TORONTO - Players on the U. Dwayne Washington Jersey .S. mens soccer team have thrown their support behind the women fighting against artificial turf at the 2015 Womens World Cup.The U.S. National Soccer Team Players Association issued a statement Monday saying its members fully support the womens national team players from around the world in their efforts to play on natural grass at the 2015 Womens World Cup.We know firsthand the importance of playing the World Cup on natural grass and the ways playing on artificial turf changes the games fundamentals. the statement said. We have all played on artificial turf and we know there are circumstances where it is appropriate or conditions require its use, but the World Cup is not one of those circumstances.To play the Womens World Cup on artificial turf would be a serious mistake.The association represents the U.S. mens national team players on compensation, working conditions and other matters. It also is the membership organization for alumni members of the U.S. mens team.It has no link to the American womens team.A group of elite female players from around the world has launched a legal challenge to the use of turf with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, arguing that it discriminates against women because the men do not play their showcase tournament on artificial surfaces.U.S. star Abby Wambach is one of several American women behind the challenge.FIFA and the Canadian Soccer Association have dismissed the claim, saying the laws of the game allow playing on turf as long as it is of a certain quality.Its not as much about the legal challenge. Its about the importance of the World Cup and the Womens World Cup is a World Cup, Mark Levinstein, acting executive director and general counsel of the U.S. National Soccer Team Players Association, said in an interview. And we think its important that whoevers playing in a World Cup, that the World Cup is treated with a certain amount of respect.That the U.S. men support playing on natural grass is not a surprise. But by doing so formally, they have injected themselves into the debate.There is much for the men at stake in this debate too, with FIFA secretary-general Jerome Valcke saying recently that a mens World Cup could be held on artificial surfaces sooner rather than later.The statement from the U.S. mens team players gives the women another weapon in their arsenal, not to mention another headline. Both sides have taken turns firing salvos in the war of words, with FIFA using its website to strategically release information on its side of the argument.The association representing the U.S. mens team players also weighed in on allegations that FIFA and national associations have pressured women not to join the legal challenge.We support the right of the women players to stand up for what they believe, said the association. No player should ever be threatened with exclusion from their national team, damage to their career, or adverse consequences to their national team or the sport in their country (such as exclusion from the World Cup or damaging their countrys chances of hosting a World Cup) for exercising their legal rights, especially when they are trying to protect the sport, the fans, and their fellow players.The message is simple and unequivocal: the World Cup should not be played on artificial turf and the organizers and the players should work together to schedule the games on grass for the benefit of the sport, the players, and the fans who will be attending and watching this and future Womens World Cups.There seems no immediate solution, with the Canadian Soccer Association rejecting an offer of early mediation from the Human Rights Tribunal of Canada.The CSAs position is because the players claim has no validity, there is need to negotiate. And with the tournament starting in June, time is trickling away although the women say a solution — temporary grass surfaces or use of venues with real grass — could happen on relatively short notice.The Human Rights Tribunal rejected the players bid for an expedited hearing, offering up the early mediation instead and has several other matters on the issue to resolve before a full hearing can take place.The Canadian tournament runs June 6 to July 5 in Moncton, Ottawa, Montreal, Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver.Follow @NeilMDavidson on Twitter Eric Ebron Jersey . The fourth-year guard from Carleton University kicked off his varsity career with rookie of the year honours in 2011, before racking up three straight Mike Moser Memorial Trophies for outstanding player. Ameer Abdullah Jersey . TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie tweeted Monday morning that Callahan - who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer, is now open to a six-year contract at less than $7 million per season. http://www.shopdetroitlionsnfl.com/lions-ziggy-ansah-black-jersey/ .C. -- Colin Kaepernick raced into the end zone, then pretended to rip open his shirt with both hands imitating Cam Newtons Superman touchdown celebration.PITTSBURGH -- Bernhard Langer made a short birdie putt on the second hole of a playoff with Jeff Sluman to win the Senior Players Championship on Sunday. Langer appeared to be in trouble when his second shot on the par-5 18th ended up in the rough short of the green. He hit a brilliant pitch to 5 feet and made the putt after Slumans birdie attempt rolled just wide. The victory was the 56-year-old Langers third of the year and his third major title on the Champions Tour. The two-time Masters champion shot an even-par 70 to finish at 15-under 265 at Fox Chapel. Sluman had a bogey-free 65 to match Langer, but narrowly missed a birdie putt on the first playoff hole that would have won it. Russ Cochran, who trailed by seven shots early in the final round, had a 67 to finish third at 14 under. Defending champion Kenny Perry tied Langer for the lead heading into the back nine, but faded badly over the closing holes. Perrys 69 left him two shots out of the playoff. Langer nearly missed out on the playoff himself. He fought a balky putter much of the day only to hole a 35-foot birdie putt on the 17th that lifted him into a tie with Sluman. The normally reserved German pumped his fist in disbelief after the ball dropped into the cup. He parred 18 to match Sluman at 15 under and escaped one more time when Slumans birdie attempt on the first playoff hole burned the right edge. Sluman, the 1988 PGA champion, covered his hands in disbelief after the putt stayed out. Langer didnt let the reprieve go to waste, birdieing the 18th on his third try to earn his first major title on the 50-and-over circuit since the 2010 Senior British Open. Michael Roberts Jersey. It didnt come easy for a player who started the day with a comfortable three-shot advantage over Perry. The steady play that kept Langer atop the leaderboard for the better part of 54 holes abandoned him early in the round, opening the door for the rest of the field. Langer missed a short par putt at the par-4 fourth, and he turned the 295-yard par-4 seventh into an adventure when his pitch sailed over the green and his 5-foot comebacker for par popped off the back edge of the cup. Perry, who promised to go into "attack mode" to chase down his good friend, had little trouble tracking Langer down. He pulled even with a birdie at the seventh and did it again at the ninth, when he bounced back from a bogey at the eighth by holing out from a greenside bunker for birdie. A back-nine duel, however, never materialized. Both players started spraying shots -- including an ugly double bogey for Langer at the par-4 12th -- while Sluman quietly went about his business in the group ahead. Sluman slowly reeled in the front-runners, taking the lead with a birdie on the par-4 14th and adding another at the par-4 16th while Perry and Langer faltered behind him. The streaky Perry, trying to join Arnold Palmer as the only player to win consecutive Senior Players titles, cooled as the pressure mounted. He shot 3-over 38 on the back, failing to make a single birdie down the stretch as the crisp iron game that vaulted him into contention vanished. Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Throwback Jerseys Camo China NFL Jerseys White NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Throwback Cheap Jerseys From China ' ' '