victory over the Washington Wizards on Saturday night.Well, this is it. After eight

NELSPRUIT, South Africa - Goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene saved one spot kick at the African Cup of Nations, saw another hit the post and scored one himself but defending champion Zambia could still pay the penalty if its luck finally runs out. Discount Ray Ban Sunglasses Aviator . Zambia must beat Burkina Faso in its final Group C game on Tuesday to guarantee a place in the quarterfinals after drawing 1-1 with both Ethiopia and Nigeria. Burkina Faso currently leads the group with four points following its 4-0 thrashing of Ethiopia on Friday, while Zambia and Nigeria each have two points. Zambias position would be even worse without Mweene, whose penalty-saving prowess came to prominence during Zambias successful campaign in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea last year. Mweene kept out a penalty from Ghanas Asamoah Gyan in the semifinal, before saving one spot kick and scoring another in a dramatic shootout in the final against tournament favourite Ivory Coast. His reputation has travelled to South Africa, where Ethiopias Salahdin Said saw his penalty saved and Nigerias John Obi Mikel struck the outside of the post after Mweene had dived in the right direction. Mweene made another critical contribution later in the match against Nigeria when he stepped up to convert a spot kick five minutes from time and earn Zambia a crucial point. "Even when Im at my club I always train hard at penalties, and when we finish training with the national team I do extra training on them," he said. "So its something that I always work on. "As a keeper you have to keep your shape, be intelligent, and see how the attacker juggles his feet, how he positions himself, the angles, and how he runs up to take it." Zambia was fortunate to be awarded the penalty by Egyptian referee Ghead Grisha for a foul by Nigerias Ogenyi Onazi. The decision, which drew heavy criticism from Nigerias captain Vincent Enyeama and coach Stephen Keshi, kept Zambias hopes of defending its title alive. "Im happy with the result because of the circumstances," Zambia coach Herve Renard said. "Dont forget we had the Super Eagles in front of us and in 2012 they did not lose one game. We are still alive and we are still in a good way to qualify." Renard was speaking to reporters prior to Group Cs second game of the day, and his assessment might have changed after watching Burkina Faso inflict a heavy defeat on Ethiopia despite having goalkeeper Abdoulaye Soulama sent off with half an hour to play. Although it was Burkina Fasos first victory at the African Cup of Nations since it hosted the tournament in 1998, it confirmed that Zambia faces a tricky opponent in its final group game. Discount Ray Ban . The roster includes four goaltenders, 12 defencemen and 24 forwards. The camp will take place August 3-6 at the MasterCard Centre in Toronto. The players, born in 1995 and 1996, were selected by Hockey Canada head scout Kevin Prendergast, in consultation with head coach Todd Gill and assistant coaches Yanick Jean and Scott Walker. Discount Ray Ban Sunglasses . Belinelli returned to his role as a reserve and led the Bulls with 17 points in an 87-77 victory over the Washington Wizards on Saturday night.Well, this is it. After eight exhibition games and 72 regular season games, the three-week playoff round begins on Sunday and ends with the Grey Cup on November 25. A football season definitely has different blocks of time with a different purpose to each. When training camp began back in June, you were trying to build your team by picking all the right players to be on your team. Depending on how your coach wants to run training camp, it can be the longest three weeks of the season as youre either trying to take someones job or protect your own. Everyday is pretty much the same in every way and has a competitive intensity to it that I have never experienced in any other aspect of life. Football training camp is not fun. It is tough, intimidating and filled with tension and stress. The next block of time is regular season football: Games 1-18 over 19 weeks. In the beginning, football is fun. The optimism of trying to have a great season both as an individual player and team is felt throughout. Then as Game 1 turns into Game 3 and that into Game 6, what was fun has become a grind. I always thought the toughest month was August because the playoffs look so far in the future, and the best month was October because the playoffs are so closee. Discount Ray Ban Sunglasses For Women. If you started all 18 games and played in all the plays, congratulations; that is a major accomplishment of toughness and durability. Even though the regular season is over in a little over four months, it seems like it goes on forever. I have never known a player that was not happy to be moving on to what every player desires; playoff football. And in this block of time lasting three weeks, whether you are the sixth-best team or the best, an opportunity to win it all is right there for the taking. What most remember about playoff football is the seriousness of it through the week. Players do care about winning and I always remember that in clear detail. The meetings were very quiet, very focused and the practices were back like training camp with everyone fighting for a job . And I remember the cab ride to the stadium, and being in the locker room and how everyone was so ready to go mentally, physically and emotionally. There really is nothing like playoff football because you realize that this is it. After all that work over each block of time, it now comes down to three weeks and the results either make the season a good one or a difficult one. Of all the weeks of football, these are the best ones. ' ' '