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This story appears in ESPN The Magazines September 19 NFL Preview II Issue. Subscribe today!AFTER A 12-YEAR hiatus, the World Cup returns for Round 3 on Sept. 17 in Toronto, with eight teams vying for global bragging rights, including the new continent-spanning Team Europe and Team North America, with 23-and-unders from the U.S. and Canada. Who will win? For that, we used the goals versus threshold (GVT)* metric -- think WAR -- to rank each roster. Then we sought out ESPNs mullet man himself, Barry Melrose, to pinpoint each teams X-factor player. Spoiler alert: The Canadians appear to be good at hockey.1. CANADAJust how good is Canada? The likes of Taylor Hall and P.K. Subban (who both posted north of 50 points in the NHL last season) didnt make the cut. Despite the scratch of the Stars Jamie Benn, forwards on this roster recorded an average of 65 points last season -- seven more than the U.S. team, the next-highest group. All seven defensemen averaged over 23 minutes per game, and Carey Price, the 2014-15 NHL MVP, will man the net. Giving Sidney Crosby and the Canadians home-ice advantage to defend the teams 2004 title almost feels unfair.MELROSE X-FACTOR: LW BRAD MARCHAND I think Marchand is a real lightning rod for Canada. If theyre a little flat, he will go out, run into somebody, get somebody mad and get Canada fired up.2. UNITED STATESFor those whove forgotten, the U.S. did win the first World Cup back in 96. And if Patrick Kane (46 goals for the Blackhawks) & Co. can give Team USAs trio of goaltenders (Jonathan Quick, Cory Schneider and Ben Bishop, who combined for a .923 save percentage) enough goal support, it has a shot this time too. The U.S. can grind down opponents with centers Ryan Kesler and David Backes in front of the net, creating opportunities for playmakers such as Kane, Zach Parise and T.J. Oshie. The test for the U.S. comes early: a faceoff with Canada in the preliminary round on Sept. 20.MELROSE X-FACTOR: LW JAMES VAN RIEMSDYK JVR is a 6-foot-3 forward with skill. The Americans need a big forward to have a successful tournament, and he is a bit of a wild card. A real pivotal player.3. SWE?DENThe Swedish roster combines experienced vets in forward Loui Eriksson, center Nicklas Backstrom and Canucks twins Daniel and Henrik Sedin with youth in the form of defenseman Victor Hedman and forward Filip Forsberg. The Swedes play a fast finesse game and can move the puck up ice in a hurry -- their defenders averaged 33 assists in the NHL last season, more than the average for any other team. Sweden has ten 20-goal scorers, which should provide plenty of cover for goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who holds a .923 save percentage over the past five seasons.MELROSE X-FACTOR: LW GABRIEL LANDESKOG I think its time for these young Swedes to take over up front, and Landeskog is one of those guys. Hes obviously a leader -- Colorado made him the captain very young.4. RUSSIAWhat to expect from Russia? Fast, physical, powerful -- just like its best player, left winger Alex Ovechkin, who netted 50 goals for the Caps last season. Russias forward group -- led by Ovi, St. Louis Vladimir Tarasenko, Pavel Datsyuk and Chicagos Artemi Panarin -- averaged 0.33 goals per game last season, third best of the eight teams. But will that be enough to counter shortcomings on the defensive side? The defense lacks a true game breaker, and none of Russias three goalies bettered a 2.75 goals-against average last season.MELROSE X-FACTOR: RW VLADIMIR TARASENKO Every year Tarasenko is a dominant player -- one of the top point getters, runs the power play. I think its time for him to show people how good he is on the big stage.5. NORTH AMERICAIts unfair to criticize this squad for being young. It literally exists for that reason. Still, the roster has just a combined 240 games of playoff experience, and six of the players have yet to skate in a playoff game. Break out the Baby Bjorns! Then again, whats age when youve got skill in the trio of phenoms Connor McDavid, Jack Eichel and Auston Matthews and the size of Seth Jones (6-4) and Colton Parayko (6-6) on defense? Also, the goaltending situation cleared up this spring with Matt Murrays Stanley Cup heroics for the Pens. Dont sleep on the JV team.MELROSE X-FACTOR: LW BRANDON SAAD The vast majority of this roster hasnt played significant minutes in big games -- Brandon Saad has. The more important he becomes in the lineup, the better he plays.6. EUROPEEurope falls into the dreaded Group A with the U.S. and Canada -- which would be great if this were a U.N. cocktail party and not, you know, ?a winner-take-all hockey tournament. Europes bigger problem? This is the oldest squad at the World Cup, with an average age of 30. The team will lean on the two-way play of center Anze Kopitar (plus-34) and scoring of winger Mats Zuccarello (26 goals). But the key will be picking the goalie, as the Islanders Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss are both capable of winning games -- but also capable of blowing them.MELROSE X-FACTOR: D ROMAN JOSI Josi is going to be on the ice against every other teams best player. Hes going to see a ton of tough minutes, plus kill penalties and play the power play.7. CZECH REPUBLICThe good news? Forward Roman Cervenka, a late injury replacement for David Krejci, scored 23 goals last season in the Czech Extraliga, the most of anyone on the Czech roster. The bad news? Ten players on Team Canada and seven on Team USA surpassed that tally. The Czech Republic will need wingers Jakub Voracek and Ondrej Palat (55 and 40 points, respectively, last season) to take over games and goalie Petr Mrazek to play like he did in the first half of last season for Detroit (.932 save percentage before the All-Star break, .899 after). Defense is another story: The Czechs lack anyone who played at least 23 minutes per game last year.MELROSE X-FACTOR: RW DAVID PASTRNAK With his speed and shooting ability, Pastrnak can get open. Hes got a lot of experience for a guy at his age and could really become a star of that Czech team.8. FINLANDPatrik Laine checks in as the youngest player in the tournament, but the 18-year-old might have to put the Finns on his back at the World Cup. Laine, who scored 17 goals in Liiga last season, joins only one NHL 20-goal scorer on the roster, the Panthers Aleksander Barkov. On the other end of the ice, Olli Maatta and Sami Vatanen will have to be ready for big minutes on defense, and Tuukka Rask, who led Finland to a bronze medal in the 2014 Olympics, will have ?to rebound in net from a poor NHL campaign by his standards (2.56 GAA for Boston).MELROSE X-FACTOR: C MIKKO KOIVU Koivu has size, skating ability and a hockey pedigree but always leaves me wanting more out of him. I still think hes the most talented forward on that team.*Goals versus threshold (GVT) is calculated based on a three-year weighted average of the goal differential for each player on each roster compared with a replacement-level NHLer and then adjusted to likely ice time in the World Cup. Courtesy of Hockey Abstract and Hockey Prospectus.Air Max In Offerta . "Theyve both been real good," said Babcock. "Havent changed our minds." A decision has seemingly been made - Sundays Group B-deciding tilt against Finland ahead - but it could not have been an easy one. Price opened the tournament with a sturdy 19-save performance against the Norwegians, yielding just one goal. Scarpe Scontate Online . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. https://www.scontatescarpeoutlet.it/scontate-air-max-95-outlet-c3066.html . It just didnt show when he hit the ice. Berra made 42 saves and Kris Russell scored at 1:32 of overtime, lifting the Calgary Flames to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday night. Air Max 90 False .5 million, one-year contract on Friday. Hawkins, who turns 41 in December, will compete with Rex Brothers for the closers role at spring training. Air Max 90 Italia . The team says the Spain international has a muscle pull in his right leg. Barcelona hosts third-division side Cartagena in the return leg of their round-of-32 tie after winning their first meeting 4-1.RIO DE JANEIRO -- From a battery of surveillance cameras to extra security guards, Olympic officials have taken a series of measures inside Rios doping lab to prevent a repeat of the manipulation of samples that sabotaged the drug-testing system at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games.Dr. Richard Budgett, the International Olympic Committees medical director, said Monday that officials are very confident the increased security will protect the thousands of urine and blood samples being stored and tested at the laboratory for the Rio de Janeiro Games.We take it extremely seriously, Budgett said. We are making sure everything is being done so that the integrity of those samples is maintained.The additional measures were implemented following the scandal over state-sponsored doping in Russia, including evidence that tainted samples were swapped out for clean ones during the Sochi Games. A report by World Anti-Doping Agency investigator Richard McLaren found that samples of Russian athletes were passed through a concealed hole in the wall during the middle of the night in Sochi, with the help of Russian intelligence officers.The Sochi sample swapping was part of a systematic program of doping and cover-ups overseen by Russias sports ministry that also extended to dozens of summer and winter Olympic sports, according to McLarens report.All of us fighting for the clean athletes were deeply shocked by the McLaren report and felt betrayed in many ways, Budgett said. We are doing everything we can do to make sure it doesnt happen again.Samples in Rio are being transported directly from the doping control stations at the venues to the lab, where they are being opened without delay for analysis, a process that Budgett said reduces and probably eliminates the possibility of tampering with the samples.Budgett said a huge security presence involving national guard and private security officers is in place, along with an extensive network of surveillance cameras.I will get the footage personally of the surveillance camera pointing at the door of the freezer where the samples are kept, he said. That will be a months worth of footage of surveillance of the freezer.A guard is posted round-the-clock in front of the freezer to check everyone who enters the area to take out samples. Technicians must enter two at a time. A large number of international expertss, including four doping lab directors and WADA observers, are on site, sometimes staying all night, Budgett said.ddddddddddddThe whole thing is very carefully controlled, Budgett said. There will be forensic examination of samples as well to make sure there has been no tampering.In addition, officials are using new doping control kits that should be tamper proof, he said. McLarens report found that Russians were able to open the doping containers to change the samples.McLarens report -- which was based largely on testimony from former Russian anti-doping lab director Grigory Rodchenkov -- prompted calls for Russia to be banned entirely from the Rio Games. The IOC instead allowed international federations determine which individual Russian athletes met the criteria to compete.Of course, we look at ourselves and wonder how we could have done better in Sochi, Budgett said. At the time we thought we had great expertise in place, but when you have a director of a lab involved in that way, clearly that is a challenge. Lessons have been learned.As with other games, the IOC will store Rio doping samples for 10 years so they can be retested when improved techniques become available. More than 4,000 samples are being collected in Rio.The message to all cheats is, `Beware, you will be caught eventually, Budgett said.No further positive cases have been recorded in the final two rounds of retesting of stored samples from the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2012 London Games, Budgett said. A total of 98 athletes tested positive in the first two waves of reanalysis. Six athletes have been formally disqualified and stripped of medals so far.Budgett also said a verified test for gene doping should be ready in a matter of months rather than years.A new test has been developed in Australia to detect if cheats are injecting synthetic genes which cause the body to produce more of the naturally-occurring hormone EPO, which in turn boosts the bodys ability to carry more oxygen in its blood.The new procedure, when approved by WADA, will be used to test samples from the Rio Olympics after the games.---Follow Stephen Wilson on Twitter: www.twitter.com/stevewilsonap. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/stephen-wilson ' ' '