eat Finland 4-2. Finland won the last of its two titles in 1998. Sweden, 6-0-0 in the

TORONTO - Soccer was not kind to Rob Friend the last few months but the Canadian international striker leaves the sport with plenty of fond memories and good friends. Fake Jerseys China .Friend announced his retirement earlier this month after a championship season with the Los Angeles Galaxy cut short by concussion-related problems. The 33-year-old native of Kelowna, B.C., missed more than five months of action in 2014.Its a bit bittersweet going out as champions here in the MLS, to be honest with you, he said in a recent interview. But obviously Ive struggled a lot with this injury, had a lot of bad symptoms — headaches, what not.Its bittersweet but at least I was fortunate enough to have played the places Ive played, that I can go out with my head held high and be proud of what Ive done. And move on to the next chapter.Friend, a formidable figure at six foot five, was originally drafted by the Chicago Fire in 2003 but opted to sign with Moss FK and then Molde FK in Norway. He spent a year with SC Heerenveen in the Netherlands before embarking on a successful stretch in Germany.Friend signed with Borussia Moenchengladbach for the 2007 season, scoring 18 goals to help the team earn promotion to Germanys top flight. He scored 28 goals in his three seasons with the storied club — the pinnacle of his career — before moving on to Hertha BSC, Eintracht Frankfurt and TSV 1860 Munchen.He joined the Galaxy in January, seeing action in 10 games.Its been an amazing journey ... its been unbelievable, Friend said. Ive met a lot of amazing people, played for some amazing organizations and clubs. At Heerenveen alone, he played with Toronto FC star Michael Bradley, fellow Canadian and Portland Timbers captain Will Johnson and Galaxy teammate Robbie Rogers. Friend, who made his debut for Canada in 2003, won more than 30 caps for his country.Unfortunately, Friend still is not completely over his health issues.Its a very funny animal, the brain. You go through waves of a lot of headache-like symptoms and fogginess, just kind of not feeling 100 per cent. Ive definitely passed that stage of struggling every day. The only issue I have at the moment now is when I do an intense workout I feel the headache coming on again.Ive been able to manage it. Now Im just going to take a little bit of time to really take care of the symptoms so hopefully they dont bother me long term.Friend was hurt in a freak training-ground practice. He was running and a hard-hit ball caught him in the temple, really unexpectedly, caught me totally off guard and knocked me to the ground.For two days, he felt foggy and out of it.Then probably by Day 3 it just went into a straight headache that I couldnt kick for about two months.The injury, along with numerous past knocks, forced him to evaluate his soccer future.Friend was always a target man, physical and good in the air. His head was as important as his boot and he absorbed plenty of abuse going for goal.Ive taken a lot of hits to my head over the years and its serious issue now, the concussions, he said. Theres a lot of former athletes that are struggling long-term. I dont want that. I have to be a good husband and a good father to three kids and take care of my family so I kind of made that decision that it wasnt worth trying to push it another couple of years.Friend says he absolutely had prior concussions.Diagnosed, Ive probably had a few. Undiagnosed Ive definitely had my fair share as well. Ive been to a lot of experts round North America, talked to a lot of different doctors ... They all say accumulation of hits to your head — whether thats constant heading, hard knocks to your head — all take its toll. So I think thats got a lot to do with why my symptom is lasting as long as it is.The symptoms had not been as severe in the past. But Friend says over the last few years, he noticed he felt a little bit out of it for 24 hours or so if he took a harder blow to the head or had done a lot of headers in practice.It left him with a lingering headache for a day or two.Then it would go away. I never thought much about it. I just chalked it up as I just got kind of my bell rung a little but and itll go away. Then as the years went on, I started noticing the symptoms more and more and just didnt think much of it. Then it was just this one kind of freaky hit to the side of my head unexpectedly that really brought the long-terms symptoms on.Concussion aside, Friend has fond memories of his year in Los Angeles and MLS.Its an exciting league and I wanted to be part of it, he said. To be part of the best organization like the Galaxy, thats something Im proud of.It was also a homecoming of sorts.Friend played two years of college soccer at UC Santa Barbara where he met wife Mari, a Los Angeles native who was the setter on the volleyball team. The family — which includes a five-year-old boy and one- and three-year-old girls — plans to move to Vancouver where he hopes to stay involved in soccer.Having endured the hardships of a Canadian playing abroad, he remains a big booster of Canadian soccer.Canada is on the right track, he said, predicting more talent will flourish overseas. Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter Cheap Jerseys . The alleged sexual assault is believed to have happened over the weekend of Feb. 1, when the hockey team was in Thunder Bay for two games against Lakehead University. The criminal investigation branch of the Thunder Bay Police Service is leading the investigation with help from Ottawa police. Fake Jerseys .Y. - DeMarre Carroll felt as though he couldnt miss in the second quarter as he outscored the Brooklyn Nets 14-13 all by himself. https://www.fakejerseysfromchina.com/ . INJURIES - Cardinals 1B Matt Adams has been put on the DL with calf tightness, resulting in some lineup shifting, with Allen Craig moving from right field to first base, so that the Cardinals could bring up top prospect Oscar Taveras, who was the No.MALMO, Sweden -- Oskar Sundqvist scored the game-winning goal early in the third period to give Sweden a 2-1 win over Russia in semifinal play Saturday at the world junior hockey championship. The host side will play Finland in the gold-medal game Sunday at Malmo Arena. Finland advanced with a 5-1 win over Canada in the other semifinal. "Its a dream final for us -- Finland and Sweden," Finnish forward Henri Ikonen said. "Its a great rivalry. Young players like ourselves cant imagine a better situation than that. Hopefully, I can sleep well tonight." Nashville Predators forward Filip Forsberg also scored for Sweden. "It was a tough game, but today we were the better team," Swedish coach Christian Djoos said. Damir Zhafyarov had the lone goal for the Russians, who will play Canada for bronze on Sunday. Wholesale China Jerseys. . "We were disappointed not to win, but thats life," Zhafyarov said. "These things happen in hockey, but well be ready to fight for the bronze medal tomorrow." Oscar Dansk made 26 saves for the Swedes, who were outshot 27-21. "He was unbelievable," backup goalie Andreas Johnson said about Dansk, who plays for the Erie Otters in the Ontario Hockey League. "He made some pretty sick saves. He was great." Sweden won gold in 2012 and took silver last year in Ufa, Russia. In round-robin play, Sweden beat Finland 4-2. Finland won the last of its two titles in 1998. Sweden, 6-0-0 in the tournament, is seeking its third title and second in three years. ' ' '