TORONTO -- The loud crowd and large stadium has all the makings of a big-game atmosphere. The only thing missing is the natural grass, say two of soccers biggest stars. Both David Beckham and Robbie Keane griped about the artificial turf theyll play on Wednesday night when their Los Angeles Galaxy battle Toronto FC at Rogers Centre, in the first leg of the CONCACAF Champions League quarter-finals. "Its not ideal, but its the same for both teams," Beckham said. "Ideally you want to play on grass, but at the end of the day, this is the situation. And at least its a touch warmer (than outdoors at BMO Field)." Toronto FC opted to hold the game at Rogers Centre because of the problems winter weather could pose at BMO Field, the teams home stadium. The teams will play on the same artificial turf field used for Toronto Argonauts games, although the football hash marks have been removed and the field has been lined for soccer. Keane was more critical in his assessment. "I dont think we should be playing on a plastic pitch," said the Irish striker who joined the Galaxy last August. "I think these days, it should be grass pitches. I dont think its good injury-wise, I think it can be dangerous. So it is a shame that were playing on it. "But at the end of the day we have to do it, its the way it goes. Its the same for both teams, it just depends on who plays on it better." Galaxy coach Bruce Arena said Toronto FC officials did a decent job on the field, given the circumstances. "Its not desirable, but it is what it is," Arena said. "Obviously I dont think the players on either team would prefer to be on this surface, but theyve done a good job getting it ready." Toronto FC players, for their part, are also less than enthusiastic about the turf. When asked what he thinks of the field, Toronto head coach Aron Winter would only say: "Its green." The star-studded Galaxy, including Beckham, Keane and U.S. captain Landon Donovan, tested out the pitch Tuesday ahead of Wednesday nights match, which is expected to draw a capacity crowd of 45,000. Toronto and L.A. will play the second leg March 14 at Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif., in front of a considerably smaller crowd of 7,500, due to rules the stadium has about events on school nights. Beckham, whos clearly no stranger to big games and big crowds, said he plans to soak up the atmosphere at Rogers Centre. "Itll be great, these are the stadiums that you want to play in, you want to play in front of 45-, 50,000 fans, whether theyre going to be for you or against you, it doesnt matter," said the former England captain. "Sometimes its better when theyre against you because its more enjoyable when you have a little bit of success. Hopefully we have that (Wednesday). "But these are the occasions that as players you need to enjoy, and youll only enjoy it if youre successful." Beckhams star power has clearly not dimmed. The former Manchester United and Real Madrid midfielder, who recently launched a new underwear line, was greeted by several dozen members of the media, who lined a corridor to catch a few words with the superstar. He patiently answered each question before team officials ushered him away, including that of one reporter who wanted to know what was on his iPod. "Jay-Z, Drake -- hes a Toronto guy, right? -- and Spice Girls," he said, prompting laughter. Beckham helped lead the Galaxy to the MLS Cup in November, and was selected to the leagues Best XI. Many expected him to step away from the North American game at that point, but the 36-year-old signed a new two-year deal with the Galaxy in January, saying his family enjoyed living in L.A. Beckham said he has had to making surprisingly few adjustments to his lifestyle or game as hes grown older. "I love training, I love playing," he said. "Yeah, Im getting older, a lot wiser, but I think at the end of the day, as long as you take care of yourself, look after your body, train as much as you need to train, I think you can play for as long as you can. "But Ive done that throughout my career, and thats probably one of the reasons why Im still playing at my age that Im playing now." Beckham headlined the Galaxys regular-season game last April at BMO Field, which drew a Toronto FC-record 22,435 fans. Wednesdays match -- Torontos first home game played somewhere other than BMO Field -- will shatter that record. Toronto FC has proved problematic for L.A., playing the Galaxy to four draws in four matches over the last two seasons. Still Toronto, which has missed the playoffs in all five MLS seasons, finished with a 6-13-15 record last year, 24 points behind the 19-5-10 Galaxy. Beckham said Torontos big fan base always make for challenging games here. "Its a tough place to come and a tough team to play against. The fans are right behind their team and rightly so," he said. "Its just a tough play to come." Still, the Galaxy, a team that some are touting as the best ever assembled in the MLS, have to be considered the favourites coming off the MLS Cup. Keane said the Galaxys goal is to pick up where they left off. "I think every season you go into it and you want to do as well as you did last year, and last year we won the championship," he said. "We know its not going to be easy, theres some tough teams there, but with the players and squad that we have, were quite capable of doing the same as we did last year. "Were not being arrogant or big-headed about it, but were certainly one of the best teams, or the best team in the league. Its about proving it and doing it on the pitch." Nike Roshe Run Buy Online Nz . "Im very happy," Osvaldo said of his return to Serie A. "Everything happened very fast and I still cant believe it ... Its been a hectic three or four days." 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Ivo Karlovic of Croatia fired 38 aces past Blake to claim a 6-7 (2-7), 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-2) victory in a match that lasted over three hours.With an overall record of 84-78, including 8-6 last week, TSN football analyst Chris Schultz is back with his Week 12 NFL selections in Risky Business. Kansas City (-7) at Oakland The pressure is on the Oakland Raiders. With every game that passes the organization takes another step closer to 0-16. And a team picture that will not have a lot of pride associated to it. It is a divisional game, Kansas City is coming off a tough win over Seattle that was physical. This week, KC is traveling and Oakland is home. Derek Carr is learning on the run and may have to run a lot if the Raiders have a poor pass blocking day on Tamba Hali and Justin Houston. Dontari Poe is also living up to expectations as a defensive tackle. These two teams do play again on December 1 so we cant reference a previous divisional game. The Chiefs play their best in the fourth quarter and should win, but by more than seven? Raiders on points. Atlanta (-3) at Cleveland Having Josh Gordon back at wide receiver enhances the entire offence. First teams are a little more hesitant to blitz as someone will be one-on-one and Cleveland hopes it is Gordon. Also teams do not commit to putting the strong safety into the tackle box because of deep post pattern success from Cleveland. Gordon was amazingly productive last year and should flow into the system relatively easily. Great athletic match-up to watch is corner Joe Haden on either Julio Jones or Roddy White. Atlanta is much better in the Georgia Dome but Cleveland will play better coming off the loss to Houston. Browns. Tennessee at Philadelphia (-11) Too many points for me. Zach Mettenberger did not by any means look overwhelmed in the three-point loss against Pittsburgh last Monday night. And yes on defence they gave up 202 yards to LeVeon Bell but that usually does not happen two weeks in a row as the defence has to watch video of it all week. I do think the Eagles win as they have too much perimeter talent and are too athletic up front across the offensive line. But what an opportunity for Mettenberger to establish himself and distance himself from indiscretions of the past. Titans on points. Detroit at New England (-7) Detroit could have and maybe should have beaten Arizona if not for a critical rule interpretation and third down situations. What the Lions have, the Colts did not have. That is a four-man pass rush from the edges and the interior and a much better run defence front seven. Jonas Gray is now a known commodity across the NFL and I will be surprised if he has extreme success against Detroit. In scoring only six points Detroit had its worst day offensively of the year, I cant see it happening for a second game in a row even though the Patriots match up well on Johnson and Tate with Revis and Browner. Detroit is chasing the Packers who are getting better and better. The Patriots are chasing no one except home field through the AFC playoffs and will not take Detroit lightly. Patriots cover. Green Bay (-9.5) at Minnesota I do not think the Packers will score another 50 points to make it three weeks in a row. As a matter of fact, with this game being divisional and a Mike Zimmer defence involved this one could be close. But where the Packers could dominate is against Teddy Bridgewater at quarterback for the Vikings. After a spectacular start at home against Atlanta teams do have video on Bridgewater and it makes a difference in defending him. Makes it easier. Jay Cutler had over 400 yards of offence and so can Aaron Rodgers. It will be cold but for a player from Alabama, Eddie Lacy runs effectively in the cold. Packers by 10 and cover. Jacksonville at Indianapolis (-10) Bounce back game of the week. The first Colts/Jaguars game in Jacksonville was a very easy win for Indy. This time coming off the dominant loss to New England I look for Andrew Luck to be all business in every way. Good teams always respond from a bad game with a good game, and the Colts are a good team. They will miss Ahmad Bradshaw but its time for Trent Richardson to shine with the added responsibility of a true No. 1 back. Colts cover. Cincinnati at Houston (-2) This is a good game that could go either way. Not many good memories for Houston in NRG Stadium, home of the Texans. But, credit the Bengals for a bounce back performance in New Orleans against a top quarterback in Drew Brees. Ryan Mallett looked comfortable at quarterback last week on the road and should look even more comfortable this week at home. Cincinnati had an amazing game from second-round draft pick Jeremy Hill. Doing it two weeks in a row against this Houston defence is unlikely, though. Houston by a field goal to cover the 2. NY Jets at Buffalo (-4.5) The weather will be a factor and the game could be delayed. All advantages for the Bills. The first Jets-Bills game was an easy Bills win and even with Michael Vick at quarterback I anticipate this one might be as well. The Bills defensive line continues to be onee of the best and coming off the 22-9 loss in Miami with a record of 5-5 the Bills may not have realistic playoff hopes, but a winning season to break the constant 6 win, 10 loss three-year history is a genuine goal.dddddddddddd Bills. Tampa Bay at Chicago (-5.5) Not sure if the dominant win by Tampa Bay over Washington was due to Tampa Bay being that good or Washington being in disarray. Weather again may be a factor and thats an advantage for the Bears. Mike Evans has made a difference in Tampa Bay and going back to Josh McCown at quarterback has made a difference for Mike Evans. Its the second game of a road trip for the Bucs, second straight home game for the Bears. Chicago definitely gained some confidence last week and now have a chance to gain some more. Bucs may still be mathematically alive in the NFC South, but only mathematically. Bears. Arizona at Seattle (-6.5) Too many points for a divisional game. For Arizona the best kept secret in all of football is Andre Ellington. 59, 199 lbs and he moves and flows like a Jamaal Charles-type of running back and Charles had 159 yards against Seattle last week. Health concerns with Larry Fitzgerald at wide receiver with a MCL sprain but he will show up and just his presence on the field makes a difference. The Cardinals are an exceptional blitzing team and run defence team. They must stay disciplined when Russell Wilson moves into safe areas and must be immensely physical on the most physical back in football, Marshawn Lynch. Nothing will come easy for either team. Cardinals. St. Louis at San Diego (-5) The Rams must be confident after beating Denver and making it look easy. The Chargers could not put the Raiders away and that has to be a concern. The most experienced head coach in the entire NFL is Jeff Fisher with over 300 games of head coaching experience. And now he gets his best quarterback back in Shaun Hill. The Rams defensive line could make a big impact on a relative stationary Philip Rivers. Rams. Miami at Denver Broncos (-7) A couple of genuine concerns emerged last week for Denver. First, the Broncos may not have the personnel or ability to run the football effectively. And pass protection will be tested again this week as Manning knows the ability of Cameron Wake and Olivier Vernon. The Rams did a great job of being physical with Denvers receivers and Miami will try to duplicate that. But this will be the first Broncos home game in three week against Miami, who is coming of a Thursday night time advantage. Denver responds and covers the 7. Broncos. Washington at San Francisco (-8) Theres drama going on in Washington and rejuvenation being felt in San Francisco. Not sure if what Robert Griffin said was all that bad because basically he talked the truth; that the people around him need to play better so he can play better. Should he have just used the well versed clichés of football and left the stage? Yes, but he didnt so pressure is on him more now than ever to play better than ever. For San Francisco, having Aldon Smith back helps everyone on defense. This being his first game back in front of family and friends, he will want to make game-changing plays. But the new emerging story is the effectiveness of Chris Borland at linebacker in terms of effort, production and intensity. Borland is a third round draft pick and I know its early but he is playing like a first round draft pick. Washington is pretty much playing out the season and Jay Gruden is already quietly thinking of 2015. Jim Harbaugh isnt. After all the adversity, the 49er are still a playoff team. San Francisco. Dallas (-3.5) at New York Giants The bye week could not come at a better time for the Dallas Cowboys after an easy win in London. Dallas has two games in five days - this Sunday at New York and Week 13 against the Eagles - and because Tony Romo played last week, there are no concerns about this week. Eli Manning had five interceptions last week - FIVE! Now, not all were his fault but five is outrageous. Aaron Rogers has three for the season. If there is one guy Dallas must keep in check though design or exceptional play it is Odell Beckham. He is a star waiting to shine. But he is one guy. Dallas has a chance to win the division, first things first. Cowboys. Baltimore at New Orleans (-3.5) The mystique of certain success in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome is over for the New Orleans Saints. After winning 20 in a row at home, the Saints have lost two consecutive games to San Francisco and last week to Cincinnati. The pressure is on in Baltimore. Everyone in the AFC North has a winning record which means every game is a must-win, especially coming off the bye as the Ravens are. The Saints are exceptional prime time players especially on Monday night, but Baltimore is done with their division games and the next six are all winnable. Good feeling in this stadium winning a Super Bowl. I expect it to be duplicated Monday night. Ravens. cheap nfl jerseys wholesale jerseys cheap jerseys cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys Ra... Ramos Jersey ' ' '