The U. Wilt Chamberlain Jersey .S. drew a daunting task for next years World Cup: difficult opponents, tropical venues and a wearying 9,000-mile zigzag journey across Brazil. The Americans wound up with the potentially punishing group they feared and will play Ghana, Portugal and Germany next June as they try to achieve a U.S. first: reaching the knockout phase twice in a row. While Ghana eliminated the Americans in 2006 and 2010, the Black Stars wont do it again. The U.S. opens its seventh straight World Cup appearance against Ghana on June 16 at Natal. The U.S. meets Portugal and 2008 FIFA Player of the Year Cristiano Ronaldo six days later in the Amazon rain forest city Manaus. The Americans have just three off days to recover before closing Group G on June 26 in Recife against three-time champion Germany. "I think we have the quality, if we play our best ball, to get out of the group," U.S. captain Clint Dempsey said after Fridays draw set the eight four-nation groups. "You cant think about, Am I the favourite? Am I the underdog? Whats it going to be like playing in the heat? Whats it going to be like with the travel? Those are factors that come into it, but at the end of the day both teams have to deal with it." After having the shortest group-play travel in South Africa, the U.S. will have the longest in Brazil. The Americans will be based in Sao Paulo and face trips of 1,436 miles to Natal, 1,832 miles to Manaus and 1,321 miles to Recife. They will play all three games in the tropics, with the second and third matches in the afternoon. "I think guys who have played in MLS are used to taking 3,000-mile trips across the country to play," midfielder Sacha Kljestan said. The U.S. group has the best average FIFA world ranking. Odds on the Americans winning their first World Cup more than doubled after the draw, from 60-1 to 150-1. "Its definitely one of the tougher groups, if not the toughest, but at the same time, this is what the World Cups all about. You go there to play against the best," American forward Jozy Altidore said during a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "I think the boys will be excited, will be up for it." U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who replaced Bob Bradley 2 1/2 years ago, played for Germanys 1990 World Cup championship team and coached his native country to third place at home in the 2006 tournament, commuting to Europe from his California house in Orange County. "It couldnt get any more difficult or any bigger," he said at the draw in Costa do Sauipe, Brazil. "Its a real challenge. And well take it. Well take it on, and hopefully were going to surprise some people there." The U.S. and South Korea were the last remaining teams in draw pot three. While the Americans landed in a group with an average FIFA ranking of 11.25, South Korea wound up in Group H, creating a group with the poorest average at 28.25. "I think the teams mentality is that we can go and play with anybody," American defender Matt Besler said. "Now were going to have to prove it." Germany beat the U.S. 2-0 in its 1998 World Cup opener in Paris -- with Klinsmann setting up the first goal and scoring the second -- then edged the Americans 1-0 on a controversial goal in the 2002 quarterfinal in South Korea. Die Mannschaft is coached by Klinsmanns former assistant, Joachim Loew. The Americans beat a second-tier German roster 4-3 in a June exhibition at Washington. "With Jurgen Klinsmann, they have another mentality," Loew said. "I learned a lot from Jurgen, so this is special." Ranked 14th in the world, the U.S. has alternated quick exits with advancement since returning to soccers showcase in 1990 after a 40-year absence. After the draw four years ago, one British paper used a headline "EASY" for England, Algeria, Slovenia and the Yanks, and The Sun called it the "best English group since the Beatles." The Americans wound up atop a group for the first time since the first World Cup in 1930, and England advanced as the second-place nation. This time, second-ranked Germany and fifth-ranked Portugal are the favourites to reach the second round. If the U.S. qualifies for the round of 16, it would face Belgium, Russia, Algeria or South Korea from Group H. As for the rest of the field, Brazil, Cameroon, Croatia, Mexico were put in Group A; Australia, Chile, Netherlands and Spain in Group B; Colombia, Greece, Ivory Coast and Japan in Group C; Costa Rica, England, Italy and Uruguay in Group D; Ecuador, France, Honduras and Switzerland in Group E; and Argentina, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iran and Nigeria in Group F. The U.S. will feel pressure to open with a win against 24th-ranked Ghana. The Black Stars defeated the Americans 2-1 in the 2006 group stage and by the same score in overtime in the round of 16 at the last World Cup in South Africa. "Theyre the team that beat us, kind of crushed our dreams of being in the World Cup, so I think were due a little bit of luck and were due a win against them," Dempsey said. At the 2002 tournament, the U.S. opened with a 3-2 upset of Portugal after taking a shocking three-goal lead in the first 36 minutes. Several of the American players are of German descent, so all three matchups are intriguing. The U.S. will train at home from mid-May until early June and plans a series of exhibition games, which likely will include England as an opponent, before heading to Brazil. "Everybody is saying that this is the Group of Death and its such a hard challenge," former American captain John Harkes said. "I still think that the U.S. can rise to the occasion." Zhaire Smith Jersey . Pinch-hitter Tommy Medica singled in the go-ahead run in the eighth inning and the Padres beat the Seattle Mariners 2-1 in their first home game since Gwynn died of cancer Monday. Joel Embiid Jersey . Clevelands manager had just watched his team lose 5-3 to Kansas City, which completed a 2-6 homestand and dropped the Indians 2 1/2 games behind Detroit in the AL Central. http://www.76ersprostore.info/Cheap-Darryl-Dawkins-76ers-Jersey/ .com) - The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quickly found themselves a new offensive coordinator, and one thats quite familiar with the NFC South.Floyd Mayweather Jr. knows his audience, theres no doubt. Boxings superstar arrived in South Africa on Wednesda wearing a T-shirt with a bright yellow map of Africa on the front. Below it, his TMT logo -- that stands for The Money Team -- was in the colours of the South African flag. Mayweather told South African fans he had arrived in the "motherland." He even said he might fight here one day. "Money" Mayweather swooped into Johannesburg for the start of a four-city visit to South Africa and first trip to the African continent, and was hustled by security straight through a packed airport terminal and into a Rolls Royce. He sped off with no more than a few words, delivered on the run, to hundreds who had gathered to greet him. It didnt seem to disappoint any of them. Later, Mayweather was more generous with his time, speaking to reporters for around an hour about his future fight plans and this trip. Well, part of the audience was reporters. Many of those fans had also somehow infiltrated the news conference, beefy security and all, meaning there were fewer questions and more statements of Mayweathers general greatness. James Dalton, a former South African rugby international, stood up and thanked "Mr. Mayweather" for making the trip and honouring South Africa. Rugby players are a big deal in South Africa, but Mayweather apparently is bigger. The biggest thing in boxing. No surprise that Mayweather Jr. earned a guaranteed $41.5 million in his last bout, a dominating majority decision over Canelo Alvarez that was the richest fight in the world and made around $150 million on TV sales alone. And with those kinds of figures, the 36-year-old five-division world champion is in no rush to give in to Manny Pacquiaos pleas for a fight, he said. "As far as my last fight with . I cant even remember the guys name. Canelo! They all the same to me," Mayweather said. "So, as far as myy fight with Canelo, they said Floyd Mayweathers record could never be broken without the Pacquiao fight and as you have seen what we did, the fight done crazy numbers. Wilson Chandler Jersey. " Mayweather also suggested Pacquiaos renewed desire to make their mega fight happen came out of desperation after the Filipinos back-to-back losses to Timothy Bradley and Juan Manuel Marquez in 2012, and his tax problems. "I offered Manny Pacquiao the fight before," Mayweather said. "We didnt see eye to eye on terms. Years later we come back and I try and make the fight happen again. I offer him $40 million. He said he wanted 50-50. So we didnt make the fight happen. "All of a sudden, he loses to Timothy Bradley, he loses to Marquez ... he has tax problems now. So, two losses and tax problems later, now he all of a sudden want to say: You know what? Id do anything to make the fight happen, when hes really saying: Floyd, can you help me solve my tax problems, get me out of debt?" Instead, Mayweather named Britains Amir Khan and Argentinas Marcos Maidana as contenders to be his next opponent on May 3 in Las Vegas. Mayweather said nothing was finalized but they would know who it was within a week. And it wasnt all business. Mayweather had a couple of pretty good wisecracks saved up, too. He said he didnt call himself "the greatest," as that was Muhammad Ali. He rather referred to himself as "TBE" -- the best ever. Asked how he would go about fighting Floyd Mayweather Jr., he replied, deadpan: "I wouldnt fight Floyd Mayweather." Mayweather is due to also visit the cities of Bloemfontein, East London and Cape Town on his near week-long trip, which South Africa says will help "resuscitate" its own struggling boxing code. And he gave South Africans a glimmer of hope of their own Mayweather mega fight. "Its been a dream of mine to fight here," he said. 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