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His 2014 World Cup lasted 50 days. Trent Taylor Super Bowl Jersey . Thats how long Michael Bradley was away from Toronto FC while with the United States team. For millions around the globe, the midfielders World Cup was simply four games of ninety minutes plus 30 minutes of extra time against Belgium. 390 minutes. Six and a half hours. Bradley sees it very differently. The games, of course, are the true high points from the experience, but six and a half hours out of fifty days meant that Bradley and his teammates spent less than one per cent of their World Cup experience by playing in a match. In a sit-down interview with TSN.ca this week, Bradley nods his head when he is told that 2010 World Cup winning coach Vicente Del Bosque talked about how important is was to not have one single issue between his 23 players during their run to becoming World Champions in South Africa. A conversation about the mental side of the game is one the 26-year-old American is very comfortable with. He chooses his words carefully but delivers them in a calming manner, with authority. “World Cups are very interesting in the way they test you. As a player and a team. For all the hype, the build-up, everything that goes on beforehand, the wait of four years, then the draw six months before, the stage is set for so long, but then the club season ends, players leave their MLS squads, and every team has a two-, three-week window to really prepare.” Bradley, who emphasizes the word really, is clear in his belief about how important that time is. He continues: “Regardless of how club seasons went, or are going, regardless of how qualifying went, whether you were the first team in or through a playoff, everyone gets that same, small window to prepare the best possible way. “As a team we talked beforehand about understanding what it was all going to be about. It is a big country so travel plays a huge role, the heat, humidity, even just it being in Brazil. As special as it is, you knew not everything would run properly. We prepared for travel delays, we knew things in hotels wouldnt be perfect so we talked about making sure we understood that, making sure we embraced that challenge. “I think we saw some big teams go home early because they werent able to deal with a combination of these factors. A team like Italy, for example, they lose against Costa Rica and Uruguay and, at the end of it, still have a lot to say about the heat." Bradley, a man who will always smile when talking about his Serie A experiences in Verona and Rome, loves Italy and called his son Luca, but it is clear he has no time for excuses at this level. As he reflects on his World Cup experiences the discussion keeps going back to mental toughness and preparation. Such characteristics bring him to his coach, Jurgen Klinsmann. “Jurgen brings an energy, an enthusiasm that is infectious. Thats so important as you go through a period like this, when you are together for six, seven, eight weeks. “Inevitably, certain guys hit the wall at a certain point. Some guys are away from their families for a long time, the monotony of the days, its always the case that guys need a push. I thought in those ways Jurgen did an incredible job.” Son of former USA coach Bob Bradley, it is not hard to see why Michael thinks like a coach and clearly he played a huge role in helping Klinsmann dictate such an atmosphere inside the camp. He doesnt talk much about himself, instead, once again, preferring to share the value in the mental side of the squad during each challenge it faced. “The first game comes quick, and depending how that first game goes you can be in a good spot or right away you have to deal with adversity or pressure after it didnt go the way you wanted. Each checkpoint along the way, depending on how the result goes, can really change the mood. So it is so important that you have a team that is strong, that has been tested together. If you show up to the World Cup and all you have is excitement but everything else is superficial and there isnt a real leader or personality on the team, or a real sense of commitment and togetherness, then the reality is that first sign of trouble is going to be a real test.” Bradleys intelligence and awareness on the field is all to see but spend any time with him off it and you could argue both attributes are even more glaring away from the pitch. Such things have led to his club coaches saying how he keeps them on his toes. It was clear, however, that he was impressed with Klinsmanns leadership qualities. “He found a balance between being positive, encouraging and giving the team confidence but still letting us know that there is still more for us. “Hed say, for example, ‘look we got out of the group but there is more we can do better. Obviously, it didnt work out that way but the way that things were taken care of within the team, the atmosphere, the commitment, the mentality of the team, was very good and I think that came out throughout the tournament. “For the most part, the teams that do well in World Cups are the ones that are able to have a group that is committed in winning, to stick with each other through it all, until the end.” This brings us to Germany, a team Bradley played in Brazil and a team he watched when he returned home. Despite getting knocked out, he admits he loves the game and has watched every match. He will be home on Sunday to take in the final. “Germany is a very good team, a group of guys who have been together for a very long time, and reap the benefits of having the core of their team play 60, 70 games together at Bayern Munich. I also think when a guy like Pep Guardiola goes to Bayern with some of the ideas and concepts he brings then you start to see it in the national team.” As they get ready for a World Cup final, Bradley isnt surprised at all they have got this far but knew they werent anywhere near the team they are today, when USA faced Germany back on June 26. “In terms of pure possession, circulating the ball, the angles, movement, how one guy comes into space and the next guy moves out, so they can keep the ball … I thought they were very good. But, they werent always finding the right ways to transition that into the final third to be a little more dangerous, to shoot, create a chance. Obviously they had a lot of the ball, their rhythm with the ball, the ease that all their players have in taking the ball in tight spots and playing with it is so good. However, looking back, on the day, it wasnt like they were just creating chance after chance like they did at such a high level against Brazil.” Germanys ability to be more clinical and precise in the final third has certainly improved dramatically since then. Bradley, who can play deeper inside a double pivot as well as in more of an advanced role inside a central midfield three, is perfectly placed to talk about where modern day football is going and the emphasis on counter-attacks and transitions. “Players are so athletic now, the demands on a physical level are so high. So, as teams continue to get better, stronger, fitter, faster it means that some of the best teams are at their most dangerous when the other team has the ball. They are organized, difficult to break down, but in the right moments they know how to press, and when they win the ball back they know how and where to go and go quickly, using their mobility and dynamic abilities to create goalscoring opportunities." Bradleys experience officially ended when he landed home with his wife Amanda and son Luca into Toronto on July 3, but he wont forget how it all ended against Belgium in a pulsating extra time in Salvador and the sudden finality of what comes next. “Its a weird thing, for almost two months you are in this mindset of World Cup and everything that means. Set mealtimes, training, treatment, meetings, games, recovery, all of these essential things and that is how it is right until the end and then that final whistle blows. “You are out and it is amazing how quickly everything changes, guys are on flights the very next morning and everyone is off going their own separate ways. Its disappointing and that can take a little while to go away.” His competitive spirit means such an emotion will take time to leave him but that didnt prevent him from a moment of reflection. “In the big moments, on the pitch, even when things werent going our way, we still had a resolve and determination that came out in a big way and every player, coach and person on that staff should be proud of that.” It is not hard to see why the mental side of the game is so important for Michael Bradley. Nick Bosa Super Bowl Jersey . Ibrahimovic put PSG ahead when he got in front of his marker to neatly flick in Lucass cross in the 59th minute. New signing Yohan Cabaye came on as a second-half substitute and headed Ezequiel Lavezzis cross against the post in the 87th. Moments later, Lucas set up another goal from the right when fellow countryman Alex turned in his corner with a strikers finish. Nick Mullens Super Bowl Jersey . (AP) -- The head of the committee that developed Major League Baseballs plan to expand instant replay says he is optimistic the system will be in place this season, even though owners and unions for players and umpires have yet to approve. http://www.thesf49ersshoponline.com/Youth-Matt-Breida-49ers-Jersey/ . Cammalleri suffered a concussion in the Flames 2-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. The 31-year-old forward did not travel with the team to Carolina. SAN ANTONIO -- Steven Bowditch held on to win the Texas Open in windy conditions Sunday for his first PGA Tour victory and a spot in the Masters. The 30-year-old Australian bogeyed the par-5 18th for a 4-over 76 for a one-stroke victory. "Im over the moon. I really cant believe it," said Bowditch, who attempted suicide in 2006 and has fought depression throughout his career. It was the highest closing score by a winner since Vijay Singh finished with a 4-over 76 in the 2004 PGA Championship, and the highest in a non-major since Fred Couples had a 5-over 77 in the 1983 Kemper Open. Bowditch finished at 8-under 280 at TPC San Antonio and earned $1,116,000. "Every time I got out of check, looking ahead to the Masters and winning golf events and making my speeches before I was finished, I had to pull myself in check every time," said Bowditch, wearing a green shirt. "And it happened a lot today." Bowditch, based in Dallas, entered the week 339th in the world and had only two top-10 finishes in eight years on the tour. He won once on the Australasian circuit and twice on the Web.Com Tour. "Hes been a battler. Hes gone through a lot in his life," said John Senden, a fellow Australian who won the Valspar Championship two weeks ago. Senden waited about an hour after his round to shake Bowditchs hand. "That last putt wasnt his best, but to finish it off he was as coool as a cucumber really," Senden said. Garrett Celek Super Bowl Jersey. "Im proud to be his mate." Will MacKenzie and Daniel Summerhays tied for second. MacKenzie shot 70, and Summerhays had a 71. Calgarys Stephen Ames was the top Canadian. Ames shot a 74 to finish in a tie for 16th place. Chesson Hadley and Ryan Palmer missed chances to get into the Masters through the top 50 in the world ranking. Hadley, the Puerto Rico Open winner, needed at least a sixth-place finish, but closed with an 80 to tie for 56th at 5 over. Palmer needed a top-three finish and had an 82 to also tie for 56th. Bowditch played the front nine in 3-over 39, making a double bogey on the par-4 fourth. He countered a bogey on the par-3 13th with a birdie on the par-5 14th and made three pars before missing a 3-foot par putt and settling for a bogey on 18. On the par-3 16th, he got up-and-down after missing the green. He pushed his drive on the par-4 17th, hit his approach on the green and two-putted, then pulled his tee shot left on 18, recovered with a shot to the fairway and reached the green in three. "I just drew back on some experience," Bowditch said. MacKenzie made a 13-foot birdie putt on the 17th to pull within a stroke of Bowditch, but the Australian tapped in from 2 feet for his birdie at No. 14 to push the advantage back to two. Matt Kuchar and Andrew Loupe shot 75s to tie for fourth at 6-under. ' ' '