Gästebereich » more grown up, and he is. Hes spending more time

FORTALEZA, Brazil -- Mario Balotelli was sent home from the Confederations Cup on Monday due to a strained thigh, leaving Italy without its top striker for both the semifinal vs. Spain and the final or third-place match. Having already been ruled out of Thursdays semifinal, Italy coach Cesare Prandelli decided to send Balotelli home after consulting with team physician Enrico Castellacci. "I feel like a loser leaving this way. I would have liked to stay but theres the Champions League preliminary round so Ive got to take care of myself," Balotelli said upon leaving the team hotel, referring to matches in August with AC Milan. "Anyhow my teammates will do well even without me." Balotelli injured his left quadriceps during Italys 4-2 loss to Brazil on Saturday. He has been the Azzurris most explosive player in the tournament so far, scoring the winner in a 2-1 victory over Mexico, converting a penalty in the 4-3 win over Japan and setting up a goal for Emanuele Giaccherini against Brazil. "Hes obviously very upset but theres just not enough time for him to return," Prandelli said, adding that the decision was made without any pressure from Milan. "We just used good sense." Castellacci said that Milans medical staff will take over treatment. "I checked out Balotelli this morning and, considering his condition, I dont think he will be able to recuperate before the final," Castellacci said. "Its not worth taking more risks." Balotelli is the second Italy player sent home since the Brazil match, with fullback Ignazio Abate -- who also plays for Milan -- having left Sunday with a dislocated right shoulder. Meanwhile, midfielder Andrea Pirlo, who sat out Saturdays match with Brazil due to a muscle problem, continued to train separately from the rest of the squad. "Pirlo continues to work out and were optimistic but we need to evaluate him day by day and we wont decide whether he can play until the last minute," Castellacci said. In a bit of positive news, midfielder Riccardo Montolivo has fully recuperated from a knock to the head and trained regularly Monday. Alberto Gilardino would seem to be Balotellis logical replacement if Prandelli sticks with his single-striker lineup. Or he could use several forwards such as Emanuele Giaccherini, Stephan El Shaarawy, Sebastian Giovinco, Alessio Cerci or Alessandro Diamanti. "Without Mario well have to work much more collectively so well work more on that," Prandelli said. "We have a few problems but the squad is responding well despite the difficulties." Derrick Nnadi Jersey . Viewers in the Canadiens region can watch the game on TSN Habs at 7:30pm et/8:30pm at. Anthony Hitchens Jersey .J. -- Freshman Eli Carter scored a career-high 31 points and hit the go-ahead basket in the second overtime as Rutgers rallied to stun No. http://www.prochiefsauthentic.com/Youth-...n-Elite-Jersey/. With just under five seconds remaining - the Raptors having clawed back from a 19-point deficit and pulled within one - DeRozan took the handoff from Chuck Hayes. Breeland Speaks Jersey . Asdrubal Cabrera had four hits and three RBIs, Michael Brantley also homered and the Indians beat the injury-riddled Minnesota Twins 9-4 Thursday for their first three-game winning streak this season. Dorian ODaniel Chiefs Jersey . -- Hee Young Park topped the leaderboard at 8 under Friday in the suspended second round of the Kingsmill Championship.TORONTO - 12 months ago DeMar DeRozan carried the weight of an expiring contract into training camp as he prepped for his fourth NBA season with the Raptors. In many ways he was a different person with different responsibilities, different motivations. He had a lot to prove but he wasnt fully ready to prove it, not like he is now. He was still a young man. A year later, DeRozan finds himself in a similar setting - looking to end the Raptors playoff drought and reach the postseason for the first time in his professional career - but as training camp winds down and the regular season approaches, he appears to be a noticeably changed man. Now, hes a young adult. Fresh off the most eventful year of his life, the 24-year-old says he feels a lot older than his age suggests. The day after opening night will mark the one-year anniversary since DeRozan signed a $38 million extension keeping him in Toronto through the 2016-17 season. Since inking his new contact he put up career numbers playing in all 82 games last year, he participated in Team USAs minicamp this summer and more personally, he became a father. As he notes, he has grown up off the court just as much as he has on it. "I see a lot of film and a lot of pictures from my rookie year, my second year, my third year," DeRozan said in an interview with TSN.ca after a weekend practice in the Raptors gym. "You [can] just see how much Ive grown personality-wise [and] as a basketball player, especially now as a father, having a daughter and having [those] responsibilities to take care of. So its definitely [been] a major growth year." On May 12, DeRozan and his fiancee, Kiara, became first-time parents to daughter Diar; a day that forever changed his life, a day thats largely responsible for his transformation. "I cant even tell you in words, to explain it," he said, struggling to articulate how he felt in that moment. "It just put life all together for me and helped me understand the important things in life. Its definitely big, it means the world to me and theres not a word I can find to sum up the feeling." "It changes you most definitely for the better, it helps you become more of a man." Entering his fifth season, DeRozans growth has not gone unnoticed in training camp. As his coach and teammates have pointed out, that sense of responsibility and maturity has transcended his personal life and carried over on the basketball court where he seems poised to take his game to the next level. "Hes growing up," Rudy Gay has noticed of DeRozan. "Hes a father now, he has a family he has to provide for. Its the little things, not little things to him, but those little things on the outside make him seem more grown up, and he is. Hes spending more time in the gym, other than being with his kid. Hes really hungry and everybody around here sees it." "DeMar has grown," coach Dwane Casey echoed. "Hes grown as a person, as a young man, as an NBA player. Hes doing things now just instinctively where my first year, two years ago it was more teaching and talking to him about those situations where now theyre natural. So thats a sign of growth, thats a sign of maturity and he has really, really grown as a basketball player and most of all as a young man, which is great to see." Praised repeatedly throughout his time in Toronto for his unrelenting work ethic, DeRozan continued to refine his game this summer. When he wasnt changing diapers you could find him in the gym hoisting three-pointers - he would shoot until he made at least 300 per session - or perfecting an array of post moves he has displayed to perfection in the preseason. The fruits of his labour, for now, have resulted in a number of dominant moments during the exhibition season. Building off of last years improvement in the post, DeRozan has impressed with his footwork and creativity around the basket, getting to the rim and to the line with ease. He has handled the ball witth confidence, passed out of double teams and shown improvement on defence.dddddddddddd "Its beautiful because he is such a wonderful young man," Casey said of DeRozans evolution on the court. "Hes paid his dues, hes paid the price, hes put [in] his time in the gym. Hes done it himself. Every phase of the game hes worked on in the summer." To take the next step as an NBA player, DeRozan knows he has to put everything hes worked on together, staying consistent and efficient on both ends. While many professional athletes are motivated by money and the prospect of making more of it - something he already has covered, at least for the next four seasons - DeRozan is fuelled by his appetite to win and the fact that through four NBA seasons, he hasnt tasted much success. "[Making the playoffs] would completely mean everything," said DeRozan, now the longest tenured Raptors player (he and Amir Johnson are both entering their fifth year with the team). "Thats my biggest goal, just get us back there and get us back to winning and just get that joyful feeling again from the fans." Losing hasnt been easy on DeRozan, a born competitor, and hes done a lot of it since the Raptors selected him out of USC with the ninth pick in the 2009 draft. The team narrowly missed the postseason in DeRozans rookie season, going 40-42 before Chris Bosh bolted to Miami. Over the next three years Toronto had a combined record of 79-151. It hasnt been easy but its been a learning experience for DeRozan, an experience thats allowed him to play through mistakes and another contributing factor to the growth process. "When you go through rough times it helps you grow that much more and understand what you have to do to get better and help your team get better," he reflected. "Going through four tough years really helped me grow in every aspect. [Im] more of a leader, more of a man, more of an athlete." Leadership has been the biggest adjustment for DeRozan. A self-proclaimed recluse, he is reserved and mild mannered as a person but, with time, is becoming a more vocal player. "Hes still young," Gay pointed out. "I dont think people realize how young he is. You cant really expect him to know all the things there is. Hes played a lot of basketball but its a different kind of feel when youre playing winning basketball, and [its] not his fault at all, but now we have a team that can win and I think that everybody thats here that has won hes listening to and hes figuring out how to do it himself." "Everybody goes through it, Ive been through it so I can relate to him a lot," Gay continued, having also missed the playoffs in his first four seasons before reaching the postseason with Memphis in his fifth year. "Yeah, I can see hes hungry, hes talked about it a lot during the summer with me and I think we all are." DeRozan has experienced more in the last 12 months than most do in a single year. Hes come a long way since being drafted as a 19-year-old and playing his first game a couple months after his 20th birthday. Hes gone through things, both good and bad, that have forced him to mature faster than most people his age. Sometimes its easy to forget that hes only and just barely-turned 24. "Thats the thing about the NBA, you want players to dominate right now but when guys are young coming into the league its virtually [impossible]," Casey said. "I havent seen it happen yet and Ive been in [the league] now 21, 22 years. Any time a player comes in there is a growth process and you want it to happen yesterday but it takes time." "DeMar is right on schedule. Its time for him to do that, to grow and to be the player he was drafted to be. In some players the light doesnt come on and youll know that after the four-year period, or five-year period, but with him the light is on and theres someone in the house and hes ready to roll. Nows the time for him." Cheap Twins Jerseys Wholesale Royals Jerseys Cheap Tigers Jerseys Authentic Indians Jerseys Cheap White Sox Jerseys Discount Blue Jays Jerseys Wholesale Rays Jerseys Cheap Yankees Jerseys Discount Red Sox Jerseys Discount Orioles Jerseys Discount Astros Jerseys Cheap Angels Jerseys Cheap Athletics Jerseys Cheap Mariners Jerseys Rangers Jerseys From China Braves Jerseys Outlet Cheap Marlins Jerseys Wholesale Mets Jerseys Wholesale Phillies Jerseys Cheap Nationals Jerseys Cubs Jerseys From China Reds Jerseys From China Cheap Brewers Jerseys Wholesale Pirates Jerseys Cheap Cardinals Jerseys Cheap Diamondbacks Jerseys Authentic Rockies Jerseys Dodgers Jerseys From China Wholesale Padres Jerseys Giants Jerseys From China ' ' '