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The Atlanta Falcons will begin training camp with the first practice on Friday and all rookies and draft selections from this year’s 2010 NFL Draft will be in uniform ready to get out on the field for workout sessions.

The Falcons signed their last unsigned draft selection and top pick, Sean Weatherspoon, Thursday night.  He was selected as the 19th overall player in the draft this year and signed a 5-year deal worth $17.5 million with $10.5 million of that guaranteed.

Drafted out of Missouri, Weatherspoon appeared in 53 games with the Missouri Tigers and recorded 12 ½ sacks in addition to four interceptions.  Two of the four interceptions were returned for touchdowns.  He also recorded 17 passes defensed, five forced fumbles, and a total of 413 tackles.  With 413 tackles, he ranks with third highest in the school’s history and 10th on the all-time list for the Big 12 Conference.  Weatherspoon went on to win a Butkus Award during his senior year at Missouri.

The linebacker has been trained for both of the outside linebacker positions and reportedly will contend for a starting position on the Falcons squad.

Andrew Bynum of the Los Angeles Lakers underwent surgery on his right knee and the surgery was announced successful by the team on Wednesday.  Bynum had an arthroscopic procedure to repair the torn meniscus of his right knee in New York by Dr.  David Altcheck.

On June 22, the 22-year-old Laker has his knee drained of fluid initially incurred this injury during the first round of the playoff series in Game 6 against OKC in April.  With the decision to postpone surgery, he was still a part of all the 23 postseason games with the Lakers as a starter despite his injury.  He recorded an average of 6.9 rebounds and 8.6 points per game in addition to 1.57 blocks per game, which helped lead Los Angeles to their second consecutive NBA championship title.

The center appeared in 65 games of the regular season with the Lakers this past season during which he recorded 8.3 boards and 15 points per game.

Bynum is expected to join the team at training camp when it commences on September 25 but with a limited role.  The Lakers are traveling to Europe for exhibition games in both London and Barcelona but sources have not confirmed whether Bynum will participate.

Regardless of his limited role in training camp, the 22-year-old center is expected to have a successful recovery and be ready to start the regular season.  He will be rehabilitating his knee for the next six to eight weeks.

Wednesday, the cuts to Team USA were made and the cuts went pretty much as expected by most.  There were various sources claiming that Gerald Wallace, a forward for Carolina, Tyreke Evans, a guard for Sacramento, as well as O.J. Mayo, a guard for Memphis, were three likely candidates for being cut from Team USA.  Sources were right because all three of them were cut Wednesday in addition to JaVele McGee, a center for Washington.

Las Vegas was the host for the training camp last week where 19 players participated.  The Team USA roster has now been taken down to 15 players for the training camp held in New York August 10 through August 16.  The team roster will have to dwindle down to 12 players prior to August 26, which is two days prior to the commencement of the World Championship, which is being held in Turkey.  The World Championship will begin August 28 and continue through September 12.

The 15 players that are left on the roster for now include Chauncey Billups, a guard for Denver, Tyson Chandler, a center for Dallas, Stephen Curry, a guard for Golden State, Kevin Durant, a forward for Oklahoma City, Rudy Gay, a forward for Memphis, Eric Gordon, a guard for the Clippers, Danny Granger, a forward for Indiana, Jeff Green, a forward for Oklahoma City, Andre Iguodala a swingman for Philadelphia, Brook Lopez, a center for New Jersey, Kevin Love, a forward for Minnesota, Lamar Odom, a forward/center for the Los Angeles Lakers, Rajon Rondo, a guard for Boston, Derrick Rose, a guard for Chicago, and finally Russell Westbrook, a guard for Oklahoma City.

As of right now, there are a definite eight or so players that will probably make it to the final roster according to Coach Mike Krzyzewski and Jerry Colangelo, the USA Basketball chairperson.  The ones that are likely to make the final roster include Odom, Durant, Billups, Rose, Rondo, Iguodala, Chandler, and Gay.

The ones that are on the verge of getting cut when training camp finishes in New York will need to show that they have what it takes to be part of the Team USA while in training camp, which commences in about two weeks.

The debut of Dan Haren was not what the Angels expected nor was it the start that Haren had in mind.  A line drive struck Haren in the right forearm Monday during his first start against the Boston Red Sox after being acquired by the Angels from the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Prior to being struck in the arm from attempting to catch the line drive hit by Kevin Youkilis, Haren had eight strikeouts against Boston. However, once struck by the line drive, he immediately fell to the ground because the pain was dominant.  He was rushed off the baseball field by the team’s training staff at which time the fans near the Angels dugout gave Haren a standing ovation showing their gratitude for the player.  He acknowledged this by tipping his cap.

Haren was examined by the team’s doctor and revealed that it was a bruised right forearm.  According to various sources, X-rays were not taken at the time; however, they could come into play when Haren is examined by the team’s orthopedist on Tuesday.

Prior to being replaced on the mound by Francisco Rodriguez, Haren pitched 4 2/3 innings in which he allowed 2 runs on 7 hits, which include a home run by David Ortiz.  He successfully struck out eight batters.

Haren believes he will be fine for his next start, but the Angels manager isn’t so hopeful.  We’ll see once he has been re-examined to determine the true extent of the injury.

Monday was a day full of injuries everywhere in every sport it seemed.  Willie Colon of the Pittsburgh Steelers suffered an injury to his Achilles tendon while participating in exercise activities on Monday.  At this time, the extent of this injury is uncertain. Colon will have to undergo more tests.

Once he undergoes tests, if it is determined that his Achilles tendon is in fact torn then he will likely have to undergo surgery to repair the tendon, which will more than likely cost him the rest of the season.  This is going to put a hamper on the Steelers this season as they will lose one of their starters.  The second starter that assists Colon in tackle is Max Starks and while he will still be a great starter at tackle, the depth past him is very little.

27-year-old Colon has been with the Steelers for five seasons now counting this season and has started 50 straight games in left tackle position.  He was drafted out of the 2006 NFL Draft by the Steelers and has been there ever since.

Colon’s name may sound familiar as he was with Pittsburgh’s quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, in March when he was accused for allegedly sexually assaulting a college student in Georgia.  Colon said that he never witnessed any misconduct and although Roethlisberger did not receive any official charges, the NFL handed him a six game suspension.

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What are the questions?

Here are the four questions in no any particular order:

1. Which Cup team will claim the prestigious World Cup?

2. Which World Cup team will finish as the runner-up?

3. Who will be chosen as the World Cup Best Player?

4. Who will be the absolute top scorer?

In addition to the four questions above that will be tallied at the end of the World Cup Championship, you can have your chance at winning a halfway prize of $500.

Halfway Prize Question:

Name the specific teams that make it to the 1/8 finals.

See details and terms of the content below:

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Portugal’s winger Nani has been excluded from the World Cup.  Portugal will be required to face the 2010 World Cup in South Africa without Nani.  Nani is currently suffering from a left bruised collarbone, which is what is keeping him from participating in the World Cup.

Nani has been receiving specific treatment for the bruised collarbone for the past few days, but Monday it was announced that the Manchester United club player would not be participating with Portugal in the championship due to results received after testing to see if the player was fit to play or not.

The Portuguese Football Federation has asked that winger Nani be replaced with winger Ruben Amorim from Benifica.

There was no release of statement pertaining to when Nani was first injured but he did participate in the friendly on June 1 when Portugal won 3-1 over Cameroon.

For the World Cup, Portugal will go head-to-head in South Africa with North Korea, Ivory Coast, and Brazil.  Portugal is part of Group G and will face Ivory Coast for their opening game on June 15 as the 13th match of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

South Africa, host town for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, will have their opening game on June 11 against Mexico in Johannesburg.  The final and complete roster for the host team of South Africa is below include

Goalkeepers include Shuaib Walters from Maritzburg United Itumeleng, Moeneeb Josephs from Orlando Pirates and Khune from Kaizer Chiefs.

Defenders include Lucas Thwala from Orlando Pirates, Tsepo Masilela from Maccabi Haifa, Siyabonga Sangweni from Golden Arrows, Bongani Khumalo from SuperSport United, Matthew Booth from Sundowns, Aaron Mokoena from Portsmouth, Anele Ngcongca from Genk and Siboniso Gaxa from Sundowns.

Midfielders include Siphiwe Tshabalala from Kaizer Chiefs, Steven Pienaar from Everton, Kagiso Dikgacoi from Fulham, Thanduyise Khuboni from Golden Arrows, MacBeth Sibaya from Rubin Kazan, Reneilwe Letsholonyane from Kaizer Chiefs, Lance Davids from Ajax Cape Town and Teko Modise from Orlando Pirates.

Strikers include Siyabonga Nomvethe from Moroka Swallows, Katlego Mphela from Sundowns, Bernard Parker from FC Twente and Surprise Moriri from Sundowns.

The 2010 World Cup is about to be underway – let’s look at the final roster for Group A team Mexico who will open up on June 11 against host town South Africa in Johannesburg.

Goalkeepers include Oscar Pérez from Chiapas, Luis Ernesto Michel from Chivas and Memo Ochoa from America.

Defenders include Efrain Juarez from Pumas UNAM, Paul Aguilar from Pachuca, Carlos Salcido from PSV Eindhoven, Francisco Rodríguez from PSV Eindhoven, Héctor Moreno from AZ Alkmmar, Ricardo Osorio from Stuttgart and Rafael Márquez from Barcelona.

Midfielders include Andrés Guardado from Deportivo La Coruña, Israel Castro from Pumas UNAM, Gerardo Torrado from Cruz Azul, Jorge Torres Nilo from Atlas and Jonny Magallón from Guadalajara.

Forwards include Carlos Vela from Arsenal, Guillermo Franco from West Ham, Giovani dos Santos from Galatasaray, Javier Hernández from Guadalajara, Cuauhtemoc Blanco from Veracruz, Alberto Medina from Guadalajara, Adolfo Bautista from Guadalajara and Pablo Barrera from Pumas UNAM.

The World Cup starts for Algeria on June 13 when they go up against Slovenia for their opening game in Polokwane.  They have made the cut from Club Team 30 to 23 so let’s see who made the final cut.

Goalkeepers include Raid Ouheb M’bolhi from Club Team Slavia Sofia, Faouzi Chaouchi from Club Team ES Setif, and Lounes Gaouaoui from Club Team ASO Chlef.

Defenders include Djamel Mesbah from Club Team Lecce, Nadir Belhadj from Club Team Portsmouth, Habib Belaid from Club Team Boulogne Sur Mer, Antar Yahia from Club Team Bochum, Rafik Halliche from Club Team Madeira, Carl Medjani from Club Team Ajaccio, Madjid Bougherra from Club Team Rangers, and Abdelakder Laifaoui from Club Team ES Setif.

Midfielders include Karim Matmour from Club Team Borussia Monchengladbach, Karim Ziani from Club Team Wolfsburg, Foued Kadir from Club Team Valenciennes, Djamel Abdoun from Club Team Nantes, Riad Boudebouz from Club Team Sochaux, Adlene Guidoura from Club Team Wolverhampton, Yazid Mansouri from Club Team Lorient, Medhi Lacen from Club Team Racing Santander, and Hassan Yebda from Club Team Portsmouth.

Strikers include Rafik Saifi from Club Team Istres, Rafik Djebbour from Club Team AEK Athens,and Abdelkader Ghezzal from Club Team Siena.