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ZURICH - Top female players have taken a protest against artificial turf at the World Cup in Canada to FIFA secretary general Jerome Valcke, though with little hope of success. Wholesake Fake Air Jordan 1 .American forward Abby Wambach and Germany midfielder Nadine Kessler met a FIFA delegation Monday ahead of the womens top player award announcement at the Ballon dOr ceremony.Wambach said at the players official FIFA news conference that they talked openly, candidly with Valcke, but did not expect natural grass pitches to be approved ahead of the June 6 kickoff.I think FIFA has made their decision and they are sticking to it, the 2012 FIFA player of the year said. The powers that be, the logistics, the timing — it just may not happen.Its tough because as female athletes we want to be treated equal and we want to be playing on grass, Wambach said.Wambach and Brazil forward Marta, the third candidate for the 2014 player award, have supported an anti-discrimination action filed in the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario.A lawyer for the rebel faction of women said a counter-proposal was also made to FIFA — that the 2015 Canadian tournament be played on artificial grass until the semifinals, third-place and final matches.The proposal calls for temporary natural grass surfaces to be installed at Olympic Stadium in Montreal, Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton and B.C. Place Stadium in Vancouver for those four games.Lawyer Hampton Dellinger said FIFA had apparently wasted little time rejecting a proposal that would have settled the dispute. The battle over the use of plastic pitches at the womens World Cup can easily and quickly come to a peaceful resolution, he said in a statement. All FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association need to do is accept the players feasible, affordable, and more than fair deal. FIFA and CSA have no legitimate excuse to reject the players proposal and, if they have, I urge them to reconsider.However, Wambach suggested an effective campaign by womens players would have needed to start sooner and with players included in FIFAs decision-making.If we had better dialogue over a year ago, two years ago when these decisions were really being made maybe we could have put together a coalition sooner to fight this, she said.FIFA spokesman Nicolas Maingot said Valcke had promised, at the meeting, to include players more in future discussions.Protests by players now seem unlikely to be a distraction at the month-long 24-team tournament, being played in Moncton, Ottawa, Montreal, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver.We are not going to get into the World Cup environment and continue to talk about it, Wambach said. That is something that will take our attention away from what our real goal is, and that is raising the trophy at the end.FIFA has insisted artificial turf does not affect the quality of play or increase the risk of players sustaining leg injuries.Wambach challenged that view Monday.I know Im going to be a heck of a lot more sore after the tournament, thats for sure, said the 34-year-old Wambach, who has played in three World Cups and has to yet to win the trophy.It is sad because it will be my last World Cup and I really, really would love it to be on grass.---With files from The Canadian Press in Toronto. Replica Shoes . Showing more spark after not taking enough challenging shots on goal in their 1-0 loss Friday night, the Bruins had 18 shots in the first period after managing just 25 in the entire opener. Luke Glendening cut Bostons lead to 2-1 at 13:20 of the second period before Milan Lucic scored late in the second and Zdeno Chara added a power-play goal early in the third. Wholesake Fake Nike Air Force 1 . The former Edmonton Oilers defenceman was with the St. Louis Blues in training camp on a professional tryout. Whitney, 30, had four goals and 13 points in 34 games with the Oilers last season. https://www.fakeshoes.net/ .28 for a combined time of 1:14.70, also an Olympic record. Lee won the gold medal, defending her title from the Vancouver Games.OKLAHOMA CITY - If the Toronto Raptors can play at home the way theyve been playing on the road, they might just remain atop the Atlantic Division for a while. Kyle Lowry scored 22 points, making a pair of clinching free throws with 9.8 seconds left, and the Raptors handed the Oklahoma City Thunder their first home loss with a 104-98 victory on Sunday night. The Raptors outscored Oklahoma City 6-0 in the final 1:25, all on free throws, and ended the Thunders nine-game winning streak. Oklahoma City had been 13-0 at home, the NBAs longest unbeaten stretch to open a season since the Cleveland Cavaliers won their first 23 home games during the 2007-08 season. Amir Johnson had 17 points and 13 assists for Toronto, which won its fourth straight road game, its longest such streak since March-April 2002. Oklahoma City lost for the first time since Dec. 4 at Portland. Toronto coach Dwane Casey called the win, which moved the Raptors past Boston into first place in the Atlantic, his teams biggest of the season. Torontos road streak began with a victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Dec. 8 and the Raptors added wins at Chicago and Dallas before beating the Thunder. "Its one of those mysteries we have, of our focus on the road," Casey said. "Were a different team. I see it in our eyes before the game." Russell Westbrook scored 27 points and Kevin Durant added 24 for Oklahoma City, which missed its final four shots. Veteran forward John Salmons, who scored 14 points and hit the go-ahead free throws for Toronto, said winning on the road "just shows our mental toughness as a unit. . Sometimes its fun to play on the road, because its just us against everybody else." Toronto will play at San Antonio on Monday. Oklahoma City surged ahead with a 24-4 run during the third quarter that gave the Thunder an 82-71 lead. Toronto regained the lead in the fourth before a 3-pointer by Durant tied the game, but Salmons hit two free throws with 1:25 left to put Toronto up 100-98. The Thunders next two possessions ended in a missed 3-point attempt by Reggie Jackson and a block by Valanciunas on a layup attempt by Westbrook, with Toronto winning the scramble for the loose ball. Johnson hit two free throws with 14.5 seconds left to extend Torrontos lead to 102-98. Cheap Fake Shoes. Durant missed a 3-point attempt and Lowry rebounded before hitting the Raptors final two free throws. "Its the NBA," Casey said. "It happens. Theyre one of the best defensive teams in the league. We knew they were going to come out in the third quarter with their best effort, which they did. We sustained it and took the punch." Oklahoma City, which entered the game second in the NBA in free throw shooting at 81.8 per cent, went 35 of 36 (97.2 per cent). But the Thunder shot 37 per cent from the field and scored a season-low 14 points in the fourth quarter. Durant finished 5 of 16 from the field and committed six of the Thunders 19 turnovers. "Losses happen in this league," Durant said. "They beat us fair and square, you know? We missed some shots, too. I think our defence was good. They got some shots late in the fourth quarter that helped them a little bit but I think our defence was good. We were swarming them and they hit some tough ones, too, but we missed some good looks." The Thunder, who have won 17 of their last 19 games, were coming off a win at San Antonio on Saturday night. Asked if the Thunder lacked energy down the stretch, Durant answered, "Nah." Toronto went 7 of 14 from 3-point range and scored on its final nine possessions of the first half, turning a five-point deficit into a 62-56 halftime lead. The 62 points were the second-most surrendered in the first half this season by Oklahoma City. Oklahoma City clamped down on defence in the third quarter, allowing the Raptors only 13 points, matching their season low for a quarter. DeMar DeRozan added 17 points for Toronto and Valanciunas had 13. Notes: Durant was called for a technical foul, his third of the season, while on the bench in the second quarter. Durant protested after a scramble for a loose ball between Oklahoma Citys Nick Collison and Torontos Valanciunas. Ironically, Valanciunas was called for a personal foul on the play that Durant protested . Toronto is 7-6 on the road. Its been since Feb. 25, 2008, that the Raptors have been above .500 on the road this late in the season . Thunder C Steven Adams picked up three fouls during a two-minute stint in the first quarter. ' ' '