USA, England join China, Canada in quarter-finals

USA, England into quarters

United States advanced to the quarter-finals of the Women's World Cup with a 2-0 win over Colombia, who finished with 10 players.

After a scoreless first half, USA pilled on unanswered goals via Alex Morgan and Carli Lloyd as the two-time world champions made the most of their numerical advantage on Monday.
Colombia goalkeeper Catalina Perez conceded a penalty and saw red for a rash challenge on Morgan in the 47th minute at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.
Abby Wambach missed the ensuing penalty after sending her spot-kick wide, but USA were not to be denied six minutes later, when Morgan fired a shot past substitute keeper Stefany Castano.
USA were awarded another penalty in the 66th minute following a foul on Megan Rapinoe, and Lloyd made no mistake as the Americans earned a quarter-final showdown with China on Friday.
England joined USA in the last eight thanks to a hard-fought 2-1 win against Norway.
Second-half goals from captain Steph Houghton and Lucia Bronze cancelled out Solveig Gulbrandsen's 54th-minute opener at Lansdowne Stadium in Ottawa.
Norway - the 1995 champions - hit the front nine minutes into the second half after Gulbrandsen headed in off the crossbar from Lene Mykjaland's corner.
England were back on level terms seven minutes later, when Houghton's header from Fara William's cross deflected in off the upright.
Bronze completed the comeback in the 76th minute with a powerful strike from outside the area.
England will face host nation Canada in the quarters on Saturday.

The NRA should thank Obama

Gun sales skyrocket after Obama’s 2008 election

President Obama is the most successful gun salesman in history, according to new data published in the Journal of Public Economics.
As the possibility of the first black president became more likely, Americans feared increased gun control after the election. Federal tax receipts from the sales of pistols and revolvers increased 90 per cent from the fourth quarter of 2007 to the fourth quarter of 2008, when Obama was elected.
The “Obama Effect,” as it’s called in the paper, reached record growth following Hillary Clinton’s concession speech in July 2008 and following the Democratic National Convention in September when Obama was formally selected as the party’s nominee. The largest increase was immediately following the election when demand for guns rose 60 per cent.
The researcher, Emilio Depetris-Chauvin of Universidad de los Andes in Colombia, used the number of firearms background check reports to gauge the demand for guns. Before selling a firearm, dealers that are federally licensed need to call the FBI or another agency to verify the buyer does not have a criminal record or another condition that would prevent him or her from purchasing a firearm.
For each 10-point increase in the probability of Obama gaining the presidency, the nationwide demand for guns rose 4.5 per cent. The effect was even larger in states with less gun control and for Southern states. The researcher’s estimates also find that demand following the election was higher in states with more Republicans but smaller in states with high levels of gun ownership.
The researcher explored potential racial bias as a driving force of the demand, noting that there was little rationale for Americans to believe that Obama’s gun control regulations would be any stricter than Hillary Clinton’s or even John McCain’s. Clinton and McCain also had histories of criticism from the NRA. Although Obama supported gun control measures in the past, his record wasn’t significantly stronger than Clinton’s or McCain’s. He also didn’t make stronger campaign promises on gun control than his competitors.
To determine if race played a role, the researcher used data from a past study that attempted to measure a state’s racial prejudice using Google search data for racially charged language. He compared that to the state’s Obama Effect, and found some correlation between the two.
For the states with the largest “Obama Effect,” the election permanently affected the stock of guns in circulation. In 2012, four years after the election, the demand for guns was 30 per cent larger in those states.
The researcher also found crime increases.
The states with the largest Obama Effect were 20 per cent more likely to experience a shooting event where at least three people were killed after Obama’s election. Those states had between 8 and 15 per cent more crime with guns following the election. Total crime, violent crime, property crime, homicide, murder and manslaughter didn’t show significantly different results, though.
The researcher concludes that gun policy aimed at reducing the number of guns in circulation may actually accomplish the opposite.
It’s unlikely that the 2016 election will see the same increase in gun sales as Obama’s election, but there will probably be some increase if the Democratic nominee, whoever it is, looks like he or she will win, especially if the nominee declares a tough gun control policy.

Messi, Sánchez on top in Copa America

Messi, Sánchez real top ballers in Copa America

BY PAUL BURROWES

Argentina's Lionel Messi and Chilean Alexis Sánchez are the two best players so far in Copa America 2015 in Chile.
Messi, 27, is taking 5.7 shots per game and has a pass success of 85.3 per cent, boasting a rating of 7.99, ahead of 26-year-old Sanchez, 7.95.
Sanchez is taking 4.3 shots per game, with a passing success of 68.8 per cent.
Colombian Jeison Murillo, Brazil's Thiago Silva, and Chilean Arturo Vidal round out the top five. Vidal, 28, leads the competition with three goals, two of them from penalties.
Two other Chileans, Jorge Valdívia and Charles Aránguiz, are in the top 10, with also includes Argentines Sergio Agüero and Pablo Zabaleta and another Brazilian Dani Alves.

Top 10
1 Lionel Messi, Argentina
2 Alexis Sánchez, Chile
3 Jeison Murillo, Colombia
4 Thiago Silva, Brazil
5 Arturo Vidal, Chile
6 Jorge Valdívia, Chile
7 Sergio Agüero, Argentina
8 Charles Aránguiz, Chile
9 Pablo Zabaleta, Argentina
10 Dani Alves, Brazil

American cricketers beef up CPL squads

North American cricketers join CPL squads

SIX up-and-coming young cricketers, including USA international, Steven Taylor, and Canadian, Nikhil Dutta, will have the chance to play with and against some of the biggest names in world cricket after being added to the Hero CPL squads after impressing in training camp.

Each franchise welcomed four local under-19 players, and one young player from ICC Americas Associate nations, for training camp, with the incentive of a full CPL contract for one lucky player from each team. Amongst the players joining wicketkeeper-batsman, Taylor (Barbados Tridents), and off-spinner, Dutta (Zouks) are West Indies Under-19 player of the year, Shimron Hetmeyer (Guyana Amazon Warriors), and former West Indies Under-19 captain, Ramaal Lewis (Jamaica Tallawahs).

The six players that have been selected are:

Barbados Tridents: Steven Taylor – USA

Guyana Amazon Warriors: Shimron Hetmeyer, Guyana

Jamaica Tallawahs: Ramaal Lewis, Jamaica

St Kitts & Nevis Patriots: Nikhil Dutta, Canada

St Lucia Zouks: Gidron Pope, St Vincent

Trinidad & Tobago Red Steel: Mark Deyal, Trinidad

Tom Moody, CPL Director of Cricket, said: “Competition for a place in the CPL squads has been fierce. The coaches have been very impressed with the quality of young players on show, so it was hard to narrow it down to one player per squad. These six guys have a fantastic opportunity to make a name for themselves on the big stage, and we wish them all the best for CPL 2015.”

The Biggest Party in Sport kicked off on Saturday with defending champions, Barbados Tridents, defeating Guyana Amazon Warriors at Kensington Oval in a repeat of last year's final. At the Hero CPL, global superstars including Kevin Pietersen, Jacques Kallis and Shahid Afridi will join the Caribbean's finest cricketers, like Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo, and exciting up-and-coming local talent.

Fans have been given an even greater reason to be at the games this year with the CPL's recently announced ‘Catch a Million' competition, the biggest ever sports promotion in the Caribbean. The first fan at every match who catches a six, one-handed, will earn US $1,000 on the spot, as well as the chance to go to Trinidad for the final. If they catch another six, one-handed, in the final, they will be presented with US$1 million!

CPL 2015 runs from 20th June to 26th July. Last year's tournament attracted a global audience in excess of 65 million and this year is set to be even higher as fans across the world continue to be drawn to the high quality action on the pitch and the unique party atmosphere off it.

Messi, Aguero part of Copa America team of group stage

Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero in Copa America 2015 team of the group stage

• Arturo Vidal crashed his Ferrari under influence of alcohol during tournament
• Chile star swore at police when he was arrested near Santiago
• Official Copa America website makes no mention of his misdeeds in team of the group stage article
• Vidal is the competition’s top scorer with three goals for Chile
• Lionel Messi and Manchester City’s Sergio Aguero also make the team 

Lionel Messi (right) and Sergio Aguero have been included in the Copa America team of the group stage

Barcelona star Lionel Messi and Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero lead the official Copa America team of the group stage, alongside controversial Chile midfielder Arturo Vidal.
Vidal crashed his £230,000 red Ferrari while under the influence of alcohol during the group stage, before reportedly shouting and swearing at the officer who put him in handcuffs.
But he is the competition's top goalscorer and is named by the competition’s official website as the group stage’s ‘most influential player’.

Arturo Vidal has been selected in the Copa America team of the group stage, despite a drink-driving offence

Vidal’s red Ferrari after his crash on a highway south of Santiago on the night of Tuesday June 16

Vidal will donate his Copa America tournament fee to charity to help make amends for drink-driving incident

Sanchez is a key player for Chile, who have five players in the team, but did not make the cut himself

COPA AMERICA: TEAM OF THE GROUP STAGE 

Bravo (Chile); Silva (Brazil), Gimenez (Uruguay), Medel (Chile); Aranguiz (Chile), Lobaton (Peru), Sanchez (Colombia), Vidal (Chile); Aguero (Argentina), Barrios (Paraguay), Messi (Argentina) 

No mention of his drink-driving offence is made in the article, which excludes Brazil captain Neymar from the team, despite his dominating performance in the country’s first game, in which he contributed a goal and a marvelous assist.
But the Barca forward was sent off after the second game and banned from the rest of the tournament, a crime which sees him out of the team of the group stage, with Paraguay’s Lucas Barrios preferred.
Elsewhere Aston Villa midfielder Carlos Sanchez and former Cardiff City man Gary Medel are also selected, along with Barcelona goalkeeper Claudio Bravo and PSG centre half Thiago Silva.
There is no space in the team for Arsenal’s Alexis Sanchez, despite the Chile side that he spearheads being the best represented, with five players.

Big bonus for Chinese women

Women World Cup

China rewards World Cup women with ‘highest ever’ bonus

China will pay their women’s football team the “highest ever” bonus as a reward for reaching the quarter-finals of the World Cup in Canada, state media reported Monday.
The bonus of around one million yuan ($160,000) will be paid to the players who made it to the quarter-finals by beating Cameroon 1-0 on Sunday, the official Xinhua news agency reported, citing Yu Hongchen, vice president of the Chinese Football Association.
“The World Cup bonus will be the highest ever in women’s national team history,” Yu said, according to the Xinhua report. But the bonus is still far less than incentives offered to the men’s team, Xinhua said.
The move is designed to increase popularity of the sport among women, where most of the players on the national team earn about 3,000 yuan ($485) a month, below the national average of 4,100 yuan, Xinhua said.
China have reached the last eight for the sixth time in their history, but it will be the first quarter-final appearance in eight years after failing to qualify for the 2011 tournament.
China will next face either the United States or Colombia, who clash Monday, for a place in the semi-finals.

Messi tackles James

Messi vs James again - now in Copa America quarter-finals

SANTIAGO, Chile (AP) -- Lionel Messi and James Rodriguez are about to meet again. They've left their clubs behind - Barcelona and Real Madrid - and this time Messi is wearing Argentina's blue and white and Rodriguez the red, blue and yellow of Colombia.

Of the four quarter-finals this week in the Copa America, Argentina vs. Colombia on Friday is the most compelling. Argentina has won this title 14 times and, with Messi, Gonzalo Higuain, Carlos Tevez and Sergio Aguero, has the most talented attack in the game.
Colombia has won this title only once. But it's probably South America's fastest rising power, has an Argentine coach in Jose Pekerman and its own set of talented scorers including Rodriguez, Radamel Falcao and Jackson Martinez.
In other quarterfinals it's Chile vs. Uruguay on Wednesday, Bolivia vs. Peru on Thursday and Brazil vs. Paraguay on Saturday.

The South American championship is a mini-World Cup. Five of the quarter-finalists reached the last 16 in Brazil's World Cup. Three reached the quarterfinals and Argentina was the losing finalist against Germany.

Here's a quick look at the matchups:

ARGENTINA vs COLOMBIA

Neither Argentina nor Colombia has put it together in group play. Argentina blew a two-goal lead, drawing 2-2 with Paraguay. It has 1-0 victories against Jamaica and Uruguay, and was fortunate after Uruguay dominated the late play.

Argentina coach Gerardo Martino knows many players are spent from long European seasons. The Champions League final between Barcelona and Juventus - with Messi on one side and Tevez on the other - was played just five days before the Copa America began.

''The failure to score and secure the outcome, it obviously beginning to generate some uneasiness,'' Martino said.
Colombia barely advanced, although it did beat Brazil 1-0 for its only group victory.

''When you play poorly, you pay'' said Rodriguez, who goes almost exclusively by his given name James, which he pronounces using Spanish phonetics - HA-mace.

CHILE vs URUGUAY
Host Chile is the sentimental favourite, and has been the most entertaining as it seeks its first Copa title. Chile has scored 10 goals, twice as many as anyone else. The only blot is star midfielder Arturo Vidal, who wrecked his red Ferrari while driving drunk last week. He got a four-month driving ban, but coach Jorge Sampaoli - another Argentine - kept him on the team.
Defending champion Uruguay has not been the same without Luis Suarez, who is banned from the tournament for biting Italian Giorgio Chiellini at the World Cup. This leaves the attack to Edinson Cavani, who has been largely ineffective in the three group matches.
BRAZIL vs. PARAGUAY
Brazil is without Barcelona star Neymar, who was banned for the rest of the tournament after losing his temper after a 1-0 loss to Colombia. He kicked the ball at a Colombian player, appeared to try head-butting another and then accosted the referee, grabbing his arms and swearing at him. Brazil decided Monday not to appeal the four-match ban.
Brazil defeated Venezuela 2-1 on Sunday and played better than it had with Neymar, using Robinho and Philippe Coutinho in attack.
Brazil coach Dunga is bracing for Paraguay.
''It will be like a final,'' Dunga warned.
Paraguay was the losing finalist four years ago against Uruguay and has improved under Argentine coach Ramon Diaz, another Argentine.
''It's an important team, and we've shown that right from the first match,'' said Argentina-born Lucas Barrios. ''We are stronger than ever.''

BOLIVIA vs PERU
These are the two big outsiders. But the winner will make the semi-finals against Chile or Uruguay in the weaker half of the draw. This bodes well for Chile, which has already beaten Bolivia 5-0. Peru has been better than expected, losing 2-1 to Brazil, drawing Colombia 0-0 and beating Venezuela 1-0.
NO BRASS
Most executives of CONMEBOL, the governing body of South American soccer, have been keeping a low profile at the tournament. Several, including CONMEBOL president Juan Angel Napout, have stayed away so far, fallout from the FIFA corruption scandal.
Venezuelan soccer head Rafael Esquivel remains in jail in Switzerland with six other FIFA officials, including two vice presidents. Former Brazilian soccer head Jose Maria Marin is also among those in jail in Switzerland awaiting extradition to the United States.