Dein erstes Forum » they played, in a friendly in Poland in October, Neymar

The Chicago Cubs are 10 Ws away from winning the World Series and ending the longest championship drought in sports.And with each win, the W will play a larger role.As the Cubs have gone back to their winning ways, the team has invested big in the 23rd letter of the alphabet, and Cubs fans feel like waving a flag with a W on it is now an essential part of fandom.The W might seem like a relatively new thing, but its actually as old as the ivy on Wrigley Fields outfield wall.William Wrigley Jr. had purchased a transportation company called Wilmington Transport, whose logo was a big W. In the early 40s, a flag appeared on the scoreboard with a W or an L to give Cubs fans who had not gone to the game an indication of the result that day at the park.The Cubs first trademarked the W for use on flags in 2006, but not getting out of the division series in the playoffs made it hard for the Cubs to push the W too hard. That all changed in 2015, when the Cubs established themselves as one of the best teams in baseball.In the summer, we took a look at what others were doing, said Alison Miller, the Cubs vice president of marketing. We really liked what the Kansas City Royals did with Take The Crown, and thought the Golden State Warriors phrase Strength in Numbers was also smart. But we also looked at our own assets and knew we had the W flag.In September of last year, the Cubs filed for four trademarks to the W covering virtually every possible merchandising occasion. In their run to the National League Championship Series, the city embraced the letter.This year, it has only grown.Our official partners have aligned themselves with it, Miller said. Dunkin Donuts has a W donut for sale, American Airlines has sponsored our W rally towels and blanketed OHare, and Advocate Health Care has made W onesies available to babies born in their hospitals in October.You can also now get a deep dish pizza from Giordanos with Parmesan arranged on top of the sauce in the shape of a W.That the W has been so embraced has been something Miller has enjoyed.We were playing the Cardinals, and I remember sitting at the game with my dad, and when we won, people started taking out their W flags and waving them, Miller said. This has become a marketers dream.Its not just W flags. On Friday night, at Game 1, the Cubs and their retail partner Levy, rolled out a full line of apparel available at Wrigley including shirts and sweatshirts.Theres no doubt the Cubs can sell plenty of Ws. But picking up the ones you cant buy, and can only earn on the field, will be more valuable in the long run. Art Monk Youth Jersey . -- PGA TOUR Canada member Steve Saunders took a three-stroke lead Saturday in the Web. DaRon Payne Redskins Jersey . -- Gus Malzahn finally had his day in Fayetteville. http://www.redskinsfansproshop.com/Redskins+Sam+Huff+Rush+Jersey.html?cat=1311 . Philadelphia is 2-0 against the Senators this season and scored five goals in each victory. The Flyers recorded a 5-0 win in Ottawa on Nov. 12 and then earned a 5-2 home decision on Nov. 19. The Flyers have claimed three straight and four of the last five encounters with the Sens overall and Philly has won two in a row and three of its past four tests in Canadas capital city. Case Keenum Redskins Jersey . The 19-year-old Olsen played 34 games with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL this season. In that time, hes recorded 17 goals and 17 assists with 36 penalty minutes. Sammy Baugh Womens Jersey . 1, meaning problems for the doping controls at both major international sports events next year. The World Anti-Doping Agency provisionally suspended the Moscow Antidoping Center on Sunday, saying its operations must improve or a six-month ban on the facilitys accreditation will be imposed. BRASILIA, Brazil -- Only three minutes into the match, Neymar got the job done. The Brazil striker scored early to help Brazil beat Japan 3-0 in the opening match of the Confederations Cup on Saturday, knocking in a firm shot from outside the penalty area. Neymar connected with the ball after Fred controlled a long cross from Marcelo with his chest. The ball bounced only once before Neymar whacked it in. "It was a very quick moment where Fred was able to control the ball and I was very lucky to get a fantastic kick and score a goal," said Neymar, who went off in the 74th minute with what appears to be a minor injury. "Everythings OK," Neymar said. "Not to worry." For the two minutes following the goal, most of the 67,432 fans at the National Stadium chanted Neymars name, reveling in the knowledge that their poster boy is already starting to deliver for the national team with one year to go before the World Cup. Paulinho added the second goal for Brazil in the 48th, deftly controlling a cross from Dani Alves before turning inside and shooting. Japan goalkeeper Eiji Kawashima got his hands to the ball, but it was too powerful for him to stop. Jo got the third, latching onto a through ball from Oscar and sliding it past Kawashima in injury time. The win puts Brazil at the top of Group A with three points. Italy and Mexico will play in the other group match on Sunday. "The reason we were not able to do what we normally do on the pitch is because we went one goal down in the third minute of the first half," Japan coach Alberto Zaccheroni said. "This probably shocked us." Neymar entered Saturdays match facing a minor wave of criticism. He has become something of an idol in Brazil, but a nine-match scoreless streak had heaped pressure on the 21-year-old striker heading into the Confederations Cup. The fickle Brazilian fans, who had taken to booing their team in recent weeks, were firmly behind the "Selecao" and its star this time, however. "We are building an environment that is even better than then one we had 15 days ago," said Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari, who led his national tteam to the 2002 World Cup title.dddddddddddd"I believe this is something everybody wants for us to reach the final, and win it." With his hair long on top and short on the sides, Neymar has already started to transcend the game in Brazil, like David Beckham nearly everywhere else. His picture is plastered around the country in underwear and phone ads, to name a few. He has also appeared on Brazilian TV, appearing as himself in one of the countrys biggest soap operas. Thats just off the field. On it, Neymar has earned himself a massive transfer from local club Santos to Barcelona, where he will be teammates with Lionel Messi next season. The match against Japan was likely something Neymar was looking forward to. The Japanese have never beaten Brazil in 10 games, earning only two draws -- both at the Confederations Cup, first in 2001 and then again in 2005. The last time they played, in a friendly in Poland in October, Neymar scored two goals. This time, he was named "Man of the Match." Japan had its chances in the match, with Keisuke Honda getting some in the first half and Ryoichi Maeda had a couple in the second. But Zaccheroni again said Brazil was a superior team to his, and wondered if it was the long flight to Brazil or Neymars quick strike that beat his team. "Either the early goal we conceded made the team too worried or maybe the physical fitness was not enough," the Italian said. Not everything was perfect for Neymar on Saturday, however. In the 15th minute, Neymar was stuck on the sidelines fiddling with the socks on his right foot. He came back on the field about two minutes later -- after the fans took a moment to boo referee Pedro Proenca for not letting their star back on more quickly. Midway through the second half, he was briefly knocked down. When he got back up, the fans started chanting his name once again. And then, about six minutes later, Neymar was taken off and replaced by Lucas. The decision halted the Neymar chants, but not the cheers for Brazil from the yellow-clad faithful. "He had a good game," Scolari said, "and he only left because he had an injury." ' ' '