"Clint, Tim?" "Hello Mr. President, hows it going?" The US World Cup campaign formally ended Wednesday with a cosy two minute chat on the phone between the President, the captain and Americas latest superhero. The team might not have scaled 2002s quarterfinal heights, but they leave Brazil with something not even Qatari petrodollars could buy. They have changed the conversation with how old football perceives soccers new frontier. No one connected with the United States Soccer Federation could have dreamt that. Or for that matter Major League Soccer. Especially when you factor in they were drawn in a group with a nation thats made it through to 15 straight quarterfinal appearances, another still smarting from how extremely close they got in 2010 to finally become Africas first ever semi-finalist and Ronaldo who proved in the playoffs one player could indeed carry a nation. How very American of him. Bookies in London had the US at even money to finish bottom of the group. Defy those odds they certainly would. It was one thing to target victory in their opening fixture and quite another, the manner in which they achieved it. Ghana should have been home and dry well before John Brooks Jr. popped up on the edge of the six-yard line in the 86th minute. Then to discover afterwards Brooks had disclosed to a couple of team mates on the eve of the match he dreamt hed score the winner was that Hollywood moment all of America could relate to - underlined by a visit to the victorious locker room by none other than Vice President Joe Biden. On to the Amazon Rainforest and that much anticipated date with Ronaldo was next on the agenda. The drama that unfolded that particular prime time Sunday evening was watched by over 25 million. To put that into a clearer sporting perspective last falls World Series averaged just a shade over 15 million whilst the NBA Finals averaged 15.5 million. Speaking to the beautiful games growing stateside support that 25 million viewing audience represents a 20 per cent leap on the number which watched the US v England match at South Africa 2010. Going into the tournament it was well established that outside of Brazilians, the US was the second largest ticket buying nation with close to 200,000 tickets purchased from US Zip codes. What that figure didnt tell us was what percentage of those 196,000 were immigrants who would be in Brazil to cheer on their nation of birth. That question was answered by the pictures we witnessed on match day and did not go un-noticed by the English media in attendance for US games. Back home in the living rooms and pubs in cities right across the US it reinforced the message of soccers growing appeal and allure. Come Tuesdays round of 16-match against Belgium viewing parties stretched right across the MLS landscape. Fabled NFL stadiums Soldier Field and Cowboys Stadium drew crowds of 25,000 and 20,000 respectively. As Barrack Obama and his 200 strong staff settled in to watch the game at a White House viewing party workers across the country went on a collective dental appointment which according to Yahoo Finance would cost the US economy over $700 million. These types of things were only supposed to happen in Asia, Europe or South America. With the USs World Cup over, as MLS players return to their clubs and European based players finally get their delayed vacations now comes the hard work to ensure those part time fans become connected to soccer year round. Just because someone will willingly don the stars and stripes in support of their nation doesnt mean theyll automatically transfer that emotional connection to Major League Soccer. Certainly as in previous World Cup cycles MLS and its clubs will register an uptick at the box office and the merchandise store. This will be especially so for the clubs who had players who featured in Brazil. A nice problem MLS faces will be keeping hold of the players whose stars shone in Brazil. An entirely different one stems from yesterdays France v Germany quarterfinal. Listening into ESPN Radio a tweet was read out from a listener saying, "Im enjoying your commentary whilst spraying my corn in Alabama. Last time I checked Alabama doesnt have an MLS franchise, and yet here was a soccer diehard listening on the radio whilst working on a Friday afternoon. The defining image for me of the US World Cup wasnt a Tim Howard save, Demspeys or Julian Greens goals. Or even Jürgen Klinsmann berating the fourth official in his best Anglo-Saxon when only one minute was added to the end of extra time in the Belgium game. Instead it came from the twitter account of Major League Baseball. "Looks like @ussoccer is the only thing that matters right now," was accompanied with various images from MLB Stadiums of players watching the big screens as they took in the action of the US v Belgium during batting practice ahead of that evenings MLB games. Bill Clintons Soccer Mom has evolved into Barrack Obamas Soccer Sophisticats. Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca @TheSoccerNoel TSN Radio is an official licensed radio broadcaster of the 2014 FIFA World Cup™ Brazil. Check www.tsn.ca/radio for the broadcast schedule in your home town. Cheap Cleveland Browns Jerseys . "After consultation with the Team USA medical staff and officials, it was determined that he should return to Winnipeg as a precaution due to his previous injury history," Jets general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff said Wednesday in a statement. Cheap Browns Jerseys Authentic . Scotlands Greg Laidlaw made one of two penalty kicks and all three conversions, and Stuart Hogg added a try in the second half. "The most important thing to come out of the game is that we did not get scored against," Laidlaw said. http://www.cheapbrownsjerseysauthentic.com/?tag=authentic-joe-thomas-jersey . Jones, from Winnipeg, built a 3-0 advantage after three ends by scoring two in the second and one in the third. Chinas skip Bingyu Wang cut that lead to 3-1 in the fourth before Canada added another three in the fifth for a 6-1 lead. Jim Brown Jersey . -- The Windsor Spitfires were left with just one goaltender Tuesday after having their starter walk out on them midway through Game 3 of their Ontario Hockey League playoff matchup with the London Knights. Cheap Browns Jerseys . Nix is a career .218 hitter in 425 games over six seasons. The 31-year-old right-handed hitter batted .270 with a homer this spring for Tampa Bay.Bronx, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - The New York Yankees made their first major move on this offseasons free agent market, signing coveted reliever Andrew Miller to a four-year contract. The YES Network reported the deal to be worth $36 million for the left-hander, who is coming off a dominant 2014 season with the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles. Miller posted a 2.02 earned run average and racked up a career-best 103 strikeouts in 62 1/3 innings last season. He also proved to be more than simply a lefty specialist, limiting right-handed hitters to a .145 average and southpaws to a .163 clip over 73 regular-season appearances. The 29-year-olds addition likely reduces New Yorks chances of bringing back closer David Robertson, also a free agent. Miller could form a potentially devastating one-two punch with hard-throwing righty Dellin Betances at the back end of the Yankee bullpen, with Betances the favorite to slot into Robertsons ninth-inning role. Miller played in a key role in Bostons march too the 2013 World Series title, producing a 2.dddddddddddd.64 ERA with 48 strikeouts in 30 2/3 innings over 37 appearances that season. He was traded to the Orioles on July 31 after the Red Sox fell out of this past years playoff race, posting a 1.35 ERA in 23 regular season games with Baltimore before firing 7 1/3 shutout innings in the AL playoffs. Originally a starting pitcher, Miller was permanently moved to the bullpen by the Red Sox in 2012. The former first-round pick owns a 2.57 ERA in 163 appearances over the last three seasons, striking out 202 batters in 133 1/3 innings and yielding a .181 average over that span. Miller broke into the majors as a 21-year-old with Detroit in 2006. He was traded to the Marlins as part of the deal that sent two-time AL MVP Miguel Cabrera to the Tigers prior to the 2008 season, then was acquired by Boston from Florida after the 2010 campaign. Over 259 career games, 66 of which have been starts, Miller has compiled a 30-38 record with a 4.91 ERA. 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