The night sky was so bright it could have been during the day. Its sharpness matched my mind. This was no night to go to sleep. The first snowfall of winter came hard and while most of my neighbours would wake up to it I hadnt slept yet. It was 3am and the World Cup draw was today. The office Christmas party had wrapped up an hour earlier and my drive home needed to be done without tired eyes. Thankfully, I was too excited to be tired. Eight months earlier I had won the World Cup lottery. Well, a pair of tickets to three matches in Germany for the 2006 World Cup, to be precise. C1 vs C3, E2 vs E4, and G2 vs G4 were about to mean so much more. Letters would turn into teams and with it the evolution of a true World Cup would be born. I would advise every fan of this sport to be involved in a World Cup lottery once in their life. There is a true uniqueness to it, a special feeling of anticipation knowing you will be parachuted amongst yet to be determined cultures to watch their teams play on the greatest stage of all. That is what millions of people will be thinking this Thursday night ahead of the draw in Brazil on Friday. If you are not one of the lucky ones to have tickets to the event there are still reasons to be very excited ahead of the draw with many things to look out for. With that in mind here are five things for you to watch out for during Fridays draw in Brazil. Location, location, location “Im more concerned by the venues than by the teams we draw,” said England boss Roy Hodgson on Monday. “There are venues in Brazil that will be harder to play in than others.” This a World Cup for the country of Brazil and organizers have ensured the travelling circus goes all over the vast land. For the third straight World Cup, one country is hosting the event but it will feel like more. In 2006, the distance between the most northern host city to the furthest southern host city (Munich to Hamburg) was less than 800 km, or eight hours in a car. In 2010 that distance (Polokwane to Cape Town) was 1,700 km. In Brazil the distance between Manaus in the Amazon northern region of Brazil to the southern city of Porto Alegre is a staggering 4,700 km. It is the equivalent of taking a trip from northern England to southern Turkey. With that comes massive climate differences. Twelve different cities will host games and many teams on Friday will be desperate to be given games away from the tropical North East cities of Fortaleza, Natal, Recife and Salvador. Five of the eight seeded teams will play games in this region including G1 who will play all three matches in the very hot and humid territory where temperatures will be in the high 20s. The four seeded European teams – Spain, Germany, Switzerland and Belgium – will be desperate to avoid G1 and hope to get one of C1, F1, or H1 to stay away from the intense heat, where many games are expected to start in the afternoon. For the 24 teams not seeded, there are exactly one third of the slots available for them to hit that gives them favourable draws with the climate– B3, B4, E2, E4, F4, H2, H3, and H4. The true premium slots to hit, particularly for European teams, are in fact B4, E4 and H2. These are the three spots Hodgson will be dreaming about on Thursday night as they will become the three teams who get to play two out of their three group games in the two southern cities of Porto Alegre and Curitiba, where average temperature is a very comfortable 19 degrees. Remember, H stands for happy when it comes to teams desperate to avoid the hot climate. It is the only group that doesnt play a single game in one of the five northern cities. The slots teams will be desperate to avoid, which include at least two games in the sticky North, are A2, A3, A4, C2, C3, C4, D2, D4, G2, G3 and G4. A3, D4, and G4 are officially the three slots that would give Hodgson and his fellow managers nightmares as all three games are played in the North. A3 not only has to do this but also must play Brazil! Being drawn with a weaker seed If things do not go well climate-wise for Hodgson and England they will certainly be hoping to get Switzerland or Belgium. There has been a lot written as to why these countries are seeded over teams like Italy and Netherlands. This has nothing to do with FIFA bias. It is based around their world rankings and teams who missed out on being seeded this time should do better at arranging more competitive games next time in the build up to a World Cup draw. However, no one will tell you that Switzerland and Belgium are better than the Italians and, maybe, the Dutch. Currently they are teams everyone wants to be drawn against in Brazil. The last time a World Cup winner didnt win their group was 1982. With four teams from South America along with Germany and Spain seeded, the other two represent a real chance at giving other teams an opportunity to win the group. Since the World Cup went to 32 teams in 1998, 23 of the 32 seeded teams have won their group but in each of the last three World Cups at least two of the seeds havent. Two talented but young European sides playing in South America look the likeliest seeds this time around to not win their group. Avoiding Braaaaaa-Zill Brazils rapid rise from a team the nation was disgusted with to World Cup favourites has been remarkable. The pressure on Neymar and his mates will be incredible but will only intensify as the tournament goes on. In the group stages the team will play without fear, determined to show the world what they can do, and that is very dangerous for any opponent drawn in group A. Not only is group A a difficult one for climate reasons, it is also a group with a host nation that absolutely will qualify for the last 16, leaving the three drawn into it fighting for one spot. Group A is a group teams will want to avoid. The position of the seeded teams The 24 non-seeded teams are not the only ones who will look to stay away from the hosts. The assigning of groups for the seeds will be the first thing that takes place during the draw and it happens fast. It is also the part of the draw that most just ignore, wanting for the other teams to be drawn as quickly as possible. Dont make that mistake. The last non-seeded team to win the World Cup was Argentina in 1986. Most of these seeds demand your attention as true World Cup contenders and where they are placed in the tournament-style bracket after the groups is crucial. For example, group winners of B, D, F and H go on the opposite side of the draw to the winners of group A, likely Brazil. Teams like Uruguay, Argentina, Spain, and Germany will certainly be looking to get in one of those groups to stay away from Brazil until the final, and if they dont the stories of potential Uruguay or Argentina vs Brazil matchups will be written well before a ball is kicked. Seeded in F or H is ideal for a European powerhouse like Spain or Germany because they would avoid Brazil and the heat. Why Brazil would want to be given a stern test from a team like England or Portugal As much as no one will want to play them, Brazil will be better off if a good team is placed in their group. It may look great to be handed three easy games but past World Cups have shown this is not good for a team when it comes to the knock-out games. Spain was tested early in 2010 with a loss to Switzerland, while other teams like Argentina and Brazil cruised in their groups only to suffer later. Like Spain in 2006, Italy had a very competitive group while Brazils game against Turkey in 2002 helped them significantly later in the tournament. France in 1998 cruised in their group but were very poor in their last 16, taking 113 minutes to score against Paraguay. From the 24 teams not seeded, Brazil would likely get one team from Africa and one team from either CONCACAF or Asia that they wouldnt struggle with, with one preferably being given A2 to take the pressure off Brazil in the opening match. That leaves Europe as being the likely confederation that could give Brazil a team that would provide the host nation with a game that could test them, although Mexicos style of play against South American teams could do that if they get their acts together. Italy and perhaps the Dutch would be considered a little too strong for Brazil at that stage but a game against Portugal or England would be ideal for the host nation. 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He wanted to dispel any suggestions he was being pushed, after musing earlier this year that he might return for a season or two and said he was keeping another promise, to retire from football in a Bomber uniform. "It was my decision, it wasnt a decision that was made by the club forcing me to retire. . I just thought it was the best time for me right now to move on from playing professional football." The Bombers praised him as one of their greats and his numbers back that up. He sits fourth on the all-time team list for receiving yards at 7,200, produced five 1,000-yard-plus seasons and 24 100-yard-plus games, second only to Milt Stegall in that regard among Bombers receivers. He was a league all-star twice and a divisional all-star three times. "Terrence will retire today as one of the best receivers in the history of this franchise," said general manager Kyle Walters in a statement. "He was a leader of the clubs offence for many years and players like him simply do not come along every day. He was a special player in our league, and we thank him for everything he has done for our organization." As a Bomber, he never failed to gain at least 500 receiving yards and pushed his CFL career totals to 508 catches for 7,637 yards and 47 touchdowns by the end of 2013. And that includes last season, when his playing time was limited by injuries. He also mentioned Tuesday what went on last year in the Bomber locker-room but wouldnt go into any details. It was not a happy place to be, as the team struggled and finished tied for their worst season in the 18-game CFL at 3-15. It cost the teams president, general mmanager and coach their jobs.dddddddddddd But injuries were certainly a factor in his decision, agreed Edwards. "Getting freak injuries throughout the whole year last year. And thats one thing I always told myself, that if I had a major injury Id retire and I did have a major injury last year." He had off-season surgery to repair an injured foot that was the most serious problem he faced in 2013, although he also missed a couple of games due to an injured shoulder. Also nagging at him, he confessed, is the fact that none were contact injuries. He says he wants to be able to run around with his two young sons without having to take pain killers. "That was also in my decision-making process." When Edwards entered the CFL he was known as the younger brother of running back Robert Edwards, a first-round NFL draft pick who played for the New England Patriots and Miami Dolphins before moving to the CFL, first with Montreal then with the Toronto Argonauts. Terrence Edwards also had a very brief try in the NFL in 2003 with the Atlanta Falcons but it was in the CFL that he made his mark. After two seasons with the Montreal Alouettes, his debut in a Bomber uniform in 2007 saw him record 1,280 yards and nine touchdowns. There is no question he will be missed. "Terrence Edwards has been a consummate professional for the Winnipeg Football Club throughout the past seven years, and I would personally like to thank him for representing our club with class, hard work, and a burning desire to be successful," said Bomber president Wade Miller. "He may be hanging them up but he will always remain a member of the Blue Bomber family." Edwards says he has plans for life after football but declined to go into any detail. He also suggested he wouldnt mind coaching at some point. He enjoys playing recreational basketball and will continue to do that. "But right now I just want to relax, and step away from it for a little while . . . I think I just want to be a fan now and watch the games." ' ' ' for a 5-0 lead. "I think it probably helped me," Olt said of the wind. "I wasnt trying to hit a home run. I was just trying to put the ball in play and hit it hard." Arizona finally got on the board against Hammel in the sixth when Tuffy Gosewisch led off with a homer. The Cubs then broke things open with four runs in the bottom of the eighth, while the Diamondbacks got one back in the ninth. NOTES: Wednesday is the 100th anniversary of the first game at Wrigley Field, which then was known as Weeghman Park, between the Chicago Federals and Kansas City Packers of the Federal League. The Cubs will wear replica Federal uniforms for the game, while Arizona will wear Packers uniforms. . Diamondbacks OF Mark Trumbo didnt start because of soreness in his left foot. The injury occurred late in Mondays game. . Now that RHP Jose Veres no longer is closing games, Renteria will hunt for opportunities to get Veres on the mound so he can work out his problems. "It could be at any moment," Renteria said. "We could be up by 10 (or) down by 10. He needs to pitch. Hes talked about he wants to get back on the mound and throw." . LHP Wade Miley (2-2) is scheduled to face Chicago RHP Jeff Samardzija (0-2) on Wednesday. ' ' 'e of franchise records for the New York Rangers this week. Fake NFL Jerseys China . The Miami Heat star tops the leagues global list of top-selling jerseys for the 2012-13 season, edging Derrick Rose of the Chicago Bulls, Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers, Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder and James Heat teammate Dwyane Wade for the No. https://www.fakenfljerseys.com/ . The cause of his death is as of yet undetermined, but police said foul play is not suspected. Fake Nike NFL Jerseys . -- Jerome Williams glanced at Philadelphias schedule and realized he would be facing the Oakland Athletics yet again, with another new team. Fake NFL Jerseys Online .com) - The Miami Heat stopped a four-game losing streak last time out and thats the same length slide their opponents Wednesday night, the Denver Nuggets, will try to halt when the two teams meet at the Pepsi Center. LONDON - For all their time on the worlds biggest tennis stage — Roger Federer in 24 Grand Slam finals and Novak Djokovic in 13 — two of the sports "Big 4" have met in only one major final: Federer won in straight sets at the 2007 U.S. Open. Theyll renew their rivalry in a championship match at Wimbledon on Sunday and equal a Grand Slam record. Its the 12th time theyve met in any round of a major, equaling Djokovics duel with Rafael Nadal in majors. Watch all the action live on TSN and TSN GO, and you can listen to the match on TSN Radio 1050 in Toronto. Federer leads Djokovic 6-5 in Grand Slams tournaments, including a win the only time theyve met at Wimbledon — Federer prevailing in four sets in the 2012 semifinals, the only time theyve met on grass. The Swiss star holds an 18-16 edge in career matches, although Djokovic has won three of five matches theyve played since 2013, including this year on clay at Monte Carlo. Federer is making his first appearance in a Grand Slam final since he won here in 2012, and has done it emphatically — dropping just one set in six matches. Here are five other things to know about Sundays match on Centre Court at the All England Club: TOP RANKING: A victory by Djokovic will return him to the No. 1 ranking for the first time since September of last year, taking over from Nadal. Djokovic first rose to No. 1 when he won his only Wimbledon title in 2011, although he was already guaranteed of securing the top ranking eveen before beating Nadal in the final.dddddddddddd. NOT THIS TIME: Defending champion Andy Murray, who lost to Grigor Dimitrov in the quarterfinals here, or Nadal, who was beaten by Nick Kyrgios in the fourth round, had featured in 18 consecutive Grand Slam finals. DOMINATION CONTINUES: The final match-up guarantees that 36 of the past 38 Grand Slam singles titles have gone to a member of the Big 4 — Federer, Djokovic, Murray and Nadal. For trivia buffs, the ones they didnt win: the 2005 French Open (Juan Martin del Potro) and this years Australian Open (Stan Wawrinka). NOVAK SAYS: "We know each others games. Most of the matches weve played against each other went the distance, so Im going to be physically ready and fit. The key against him is trying to not allow him to dictate too much because he likes to be very aggressive, he likes to come to the net. Im going to have to be able to get as many returns back in the court and try to also stay closer to the line, protect the baseline." ROGER SAYS: "We both like to take charge, especially on quicker courts. He has a wonderful way of either re-directing or taking the ball early, taking pace from the opponent, even generating some of his own. Theres not really a safe place you can play into. Novak can hurt you down the line or cross-court on both sides. Hes really improved ... his forehand, his serve, his movement clearly is what stands out the most. I think for me its really important to stay aggressive." ' ' '