LANGLEY, B.C. -- Denise Watkins is banking on Canadas rich lacrosse history making a difference as the National Lacrosse League ventures into Vancouver for a second time. Watkins is the co-owner, along with her husband Bill, of the new Vancouver Stealth, which has relocated to suburban Langley, B.C., after it could not find its niche in Everett, Wash. "I dont think anything per se went wrong," Watkins said Tuesday following an introductory news conference. "The difficulty in the United States, still, is that the sport is not well known." Lacrosse in Canada dates to the 1850s and is the countrys official summer sport, although the NLL season covers winter months. Watkins, a California native who lives in San Jose, got involved in the sport because of her son T.J., who is now a player with a Burnaby, B.C.-based junior team. Bill Watkins is a retired Silicon Valley tech company CEO who is now involved with an LED lighting company. The couple bought the Stealth in 2007 while the team was still located in San Jose, Calif. They moved the Stealth to Everett in 2010. Things did not go right for the former Vancouver Ravens franchise, either. The club, which operated from 2002-2004, was forced to fold after its ownership ran out of money. Efforts to revive the team in subsequent years were unsuccessful. The Ravens operated out of what is now known as Rogers Arena, the home of the NHLs Vancouver Canucks. But Watkins believes a shift to the Langley Events Centre, which seats 5,276 and is smaller than the homes of other NLL teams, will make a difference. Operators of the LEC, which is owned by a local municipality, have agreed to share some of the teams costs, said Watkins. LEC offered plenty of incentives to move after the former Washington Stealth played before sellout crowds at LEC in an exhibition game against the Toronto Rock and last winters NLL championship game against Rochester, because the clubs arena in Everett was not available. "The challenge of a big arena is, you have to fill it," said Watkins. "And, the bigger arenas are more expensive. So, I think, the advantage of the smaller arena is that its a bit more cost-effective." Watkins also expects to save money because most of the clubs players are from B.C., and the club will be able to reduce travel expenses. "Its been a long wait for me to be back here, and I couldnt be more thrilled," said Stealth coach Chris Hall, a Victoria native. He suggested the clubs on-floor success will also pay off at the box office. Despite its financial troubles, the Stealth reached the NLL championship game in three of the past four years and won the title in 2010. "The great thing for the Vancouver Stealth is that were not an expansion team," said Hall. "Weve got a championship pedigree." NLL commissioner George Daniel said the Stealth will increase rivalries within Canada as it competes against the Calgary Roughnecks, Edmonton Rush and Toronto. The league, he added, also has a chance to increase its TV revenues now that it has a coast-to-coast presence in Canada. Daniel said Calgary and Edmonton had a regional deal with Rogers Sportsnet while Toronto had an agreement with TSN, but the yearly contracts have expired and the league as a whole plans to negotiate a new arrangement. Noting the Watkins are "terrific owners," he contended the club is in Vancouver to stay this time. The NLL also wants to expand elsewhere in Canada. "Were not done," said Daniel. "Wed like to have more Canadian cities." Lou Brock . The International Olympic Committee released the official list of bid cities on Friday after the deadline for applications had passed. The candidates -- all previously announced in their own countries -- are: Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing; Krakow, Poland; Lviv, Ukraine; Oslo, Norway; and Stockholm. Whitey Herzog . He just needed to be his best twisting, turning acrobatic self. "I didnt need to be anybody else, I just needed to be myself and be aggressive," said Burks, who scored a career-high 34 points to spark the Utah Jazz to a 118-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Monday night. http://www.custommlbcardinalsjersey.com/custom-mike-shannon-jersey-large-461q.html . Peter Gammons, an analyst for Major League Baseballs network and website, drew the ire of hockey fans on Sunday when he criticized the two NHL teams on Twitter for their physical game the night before. Paul DeJong . After a replay, the winner will meet Sunderland in the quarterfinals. Sagbo did well to control Sone Alukos right cross and fire past Brighton goalkeeper Peter Brezovan. Aluko was making his first start in four months after recovering from an Achilles injury. Ozzie Smith Jersey Large . - After leading the Saints to a fourth playoff appearance in five seasons, Drew Brees expressed confidence in the direction of his team and, perhaps more importantly, showed a willingness to listen to contract proposals if the team needs his help getting under the NFLs salary cap.KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- A raucous crowd packed into one of Major League Soccers glitzy new stadiums to watch a team comprised of its best players on a picturesque late-summer night. All that was missing was the outcome fans desired. Italian powerhouse AS Roma, led by longtime star Francesco Totti, scored 4 minutes into the game Wednesday night, then added two second-half goals to rout a team of MLS All-Stars 3-1 and dampen what had been a festive celebration of soccer in Kansas City. Kevin Strootman and Alessandro Florenzi each had a goal and an assist, and Junior Tallo also scored for Roma, the three-time Serie A champions. Omar Gonzalez of the Los Angeles Galaxy scored the only goal for the MLS side in second-half stoppage time. "Every time you step inside the white lines you want to win, but I dont think the result was the focus," said MLS coach Peter Vermes. "When you look at the overall picture of what transpired the last few days, it was a great opportunity." The MLS had been 7-2-1 against international opponents since the league adopted the current All-Star game format, the only losses coming to English Premier League club Manchester United. Maybe itll think twice about inviting Italys top teams. "You give these guys a half-second or a half-step and youre not all together after one training session, its tough," MLS defender Matt Besler said. "These guys are world class." Most of a sellout crowd had barely found its seats at Sporting Park, the $200 million home of Sporting KC, when Florenzi sent a pass ahead to Strootman. Sporting KC defender Aurelien Collin recovered to get his foot on the ball, but Strootman still managed to guide it into the net. The goal took much of the zip out of the home crowd, which had been feverishly waving flags and pounding drums during its second All-Star game in two years. Major League Baseball staged its Midsummer Classic just across the state line at the Royals Kauffman Stadium last July. The two second-half goals by Roma only served to seal a joyless night for the MLS during an otherwise positive period of growth and progress. Stadiums are in the works for D.C. United and San Jose, and an expansion club will start play in New York in 2015. The Columbus Crew were sold to ambitious new owners earlier this week, and Commissioner Don Garber announced at halftime Wednesday night that four expansion franchises will begin play by the 2020 season, bringing the total number of teams in the league to 24. Theres perhaps no better example of how far the league has come than Kansas City, which once played its games before a few thousand fans in cavernous Arrowhead Stadium. The team was sold to local owners in 2006, and they embarked on a dramatic rebranding of the franchise formerly known as the Wizards. They speaarheaded the construction of one of the most glamorous soccer-specific stadiums in the country, built a feverish fan base and became one of the most successful teams on the field -- the club has won two straight Eastern Conference titles.dddddddddddd It was little surprise that Kansas City was awarded this years All-Star game, and even less of a surprise that there was plenty of hometown flavour throughout the night. Not only was the MLS side led by Sporting KCs Vermes, the coach also included three of his own in the starting lineup. Collin was joined by forward Graham Zusi and fellow defender Besler, who helped the U.S. national team win the CONCACAF Gold Cup over the weekend. The club also paid homage to its roots by introducing Tony Meola and Preki, longtime staples of the Wizards, as they presented the trophy prior to the game. "To have the kind of players we had on the field tonight is really fun, and to have guys like Thierry Henry in our locker room is quite an honour," said Robb Heineman, the CEO of Sporting KC. Once the game started, there was little for MLS fans to feel good about. Strootmans early goal set the tone as Roma attacked the MLS sides shoddy defence with pressure right up the middle. Florenzi had a goal taken away moments later by a close off-sides call, and then missed an open shot just wide of the net a few minutes later. The MLS side never had a good scoring chance in the first half, and by the time it got things sorted out in the second, Roma had already tacked on a couple more scores. Florenzi finally found the back of the net in the 47th minute -- he was clearly onside this time -- and Tallo added his goal in 69th minute to put away the game. "For us, this was a really good chance against a great team in a great environment," said Roma midfielder Michael Bradley, who got his professional start in Major League Soccer. As frustrating as the loss was for MLS, it was uplifting for Roma, which has been rebuilding its roster while embarking on its fourth manager in two years under American ownership. James Pallotta, Romas president and a Boston Celtics minority owner, leads a four-man group of Boston executives who are the first foreign majority owners of a Serie A club. Pallotta played an integral part in landing Roma the marquee tuneup for its upcoming season. "The atmosphere was very good," Roma coach Rudi Garcia said. "It was like a league game for us against a very strong team, and to win a game like this is very good for us." Canadian midfielders Will Johnson of the Portland Tlmbers and Patrice Bernier of the Montreal Impact were both part of the MLS team. The other Canadian connections on the all-star squad were forwards Marco DiVaio (Montreal Impact) and Camilo Sanvezzo (Vancouver Whitecaps). ' ' '