Talk » Its an injury that will require about eight week

Long before the U.S. womens soccer team filed a federal complaint over wage discrimination, the Australian women fought for better pay.And won.The Matildas, as they are known, will be among the 12 womens soccer teams playing in Brazil next week when the Olympics get underway. Their strike following a successful run in last summers Womens World Cup in Canada was significant as female athletes across sports fight for recognition and respect -- including their American counterparts.In terms of being trailblazers, Im not really sure. I think we just sort of went about it how we thought was necessary, Australian defender Steph Catley said. We felt we deserved more.The Matildas have made a quick ascent as one of the worlds elite teams. They gained national attention last year when they became the first team from Australia -- male or female -- to win a World Cup knockout round match by upsetting Brazil 1-0 and advancing to the quarterfinals.The United States went on to win the World Cup with a 5-2 victory over Japan in the final.Afterward, the U.S. women scheduled a pair of exhibition matches against Australia as part of a victory tour. But the Australian federation withdrew from those matches after the Matildas walked out of training camp and the players union said contract talks with the national federation had stalled.The Matildas, whose contract had expired, said they had not been paid for two months heading into the walkout.The salary for a national team player was equivalent to $14,475, based on a six-month playing period. That meant many of the players needed to have other jobs to make ends meet. Some players worked two club seasons, one at home in Australia and the other in the United States with the National Womens Soccer League, meaning they played year-round.The players were asking for a salary increase to $28,000 a year, as well as other benefits including improved accommodations and bonuses for international matches. The demands were part of larger bargaining that included the mens national team and A-League players, and the Football Federation Australia at one point claimed the Matildas were being used as a pawn in the negotiations.But there was a groundswell of support for the women, who have seen their popularity rise in Australia along with the teams stature on the national stage.American stars Hope Solo and Carli Lloyd, former player Julie Foudy and Canadian forward Christine Sinclair were among those who expressed support for the Australians. There were change.org petitions to support the team.The Matildas are courageously fighting for what is right. (hashtag) priclessrolemodels, Lloyd posted to Twitter.The deal that was eventually struck in November included a pay structure that puts the salaries for top players at $30,700 per year and those at the next level at $22,400. The contract calls for a 10 percent raise each year and improved bonuses and other benefits.Our elite female players deserve a full-time professional career path in football and this agreement represents a solid foundation we can build on, players association chief executive Adam Vivian said at the time.Striker Kyah Simon said the move made the team stronger.The Matildas story is standing up for what we believe in and standing up for our brand and our culture. I think at the end of the day it brought the team closer together, Simon said. Its something we can look on with pride, and something thats hopefully a positive future for our sport and for the new generation of players.The victory came well before a group of U.S. womens national team players filed a complaint with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission alleging wage discrimination. The women claim they make far less on average than their male national team counterparts. The complaint in late March came as the players seek a new collective bargaining agreement with U.S. Soccer.Heading into the Olympics, the Matildas are ranked No. 5 in the world.They leapfrogged Japan and Korea in the AFC qualification tournament to earn the trip to Rio along with China -- scoring 17 goals in five matches.Australia is in a tough group in Brazil that includes No. 2 Germany, No. 10 Canada and Zimbabwe. It is the only group with three teams ranked in the top 10. The top-ranked Americans play in a group that includes No. 3 France, New Zealand and Colombia.Australia opens the tournament on Wednesday against Canada in Sao Paulo.After the World Cup everything sort of started to change. When we came home there was so much media attention and so many people that were interested in what we were doing and really proud of the success we had, Catley said of the teams rising profile. I think people always knew there was a national team, but I dont think they realized how high in the rankings we were and how much better we were getting as a team. Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap . LOUIS -- Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59. Football Jerseys Outlet . Sgt. Eric ONeal says most of the arrests at Monday nights game were for public drunkenness, though one person was taken into custody on suspicion of trying to steal a seat from the stadium. http://www.cheapnfljerseyswholesale.com/ . The phone hearing is scheduled for 4:30pm et/1:30pm pt. Winchester, who was not penalized for the hit, appeared to make contact with Kellys head early in the first period of Thursdays game in Boston. Wholesale Jerseys For Sale .ca NFL Power Rankings, overtaking the Denver Broncos and remaining ahead of NFC competition San Francisco, Carolina and New Orleans. Stitched Jerseys Wholesale . Tests earlier this week revealed a Grade 2 left hamstring strain for Sabathia, who was hurt in last Fridays start against San Francisco. Its an injury that will require about eight weeks to heal. He finished a disappointing campaign just 14-13 with a career-worst 4. MUNICH -- Uli Hoeness has decided to run for Bayern Munichs presidency, seeking to return to a job that he gave up in 2014 after being given a prison sentence for tax evasion, the Bundesliga champion said Monday.Hoeness, 64, will be a candidate for the job when club members elect the president at their annual general meeting in November, Bayern said. It added that current president Karl Hopfner agreed not to seek re-election in what it termed very pleasant talks with Hoeness.Bayerns announcement followed weeks of speculation that Hoeness, one of the most prominent figures in German soccer, would return to the helm at the club.As a player, Hoeness was a Bayern star who won the 1972 European Championship and the 1974 World Cup with West Germany and three straight European Cups --- the predecessor of the Champions League -- before retiring in 1979 with chronic knee problems.ddddddddddddUnder his guidance as general manager, Bayern built financial reserves rarely seen in debt-ridden European soccer.Hoeness quit as Bayern president in March 2014 after he was sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison for evading millions of euros in taxes via an undeclared Swiss bank account. He was released in February after serving half of the sentence.Hoeness has remained close to the club. While in custody, he benefited from a work-release program under which he worked in Bayerns youth department during the day before returning to prison overnight. ' ' '