void. By Sunday evening when New England plays at Columbus Crew SC the rest of the weekend schedule in MLS will have been completed and the teams at Mapfre Stadium will know where they stand in

RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil -- Two days after arriving in Brazil, Italy is still struggling to get over jet lag. After watching the Azzurri give up a two-goal lead in a 2-2 draw with Haiti in a Confederations Cup warmup match Tuesday, Italy coach Cesare Prandelli decided to cancel Wednesday mornings training session and let the players head to the beach. "There could be a thousand excuses, from the fatigue to the heat to the jet leg," said defender Giorgio Chiellini, who did not play in the friendly. "The Italian league ended a month ago but Sunday were starting a big tournament and we really want to do well." Against 52nd-ranked Haiti, Emanuele Giaccherini and Claudio Marchisio scored in the first and 72nd minutes before substitute Olrish Saurel pulled one back with a penalty in the 85th and Jean Philippe Peguero equalized in the 90th. "When you see someone like (Alessio) Cerci unable to dribble past a man then you know the guys are tired," Prandelli said. "We need to improve our physical condition -- and work a lot on motivation." The Euro 2012 runners-up also struggled in their previous match, drawing 0-0 with the Czech Republic in a World Cup qualifier Friday in Prague. "In terms of the result it was ugly, theres no doubt about that," Prandelli said. "We knew there was a risk when we accepted this match but we knew that it was a game for charity and so we wanted to go ahead with it. But we havent got over the jet lag yet." Proceeds from the friendly went to Haiti relief, efforts three years after an earthquake devastated the country. In Group A of the Confederations Cup, Italy opens against Mexico on Sunday in Rio, and then faces Japan three days later in Recife and Brazil on June 22 in Salvador. This tournament is merely a test event for the World Cup in Brazil, which begins exactly a year from Wednesday. The jet leg problem could prompt Italy to arrive earlier in 2014 -- assuming it qualifies, which seems likely considering that the Azzurri hold a four-point lead over Bulgaria in Group B of European qualifying. In Rio, the Italy squad is staying at the Sheraton Barra, located a short walk from the beach. For 2014, the Azzurri are considering basing themselves at more secluded locations in Sao Paulo or Belo Horizonte, where there are large communities of Italians. On the more positive side from the Haiti friendly was Giaccherini scoring the quickest goal in Italy history. Just 19 seconds in, when the Juventus midfielder steered home a cross from Antonio Candreva. The previous record belonged to Salvatore Bagni, who scored just 20 seconds into a 1984 friendly with Mexico. "Im happy and honoured, because it was also my first goal with the national team," said Giaccherini, who often plays as a reserve with Juventus. "But Im disappointed with the result of the match. "Anyhow, this ugly showing with give us more motivation to approach the Confederations at our maximum," Giaccherini added. "Lets hope we see a different squad against Mexico." Also at the Sao Januario stadium, home of the Vasco da Gama club, Italys star striker Mario Balotelli received a positive reception. Often the subject of racist chants in Europe, the crowd of mainly Vasco fans cheered for Balotelli from the start and erupted in celebration when the AC Milan player was sent on early in the second half. Tzu-Wei Lin Jersey Red Sox .com) - Christian Ponder will get another chance to prove himself for the Minnesota Vikings, with head coach Leslie Frazier announcing Wednesday that the struggling quarterback will start this weekends game against the Green Bay Packers. Eloy Jimenez Jersey White Sox . -- San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks was fined $15,570 by the NFL on Wednesday for his hit on Saints quarterback Drew Brees last Sunday. https://www.discountjerseysonline.com/johnny-callison-jersey-white-sox-567 . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively. James Norwood Jersey Cubs . The lawyers filed a 33-page amended complaint Tuesday in federal court in Manhattan, expanding on the suit originally filed Oct. 3 in New York Supreme Court. Arbitrator Fredric Horowitz last week refused to compel Selig to testify in the grievance, and Rodriguez then walked out of the hearing without testifying. Ian Kinsler Jersey Red Sox . Miikka Kiprusoff had just announced his retirement after a decade-long run in Calgary and it would be up to Berra and Ramo to fill the void. By Sunday evening when New England plays at Columbus Crew SC the rest of the weekend schedule in MLS will have been completed and the teams at Mapfre Stadium will know where they stand in the Eastern Conference playoff chase.The challenge for the Revolution (9-12-9), winners of three straight, is staying in the mix with Montreal, D.C. United and Orlando SC for one of the final two postseason berths in the Eastern Conference.Obviously, wed like to be in a better position, defender London Woodberry said on the teams website. But were still in a good position. Were fighting. I think that tells you a lot about our guys. Weve got a never-give-up mentality in the locker room.The task for ninth-place Columbus (6-11-11) is to leap three teams, including New England, for the final spot. The Crew trails New England by seven points with six games left.ddddddddddddWe have a high confidence level, and we know what is at stake, defender Harrison Afful said. We have to go all out, but we also have to be careful because we are playing a very tough opponent. We have to get three points.Revolution forward Kei Kamara, who scored 22 times last season in helping the Crew reach the MLS Cup, returns to Mapfre Stadium for the first time since being traded to New England on May 8. He has faced his former team twice at Gillette Stadium, scoring once as the teams split.He has 10 goals, five of them in 17 Revolution matches.We know how dangerous Kei is. We just cant let him get in easy at all, Afful said. ' ' '