ERST LESEN! » , but frankly, given the run-ins the count

The first European Championship with 24 teams wasnt to everyones taste.Some atrociously dull games and unambitious pack-the-defense tactics from weaker teams lent weight to critics laments that the addition of eight more nations watered down the quality of the football.But the wider door also ushered in underdogs who delighted and, in the case of Wales and Iceland, amazed. The convoluted process for determining which teams advanced to the knockout stages produced drama but also took super-brains to understand. Bottom-line: The jury is still out on whether the expanded formats pluses outweigh its minuses.Of the 107 goals before Sundays final, where France plays Cristiano Ronaldos Portugal in the tournaments 51st game, one of the best was scored in the first match. Dimitri Payets curling, left-footed late winner for the under-pressure host nation against Romania made the West Ham winger the first darling of a tournament where expected stars barely glittered, to name just goalless German forward Thomas Mueller and his Bayern Munich teammate Robert Lewandowski. The Poles record-equaling 13 goals in tournament qualifying were followed by just one more strike in France, when Poland was counting on him most.Thankfully, the group-stage departure of Russia and the last-16 loss of England, humiliated 2-1 by a country, Iceland, with a population one-tenth that of inner London, saw the back of their mindless hooligans. Fun-loving fans from surprise semifinalist Wales had the last laugh, and the slow hand-clapping Icelanders left in the quarterfinals with a last HUH! -- a battle-cry subsequently adopted by delirious French crowds when Les Bleus beat their major tournament nemesis since 1958, Germany, to make the final.In short, the 31-day tournament, held amid intense but not overly intrusive post-terror attack security, produced a harvest of both highs and lows.Heres a closer look at some of them:---HOOLIGANSThe lowest of the lows. The viciousness of seemingly combat-trained Russian thugs who charged English fans before the teams 1-1 group-stage draw in Marseille , and again in the Velodrome Stadium itself, surprised French police geared up against terror threats but not street fighting. Almost all of the 35 people injured, one critically, in the street battles were British. England fans itching for a rematch with Russian hooligans that thankfully didnt materialize disgraced themselves the following week with drunken, loutish behavior up north in Lille, met by sprays of police tear gas and several dozen arrests. And a 2-2 draw between Czech Republic and Croatia was interrupted when flares were thrown onto the pitch and Croatia fans fought among themselves.---NO KIDSA sourpuss UEFA edict against players having their children join them on the pitch for post-match celebrations was a kill-joy low. UEFA said it was concerned for small kids safety and that the European Championship is not a family party.A high was the kids of Wales players running on the field at the Parc des Princes in Paris after their dads beat Northern Ireland 1-0 in the round of 16, being cheered on by Wales fans as they shot at goal with their little legs.---BORINGThose heartwarming scenes were the only redeeming feature of an otherwise teeth-grindingly dull match, of which there were more than a few. The increased total of 51 games, from 31 in the previous 16-team format, always threatened a greater likelihood of duds, as weaker squads with plenty of heart but lacking the skills to progress deep into the tournament opted for defense in numbers and hoped for goals from counterattacks. Even star-studded teams were only moderately more interesting than drying paint at times. In advancing to the quarterfinals, Ronaldos Portugal had just two attempts on target in 120 minutes against Luka Modrics Croatia, which managed none. A yawn-filled low.---THRILLING ITALYNot a contradiction in terms, thanks to Chelseas new coach Antonio Conte, who squeezed every ounce of quality out of an Italian team that ended the eight-year reign of 2008 and 2012 champions Spain with mesmerizing attacking gusto crafted onto the 3-5-2 solidity of a Juventus back-three and evergreen 38-year-old `keeper Gianluigi Buffon. Contes only foot wrong was bringing on Simone Zaza in the last minute of extra time for a penalty shoot-out against Germany in the quarterfinals. With a prancing horse run-up that made him the butt of online jokes , Zaza was one of four Italy players who failed to convert in the 6-5 penalty win for the world champions.Other 90 minutes well spent were Wales 3-1 quarterfinal victory over Belgium, lit up by Hal Robson-Kanus hip-shimmy turn and goal that put the Welsh ahead; Germanys flowing 3-0 dismantlement of Slovakia in the round of 16; and, for its wow factor, Iceland beating England -- a high for underdog-loving neutrals but not for England coach Roy Hodgson, who immediately threw in the towel.---HUH!The Icelandic cry will echo in memories long after the tournament, as will the symbiotic relationship, full of mutual adoration, that players and fans from the island of 330,000 people built during their adventure of a lifetime to the quarterfinals. The fans haunting rendition of their song Ferdalok (Sun shimmers in the water, see the glacier glow ...) during the teams honorable 5-2 loss to France was the spine-tingling high of a tournament that lacked an abundance of earth-shattering football but not entertaining moments.---John Leicester is an international sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jleicester(at)ap.org or follow him at http://twitter.com/johnleicester Paul George Shoes Free Shipping . The Montreal Canadiens announced on Friday that the veteran forward will return to the teams line-up on Saturday night when the Habs visit the Nashville Predators. Clearance Paul George Shoes . Any real chance at payback wont come until the playoff. Still, Pittsburgh knows its taut 3-2 win over the Bruins on Wednesday night is a pretty good place to start laying the groundwork. "They are a very good defensive team," Penguins forward Brandon Sutter said. https://www.cheappaulgeorgeshoes.com/ . -- Bryant McKinnie came out of his stance and lowered his shoulder into a practice squad player, causing a crisp thud to reverberate in the Miami Dolphins practice bubble. Cheap Paul George Shoes . Brandon Morrow allowed five runs on six hits over three innings. He struck out two, walked one and hit a batter. Edwin Encarnacion had a two-out, bases loaded two-RBI double in the third inning. Paul George Shoes Deals ., and Rudi Swiegers of Kipling, Sask., took sixth spot on Saturday in pairs at the NHK Trophy ISU Grand Prix figure skating competition. The Railwaymans Inn on Station Road sounds like a thoroughly conventional boozer. The sort of place with a jukebox and soiled brown carpets, and a dozy clientele of commuters waiting for the 17.32 to Paddington. The Railwaymans Inn on Station Road in Chittagong, on the other hand, is something else entirely.Mind you, Station Road in Chittagong is a sufficiently different sort of place as it is. Its a long wide boulevard of the distinctly functional variety, with cheap and cheerful hotels lined up along one side, and even cheaper, rather less cheerful stalls and boutiques on the other.Its grimy and noisy, and tailored towards a transient market, with the average trip across the road bringing to mind that old-school computer game, Frogger. As you dither through the traffic, a constant stream of buses, lorries, carts, rickshaws and auto-rickshaws bear down on you at every speed imaginable, first from one direction, then from another, with only a thin brick kerb in the middle providing any sanctuary.If you time your run right, you can even tuck into a power-up on the other side, because for some reason there seems to be an intermittent but constant stream of banana-traders marching steadfastly up the hill with their loads strung out in two pans across their shoulders. Ten taka (10p) for a bunch of four, and thats breakfast sorted for another day.But back to the boozer, because frankly thats the logical place to go back to after a hard days hacking in the Chittagong press box. Its a five-minute wander from my digs at the Asian SR Hotel, through a fog of exhaust fumes from the endlessly revving engines of Chittagongs Bus Depot (from which you will be whisked on a ten-hour, 20 taka trip back to Dhaka if you drop your guard for so much as a moment), and then round the corner by the partially collapsed buildding on the left of the road as you approach the roundabout.ddddddddddddIf you blink, you miss the turn-off, because immediately youre plunged into darkness for 20 metres, as you totter down a muddy back-alley towards a green staircase behind an iron shutter, where a burly security guard is the only clue as to the riches that lie within. But a smart salute (and occasionally a palmful of baksheesh) earns you the right to ascend to the second floor, where a cavernous and unlit restaurant marks the gold at the end of the rainbow.Its not a lot to look at, but then Bangladeshi bars dont really go in for frills. Strictly speaking, alcohol is frowned upon in these parts, but frankly, given the run-ins the country has had with religion in the past, no-one actually gives two hoots any more. Certainly not the landlords, when they can rake in 140 Takas (￡1.40) for a coke-sized can of Hunters, whose blue, red and gold emblem looks suspiciously similar to a certain well-known Aussie lager.It may be a seedy setting, but its a distinctly up-market clientele (and given that each beer costs more than the countrys average daily income, thats not exactly surprising). A large fish tank behind the bar is the only designated source of light, although with satellite TV showing everything from Bollywood to the Premier League, the venue flickers with a cinema-like glow.Except of course, when one of Chittagongs regular power-cuts kicks in. But as and when that happens, the conversation carries on without so much as a beat being skipped. As if an announcement had gone out that the 17.32 to Paddington has been delayed by approximately 40 minutes. And we apologise for the inconvenience it may cause. ' ' '