It was closing on Midnight and still we waited. The mixed zone is not a place to make friends. Media stand in one spot and hold their position tighter than moms in line for that Black Friday special at Target. One by one the Brazilian players came out, many with enormous headphones on, looking down to the ground and heading straight for the bus entrance. The star of the team was undoubtedly Neymar and his presence was felt even before he appeared, with screaming and awkward shuffling starting around me. The new king of Brazilian football is a show man, he smiled for the ladies, said a few words for the men holding microphones and ran to his seat on the bus. Right behind him stood a large man whose presence was just as big for the Brazilian travelling media. Julio Cesar was smiling ear-to-ear. He had just completed another successful match, in a 2-1 win over Chile, for his country and the joy of playing again couldnt be hidden. The aggressive Brazilian media wanted a part of him and he was happy to oblige. More than any player he took the time to answer questions, hug media friends and talk his way through his evening. For the 34-year-old there was some joy in talking about the game. That Tuesday night he would board a bus, take a charter flight back to London and head to training for Queens Park Rangers by Thursday, knowing full well he wouldnt be playing for the Championship club on Saturday. The Brazilian number one, in a World Cup year, was stuck on the bench at a non-Premier League team and didnt know when he would play again. It is a unique story and one that got even more mysterious when the transfer window closed in England last Friday and the goalkeeper remained a QPR player. QPR manager Harry Redknapp had made no secret at why the Brazilian wasnt playing. Stuck in the second tier of English football with many players on Premier League size contracts, the London club had a situation where they had two good net minders. Julio Cesars competition was Rob Green, who just happens to be playing one of the best seasons of his career and is more affordable long-term. Knowing he couldnt play him, and just importantly not afford him going forward, Redknapp wanted Julio Cesar to leave back in November saying: "We wouldnt stand in Julios way and we arent asking a fee for him. He needs to play and he could play anywhere for any team. Hes just been unlucky. Robs been fantastic and I cant take him out of the team. "However, Julios a great guy and he needs to play soon, so he can play in the World Cup." Still the Brazilian waited. And waited. January came and with it came the obligatory Redknapp in a car interview on transfer deadline day. "Hes a fantastic goalkeeper and thats not just a sale pitch to try and move him on," Redknapp told Sky Sports News. "Hes not only a great keeper but also an amazing professional and a great guy. But I think hes a goalkeeper for any big club in the world. He has got every medal there is to win, the Champions League, the lot." "I cant believe one of the big clubs havent come in and taken him to be honest," declared Redknapp. None of the big clubs came knocking. This was not an indictment on Julio Cesar. His wages? Quite possibly. His talent? Absolutely not. Julio Cesar became the victim of circumstance. Signing a goalkeeper in January is extremely rare. As he can only play one position out of 11 you have to be convinced that the goalkeeper you started the season with is worth disrupting and you have to convinced that the money being spent on the wages is worth it. Goalkeepers are a not always easy analyse, in terms of their significant impact on wins and losses, and, perhaps, more than ever are looked at in terms of actual value. Are they worth what they are being paid or can someone on far less money do a similar job? Pepe Reina was idolized at Anfield but the moment his wages got close to one hundred thousand pounds per week, when they could get Simon Mignolet for almost half that they felt that was excellent business. Mignolet has been excellent at times, and has made some blunders at times as well, very similar to Reina. Liverpool, meanwhile, used the money saved in that position to strengthen elsewhere. Julio Cesar remained a QPR player on February 1st. And still he trained and trained again. His agents continued to work on deals with Brazilian clubs, trying to secure a six month loan to help him get ready for a World Cup on home soil. However, in Brazil the same issues as Europe came up. Big clubs had established goalkeepers like Jefferson, Victor and Fabio. The other clubs are slashing costs and now is not the optimum time to buy, with many of the most important games in their season coming post World Cup. Five months and counting. On Julio Cesars calendar inside his London home the harsh reality stares right at him. He knows what Luiz Felipe Scolari thinks of him and owes him to be at his best. Former Brazilian coach Mano Menezes had pushed him aside, yet when the 2002 World Cup winning coach returned, so did a real, surprise chance for Julio Cesar to put aside the blunder he made against the Dutch in the 2010 World Cup Quarter Finals. Brazilian fans hadnt let him forget that, yet all of a sudden he was in pole position to be the starting goalkeeper in a home World Cup. "I was as surprised as you," a happy Julio Cesar said back in September when he got an international recall. "Now I need to keep working hard and maintain my form over the next eight months." Tick, tick, tick, tick... And now it is five months. Ryan Nelsen started 16 games with Julio Cesar at QPR last season in the Premier League. The first ten came under Mark Hughes and they didnt win a game. Yet, the very first match, Julio Cesars Premier League debut, saw them draw 0-0 against Chelsea and the pair were outstanding against the Blues that day. Under Harry Redknapp, results remained similar but when Julio Cesar returned from injury, he was in the starting XI, with Nelsen, to play at Chelsea in January of 2013. QPR achieved a shock 1-0 win and the pair had once again helped keep a clean sheet against a formidable Chelsea attack. Its a bond that appears to have helped hand Toronto FC, previously the laughing stock of Major League Soccer, an opportunity to get the Brazilian number one before he plays at the World Cup. No financial details have been reported and we will have to wait and see how TFC can pull this off under the cap but to have an opportunity to get Julio Cesar for around ten games before he joins the Brazilian team is an incredible opportunity. Julio Cesar is a winner and can help play a significant role in changing the culture of that dressing room, a mandate that GM Tim Bezbatchenko has spoken about often this winter. He can help Gilberto, the clubs new Brazilian striker, settle in and can make a huge impact on the clubs goalkeeper Joe Bendik. The 24-year-old American is highly thought of by Toronto FC, having recently been rewarded with a new contract, and this signing is in no way a slight against him. What an opportunity he has to work for three months with one of the best goalkeepers of this era, to watch and learn how he prepares and goes about his business. When Julio Cesar departs for the Brazil camp in the middle May, Bendik will be the clubs number one again and will be better for having the Brazilian next to him. And so it appears there are many winners in all of this but, incredibly, the biggest winner of all is Julio Cesar. The odds are 3-1 for him to be one of 23 Brazilians lifting the World Cup in Rio on July 12. Less than two months before that it now appears he will be playing at BMO Field in Toronto. It is another remarkable chapter in the offseason of this football club. It shows just how far they have come that when the news broke on Friday morning it was now believable. It appeared to be a deal this team would do. Who thought they could sign a proven Premier League goalscorer at aged 31 or bring back from Europe the heartbeat of the US team at age 26? "Well be doing alright if we get World Cup stars, wont we?" Ryan Nelsen told me last October when I asked if his DPs would have to take time away from the MLS season to play in Brazil. Alright is likely to be a massive understatement. TFC have yet to kick a ball in 2014 but the knock-on effect is in full effect. The signing of Jermain Defoe got Michael Bradleys attention and both of them got Julio Cesars attention. Now Toronto FC have everyones attention. Deacon Jones Jersey .Murray has played 20 matches in five weeks, winning three titles to climb to fifth in the ATP Race.The two-time Grand Slam champion also seeks to qualify for next months ATP World Tour Finals.Murray said: I always wanted to qualify for it, but also I want to get back into the top 8 players in the world and it makes a huge difference for seedings in the major events. Eric Dickerson Rams Jersey . -- Tiago Splitter tipped in a rebound with 2. http://www.laramsfootballshops.com/joe-namath-jersey/ . But when it was all over they had wasted another lead, seen another pitcher flame out on the mound and lost their fourth straight at home. Jared Goff Youth Jersey . Both sides came closest to scoring in the first half, when Roma had a goal from Mattia Destro waved off for offside and Inters Rodrigo Palacio headed high. "A draw was a fair result. Neither squad had many chances," Roma midfielder Miralem Pjanic said. Clay Matthews Womens Jersey .com) - Pavel Datsyuk and Gustav Nyquist both scored in the shootout as the Detroit Red Wings denied the Minnesota Wilds comeback bid with a 5-4 win on Tuesday. SOCHI, Russia -- The amazing ride for Kaillie Humphries and Heather Moyse didnt end at the Sanki Sliding Center. Canadas Olympic bobsled champions received one of the Games highest honours, chosen to carry Canadas flag into Sundays closing ceremony. "Wow. Its truly an honour to represent what our Canadian athletes are all about," Moyse said. "If we look back to the Canadian teams performance back in Vancouver (in 2010) we can see that a new culture of winning has truly emerged. "The fight that Kaillie and I demonstrated here reflects the fight of all of our Canadian athletes. We are strong. We are winter. We have the strength of a nation behind us. We were raised on ice and in snow. "And as we said in our note to the Canadian hockey team, we also fight to the bitter end." Only twice before has Canada had two people share flag duties: pairs figure skaters Jamie Sale and David Pelletier in 2002, and rowers Marnie McBean and Kathleen Heddle in 1996. Womens hockey star Hayley Wickenheiser carried the flag into the opening ceremony in Sochi. Humphries, from Calgary, and Moyse, from Summerside, P.E.I., displayed steely nerves in their come-from-behind victory. The Canada 1 sled had a gap of 11-100ths of a second to close entering the final run. Moyse delivered with a strong push at the start, then Humphries took over from there. In the end the USA-1 sled came up short on its final run, giving Canada the win by a tenth of a second. "We were able to show the world that were fierce, were proud, were determined, were not going to settle for anything less than being the very best, and were going to do it in our own way," Humphries said. "Heather and I in our race. . . neither of us gave up and we knew we had a nation behind us, pushing us, and not giving up either, and that gave us the strength to really go all in and never let up." Humphries and Moyse were underdogs when they won at the Vancouver Games four years ago but were favourites this time around. The Canadians had at least silver locked up after their final run at the Sanki Sliding Center, and then had a nervous two-minute wait in the finish area while Americans Elana Meyers and Lauryn Williams completed their run. The pressure seemed to get to the Americans, who came up one-10tth of a second short with a wobbly run, meaning Canadas women were golden once again.dddddddddddd Humphries and Moyse received the flag news very early Sunday morning. Theyd been at the bobsled track late watching the Canadian men race. When the 28-year-old Humphries got the call from Canadian chef de mission Steve Podborski, she thought shed pocket-dialled him. "He was like No, I called you," Humphries said. "To get that phone call to be told that you get to walk into a ceremonies with your countrymen behind you, your teammates, your family, and to know that youve been chosen as one to represent. . . goes beyond just words." As the women pointed out, they represent Canada almost from coast to coast. After the Vancouver Games, there were references about the two being meat and potatoes -- Alberta beef and P.E.I. potatoes. "That steak and potatoes, that gold-medal meal," Humphries said. "We tie in everywhere from coast to coast, and its not just (an honour) to represent our country, but to represent the athletes who are here, the best of the best who already represent our country so well." Podborski said the bobsledders embody the values the Canadian Olympic team set for the Sochi Games -- stoked, proud, inspired, fierce and unstoppable. "By defending their Olympic championship in a four-run come-from-behind battle that was clinched in literally the last few seconds, the last few metres," he said. The Canadian Olympic Committee had "an embarrassment of riches," to choose from as well, he added. Among other likely candidates: womens and mens curling champions Jennifer Jones and Brad Jacobs, moguls champion Alex Bilodeau, and sisters Justine and Chloe Dufour-Lapointe sisters, gold and silver medallists in womens moguls. Hours before they were to march into Fisht Olympic stadium, Humphries was hoping to control her nerves while Moyse was worried about crying. "Im so nervous and so excited for it and I was not even close to this nervous competing by any means," Humphries said, laughing. "For me the nerves will probably be to try to get through it without sobbing," Moyse added. "Its an extremely emotional feeling, so if I get through it without crying, that will be a huge step." ' ' '