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OTTAWA - FIFA secretary-general Jerome Valcke has rubbished a legal challenge over the use of artificial surfaces at next years Womens World Cup in Canada, saying anyone who says playing on turf is discriminatory is talking nonsense.The French executive took square aim at the rebel faction of players and their lawyers, who have been banging the drum for months over having to play their showcase tournament on artificial turf.The world governing body of soccer, which admittedly has had other fires to fight recently, had largely limited its turf response to articles on its website, including an Oct. 29 interview with a diplomatic Valcke. But on Friday, the secretary-general came out swinging.If anyone is saying that the use of the artificial pitch is a question of discrimination, its nonsense. Its completely crazy to say that, Valcke told a news conference on the eve of Saturdays tournament draw.It has nothing to do with discrimination. I cant imagine that no one would recognize what FIFA has done for the development of womens football over the last 15 years. We have asked all of our members associations to invest in womens football ... We have created new competitions and we are working on a potential new competition at the club level (a womens Club World Cup).We are every day trying to develop womens football around the world.A group of elite female players has filed a legal challenge with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, saying making women play on artificial turf is discriminatory because men play their showcase tournament on natural grass.The issue has dominated headlines, taking away some of the shine of a 52-game tournament that organizers ambitiously hope will draw 1.5 million spectators from June 6 to July 5.Hampton Dellinger, lead lawyer for the women challenging the turf, responded to Valckes comments by saying that the legal team that prepared the human rights complaint was completely lucid.The facts we put in our legal complaint make out a very compelling case of sex discrimination, he said in an interview from the U.S.Victor Montagliani, president of the Canadian Soccer Association and the tournament organizing committee, said the focus on the pitch has been mildly annoying.If I said I wasnt a little bit (frustrated), sure Id probably be lying, he said. But my frustrations not very high. Because to be honest with you, the conduct (of those challenging the turf) has been nothing short of what I call a little bit ridiculous. I can respect peoples opinions, I respect peoples comments. But also being a Canadian, I respect the process. And so they chose a (legal) arena to go into. And its still in that arena and I have to respect that. But they need to respect that as well. Captain Christine Sinclair, the lone player expected at the draw, and her fellow Canadian players have stayed clear of the turf brouhaha.I understand what theyre standing up for, she said of the players behind the legal challenge. Its not really an issue for me. Im preparing to play in a World Cup and thats what my focus is on. Ill let other players and other teams worry about issues outside the actual games.Valcke had promised an open dialogue at the draw. But, despite the fact only Sinclair is expected Saturday, he rejected an offer to speak to the rebel players via conference call.Asked about that, Valcke said he would talk with players in person but not on the phone — and he would not talk to lawyers.I am ready to discuss with all the players, with all the technical teams, with all the coaches. But face to face. And thats what Im ready to do .. Im ready to travel to wherever I have to travel to do that.Dellinger welcomed those words, saying they mark a step forward in making the Womens World Cup truly world-class.But the truth ultimately will be on the pitch, he added, referring to the type of playing surface.Four of the first five questions at the news conference were on the turf issues. But the following five touched other topics.Valcke confirmed that goal-line technology will be used at the womens tournament in Canada. And the prize money will be raised by US$5 million to $15 million, with the winner earning $2 million.Those were two issues raised by the lawyers for the rebel players, eager to point the finger at other differences between the mens and womens world championships.Germany, as winner of the mens World Cup this summer, earned $35 million. Total prize money for the mens event was $476 million.Valcke noted that the mens tournament, which made $4.5 billion this summer, finances all of FIFAs 20 world tournaments. And that the womens event was a relative new one — starting in 1991 — compared to the mens championship, which began in 1930.In a statement that may set the Canadians mens team on edge, Valcke congratulated Canada as perhaps the only one of FIFAs 209 member associations that is spending more money on womens soccer than men.The CSA would, no doubt, respond that its budget for the men and women shifts depending on what tournaments are nearest on the landscape.Still, the Canadian men are currently ranked 122nd in the world and have only ever been to one World Cup, in 1986. This marks the Canadian womens sixth trip to the World Cup in seven attempts.Saturdays draw at the Canadian Museum of History in Gatineau, Que., comes six months before the tournament kickoff. It will slot the 24 teams into six groups headed by host Canada (ranked eighth in the world by FIFA) and seeds Brazil (No. 6), France (No. 4), Germany (No. 2), Japan (No. 3) and the United States (No. 1).Canada will be in Pool A, playing its first two round-robin games in Edmonton and the third in Montreal. The rest will be determined at the draw.More draw details were released Friday, giving Canadas John Herdman and the other 23 coaches expected to attend Saturdays gala a sense of what to expect.There are four pots, with six teams in each.A worst-case scenario could see Canada drawn with Sweden (No. 5) or England (No. 7), Asian runner-up Australia (No. 10) and African champion Nigeria (seen as far better than its No. 35 ranking would suggest).A more friendly landscape would see Canada with Switzerland (No. 18), Thailand (No. 30) and Ivory Coast (No. 64).Herdman suggested the group of death starts with the European teams awaiting in Pot 4No easy games. But there are some harder ones. Hopefully we avoid them, said Herdman with a laugh.---Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter Air Jordan NZ Online . In a matchup of teams battling head-to-head for the final playoff spot in Major League Soccers Western Conference, the Whitecaps run to the post-season took a hard hit when FC Dallas blew open a tie game with two goals in the final minutes for a 3-1 victory Saturday night. Wholesale Air Jordan NZ . Although the deal cannot be made official until the free agent moratorium period is lifted on July 10, Patterson has agreed to a three-year, $18 million extension to remain in Toronto, sources confirm to TSN. http://www.nzairjordan.com/ .com) - Colorado may be ahead of the Vancouver Canucks in the Western Conference standings, but they are a club that the Avalanche may want to avoid in the playoffs. Air Jordan Retro Clearance . The win puts the final playoff berth in Group A in question. If the Czechs beat Slovakia on Tuesday, they will go through. If they lose, Germany will get the last quarter-final berth. Air Jordan Cheap Wholesale . Green-Ellis was Cincinnatis leading rusher each of the last two seasons. His role was reduced last year when Giovani Bernard was added to the backfield. Green-Ellis ran for 756 yards and a career-low 3.TORONTO – Nazem Kadri isnt the superstitious type, but one could understand if he was tempted to change his luck. More than a quarter of the way into just his third full NHL season it appeared as if the 24-year-old was stuck in a rut – totaling just 10 points in 22 games. But while the points are down this year, the other numbers look about as good as last season, if not slightly better. Kadri is producing more offence at even-strength, winning more faceoffs, directing more shots on goal, drawing more penalties and boasting one of the best possession marks on the Leafs. Working against him, however, has been an underperforming power-play, some unfortunate luck and an ongoing battle with consistency. Teaming with Joffrey Lupul and the since-departed Mason Raymond on Torontos second power-play unit a year ago, Kadri tied for second on the team with 18 such points, including seven goals – a mark that trailed only Phil Kessel and James van Riemsdyk. But with Lupul banged up and Raymond off to Calgary, that same second unit has produced little to nothing so far this season. Kadri has yet to even register a single point with the man advantage and was removed from such duties entirely against Pittsburgh on Wednesday night. It was a loud message to the brash centre and one that provoked the desired response. Nazzie hadnt had a point on the power-play in 21 games, said Carlyle after the 4-3 overtime loss. What would you do? Performing at last years pace on the power-play would net him an additional five points at this point in the year and would likely quiet some of the questions about his sagging production. From the sounds of it, hell be back on that power-play again soon. Hes a little bit snake-bit on the power-play, but we know thats going to come, said Leafs assistant Steve Spott, who directs Torontos man advantage. Some of that lacking production is also surely tied to luck. Unlike his 44-point breakout during the lockout season when luck was working hard in his favour, Kadri hasnt benefited much from the hockey gods this year. Despite being on pace for nearly 50 more shots than last season, hes scored on just 9.6 per cent of his opportunities, far below the 16 per cent mark he averaged in the past three seasons. Kadri has all five of his goals at even-strength – trailing only Kessel and van Riemsdyk in Toronto – and 10 even-strength points, behind only Kessel and Leo Komarov and equal to van Riemsdyk and Tyler Bozak. He owns the second-best possession mark on the Leafs and draws penalties at one of the highest rates in the league, including one on Evgeni Malkin in Pittsburgh. Carlyle also recently praised his improved efforts in the defensive zone. All of that, however, doesnt change the inconsistency thats there night to night and even shift to shift with Kadri. There are efforts like that in Pittsburgh when hes noticeably engaged in the game, throwing his 188-pound fframe around with feisty abandon.dddddddddddd. He bowled over Christian Ehrhoff with a thunderous hit in the third frame, doing the same to Wings defender Niklas Kronwall just a few nights earlier in a win over Detroit. When hes playing with that edge, when hes playing with a little bit of emotion, said Spott, who coached Kadri when he first landed in junior with Kitchener, thats when he becomes a real weapon for us. So its combining his skill with that tenacity. When he does that hes a very valuable player. Its when that tenacity dips that Kadri is hardly noticeable at all. And then there are moments when his decision-making veers into questionable territory. With the score tied early in the third frame opposite the Penguins Kadri attempted a back-hand pass just a few paces in front of Jonathan Bernier. Malkin picked the puck off with ease and nearly scored to put the Penguins ahead. Generally though it was one of those efforts the Leafs would like to see more of. They doled out a team-high of nearly 19 even-strength minutes to Kadri, even double-shifting him from time to time in the final two periods. I thought Nazzie had one of his stronger games, Carlyle said afterward. He needs to play with that level of grit, Spott added, with that level of anger and when he does that he seems to take his game to the next level. Its doing it consistently every night. Part of what makes Kadri, the seventh overall pick in 2009, such a polarizing figure and the source of so much intrigue is the outsized expectations of him. The Leafs have lacked a superstar first line centre since Mats Sundin exited the organization and because of his obvious skill there are hopes inside Toronto, unfair as they may be, that Kadri can be that guy. He very well may be down the line, but thats not where he is at this point. Kadri may just be a dangerous offensive centre a grade below star status and theres really nothing wrong with that. Its about managing expectations and at times the organization has done a poor job of that. Former Leafs bench boss Ron Wilson once claimed that Kadri would be a superstar in the league one day. As confident as they come, Kadri surely believes hell cross that threshold at some point and that will make negotiations this summer quite interesting. Kadri will be a restricted free agent for the second time in three years, concluding a two-year deal with an annual cap hit of $2.9 million. Those are questions for many months down the line though. For now the Leafs will take more nights like Wednesday from their often-puzzling, but equally talented centre. Im just trying to be as productive as I can with the ice-time Im given, Kadri said Wednesday night. Im going to go out there and give it a 100 per cent every shift I got and just leave it all out there. Whether thats scoring a goal, drawing a penalty, making a big hit, Im just trying to do whatever [I can]. 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