Thames was going to take the final shot for the Aztecs

TORONTO - While England seems destined for "massive change" in the wake of its failed World Cup campaign, Jermain Defoe says he can still contribute goals to the national cause. "Ill never turn my back on my country," the Toronto FC striker told reporters after training Wednesday. "Like I mentioned before I still feel like Ive got a lot to offer. If I didnt feel that way, Id say theres no point because youre not doing anyone any favours if youre sort of like being selfish (and) you havent got much to offer. "But I still feel strong, I feel sharp. So hopefully at some point Ill get called up (again). How I feel at the minute, Im still ready to play and score goals for my country." The 31-year-old Defoe, who has 19 goals in 55 appearances for his country, was named to Englands 30-man World Cup roster but did not make the final 23. At the time, he said he was devastated by the snub. England (0-2-1) finished last in Group D behind Costa Rica, Uruguay and Italy, managing to score just two goals. "Spain are out, Italy are out," Defoe said. "Some big nations are out but obviously it would have been nice to see (England) progress to the later stage of the tournament. But it wasnt meant to be. A lot of young players, they still have opportunities again to play in tournaments and Im sure theyll do well. But this year it wasnt meant to be. It was a tough group." England captain Steven Gerrard and vice-captain Frank Lampard have said they will take some time to ponder their international future. Veteran fullback Ashley Cole opted to retire prior to the tournament. Veteran midfielder Michael Carrick was also left out of the England squad. "I think its a change," Defoe said, "because obviously theres so many young players coming through — good young players. Obviously theyre inexperienced but theyll get experience with games and I suppose thats what the manager wanted to do when he left me out, Michael Carrick, Ashley Cole, he wanted to go with the younger players. "Hopefully theyll do well but its going to be a massive change ... but well see what happens." Meanwhile, Defoe said he did not take offence at former manager Harry Redknapp saying some of his England players at Spurs had tried to shirk national team duty. Current England manager Roy Hodgson and Gerrard both said Defoe should not be tarred with that brush. "Its difficult for me (to react) because Im not one those players," said Defoe. "Ive never missed a squad and obviously I dont know who those players are. At the end of the day, when youre playing for your country, its the greatest honour ... I always turned out for my country, even if I was half fit." Gerrard urged Redknapp to name names but the veteran manager, who now runs Queens Park Rangers, said it would not be fair to the players in question. Defoe was one of a dozen England players at Tottenham during Redknapps tenure. Toronto manager Ryan Nelsen, a former New Zealand international who played under Redknapp, said he thought the comments might have been taken somewhat out of context. Nelsen, who captained the All Whites, said he would be outraged if anyone suggested he didnt love playing for his country. But he said theres give and take when it comes to club versus country, acknowledging he had asked not to be picked for some friendlies when they were largely commercial ventures on the other side of the globe and they bumped heads with major club clashes. While he had hoped to be playing in Brazil, Defoe welcomed the MLS break during the group stage of the World Cup. Toronto gave its players eight days off following the 1-0 win over San Jose on June 7. Still he admitted to having "itchy feet," wanting to get back to playing. Toronto (6-4-1) returns to action Friday in New York against the Red Bulls (4-5-6). Nelsens only injury concerns are winger Daniel Lovitz (concussion) and Brazilian striker Gilberto (hip flexor). Mitchell Marner Jersey . A-Rod is also disqualified from any post-season play. So at the tender age of 38, he will miss all of next season. As a result of missing the coming season, hes also out $25 million (which coincidentally is my hourly rate). Nikita Zaitsev Jersey . Off-Season Game Plan looks at what the Blue Jackets may do to build upon last seasons success to return to the playoffs again next year. http://www.officialmapleleafsfanstore.co...e-leafs-jersey/. So they rushed to re-sign the first baseman who general manager Ben Cherington described Friday as "a unique player." The World Series champions finalized a $32 million, two-year agreement Thursday with the slugging former catcher who turned into a surprisingly good defender. John Tavares Jersey . Certainly not Monday night. George Hill took care of the early work, scoring a season-high 26 points, and Paul George closed it out by scoring 11 of his 26 points during a decisive second-half stretch that finally allowed Indiana to pull away from Minnesota 98-84 for yet another win. Dave Keon Jersey .Cameron sustained his third concussion in three seasons last week on a hit by Oakland safety Brandion Ross, who was fined $22,050 by the NFL for the helmet-to-helmet blow.BOISE, Idaho -- With his fifth-ranked team trailing by two points in the final seconds, San Diego State coach Steve Fisher was all but certain senior point guard Xavier Thames was going to take the final shot for the Aztecs on Wednesday night. But Thames surprised his coach -- and most of the 9,602 in attendance -- when he whipped a pass to Dwayne Polee II, who drained a three-pointer with four seconds left to give the Aztecs an improbable come-from-behind 67-65 victory that extended their winning streak to 19 games. "It was like the Red Sea parted," Polee said. "I wasnt surprised. X is a real unselfish player, and if there was one person open, he was going to find them." Thames finished with 23 points for San Diego State (20-1, 9-0 Mountain West), but it was his steal at midcourt in the final minute and his second assist of the game that saved the Aztecs, who trailed by 14 points in the second half. "What can you say about Xavier Thames?" Fisher asked. "You cant tell me that hes not playing as well as anyone in America right now." Thames said he was very close to taking a shot that would have tied the score. But at the very last second, he changed his mind. "I had a pretty decent look, but I saw DP out of the corner of my eye," Thames said. "I was going to shoot a floater but (Ryan) Watkins was going to contest it. Then I saw (Anthony) Drmic sink down. It was on the tip of my fingers (to shoot). It was pretty close." Close is the typical result when the Aztecs and Broncos (15-8, 5-5) play. The past six meetings between the schools have been decided by six or fewer points. San Diego State eliminated Boise State from the past two conference tournaments and won 69-66 last month in San Diego. "Theyre a good matchup for us, and were a good matchup for them," Thames said. "We know were always going to get a great game for them." Mikey Thompson led the Bronccos with 16 points and Thomas Bropleh and Derrick Marks both added 15.dddddddddddd "I just feel awful for these guys right now," Boise State coach Leon Rice said. "They are giving everything they have. We just havent finished." Boise State led the final 18 minutes of the first half and the first 15 of the second before a scoring drought allowed the Aztecs to rally. After Bropleh banked in a three-pointer to give the Broncos a 57-43 lead with 13:37 to play, Boise State only made one field goal in the next 11 minutes and the lead disappeared when Thames scored his seventh consecutive point to give his team a 61-59 lead with four minutes to play. Boise State finally got on track, getting two free throws and a layup from Thompson and a basket from Marks to retake the lead at 65-62. Thames made a steal in the final minute and hit two free throws after being fouled, and after Marks missed a jumper, the Aztecs were in position for the biggest play of the game. "That was a tough, gutty character-type game for us," Fisher said. "We stayed with it and found a way to win." Thames said there was some motivation to keep the winning streak going. With its meteoric rise to No. 5 in the poll, the Aztecs expect to get every teams best shot the rest of the way. "We talked at halftime about that," he said. "We said, You know they are going to rush the court if they win. We didnt want that to happen." Josh Davis had 10 points for San Diego State, which won despite turning the ball over 15 times and allowing Boise State to shoot 51 per cent from the field and make eight three-pointers. "They just kept hitting shot after shot," said Polee, who finished with nine points and was 1 for 1 on three-point attempts. "Everything they threw up was going in. We just had to buckle up." 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