Shoes NZ 2020 . Liriano pitched in and out of trouble in his duel with Josh Beckett, and Ike Davis homered to help the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 2-1 Friday night. Shoes NZ From China .Y. -- The Montreal Canadiens have had few reasons to celebrate this season as they have been mired near the basement of the Eastern Conference. https://www.shoesnzonline.com/ . They know how difficult it is to beat the San Antonio Spurs. George scored 28 points and Indiana defeated San Antonio 111-100 on Saturday night, snapping an 11-game skid against the Spurs. Shoes NZ Online .Dawson also birdied two of the last four holes to reach 12-under 132 on TPC San Antonios AT&T Canyons Course. He won his only title in a PGA Tour-sanctioned event in 2002 in the Web.com Tours LaSalle Bank Open.Im not going to lose any sleep, believe me, Dawson said. I used to be a perfectionist, but my attitude now is to play like Im in the pro-am. Wholesale Shoes NZ . The Cubs made the moves before Thursdays game against Arizona. They promoted left-hander Zac Rosscup and right-hander Neil Ramirez from Triple-A Iowa and optioned righty Blake Parker to their top minor league team.BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Kenny Perrys driver is sailing long and true again, just like the one he used to win two major championships last year. Perry shot a 3-under 69 on Saturday at Shoal Creek to take a one-stroke lead over John Inman after the third round of the Regions Tradition. He is seeking his third Champions Tour major title after winning the Senior Players Championship and U.S. Senior Open in consecutive tour starts last year. Perry switched drivers after his first-round 72. The one he used to win both majors last year was destroyed on a flight from New York to Seattle for the Boeing Classic last August when the airline "killed it." "Ive struggled ever since," Perry said. "I did win the AT&T at the end of last year to hang on and win the Charles Schwab Cup, but I didnt really play great and I havent played very well this year either. "Ive been fighting driver woes so hopefully this is a turn in the right direction and this drivers going to solve my problems." Perry had a 7-under 209 total. He had four birdies and bogeyed No. 16, savoring the warm, sunny weather after two rounds in cooler temperatures and playing "very consistent, very solid golf." Inman, a two-time PGA Tour winner who coached at the University of North Carolina, shot a 66 after two even-par rounds. He had seven birdies before his first slip-up, a bogey on No. 16. "I just hit a lot of solid shots," Inman said. "I didnt drive the ball as well as I would have liked, but when I drove it in the rough, I just hit some miraculous shots." His big putt was some 20 feet on No. 7. Steve Elkington, second-round leader Mark Calcavecchia, Jay Haas, John Cook, Jeff Maggert, Olin Browne and Tom Pernice Jr. were 4 under. Perrys best finish on the tour this season was a fifth-place tie at the Toshiba Classic. The 54-hole leader has won only one of the last seven majors. He made nearly matching 12-15-foot uphill putts on Nos. 12 and 13 to take a two-shot lead. His only bogey on 16 came when his bunker shot went long and he missed the putt, but he bounced back with an 8-footer for par on the nexxt hole.dddddddddddd A light rain had been replaced by sunshine by the time the leaders teed off, but for the third straight day they were allowed to lift, clean and place their golf balls. "Still the scores are high," Perry said. "Whenever you let a pro get his hands on it, the scores really tend to drop pretty low but this golf course is really beating us up with the swirling winds. We had South winds today. We played northwest winds the first two rounds." Calcavecchia began the round with a one-stroke lead over Haas, but both struggled. Calcavecchia had a double bogey on No. 11 on his way to a 74. He lost a six-stroke Saturday lead in the 2011 Regions Tradition, largely thanks to a pair of double bogeys on 12. "Two wrong clubs and a chunk wedge in the water on 11, thats two bogeys and a double," Calcavecchia said. "I actually hung in there pretty good for that." He said nagging rib problems plagued him for the third straight day, this time starting on the second hole. Haas shot a 73 to snap the tours longest streak of par or better at 23 rounds. He had three straight bogeys starting on the second hole and didnt have a birdie until No. 10. The conditionally exempt Inmans best finish in his first three tournaments of the year was a tie for 15th at the Allianz Championship in February. He played in 14 events in 2013, mostly through the career victory category thanks to his PGA Tour wins, and didnt finish better than ninth. Hes the younger brother of former PGA Tour and Champions Tour winner Joe Inman. Only three sets of brothers have won on the Champions Tour -- Bobby and Lanny Wadkins, Bart and Brad Bryant and Dave and Mike Hill. The siblings both had successful Saturdays. Joe Inman coached Georgia State into its first NCAA championship since 2007 and his little brother followed with a big round. "It feels good to get in because Ive only played three events this year and I just need to play," Inman said. Defending champion David Frost was 2 under after a 71r. Tom Watson, the Tradition winner in 2011 and 2012, was even after a 72. Fred Couples shot a 73 and was 8 over. ' ' '