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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. 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. Wholesale Jerseys Authentic . -- Tony Finau won the Stonebrae Classic on Sunday for his first Web. NFL Jerseys Sale .C. -- Kevin Harvick won his first career pole at Darlington Raceway on Friday as he looks to chase his first Southern 500. http://www.jerseyscheapsale.com/. - On the night Dirk Nowitzki overtook Dominique Wilkins on the career scoring list, Brandan Wright was a human highlight film all by himself. Cheap Jerseys From China .1 Sam Stosur will meet Germanys second-ranked player Andrea Petkovic in the opening match of the Fed Cup World Group semifinal. China Jerseys . While he was away, it was the division-rival Baltimore Orioles conducting a little business of their own, scooping up Ubaldo Jimenez on Monday evening to a reported four-year, $50-million contract.ST. LOUIS -- The St. Louis Cardinals extended the contract of general manager John Mozeliak for two years through the 2018 season. Mozeliak, 45, has been with the Cardinals organization for the last 19 seasons, the last six as GM. During Mozeliaks tenure, the Cardinals have been to the post-season four times, winning two National League pennants, and a World Series in 2011. The Cardinals have also been recognized twice by Baseball America as the organization of the year (2011 and 2013). "I think what weve been able to accomplish here is something we all take a lot of pride in, but we also know every year is a new year and every year has new challenges," Mozeliak said. "I think thats the exciting thing about working with this group. Its innovative, its creative and its not looking back. Its about looking forward." Mozeliak has negotiated contrracts to keep several key players under team control, including Matt Holliday, Yadier Molina, Adam Wainwright, Allen Craig and Matt Carpenter.dddddddddddd Cardinals chairman Bill DeWitt said he thought the time was right to extend Mozeliak. "Given where we are and how the organizations doing, it was appropriate for us to do it," DeWitt said. "It was pretty hectic during spring training and the first part of the season, so we felt it was appropriate to do it now. "We really didnt have a lot of discussions. I met with him when we opened the season in Cincinnati. I talked to him about it at that time and we did it pretty quickly." That was just fine with Mozeliak. "I was obviously very excited. This is my home. Ive been with the Cardinals now going on 19 years. This is really what I know." ' ' '