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While a labor dispute simmers at home, the U.S. womens national soccer team is set to travel across Brazil as the favorite to win its fourth straight Olympic gold medal.The Rio Games are happening as a U.S. federal agency looks at a wage discrimination complaint filed by a group of national team players who claim they make less money than their male counterparts. The teams union also is looking for a new contract with U.S. Soccer.Intrigue is nothing new for the top-ranked Americans.Unlike the mens tournament, which requires teams to field under-23 squads, womens Olympic soccer brings together the best players in the world.Seeking to clinch its fifth gold medal since womens soccer became an Olympic sport in 1996, the U.S. makes its debut against New Zealand on Aug. 3 -- two days before the opening ceremony in Rio. Thatll be followed by games against powerhouse France and Colombia in Group G.Second-ranked Germany, fifth-ranked Australia, sixth-ranked Sweden and host Brazil loom as potential quarterfinal opponents.The tournament will be played in seven venues across Brazil, including the jungle city of Manaus, in the Amazon rainforest, where the U.S. faces Colombia on Aug. 9.Last year, U.S. players led a protest against the artificial turf used in the World Cup in Canada before winning their third tittle in the tournament. Heading into the Olympics, the women have been vocal about gender equity in the sport as they seek a new collective bargaining agreement with U.S. Soccer.On the field one of the biggest issues for the Americans heading into the Olympics was the status of reigning FIFA Player of the Year Carli Lloyds right knee.Lloyd, who wowed fans with three goals in 16 minutes in the 5-2 win over Japan in Julys World Cup final, sprained her MCL in an April game with her club team, the Houston Dash. The team was cautious with her recovery, but it appears as if Lloyd is healthy and ready to play for her third gold medal.Lloyd also scored the deciding goals in the gold medal matches in both the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games.ANOTHER KEY INJURY: Megan Rapinoes status, at least for the start of the games, is far less certain. The winger tore her right ACL during a training session in Hawaii before a scheduled World Cup victory tour match last year (the match was ultimately canceled because of poor artificial turf conditions). The injury required her third ACL surgery.On her blog, the 30-year-old Rapinoe wrote on June 9: My Olympic dream is still alive! This blonde aint gone! And coach Jill Ellis named her to the 18-player squad for the Olympics, a good sign. But she may not play in the group stage.MARTAS MOMENT: Marta is one of the biggest stars in womens soccer. The 30-year old Brazilian striker was voted FIFA Player of the Year for five consecutive years from 2006 to 2010. Yet despite her success she is not a household name in her country, where the focus will be on Neymar and the mens squad to win Brazils first Olympic gold.Marta and the rest of the Brazil womens team will face less pressure to win their first gold than their male counterparts, and the squad should benefit from friendly home crowds.The woman that Pele himself dubbed Pele in skirt showed she is ready for Olympic duty, scoring both goals in a 2-0 victory over Canada in Toronto in June.Brazil faces China, South Africa and Sweden in Group E.SILVIAS FINAL BOW: One of the games most respected coaches will be stepping down following the Olympics. Silvia Neid has been head coach of the German senior team since 2005. During her tenure the Germans won a World Cup (2007), two UEFA womens championships (2009, 2013) and the Olympic bronze medal in Beijing. Also a decorated former player for Germany, Neid has twice been honored as the FIFA womens coach of the year.She will continue as scouting coach for the Germans, while current assistant Steffi Jones will take over as head coach.Germany leads Group F with Canada, Australia and Zimbabwe.CANADAS REVENGE?: While the London Games showed that Canada is a team on the rise under coach John Herdman, the bronze medalists thought they could have done better.The Canadians fell 4-3 in an overtime semifinal match to the eventual gold medal-winning U.S. team, a game that featured a non-call on what appeared to be a missed handball by an American player in front of the U.S. goal.We feel like we didnt lose. We feel like it was taken from us, said Canada captain Christine Sinclair, who was later suspended four games for her comments. Its a shame in a game like that, which is so important, that the ref decided the result before the game started.WALTZING WITH THE MATILDAS: No other Australian senior national team -- male or female -- had won an elimination game in a World Cup until the Matildas last summer; they knocked off Brazil in the round of 16. While they were defeated by Japan, it was considered a big move toward future success.Australia went on to earn a spot in the Olympics, its first since 2004, in the Asian qualification tournament. As a result, its international ranking jumped four spots to No. 5.Australia has never advanced past the quarterfinals in two Olympic appearances. Jerome Robinson Clippers Jersey . -- Ty Montgomery had 290 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns, and fifth-ranked Stanford held on to beat No. Kawhi Leonard Jersey . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. https://www.clipperslockerroom.com/Patrick-Beverley-City-Edition-Jersey/ . Galatasaray said in a statement on its website Monday that Mancini signed a three-year contract and will be paid 3.5 million euros for the upcoming season, with his salary upped to 4. Kawhi Leonard Clippers Jersey . Deulofeu injured a muscle in his right leg in Evertons 4-1 win over Fulham in the English Premier League on Saturday. Barcelona says that its team doctors will "co-ordinate" with Evertons medical staff as Deulofeu recovers. Blake Griffin Jersey . LOUIS -- Theres no telling how these wacky World Series games will end. LOS ANGELES -- The Montreal Canadiens will continue their annual trek through California when they face the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center on Sunday afternoon. Though the temperatures are warmer than back home in their native Quebec, the reception from their hosts has been ice cold.Montreal (16-6-2) sits atop the Atlantic Division thanks to its superior 12-1-1 record at home. Its 1-0 loss at San Jose on Friday dropped their road record below .500 (4-5-1).The road through California has been especially rough with Montreal posting a 1-8-2 record in the last 11 games against the California teams (San Jose, Anaheim and Los Angeles). The Canadiens have struggled to find their offense in the first three games of this road trip, posting only five goals in three games and wasting two strong performances by goaltender Carey Price.You just have to keep grinding, said Price after suffering his third regulation loss in 17 games. You just have to keep working and hopefully our fortunes will turn for the rest of the trip.The challenge for Montreal is the contrast of styles posed by Los Angeles. The Canadiens speed game was successful in a 4-1 win over the Kings on Nov. 10, but they have been worn down by both the Ducks and Sharks in consecutive losses. In order to break their losing streak and sweep the season series against the Kings, the Canadiens know they must control the tempo.Weve gotten away from our game, defenseman Jeff Petry told the Montreal Gazette prior to the San Jose loss. We were using our speed then we got away from that. Its something that we need to learn from because if we use our speed, were a tough team to handle.The Kings (13-10-1) will look to avenge last months loss at Montreal with continuing strong play on home ice. They enter the game with a 9-3-0 home recordd and appear to have found their stride after an inconsistent opening month.dddddddddddd A 4-3 win in Arizona on Thursday was the sixth in seven games for the Kings, who trail the division-leading San Jose Sharks by four points with a game in hand.After being besieged with injuries to start the season, Los Angeles depth is bolstered by the return of two key players and better health by one of its stars. Left winger Marian Gaborik missed the seasons first 20 games with a broken foot. Goaltender Jeff Zatkoff, plagued by groin injuries that limited him to just five appearances, earned his first win as a King in the Arizona victory.Anze Kopitar put up his first multi-point game since missing five games with a wrist injury, registering two assists in the Arizona win.Zatkoff was thought to be the starter after Jonathan Quick was sidelined with a serious groin injury but Peter Budaj was anointed by coach Darryl Sutter with Zatkoffs health issues. Budaj had appeared in 22 consecutive games before being relieved by Zatkoff after the first period in Arizona.Not playing eats away at you in the sense that you want to play, you want to contribute to the team and you want to be a piece of the puzzle, Zatkoff said. I feel really comfortable with my game and I just want to keep building on it.If Los Angeles creates enough offense to split the season series, it will likely do it without help from its special teams. Despite having a star-studded lineup and one of the best home records in the league, the Kings power-play production at home has been virtually non-existent, converting on 3 of 26 chances to tie them with the New York Islanders for 28th place in the NHL. ' ' '