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The U.S. drew a daunting task for next years World Cup: difficult opponents, tropical venues and a wearying 9,000-mile zigzag journey across Brazil. The Americans wound up with the potentially punishing group they feared and will play Ghana, Portugal and Germany next June as they try to achieve a U.S. first: reaching the knockout phase twice in a row. While Ghana eliminated the Americans in 2006 and 2010, the Black Stars wont do it again. The U.S. opens its seventh straight World Cup appearance against Ghana on June 16 at Natal. The U.S. meets Portugal and 2008 FIFA Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo six days later in the Amazon rain forest city Manaus. The Americans have just three off days to recover before closing Group G on June 26 in Recife against three-time champion Germany. "I think we have the quality, if we play our best ball, to get out of the group," U.S. captain Clint Dempsey said after Fridays draw set the eight four-nation groups. "You cant think about, Am I the favourite? Am I the underdog? Whats it going to be like playing in the heat? Whats it going to be like with the travel? Those are factors that come into it, but at the end of the day both teams have to deal with it." After having the shortest group-play travel in South Africa, the U.S. will have the longest in Brazil. The Americans will be based in Sao Paulo and face trips of 1,436 miles to Natal, 1,832 miles to Manaus and 1,321 miles to Recife. They will play all three games in the tropics, with the second and third matches in the afternoon. "I think guys who have played in MLS are used to taking 3,000-mile trips across the country to play," midfielder Sacha Kljestan said. The U.S. group has the best average FIFA world ranking. Odds on the Americans winning their first World Cup more than doubled after the draw, from 60-1 to 150-1. "Its definitely one of the tougher groups, if not the toughest, but at the same time, this is what the World Cups all about. You go there to play against the best," American forward Jozy Altidore said during a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "I think the boys will be excited, will be up for it." U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who replaced Bob Bradley 2 1/2 years ago, played for Germanys 1990 World Cup championship team and coached his native country to third place at home in the 2006 tournament, commuting to Europe from his California house in Orange County. "It couldnt get any more difficult or any bigger," he said at the draw in Costa do Sauipe, Brazil. "Its a real challenge. And well take it. Well take it on, and hopefully were going to surprise some people there." The U.S. and South Korea were the last remaining teams in draw pot three. While the Americans landed in a group with an average FIFA ranking of 11.25, South Korea wound up in Group H, creating a group with the poorest average at 28.25. "I think the teams mentality is that we can go and play with anybody," American defender Matt Besler said. "Now were going to have to prove it." Germany beat the U.S. 2-0 in its 1998 World Cup opener in Paris -- with Klinsmann setting up the first goal and scoring the second -- then edged the Americans 1-0 on a controversial goal in the 2002 quarterfinal in South Korea. Die Mannschaft is coached by Klinsmanns former assistant, Joachim Loew. The Americans beat a second-tier German roster 4-3 in a June exhibition at Washington. "With Jurgen Klinsmann, they have another mentality," Loew said. "I learned a lot from Jurgen, so this is special." Ranked 14th in the world, the U.S. has alternated quick exits with advancement since returning to soccers showcase in 1990 after a 40-year absence. After the draw four years ago, one British paper used a headline "EASY" for England, Algeria, Slovenia and the Yanks, and The Sun called it the "best English group since the Beatles." The Americans wound up atop a group for the first time since the first World Cup in 1930, and England advanced as the second-place nation. This time, second-ranked Germany and fifth-ranked Portugal are the favourites to reach the second round. If the U.S. qualifies for the round of 16, it would face Belgium, Russia, Algeria or South Korea from Group H. As for the rest of the field, Brazil, Cameroon, Croatia, Mexico were put in Group A; Australia, Chile, Netherlands and Spain in Group B; Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast and Japan in Group C; Costa Rica, England, Italy and Uruguay in Group D; Ecuador, France, Honduras and Switzerland in Group E; and Argentina, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iran and Nigeria in Group F. The U.S. will feel pressure to open with a win against 24th-ranked Ghana. The Black Stars defeated the Americans 2-1 in the 2006 group stage and by the same score in overtime in the round of 16 at the last World Cup in South Africa. "Theyre the team that beat us, kind of crushed our dreams of being in the World Cup, so I think were due a little bit of luck and were due a win against them," Dempsey said. At the 2002 tournament, the U.S. opened with a 3-2 upset of Portugal after taking a shocking three-goal lead in the first 36 minutes. Several of the American players are of German descent, so all three matchups are intriguing. The U.S. will train at home from mid-May until early June and plans a series of exhibition games, which likely will include England as an opponent, before heading to Brazil. "Everybody is saying that this is the Group of Death and its such a hard challenge," former American captain John Harkes said. "I still think that the U.S. can rise to the occasion." Kirk Mclean Jersey . Their 9-19 record remains identical to the crosstown rivals in Brooklyn and trails both Toronto and Boston in the Atlantic Division. Raymond Felton, their declining point guard, is back on the sideline nursing his third injury of the season. Bo Horvat Jersey . Off-season additions Jermain Defoe and Michael Bradley did not train with the club today, prompting Nelsen to declare its too early to tell if either will be ready for Saturday. http://www.officialcanuckspro.com/Markus...canucks-jersey/. With the Pirates in the thick of the race in the NL Central, the timing couldnt be better. Liriano struck out a season-high 11 in seven innings to win consecutive starts for the first time this season and Pittsburgh beat the San Francisco Giants 3-1 on Tuesday night. Vancouver Canucks Jerseys . One out away from finishing off an impressive shutout, they let a must-win game slip away. Brock Boeser Jersey . More importantly, he is trying to show his young teammates the Colorado are still post-season contenders. He hopes winning a series at home was a fresh start.RALEIGH, N.C. -- The divisions changed for the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers. The results havent. The Hurricanes extended their home-ice dominance of their former Southeast Division rivals, beating them 5-1 on Friday night. Riley Nash and Alexander Semin scored 87 seconds apart in the first period. Brett Bellemore, Jiri Tlusty and Andrej Sekera also scored, and Jeff Skinner had two assists to help the Hurricanes win their seventh in 10 games. "Its a little bit more fun when youre playing with the lead," Nash said. "In this league, especially, its tough to come from behind every night, so getting that lead is especially important." Carolina improved to 30-7-4 at PNC Arena against the Panthers, winning both meetings this season. Realignment sent the former division rivals in different directions, with the Hurricanes in the Metropolitan and Florida in the Atlantic. Carolina pulled even with fifth-place Washington with 61 points in its crowded division, while Florida remains firmly in seventh place in the Atlantic. "Its really disappointing to see where our expectations are, and my expectations and everybodys expectations have to be on the same page, and I think we have to raise them," Panthers coach Peter Horachek said. "We have to expect more from each other, and I expect more from them because its certainly not desperate hockey, and its certainly not where it needs to be." Eric Staal set the Hurricanes career record for shots on goal, passing Hall of Famer Ron Francis late in the second period. Staal finished with four shots, giving him 2,542. Anton Khudobin stopped 34 shots in his 16th straight appearance for Carolina. Nick Bjugstad scored for Florida, which enters the Olympic break having lost five of six. "We put ourselves in this situation," captain Ed Jovanovski said. Tim Thomas stopped just 10 off the 14 shots he faced.dddddddddddd He was pulled with 15:24 left in the second after Tlusty tapped in a rebound to make it 4-1. Scott Clemmensen replaced him and stopped 16 shots. Ten Hurricanes appeared on the score sheet and Skinner was the only one with multiple points. "To be successful in the NHL, you cant rely on one line," Nash said. "You see the teams that had success in the past, win Stanley Cups, they have four lines that chip in and they have their big guns going like we do. Its been nice to see." Carolina pounced on the Panthers early in this one, with Nash and Semin striking in bang-bang fashion. Nash scored at 9:17 of the first when Tuomo Ruutu dug the puck out near the boards and slipped it toward the slot to Nash, who beat Thomas high. Semin then made it a two-goal game at 10:44 with a spinning wrist shot -- his third goal in two games this season against Thomas and the Panthers. "That was actually the game plan -- come out, just stay on them, get pucks behind them," Bellemore said. "Get shots to the net, keep getting chances and wear them out." After Bjugstad pulled Florida to 2-1 with a wrist shot that trickled past Khudobin, Bellemore restored Carolinas two-goal lead with a slap shot with 1:39 left in the first. "Once we got the lead, we kind of backed off and started to play a little more pond hockey," Hurricanes coach Kirk Muller said. "Game got a little bit too open for us and it was an up-and-down kind of game, so we just had to tighten it up at times." NOTES: Staal, who assisted on Tlustys goal, has 36 points in 35 games. ... Ruutu skated in his 600th career game. ... Carolina improved to 16-1-4 when scoring first. ... Bellemore and Florida D Erik Gudbranson slugged it out with 5:29 left in the second. Bellemore ended the fight by slamming Gudbranson to the ice. ' ' '