If youve been revelling in the glorious feast of World Cup action like me, you will have noticed a distinct difference between the tempo and excitement of the round robin phase versus the careful and more conservative approaches in the knockout rounds. [url=http://www.airforce1storesale.com/fake-air-

If youve been revelling in the glorious feast of World Cup action like me, you will have noticed a distinct difference between the tempo and excitement of the round robin phase versus the careful and more conservative approaches in the knockout rounds. Air Force 1 White Outlet . The group stage of Brazil 2014 may never be equalled in terms of entertainment and production. Goals were flying in, teams were in the mood to attack and managers seemingly took the shackles off their players. Not unlike the pre-World Cup Vancouver Whitecaps who scored nine goals in three games leading into the MLS-imposed break. But once the knockout stages in Brazil took hold and the stakes became infinitely higher, the games changed. No less drama, but certainly less expanse, far less risk and fewer goals. Saturday night at BC Place, the Whitecaps took an early lead, did create some opportunities to stretch their advantage, but ultimately provided a performance that felt very World Cup quarterfinals-like. Germany scored first against France, Argentina tallied in the eighth minute against Belgium and Brazil got an early goal against Columbia. We could be forgiven for thinking those goals would have opened the games up and led to more of what we saw in the group stage. Instead, those matches became very well managed. Brazil did get the benefit of a David Luiz howitzer to briefly make it comfortable for the hosts, but the hallmarks of those three quarterfinals were very similar; the team with the lead wasnt going to be left exposed and wasnt going to give away possession cheaply. At BC Place, Erik Hurtado had a chance to seal the game thanks to a brilliantly weighted, defence-splitting ball from the best player on the park, Pedro Morales, but beyond that, the Whitecaps looked like a side that was committed to keeping what they had, rather than adding to it. And the stakes were certainly higher than during the World Cup break run-in. Winless in three and coming off two listless performances, Vancouver needed maximum points at home and especially against a Western rival that was missing arguably its best five players. After the season opening New York victory, coach Carl Robinson shared one particular philosophy during his post game address; the best way to kill off a game is to keep attacking, which on that occasion, Vancouver did. But instead of introducing a fresh-legged Darren Mattocks to run at a tired Seattle back line Saturday, Robinson took the advice of his assistants (Gordon Forrest and Martyn Pert) and subbed Nigel Reo-Coker on for Kekuta Manneh at the 68-minute mark. The savvy Englishman rarely gave the ball away after that. The Whitecaps, as a group, strung minutes-worth of passes together, all on the heels of Seattles best spell of the match. It was a mature coaching decision that changed the momentum back in Vancouvers favour and it was a sage, professionally executed performance by the younger team on the field. While the Whitecaps didnt reach a World Cup semi-final with the win, they did end a mini-slide, improved their league and Cascadia Cup prospects, while proving to themselves that theyre capable of grinding out a result. Something tells me theyll need the same nerve this Saturday when they host a Chivas USA side thats won three in a row, and is starting to appear in the Western Conference rearview mirror...a tasty appetizer to the World Cup final a day later. Air Force 1 Off White Sale . Not only that, when Julian de Guzman first stepped on the pitch for Deportivo de la Coruna he became the very first Canadian to play in Spains top tier. Air Force 1 Blue Store . Right-hander Todd Redmond took the loss. Jose Bautista hit his second home run of the spring. Here are a handful of tidbits from around camp: Hutchison impressive The Blue Jays are being cautious when talking about their young arms but internally, excitement is building over the way Drew Hutchison is looking and performing this spring. http://www.airforce1storesale.com/ . The Big Man finished 3-1 in Week 19, and sits at 53-24 on the season. Now Schultz is ready for more action. TORONTO -- The UFC will hold five shows in Canada in 2014, including a return to Vancouver and new stops in Halifax and Quebec City. The schedule, announced at a news conference Wednesday in Quebec City, also calls for fights cards in Toronto and Montreal. The five shows are up from three in recent years when Toronto and Montreal were constants on the schedule with another city rotating in. The busy calendar is a nod to the appetite for mixed martial arts north of the border. "On a per-capita basis, no nation in the world consumes MMA like we do," Tom Wright, director of UFC Operations in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, said in an interview. "The fact weve been able to go from three events to five events is a reflection of that. "Well have three of the (UFCs) 13 pay-per-views (in 2014)." Quebec City will host a show for the first time in the form of a televised UFC Fight Night for the live finale to "The Ultimate Fighter Nations: Canada vs. Australia" on April 16 at Le Colisee Pepsi. The UFC returns to Vancouver on June 14 -- for the first time since UFC 131 in June 2011 -- for UFC 174 at the Rogerrs Arena. Air Force 1 Blue Outlet. The MMA promoter opted to stay away because of what it saw as onerous insurance and other requirements that have since been modified. "Now were in a position where we can return and were very much looking forward to it," said Wright. "Vancouvers been a great city for us, its a great MMA market for us -- all of Western Canada is. Toronto gets its fifth show in the form of UFC 178 on Sept. 27 at the Air Canada Centre. The UFC debuts in Halifax on Oct. 4 with a televised Fight Night card at the Metro Centre. And the Canadian schedule concludes Dec. 6 with UFC 181 at the Bell Centre, marking Montreals seventh show. Wright says it is too early to speculate on marquee matchups at the Canadian shows. But rival TUF Nations coaches Patrick (The Predator) Cote of Montreal and Australian Kyle Noke will face off in Quebec City. A lightweight bout between Sam (Hands of Stone) Stout and K.J. Noons has already been announced for the Quebec City show. The UFC has held 14 pay-per-view shows to date in Canada: six in Montreal, four in Toronto, two in Vancouver and one in each of Calgary and Winnipeg. ' ' '