Watching the Montreal Canadiens lose goaltender Carey Price to injury this week reminded me of what I often think is the great weakness of North American sports. Ian Desmond Jersey . The reliance of individuals in team sports. Hockey is obsessed with goaltenders. A team loses and the first place people look at for blame is in between the pipes. Baseball? As they say, momentum is all about the next days starting pitcher. NFL? Find an elite quarterback if you want to win the Super Bowl and stop using Trent Dilfer as an example (unless you can find one of the greatest defences to go alongside him). Basketball? You wont find many NBA championship teams that doesnt feature a current or future hall of famer. The global game of soccer is often very different, as the achievements of Atletico Madrid this week have shown. A sport that is so reliant on teamwork rarely allows a figurehead to rise to such prominence to make a championship be about them. Sure, domestic leagues have outstanding players who take over games, weeks, even months of a campaign, but without their teammates they are just one man with a ball at their feet. Even the greatest players in the world today are surrounded by players close to their level that allows them to perform brilliantly so often. For some reason, however, every four years many forget the common sense around this belief and two words are the reason for it. World Cup. There have only been nineteen of these in history and, specifically for the last 16 of them, it has been considered as the ultimate thing in the sport to win. However, the World Cup is not without its failings. Many games produce predictable, sterile games dominated by defensive-minded teams, unable to replicate the teamwork earned by club teams over long periods of time, who, subsequently, know its far easier to stop than score. It is a tournament that lasts one month every four years. The best team plays seven games and does not even have to win them all. Yet, because it is so short in time and so infrequent on the games calendar, the World Cup cares little for reputations, instead choosing to make them. This allows the sport to be much more North American in terms of individuals stamping their authority on it. With this in mind, collectively, we owe it to future generations to be extremely careful with the evidence provided (and this is not always easy with the lack of video available to us once the tournament ends). First of all we must remember that players can have excellent tournaments without actually winning it. This rule is for all, not just for those you didnt expect to win it anyway. Take Lionel Messis 2010 World Cup. Many adjectives have been used to describe this including poor and disappointing. What nonsense. Messi was excellent in South Africa but because he didnt score a goal some thought he was disappointing. When his out-of-his-depth manager, Diego Maradona, decided to play without a central midfield, Argentina were sent home packing in the quarterfinals. They never had a chance of winning the World Cup and none of that fell on the shoulders of Messi. Since leaving South Africa, Messi, with Barcelona, has won everything there is to win in club football, and added three more Ballon DOr awards. He has consistently succeeded in the most competitive tournament, the Champions League, the sport has to offer. He is described by many as one of the greatest players to play the game but suddenly he is removed from such a camp, by some, the closer a World Cup gets to starting, when a new hurdle is put in his path to reach the pantheon of greatness; a hurdle he simply cannot jump himself. Messis countryman, Ossie Ardiles, who won the World Cup in 1978, hit the headlines last week with this gem of a quote: "To be considered alongside the top, top guys like Pele and Diego Maradona and so on, Messi not only needs to be in the World Cup but to win it." Mr Ardiles isnt the only one who feels this way, of course, and in fact there is an alarming chance he is in the majority rather than the minority when it comes to this topic. What a pity. And while we are on this quote, who is so on exactly? When Pele played, the World Cup was everything. He changed the sport and is arguably the greatest player to play the game. The World Cup made him the global star that he simply couldnt reach himself at Santos. Maradona graced four World Cups and is forever remembered as the face of Mexico 1986. It is fitting for a man so talented that he had that event to catapult him towards the legends of the game but many who celebrate Maradonas greatness, because of those 30 days in Mexico, often, conveniently, forget his 1982 and 1994 World Cups ended in disgrace. 1990? Dont let their runner-up spot fool you. His team was even worse than Messis 2010 side and his performances werent even close to the ones shown by Barcelonas current star in South Africa. There is no disputing Maradonas greatness on the field but if the guardians of football history and, subsequently, the makers of reputations are going to base so much on what happens at World Cups then they need to be fair about it. In a sport that cares so often about who wins and loses this seems like an impossible task. Only one team can lift the trophy when it all finishes on July 11. Of course, Messi will be considered as one of the true greats if that team proves to be Argentina but why should we wait to find out what some of his flawed teammates can do for him before we give him such an honour? Just because Maradona, Pele and so on won the World Cup? The game is full of true, elite greats who never did. Pele and Maradona call Alfredo Di Stefano the most complete player ever and what of Johan Cruyff, who was magnificent in the 1974 World Cup and did everything but win the tournament? Rather than holding the World Cup to a higher standard that some cannot reach, those who lean on individual quality, should enjoy its beauty at producing other stars whose solo acts can carry their teams far. Garrincha, Eusebio, Cruyff, Paolo Rossi, Toto Schillaci, Roberto Baggio, Romario, Davor Sukur, Ronaldo, Oliver Kahn, Fabio Cannavaro, Diego Forlan and David Villa are just some examples of that. Some won, some didnt. Some are true greats, some arent. Their reputations were enhanced by their World Cup play but also because their team was able to get to the final week of the event. Neither Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo needs to win a World Cup to be graced amongst the greatest ever. It appears, before the tournament already starts, that Ronaldo doesnt have the team to get him to the trophy, and if the tournament proves the same for Argentina why should Messi be judged differently to Ronaldo? This special group, created by the likes of Ardiles, that features Maradona, Pele and so on is a hindrance to football history and an ignorance to the game itself. Mark Thompson Jersey .The seventh-seeded Raonic was scheduled to play U.S. Open finalist Kei Nishikori of Japan, but was replaced in the Group B pool by Spanish substitute David Ferrer.Raonic, who was 0-2 at the year-end event, said he suffered the injury late in the first set of Tuesdays 6-3, 7-6 loss to Murray. Dom Nunez Jersey . A strong fastball. A big, bending curveball that can buckle hitters at the knees. Against the Detroit Tigers on Sunday, Elias put the entire package together against one of the leagues strongest lineups. https://www.cheaprockiesjerseys.us/994t-trenidad-hubbard-jersey-rockies.html . Mitchell first announced on Twitter that he has signed with the Steelers and his agent Brian Hamilton confirmed the signing to The Associated Press. Financial terms were not released. The Steelers have not announced the addition of Mitchell.TORONTO – Brandon Morrow is back with the Blue Jays. Not to pitch, though, as hes not close to a return to the mound, but as he progresses in his rehabilitation from a torn tendon sheath in his right index finger, its time to come under the closer watch of the ballclubs medical and training staff. Throwing once again, Morrow shared that there is no “drop dead” date to determine whether hell need surgery on the injury, a procedure which would end his season and possibly his tenure in Toronto. “I would take it as far as until it went out again, until it tore,” said Morrow. “If it tore, it would probably take the other pulley with it and then I would need to get it fixed. Im just going to take it up until that point and not worry about it.” Often when an athlete gets injured, hes out of sight, out of mind. The team must go on without him. Little thought is paid to the hours of rehab required. It can get lonely and boring for the guy going through it. The situation can be made worse depending on the type of injury sustained. For Morrow its a finger, which is especially limiting. Following the first two weeks of recovery, during which his right hand was completely immobilized by a splint, he began with pinching exercises using clothespins and putty. For one to two hours, three days a week, Morrow was at a Phoenix-area clinic working through his program with others who suffered similar hand and wrist injuries. A number of people with carpal tunnel syndrome were classmates. Morrows gym work was limited to lower-body strength exercises. He could still work his shoulders using two and three-pound weights, being careful with his grip. After about a month, he resumed an upper body regimen. For the last five days, Morrow has been throwing a baseball. Hes just playing catch at this point; from 45 feet for four days, exteending to 60 feet on Tuesday afternoon. Matt Nokes Jersey. His finger is far from 100 per cent, not in pain, but still stiff. “It actually feels better after I throw,” said Morrow. “It kind of loosens it up and the range of motion gets better. Its been great. Throwing has been good for the last week.” Morrow would sit on his couch and watch the Blue Jays. Its strange being a member of a team but being so far away from your mates. Morrow was close to four thousand kilometres away, staring at a TV. “You kind of feel like that, you kind of feel like a fan,” said Morrow. “But obviously you know a little bit more of whats going on in the game. You feel the emotions a little bit more because youve been there. I know the fans are invested, but they dont quite as emotionally invested as the players do, although some might say they do. Sometimes its hard to watch because you cant help out.” Morrow would like to return as a starter. What isnt clear is how long hell need to get back up on a mound. That wont be happening anytime soon and hes been down long enough that hell need another spring training-like experience to get his arm stretched out. Regardless, in the final guaranteed year of his deal (the Blue Jays hold a $10 million option for 2015 thats unlikely to be picked up), he wants to play a role in a pennant drive. Hes motivated. “Thats really what youve got to use,” said Morrow. “Theres nothing else to motivate you. When you look up and see them keep winning everyday it gives you a better chance at doing that. I dont think Ive ever pitched in a pennant race so it was exciting, even for me sitting at home and watching, to watch them win.” Morrow will remain with the Blue Jays until such time as he heads out on a minor-league rehabilitation assignment. Hell be here for a while. ' ' '