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It was closing on Midnight and still we waited. The mixed zone is not a place to make friends. Media stand in one spot and hold their position tighter than moms in line for that Black Friday special at Target. One by one the Brazilian players came out, many with enormous headphones on, looking down to the ground and heading straight for the bus entrance. The star of the team was undoubtedly Neymar and his presence was felt even before he appeared, with screaming and awkward shuffling starting around me. The new king of Brazilian football is a show man, he smiled for the ladies, said a few words for the men holding microphones and ran to his seat on the bus. Right behind him stood a large man whose presence was just as big for the Brazilian travelling media. Julio Cesar was smiling ear-to-ear. He had just completed another successful match, in a 2-1 win over Chile, for his country and the joy of playing again couldnt be hidden. The aggressive Brazilian media wanted a part of him and he was happy to oblige. More than any player he took the time to answer questions, hug media friends and talk his way through his evening. For the 34-year-old there was some joy in talking about the game. That Tuesday night he would board a bus, take a charter flight back to London and head to training for Queens Park Rangers by Thursday, knowing full well he wouldnt be playing for the Championship club on Saturday. The Brazilian number one, in a World Cup year, was stuck on the bench at a non-Premier League team and didnt know when he would play again. It is a unique story and one that got even more mysterious when the transfer window closed in England last Friday and the goalkeeper remained a QPR player. QPR manager Harry Redknapp had made no secret at why the Brazilian wasnt playing. Stuck in the second tier of English football with many players on Premier League size contracts, the London club had a situation where they had two good net minders. Julio Cesars competition was Rob Green, who just happens to be playing one of the best seasons of his career and is more affordable long-term. Knowing he couldnt play him, and just importantly not afford him going forward, Redknapp wanted Julio Cesar to leave back in November saying: "We wouldnt stand in Julios way and we arent asking a fee for him. He needs to play and he could play anywhere for any team. Hes just been unlucky. Robs been fantastic and I cant take him out of the team. "However, Julios a great guy and he needs to play soon, so he can play in the World Cup." Still the Brazilian waited. And waited. January came and with it came the obligatory Redknapp in a car interview on transfer deadline day. "Hes a fantastic goalkeeper and thats not just a sale pitch to try and move him on," Redknapp told Sky Sports News. "Hes not only a great keeper but also an amazing professional and a great guy. But I think hes a goalkeeper for any big club in the world. He has got every medal there is to win, the Champions League, the lot." "I cant believe one of the big clubs havent come in and taken him to be honest," declared Redknapp. None of the big clubs came knocking. This was not an indictment on Julio Cesar. His wages? Quite possibly. His talent? Absolutely not. Julio Cesar became the victim of circumstance. Signing a goalkeeper in January is extremely rare. As he can only play one position out of 11 you have to be convinced that the goalkeeper you started the season with is worth disrupting and you have to convinced that the money being spent on the wages is worth it. Goalkeepers are a not always easy analyse, in terms of their significant impact on wins and losses, and, perhaps, more than ever are looked at in terms of actual value. Are they worth what they are being paid or can someone on far less money do a similar job? Pepe Reina was idolized at Anfield but the moment his wages got close to one hundred thousand pounds per week, when they could get Simon Mignolet for almost half that they felt that was excellent business. Mignolet has been excellent at times, and has made some blunders at times as well, very similar to Reina. Liverpool, meanwhile, used the money saved in that position to strengthen elsewhere. Julio Cesar remained a QPR player on February 1st. And still he trained and trained again. His agents continued to work on deals with Brazilian clubs, trying to secure a six month loan to help him get ready for a World Cup on home soil. However, in Brazil the same issues as Europe came up. Big clubs had established goalkeepers like Jefferson, Victor and Fabio. The other clubs are slashing costs and now is not the optimum time to buy, with many of the most important games in their season coming post World Cup. Five months and counting. On Julio Cesars calendar inside his London home the harsh reality stares right at him. He knows what Luiz Felipe Scolari thinks of him and owes him to be at his best. Former Brazilian coach Mano Menezes had pushed him aside, yet when the 2002 World Cup winning coach returned, so did a real, surprise chance for Julio Cesar to put aside the blunder he made against the Dutch in the 2010 World Cup Quarter Finals. Brazilian fans hadnt let him forget that, yet all of a sudden he was in pole position to be the starting goalkeeper in a home World Cup. "I was as surprised as you," a happy Julio Cesar said back in September when he got an international recall. "Now I need to keep working hard and maintain my form over the next eight months." Tick, tick, tick, tick... And now it is five months. Ryan Nelsen started 16 games with Julio Cesar at QPR last season in the Premier League. The first ten came under Mark Hughes and they didnt win a game. Yet, the very first match, Julio Cesars Premier League debut, saw them draw 0-0 against Chelsea and the pair were outstanding against the Blues that day. Under Harry Redknapp, results remained similar but when Julio Cesar returned from injury, he was in the starting XI, with Nelsen, to play at Chelsea in January of 2013. QPR achieved a shock 1-0 win and the pair had once again helped keep a clean sheet against a formidable Chelsea attack. Its a bond that appears to have helped hand Toronto FC, previously the laughing stock of Major League Soccer, an opportunity to get the Brazilian number one before he plays at the World Cup. No financial details have been reported and we will have to wait and see how TFC can pull this off under the cap but to have an opportunity to get Julio Cesar for around ten games before he joins the Brazilian team is an incredible opportunity. Julio Cesar is a winner and can help play a significant role in changing the culture of that dressing room, a mandate that GM Tim Bezbatchenko has spoken about often this winter. He can help Gilberto, the clubs new Brazilian striker, settle in and can make a huge impact on the clubs goalkeeper Joe Bendik. The 24-year-old American is highly thought of by Toronto FC, having recently been rewarded with a new contract, and this signing is in no way a slight against him. What an opportunity he has to work for three months with one of the best goalkeepers of this era, to watch and learn how he prepares and goes about his business. When Julio Cesar departs for the Brazil camp in the middle May, Bendik will be the clubs number one again and will be better for having the Brazilian next to him. And so it appears there are many winners in all of this but, incredibly, the biggest winner of all is Julio Cesar. The odds are 3-1 for him to be one of 23 Brazilians lifting the World Cup in Rio on July 12. Less than two months before that it now appears he will be playing at BMO Field in Toronto. It is another remarkable chapter in the offseason of this football club. It shows just how far they have come that when the news broke on Friday morning it was now believable. It appeared to be a deal this team would do. Who thought they could sign a proven Premier League goalscorer at aged 31 or bring back from Europe the heartbeat of the US team at age 26? "Well be doing alright if we get World Cup stars, wont we?" Ryan Nelsen told me last October when I asked if his DPs would have to take time away from the MLS season to play in Brazil. Alright is likely to be a massive understatement. TFC have yet to kick a ball in 2014 but the knock-on effect is in full effect. The signing of Jermain Defoe got Michael Bradleys attention and both of them got Julio Cesars attention. Now Toronto FC have everyones attention. DaRon Payne Womens Jersey . Hargreaves began his career in 2008 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and has played with the Edmonton Eskimos and last season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Doug Williams Redskins Jersey . But when it was all over they had wasted another lead, seen another pitcher flame out on the mound and lost their fourth straight at home. https://www.redskinssportsgoods.com/Womens-Alex-Smith-Inverted-Jersey/ . Last year, Islanders forward Colin Mcdonald released a "Do It For Colin" campaign to promote his teammate and friend John Tavares for the EA sports honour:The most popular sports voting video ever has to go to Chris Bosh who showcased his comedic abilities in his effort to get fans to vote him into the 2008 All Star Game:You can vote for TJ and other star players for the NHL 15 cover vote here. Dwayne Haskins Redskins Jersey . The Goldeyes (10-7) lost 4-1 to the Saltdogs (8-9) Sunday afternoon before 5,834 sizzling fans at Shaw Park. The loss drops Winnipegs record to 3-4 during this past weeks seven-game homestand. Sonny Jurgensen Youth Jersey . -- Canadian Erik Bedard pitched into the fifth inning in his bid to win a spot in Tampa Bays rotation, helping the Rays beat the Toronto Blue Jays 6-3 on Saturday. UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- Sidney Crosby went through a cluster of New York Islanders like they werent even there. With the puck on his stick in overtime, all he saw was the net. And then he hit it. Crosby, who scored the tying goal in the third period, netted the winner with a brilliant individual effort 3:44 into overtime as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the New York Islanders 3-2 on Tuesday night. He stole the puck from Thomas Vanek just outside the New York blue line, streaked down the middle between two defenceman and jammed a backhander past Anders Nilsson for his 15th goal. "The puck just came to me, and I found a way," Crosby said. "I had some time to wind up and get some speed. It was a good situation. "I didnt notice how many guys were hanging on me. I just went for the net." Simple enough for Sid the Kid, who had made it 2-all with 12:00 left in regulation by firing in a one-timer from the right circle off a pass from Evgeni Malkin. Nilsson was the hard-luck loser in overtime for the second straight game. New York, which has dropped seven straight (0-5-2), gave up the lead late to Washington on Saturday and was beaten in overtime on a goal by Alex Ovechkin. "Every goal you let in is frustrating," said Nilsson, who made 31 saves in his seventh NHL game. "I thought I should have had the winner from Ovi and I should have the winner tonight." Malkin assisted on power-play goals by James Neal and Crosby to back Marc-Andre Fleury, who made 21 saves. His best stop came on Frans Nielsens penalty shot in the third when New York led 2-1. If a standard penalty was called instead of a penalty shot, it would have wiped out the rest of the Penguins power play that produced the tying goal. "That definitely might have changed things," Crosby said. Kyle Okposo scored twice in the first period for the Islanders, who are third from the bottom in the East. Despite the gap in the standings, the Islanders play the Penguins much tighter on the ice. The teams have split two games in Pittsburgh this season, following the Penguins six-game, first-round playoff triumph over New York last spring. "The rivalry is real," Fleury said. "They play us close and really make us work. They are a good team against us just about every time we play them." The Penguins (19-9-1) moved one point ahead of iidle Boston atop the Eastern Conference with their fourth straight win, and completed a 3-0 road trip.dddddddddddd Pittsburghs potent power play, ranked No. 1 in the NHL, got the Penguins back in the game. Neal connected in the final seconds of the second period, and Crosby tied it in the third. Nilsson held off the Penguins long enough for New York to salvage a point in the standings. John Tavares assisted on both of Okposos goals. "I thought we played very well," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. "We really needed that third one and didnt get it. Its very hard for us to win with two goals. "It came down to special teams again. My frustration is the same as what the players are feeling because weve all been there." Okposo hadnt scored in eight games but he broke out with two during a 4:35 span of the first and nearly netted a third before the intermission. He backhanded a shot from the bottom of the left circle into the crease. The puck and Tavares, along with Crosby and Kris Letang of the Penguins all arrived on Fleurys doorstep at the same time. It found its way in off of Letang to make it 1-0 with 7:05 left. Okposo got even more help on his second goal, which was his eighth of the season. He wound up from above the right circle and ripped a drive that struck Fleury and then squeezed under his left arm before trickling behind him with 2:30 to go. Pittsburgh had a chance to cut into its deficit late in the frame when Vanek and Aaron Ness took penalties 1:17 apart, giving the Penguins a two-man advantage that lasted the final 37.3 seconds of the first period and 5 seconds of the second. What Pittsburgh couldnt do in the first, it did in the second when Neal notched a power-play goal with 15.6 seconds left off a feed in front from Malkin, who extended his point and assist streaks to nine games. He has 15 assists and 19 points during the run, earning star of the week and month honours in the NHL. Neal scored his ninth goal of the season and seventh in six games to make it 2-1. He has 17 points (9 goals, 8 assists) in the last 13 games. NOTES: Malkin had league-best 25 points and 21 assists in November, the most assists in a month since Wayne Gretzky also had 21 in January 1996. ... The Islanders hadnt scored first in seven games and hadnt held a two-goal lead since a 3-2 loss to Los Angeles on Nov. 14. ' ' '