MINNEAPOLIS -- The clock was ticking for the Minnesota Wild and free agent right wing Nino Niederreiter with the opening of training camp a week away. Deadlines often spur action, and thats exactly what happened Thursday when the Wild signed Niederreiter to a three-year contract. The two sides went back and forth all summer long, with Russia looming as a possible Plan B for the 22-year-old forward who scored the series-clinching goal in overtime of Game 7 to beat the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. But with the Wild due to report for training camp Sept. 18, general manager Chuck Fletcher was able to lock a deal in with one of the teams many up-and-coming players. "Im excited and happy to stay a part of the WILD family," Niederreiter tweeted after signing what the Star Tribune of Minneapolis reported was an $8 million deal. Niederreiter was acquired in a trade from the New York Islanders last summer and blossomed into a promising power forward in his first season in Minnesota. He scored a career-high 14 goals and had 22 assists to help the Wild reach the playoffs. He was huge in that Game 7 win over the Avalanche, scoring two goals and assisting on the other in a 3-2 victory. The signing leaves goalie Darcy Kuemper as the Wilds lone remaining free agent. Goaltending is the biggest question mark for a team that added Thomas Vanek to help beef up its offence and is hoping to make a deep run in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Josh Harding is trying to play despite being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and Niklas Backstrom has battled injuries the last few seasons. The 24-year-old Kuemper went 12-8 with a 2.43 goals-against average last season. Josh Sweat Jersey .Y. - Joe Johnson hit six 3-pointers in his 27 points, Mason Plumlee added 18 points, and the Brooklyn Nets won their 11th straight at home, beating the Boston Celtics 114-98 Friday night. Philadelphia Eagles Jerseys . - Bryan Price sat down in the cushy chair. http://www.eaglesfansproshop.com/Eagles+...y.html?cat=1350. The day began ominously for the Rangers when star pitcher Yu Darvish was scratched from his scheduled start with stiffness in his neck. Fill-in Scott Baker gave up three hits over six innings and Chris Gimenez hit a tiebreaking two-out RBI single in the sixth off Phil Hughes. Michael Bennett Eagles Jersey . Colorado came up big against Chicago last spring, and repeated that performance Tuesday night. Varlamov stopped 36 shots and Paul Stastny had a goal and an assist for the Avalanche in a 5-1 victory over the Blackhawks. Dallas Goedert Jersey .com) - Nicolas Colsaerts fired an 11-under 60 on Thursday and grabbed a 3-stroke lead with the opening round of the Portugal Masters suspended by rain.The Day in 100 Words or Less It was a day for football fans to try and set aside their consciences and allow what happens on the field to distract them away from the happenings in Brazil. It was a day where the host nation were asked to open the tournament and show us what they were made of: A day that the history books will show as a win for Brazil but ultimately the bigger story was much more than that. Observations - Croatia deserved a chance to show us what they were made of. For 70 minutes they were rightfully level with the World Cup favourites. It could have been an acid test for Niko Kovacs side to see what they could accomplish. Unfortunately, they were robbed of that opportunity. - It was a very unfortunate moment. Many eyes were on this game that rarely glance at a soccer match and when referee Yuichi Nishimura pointed to the spot in the 70th minute the world asked: "Why?" The Japanese official adjudged that Dejan Lovren had fouled Fred but the truth was he placed his hand on his shoulders and the Fluminense man went down. - With the world watching it was hard not to feel sadness. In the opening act of the games greatest carnival, one mans massive error in judgment had turned the spectacle into a farce. - It then became Neymars day. For a 22-year-old making his World Cup debut in Brazil, wearing the famous number 10 shirt, he showed a remarkable amount of poise. He had already scored one, gliding into space provided by Oscar, before unleashing a shot passed Stipe Pletikosa and then, at 1-1, he had the nations hopes placed on his right foot. - The referee handed the ball to Neymar at 69:30 and he placed it on the spot at 69:38. He then waited and waited and waited some more before placing the ball into the net 50 seconds after he put it down on the ground. I am not sure what was going through Neymars mind during those 50 seconds but he showed no sign of pressure in one of the most intense moments in recent Brazilian football history. - Croatia, led by the intelligence of Luka Modric, didnt go down easily and the game remained remarkably open until the final stages when Oscar finished it off. - We may never see another game at this World Cup that was this stretched. Brazil worked the flanks the entire game and two of Croatias most dangerous attacks (one on which was their goal) came from crosses wide in the opening 10 minutes. - Remarkably, less than 18 per cent of Brazils attacks came through the middle. Man of the Day Nominees: Neymar – a brace from Mr. Box Office in the biggest game of his young life put his face in newspapers acrross the globe.dddddddddddd. Oscar – The Chelsea playmaker had a brilliant game and showed just why Luiz Felipe Scolari cared little for his poor form at Chelsea in the last few months of the Premier League season. Luka Modric – Brazils two central midfielders had a very difficult time against the Real Madrid man, who was very intelligent with his passing and feasted on space when countering. Ivan Perisic – the Croatian winger had a very good game and it will be interesting to see if other players, asked to play against Brazils left side attacker, can be influential because Hulk - used a lot on the left - showed little appetite to track back. Yuichi Nishimura – the referee made a monumental mistake. Some on social media jumped to an assumption of match-fixing. Everyone needs to be very careful when drawing a line between incompetence and intentional error. The winner... Oscar was sensational. Many expected him to play centrally but he occupied a wide right position, tracking back and winning all four tackles he attempted. Brazil clearly had a plan to attack down the right but it was the 22-year-olds exceptional play certainly helped emphasize that method. Oscar has the potential to be the best player at this World Cup. He is so versatile, he can be three players in one. He is capable of coming deep and helping out the two central midfielders, can move wide and pull defenders with him to open up space centrally (which is what happened on Neymars first goal) and he can advance and run beyond all, pulling opposing back lines deeper. Brazil may need to change their style against a top team later in the tournament, potentially bringing in a Ramires or Fernandinho for Hulk, for example, and Scolari was given food for thought on day one for this because of the brilliance of Oscar out wide. Dani Alves was the biggest beneficiary of Oscars positioning. The Barcelona right back was culpable on the opening goal, pressing higher than anyone on Pletikosa as Croatia started an attack, but as the game settled down so did the 30-year-old. Between them they created a dynamic duo with overlaps and easily led the game in total pass completions between team-mates. What Comes Next? Day 2 sees Mexico vs Cameroon (Noon et/9am pt), Spain vs Netherlands (3pm et/Noon pt) and Chile vs Australia (6pm et/3pm pt). Catch all the game live on the TSN radio networks. Burning Question for Tomorrow Will a young Dutch team be brave enough to play a back three and counter a potentially vulnerable Spanish team? 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