BATA, Equatorial Guinea - Equatorial Guinea taking over late as host of the African Cup of Nations may not be great for the tour

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BATA, Equatorial Guinea - Equatorial Guinea taking over late as host of the African Cup of Nations may not be great for the tournaments troublesome last-minute planning, but its pretty good for the home team. Clay Matthews Jersey .Six months ago, Equatorial Guinea was thrown out of the African soccer championship for cheating in qualifying. On Saturday, it will play in the tournaments opening game against Republic of Congo in front of its own red and blue-clad fans.How did that happen?Equatorial Guinea stepped in late last year when Morocco pulled out as host because of Ebola, fearing the deadly virus might spread during the 16-team, three-week tournament. With its decision to stand in, Equatorial Guinea earned a spot for its team in place of Morocco.When the Equatorial Guinea team learned it would participate in the CAN (African Cup), it was very quick. Quick, quick, Equatorial Guineas newly-appointed Argentine coach Esteban Becker said on Friday. And we have organized the team for a new coach. But the players mentality ... for them the mentality is very happy for the African Cup.The national team is theoretically picked from a population of just over 700,000 people, although foreign-born players once dominated the Equatorial Guinea lineup and sometimes got the country into trouble. Equatorial Guineas initial disqualification last year was for selecting a player from neighbouring Cameroon.At this African Cup, the teams strength will again be playing at home, as it was three years ago when it co-hosted the Cup of Nations and reached the quarterfinals, surprising Senegal on the way.Were not thinking about the quarterfinals, the semifinals or the final, captain Javier Balboa, who once played for Real Madrids reserve team, said ahead of this campaign. Game by game by game.In 2012, Equatorial Guineas riotous home support spurred it on. But on Friday, just a few supporters stood outside a broken-down ticket office on the outskirts of Bata Stadium, one wearing a wooly Equatorial Guinea hat and team scarf in the 30-degree heat and sweltering equatorial humidity. It didnt look like a mad rush for tickets on the eve of the opening night, when Burkina Faso also faces Gabon in a double-header at the same stadium.Fearing poor crowds — a problem at many African Cups — the government announced this week that ticket prices would be reduced to cater for the many poor.They will start at 500 Central African francs, or around $1, in the remote host towns of Mongomo and Ebebiyin. The cheapest tickets will be $2 for games in the bigger cities of Bata and Malabo, the capital. And for 40,000 supporters, their tickets to a game will be free, bought for them by the countrys president. Teodoro Obiang Nguema announced his gesture to the country on national television this week.Let those who have the means help the poor, Obiang said. Myself, I bought 40,000 tickets.A charm offensive, maybe. But for this curious country halfway up the west coast of Africa, where Spanish is spoken, oil is big business and the autocratic Obiang has been firmly in charge since he took over in a coup in 1979, the tournament could be a major boost for its image if it comes off.Still, it is a risk.There are already problems with the organization, including no running water and dangerous electric cables at one teams hotel, no rooms at all for another squad, and a training ground located in the middle of the rainforest and a two-hour drive from its base for a third, tournament favourite Algeria.Coach Claude Le Roy, whose Republic of Congo plays Equatorial Guinea in the opening game, has complained bitterly about the standard of his teams hotel. Le Roy declined to answer questions on the issue on Friday, telling reporters to go ask organizers the Confederation of African Football about the running of the tournament, which he has said should have been delayed to give Equatorial Guinea more time.As Le Roy spoke at Bata Stadium, the lights suddenly failed, temporarily plunging a media room into darkness. As they flickered weakly back on again, Le Roy started laughing.___Gerald Imray is on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GeraldImrayAP Jake Ryan Jersey .com) - Delon Wright made all 12 of his free throws and finished with 21 points and six assists as No. Jordy Nelson Jersey .com) - Toronto Blue Jays first baseman Edwin Encarnacion has been named the American League Player of the Week for the period ending May 11. http://www.officialpackersteamgears.com/randall-cobb-jersey/ .C. -- The Bobcats announced theyve signed centre Justin Hamilton to a 10-day contract.(SportsNetwork.com) - If you are a fan of foreshadowing, keep an eye on Lambeau Field this Sunday. The New England Patriots, perhaps the AFCs best team, will invade the frozen tundra to take on one of the NFCs top contenders, the Green Bay Packers, in a potential Super Bowl XLIX preview. The Pats have won seven games in a row, including a 34-9 victory over Detroit in Week 12, a triumph that clinched the organizations 14th consecutive winning season. New England is the first to accomplish that since San Francisco did so in 16 straight seasons from 1983-1998. During the Pats current seven-game run, quarterback Tom Brady has thrown 22 touchdowns and posted a 111.7 passer rating. Against the Lions, Brady threw two touchdown passes and carved up the NFLs then-top-ranked defense, completing 38-of-53 passes for 349 yards. LeGarrette Blount had two rushing scores in his first game back with the AFC- leading Patriots, who have won 14 straight against NFC North teams and 15 consecutive at home. I thought our guys did a good job, being ready to go, said Patriots head coach Bill Belichick. Any time you keep a team out of the end zone like Detroit, thats good. We were able to put some points on the board, make plays in all three phases of the game. The Packers, however, are 5-0 at Lambeau this season, outscoring opponents 219-85 in those games and scoring at least 50 points in each of its past two homes games. Quarterback and leading MVP candidate Aaron Rodgers has thrown 322 consecutive passes and 29 touchdowns in a row without an interception in Green Bay; both NFL record streaks. The Pack wasnt quite as impressive on the road in Minneapolis last weekend but managed to outlast the upstart Vikings 24-21 behind Rodgers, who had two touchdown passes, and Eddie Lacy, who scored twice. This week was a little bit more of a grind-it-out thing, said Green Bay receiver Jordy Nelson. But we needed to see a game like this because if you want to win it all, you have to be able to win all sorts of games. Rodgers went 19-for-29 for 209 yards while Lacy finished the game with 25 carries for 125 yards and a touchdown, along with two catches for 13 yards and a score for the Packers, who have won three straight and now sit atop the NFC North by one-half game after the Lions drubbing of Chicago on Thanksgiving Day. He had a great game and made a lot of huge plays for us, Nelson said of Lacy. He got two touchdowns, and the way him and the O-line finished off the game for us was impressive. The Patriots own a 5-4 lead over the Packers in the all-time series between the two teams and have won two straight, including a 31-27 win the last time they met back on Dec. 19, 2010. New England actually whitewashed Green Bay 35-0 in its last trip to Lambeau behind four Brady TD passes but that was way back in 2006 when Rodgers was a backup. WHAT TO WATCH FOR These are the two top scoring teams in the NFL with the Pats pacing the 32- team league at 32.5 points per game and the Packers a tick behind at 32.2. This is likely the final leg of a four-game stretch against division-leading opponents for New England and so far Bill Belichicks bunch has passed the test with flying colors, winning the first three games by an average of over three TDs per game. The Patriots topped AFC West kingpin Denver 43-21 on Nov. 2 and AFC South stalwart Indianapolis 42-20 on Nov. 16 before disposing of Detroit in Week 12, a development that enabled Green Bay to vault over the Lions. Its not realistic for us to expect to continue to blow teams out like that, or, I dont want to say blow out, but win by a large margin, Belichick said. I cant really put my finger on what it is. I thinkk its a culmination of things and preparation. Ty Montgomery Jersey. After Sundays game, New England travels to San Diego, which could also be tied for the AFC West lead if things break correctly in Week 13. Since losing to Kansas City to fall to 2-2 on the season, New England has been scoring nearly 40 points per game (39.5 to be exact) and Brady has taken off, averaging 315.3 passing yards per game with the 22 touchdowns against just four interceptions. Perhaps the biggest contributor to that has been the health of All-World tight end Rob Gronkowski, who is feeling good after a myriad of injuries in recent seasons and has amassed 27 receptions and five touchdowns in his last four games. The Pats have also begun to mirror their former success with the two-tight end offense when Gronkowski teamed with Aaron Hernandez, before the latters personal life went off the rails. Tim Wright, who was acquired from Tampa Bay before the season, has six TDs on his 23 receptions. If there is one team that can keep up with the Patriots, though, its the Packers, especially at Lambeau. The key to Green Bay at home has been blitzing people out of the starting blocks. The Packers have outscored their opponents by an amazing 66-0 margin in the first quarter of their last four home contests. That number expands to 128-9 at halftime. Foes have been looking up and finding the score 14-0 in the first four or five minutes of a game and that has enabled a flawed Packers defense to excel as teams become more one-dimensional. Were playing Green Bay in Green Bay, Belichick said. Thats where theyve been very dominant, really, in terms of getting ahead and playing from ahead, first quarter. The numbers are staggering. Rodgers has thrown for 18 touchdowns without an interception at home this season. Overall, the All-Pro leads the NFL with a 119.3 passer rating and has thrown for 30 scores against just three INTs. I think Aarons a great quarterback, Belichick said. He does everything well, is very smart, does a great job with his team in situations and seeing things at the line of scrimmage, putting them in good plays and (a) very accurate passer, very good with his feet, hard to sack, hard guy to bring down, has real good awareness. I think pretty much everything with his game is excellent to outstanding. Rodgers favorite target, Nelson, averages over 120 yards receiving per game at Lambeau and has scored at least one TD in the teams five home games this year. Randall Cobb isnt bad either, snaring 20 balls with two TDs in his last three at home. Teams are going to take away what we do best, and what weve done best is get the ball to Jordy and Randall, Rodgers said. Theyve had big statistical seasons so (opponents) try to take them out of the game. Minnesota did that at home and New England is better equipped than most to do it because of star cornerback Darrelle Revis, perhaps the best man-to-man coverage corner in the game. Opponents often assume Belichick will just lock up Revis with their best receiver but the Pats coach is usually a step ahead and he could use Revis to lock up Cobb and then double Nelson. Either way thats where the powerful Lacy comes in. A bowling bowl of butcher knives, no one wants to tackle Lacy in the open field, especially when things gets cold. Hes a workhorse, said Rodgers. We need him in the winter months. OVERALL ANALYSIS Something has to give here because New England has won seven in a row overall and the Packers are a perfect 5-0 at Lambeau. The guess here is home field holds up with the Patriots being far more competitive them most visitors to Lambeau. Sports Network predicted outcome: Packers 34, Patriots 24 Cheap NFL Jerseys Authentic Jerseys NFL China Wholesale Jerseys Jerseys Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale ' ' '