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| SAO PAULO, Brazil -- The World Cups second semifinal was supposed to put the silky skills of Lionel Messi and Arjen Robben in the spotlight. Nike Shoes Sale . Instead, a goalkeeper and two rock-solid defences stole the show. Argentina goalie Sergio Romero saved two penalties Wednesday to send Argentina into the World Cup final with a 4-2 shootout win over the Netherlands after tough defending and a lack of creative spark from either team consigned the match to a 0-0 stalemate. In a twist of fate, Romero credited Netherlands coach Louis van Gaal with helping launch his career when he arrived as an inexperienced youngster at AZ Alkmaar in the Dutch league. "I will be forever grateful to the coach for helping me out in a country that is so different from ours," Romero said. A day after Germany lit up the World Cup with its clinical 7-1 destruction of host Brazil, the Dutch and Argentines could not manage a goal between them in 120 minutes before the shootout. Messi, widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, will have to do play far better in Sundays final at Rio de Janeiros Maracana Stadium if he is to engineer a win over the powerful German team. The Barcelona star was muted throughout the match and extra time, rarely managing to shake off his markers. At the Itaquerao Stadium, he was overshadowed by his goalkeeper and the man he replaced as Argentina captain, Javier Mascherano, who bossed the midfield for his team the way surprise starter Nigel de Jong did for the Dutch. When Robben looked like deciding the match in stoppage time, Mascheranos perfectly timed sliding tackle blocked his shot at the near post. "I would say that he is an outstanding player," Argentina coach Alejandro Sabella said. "He is an emblem within our national squad, on the field as well as off it." Romero -- thought to be a weak link for Argentina and not even a starter for his Monaco club most of last season -- had almost nothing to do during the match, but blocked penalties by Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder in the shootout. For Argentina, Messi, Ezequiel Garay, Sergio Aguero and Maxi Rodriguez all converted their spot kicks. "Its luck, thats the truth. You can dive (the right way) and not make it, like happened to their goalkeeper," Romero said. "I had confidence, thank God things turned out well." A Germany-Argentina final means an extra bitter end to the tournament for Brazilians, who will have to watch their fiercest rivals play for the world title in their most hallowed stadium against a team that humiliated their nation in the semifinals. "We have a final to play, but with one day less rest and against Germany," Sabella said. "Well do everything possible to make it all the way to the top." It was the second straight penalty shootout following a 0-0 draw for the Dutch. Against Costa Rica in the quarterfinals, Van Gaal brought on substitute goalkeeper Tim Krul in the last seconds of extra time to replace Jasper Cillessen and Krul saved two spot kicks. This time, Van Gaal had used up all three substitutions by the end of extra time and Cillessen had to face the shootout. The young Ajax goalkeeper collapsed onto his knees and sank onto his back when Rodriguezs powerful strike ended the shootout. Krul walked across the pitch to console him. Van Gaal also said he had a hand in Romeros heroics from their time together at AZ Alkmaar. "Penalties are always a matter of luck," he said. "And I taught Romero how to stop penalties so that hurts." Many of Argentinas players stripped off their shirts in the rain at the Itaquerao Stadium and danced in front of their fans. Argentina reached its fifth final, and its first in 24 years. It won the title in 1978 -- beating the Dutch -- and in 1986. It lost the championship matches in 1930 and 1990. It played West Germany in both the 86 and 90 finals. The Netherlands, which has never won the World Cup, was seeking to reach its fourth final. After scoring 10 goals in three group matches, the Dutch scoring dried up in the knockout rounds. The team managed two late strikes against Mexico but failed to find the net before eliminating Costa Rica in the quarterfinal shootout. "The issue in a championship like this one is that you score one more goal than your opponent, which we didnt do," Van Gaal said, "We didnt create very much." ------ Lineups: Netherlands: Jasper Cillessen; Dirk Kuyt, Ron Vlaar, Stefan de Vrij, Bruno Martins Indi (Daryl Janmaat, 46), Daley Blind; Nigel de Jong (Jordy Clasie, 62), Georginio Wijnaldum, Wesley Sneijder; Arjen Robben, Robin van Persie (Klaas Jan Huntelaar). Argentina: Sergio Romero; Pablo Zabaleta, Martin Demichelis, Ezequiel Garay, Marcos Rojo; Lucas Biglia, Javier Mascherano, Enzo Perez (Rodrigo Palacio, 81); Ezequiel Lavezzi (Maxi Rodriguez, 101), Gonzalo Higuain (Sergio Aguero, 82), Lionel Messi. Cheap Nike Shoes Free Shipping . Yup, he definitely needed this one. Craig homered twice and had three RBIs Wednesday night to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 7-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. Craig went 4 for 5 and Yadier Molina added three hits for the Cardinals, who salvaged the final game of a three-game set in hopes of staying within shouting distance of front-running Milwaukee in the NL Central. Wholesale Nike Shoes . A steady downpour and low temperatures were predicted for much of the night. No makeup date was immediately announced, although it was determined that the game will not be part of a doubleheader on Wednesday. https://www.wholesalenikeshoesauthentic.com/ . The judge sternly instructed the prosecutor to restrain himself and he apologized -- then went right back to trying to pick holes in the testimony of the double-amputee runner. It was a harsh day of cross-examination for Pistorius, challenged relentlessly about his account of the moments just before he killed Reeva Steenkamp, as well as circumstances related to several firearms charges against him, including the firing of a gun in a crowded restaurant.MONTPELIER, Vt. - Northeast ski resorts continue to invest millions in leaner and meaner snowmaking guns, with Vermont making big inroads this year, thanks to an energy-efficiency program that helped resorts swap older model snow guns for nearly 2,300 new energy-efficient ones.The new low-energy snow guns, which use about 90 per cent less electricity than the older models, are expected to save the equivalent of enough electricity to power 1,500 Vermont homes for a year.This is an opportunity to kind of in one swoop take advantage of the fact that if all of those ski areas in Vermont banded together, we can actually drive even better deals with manufacturers, said Kelly Lucci, spokeswoman for Efficiency Vermont, an energy-efficiency utility which chipped in $5 million to resorts statewide, while resorts spent about $10 million.The utilitys engineers did side-by-side testing on the various new snow guns and reported back to the resorts with the outcomes so they could decide which model worked best for their needs.Sugarbush in Warren added 351 new snow guns this season through the program, allowing it to put out more and better quality snow at lower costs and energy use. The resort opened on Saturday.Its great to have natural snow and we love that, but when we dont have that, we depend on putting out a good snow product for our guests so that theyll come, said Sugarbush spokeswoman Candice White, adding: Its great to be able to make the quantityy of snow that we can make and also the quality. Cheap Nike Shoes Authentic. The qualitys gotten a lot better with these efficient guns.In Maine, nearly every resort is moving to the low-energy snow guns so that they can be up and running for the December holiday week, if not much sooner. Sunday River in Newry, Maine, with its arsenal of snowmaking, opened Nov. 3. Sugarloaf Mountain Resort began making snow back in late September and opened Nov. 9.In nearby New Hampshire, Loon Mountain Resort in Lincoln is installing 50 snowmaking hydrants on top of the 100 it installed last year, which it says will allow the resort to open more terrain earlier in the season and provide better snow throughout the winter. Bretton Woods is replacing old pipe with 35 new, high efficiency snow towers for more than $300,000.Snowmaking technology has taken a huge leap forward in the past few years and the result shows in the short amount of time this ski area goes from a grass- covered trail, to a total winter scene, said Greg Sweetser, executive director of the Ski Maine Association.Aside from snowmaking, resorts pumped money into lift improvements, terrain parks and trails. New Hampshires Loon Mountain is expanding its terrain park for kids and Okemo Mountain Resort will give skiers and riders a more comfortable trip up the mountain on chilly days with its new six-person bubble chair lift with heated seats, which it says is the first of its kind in North America. ' ' ' |
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Onderwerp: Bretton Woods is replacing old pipe with
