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The World Cup of Hockey begins Saturday in Toronto when Team Europe faces Team USA?in group play at 3:30 p.m. ET?(ESPN2). Here are scouting reports on Team Europe, the Czech?Republic and Russia.Team EuropeThe GoodYeah, Team Europe looked pretty ordinary for most of its twin losses to Team North America to open the pre-tournament schedule -- but things appeared much more promising as it beat up on Sweden in its final tune-up game. So much veteran leadership will come over the boards for this team, including multiple Stanley Cup winners Marian Hossa and Anze Kopitar, who was named captain of the squad. Theres good talent and size on the back end with Roman Josi, Mark Streit and?Boston Bruins?captain Zdeno Chara even though Chara struggled in the first two exhibition games. Team Europe also has some feisty kids, including Leon Draisaitl and Tobias Rieder, who can spice things up on offense. Team Europe may also have the tournaments secret weapon in head coach Ralph Krueger, who lead the Swiss national team into a place at the world hockey head table. He has a history of getting lesser lights to shine in these kinds of tournaments.The BadIn losing Frederik Andersen to injury, Team Europe has fewer options in goal and thats unfortunate.?Jaroslav Halak?was only OK in the first loss to Team North America and?Thomas Greiss, so stellar for the New York Islanders last spring, was worse in the second. Frankly wed go with Philipp Grubauer, the?Washington Capitals?netminding prospect. The defense isnt particularly deep and there are questions about Charas durability; he looked rusty in the first two games against the younger, faster Team North America squad. Apart from the impressive Kopitar, Team Europe wont be nearly as deep down the middle as it will need to be in order to knock off anyone -- let alone Canada or the U.S., which is what it will take to move out of the preliminary round. And unless Marian Gaborik can rekindle some past glory playing with Kopitar -- the veteran Slovak had a pair of goals in the teams second loss -- the offense looks to be overmatched against pretty much everyone else in the tournament.Czech RepublicThe GoodTheres very little pressure on the Czech Republic at the World Cup, as injuries have a team that was already a longshot to win the tournament basically left for dead before things even got going. So the Czechs should be able to play loose. We saw a hint of that as they split their first two pre-tournament games with Russia before edging Team North America 3-2 on Wednesday. Theres still talent up front that could make life difficult for opponents in the form of Jakub Voracek, captain Tomas Plekanec and Ondrej Palat. And we know that both Petr Mrazek and Michal Neuvirth, who beat the Russians in a shootout in the Czechs second game, have the potential to be red-hot. The Czechs just have to hope they get the right red-hot netminder between the pipes at the right time. They draw the Canadians right off the hop on the first night of the tournament (8 p.m. ET, ESPNEWS) so maybe they can catch lightning in a bottle and take advantage of some hometown nerves. Maybe.The BadHow to put this delicately? The Czechs just arent that good. The offense is thin compared to every other team in the tournament and that was before the withdrawal of David Krejci and Tomas Hertl. Meanwhile, the defense is less than thin, especially after the loss of Radko Gudas. If they get behind -- and it seems inevitable that they will fall behind -- the Czechs have little to suggest they can rebound in games, which puts intense pressure on the goaltending and defense to keep them close and hope for a lucky break or power play opportunity.?New Jersey Devils?veteran Patrik Elias (who is not on this squad, by the way) joked that perhaps the Czechs should rejoin with Slovakia to form a new version of the old Czechoslovak teams from back in the day. His Czech countrymen face a difficult challenge in this tournament.Team RussiaThe GoodTake a look at Russias roster and its evident the team could have one of the strongest cores of forwards in the tournament. Its a dynamic lineup with the likes of Nikita Kucherov, Vladimir Tarasenko, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Pavel Datsyuk and Artemi Panarin.In net, the Russians have three solid goaltenders with Andrei Vasilevskiy, Semyon Varlamov and Sergei Bobrovsky. Russia is going to compete and if it can figure out its defense, it has the potential to be a tough out.The BadThere are questions surrounding the offense and whether or not superstars Alex Ovechkin and Evgeni Malkin can produce and lead the attack. The Russians have struggled at the international level and havent earned a medal in the past three Winter Olympics. Its obvious the Russians have the ability to score goals, but the teams biggest weakness is the defense. -- Joe McDonald Nike Air Max 270 Flyknit For Sale . Sgt. Eric ONeal says most of the arrests at Monday nights game were for public drunkenness, though one person was taken into custody on suspicion of trying to steal a seat from the stadium. Cheap Nike Air Max 270 Brown .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. http://www.airmax270cheap.com/cheap-nike-air-max-270-all-black/ . LOUIS -- Roman Polak was celebrating even before Alexander Steen scored the winning goal in Saturdays 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes. Cheap Nike Air Max 270 Red . Blackwood, 28, has played the last three seasons in the San Diego Padres system, including the past two summers with Class AA San Antonio of the Texas League. Cheap Nike Air Max 270 Orange . Ibaka equaled a career high with 20 rebounds, adding four blocked shots and 15 points as the Thunder smothered the Milwaukee Bucks offence in a 92-79 victory Saturday night. CHICAGO -- Moments after his successful return to Chicago with the U.S. national team, Jimmy Butler pulled on a T-shirt with a picture of Brazilian soccer star Pele on the front.Yup, its almost time for Rio.Kyrie Irving scored 13 points, DeMarcus Cousins powered a dominant performance in the paint, and the United States pulled away from Venezuela for an ugly 80-45 exhibition victory Friday night.Coming off three straight flashy victories in Las Vegas and California, the United States used a strong fourth quarter to shoot 42.4 percent from the field in by far its worst offensive performance of its five-city tour in preparation for the Rio Olympics. But the Americans used their superior athleticism to limit Venezuela to 24 percent shooting and owned the interior with a 54-29 rebounding advantage.Quite frankly, Im very pleased about tonight because you dont just want to just hit 17 3s and not work hard, U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski said. We had to work real hard tonight.Butler, a two-time All-Star with the Bulls, had four points and eight rebounds in 21 minutes in his first start with Team USA. He was cheered every time he was announced at the United Center.This is like home for me now, Butler said. Im glad that I got to play here for USA in front of my hometown crowd. Theyve embraced me since day one. I hope they continue to do so. I want to win with the Bulls. I want to win with USA and bring a championship with the Bulls and a gold medal here.Butler had one of the few electric plays for the U.S. when he ran out on the break and dunked Kyle Lowrys tip pass in the fourth quarter. DeAndre Jordan also had a vicious dunk off a lob from Kevin Durant, and DeMar DeRozan drew chants of USA! USA! with a windmill jam in the final minutes.Klay Thompson?scored 13 points, and Cousins finished withh seven points and 12 rebounds.dddddddddddd. Durant had nine points of 3-of-9 shooting for the U.S., which plays one more exhibition Monday against Nigeria before departing for Brazil.We just kept fighting defensively, and we were great [in that area], Durant said. And in the second half, we made some shots.John Cox scored 14 points for Venezuela, which will play the U.S. again Aug. 8 in the Olympics. Nestor Colmenares pulled down 10 rebounds.Their defense is so good because they can switch everything because of their length and athleticism, Cox said. So theres not really another team in the Olympics that can do that.Irving & Co. were greeted with a round of hearty cheers when they came out for pregame warm-ups. Fans flocked to the side of the court where the Americans had their layup line. Anthony and Durant posed for pictures with a couple of eager boys.Before Butlers introduction drew the most applause of the night, former Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau received a thunderous ovation when he was announced with the U.S. coaching staff. Thibodeau took a year off after he was fired by the Bulls in May 2015 and was hired as Minnesotas coach and president of basketball operations in April.The star power also extended to the sideline near the U.S. bench, where former Olympians Scottie Pippen and Dwyane Wade watched the action attentively. Wade was joined by his wife, actress Gabrielle Union, hours after he held an?introductory news conference?with his hometown Bulls.Pippen played on the 1992 Dream Team that rolled to gold in Barcelona and also helped the U.S. win gold in 1996. Wade was on the Americans gold-medal-winning teams at each of the past two Olympics. 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