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The Day in 100 Words or Less It was a day for football fans to try and set aside their consciences and allow what happens on the field to distract them away from the happenings in Brazil. It was a day where the host nation were asked to open the tournament and show us what they were made of: A day that the history books will show as a win for Brazil but ultimately the bigger story was much more than that. Observations - Croatia deserved a chance to show us what they were made of. For 70 minutes they were rightfully level with the World Cup favourites. It could have been an acid test for Niko Kovacs side to see what they could accomplish. Unfortunately, they were robbed of that opportunity. - It was a very unfortunate moment. Many eyes were on this game that rarely glance at a soccer match and when referee Yuichi Nishimura pointed to the spot in the 70th minute the world asked: "Why?" The Japanese official adjudged that Dejan Lovren had fouled Fred but the truth was he placed his hand on his shoulders and the Fluminense man went down. - With the world watching it was hard not to feel sadness. In the opening act of the games greatest carnival, one mans massive error in judgment had turned the spectacle into a farce. - It then became Neymars day. For a 22-year-old making his World Cup debut in Brazil, wearing the famous number 10 shirt, he showed a remarkable amount of poise. He had already scored one, gliding into space provided by Oscar, before unleashing a shot passed Stipe Pletikosa and then, at 1-1, he had the nations hopes placed on his right foot. - The referee handed the ball to Neymar at 69:30 and he placed it on the spot at 69:38. He then waited and waited and waited some more before placing the ball into the net 50 seconds after he put it down on the ground. I am not sure what was going through Neymars mind during those 50 seconds but he showed no sign of pressure in one of the most intense moments in recent Brazilian football history. - Croatia, led by the intelligence of Luka Modric, didnt go down easily and the game remained remarkably open until the final stages when Oscar finished it off. - We may never see another game at this World Cup that was this stretched. Brazil worked the flanks the entire game and two of Croatias most dangerous attacks (one on which was their goal) came from crosses wide in the opening 10 minutes. - Remarkably, less than 18 per cent of Brazils attacks came through the middle. Man of the Day Nominees: Neymar – a brace from Mr. Box Office in the biggest game of his young life put his face in newspapers across the globe. Oscar – The Chelsea playmaker had a brilliant game and showed just why Luiz Felipe Scolari cared little for his poor form at Chelsea in the last few months of the Premier League season. Luka Modric – Brazils two central midfielders had a very difficult time against the Real Madrid man, who was very intelligent with his passing and feasted on space when countering. Ivan Perisic – the Croatian winger had a very good game and it will be interesting to see if other players, asked to play against Brazils left side attacker, can be influential because Hulk - used a lot on the left - showed little appetite to track back. Yuichi Nishimura – the referee made a monumental mistake. Some on social media jumped to an assumption of match-fixing. Everyone needs to be very careful when drawing a line between incompetence and intentional error. The winner... Oscar was sensational. Many expected him to play centrally but he occupied a wide right position, tracking back and winning all four tackles he attempted. Brazil clearly had a plan to attack down the right but it was the 22-year-olds exceptional play certainly helped emphasize that method. Oscar has the potential to be the best player at this World Cup. He is so versatile, he can be three players in one. He is capable of coming deep and helping out the two central midfielders, can move wide and pull defenders with him to open up space centrally (which is what happened on Neymars first goal) and he can advance and run beyond all, pulling opposing back lines deeper. Brazil may need to change their style against a top team later in the tournament, potentially bringing in a Ramires or Fernandinho for Hulk, for example, and Scolari was given food for thought on day one for this because of the brilliance of Oscar out wide. Dani Alves was the biggest beneficiary of Oscars positioning. The Barcelona right back was culpable on the opening goal, pressing higher than anyone on Pletikosa as Croatia started an attack, but as the game settled down so did the 30-year-old. Between them they created a dynamic duo with overlaps and easily led the game in total pass completions between team-mates. What Comes Next? Day 2 sees Mexico vs Cameroon (Noon et/9am pt), Spain vs Netherlands (3pm et/Noon pt) and Chile vs Australia (6pm et/3pm pt). Catch all the game live on the TSN radio networks. Burning Question for Tomorrow Will a young Dutch team be brave enough to play a back three and counter a potentially vulnerable Spanish team? All stats and diagrams were powered by Opta Eddie Robinson Jersey .J. - New York Giants cornerback Prince Amukamara left Monday nights game against the Indianapolis Colts with a torn biceps. Ricky Vaughn Jersey . Perez, 35, posted a 1-2 record with a 3.69 earned-run average in 19 relief appearances last season. His season ended Aug. 9 due to a torn ligament in his left elbow. Perez joins infielder Andy LaRoche and catcher Mike Nickeas with minor-league agreements for 2014 that include invitations to attend spring training. http://www.indianssale.com/indians-corey-kluber-jersey/ . You can watch the game live on TSN2 and TSN Mobile TV at 9pm et/6pm pt. Jonathan Huberdeau and Quinton Howden are expected to make their debuts for Team Canada. Omar Vizquel Jersey .ca! Hi Kerry, Im sure youve received many emails wondering what your take is on the Spezza goal that looked like Neil blatantly kicked it in while standing directly in the middle of the crease where, you know, usually a goalie is to make a save but couldnt be due to Neil being there! Thanks! Jon - Westfield, MA Jon: Lets first ask Henrik Lundqvist what he thought of the scoring of the Sens second goal with . Carlos Baerga Jersey . Hes the same player he always was, only now his efforts are being rewarded. The rookie manager has made a habit of heaping praise on others when things are going well, and accepting criticism when they arent. But in the case of Hurtado, its what the coach is NOT saying that may be the secret to a superb run of form.With the 2014 CFL Draft set to take place next Tuesday in Toronto, CFL on TSN analyst Duane Forde breaks down the top prospects. Today, he looks at the offensive line. 1. Laurent Duvernay-Tardif (OT, McGill) You Should Know: Over the course of his university career, Duvernay-Tardifs commitments to medical school and the family business frequently limited him to one practice per week, yet he was still the Metras Trophy winner as the Top Lineman in CIS football in 2013. The Good: His combination of size, athleticism, strength, intelligence, and untapped potential make him the most intriguing offensive line prospect produced by the CIS since Mike Schad in 1986. The Bad: Hes projected as a 4th round pick in the NFL Draft so whoever picks him wont have him for at least another year - if ever - especially considering his desire to finish med school. 2. David Foucault (OT, Montreal) The Good: At 67 and a relatively lean 320 lbs., he moves well, making him a potential ratio-breaking offensive tackle. The Bad: Despite all of his obvious tools, Foucault has yet to be consistently dominant at the university level. 3. Matthias Goossen (OC/OG, Simon Fraser) The Good: Combining toughness and intelligence, this three-time All-GNAC selection has played every position on the O-Line during his four years as a starter. The Bad: Despite having always played in Canada, he has never faced defenders who are a yard off the ball, as SFU and British Columbia high schools both play under American rules. 4. Pierre Lavertu (OC, Laval) The Good: Quick, strong and smart, he was a three-time All-Canadian and four-time All-RSEQ selection while anchoring the nations best collegiate O-Line. The Bad: His ceiling likely isnt as high as those ranked ahead of him. That said; hes as CFL ready as any prospect in the Class of 2014. 5. Tchissakid Player (OG, Northwestern State) The Good: Although he played at a smaller school, this 66, 300 lbs. guard is the only NCAA Division 1 player in the entire draft class. The Winnipeg-born, Texas-raised lineman was a three-year starter for the Demons. The Bad: A hamstring injury suffered at the Toronto Regional Combine prevented him from participating in the main CFL Combine, which kept scouts from comparing him head to head with other top prospects. Other Contenders: - Jas Dhillon (OG, British Columbia) - 2013 Canada West All-Star; former DL, 2013 was his only year on offence- Terry Hart (OG, St. Francis Xavier) - 2013 AUS All-Star; 32 bench press reps tied Lavertu atop O-Line group at CFL Combine- Kyle Paterson (OG, Regina) - from same hometown (Weyburn, SK) and college as CFLers Brendon LaBatte and Brett Jones; 5.22 second 40-yard dash and 30 bench press reps at CFL Combine- Quinn Everett (OG, Mount Allison) - college defensive lineman shows potential as a guard; dominated the O-Line testing at the Montreal Regional Combine - Aaron Wheaton (OG, Toronto) - 65", 295 lbs.; participated in 2013 East West Bowl Also On The Radar (alphabetically): Ahmed Abusafeyeh (Tiffin/Windsor AKO Fratmen), Kwinton Albino (Manitoba), Stephen Armstrong (Mount Allison), Lane Bryksa (Saskatchewan), Renaud Lafrance-Longtin (Sherbrooke), Fréderik Landry-Simard (Concordia) Analysis: During the 2013 season, the CFL made two significant changes to the leagues draft eligibility rules. Under the old system, all players became draft eligible four years after joining a college program. Now, prospects at U.S. schools become draft eligible upon completion of their college eligibility, eliminating redshirt juniors ("futures") from the draft. Those at Canadian schools now become draft eligible three years after using their first year of CIS eligibility. In other words, if a player redshirts in his first university season, his draft year gets postponed by a year (i.dddddddddddde. hed now be draft eligible after his fifth year instead of his fourth). In this "transition year", no position group was impacted more by the rule changes than the offensive line. No fewer than five NCAA Division 1 O-Linemen, including outstanding UNLV tackle Brett Boyko, and a handful of top CIS hogs, like Calgarys All-Canadian guard Sukh Chung, were reclassified from 2014 to the 2015 draft class. In addition, a CFL policy requiring "non-resident" Canadians to apply for their non-import status (even when they clearly qualify) led to Penn States Winnipeg-born star guard John Urschel also being excluded from this draft class. As a result, what wouldve been a bumper crop of high end offensive line prospects was reduced to just four (Duvernay-Tardif, Foucault, Goossen, and Lavertu), followed by a lot of uncertainty about the next tier of prospects. Bear in mind that while the eligibility rules have changed, the CFLs need for non-import offensive linemen hasnt, and the effect on this years draft process will be twofold. First, with Duvernay-Tardif most certainly NFL-bound, the demand for the other top linemen will be intense. For teams whose need is more immediate, theyll look to Lavertu and Goossen, as their learning curves wont be as steep as Foucaults. Regardless of the order, those three could easily be the first three players off the board and will surely all be Top Five selections. Secondly, with the leagues constant need for non-import O-Linemen, teams looking for OL depth will be forced to reach for lower ranked prospects (i.e. draft them earlier than their ability suggests they should be picked). As for Duvernay-Tardif, the gap between the top four or five O-Line prospects and the rest of the class means that his NFL interest shouldnt cause him to fall as far as he would have in a deeper draft pool. As a precedent, Ill point to the 2005 CFL Draft. Much like the Class of 2014, there werent a lot of "cant miss" offensive line prospects. A few days before that draft, the clear No. 1 prospect, Toledo tackle Nick Kaczur, had been selected in the 3rd round of the NFL Draft. Despite the limited supply of upper echelon O-Linemen, the demand for non-import blockers remained the same, as eight of the first nineteen selections were offensive linemen, including Kaczur, who went 9th overall. Simply put, the Toronto Argonauts, who chose him, felt that the likelihood of Kaczur returning to Canada within a few years was greater than the likelihood of the linemen who were still available developing into quality starters within the same time frame. In the same draft a similar line of thinking led to the second-ranked O-Lineman, Chris Best, going 4th overall despite having already committed to a Masters degree program that would keep him from turning pro until two years later. Godfrey Ellis was chosen 10th overall even after measuring in at 510 at the Combine. The fact that Jeff Keeping, a college tight end, had never played O-Line didnt stop him from being drafted - as a guard - 18th overall. John Comiskey went one spot later even though he hadnt played a single snap in the previous season. Fast forward to 2014, where the point is this. The top offensive linemen will be snapped up early. Once Lavertu, Goossen, Foucault, and Player are gone, teams will have to evaluate the likelihood and timeline of Duvernay-Tardif becoming a CFL lineman vs. the likelihood and timeline of the same happening for the remaining O-Linemen on the board. The "tipping point" could be reached by the end of Round 1 and probably no later than Round 3. 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