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FORTALEZA, Brazil -- Mario Balotelli was sent home from the Confederations Cup on Monday due to a strained thigh, leaving Italy without its top striker for both the semifinal vs. Wholesale Air Max 2018 Free Shipping . Spain and the final or third-place match. Having already been ruled out of Thursdays semifinal, Italy coach Cesare Prandelli decided to send Balotelli home after consulting with team physician Enrico Castellacci. "I feel like a loser leaving this way. I would have liked to stay but theres the Champions League preliminary round so Ive got to take care of myself," Balotelli said upon leaving the team hotel, referring to matches in August with AC Milan. "Anyhow my teammates will do well even without me." Balotelli injured his left quadriceps during Italys 4-2 loss to Brazil on Saturday. He has been the Azzurris most explosive player in the tournament so far, scoring the winner in a 2-1 victory over Mexico, converting a penalty in the 4-3 win over Japan and setting up a goal for Emanuele Giaccherini against Brazil. "Hes obviously very upset but theres just not enough time for him to return," Prandelli said, adding that the decision was made without any pressure from Milan. "We just used good sense." Castellacci said that Milans medical staff will take over treatment. "I checked out Balotelli this morning and, considering his condition, I dont think he will be able to recuperate before the final," Castellacci said. "Its not worth taking more risks." Balotelli is the second Italy player sent home since the Brazil match, with fullback Ignazio Abate -- who also plays for Milan -- having left Sunday with a dislocated right shoulder. Meanwhile, midfielder Andrea Pirlo, who sat out Saturdays match with Brazil due to a muscle problem, continued to train separately from the rest of the squad. "Pirlo continues to work out and were optimistic but we need to evaluate him day by day and we wont decide whether he can play until the last minute," Castellacci said. In a bit of positive news, midfielder Riccardo Montolivo has fully recuperated from a knock to the head and trained regularly Monday. Alberto Gilardino would seem to be Balotellis logical replacement if Prandelli sticks with his single-striker lineup. Or he could use several forwards such as Emanuele Giaccherini, Stephan El Shaarawy, Sebastian Giovinco, Alessio Cerci or Alessandro Diamanti. "Without Mario well have to work much more collectively so well work more on that," Prandelli said. "We have a few problems but the squad is responding well despite the difficulties." Cheap Air Max 2018 . Thats how the Ravens won when Ryan was their defensive co-ordinator from 2005-08, and that is precisely the formula Baltimore used to beat Ryans New York Jets on Sunday. Mens Air Max 2018 Grey . The 25-year-old McIlroy, who is from Northern Ireland, was eligible to play for either Ireland or Team GB when golf makes its return to the Olympics in Brazil for the first time since 1904. http://www.wholesaleairmaxsale.com/ . After seven wins in a row, they have to do it one more time to get into the playoffs. LAS VEGAS -- NASCAR announced sweeping changes to the Hall of Fame election process Thursday, including tweaks that make Bill Elliott and Mark Martin immediately eligible for enshrinement. Among the six changes: Drivers are now eligible if they have competed for 30 or more years in NASCAR or turned 55 in the calendar year before nominating day. Previously, drivers were not eligible until they had been retired for three years, so drivers can continue to compete and still reach the hall. Martin, winner of 96 races across NASCARs three national divisions, has no plans at this time to race next year after 31 seasons in the Sprint Cup Series. Elliott, winner of the 1988 Cup title, is 58 but raced as recently as 2012. Two-time NASCAR champion Terry Labonte ran in five races in 2013, but is 57 and has competed in Cup for 36 years. Other drivers immediately eligible for Hall of Fame consideration include four-time Truck Series champion Ron Hornaday Jr., who still competes at age 55, and Ken Schrader, who said last months season finale at Homestead was his final race after 30 seasons. The ballot will also include only 20 nominees, down five from the first five classes. Also, any member of the nominating committee or voting panel who appeared on the previous years ballot or current years ballot will now be recused from participation in the nominating or voting process while they are on the ballot. Ned Jarrett, Bud Moore, Junior Johnson are active Hall of Fame voters and were on the panel when they were elected. Jerry Cook is a present voter and has consistently been on the Hall of Fame ballot. Those were the only direct changes to enshrinement as NASCAR passed on forming a veterans committee or if fewer than five should be inducted each year. "We have decided that that time has not yet arrived, but we will give strong consideration to revisiting both of those propositions after the 10th class is seated," said chief communications officer Brett Jewkes. "This year well be seating the fifth class. Long story short, those are viable things. There was a lott of debate, a lot of discussion, but weve made the decision that we wont revisit those until the 10th class is seated. White Air Max 2018 On Sale. quot; NASCAR has also established the "Landmark Award for Outstanding Contributions" that will begin with the 2015 class. Potential recipients could include competitors or those working in the sport as a member of a racing organization, track facility, race team, sponsor, media partner or being a general ambassador. Landmark Award winners will remain eligible for Hall of Fame induction. Five nominees for the Landmark Award will be selected by the halls nominating committee. The winner must appear on at least 60 per cent of the ballots. Beginning next year, the nominating committee will meet in person to create its ballots for both the Hall of Fame and the Landmark Award. The committee previously submitted nominees via mail to an independent accounting firm. The nominating committee will meet Feb. 21 in Daytona. NASCAR previously announced that the reigning Sprint Cup champion will be an eligible Hall of Fame voter starting with the 2015 class. Six-time champion Jimmie Johnson will be the first active driver to cast a ballot in voting next year. All of the changes were made after NASCAR examined the election process via discussions with current panelists. "A couple things we learned through this process is that our process right now is incredibly strong and comparable to other sports halls of fame," Jewkes said. "We feel very strongly about the strength of our process, and thats been borne out in the fact that we have five classes that we think are an exceptional reflection of the history of the sport. What came out of this process, it really magnified the caution we should take in comparing ourselves to other sports halls of fame. "Bottom line is our sport is very unique, the industry is very unique, the structure of our ownership and competition and the feeder series and everything in our sport is very, very unique, and therefore our process will always be a little bit unique." ' ' '