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While a labor dispute simmers at home, the U.S. womens national soccer team is set to travel across Brazil as the favorite to win its fourth straight Olympic gold medal.The Rio Games are happening as a U.S. federal agency looks at a wage discrimination complaint filed by a group of national team players who claim they make less money than their male counterparts. The teams union also is looking for a new contract with U.S. Soccer.Intrigue is nothing new for the top-ranked Americans.Unlike the mens tournament, which requires teams to field under-23 squads, womens Olympic soccer brings together the best players in the world.Seeking to clinch its fifth gold medal since womens soccer became an Olympic sport in 1996, the U.S. makes its debut against New Zealand on Aug. 3 -- two days before the opening ceremony in Rio. Thatll be followed by games against powerhouse France and Colombia in Group G.Second-ranked Germany, fifth-ranked Australia, sixth-ranked Sweden and host Brazil loom as potential quarterfinal opponents.The tournament will be played in seven venues across Brazil, including the jungle city of Manaus, in the Amazon rainforest, where the U.S. faces Colombia on Aug. 9.Last year, U.S. players led a protest against the artificial turf used in the World Cup in Canada before winning their third tittle in the tournament. Heading into the Olympics, the women have been vocal about gender equity in the sport as they seek a new collective bargaining agreement with U.S. Soccer.On the field one of the biggest issues for the Americans heading into the Olympics was the status of reigning FIFA Player of the Year Carli Lloyds right knee.Lloyd, who wowed fans with three goals in 16 minutes in the 5-2 win over Japan in Julys World Cup final, sprained her MCL in an April game with her club team, the Houston Dash. The team was cautious with her recovery, but it appears as if Lloyd is healthy and ready to play for her third gold medal.Lloyd also scored the deciding goals in the gold medal matches in both the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games.ANOTHER KEY INJURY: Megan Rapinoes status, at least for the start of the games, is far less certain. The winger tore her right ACL during a training session in Hawaii before a scheduled World Cup victory tour match last year (the match was ultimately canceled because of poor artificial turf conditions). The injury required her third ACL surgery.On her blog, the 30-year-old Rapinoe wrote on June 9: My Olympic dream is still alive! This blonde aint gone! And coach Jill Ellis named her to the 18-player squad for the Olympics, a good sign. But she may not play in the group stage.MARTAS MOMENT: Marta is one of the biggest stars in womens soccer. The 30-year old Brazilian striker was voted FIFA Player of the Year for five consecutive years from 2006 to 2010. Yet despite her success she is not a household name in her country, where the focus will be on Neymar and the mens squad to win Brazils first Olympic gold.Marta and the rest of the Brazil womens team will face less pressure to win their first gold than their male counterparts, and the squad should benefit from friendly home crowds.The woman that Pele himself dubbed Pele in skirt showed she is ready for Olympic duty, scoring both goals in a 2-0 victory over Canada in Toronto in June.Brazil faces China, South Africa and Sweden in Group E.SILVIAS FINAL BOW: One of the games most respected coaches will be stepping down following the Olympics. Silvia Neid has been head coach of the German senior team since 2005. During her tenure the Germans won a World Cup (2007), two UEFA womens championships (2009, 2013) and the Olympic bronze medal in Beijing. Also a decorated former player for Germany, Neid has twice been honored as the FIFA womens coach of the year.She will continue as scouting coach for the Germans, while current assistant Steffi Jones will take over as head coach.Germany leads Group F with Canada, Australia and Zimbabwe.CANADAS REVENGE?: While the London Games showed that Canada is a team on the rise under coach John Herdman, the bronze medalists thought they could have done better.The Canadians fell 4-3 in an overtime semifinal match to the eventual gold medal-winning U.S. team, a game that featured a non-call on what appeared to be a missed handball by an American player in front of the U.S. goal.We feel like we didnt lose. We feel like it was taken from us, said Canada captain Christine Sinclair, who was later suspended four games for her comments. Its a shame in a game like that, which is so important, that the ref decided the result before the game started.WALTZING WITH THE MATILDAS: No other Australian senior national team -- male or female -- had won an elimination game in a World Cup until the Matildas last summer; they knocked off Brazil in the round of 16. While they were defeated by Japan, it was considered a big move toward future success.Australia went on to earn a spot in the Olympics, its first since 2004, in the Asian qualification tournament. As a result, its international ranking jumped four spots to No. 5.Australia has never advanced past the quarterfinals in two Olympic appearances.Chris Owings Jersey . Jane Virtanen scored two, and Alex Roach and Elliott Peterson rounded out the offence for the Hitmen (40-15-6). Brady Brassart chipped in with three assists. Colton McCarthy scored twice, Brayden Point had a goal and two assists, and Jack Rodewald also scored for the Warriors (15-35-9), who were 2 for 5 on the power play. Luis Tiant Red Sox Jersey . From filmmaker Nanette Burstein (On the Ropes), The Price of Gold revisits the saga that rocked the figure skating world ahead of the 1994 Lillehammer Olympic Winter Games: the assault on Nancy Kerrigan, and the plot that led its way back to her rival Tonya Harding. https://www.cheapredsox.com/2761z-travis-lakins-jersey-red-sox.html . The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit. Drew Pomeranz Jersey . Nigeria beat surprise package Ethiopia 2-0 in the second leg of their playoff for a comfortable 4-1 aggregate victory. Victor Moses converted a 20th-minute penalty after an Ethiopian handball, and Victor Obinna made certain of Nigerias place in Brazil with his powerful free kick in the 82nd at UJ Esuene Stadium. Jason Varitek Red Sox Jersey . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. SAN FRANCISCO -- Facing Tim Hudson usually means bad news for the San Francisco Giants. They turned the tables Friday night in an 8-2 victory over the Atlanta Braves, beating the veteran right-hander for the first time in seven years. The Giants drove Hudson from the game in a six-run fourth inning that represented their biggest rally of the season. That support proved plenty for Matt Cain (2-2), who went eight innings and turned in his second straight stellar outing after going winless over his first six starts. The Giants ace allowed just three hits and chipped in with an RBI single during the six-run rally. His effort was badly needed for a rotation that came in having posted just 16 quality starts in 35 games. "When you get some run support like I did tonight, against a guy thats done what hes done in his career, thats always nice," Cain said. "Its always a battle with him." The Giants hadnt beaten Hudson since April 8, 2006, a span during which he was 6-0 with a 2.48 ERA against San Francisco. Hudson (4-2) was cruising until the fourth, when the Giants batted around and scored six runs. That rally featured two hits by Marco Scutaro, including a two-run single. Buster Posey split the left-centre gap with an RBI double to kickstart things. Hunter Pence dribbled an infield single to score another and Brandon Belt chopped a run-scoring double over Atlanta first baseman Freddie Freeman. Brandon Crawford was intentionally walked with one out to load the bases for Cain, who stepped to the plate 0 for 11 on the season. He grounded a single through the right side to make it 4-0, and Scutaro capped the rally with a two-run single to left to drive Hudson from the game. The six runs and seven hits were the most the Giants have managed in any single inning this season. Hudson tied his season high with six runs allowed in 3 2-3 innings, his shortest outing of the season. "Obviously it was a nightmare inning," Hudson said. "I made very good pitches to get the inning going and then it seemed when I needed a break here or there, their balls just found some holes. I had a hard time stoppping the bleeding.dddddddddddd" The Braves did their only damage off Cain when Brian McCann crushed a two-run homer to right in the fifth. It marked the 26th time an opponent knocked one into McCovey Cove on the fly, and it was the 88th "splash hit" overall since AT&T Park opened in 2000. Cain delivered his best start of the season despite taking a liner off his hip from the bat of McCann in the second. He recovered and chased the ball down by the first-base line and got the out. "What a great job, a clutch job," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. "We needed a lot of length from our starter tonight and he did more than that. Eight solid innings -- especially after getting hit." McCann was the bright spot for Atlanta. After missing the first 31 games of the season while recovering from shoulder surgery, hes 5 for 16 with two homers and seven RBI in four games. "Ive felt good since spring training and I carried it into the season and on my rehab stints," McCann said. NOTES: Scutaro has a 10-game hitting streak during which hes hitting .487 (19 for 39). However, his sore back acted up during the game and Bochy wasnt sure if the second baseman would play Saturday. ... Struggling Giants right-hander Ryan Vogelsong will make his next start as scheduled Wednesday at Toronto, Bochy said. There was speculation that Vogelsong, 1-3 with a 7.78 ERA, might be skipped for a turn. ... Madison Bumgarner, who takes the ball Saturday against Atlanta, has received just four runs of support over his last four starts. ... Carlos Tosca served as the Braves interim manager Friday in place of Fredi Gonzalez and will do so again Saturday, with Gonzalez in Georgia to attend his daughters college graduation. ... Right fielder Jason Heyward did not play Friday for Triple-A Gwinnett, one day after beginning a rehab assignment following his emergency appendectomy April 22. GM Frank Wren said Heyward was experiencing "normal soreness" after the long layoff. ... Left-hander Paul Maholm, who starts Saturday, is 2-2 with a 3.43 ERA in nine career starts against the Giants. ' ' '