Playing at home, with its biggest star onboard and an unexpected last-minute change at the helm, Brazil is looking to win its first Olympic mens soccer gold medal in Rio de Janeiro.No pressure, right?Coach Dunga opted to include star striker Neymar as one of the three over-23 players allowed in the Olympic squads instead of taking him to the Copa America. That plan backfired when Brazil was eliminated by Peru in the group stage of the tournament being played in the United States. That result prompted the dismissal of Dunga, who was replaced by Tite as the senior team coach.Dunga was also slated to coach in the Olympics, but now the job falls to the usual under-23 coach, Rogerio Micale.This will be the third straight Olympics in which Brazil brings some of its best players looking for that elusive gold medal. The five-time World Cup champions failed with a team led by former FIFA Player of the Year Ronaldinho in 2008, eliminated by Argentina in the semifinals, and with Neymar in 2012, losing to Mexico in the final. Brazils mens team has won the silver medal three times and the bronze two.The pressure to win gold will be higher after the elimination at Copa America, and with local fans still smoldering from the embarrassing 7-1 loss to Germany in the 2014 World Cup semifinals at home.Brazil opens against South Africa on Thursday in Brasilia, one day before the opening ceremony in Rio de Janeiro. Three-time silver medalist Denmark and Iraq are also in Group A.Local organizers will take advantage of the stadiums built for the World Cup, and the Olympic tournament will be played at seven venues, including two in Rio and one in the Amazon city of Manaus.STARS TO WATCH: Neymar will be the main attraction, the only top soccer star to make it to the games. The striker is coming off an excellent season with Barcelona and will be rested after skipping the Copa America. Brazil will also have two up-and-coming players who have been targeted by big European clubs: Gabriel Barbosa, known as Gabigol, and Gabriel Jesus.Colombia will feature veteran forward Teo Gutierrez, while defending champion Mexico will count on striker Oribe Peralta, who scored four goals in the teams winning campaign in London four years ago. Defender Matthias Ginter, World Cup champion in 2014, will play for Germany, and experienced midfielder John Obi Mikel will star for 1996 Olympic champion Nigeria.TEAMS TO WATCH: Defending champion Mexico will field a strong squad, led by Pachuca striker Hirving Lozano, the only under-23 player on the Mexico team in Copa America. The Mexicans will face Germany, South Korea and Fiji in Group C.Colombia beat the United States in a playoff in March and its squad includes several players from the Copa America squad, including up-and-coming strikers Roger Martinez and Marlos Moreno. The Colombians face stiff competition in Group B from Sweden, Japan and African powerhouse Nigeria.Looking for its third gold medal, Argentina leads Group D against Portugal, Algeria and Honduras.Germany will be playing in the tournament for the first time since 1988, when current U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann was on the team. Brazil and Germany could meet in the semifinals at Maracana Stadium, a rematch of the World Cup semifinal from two years ago when the German senior team embarrassed Brazil at home.VENUES: Soccer is the only competition played outside Rio. The other host cities will be Salvador, Sao Paulo, Brasilia, Belo Horizonte and the jungle city of Manaus. Rio will host matches in two venues: Maracana, site of the World Cup final two years ago, and the opening and closing ceremonies for these games, and the Olympic Stadium, which will also host the track and field events.Sao Paulo will host matches at the Itaquerao Stadium, home of the World Cup opener.JUNGLE OLYMPICS: Manaus will be one of the most unique cities hosting soccer matches at the games. Located about 1,800 miles from Rio in the middle of the Amazon rainforest, the city was picked as a host by local organizers even though FIFA said it was not a suitable first option for a hosting venue. Rio organizers said they added Manaus in part to integrate all of Brazil in the games. The city will host six mens and womens matches in the group stage, including Colombia-Sweden in the mens tournament and U.S.-Colombia in the womens.---Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/tales-azzoniAir Max Günstig Outlet . It was the kind of score that might make everyone else wonder which course he was playing. Except that Graeme McDowell saw the whole thing. Crouched behind the 10th green at Sheshan International, McDowell looked over at the powerful American and said, "Ive probably seen 18 of the best drives Ive seen all year in the last two days. Nike Air Max 95 Günstig .ca! Hi Kerry, Its another day and here we are looking at another dubious hit to the head. In this case Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky elbowed Saku Koivu in the head about a second after he dished off the puck to a teammate, knocking him unconscious. http://www.shopairmaxschweiz.com/ . -- Jakob Silfverberg is making himself right at home with the Anaheim Ducks, scoring four goals in his first four games. Nike Vapormax Off White Günstig Kaufen . Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck of the Vancouver Giants were each charged with assault causing bodily harm on Aug. 18, according to the B.C. court services. Nike Air Max Tn Schweiz . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season.NEW YORK -- Gary Sanchez is hitting home runs at a record pace for a rookie.The catcher connected for a two-run homer off David Price in the first inning, and the New York Yankees beat the Red Sox 6-4 Tuesday night to end Bostons 11-game winning streak and delay its AL East title celebration.Brought up from the minors on Aug. 3, Sanchez matched Wally Berger of the 1930 Boston Braves as the fastest major leaguer to 20 home runs, accomplishing the feat in 51 games.Everybody on the team calls home run when he steps up there, said Tyler Austin, who broke a 4-all tie in the seventh with a two-run homer off Price.Having replaced Brian McCann as the Yankees primary backstop, the 23-year-old Sanchez is batting .316 with 42 RBI. He never hit more than 18 home runs in a minor league season.Im a little surprised, but I work very hard, Sanchez said through a translator.Despite playing about one-third of the season, he could get some serious consideration for AL Rookie of the Year. Detroit pitcher Michael Fulmer is the favorite with an 11-7 record and 2.95 ERA that could lead the AL. But Fulmer has gone 2-5 since the All-Star break.Gary has meant as much to his team as any rookie in the big leagues this year, Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.David Ortiz, starting his final series in the Bronx, went 0 for 5 with two strikeouts and stranded seven runners. He ended the game by fanning with two on when Tyler Clippard threw him a high, backdoor cutter.As players, we relish those moments, Clippard said. I wouldnt have had it any other way. If Im going to get it done, Id rather get it done against David Ortiz.The 40-year-old slugger was annoyed with himself and succinct. He didnt like Sanchezs trips to the mound.That aint fun, he said. They tricked me tonight. Too much talking between the pitcher and catcher. Ill trick them tomorrow.Having clinched at least a wild-card berth last weekend, Boston is fiive games ahead of second-place Toronto with five games left, needing just one victory or a Blue Jays loss to ensure the division championship.dddddddddddd Toronto also prevented the Red Sox from wrapping it up Tuesday night by beating Baltimore 5-1.New York, which has only a remote chance of reaching the postseason, closed within four games of the Orioles for the second AL wild card with five remaining.Price (17-9) is 1/3 with a 7.89 ERA against the Yankees this year. After winning eight consecutive decisions, he gave up six runs and 12 hits -- matching his season high.Blake Parker (1-0) got two outs for his first big league win in two years, retiring Ortiz on a groundout with two on to end the seventh. Clippard got the save, and the Yankees (81-76) ensured they will not finish with their first losing season since 1992.Clippard expected Ortiz to come up with a chance to put Boston ahead with two outs in the ninth.Its just how this game works, the reliever said.LOOMING DISCIPLINEGirardi expects pitcher Luis Severino will be disciplined after hitting Torontos Justin Smoak with a pitch, sparking the second bench-clearing scuffle of Mondays game. Torontos J.A. Happ had thrown consecutive inside pitches to Headley, hitting him with the second and prompting a warning from plate umpire Todd Tichenor.The situation I think was handled very poorly, Girardi said. If hes suspended, theres no doubt in my mind that J.A. Happ should be suspended.TRAINERS ROOMYankees: RHP Masahiro Tanaka (forearm) was cleared to play catch by team physician Dr. Christopher Ahmad and made 25 throws from 60 feet. Tanaka hopes to start this weekend against Baltimore.UP NEXTRHP Bryan Mitchell (1-2) is scheduled to start Wednesday night for New York against Boston RHP Clay Buchholz (8-10). ' ' '