It had been the greatest World Cup most could ever remember. A World Cup full of wonderful moments and wonderful matches. Then it became the World Cup that Luis Suarez bit someone in. Hyperbole has been destroyed in Brazil. World Cups of recent memory have tried to convince us that they have been entertaining but, in general, they were dull. This time it seemed anyone could say anything about this World Cup and no one would say wait, what?. And then Suarez bit Italian defender Giorgio Chiellini. Wait, what? It came just as some might have been taking a snooze. For the first time in Brazil two games, being played out at the same time, gave us very little to enjoy. England, whose multitude of writers on social media reminded us they were still relevant, finally put their fans out of their misery with a lifeless scoreless draw against sudden group powerhouses, Costa Rica in Belo Horizonte. In Natal, meanwhile, Uruguays plan was going to script. Blessed with two legitimate world class strikers, and very little else, Oscar Tabarez played it cautiously, waited for a moment or two to go his way and thats how they qualified. Anyone willing to criticize such a tactic should remember just how they won Copa America 2011. And how they have scored in Brazil. A penalty by Edinson Cavani, a header made by Cavani and scored by Suarez, a bullet of a shot finished by Suarez and started by the goalkeeper and now a header from a set play. Tuesdays hero, Diego Godin, is the only one anywhere close to the talent of the front pair. Italy, meanwhile, didnt get The Tabarez Memo. Needing a draw to advance they played far too close to the line of uncertainty. A line that could move with a red card, a set play goal of a poor display by their main striker. Lightning struck three times for the Italians. Claudio Marchisios red card was debatable but not enough to chastise the referee. The marking on the goal wasnt good enough and then there was Mario Balotelli. The term world class is thrown around far too often when describing players. It is the elite of the elite, a section reserved for the greatest players in the game today. There is nothing left after that. On Tuesday, Balotelli made a mockery of those quick to place him in that category. On the biggest stage of all, when his country needed him he was an absolute liability, forcing his coach to remove him at half-time. The problem for Balotelli is that he has run out of his immaturity excuse. The great footballers are gifted, of course, but also have a level of football intelligence about them, that allows games to come to them rather than trying to do it themselves. Balotelli has misfired regularly at the top table of club football, the Champions League, and has now done the same at the top table of the international game as well. Italy came to Brazil to win the World Cup and needed their striker at the top of his game, physically and mentally. He played one good half out of five and thats not good enough. Sure, he is not the only one to blame for their early exit. Cesare Prandelli couldnt up the tempo and had to resign afterwards. Andrea Pirlo, one of the greatest footballers of this era, was a shadow of his former self, joining the likes of Iker Casillas, Xavi, Diego Forlan and Steven Gerrard who have all been exposed by age at this level. And then there is FIFA who are also to blame for this, of course. Italy became another European team humbled in the intense heat of Brazil. Asking these teams to play afternoon games, rather than evening games, has made a significant impact on the results. Not that they care about that. Their attention now turns to the Suarez investigation and they need to get it right. He should and will be suspended with a lengthy ban. What happens next is even more important. After his 10-game ban came down last April for biting Branislav Ivanovic, the Uruguyan showed a tremendous amount of remorse. How can he not have? After all, this is clearly not a man who believes that biting an opponent is the right thing to do. However, it is also clearly a man who is unstable on the field and needs help. Throwing the book at him, in terms of a suspension, will satisfy all of those who care about the sport. That then leaves a man, a man who will clearly be broken by this. It is easy to feel no sympathy for him but if you think he was crushed by the Liverpool suspension wait for this one to come down. Uruguay is a very proud footballing country and that is shown in the way they play the game. Suarez will be distraught that he has let his country down and, with it, given a poor reflection on them internationally. As he sits out the rest of this World Cup and, subsequently, likely the 2015 Copa America he will have a lot of time on his hands to get help and become a better man. Many hours were put in to get him to reach the level of world class as a footballer and now he must do the same to achieve that as a man. Sam Bradford Cardinals Jersey . -- The Sacramento Kings have claimed forward Travis Outlaw off waivers under the NBAs new amnesty provision, filling out the frontcourt with another veteran. Chase Edmonds Cardinals Jersey . Team spokesman Donald Beauchamp said there was no new information on the 80-year-old Hall of Famers condition. The family has requested privacy. http://www.azcardinalsfanspro.com/Black-....html?cat=934.C. -- Kurt Busch put his chances at "70 per cent" at running the Indianapolis 500 this year because of recent developments that have pushed a potential program along. Mason Cole Jersey . LOUIS -- St. Christian Kirk Jersey . -- Wide receiver Sidney Rice should be fully recovered from a torn knee ligament by the time the Seattle Seahawks start defence of their Super Bowl title, general manager John Schneider said Wednesday.PRETORIA, South Africa -- The chief prosecutor in Oscar Pistorius murder trial on Monday alleged numerous inconsistencies in the athletes account of how he killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp last year, seeking to show that the athlete is lying when he says he shot her by mistake. Chief prosecutor Gerrie Nel also accused Pistorius of tailoring his testimony to fit the evidence at the scene. Pistorius denied the accusations. Nel alleged that the Olympic runner changed his aim with his 9 mm pistol to ensure that he hit Steenkamp as she fell back against a magazine rack in a toilet cubicle. Pistorius said the claim was not true, one of many denials he has issued in four days of unrelenting cross-examination in a pivotal stage of the trial that is being broadcast on television and followed globally by people who once admired the double-amputee runner for his international achievements on the track. Nels methodical questioning put Pistorius under intense pressure, and the athlete sometimes became distressed, which in turn only prompted his accuser to ask him if he was using his emotional displays to mask his difficulty in answering the questions. Pistorius testified he fired four times through the closed toilet door in his home last year after hearing a "wood" sound that he mistook for the door about to open. He said he thought an intruder was about to come out and attack him. Pistorius said that, in retrospect, the noise he probably heard was the magazine holder being moved by his girlfriend. Nel said Pistorius killed Steenkamp intentionally after a fight and is lying about fearing an intruder. He said Pistorius heard Steenkamp, struck by the first shot, fall against the magazine rack and that he used that sound to adjust his aim. "Im saying you heard the magazine rack and you changed your aim," Nel said to the Paralympic champion. Steenkamp was hit by three of the shots, prosecutors say, while one missed. "I wouldnt have heard anyone fall inside of the toilet while I was shooting," Pistorius replied to Nel, though directing his gaze to Judge Thokozile Masipa, who will decide on the verdict. The athlete faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted of premeditated murder. He twice broke down crying, once when he was asked to repeat the order to leave that he says he shouted to the perceived intruder before firing through the door. Pistorius sobbbed and wailed again when Nel insisted that he knew he was firing at his girlfriend, who was allegedly hiding from him after they fought in the pre-dawn hours of Feb.dddddddddddd 14, 2013. "I did not fire at Reeva," Pistorius said, crying as Masipa announced the days second unscheduled break. After the judge left the courtroom, Pistorius stood sobbing with his body trembling and turned away from the gallery. Nel also tried to pin Pistorius on whether he intended to shoot at the intruder, but Pistorius said he did not intend to do so and that he was terrified at the time. "I didnt have time to think about what I wanted to do," Pistorius said. That prompted Nel to question whether Pistorius was changing his legal strategy from "self-defence" to "involuntary action" and he later said Pistorius did not fire a warning shot. Pistorius said that when he shot he had no idea who was behind the door, in response to Nels remark that he didnt know whether a child, an unarmed burglar or more than one person could have been in the toilet. "You never gave them a chance, in your version," Nel said, building the prosecution case that Pistorius shot to kill. Pistorius was also accused of tailoring his version to fit evidence at the scene, with Nel painstakingly listing alleged inconsistencies in the account and alleging that Pistorius had "concocted" his version of the shooting. "Youre tailoring your version as youre sitting there," Nel said. He accused Pistorius of being a stickler for detail on some matters, in contrast to his frequent statements on the witness stand that he could not remember aspects of his testimony. Nel noted that Pistorius earlier said he warned Steenkamp to call police about an intruder in a whisper, contradicting later testimony that he spoke in a "low tone" and the prosecutor also said blood spatter evidence indicated that the athletes statement about the location of a duvet in the bedroom was false. Pistorius has said the duvet was on the bed, and that police photographs of the bed cover on the floor suggest that police moved it there after the shooting. Nel said a pattern of blood drops on the duvet and on the carpet nearby show that it was on the floor before police arrived, and that its location amounts to evidence that the couple had been having an argument. White NFL Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys Camo NFL Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale Authentic Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Online Wholesale Jerseys 2018 Cheap Jerseys China ' ' '