BATA, Equatorial Guinea - Republic of Congos team bus broke down on the way to the remote town of Ebebiyin on Saturday, the latest problem for the squad at the African Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea.Tournament organizer the Confederation of African Football confirmed the incident in a brief emailed statement, saying the bus had a mechanical problem around 40 kilometres (25 miles) from Ebebiyin.The team was making the three-hour road trip from Bata to Ebebiyin, in the far north-eastern corner of the country, ahead of Sundays Group A game against Burkina Faso.CAF said a replacement bus was sent from Ebebiyin to collect the stranded players. Coach Claude Le Roy and other officials remained with the original vehicle while it was fixed.While Republic of Congo is on course to have its best African Cup in decades, it has also had plenty of drama off the field.Le Roy had already complained bitterly at the beginning of the tournament about his squads hotel in Bata, saying it had no running water and dangerously exposed electrical cables.The French coach also said his team had trouble getting to the stadium in Bata ahead of the opening game against host Equatorial Guinea on Jan. 17. Its bus wasnt given a proper escort and was caught in a traffic jam for over an hour in sweltering heat, and without the air conditioning working, Le Roy said.Le Roy said local police were laughing at the Congolese players stuck in the gridlock, and the coach criticized CAF for not providing an escort and disrespecting his team.On Saturday, both the Republic of Congo and Burkina Faso teams were followed by helicopter on their trip to Ebebiyin, CAF said, as they made their way along the winding road surrounded by dense jungle.CAF denied media reports that the Congolese players were picked up by buses transporting Burkina Fasos team.Republic of Congo has been one of the surprises of the tournament on its return to the African Cup for the first time in 15 years. Top of the group, it needs just a point against Burkina Faso at Ebebiyin Stadium to qualify for the quarterfinals for the first time since 1992. . Although taking two of three from the Baltimore Orioles wasnt nearly as uplifting as winning the World Series, it still felt pretty darn good. Felix Doubront and four relievers combined kept Baltimores potent lineup in check, and David Ortiz had three of Bostons 12 hits off Wei-Yin Chen in a 4-3 victory Thursday night. . Top-seeded Djokovic swept to a 6-1, 6-3 win over 51st-ranked Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain in just 57 minutes, but fourth-seeded Federer had to see off a serious challenge from 48th-ranked Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic before coming through 6-2, 6-7 (4), 6-3.
http://www.flyersauthority.com/authenti ... rs-jersey/. Perhaps as important, shes sending a message to 17-year-old gold medal favourite Sara Takanashi of Japan. Iraschko-Stolz relegated Takanashi, who has 10 World Cup victories this season, to second place in two of three training jumps Saturday. . -- Maple Leafs captain Dion Phaneuf has been suspended two games for his hit from behind on Kevan Miller of the Bruins. . Rudy Gay made the tying basket in regulation and a 3-pointer in overtime that gave Sacramento the lead for good, and Fredette scored a career-high 24 points to help the Kings beat the Knicks 106-101 on Wednesday night. BOSTON -- After putting only five shots on goal in the first period, the Boston Bruins took aim against Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo in the second and third. Three of their shots got past Luongo and although only two of them counted for goals, that was more than enough offence for the Bruins to beat the slumping Canucks 3-1 on Tuesday night. "The first period was a little bit of a tough period for us. I thought our puck management or how we move the puck around wasnt great," Boston coach Claude Julien said. "It wasnt really sharp, but it got better in the second and third period and that made a big difference." Boston led 1-0 after the first on Milan Lucics goal despite being outshot 9-5. Jarome Iginla and Daniel Paille added goals in the second period for the Bruins, and Tuukka Rask kept the Canucks from rallying with several saves on short-handed opportunities that could have invigorated Vancouver. The biggest was stopping Daniel Sedin on a breakaway, which led to Iginlas goal that put Boston up 2-0 with 12:01 left in the second period. "Its always good when they get a chance and you make a save and then your team scores right after that," Rask said. "That was a good sign." Rask made 27 saves against the road-weary Canucks, who were coming off 2-0 loss in Detroit the night before and dropped their fifth straight. Sedin and his twin brother, Henrik, extended their goal-scoring droughts to 17 games. "Me and Danny have got to step up and score goals. Thats No. 1. Thats the difference right now," said Henrik Sedin, who returned to the lineup Monday night after missing six games with an upper-body injury. "Weve got to be the difference-makers and were not right now." Raphael Diaz scored the only goal for Vancouver, pulling the Canucks to 2-1 on a slap shot with 8:32 left in the second period. Luongo stopped 29 shots for Vancouver and tried to take responsibility after the Canucks lost for the sixth time in seven games. "I think this ones 100 per cent on me. I wasnt too good out there tonight," he said.dddddddddddd. Canucks coach John Tortorella, in his second game back from a 15-day suspension, thanked Luongo for the sentiment, but said Vancouvers struggles go much deeper. "I appreciate Louie saying that, but this is a team thing here that were going through and well go through it together," Tortorella said. The Canucks kept it close until Paille scored on a breakaway late in the second period, then Boston controlled the final 20 minutes for its sixth win in seven games. "Weve been in a pretty good stretch. Weve had a goal leading up until the Olympic break to try and go in the right way," Iginla said. "We have two left, then some of the guys will go and well enjoy watching them." Vancouver had won the last two meetings since the Bruins beat the Canucks in seven games in the 2011 Stanley Cup finals. Boston appeared to take a 3-1 lead just 2:21 after Diaz scored, but Brad Marchands goal was waved off after officials ruled Bostons Torey Krug interfered with Luongo. The goalie immediately protested and gave Krug a shove, which led to a crowd in front of the net but nothing further. Luongo had no argument after the next goal. Paille took a long pass from Johnny Boychuk at the blue line for a breakaway and beat Luongo on a backhand with 2:54 left in the period. Rask stopped a pair of short-handed chances during Bostons first power play, then Daniel Sedins breakaway in the second that led to the Bruins second goal. Zdeno Chara slipped a crossing pass to Iginla for a one-timer past Luongo on the glove side with 12:01 left in the second. Lucic, who gave Boston a 1-0 lead 5:12 into the game, also got an assist on the play. NOTES: Iginlas assist on Lucics goal was the 600th of his career. ... Diaz made his Vancouver debut after he was obtained from Montreal for forward Dale Weise on Monday. ... The Bruins improved to 27-3-0 when leading by two or more goals this season. ... Chara played his final game for the Bruins before leaving for Russia to carry Slovakias flag during the opening ceremony at the Winter Olympics on Friday. ' ' '
