chance of note in the first half

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Colorado Avalanche and Swedish legend Peter Forsberg didnt mince words when it came to what he thought about Canadian referees working Sundays gold medal game between Sweden and Canada. Arizona Diamondbacks Gear . "What a f___ing joke!" the seven-time All-Star said to Swedish reporters, calling the selection of officials Kelly Sutherland, Brad Meier, Greg Devorski and Derek Amell "comedy at its highest level." Referees Sutherland and linesmen Devorski and Amell are Canadian, while referee Meier is an American who makes his home in Calgary. Not all Swedes are seemingly as upset as Forsberg. Veteran Swedish defenceman Niklas Kronwall of the Detroit Red Wings believes that both teams can benefit from North American officials. "We are used to having referees from USA and Canada in the NHL," said Kronwall. "We know their standards so I think its easier for us too if the referees are from there." Former Norris Trophy winner and Ottawa Senators standout Erik Karlsson agreed with his fellow blueliner. "I think most referees over there [in the National Hockey League] are Canadian, too," said Karlsson. "They probably support Montreal or Toronto, but they dont make any difference there. I couldnt care less about what the referees do. As you saw yesterday, we had two power plays, Finland had a lot, and we still won the game. Its nothing we can control and neither can Canada." IIHF officiating manager Konstantin Komissarov later confirmed the evaluation process for tournament officials and why that quartet was selected to work the final. "The main factor of the selection of these officials has most of all to do with their experience officiating in high-level competitions," said Komissarov on Saturday. "These include Stanley Cup playoffs, World Championship competitions, and Olympic competitions." Komissarov stressed that an officials nationality doesnt play into the process. "Their nationalities arent considered as factors nor should they be, we want the best officials working the medal games," he said. "We are fully confident that with their experience and professionalism these officials will do their job well and preserve the integrity of the game." The gold medal game between Canada and Sweden can be seen on TSN, streamed online and heard on TSN Radio on Sunday morning at 7am et/4am pt. Diamondbacks Jerseys 2020 . Kevin Durant certainly played like there was on Sunday night, scoring 36 points and grabbing 10 rebounds as the Thunder made quick work of the visiting Pacers with a 118-94 win. Craig Counsell Jersey .A. Dickey, even though he was coming off a Cy Young Award in 2012. Many felt the Jays would regret giving up righthanded pitcher prospect Noah Syndergaard and catcher Travis DArnaud over the long haul.GLASGOW -- Barcelona capitalized on the needless sending-off of Celtic captain Scott Brown to overcome the plucky Scottish champions 1-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday, with Cesc Fabregas grabbing a 75th-minute winner. Missing the injured Lionel Messi, Barca produced a flat performance at a ground where it memorably lost in last years group stage. The game turned on the straight red card given to Brown in the 59th minute for kicking out at Neymar, moments after fouling the Brazil forward. Celtics overworked defence failed to hold out for the final half hour as Fabregas headed a cross by substitute Alexis Sanchez into the corner, earning the Spanish giants a second straight victory in Group H, having already beaten Ajax 4-0. "It changed the game," Celtic manager Neil Lennon said of Browns dismissal. "Its hard enough playing against Barcelona with 11 men, never mind 10 men." Celtic lost its first group match, 2-0 at AC Milan, and already has an uphill battle to reach the knockout stage. Barcas win will help partially erase the memory of last seasons shock 2-1 defeat at Celtic Park but the result was in the balance before Browns red card, despite the wealth of possession the visitors enjoyed as usual. At first glance, the decision seemed harsh, with Celtic having men behind the ball when Neymar was hauled down in full flight. But replays showed Brown then flicked his foot out at the Brazilian, and the midfielder didnt appear to complain too strongly when French referee Stephane Lannoy brandished the card as Neymar rolled around on the ground. Lennon was furious on the touchline at the time of the incident -- and again afterwards. "Its a physical game and I dont think Neymar does himself any favours the way he behaves sometimes," said Lennon. In earlier television interviews, Lennon had said that "Neymar has a reputation in the game." Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino said he didnt see the incident in question, saying through a translator: "I dont want to give an opinion on something I couldnt see well." From being a tight contest, Barca could finally escape the shackles with a man advantage and Sanchez delivered the most incisive piece of football of the whole match -- and Fabregas, playing as the central striker in Messis absence, did the rest. "This match has been the most demanding we hhave had to play so far (this season)," said Martino, whose team have started the season with a club-record seven straight wins in La Liga and the crushing victory over Ajax. Brandon Webb Jersey. . Barca stars Xavi Hernandez and Gerard Pique are among the worlds star players to have talked about the spine-tingling atmosphere at Celtic on big European nights. "No words to describe the atmosphere at Celtic Park," Pique tweeted as he left the stadium last year. And the visitors couldnt have failed to be impressed by the crowds rousing rendition of "Youll Never Walk Alone" when both sets of players were in tunnel, or the huge roar as Celtic emerged from an on-field team huddle for the kickoff. Every kick, tackle and attempted break by Celtic was received with an enormous din -- although it took the home side 1 minute 44 seconds to touch the ball for the first time as Barcelona slipped quickly into its passing groove. Adopting the blueprint of most of the smaller teams playing Barca nowadays, Celtic had every man behind ball bar its lone striker, Georgios Samaras, when defending. It meant the visitors had all the possession -- 72 per cent in the first half -- but few clear sights at Fraser Forsters goal. The dynamic presence of Messi -- out with a right thigh injury -- was sorely missed, with Barca sometimes even ditching its tiki-taka passing and resorting to sending diagonal cross-field passes in behind Celtics full backs to launch attacks. Indeed, Neymars clipped half-volley that flashed past the post from Dani Alves right-wing cross was the only chance of note in the first half. Barca actually looked more dangerous and sprightly when Celtic was on the attack -- but that seldom happened. The match became even more lopsided after Browns silly sending-off, after which Neymar was vociferously booed whenever he touched the ball. Still, though, Celtic defended comfortably and came close to taking the lead when first James Forrest brought a diving save out of goalkeeper Victor Valdes before Charlie Mulgrew headed the resulting corner narrowly wide. But Barca was not to be denied and within minutes of coming on for Pedro Rodriguez, Sanchez crossed for Fabregas to head the ball back in the direction it came. Forster had no chance but he produced heroics to deny Sanchez, twice, and Neymar as Barcelona broke at will late on. ' ' '