he Tar Heels are the top seed in the Midwest Regional

• A second poor performance saw England eliminated from the European U-21 Championship on Saturday, while Italy secured a place in the in the knockout stage with their second victory of the tournament. Norway picked up their first win at the U-21 Championship as they beat England 3-1, to put themselves on the verge of advancing into the second round. Fredrik Berge and Jo Inge Berget both scored in the first half and Magnus Eikrem added a second half marker for Norway, who now sits in second place in Group A with four points, having drawn their first match. England, who entered the tournament with high hopes but missing some of their top eligible players, were only able to muster a Craig Dawson goal from the penalty spot, as they fall to 0-2 and last in Group A. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Phil Jones and Danny Welbeck are among the players that were called up to the senior England squad and were therefore not available to participate in the U-21 Championship. Saturdays other Group A contest saw Italy advance into the knockout stage with a commanding 4-0 victory over host Isreal. It took just 18 minutes for midfielder Riccardo Saponara to give his side the lead and the hosts fate was further sealed when Eyal Golsa was shown a red card in the 37th minute, reducing them to 10 men. Manolo Gabbiadini put the match away with goals on either side of halftime and Alessandro Florenzi rounded out the scoring for Italy, who leads Group A with a maximum six points from their first two games. Norway will face Italy and England will take on Israel in the final set of Group A games on Tuesday. <a href="http://www.nfljerseyswholesalecc.com/">cheap jerseys china</a>. Bergevin sent veteran forward Erik Cole to the Dallas Stars in exchange for Ryder and a third round draft pick in 2013 on Tuesday in a move designed to bolster the power play and reduce next seasons payroll. <a href="http://www.nfljerseyswholesalecc.com/">cheap nfl jerseys</a>. According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Crosby was given medical clearance to practice on Thursday and is expected to join his teammates on the ice on Friday. <a href="http://www.nfljerseyswholesalecc.com/">http://www.nfljerseyswholesalecc.com/</a>;. -- The Los Angeles Lakers have stepped off their wild ride. <a href="http://www.nfljerseyswholesalecc.com/">nfl jerseys china</a>. Liriano reached an agreement on a two-year deal worth around $14 million on just before Christmas, pending a physical. Pittsburgh general manager Neal Huntington did not get into specifics about the nature of the injury, only saying the team remains in contact with Liriano. <a href="http://www.nfljerseyswholesalecc.com/">cheap jerseys from china</a>. That stretch, which included three singles and six walks, has earned him a more prominent role in Tuesdays lineup. Lind batted second in the order for the 22nd time in his career and for the first time since 2007.RALEIGH, N.C. -- North Carolina State started the year as the afterthought behind Duke and North Carolina. Not anymore. Mike Krzyzewskis Blue Devils are at home. Roy Williams Tar Heels are limping into the NCAA tournaments round of 16 with injuries. Meanwhile, N.C. State is healthy and surging into the tournaments second weekend -- and looking like the best team at this moment on Tobacco Road. "Were playing well at the end of the year," junior Scott Wood said. "I think all it is really is who gets hot near the end of the year and were one of the teams that kind of got going." The 11th-seeded Wolfpack (24-12) faces No. 2 seed Kansas on Friday in the Midwest Regional in St. Louis. Its the programs first trip to the round of 16 in seven years and its first NCAA appearance in six, creating a buzz with a fan base starving for a return to past glory. Everything started when athletic director Debbie Yow brought in Mark Gottfried last spring to replace Sidney Lowe after five seasons. Gottfried led Alabama to five NCAA tournaments and a regional final in 2004. Gottfried talked all year about how there was a lot of work to be done to change the programs fortunes, but the progress has been swifter than anyone couldve imagined. In fact, by leading the Wolfpack to the NCAA tournament this year, he earned an automatic 2-year contract extension through 2018. "Its my job to convince my team that we are good enough," Gottfried said. "And we have to become good enough. Its not smoke and mirrors, its not something you can just talk about. You have to get better. We did get better. "But at the same time, I think this particular team ... needed to believe that -- that theyre good enough. And I do think that they believe that, so thats exciting." N.C. States 24 wins are the most for the program since going 24-8 under Jim Valvano in 1988. The Wolfpack won 15 in Lowes final season. N.C. State looked like it might fall short of the NCAAs afterr four straight losses in February, with three coming against Atlantic Coast Conference leaders Duke, North Carolina and Florida State.dddddddddddd. But the Wolfpack won six of seven to get here, with the only loss coming on a late basket against the Tar Heels in the ACC tournament semifinals. N.C. State upset No. 6 seed San Diego State and No. 3 seed Georgetown in the Midwest Regional last week. "Its good to see your team on TV a lot and them talking about you," junior Richard Howell said. "Some people can let it get over their head and let it get to them. But us, we dont want to keep going to that. We dont want to be, OK, theyre talking about us on TV, were good enough. We want to go out there and actually prove it." About a 30-minute drive from campus, North Carolinas players seemed to enjoy their rivals NCAA run, too. In fact, junior John Henson showed up for a news conference Tuesday wearing a black T-shirt and red shorts, joking it was in honour of the Wolfpack. "Along with Florida State and Duke, I think it was one of our tougher games and it was good to see N.C. State go well," Henson said. "Its part of the ACC, so we kind of have to band together in the post-season and kind of flex our muscles ACC-wise and show what weve got." The Tar Heels are the top seed in the Midwest Regional and will face Ohio on Friday in the other semifinal in St. Louis. If UNC and N.C. State win Friday night, theyll meet Sunday with a Final Four berth at stake. The teams have met 222 times but never in the NCAA tournament. While Howell said the team would love another shot at UNC, senior C.J. Williams is savoring this years run after making it to just one NIT in his first three years. "I learned a lot from those years," Williams said. "We may not have won games, but I wouldnt have learned how to win if I hadnt lost before. Knowing how things go when youre not winning, now, Im enjoying this to the fullest." ' ' '

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