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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Argentinas national team was welcomed home Monday by thousands of fans celebrating its gutsy performance in the World Cup final. The team arrived in Buenos Aires on a plane painted with images of the players and a large sign reading: "Thank you Argentina." A river of emotional fans wearing the white and sky-blue striped jerseys of the national team, among them a group of Argentine gauchos on horses, flooded the road leading from the airport to the football association complex. "You showed that through courage, passion and bringing everything you have and more to the field you can triumph," President Cristina Fernandez said after greeting all members of the team at the complex with a hug and a pat on the back. "Youve given us values that Argentines, surrounded by so much triumphalism, thought were lost. Not only does the one in first place win; you also win when you show quality and manage to unite with others to go forward," Fernandez said. "Thats why I wanted to greet you today and thank you on behalf of 40 million proud Argentines." The two-time world champion entered the title match as the clear underdog after Germanys 7-1 thrashing of host Brazil. But despite complaints about lacklustre play earlier in the tournament, the team led by captain Lionel Messi showed grit throughout the 1-0 overtime loss to Germany, creating several opportunities to score in the first 90 minutes. "Im thankful to everyone. I would have liked to bring you back the Cup and to be able to enjoy it. We tried, we gave it our all but we couldnt achieve it," said Messi, who won the trophy for the tournaments best player. "Despite that, I think we gave a great joy to the country by reaching this final and facing our rivals without giving anything away." Argentina last played in a World Cup final in 1990, when it lost to West Germany. Four years earlier, it became world champion for the second time, led by captain Diego Maradona, also in a final against the Germans. After Sundays final, thousands of saddened but proud Argentines gathered peacefully at the iconic Obelisk in downtown Buenos Aires to applaud their teams best World Cup performance in 24 years. Cars honked staccato rhythms, firecrackers were tossed into the air and fans of all ages jumped in place shouting, "Argentina! Argentina! Argentina!" "We have nothing to regret, we played first rate," said 53-year-old Horacio Laseiras, carrying his 6-year-old daughter on his shoulders. Violence broke out later Sunday night, forcing riot police to use tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse vandals who threw rocks, destroyed store fronts, tore down street lights and even broke into a theatre. Parents with small children fled in fear. National security secretary Sergio Berni said 120 people were arrested. The Buenos Aires emergency medical service reported on Monday that 70 people were treated for injuries, including 15 police officers. The shot at the title united Argentines otherwise exasperated by one of the worlds highest inflation rates, an encroaching debt crisis and a corruption scandal that has penetrated deep into the presidents inner circle. Fernandez, whose approval rating has plunged in recent months, kept a low profile during the tournament. She declined an invitation to attend the final, preferring instead to rest ahead of a summit Tuesday, also in Brazil, with leaders from Brazil, Russia, India and China. .com) - Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson lost an appeal to have his indefinite suspension overturned, the NFL announced Friday. .com) - Wayne Simmonds, Scott Laughton and Jakub Voracek each posted a goal and an assist as the Philadelphia Flyers thumped the Carolina Hurricanes, 5-1, on Saturday. . The Henry Burris-led squad finished second in the East Division before advancing to the Grey Cup where they ultimately fell to the home field advantage wielding Saskatchewan Roughriders. . -- For one night, Nick Calathes provided a big reason to believe the Memphis Grizzlies might be able to withstand the loss of Mike Conley on a short-term basis. . If Vettel wins at Suzuka on Sunday, and his nearest rival Fernando Alonso finishes worse than eighth, the German driver will join his compatriot Michael Schumacher and Argentine Juan-Manuel Fangio as the only men to win four consecutive titles.TORONTO – While assessing Brett Lawries season up to this point, its important to consider that the 24-year-old is doing something for his team that few other players, if any, could. One day, hes providing the Blue Jays with Gold Glove-calibre defence at third base. The next, hes more than holding his own at second base. All the while, Lawries posting respectable offensive numbers overall and is providing an elite bat in clutch situations. It would be ignorant to look at Lawries slash line of .224/.275/.412 entering Sundays action and conclude hes having a down year. Consider that Lawrie already has eight home runs, going deep in 4.8 per cent of his at-bats. Thats a marked uptick from last year (2.7 per cent) and 2012 (2.2 per cent). Lawrie also has 26 RBI, which ranks him third on the club behind Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista. His best work has been done with runners in scoring position (RISP). With runners on second, third or both, Lawrie is hitting .366/.400/.732 (1.132 OPS) with four home runs and 21 RBI. All of it, as a reminder, while playing a third base/second base hybrid. Not even Ben Zobrist of the Tampa Bay Rays does that anymore. When Zobrist hasnt been hurt this season, hes predominantly been a second baseman. “I dont see any player in the league doing it, unless youre a utility player, which hes not,” infield coach Luis Rivera told TSN.ca. “Its tough because hes very good at third base. Hes one of the best third baseman and then you have to move to second base. He was at second base before, hes learning the position again and there are a few things he needs to continue to work on and he can be better than what he is right now.” Lawrie goes about his business, taking ground balls during batting practice at the position hes scheduled to play that day. That, in and of itself, would be overwhelming for some players. Yet it isnt for a player, still young, who earned himself a reputation for being hot-headed and immature, two labels which should be dissipating by the day. “Its tough knowing one day youre here, the next day youre there,” said Rivera. “Mentally, you have to prepare. You have to be mentally strong.” The terms “Lawrie” and “mentally strong” didnt used to be used in the same sentence, thanks in large part to incidents like the infamous helmet-throwing incident in May, 2012 and his stare down of Rivera and Adam Lind when Lind didnt score on a Lawrie fly ball 52 Sundays ago.dddddddddddd Considering what hes being asked to do and considering the success with which hes accomplishing the request, maybe its time to give Lawrie some credit. “Theres a lot going on, man,” said Lawrie. “Theres always a lot going on, especially now just from having to play all over the park and just Ive got a lot of stuff going on, but for the most part Im just trying not to think about it too much even though there is a lot going on.” Hes a third baseman, hell tell you that repeatedly and Lawries proud hes made himself an elite third bagger at the big league level, which is a testament to his athleticism. Hes all-in on the move because it makes the platoon splits work for manager John Gibbons. Lawrie is at third and Steve Tolleson at second when Toronto faces a left-handed pitcher; Lawries at second and Juan Francisco at third base when the Blue Jays take on a right-hander. “Its just something that I have to do for the team and its what makes the team a little bit better, so for myself, its just what I have to do in order to make this ball club better and to, obviously, win ballgames,” said Lawrie. “The most important thing is that he wanted to do it,” said Rivera. “So if hes willing to do it, hes going to be fine, but when you fight yourself not to go one place and then play another position, play third base, ‘I dont want to play second base, thats going to make it real hard on him, on the coaches and on the team. Right now, hes willing to do both, so thats the easy part.” After Sundays series-sweeping 3-1 win over Oakland, the Jays sixth in a row, 11th in 13 games and 16th out of 21, getting a buy-in from Lawrie is a much easier task. “Its just fun,” said Lawrie. “Its just good to be competing. Thats the biggest thing is just being able to go out everyday and compete and, obviously, have a chance to win a ballgame every single day. Thats the biggest thing, but just competing on an everyday basis as a group is obviously a lot of fun.” ' ' '
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