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KRAKOW, Poland - Even fully fit, the Netherlands defence was always going to be the teams soft spot at the European Championship. Struggling with injury makes it even worse. On Tuesday, central defender Joris Mathijsen only briefly rejoined group training with the team, raising questions about his fitness for Saturdays opening Group B game against Denmark. And his partner at the heart of defence, John Heitinga, reduced himself to cycling on a stationary bike while his teammates had a light training session. The Everton player warned it was just a bit of rest after a long season. Mathijsen was finally back on the field Tuesday after a left hamstring injury kept him sidelined for 10 days of vital championship preparations. He was injured during the 2-1 loss to Bulgaria on May 26. He teamed up with Heitinga in the 2010 World Cup final, where the Dutch lost to Spain, and was the linchpin in defence throughout qualifying. His loss would be a bitter blow for the Dutch as they prepare for the toughest Euro 2012 group, which also includes Germany and Portugal. Under a steady rain, Mathijsen warmed up with the team and joined in some ball exercises before he was forced to test his hamstring again with individual runs. Netherlands coach Bert van Marwijk insisted Mathijsens recovery was going to plan as he would steadily increase training ahead of Saturdays opener in Kharkiv, Ukraine. "Training intensity will be increased to 70 per cent and if that goes well, it should be driven up to 100 per cent," said Van Marwijk, adding he was "hoping" Mathijsen would be able to play on Saturday. After last weekends 6-0 win over Northern Ireland, Mathijsen had said he was confident he would meet the deadline. "Its not as if I havent done anything over the past week. I was training, but not at the same level as the rest of them," Mathijsen said. All through their careers, Mathijsen and Heitinga have not been able to count on the support defenders like Frank de Boer or Phillip Cocu had. Yet Mathijsen and Heitinga still anchored the Dutch to two European tournaments and the final of the 2010 World Cup. So, Heitinga knows how important it is to stick together. "Clarity and steadfastness is very important to me," he said Tuesday. It is what the Dutch have been lacking on the defensive wings. Even though Gregory van der Wiel is quickly developing as a sturdy right winger with Ajax, it is the left which is posing the Dutch problems. Long dominated by Giovanni van Bronckhorst, the position has been up for grabs since his retirement after the 2010 World Cup. Jetro Willems made only his second appearance in the position during Saturdays 6-0 drubbing of Northern Ireland. Still, Van der Wiel is not downbeat and said the defence has been uniting since the last World Cup. "Everybody is two years further now and everybody is two years older, including me, and more experienced," Van der Wiel said. "Some people had a great season this season so I think it will help us for sure." Wholesale Jerseys USA. Veerpalu was nine seconds slower than Bauer midway through the interval-start race but used a strong second half to finish in 38 minutes 54.4 seconds. Bauer, the defending overall World Cup champion, was cheered on by the home crowd as he sprinted to the finish but was 6. Wholesale NFL Jerseys. After opening life in Major League Soccer with a five game winless run, they secured their first win in front of their own fans against a Canadian rival. http://www.uswholesalejerseystore.com/. The rookie will be sidelined for a while anyway because of a concussion. Mesoraco was placed on the seven-day disabled list for concussions before Wednesday nights game against San Diego. Wholesale Jerseys. Although the mens and womens singles champions will each receive a record 1.15 million pounds ($1.85 million), most of the 1.5 million pound ($2.4 million) increase to the overall pot will go to players who lose in qualifying or the early rounds. LOS ANGELES -- Metta World Peace was subdued and contrite in the Los Angeles Lakers locker room, apologizing to Oklahoma Citys James Harden for throwing the elbow that sent them both to the locker room in the second quarter. They both missed a beauty of a game that could echo into the post-season for two division leaders. Kobe Bryant scored six of his 26 points in the second overtime alongside an unorthodox Lakers lineup, and Los Angeles rallied from an 18-point deficit in the second half for a 114-106 victory over the Thunder on Sunday. Pau Gasol had 20 points, 14 rebounds and nine assists for the Lakers, who made an impressive comeback in their regular-season home finale against off-target Thunder stars Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, who combined to miss 42 of their 56 shots. Los Angeles rally stunned the Thunder and set an early tone for their possible second-round playoff matchup. "Its not so much that we beat Oklahoma, but how we did it," said Bryant, who shook off his own woeful shooting game with two key 3-pointers late in regulation. "In the playoffs, particularly if you dont have home-court advantage, youre going to have games like this. We have to have the poise and the confidence to just keep chipping away." Yet everything after halftime was colored by the drama and violence that occurred 1:37 before the break. World Peace had just dunked over Durant and Serge Ibaka on a fast break and was headed back upcourt when he ran into Harden. While pounding his chest with his right arm, World Peace raised his left elbow over Hardens shoulder and cleanly hit Harden in the back of the skull. Harden dropped to the court and stayed down for about a minute before heading to the locker room. Ibaka and other Thunder players challenged World Peace, but were kept apart, and World Peace was ejected after officials reviewed the tape. "I got real emotional and excited, and it was unfortunate that James had to get hit with the unintentional elbow," said World Peace, who had scored 12 points and played solid defence on Durant. "I hope hes OK. Oklahoma, theyre playing for a championship this year. I apologize to the Thunder and James Harden. It was just unfortunate." The Thunder didnt immediately announce whether Harden, who scored 14 points, had a concussion. Bryant and other Lakers acknowledged World Peace is likely to face a multigame suspension with just one game left in their regular season. "Im just happy my teammate is all right," said Durant, who scored 35 points on 11-for-34 shooting. "It was a bad play. Hopefully Ron didnt do it intentionally or have any malicious intentions on that. Weve got to move past that." Ibaka had 18 points and 14 rebounds for the Thunder, who led by 11 points with 4 minutes left in regulation. Westbrook had 14 points on 3-for-22 shooting and 10 assists as Oklahoma City fell 1 1/2 games behind San Antonio atop the Western Conference with just its thhird loss in nine games.dddddddddddd Despite the loss, Durant finally passed Bryant in the race for both superstars third NBA scoring title. Durant, the two-time defending scoring champion, is averaging 27.906 points with two to play, while Bryant -- the NBAs top scorer for nearly the entire regular season -- slipped back into second at 27.862 points per game with just one game left. The Lakers rallied with seldom-used Devin Ebanks and Jordan Hill alongside Bryant, Gasol and backup point guard Steve Blake, who hit three key 3-pointers. Ebanks had eight points and two key defensive plays in the final minute, while Hill had 14 points and a career high-tying 15 rebounds. "Being down double digits against a very good team, we could have folded easily," Lakers coach Mike Brown said. "This might have been our best team win of the year." Bryant struggled through the first three quarters of his first home game since April 6 before coming alive down the stretch during Los Angeles rally. Bryant then hit the tiebreaking fall-away jumper with 52 seconds left in the second overtime, followed by two free throws as the Lakers hung on. Even with Harden unavailable to provide his usual offensive boost, the Thunder could only blame themselves for a 4-for-19 fourth quarter with four turnovers, followed by a 5-for-17 effort in the two overtime periods. "I believe in Kevin, I believe in Russell, I believe in what our guys do," Thunder coach Scott Brooks said. "Some nights theyre not going to fall for you, but if the execution is good and the shots are good, you have to live with the results." World Peace was making major contributions to the Lakers on both ends of the court before his ejection for yet another unpredictable outburst in the erstwhile Ron Artests long history of misbehaviour. World Peace, who changed his name last year, has been mostly well-behaved during his three seasons with the Lakers, even winning an award as the NBAs citizen of the year for his extensive charity work around mental-health issues. Yet hell always be most famous for his 86-game suspension for participating in the brawl in the Palace of Auburn Hills stands while playing for Indiana in November 2004. The Lakers pulled within one point on World Peaces dunk, but fell apart after the ejection, managing just 14 points in the next 14 minutes. NOTES: The Lakers missed their first eight 3-pointers before Blakes 3 with 4:36 to play. ... Bryant wore no support on his knees, and Lakers point guard Ramon Sessions ditched the harness he has worn for several games on his sprained left shoulder. ... Derek Fisher got another loud ovation from his longtime Lakers fans when he checked in for the Thunder. The veteran point guard had five points. ... Jack Nicholson celebrated his 75th birthday in his usual courtside seat. Other fans near courtside included Denzel Washington, Will Ferrell, Mark Harmon, Ashton Kutcher, Steven Spielberg, Jerry Ferrara and Flea. ' ' '