Sao Paulo, Brazil - The World Cup kicks off in style today as host nation Brazil battles Croatia in the opening match of Group A play at the Arena de Sao Paulo. Jeff Locke 49ers Jersey . Follow all the action live on TSN Radio 1050 in Toronto, 690 in Montreal, 1260 in Edmonton and on TEAM 1410 beginning at 4pm et/1pm pt. As the host country, the pressure is squarely on the shoulder of the Brazilian squad to make good on their status as pre-tournament favorites and win their sixth World Cup title. The key for Brazil will be how manager Luiz Felipe Scolari does with keeping his young team on an even keel in front of their home crowd. Leading the star-studded Brazilian team is 22-year-old Neymar, who figures to be one of the faces of the tournament. The Barcelona man is viewed as the future of the Brazilian national team, and he made quite an introduction for himself at last summers Confederations Cup, scoring four goals in the tournament and helping Brazil to a 3-0 win over Spain in the final, which earned him recognition as the best player in the competition. Experienced players such as Ronaldinho, Kaka and Robinho were left off the Confederations Cup roster, and were replaced by youngsters Fred and Hulk, who will help Neymar with the scoring onus. Scolari has a plethora of options in midfield with creative players like Chelsea trio Ramires, Oscar and Willian, while Inter Milans Hernanes is another offensive option. Defensively, experienced goalkeeper Julio Cesar will anchor a group that includes David Luiz, Thiago Silva and Dante as options in the middle, while full backs Dani Alves and Marcelo give the team plenty going forward in two- way roles. Croatia, meanwhile, returns to the worlds biggest footballing stage after missing the 2010 event in South Africa. Croatian head coach Niko Kovac is armed with a talented roster that certainly has a fighting chance to reach the knockout stage, despite a difficult draw. Kovacs club is led by a strong midfield which contains Real Madrids Luka Modric and Sevillas Ivan Rakitic. The former Tottenham man, Modric, will be responsible for generating offense from his midfield position and feeding the ball forward to players like Mario Mandzukic and Ivica Olic. The presence of Rakitic will help Modric in the middle of the field, while both Mandzukic and Olic will be responsible for putting away the chances. Olic will have to carry the offensive load against Brazil, however, as Mandzukic will be unavailable after he was sent off in the clubs qualifying victory over Iceland. Croatia will have one big miss in midfield as Niko Kranjcar will not feature in the tournament due to a hamstring injury. Kranjcar has totaled 16 goals in 81 international appearances, and his experience will be missed in a midfield short on depth. Captain Darijo Srna anchors the back line with considerable international experience, having been capped 110 times for his country. Hell need to keep his defenders organized and clam on the ball against the likes of Brazil and Mexico if the side is to reach the knockout round for the first time since 1998. Brazil hosted the World Cup once before, in 1950, and that team was also expected to hoist the trophy, but were upset by Uruguay in the final. That defeat is still talked about in Brazil today, so the current team will aim to make sure they get off to a winning start. Tarvarius Moore 49ers Jersey .Y. - His opponent couldnt stop him, and LeBron James didnt quite know what to think when his coach tried. Tarvarius Moore Jersey . Detroits powerful offence made that unnecessary. Scherzer allowed two hits and struck out seven, and the Tigers backed their star right-hander with three early homers in an 8-1 victory over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night. http://www.49ersauthoritystore.com/Authentic-Jeff-Locke-49ers-Jersey/ . He also had some help Monday night.Hibbert scored a season-high 29 points to help Indiana beat the Utah Jazz 97-86 Monday night, ending the Pacers six-game losing streak.Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Michael Carter-Williams scored 17 points with 10 assists and 10 rebounds for his fifth career triple-double, helping the Philadelphia 76ers to a 103-94 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night. Luc Mbah a Moute paced the Sixers with 18 points, while Nerlens Noel contributed 14 points, six rebounds and a career-high six blocks in the win. The Sixers, who have won two straight home games since taking the first two at home last season, snapped their season-opening 17-game losing streak with a win over Minnesota on Dec. 3. Kevin Martin had 19 points, Nikola Pekovic tallied 18 points with seven rebounds and Gorgui Dieng posted 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Timberwolves, who looked to win two straight games for the first time this season. Final Score: Atlanta 105, Portland 99 Atlanta, GA (SportsNetwork.com) - Atlantas All-Stars came through again. Paul Millsap, Al Horford and Jeff Teague had plenty of help as the Hawks pushed their franchise-record winning streak to 18 games. Millsap scored 21 points, Horford had 17 and Teague scored six of his 13 points in the fourth quarter as the Hawks held off LaMarcus Aldridge and the Portland Trail Blazers for a 105-99 victory on Friday night. Kyle Korver added 16 points and Kent Bazemore had 12 points in 40 minutes off the bench as the Hawks won without injured forward DeMarre Carroll, who sat with a left Achilles strain. Millsap, Horford and Teague were all named to the Eastern Conference All-Star team on Thursday, the first time since 1980 that three Hawks made the game. Atlantas Mike Budenholzer will coach the East in the Feb. 15 game at Madison Square Garden in New York. The Hawks havent lost since Dec. 26 in Milwaukee. And at 39-8, they surpassed last seasons win total (38-44). They could secure a perfect 17-0 month with a win Saturday against Philadelphia, which will end a seven-game homestand. Aldridge scored 37 points for Portland a day after he was named to the Western Conference All-Star team. Wesley Matthews added 16 points and Damian Lillard scored 13 with 11 assists. Final Score: Houston 93, Boston 87 Boston, MA (SportsNetwork.com) - In the absence of Dwight Howard, Donatas Motiejunas had a career night to keep the Houston Rockets winning streak alive. Motiejunas scored a career-high 26 points with 12 rebounds to lead the Rockets to a 93-87 win over the Boston Celtics. Howard missed his third straight game with a knee injury. The team revealed earlier in the week that Howard is suffering from edema in the knee caused by fluid build-up in body tissues. Josh Smith deposited 15 points and James Harden added 14 with seven assists and six rebounds for Houston, which has won four straight both overall and in the series with Boston. Brandon Bass and Marcus Thornton each scored 17 points for the Celtics, who have lost three of their last four. Final Score: Toronto 127, Brooklyn 122 (OT) Brooklyn, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - DeMar DeRozan finished with 26 points and nine assists as the Toronto Raptors defeated the Brooklyn Nets 127-122 for a thrilling overtime victory on Friday. Lou Williams netted 25 points, Amir Johnson had 24 points and seven rebounds and Jonas Valanciunas supplied 14 points and 11 boards for the Raptors, who won their fifth straight win. Jarrett Jack scored a career-high 35 points with 13 assists and Brook Lopez also had 35 and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Nets, who have dropped their last four games. Final Score: Cleveland 101, Sacramento 90 Cleveland, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - LeBron James returned to the Cavaliers lineup and scored 19 points, and Cleveland used balanced scoring to top the Sacramento Kings 101-90, extending its season-long winning streak. Kevin Love had 23 points and 10 rebounds and Kyrie Irving scored 21 points with six assists. Irving carried the load offensively in Clevelands win over Portland on Wednesday, netting a career-high 55 of the teams 99 points. James, who missed that game with a wrrist injury, also contributed seven assists and four steals, and J. Jonathan Cooper 49ers Jersey. R. Smith added 16 points. The Cavs have ripped off nine straight wins since a six-game skid. DeMarcus Cousins led Sacramento with 21 points and 13 rebounds just hours after it was announced that he would make his first appearance in the All-Star game. Cousins will replace injured Lakers star Kobe Bryant, who had season- ending shoulder surgery. Rudy Gay chipped in 20 points in Sacramentos eight straight setback. Final Score: Dallas 93, Miami 72 Miami, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - The Dallas Mavericks made three shots in the first quarter, scored 33 points in the first half and beat the Miami Heat by 21. How? With a 39-3 run. Charlie Villanueva scored 20 points and the Mavericks held the Heat to just three points over a nearly 14-minute span in the third and fourth quarters on the way to a 93-72 win on Friday night. Miamis stale finish -- which came after Dallas started the game ice-cold from the field -- tempered what was a career night for Hassan Whiteside, who set a franchise record with 14 rebounds in the first quarter. The 7-foot center ended with 16 points and a career-high 24 rebounds for the Heat, who were without Dwyane Wade because of a hamstring strain the All-Star guard suffered Tuesday against Milwaukee, which could sideline him for weeks. James Ennis added 15 points off the bench, All-Star Chris Bosh scored 12 and Mario Chalmers had 10 in Miamis fourth loss in six games. Final Score: New Orleans 108, LA Clippers 103 New Orleans, LA (SportsNetwork.com) - Eric Gordon scored a season-high 28 points to lift the New Orleans Pelicans to a 108-103 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday. Ryan Anderson netted 24 points and went 5-of-11 from 3-point range, while Alexis Ajinca supplied 17 points and nine rebounds off the bench and Tyreke Evans had 11 points and 12 assists for the Pelicans, who have won five of their last six games. Chris Paul finished with 24 points, Blake Griffin scored 19 and DeAndre Jordan contributed 12 points and 15 rebounds for the Clippers, who had their six-game winning streak come to an end. Final Score: Utah 110, Golden State 100 Salt Lake City, UT (SportsNetwork.com) - Gordon Haywards career game led the Utah Jazz to an improbable 110-100 win over the Golden State Warriors on Friday. The Jazz improved to 12-10 on the season when Hayward scores at least 20 points, compared to 5-20 when he nets 19 or fewer. He finished with 26 in this one to go along with a career-high 15 rebounds and six assists. Utah also got a boost from its reserves, who had just nine fewer points between them than the starters. Trevor Booker scored 17 points, Trey Burke had 15 with seven assists and Rudy Gobert had 10 points and 10 boards for his sixth double-double in January. The young 7-footer had just two double-doubles in his career before this month. Steph Curry filled it up with 32 points, seven rebounds and six assists in Golden States second straight loss, but his running mate Klay Thompson contributed just 12 points and did not connect from deep on three tries. Curry and Thompson will both represent the Western Conference in the All-Star game on Feb. 15. Final Score: Phoenix 99, Chicago 93 Phoenix, AZ (SportsNetwork.com) - Eric Bledsoe scored 23 points, including the final four for Phoenix, to help the Suns pull away from the Chicago Bulls and cap an eight-game homestand with a 99-93 win. Goran Dragic scored 21 points for the Suns, who finished the homestand 6-2. Markieff and Marcus Morris both scored 12 points, with Markieff also contributing a season-high 14 rebounds. Derrick Rose, Jimmy Butler and Aaron Brooks combined for 66 of Chicagos 93 points and Pau Gasol had 19 boards in the setback. Roses struggles from the floor continued on Friday despite scoring 23 points. He shot 8-of-23 and 0- for-6 from behind the arc. Rose is shooting 28-of-82 (34 percent) from the floor and 5-for-25 from 3 over his last three games. Cheap Canadiens Jerseys Cheap Predators Jerseys Cheap Devils Jerseys Cheap Islanders Jerseys Cheap Rangers Jerseys Cheap Senators Jerseys Cheap Flyers Jerseys Cheap Penguins Jerseys Cheap Sharks Jerseys Cheap Blues Jerseys Cheap Lightning Jerseys Cheap Maple Leafs Jerseys Cheap Canucks Jerseys Cheap Golden Knights Jerseys Cheap Capitals Jerseys Cheap Winnipeg Jets Jerseys ' ' '