DHL » eft in regulation to help the San Jose Sharks

The World Cup can be glorious for many reasons. On Sunday it stepped up to educate viewers. Arjen Robben was fouled in the box deep into added time in the match against Mexico. The key word in that sentence is fouled. Defender Rafa Marquez stepped in and stood on the foot of Robben in the penalty area. At no level of this sport, from youth football to the World Cup, is a defender allowed to step on an opponents foot. None. It was a clear penalty. 100 times out of 100 a referee should give it. However, there was a huge outrage on social media once the decision was made. Just after contact, Robben kicked his left foot into the air and threw his arms back, flopping to the floor. Robben cheat then was trending. But is he a cheat? Let us look at the facts from Sunday, ignoring what some people think he is like as a professional. Robben, who earlier in the game was fouled and didnt get a penalty for staying on his feet, falls to the ground theatrically. However, as he is falling to the ground the real incident has already happened. The defender, Marquez, has misjudged his duties; he is too late and has dived in late and connected with the foot of Robben. It is the referees duty at this time to decide if this is a foul. His decision should not be clouded by Robbens reaction. This, of course, is easier said than done. A football referees job is one of the hardest in professional sports yet, for some, there is an expectation for him to be judge and jury in cases such as this. Was it a foul? Did the player dive? Here is what you need to know about these questions. Referees are VERY good at deciding what is and what is not a foul. They are not, and should not be, VERY good at deciding if a player is diving. To come up with this verdict you have to measure intent. This is VERY dangerous territory. For some, Robben was cheating in this scenario. For some, his actions are worse than Marquez, even though the skipper of the Mexican national team rashly DIVED in and committed a foul in the final minutes of a monumental football match. The verdict is in on Marquez. It was a foul. So, what of Robben? Those throwing around the word cheat must be sure the player had intent and desire to cheat the referee or opponent. Whenever someone is guilty of something those accusing must always be clear of the rule itself and it is worth quoting the rules on simulation which comes under FIFAs Law 12 on fouls and misconduct. Unsporting Behaviour (Simulation) Directive: If blatant simulation, caution. If minimal contact, consider cautioning player. For the worst part of the crime - something they call blatant simulation - the guardians of the game instructs referees to give a yellow card; exactly the same card that players receive for a poor challenge or time wasting, for example. When such a moment happens, that directly impacts a match it is worth noting UEFAs stance explained in article 10 under 1C on suspensions applied to misconduct: Suspension for two competition matches or for a specified period for acting with the obvious intent to cause any match official to make an incorrect decision or supporting his error of judgement and thereby causing him to make an incorrect decision. That rule was applied in 2009 when UEFA banned Arsenals Eduardo for simulation against Celtic in the Champions League. However, as this case proved, it is very difficult to judge whether a player has obvious intent to dive. Arsenal rightly challenged the two game ban applied to their striker and it was overturned. We are now at a stage in 2014 where we are evaluating how every footballer goes down to the ground under a challenge with many rushing to the assumption that they are diving cheats. This is not helping anyone. As Arsenal proved when they overturned the Eduardo ban, accusing someone of intentionally trying to simulate is very dangerous. Asking a referee to do the same is even more moronic and the game is already at a crossroads with this as fouls are now being missed based on what happens directly afterwards. And this is the biggest concern. Fouls, seen by referees, are being missed because of the outrage over simulation. Fouls are already being missed as it is. Not through incompetence but because the game is so difficult to officiate. Referees rely on players to help them with this and if a player falls down theatrically under a legitimate foul, no ones attention should be turned to the latter. This, of course, is as likely as officials missing clear penalties and players simulating. The clear obsession with this area of the sport is growing and growing, particularly from a crowd who dont watch the game as often. Despite the obsession, the crime remains a difficult one to judge. Perhaps, then, energy is better used elsewhere? Dont count on it. For example, if Robben had been booked for diving, would there have been such an outrage when Netherlands would have been denied a clear penalty in the dying minutes? Not even close. Gianluigi Buffon Juventus Jersey .C. -- Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe is resigning after 13 seasons at the school. Medhi Benatia Juventus Jersey . A lawmaker is hoping the buzz from California Chromes run for the Triple Crown might build support for a bill that would place the U. http://www.juventusfcpro.com/Kids-Medhi-Benatia-Jersey/. -- Joe Thornton scored the tiebreaking goal with 5:39 left in regulation to help the San Jose Sharks overcome a two-goal deficit to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3 on Thursday night. Miralem Pjanic Jersey . -- Packers cornerback Tramon Williams has been fined $26,250 for contact with an official, per NFL guidelines. Leonardo Bonucci Juventus Jersey . Interestingly, the culprits were not rookies, but well paid, experienced pros. The first gaffe came in the 24th minute of arguably the biggest early season MLS game in history between Seattle and Toronto. Sounder newcomer Marco Pappa, (with over 100 MLS games, and 39 Guatemalan Caps to his name) attempted a back pass to one of his central defenders.MIAMI -- R&B blared in the St. Louis Cardinals postgame clubhouse, making conversation difficult, and Justin Masterson reached over to the stereo and turned down the volume so he could talk about his latest outing. Masterson did it all Wednesday-- pitching, hitting and monitoring the music after St. Louis beat the Miami Marlins 5-2. The former Indians ace earned his first career RBI in the sixth with a two-out single. But he was more excited about pitching seven scoreless innings in his best outing since being acquired in a trade with Cleveland on July 30. "I pray to the good lord that this is on the right path," said Masterson, who has struggled for much of the season. "I felt very comfortable. The ball was coming out well and it was heavy. And it was going at guys; thats nice, too." The 6-foot-6 sinkerballer recorded 12 outs on groundballs. He also bounced a grounder through the Miami infield for his RBI, and when asked if he got the ball as a souvenir, he laughed. "I got a W," he said. "Its much better for the team than the ball." Masterson improved to 2-1 with St. Louis and 5-6 overall. He allowed three hits -- all singles -- and no walks and threw only 91 pitches before departing for a pinch hitter. After recording only six outs in his previous start, he lowered his ERA to 6.00 in three outings with the Cardinals, and 5.14 overall this year. "Today was just a great sign of the kind of pitcher he can be when he gets it all put together," manager Mike Matheny said. "It couldnt have happened at a better time." The Marlins were going for their first three-game sweep of the Cardinals since 1996, but they didnt get a runner to second base until the ninth. "Absolutely we wanted to get greedy and try to go for the sweep," Casey McGehee said. "But Masterson threw the ball well." Miami walked in a run and allowed two unearned runs on a pair of errors by second baseman Jordany p;Valdespin.dddddddddddd Nathan Eovaldi (6-7) allowed four runs, two earned, in six innings. Jeff Baker hit a two-run homer for the Marlins, but NL home run and RBI leader Giancarlo Stanton went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts. The Cardinals won despite going 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position. They were 4 for 26 in those situations in the series, which made a two-out, two-run single by Matt Adams in the third inning especially welcome. "Somebody in the dugout yelled real loud, Hey, we got the lead," Matheny said. "That was a nice change of pace." Masterson made the early advantage stand up. "You get two or three runs and you can challenge guys and go after them," he said. FORMER CATCHER Marlins manager Mike Redmond caught Masterson in 2010 when both were with the Indians. "Hes a totally different guy than I caught," Redmond said. "He definitely relies on his location and changes speeds, but he still gets a ton of groundballs. We never got anything going against him." Redmond also caught the Marlins starter Thursday, Brad Penny, when both played for Florida. TRAINERS ROOM Cardinals LF Matt Holliday left the game in the seventh inning when his chronic knee trouble flared up, but he said the problem wasnt serious. Marlins LHP Dan Jennings, who suffered a concussion when he was hit in the head by a line drive on Aug. 7, has been free of symptoms the past two days and played catch before the game. Theres no timetable yet for his return. Redmond said he anticipates that RHP Carter Capps (elbow) and INF Derek Dietrich (wrist) will rejoin the team next month. UP NEXT The Cardinals open a homestand Thursday against the Padres when John Lackey pitches against Eric Stults. Lackey has an 8.25 ERA in two starts since joining St. Louis. Penny pitches Thursday against Arizona and Chase Anderson. Penny has a 1.93 ERA in 23 games against the Diamondbacks. ' ' '