MILAN, Italy -- Italy coach Cesare Prandelli has already decided on his final 23-man World Cup squad and has asked the players to prove him right before he reveals who will be going to Brazil. Anthony Barr Jersey . There were few surprises when Italy named its preliminary 30-man squad Tuesday but there will surely be more debate when seven players are cut. "Yes (Ive decided), but I want confirmation from them" Prandelli said in an interview published in Fridays Gazzetta dello Sport. "I havent thought about the starting XI: this will not be a World Cup of 11 players. "We need 23 resources, 23 players who think they will be among the first 11, focused only on the squad. Everyone has to understand they might play only one game. But it might be the game." Prandelli praised Giuseppe Rossi for making the provisional list, despite only just having returned from a four-month injury layoff due to a right knee injury. "I called him up because four and a half months ago, before his injury, he was the top goalscorer in Serie A and remained so for a few weeks after getting injured,"Prandelli said. "Thats a sign that he was doing something extraordinary. "His inclusion is a message for everyone: if you want something and fight and really try for it, you deserve a chance. Rossi is also a champion in his behaviour, that doesnt mean he will definitely be among the 23." Antonio Cassano was also on the list, despite not having played for Italy since helping the Azzurri to a runner-up finish at the 2012 European Championship, and he could make his World Cup debut after a fantastic season for Parma. "When a player manages to redevelop in a positive way and get back in the running it is as if they have cancelled out all the negativity," Prandelli said. "The numbers are the numbers: beyond his pride and his motivation, in scoring and in assists, Cassano was a few yards ahead of the others." Italian media says Cassano is the alternative if Rossi is deemed not fit enough, with Mario Balotelli the only forward assured of his place in the squad. "Nobody is tied to anyone," the Italy coach said. "We will now have 10 days of physical work from which I also expect scientific answers, without having to rely only on feeling. Both could come: Im not ruling out anything." Prandelli also revealed he seriously considered including Francesco Totti, adding "I thought about him, before his injury he had extraordinary statistics. Then the younger players exploded and the future is theirs." Italys first World Cup match is against England on June 14. It also plays Costa Rica and Uruguay in Group D. The Azzurri are aiming for a record-equaling fifth World Cup triumph, two years after surprisingly reaching the final of the European Championship, where it was humiliated 4-0 by Spain. "I havent looked at who our potential opponents could be (in the knockout stages)," Prandelli said. "I know we have to pass the first round and then we have to organize in order to get to the final. I want to go to the final." Brian Robison Vikings Jersey . The Nets continued their winning ways Tuesday by sweeping a back-to-back set for the first time this season, beating the Orlando Magic 101-90 a night after routing the crosstown rival New York Knicks. Paul Krause Jersey .ca! Hi Kerry, I love the column, keep up the good work! It doesnt make me more sympathetic to bad calls by the refs, but it sure explains a lot! On Tuesday, Zach Bogosian and Lars Eller just went off to the Sin Bin together - Bogosian for interference and Eller for embellishment.Winnipeg Jets 3 Chicago Black Hawks 1 (Jets 25-24-5, 12-14-1 road)? - With the win the Jets get above the .500 time since their New Years Eve win over Buffalo. The Jets are now 6-1 in the last seven games since Paul Maurice came on board. It was quite a week for the Jets, as they came out with four of six road points against three of the best home teams in the NHL. It was a win in Anaheim, the first regulation home loss of the season for the Ducks, a 1-0 loss in San Jose, and this win over Chicago, a team that going into the game had only lost three home games in regulation.? Add the home win over Toronto and in a stretch of four games in six nights, they picked up six of eight points. The win was the first in seven attempts for the Jets on the second night of back to back games. The first period was all Chicago. Brandon Bollig with his sixth opened the scoring at 1:21, with the Hawks outshooting the Jets 18-2. The Jets did not get their first shot on goal until the 10:13 mark of the period. Al Montoya playing in his hometown was terrific. It was not a great goal that opened the scoring, but the veteran netminder was able to put it behind him and make save after save as the Hawks attempted to blow the game open. The Jets were better in the second but it was still near the midway mark of the period before they got their first shot on goal. Shots in the second were 9-4 in favour of the Hawks, but again Montoya made a number of big saves to keep his team in the game. Andrew Ladd appeared to tie the game, but defenseman Sheldon Brookbank stopped a shot that was headed into the open side. The one area the Jets did dominate in was the physical part, and by the third it seemed to slow the Hawks down. Corey Crawford still looking for his first shutout kept it a 1-0 Chicago lead with a number of good saves, his best off defenseman Adam Pardy off a rebound. The next rebound chance the Jets had tied the game as Blake Wheeler with his 20th of the year made it 1-1. Mark Stuart shot it from the left point, it went off Evander Kane, Crawford made the save before Wheeler burieed it. Captain Munnerlyn Vikings Jersey. That came at 8:16, with the Jets getting their first lead of the game at 12:53 after a Marian Hossa pass in his own end ended up on the stick of Andrew Ladd who snapped it low glove for his 12th of the year.? Wheeler put the game away with an empty net goal at 18:45 on an assist from Toby Enstrom. After a good shift by the Bryan Little line -- and considering it was back to back -- Maurice wanted size and strength in a defending role, and sent out Wheeler, Olli Jokinen and Dustin Byfuglien. That shift led to the empty net goal. Shots in the third favoured the Jets 15-8. Over the game it was 35-21 Hawks. The Jets outhit the Hawks 53-17 with Byfuglien leading the way with eight. Micheal Frolik led in shots with four, Zach Bogosian in ice time at 26:16, his defense partner Enstrom next at 25:07. Each was a plus two in the game. After going without a goal in November, Wheeler has 16 goals in his last 26 games, and is 5-5-10 in the last seven games. “Its been a tough grind. Weve played three of the top five teams in the league this week and the first period showed just how tough it is. I cant say enough about what a character win this is,” commented Maurice post-game. “Down one going into the third to the second best team we felt we would just throw everything at them. If youre not out of the game, it means you are absolutely in it.” On the play of Montoya who was playing his first game since the coaching change: “He won us the game. He was great. We asked him to be special and he was.”? The Jets are home to Nashville Tuesday (TSN Jets, TSN 1290), Vancouver at MTS Friday (TSN, TSN 1290) then close out the pre-Olympic schedule with a four-game road trip. Tuesday is “Hockey Talks” night at MTS. Jets players will wear a #11 Rick Rypien jersey during warm-up. The jerseys will then be auctioned off to raise money for mental health awareness. Fans are encouraged to join the conversation by sharing personal experiences or messages of support via social media with the hashtag #hockeytalks. ' ' '
