and that was a break for us." Ryan Doumits sacrifice fly gav

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RIO DE JANEIRO -- It is one of Rios most renowned favelas, the Cidade de Deus made infamous in a film that helped cement a stereotype of the other side of the Marvelous City that is host of the Olympic Games -- one where ghettos are ruled by drug lords and baby-faced criminals shoot to kill.The City of God of today, located mere miles from Olympic Park, is not so easily defined. It is a place of contrasts that defies oversimplification, where poverty and violence persist alongside modest programs that aim to get some kids off the streets and offer a path that keeps guns out of their hands.It is also the former home of Brazils first gold medalist of the Rio Games. Judo champion Rafaela Silva grew up in Cidade de Deus. If not for the sport that helped her climb up and out, I could still be living in City of God now, she said through tears after winning on Monday.The shantytown of nearly 50,000 people became globally known after Paulo Lins novel Cidade de Deus was made into a critically acclaimed ................... by Brazilian film director Fernando Meirelles, who also helped create the Olympic opening ceremony that featured a segment depicting the citys favelas. Lins lived in City of God, and both the book and the ................... tell a tale of poverty and violence and of youth faced with choices that could lead to an early death -- or a fresh start.While much of Rio was transformed for the Olympics, City of God is a community left behind and still mired in the many problems that were the basis of the ................... that introduced its brutal realities to the world. Where other neighborhoods can take advantage of improvements in transit, housing and security, the only thing Olympic in this slum is the painted lane for accredited vehicles to drive past it as fast as they can.Here at City of God, our feelings about the Olympics are like a famous hip-hop song, said one local, Sergio Leal, known as DJ TR. `Look at the black kid watching it all from the outside. We are all watching it from the outside here.In some ways, Cidade de Deus is unlike the hundreds of other favelas in Rio. On the western edge of the city, its far from the beaches where tourists soak in the sun and spreads horizontally across a maze of streets rather than vertically up a hillside. It originally was a housing project, built in the 1960s during Brazils military dictatorship when the government evicted residents from favelas in tony Ipanema, Leblon and Lagoa, and destroyed the shacks to make way for visitors.At that time, not too different from today, the state was determined to `beautify Rio de Janeiro by eliminating favelas from attractive areas of the city and moving the poor to isolated locations, said Mariana Dias Simpson, a researcher at the Brazilian Institute of Social and Economic Analyses (Ibase) who has studied Rios slums for more than a decade.City of God, she said, is what local leaders call a re-favela -- a settlement created to house evicted families that kept on growing until it became a favela again.The community was among the first where the government dispatched its so-called police pacification units, or UPPs, which were created in 2008 to curb violence in favelas dominated by heavily armed drug gangs. Police set up local stations, took over territory once controlled by criminals and confiscated weapons, while the state of Rio invested in community centers for children and worked to expand basic services for residents.In the lead-up to the Olympics, the UPPs were expanded to hundreds of favelas across Rio, and many say it felt as if authorities had succeeded in restoring the peace. President Barack Obama, along with the first lady and their two daughters, even paid a visit to Cidade de Deus in 2011. The president rolled up his sleeves and played soccer with some local kids as his family looked on.Here was President Obama coming to this community that once was a symbol of violence, said Juliana Barbassa, a former Associated Press reporter and Brazil native whose book, Dancing with the Devil in the City of God, examines Rios many challenges. She recalled one jubilant store owners reaction: `We used to go to them (the U.S.) to ask for money, to try to establish a relationship. And now they come to us.Despite that high point, with police forces spread too thin among too many places, the lawlessness that had diminished in City of God and other slums has regained strength.In the most violent section of Cidade de Deus -- a place called Karate -- criminals shot at police just one day before last weeks Olympic opening ceremony; no officers were injured. Several residents interviewed as part of a study by the Ibase group reported that shootings between dealers and the police happen on almost a daily basis, sometimes when children are walking home from school.Violence levels were better all over for a few years ... we had no incidents for months, Leal said. Now, every week, there is a shootout somewhere in City of God. It is not what we saw in the ..................., but it is not promising either.Children in the roughest parts of Cidade de Deus often become what the traffickers call avioezinhos, or little planes. Avioezinhos keep watch and alert the drug bosses when police are near. Its considered a first step into the organization, like an entry-level job. Its not unusual to see thugs pointing guns at visitors to the neighborhood even as schoolkids come and go, unflinching because its all customary to them.Still, Dias Simpson and others noted that the vast majority of those living in City of God and other favelas have no involvement in crime at all. Go to the most dangerous favela on a weekday, and youll see ... moms going to work, guys dressed up for their construction jobs, Barbassa said. This is essentially home to the working class of Rio.The film, added Dias Simpson, is a good entertainment piece, but its a fictional film. The reality of City of God is a lot more complex than that.Leo Sagat lived in the neighborhood for 28 years before finally moving out. But he still comes back three days a week, morning and evening, to teach boxing to 270 people, mostly kids, out of a donated room with no air conditioning and three broken fans in one of the safer parts of the slum, appropriately called Switzerland. Even still, next door, is a boca de fumo where dealers sell cocaine and other drugs, and some hang around to use them.Sagat doesnt get paid; he gives his time because he knows sports could help inspire some to find a way out of the slum. His proof can be found in Judo champion Silva. The legacy that I want is to stop kids like these from becoming criminals, he said.In December, amid Olympic preparations, the government donated some boxing equipment to the community, a few gloves and bags that Sagat uses at his gym. But to those here, the gesture is meaningless given all that could have happened these past several years.People of City of God were promised more mobility, more investment in sport and security. They were also promised to be part of a tourism program that would help people in the region become tour guides for Rio, just like in other communities, said Christopher Gaffney, a University of Zurich researcher who spent six years in Brazil studying urban development. But none of those materialized. The rapid-transit bus that could have integrated that region to the rest of Rio doesnt have any stops in City of God. With no integration, there is even more segregation.Despite their beloved Silvas victory, the people of City of God will tell you the revelry surrounding these Olympic Games is not really felt by them. Jessica Santos is just 12, a resident of the shanty for two years who already dreams of more. Standing next to a creek tinged gray with pollution, she spoke wistfully about becoming an environmentalist maybe one day.Look at this creek here, it is completely dirty -- and the water is being more treated than when my family arrived, but people throw their sofas, plastic, a lot of toxic things here.People wanted the Olympics to change things here, too, said the ..................................... But they did not change much. Billige Adidas Superstar Sko . -- Teemu Selanne scored the first goal of his 22nd NHL season, and the Anaheim Ducks extended the best start in franchise history with their fifth straight victory, 3-2 over the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. Nike Tn Sko . Anthony Davis had 31 points and 17 rebounds in his seventh straight game with more than 20 points, but that was only enough to keep the Pelicans competitive into the final minutes. Andrew Bogut had 10 points and 15 rebounds for Golden State, which rebounded from a loss a night earlier in Oklahoma City and snapped a two-game skid. http://www.nmdtilbud.com/adidas-zx-flux.html . Rinne played two periods in his first game since left hip surgery in early May. Gabriel Bourque scored 3:07 into the second period and Austin Watson tallied 5:15 later for Nashville. Nike Tn Sko Tilbud . There was no hesitation from the 40th-ranked Pospisil, from Vernon, B.C., who admitted that he cut back on his training sessions over the last few days to conserve energy as the long ATP season finishes next week at the Paris Masters. Adidas Nmd Danmark . 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. BOSTON -- The Minnesota Twins are heading home with a three-game winning streak. Doing it against the Boston Red Sox makes it more impressive. The Red Sox had the best record in the majors after they beat the Twins in the series opener. But after losing 5-3 in Thursday nights finale, they dropped out of first place in the AL East for the first time this season. "Its important that you kind of get that feeling about grinding things out (at) the end of a long road trip," Twins manager Ron Gardenhire said. "These guys really stayed focused." Oswaldo Arcia hit a two-run homer and the Twins capitalized on a costly throwing error by Boston starter John Lackey to beat the Red Sox, who lost for the sixth time in seven games. Boston won the opening game of the series 6-5 in 11 innings on Monday night. Then Minnesota came back to finish the road trip at 5-5. "To lose that first one, we could have very easily won that one, too," Minnesota starter Kevin Correia said. "So to come back and win three is huge." The Twins were 4 1-2 games out of first place in the AL Central when they arrived in Boston. They left trailing by 2 1-2. The Red Sox started the series with a 1 1-2 game lead over New York and Baltimore. They ended it percentage points behind the Yankees and tied with the Orioles for second. "I dont think anybody is worried about the last seven games," Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia said. "It is the big leagues and everybody is good." Lackey was pitching very well until his wild throw to second base on a potential inning-ending double play gave the Twins another chance in the sixth and they responded with four unearned runs, including two on Arcias homer, to take a 5-2 lead. "I have to make that one play and we win the game," Lackey said. "One play ruined it all." Correia (4-2) pitched 5 1-3 innings, his second shortest outing in seven starts this season. Then Brian Duensing got out of a sixth-inning jam and Gardenhire kept him in for the seventh. He finished with 1 2-3 hitless innings. "I appreciate the confidence" Gardenhire showed, Duensing said. "These are the type of situations you want to be in as a reliever." Jared Burton struck out the side in the eighth and Glen Perkins struck out two more in the ninth and got his eighth save in eight chances. Lackey (1-3) pitched well until his error, then came back to pitch a perfect seventh before Koji Uehara took over in the eighth. Lackey allowed six hits and one walk and struck out eight. The Red Sox finished with 11 strikeouts, the 21st time in 35 games theyve had at least 10.dddddddddddd Boston threatened with one out in the eighth when Daniel Nava walked and Will Middlebrooks reached first when shortstop Eduardo Escobar bobbled his grounder. It was the Twins first error in 12 games. But Burton struck out Stephen Drew and Mike Carp. Trailing 2-1, the Twins went ahead to stay in the sixth. The inning began with a single by Joe Mauer. He took second on a one-out walk to Justin Morneau before Lackey flubbed a chance to get out of trouble. Trevor Plouffe grounded the ball back to the mound, but Lackey threw wildly past Pedroia into centre field. Mauer scored on the play, tying the game. "Youre looking for breaks in the game," Gardenhire said, "and that was a break for us." Ryan Doumits sacrifice fly gave Minnesota the lead before Arcia hit the next pitch into the right field seats for his third homer of the season. "The errant throw opened the door for them," Boston manager John Farrell said. "In the sixth inning (Lackey) was his own worst enemy. Other than that, I thought he pitched really well." The Red Sox had scored the first run of the game in the third on a double by Shane Victorino and an RBI single by Pedroia. They made it 2-0 in the fourth when Nava singled, took second on a groundout and scored on Drews single. The Twins scored a run in the fifth when Arcia tripled and scored on a double by Aaron Hicks. After falling behind 5-2, Boston scored in the sixth on a leadoff double by Mike Napoli and a run-scoring single by Nava. Middlebrooks then grounded into a forceout. Duensing replaced Correia and retired the next two batters. That was one of many wasted opportunities for Boston, which left exactly one runner on base in each of the first seven innings, two in the eighth and one in the ninth. NOTES: Twins SS Pedro Florimon was listed as day to day after leaving the game in the bottom of the seventh with a tight right hamstring. ... The Red Sox transferred closer Joel Hanrahan from the 15- to the 60-day disabled list. He is scheduled to see orthopedist James Andrews on Friday, an examination that could determine if he needs surgery after suffering a strained right forearm. ... Boston opens a three-game series at home with the Toronto Blue Jays on Friday night with Jon Lester (4-0) pitching for the Red Sox against Ramon Ortiz (0-0). ... Minnesota starts a nine-game homestand Friday with Mike Pelfrey (3-3) pitching for the Twins against Jason Hammel (5-1) of the Orioles. Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Jerseys From China Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys ' ' '