Der Fremde » on Friday in the jungle city of Manaus

SAO PAULO - Landon Donovan says the United States will head to the World Cup with its most experienced group of players, giving the Americans a "real chance" to do well at this years tournament. Terrell Brandon Jersey . As the U.S. finishes a week-and-a-half training camp in the host country, Donovan said American players have enough confidence and experience to confront more traditional World Cup teams heading into a first round that includes matches against Germany, Portugal and Ghana. "I think the experience that we have now far exceeds the experience that we ever had with any team, and that lines up to give us a real chance," Donovan said Thursday. "We are confident in how we play. We are confident in what we do. Our guys have had enough experiences against all of these players, against teams like Ghana, Portugal, Germany. ... We feel confident that we can get results against them, and thats a nice feeling going into a World Cup." The U.S. opens against Ghana on June 16, plays Cristiano Ronaldos Portugal six days later and closes the group stage against Germany on June 26. The Americans will be playing in their seventh straight World Cup, and Donovan is heading to his fourth. "Theres never been competition for places like there is in our team now," the midfielder said during a news conference. "You can really make a case for probably 35 or 40 guys to be a part of a 23-man roster, and thats never been the case. Its really up for grabs in a lot of positions, and that in itself obviously creates competition, which makes the team better." Donovan, who turns 32 in March, said the U.S. team is more respected by opponents. "The reason its the group of death is because we are in it," he said. "In the past, it would have been a relatively easier group for Germany or Ghana or Portugal because they had us in it. But now, because we are in it, it makes it one of the most difficult groups in the tournament." Donovan said the first goal remains to reach the knockout stage of the 32-nation tournament. "Our expectations, like most teams, are to get out of the group," he said. "We are aware that we have a difficult group, but the expectation is that we can do it and we are going to try to get out of our group, just like most teams in this World Cup. That is the objective. That is the goal. But we feel good about where we are at." German coach Jurgen Klinsmann brought 26 players to this training camp get acclimated to the teams World Cup base in South Americas biggest city. The team, mostly with players from Major League Soccer, will play an exhibition against South Korea on Feb. 1 at Carson, Calif. "Weve been very lucky to have two weeks here in Sao Paulo," Donovan said. "Its been very nice to have a couple of weeks to adapt to what its going to be like this summer. When we come back we have a comfort level. We know the people, the club, the training facilities. It makes it a lot easier. You get a feeling for what its like here, and it helps a lot." Klinsmann is expected to visit the Arena da Amazonia on Friday in the jungle city of Manaus, where the U.S. will play Portugal. Alec Burks Jersey . - The Cleveland Indians will place centerfielder Michael Bourn on the disabled list before their opener at Oakland on March 31. John Henson Jersey . JOHNS, N. https://www.thecavalierslockerroom.com/Brandon-Knight-City-Edition-Jersey/ . The team also announced Tuesday that the Braves will wear a commemorative patch on the right sleeve during the season. The patch, shaped like home plate, carries the number 715, Aarons autograph and a "40th Anniversary" banner.WATERLOO, Ont. - It took 59 weeks for Stacy Lewis to knock Inbee Park out of the No. 1 spot in the LPGA rankings. Now the 29-year-old Texas native will be fighting hard to stay on top at the Manulife Financial Classic, beginning Thursday at Grey Silo Golf Course in Waterloo. Lewis reclaimed the LPGA lead from Park with a win last week at the ShopRite LPGA Classic in New Jersey, her second of the season. Park had leapfrogged Lewis in early 2013 when Park won the Kraft Nabisco Championship before the Tour took a week off. Lewis admitted that shes had a pretty hectic week so far, not arriving into Canada until Monday. "Its been a pretty cool week; a pretty whirlwind couple of days," she said. "Its was nice to get the win last week and getting the number one was just a bonus." Lewis, who has already finished in the top 10 in 10 tournaments this season, has to like her chances heading into Waterloo, where she has tied for fifth and sixth the previous two years. "Ive come here the last few years and played really well," she said. "I think its a golf course you have to make a ton of birdies on and I led the tour in birdies last year, and I think Im leading that stat this year, so I think that fits my game. You have to go out there and attack, and make as many birdies as you can. "This golf courses length is always an advantage, the par 5s are reachable and I think this year it will be even more of an advantage with the course playing a little bit softer. Id love to get another win, but at the same time, I just have to keep putting myself there and on Sunday, hopefully, the cards fall your way." The trick, she said, is not becoming too complacent and preparing the same way as she would for any other tournament, even though Park and No. 1 hopeful Lydia Ko are both at Grey Silo. "I feel like over the last year Ive put myself in position to win so many times that Im very comfortable," Lewis said. "Sunday last week, the nerves were there initially, but once we got going, I felt like if I took care of my game there was no way anybody was going to beat me." Someone else Lewis will have to watch for is returning champion Hee Young Park. The South Korean won the MManulife Financial Classic in dramatic fashion last year, beating Angela Stanford in a three-hole playoff. Ante Zizic Jersey. Stanford and Park both shot 26-under 258 at the tournament tying an LPGA record for lowest number of strokes at a four-day event. Park, ranked 23rd in the world, said she was eager to get back to familiar surroundings. "Actually this golf course is in perfect shape, everything, and I know how I was feeling and green conditions pretty much perfect, so easy to get used to it," she said. "(Earlier in the week there) was rain here so it got softer, so I can hit more aggressive, which is good." Park added that shes ready to defend her title, despite suffering a wrist injury "a few months ago". She said after some rest, the wrist feels fine. "It feels a lot better and Im back to pretty much normal, I can play," she said. "(The) last few weeks I played pretty good, so I think its ready." Lewis is hoping that the wind, which has whipped up the past few days, sticks around for the weekend on the links-style course. She feels that will keep scores down and her in contention. "I would much rather play a golf course when its playing hard than when its playing easy," she said. "Whats surprised me the last two years is that I have played well here, because I dont like courses that are just a straight birdie fest and you go crazy. I like it when its hard and you have to golf shots and things like that. "The wind this year, Im actually pretty excited about. Im excited that its going to play longer and not as short as in years passed. That gets me excited, I dont know about the other players." Besides the top three golfers in the world, there are seven Canadians in the field this year — Erica Rivard of Tecumseh, Ont., Nicole Vandermade of Brantford, Ont., Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., Sue Kim of Langley, B.C., Torontos Rebecca Lee-Betham, Hamiltons Alena Sharp and Jennifer Kirby of Paris, Ont. Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version had Park tying an LPGA record at the last Manulife Classic with a score of 26 under. She actually tied the record for the fewest number of strokes at 258. ' ' '