Johnson has been a polarizing figure a

BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil -- Memories of the biggest humiliation in Brazilian football and the return of Lionel Messi to Argentina were not enough to stop the five-time World Cup champions from beating their archrivals Thursday in South American qualifying for the World Cup.The Brazilians won at Mineirao stadium, and they won comfortably -- 3-0. There were no Brazilians in tears this time, unlike at the World Cup in 2014.The victory over Argentina extended Brazils successful streak under new coach Tite to five matches, giving the qualification leaders 24 points from 11 matches. Argentina has 16.Argentina coach Edgardo Bauza finds himself in an even tougher position after the lackluster performance in Brazil. His team is remained in sixth place, outside the continents four automatic spots at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.Copa America champion Chile held third-place Colombia to a 0-0 draw away, despite the absence of Arsenal striker Alexis Sanchez due to injury.Second-place Uruguay beat an Ecuador side filled with reserves by only 2-1 in Montevideo. The Uruguayans have 23 points, just one behind Brazil.Elsewhere, Peru producing a shocking 4-1 win at Paraguay and is now back in the race for a place in Russia 2018. The Peruvians remain in eight spot with 14 points, one behind seventh-place Paraguay.In a match between the two worst teams in South American qualifiers, Venezuela trashed Bolivia 5-0 at home. Venezuela now is ninth place with 5 points, one ahead of Bolivia.----BRAZIL 3, ARGENTINA 0The chants of the Brazilian crowd at the Mineirao stadium showed that most Brazilians fans prefer to forget the 7-1 defeat against Germany in the same venue during the 2014 World Cup, and instead savor this victory over Argentina.The champions are back! the crowd chanted. Messi doesnt have a World Cup, the one that does is Vampeta!Brazil was so dominant it could have won by a bigger margin, but settled for a 3-0 result with goals from Philippe Coutinho (26), Neymar (46) and Paulinho (58).It could have been a different story if the referee had given a penalty to Argentina when the game was 0-0 and Neymar touched the ball with his hand in the box.The most impressive of the three goals was the opener from Liverpool midfielder Coutinho from the edge of the box.Coach Tite said that the impressive result comes after a sleepless night for him. The sleeping problem wasnt because of the memories of Brazils 7-1 loss to Germany, but because of his days at Atletico Mineiro in 2007. The club was relegated to Brazils second division with him in charge.I know that I didnt do a nice job then. I still think a lot about that, he said.Messi and his Barcelona teammate Javier Mascherano, who came to Brazil in Neymars jet, were below par during the whole game.Messi likes to float on the back of the defensive midfielder, but we didnt let him play. We have a lot of merit not only in offense, but also defending, Brazil midfielder Renato Augusto said.Argentina, the 2014 World Cup finalists, remain under heavy pressure in qualifying, with its next match against Colombia. Messi used an expletive to define his teams current situation, while coach Bauza defined the defeat in Brazil as the worst in his career.We have to change, an upset Messi said.Because of the high ticket prices only 53,000 of the 62,000 seats were taken at the stadium in Belo Horizonte, located 350 kilometers (220 miles) north of Rio de Janeiro.---URUGUAY 2, ECUADOR 1Uruguay struggled and Luis Suarez wasnt anywhere near his best, but coach Oscar Tabarez lineup managed to hold off Ecuador 2-1 at home. Sebastian Coates (12) and Diego Rolan (45) gave Uruguay a 2-0 lead before Felipe Caicedo reduced the margin for Ecuador in the 46th.The win should give Uruguayan players some ground in their dispute over image rights. This week they wore shirts without sponsor names and prohibited banners with sponsors in their press conferences.Uruguay will next play Chile, and fourth-place Ecuador will face Venezuela.-----COLOMBIA 0, CHILE 0In the return of Falcao Garcia and in the absence of Sanchez, neither Colombia nor Chile managed to score in a quiet match in Barranquilla. Injury-prone Garcia entered in the second half, but didnt have any chances to score.Colombia, in third spot with 18 points, travels to Argentina. Moses Malone Jersey . The 29-year-old from Port Colborne, Ont., has nothing but good things to say about former U.S. marine Liz (Girlrilla) Carmouche ahead of their co-main event Wednesday on the UFCs "Fight for the Troops" televised card in Fort Campbell, Ky. Jim McMillian Jersey . - Levi Browns tenure at left tackle for the Pittsburgh Steelers is over before it even began. https://www.cheapclippersonline.com/870h-loy-vaught-jersey-clippers.html . Barcelonas entertaining victory ensured the defending Spanish champions retained their share of the league lead with Atletico Madrid two rounds ahead of their meeting in the capital. Real Madrid needed a late goal by substitute Jese Rodriguez to earn a 3-2 victory at Valencia to stay in third place and three points behind its title rivals. Amir Coffey Jersey . Its sharpness matched my mind. This was no night to go to sleep. DeAndre Jordan Jersey . Anthony Calvillo, through 20 CFL seasons, was frequently invincible and largely stoic in the heat of competition. But underneath the professional exterior he was, and is, compellingly human. ATLANTA -- In just his third day on the job, Georgia Techs new athletic director made it clear hes a big fan of football coach Paul Johnson.Todd Stansbury, who took over at his alma mater this week, erased any doubts about Johnsons future with a glowing endorsement Wednesday.Stansbury was especially impressed by the final game of the regular season, as Georgia Tech rallied from 13 points down in the fourth quarter to beat rival Georgia 28-27 in Athens. It was the third straight victory for the Yellow Jackets, pushing them to 8-4 and likely improving their bowl prospects.To me, that was a heck of a statement, said Stansbury, who attended Saturdays game. To go between the hedges -- I dont care who you are -- to win a game down there tells you a lot about where youre at.Stansbury also praised basketball coach Josh Pastner, who is in his first season of what will admittedly be a major rebuilding job. Pastner, who previously coached at Memphis State, was hired by the previous athletic director, Mike Bobinski, who left for the same job at Purdue.Hes a dynamo, Stansbury said about Pastner. In fact, in a lot of ways, he reminds me of a young Bobby Cremins, a reference to the longtime Georgia Tech coach who took the program to national prominence after it joined the Atlantic Coast Conference.Johnsons job security was questioned after the Yellow Jackets slumped to 3-9 last season, and the speculation intensified this year amid a three-game losing streak that knocked them out of ACC contention. But, if Stansbury was having any doubts about the coach, they were answered by the strong finish.In nine seasons at Georgia Tech, Johnson has a record of 69-48, which includes three trips to the ACC championship game, two appearances in the Orange Bowl and a 42-30 mark in conference play.Stansbury said his respect for Johnson goes beyond his record.Nobody out there wants to play us. That also tells you a lot about the state of the program and the fear that opposing coaches have of our head coach, the new AD said. I think we have a great coach that is known nationally for what he does, and hes had a lot of success here.dddddddddddd My goal, and what I hope to bring to the table, is to help provide him what he needs to continue to build on that success and compete at the highest level.For all his success, Johnson has been a polarizing figure at Georgia Tech.Only a handful of schools use the run-oriented, triple-option offense that is the coachs specialty -- making it a convenient target of fans and media who believe the team should employ a more conventional system. Also, Johnson comes across as abrasive and downright snippy at times, which has rubbed plenty of people the wrong way.Stansbury said hes not the least bit concerned about the triple-option, noting that Johnson has used it to win consistently throughout his career. Pointedly, he noted that in his previous job as Oregon States athletic director, he got an up-close look at the wide-open style of rival Oregon, which carried the Ducks all the way to the national championship game two seasons ago. This year, they plummeted to 4-8 and fired coach Mark Helfrich.If youre winning, I love your offense, Stansbury said. Having just come from Oregon -- where they have the wildest offense in America, an offense that everybody aspired to become for the last decade -- right now they dont like that offense.As for Johnsons personality, Stansbury said thats an area where he can help smooth out some of the rough edges. He intends to spend plenty of time with boosters and fans, pointing out all the positive things happening in the football program -- on and off the field.Its a tough job, Stansbury said. A lot of people only understand what happens on Saturday, what goes across the ticker. Typically, they dont know whats going on the other six days a week. Thats where I can help. ... My job is filling in the blanks of what those things are, regardless of any differences or likability. The proof is in the pudding. These are the results were getting. A lot of young men are benefiting immensely from life-changing benefits. ' ' '