RIO DE JANEIRO -- Rodrigo Perrone, wearing a blue water polo cap, deftly made his way through the packed stands at the Maria Lenk Aquatics Centre. The 8-year-old Perrone then settled into his fathers lap to watch his uncle and Brazil take on world champion Serbia on Wednesday.I love soccer, the bubbly little boy said through a translator, and its like soccer in the water.Sure enough.Rodrigo is still on the fence -- I will play one day and the next day I will not, he said matter-of-factly -- but Brazils mens and womens water polo teams are hoping the excitement of the Olympics will help them grow the sport in their soccer-crazy country.Winning helps, of course, and Brazils mens team has been the tournaments most pleasant surprise so far. Playing in front of another big crowd -- with green-and-yellow-clad fans waving flags, singing and cheering right to the final horn -- the home country posted an impressive 6-5 victory over the gold-medal favorites. It leads Group B with a perfect 3-0 record.I think all the work we did for this Olympic Games already change a little bit the water polo in Brazil, said driver Gustavo Guimaraes, who connected on a tiebreaking penalty shot with 46 seconds left. The media, the person like `Oh, whats the water polo? A lot of people doesnt know whats this sport, and its an expensive sport.But the most important thing is that if you are able to do always better and do a good example inside the water, its going to change this, and I hope water polo in Brazil becomes like volleyball, soccer, something like this.Brazils players celebrated the victory by waving their caps and applauding to the roaring crowd from the center of the pool.We had to do this. The crowd was amazing, so we have to go there and say thank you for everybody, smiling center back Felipe da Costa E Silva said.Brazil qualified for the Olympics as the host country. Its the first Olympic appearance for the mens team since 1984, and the debut for the womens squad -- underlining water polos status on the sporting landscape in Brazil.While Olympic success is new for Brazil, its more of the same for its coach, Ratko Rudic, who has guided three different countries to a total of four gold medals. It also has the talented Felipe Perrone and big Josip Vrlic, who combined for three goals against Serbia, but its clear the countrys success begins with its veteran coach.Ratko is the best coach in the world, Guimaraes said. He won everything.U.S. captain Tony Azevedo, a Rio native who plays professionally for Sesi in Sao Paulo, also is hoping Brazils success leads to more water polo players in the country.Swimmings a huge sport here. So is water polo, Azevedo said, and now finally they have a team that they can cheer for. They have a team thats good. They have one of the best players in the world with Felipe Perrone. Its exciting, and I think Brazilians, and youll see, its not just water polo, its all sports out there, especially Brazilian sports, but water polo is finally getting its name out there in the country and I love that.Before Brazils win over Serbia, the United States beat France 6-3 for its first victory of the tournament. Josh Samuels scored three times and McQuin Baron made 11 saves.Also Wednesday, Australia edged Japan 8-6, Greece and Hungary played to an 8-8 draw and undefeated Italy earned a 6-5 win against Montenegro. In the final match of the day, Spain beat Croatia 9-4.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap Cheap Baltimore Ravens Jerseys Canada . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. Cheap Golden State Warriors Jerseys Canada . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. http://www.canadajerseyscheap.com/?tag=cheap-milwaukee-brewers-jerseys-canada . Their experience showed Tuesday as the No. 10 Badgers blunted a Saint Louis surge to win 63-57 and advance to face West Virginia in Wednesdays finals of the Cancun Challenge. Cheap Buffalo Bills Jerseys Canada . Its 1987 and a Brazilian playmaker, known as Mirandinha, is being paraded around St James Park to the passionate Newcastle fans. Cheap Anaheim Ducks Jerseys Canada . - Goaltender Philippe Desrosiers of the Rimouski Oceanic has broken a shutout record that was only three months old in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. SEATTLE -- After a difficult personal stretch, Marcus Sherels again celebrated an accomplishment on the field.Sherels intercepted Trevone Boykins pass and returned it 53 yards for a touchdown with 1:23 left and the Minnesota Vikings beat the Seattle Seahawks 18-11 on Thursday night.With Boykin trying to lead a late comeback for a second straight week, Sherels stepped in front of his pass intended for E.Z. Nwachukwu and went untouched for the deciding score. Seattle had pulled even at 11-11 when Troymaine Pope scored on a 4-yard touchdown run with 12:49 left and Steven Hauschkas 49-yard field goal later in the fourth quarter.Sherels brother, Mike is a linebackers coach at the University of Minnesota and has been away from the team due to an undisclosed health issue. Marcus Sherels did not play in the preseason opener against Cincinnati.He missed last week because of some personal issues, but came back. ... He does a lot of things for us and does a nice job, Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer said. It was nice to see him be rewarded.Boykin got Seattle to the Minnesota 5 in the closing seconds, before taking a sack and was unable to connect with Antwan Goodley in the end zone on the final play.Adrian Peterson was a spectator for Minnesota, as expected. So too, unexpectedly, was quarterback Teddy Bridgewater, given the night off by the choice of Zimmer. Shaun Hill started and played nearly the entire first half, leading the Vikings to their only offensive touchdown on Jerick McKinnons 1-yard touchdown run late in the second quarter.Blair Walsh was perfect on a 27-yard field goal, after missing from the same distance in the NFC wild-card game and costing the Vikings a playoff victory. But Walsh missed wide left from 47 yards with 2:09 left that would have given the Vikings the lead.Seattles overhauled offensive line struggled after a decent debut last Saturday against Kansas City. Russell Wilson played the entire first half and was sacked four times, getting pulled down awkwardly on the last sack. Wilson was 5 of 11 for 77 yards.Carroll put the majority of the blame on Seattles quarterbacks for holding the ball too long.We have to get rid of the football so we dont take the negative plays, Carroll said. Russell has to help us there when we dont get the routes cleeared out like we want to and keep the rhythm the way that we want to.ddddddddddddThe bright spot for Seattle starting offense was again running back Christine Michael. Projected as the No. 2 running back when the season begins, Michael finished with 55 yards on 10 carries.The running game is going well ... but weve got to pick up blocks better. We have to catch the ball when we get the opportunity. We all have to be complete backs, Michael said.PRESEASON FOR EVERYONEIts preseason for everyone, including the officials. Referee Ed Hochuli had a slip in the third quarter when the Vikings called timeout, but he announced, Time out Baltimore, before correcting himself.ROOKIE WATCHVikings: QB Joel Stave played the entire second half and was 6 of 14 for 67 yards.Seahawks: DT Jarran Reed was disruptive against both the Vikings starting offense and their reserves. Reed had three tackles, but gave Seattle a scare in the third quarter when he stayed down on the field for a few moments getting looked at by trainers. He walked off under his own power. Carroll said Reed aggravated a previous ankle injury but it wasnt serious.POSITION BATTLESVikings: RT Andre Smith played nearly the entire first half with the starting offense in his bid to hold off T.J. Clemmings for the starting job. Smith stayed mostly out of the spotlight with the exception of a holding call that was declined.Seahawks: Mike Morgan started at strongside linebacker. Morgan has appeared to hold the edge in the competition as the most experienced option in Seattles system.INJURY UPDATEVikings: CB Xavier Rhodes left the game in the first quarter with a hamstring injury.Seahawks: RB Thomas Rawls did not play, but he did go through a full pregame warmup, the strongest sign that Rawls may be ready for the regular season. Rawls will get a full week of practice next week, Carroll said.QUOTABLEYou work hard throughout the week, at practice, preparing for games, Bridgewater said. So I wish I could have been out there. But, like I said, it was Coach Zimmers decision and well leave it at that.---Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Youth NFL Jerseys Wholesale Wholesale NFL Womens Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys 2020 Cheap Jerseys Stitched Jerseys Cheap NFL Autographed Jerseys Cheap NFL Black Jerseys Wholesale NFL Camo Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Throwback Discount Jerseys Youth NFL Jerseys China Stitched Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Throwback Discount NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale ' ' '