~~**NEWS**~~ » race following a crash in Fridays opening team

STANFORD, Calif. -- Jurgen Klinsmann tried to dance around the questions: Why take unproven youngsters to the World Cup and leave Landon Donovan home? A day after announcing his momentous decision to drop the most accomplished player in American mens soccer, the U.S. coach hinted at answers without ever saying specifically why Donovan was among the final seven cuts. "As a coach, you have to make a decision based on what you want to execute in Brazil, what you want to see, how do you want to build those components into the entire group. And then I felt -- we coaches felt -- the guys that we chose, theyre a little step ahead of Landon in certain areas," Klinsmann said Friday. The 32-year-old Donovan, the American record holder with 57 international goals and second with 156 appearances, was trying to make his fourth World Cup roster. He is scoreless in seven games with the Los Angeles Galaxy this season, and Klinsmann dropped him from the roster for the first half of 2013 after Donovan took a four-month sabbatical. Asked for specifics, Klinsmann said Donovan "maybe is not the one now anymore to go one against one all the time or going into the box or finishing off." But the coach praised "his outstanding passing game, his experience, which is a big factor always." "He changed his game over the last few years, which is normal at that stage of his career," Klinsmann said. Donovan has five World Cup goals, including a stoppage-time score against Algeria four years ago that advanced the Americans to the second round. "We all have an incredible amount of respect and appreciation and admiration for everything that Landon has done for this team and for soccer in this country," said Toronto FCs Michael Bradley. "To see him walk out the door yesterday, to see six other guys walk out the door yesterday, is not easy." Klinsmann said Donovan took the decision Thursday "with an amazing composure." "Obviously, big disappointment. That is expected, and he said that, he doesnt kind of understand it," Klinsmann said. "He thinks he should have been in the 23." Donovan was scheduled to discuss the decision Saturday after training with the Galaxy. "Just sad for all the guys who got cut and what comes with it," U.S. captain Clint Dempsey said. "You bring in 30 players who have a lot of quality and it makes difficult decisions for the coaches to make." Klinsmann said he hopes Donovan remains in the player pool in the future: The Americans have the CONCACAF Gold Cup next year and the Copa America in 2016, when qualifying for the next World Cup also starts. Donovan also could return for the World Cup if there is an injury to one of the players selected for the roster. "How this new cycle will start after Brazil obviously depends a lot on the outcome in Brazil," Klinsmann said, "but the vision is, absolutely, that Landon continues his national team career." A World Cup champion with West Germany and European champion with Germany, Klinsmann was hired in July 2011. Less than a week after the Americans were drawn in December into a difficult World Cup group with Ghana, Portugal and Germany, the U.S. Soccer Federation announced Klinsmanns contract had been extended through 2018. He maintained the new deal didnt make him think more toward the future when making his picks. "This is based on today. This is based on what hopefully goes well the next seven, eight weeks, so that had nothing to do with my contract or with the perspective that those young players have for the longer run," he said. His roster includes 18-year-old winger Julian Green, who made his national team debut last month and has just six minutes of first-team experience with Bayern Munich; 21-year-old central defender Anthony Brooks, who has three international appearances; and 20-year-old right back DeAndre Yedlin, whose only national team appearances were as a second-half substitute this year. "Some have a learning curve ahead of them, theres no doubt about it," Klinsmann said. "But they are ready for that learning curve, and they might surprise some people out there." Since returning to the World Cup in 1990 after a 40-year absence, the U.S. has alternated first-round elimination with advancement. The Americans open against Ghana, which knocked them out in the group stage in 2006 and the second round last time. "As of today Im very strongly convinced this is the right way to go for it," Klinsmann said. "Now time will tell. If Im not getting the job done at the end of the day, you know the outcome of things in the soccer world." Cheap Air Jordan Uk .Y. -- In a span of three days, Shabazz Napier and Connecticut knocked out both Philadelphia schools in the NCAA tournament. Discount Jordans Free Shipping . The Missouri Tigers Defensive End and SEC Defensive player of the year is eligible for the upcoming NFL draft in May. http://www.discountairjordanuk.com/. The Maple Leafs will play on the road for the first time this season after dropping home contests to Montreal and Pittsburgh to begin the campaign. After losing a one-goal decision to the Canadiens on Wednesday, they were bested 5-2 on Saturday by the Penguins. Cheap Jordans Uk Free Shipping .com) - Troy Brouwer scored the game-winning goal with just 12. Nike Air Jordan For Sale Uk .S. -- Carl-Antoine Delisle snapped a tie in the third period with his second goal of the game to lead the Tigres past Cape Breton 4-3 in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action Wednesday as Victoriaville won its eighth in a row.BELFAST -- Marcel Kittel sprinted to victory in a wet second stage of the Giro dItalia on Saturday as Michael Matthews took the overall leaders pink jersey from Orica-GreenEdge teammate Svein Tuft of Langley, B.C. Kittel timed his move to perfection, with 200 metres remaining, to edge out Nacer Bouhanni and Giacomo Nizzolo in a bunch sprint at the end of the 218-kilometre (135-mile) leg, which started and ended in Belfast. The German cyclist clocked more than five hours to claim his first Giro stage win on the day before his 26th birthday. "Honestly, it was not so easy today to stay in front with the team, I lost them a few times," Kittel said. "It was a very hard day with all the rain, and the boys did an amazing job. "The weather was very Irish I guess, and youre cold if you ride five hours in the rain. "I was really overwhelmed by all the people on the roads, it was really a big party despite the weather. Im super happy and proud about this win, its really something to have a win in each of the three Grand Tours." Matthews finished three seconds ahead of his Orica teammates and was hoping to still be wearing the maglia rosa when the Giro moves into Italy. "I didnt expect it, its truly an honour to be wearing this jersey," Matthews said. "We had a great team time trial yesterday and we decided to give it to Svein for his birthday. To take it today is truly something amazing. "Ill trry to keep it as long as I can, hopefully until at least stage six or seven.dddddddddddd Theres a few guys who are close to me. Its truly a massive thing for the team and for me as well." Despite the heavy rain, thousands of people lined the route which took in picturesque rock formation, the Giants Causeway, as it wound down the coast. Two Garmin-Sharp cyclists withdrew from the race following a crash in Fridays opening team time trial. Dan Martin will have surgery later Saturday on a broken collarbone. Teammate Koldo Fernandez finished the stage, but tests afterward revealed he had also broken his clavicle. There was an early breakaway of four riders. Jeffry Romero, Maarten Tjallingii, Sander Armee and Andrea Fedi swiftly built a lead of more than six minutes on the peloton, which was led by time trial winner Orica. Tjallingii had a superb stage. Not only did the Dutch cyclist lead for most of the day, but he also powered up both category four climbs to claim the blue King of the Mountains jersey. With the peloton quickly catching the four escapees, Tjallingii made a solo break with eight kilometres to go and briefly looked like holding on until he was caught with little more than three kilometres remaining. Sundays third stage is a 187-kilometre cross-border leg from Armagh to Dublin. Monday is a rest day before the race resumes in southern Italy with a stage ending in Bari. The Giro ends in Trieste on June 1. ' ' '