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LISBON, Portugal -- Cristiano Ronaldo sat out Portugals exhibition match against Greece on Saturday and his flair was sorely missed as the two World Cup-bound teams produced a tedious 0-0 draw. wholesale jerseys . The muted game at the National Stadium in Lisbon did little to brighten the hopes of the two European teams ahead of the tournament in Brazil that begins June 12. The under-strength Portuguese lacked a spark that could have translated their sporadic forward moves into goals. As well as Real Madrid star Ronaldo, who is recuperating from a series of leg injuries and sore muscles, Portugal felt the absence of playmaker Joao Moutinho in midfield and Pepe in the central defence. Greece, though initially fielding its strongest team, looked ordinary and rarely got out of first gear. "One situation we have to be prepared for is not having our regular players available," Portugal coach Paulo Bento said. "We paid the price of our lack of effectiveness in attack." Portugal will start the World Cup in Group G with Germany, Ghana and the United States. Greece is in Group C with Colombia, Japan and Ivory Coast. With Nani busy on the right flank as the Manchester United player tried to make his mark after an injury-hit league season, Portugals best chances came in the first 10 minutes as Greek goalkeeper Orestis Karnezis tipped over a Bruno Alves header and dived low to his right to deny Ricardo Costa. A series of second-half substitutions sapped the games fluency. The Portuguese dominated possession but couldnt break down the solid Greek defence. Hugo Almeida found Nani unmarked on the right of the Greek penalty area in the 67th but the winger took too long to set up his shot. In the final minutes, Giorgos Karagounis slammed a close-range shot against goalkeeper Betos legs. cheap jerseys . Showing more spark after not taking enough challenging shots on goal in their 1-0 loss Friday night, the Bruins had 18 shots in the first period after managing just 25 in the entire opener. Luke Glendening cut Bostons lead to 2-1 at 13:20 of the second period before Milan Lucic scored late in the second and Zdeno Chara added a power-play goal early in the third. cheap nfl jerseys .Y. -- Marcos Ambrose should be on pins and needles but says hes not. MADISON, Wis. -- Step back, dribble between the legs and fire away. Nik Stauskas played it cool in front of a raucous road crowd late in the second half to hit a clutch shot that helped Michigan hold on for a rare win at Wisconsin. Stauskas scored 23 points, including his key 3 with less than a minute left, and the Wolverines fended off a late surge for the 77-70 victory Saturday over the third-ranked Badgers. Stauskas said his first thought was to go to the rim, but that defender Nigel Hayes was overplaying him. "He kind of slid forward a little bit and I was open for 3 and I just tried to be aggressive and shoot it," Stauskas said. Caris LeVert added 20 for the Wolverines (13-4, 5-0 Big Ten), who celebrated a victory in Madison for the first time since 1999. But wins usually dont come easy at the Kohl Center for any team, and the Badgers (16-2, 3-2) made it difficult for Michigan in nearly overcoming a 15-point deficit. Wisconsin went on a 14-2 run late, and Ben Brusts putback got them within 68-67 with about 2 minutes left. But after whiffing on a 3 from the right wing, Stauskas hit his step-back 3 from the left side to give Michigan a 71-67 lead. "That step back is so fast, and that release is so fast," coach Bo Ryan said. "Hes quick, hes like a cat." Josh Gasser had 16 points for the Badgers, who lost their second straight after a school-best 16-0 start. "Kid just made a great play," Gasser said about Stauskas. Gasser, Wisconsins best defender, said he was supposed to be covering him, but a switch ended up with Hayes guarding on the play. Wisconsins hopes of another nail-biting win over Michigan were dashed. Last year, Brust hit a shot from just inside midcourt before time expired in regulation, then hit a 3 with less than 40 seconds in overtime to give Wisconsin a 65-62 victory. No such luck this year. Stauskas added four foul shots in the final 24.7 seconds to seal Michigans seventh straight win. He had 16 in the second half. "This game wasnt going to be over until that buzzer went off and we had the win," coach John Beilein said. "That was a great shot by Nik, but thats a lot of time left still for them to win the game. cheap jerseys from china. " The Wolverines benefited from the cushion built from a first half in which they shot 60 per cent. Thats especially impressive given it was against Wisconsin, perennially one of the leagues best defensive teams under coach Bo Ryan. But defence was a problem again for the Badgers in their second straight loss after allowing Indiana to shoot 51 per cent earlier in the week. Ryan liked the effort for the most part. The Badgers credited their opponents for making their share of tough shots. Michigan got good looks inside early with crisp interior passing, though Ryan said he was happy overall with his teams ball-screen defence. But it was two 3s by LeVert in the first half that especially frustrated Wisconsins coach. "Sometimes when youre trying to fix something, guys arent quite sure and you just have to keep working through it," Ryan said. Still, the Badgers came back, bolstered by boisterous students back in town for the spring semester. The Kohl Center was rocking after the Badgers late run, during which Michigan at one point missed four shots and committed two turnovers. Hayes short jumper got Wisconsin within six with 4:45 to go before Brust put back his own rebound to get Wisconsin within a point. Thats when Michigan turned to Stauskas. His first 3-point attempt glanced off the rim but Michigan retained possession after a foul was called on Gasser. The ball went back to Stauskas, who shook off Hayes on the perimeter and coolly hit his 3 for a late four-point lead. "Were going to win this game and were going to win the game by being aggressive and if youre afraid to shoot it, youre afraid to take it at them, then lets get (you) out of the game, is the message," Beilein said. "And nobody checked out." Glenn Robinson III added 14 points on 6 of 8 shooting for Michigan, while Brust finished with 14 points and eight rebounds. Michigan also took advantage of uncharacteristically sloppy play by the usually savvy Badgers, stretching a five-point halftime lead to as much as 15 midway through the second half. cheap nfl jerseys ' ' '
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