Die Macht » side Olivier Giroud and if he continues his Golden Boot purs

SAN FRANCISCO - Tim Flannery is ready to leave the baseball grind and play a little more music.On the day Pablo Sandoval finalized his contract with the Boston Red Sox, Flannery announced he is retiring from the San Francisco Giants, who lost their third base coach in addition to their third baseman.The grueling grind, the schedule, the demands have taken a toll, and I feel it is the time to step off the highway and heal. This baseball life is a blessing, but collateral damage comes with it, Flannery wrote.Flannery wrote on his bands Facebook page, Tim Flannery and Lunatic Fringe, that he spoke with general manager Brian Sabean and manager Bruce Bochy on Tuesday and they shared some tears together.Flannery was an animated coach who danced along the baseline and emphatically twirled his arm to send runnersWith a heavy heart I want to say something. I left everything nine years ago to chase a dream, Flannery said. I left my home, my family, to follow my leader, and friend Bruce Bochy, to fight another battle, to try and bring a world championship to San Francisco.Flannery notes, I have no dreams of managing.Flannery, 57, had been on Bochys coaching staff dating to their San Diego days and they moved to San Francisco together in 2007.It is with a heavy heart that we bid farewell to Tim, the Giants said in a statement. We are grateful for his many contributions to the Giants organization over the last eight seasons. Hes been a loyal and vital leader of the San Francisco Giants, but more importantly, he has been a friend and mentor to many of us who share his passion for the Giants and the community, with his special dedication to Bryan Stow. We wish Tim nothing but the best on his future endeavours and hope to see him out at AT&T Park again soon.As a player over parts of 11 seasons with the Padres during which he and Bochy were teammates, Flannery was a career .255 hitter with nine homers and 209 RBIs in 972 games.In late January, Flannery presented the family of Bryan Stow with $96,000 to help with the care of the Giants fan as the father of two continues to deal with traumatic injuries and brain damage. Flannery and his band held four sold-out Northern California concerts last off-season benefiting Stow. All dollars from purchases of Flannerys 11th album, Outside Lands, released in November 2013, go directly to Stow.Flannery joined Phil Lesh and Bob Weir of the Grateful Dead to sing The Star-Spangled Banner before Game 3 of the NL Championship Series last month at AT&T Park.He said he will continue to commit himself to causes he believes in and to build awareness.History will show I was part of the greatest baseball teams in Giant history, I also was part of the greatest baseball teams in San Diego Padres history, Flannery said. I feel like the game has honoured a humble servant of it, I have been blessed so much from this sacred game. I just now feel it is the time to send myself home safely. Christian Villanueva Jersey . -- Phil Mickelson came to the St. Eric Hosmer Jersey . As for regular Olympic spectators, theyre being warned that most travel insurance policies wont cover acts of terrorism or war. 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Both sides of the deal have formally announced acquisitions: TFC introduced Jozy Altidore as a designated player on Friday, while their counterparts announced a three-and-a-half-year deal with Jermain Defoe.With the knockout stage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup kicking off Saturday in Brazil, TSN.cas panel of experts is back with a full set of predictions for the Round of 16 all the way through the Final. Read on to find out which team has the legs to outlast the cream of the crop and emerge as 2014 World Champions. The panel consists of TSN Soccer Analysts Jason deVos, Luke Wileman and Kristian Jack, TSN Radio 1050 Toronto host Gareth Wheeler, TSN Radio 690 Montreals Noel Butler and TSN.ca soccer editors Shane McNeil and Ken Rodney. Round of 16: Brazil def. Chile Though a unanimous choice from TSNs panel, Brazil will be in tough against a Chilean side that dislodged the defending champions from Spain. If handed a lesser opponent, Chile might be a dark horse advancement pick, but drawing the hosts was always the likely peril for whomever finished second in Group B. Brazil was a unanimous choice Colombia def. Uruguay A very conspicuous absence threatens to overshadow what would otherwise be an exciting clash between two of South Americas less-heralded giants. In the end, though, Luis Suarez suspension almost levels the playing field as Colombia has been and will be without its biggest threat – Radamel Falcao – for the entire tournament. Despite his absence, Colombia has been dominant in Brazil, piling up more goals than all but one team in the group stage. If James Rodriguez keeps at his group-stage pace and Colombia goes deep, he would be a legitimate Golden Ball contender. Picks: Butler, deVos, Jack, McNeil, Rodney, Wheeler, Wileman – Colombia; Jack - Uruguay France def. Nigeria Few were surprised when France handled Honduras to open the tournament, but Les Bleus made a definitive statement, pouring in five goals (and what likely should have been six but for a quick final whistle) against the top-ranked Swiss side. Karim Benzema has been a force alongside Olivier Giroud and if he continues his Golden Boot pursuit, France should certainly be on its way to the quarters at least. France was a unanimous choice Germany def. Algeria Algeria has caught a lot of teams napping, but will they be able to stun the perennial powers from Germany? Probably not as Thomas Muller scores seemingly at will and Miroslav Klose sits one fortuitous substitution away from the record book. The Greens have made history already in Brazil with their first ever advancement. The miracle run ends here, though. Germany was a unanimous choice Netherlands def. Mexico Though an overwhelming favourite, the Dutch present themselves as the first pick on to create a rift between our analysts. The reason? Mexican keeper Guillermo Ochoa. The man has been simply ridiculous and has already proven that hes single-handedly capable of withstanding an elite offence, having held Brazil scoreless. Gareth Wheeler and Kristian Jack are believers, but the rest of the panel is seeing Oranje for the quarters. Picks: Butler, deVos, McNeil, Rodney, Wileman – Netherlands; Jack, Wheeler - Mexico Costa Rica def. Greece It comes as no surprise that a match-up between two unlikely entrants provides the most divisive result iin terms of predictions.dddddddddddd Thats no slight to either team or their achievements, but on this same panel no one predicted Costa Rica to get through prior to the start of the tournament and only one had Greece advancing (Shane McNeil, in an extremely lucky guess). Consensus seems to be that the Ticos – having already dispatched England and Italy – will be able to handle Greece, but its not a sitter by any means. Picks: deVos, McNeil, Rodney, Wheeler – Costa Rica; Butler, Jack, Wileman - Greece Argentina def. Switzerland Or is it Lionel Messi that defeats Switzerland? The Argentines have gotten just two goals that didnt come off the Little Magicians boot and one of those was an own-goal from Bosnia and Herzegovina. The pressure will be even more firmly on Messi as Sergio Aguero will miss at least the Swiss match if not more, but our panel has complete faith in the Argentines here. Argentina was a unanimous choice Belgium def. United States Another divisive choice, but Belgium gets a slight edge over the Americans in this match-up. The Americans had a foot in the second round before Cristiano Ronaldos highlight-reel cross snatched victory out of their hands. Clint Dempsey and the return of Jozy Altidore will provide a handful for the Belgians, but with a balanced attack that has produced four different goal scorers and with Eden Hazard and Romelu Lukaku yet to register, Belgium gets the edge. Picks: Butler, deVos, Jack, McNeil, Wheeler – Belgium; Rodney, Wileman - USA Semifinals: Things get a bit fragmented once the quarters set in. A Brazil-Germany semifinal appears to be on the minds of many of our analysts, but its by no means by acclaim as both Noel Butler and Wheeler see upsets in the offing. On the other side Argentinas a safe bet with McNeil providing the lone vote of dissent in favour of the Belgians while the Dutch have been given a healthy dose of competition in the form of Mexico and/or Greece. Picks: deVos - Brazil def. Germany, Argentina def. Netherlands; Butler - Brazil def. France, Argentina def. Greece; Jack - Brazil def. Germany, Argentina def. Mexico; McNeil - Brazil def. Germany, Belgium def. Netherlands; Rodney - Germany def. Brazil, Argentina def. Netherlands; Wheeler - Germany def. Colombia, Argentina def. Mexico; Wileman - Brazil def. Germany, Argentina def. Netherlands Champions: It appears primed to go one of three ways, or so sayeth we. Will Brazil exorcise the ghosts of 1950 and finally win the Cup at home? Thats the opinion of Jason deVos, Luke Wileman as well as McNeil. Meanwhile, Jack and Wheeler continue to keep away from the pack, predicting a first-ever championship in the Americas for a European nation. Theyve got their money down on the Germans. Ken Rodney and Noel Butler, meanwhile, have gone rogue on the panel and stood in direct opposition to the Brazil-backers. Theyll get the bragging rights should Lionel Messi add a World Cup title onto his “Best Player in the World” case-file. Picks: deVos, McNeil, Wileman – Brazil; Butler, Rodney - Argentina; Jack, Wheeler - Germany ' ' '