If the detour leads to the ultimate destination for Tim Cahill and the Socceroos, Australians wont be worried at all about the route the national team has taken to the Asian Cup final.Australia takes on the United Arab Emirates in the semifinals on Tuesday at Newcastle, 160 kilometres (100 miles) north of Sydney. Organizers no doubt would have preferred a semifinal at a heaving former Olympic stadium in Sydney on Australia Day, Jan. 26, but the Socceroos missed out on that by losing their last group game 1-0 to South Korea.The South Koreans instead took that slot — at Australias marquee stadium on the national holiday — for their semifinal against 2007 champion Iraq.Australians widely expected, then, that their team would be meeting defending champion Japan in the 33,000-seat stadium at Newcastle, in a rematch of the 2011 Asian Cup decider. But the UAE ensured that wouldnt happen with a surprising quarterfinal win on penalties over the four-time champions.And so both teams will be aiming for their first continental title when Australia hosts the UAE, a team that is growing in confidence and self-belief.Cahill produced two spectacular goals to deliver Australia a 2-0 quarterfinal win over China last week.The United Arab Emirates earned their place after a thrilling 5-4 upset win on penalties after their quarterfinal with regional powerhouse Japan finished 1-1 after extra time.While Australia has enviable attacking options with the likes of Cahill, Massimo Luongo, Robbie Kruse and captain Mile Jedinak, the UAE boasts the most prolific forward in the tournament in Ali Mabkhout, who has found the net four times.The 35-year-old Cahill has three goals this tournament and has captured the imagination of home fans with his uncanny ability to turn a game with pinpoint headers and inspired shots at goal.UAE playmaker Omar Abdulrahman, meanwhile, has proved a formidable foe this Asian Cup.Abdulrahman is a good player, so is Mabkhout up front, Australia coach Ange Postecoglou said, before adding that he was more concerned with the threat posed by the team as a whole than by individual players.They are probably one of the few national teams in this region, and particularly the Middle East, who have been pretty stable in terms of their coach and their team, Postecoglou said. They look more cohesive than some of the other sides that tend to chop and change a bit. That is where the danger lies, rather than with the individuals.Australia and the UAE have never met in a competitive match, and their last two friendlies have ended in scoreless draws. Australia joined the Asian confederation in 2006 and its best run at the continental championships was a runner-up finish to Japan in 2011, when the UAE finished 13th.Two quarterfinals were decided on penalties but that didnt concern Postecoglou, who didnt leave any doubt about his approach in the knockout stage.What they do becomes a little bit irrelevant ... we want to dictate the game, he said. So whether they sit back or come at us, we have to make sure in either scenario we are the ones on the front foot and dominating the game.UAE coach Mahdi Ali said the win over reigning champion Japan had given his team renewed confidence.Of course ... its a great thing it will give the players more confidence and more motivation, Ali said. We fought for the 120 minutes for this game and thank God that we win this game.He knows, though, that the game against Australia will rise to another level.Of course playing against Australia in Australia will be a very tough game, Ali said. It will be a very tough game and the stadium will be very crowded and we hope that we do the same in the next game (as we did against Japan). yeezy black friday .com) - The Carolina Hurricanes placed defenseman John-Michael Liles on injured reserve Tuesday. 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TSN primes Vancouver fans for the start of the 2014 season with MLS on TSN: Season Preview Special airing tonight at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt on TSN2 (encore Friday at 3:30pm et/12:30pm pt on TSN2).PHOENIX -- Big games arent out of the ordinary for Markieff Morris anymore, and he had another one Friday night. Morris made his first 11 shots en route to a 25-point performance and the Phoenix Suns handed the Toronto Raptors their fifth straight loss, 106-97. "Ive just got a great feel for the game right now," he said. "Im not trying to shoot as many 3s as I have in the past. Ive just been working on driving to the basket and trying to get to the line." Morris, who also grabbed 11 rebounds, finished 11 of 14 from the field, tying his career high in field goals made. His scoring total was three shy of his career best. "Thats what he does," teammate P.J. Tucker said. "You get his motor like that every game, I think he can do that every single game, night in and night out." Entering this season, Morris career best was 23 points. Through the first 20 games of this season, hes scored at least 23 five times, whether it be as a power forward or as the backup to centre Miles Plumlee. "He is able to take a big guy and if a guy gets up on him, he is able to drive by him," Phoenix coach Jeff Hornacek said. "If he steps off him, he is a good shooter from that 15- to 18-foot range. He is being smart about when to drive it or when to shoot it. Then today, he was rolling to the basket." Eric Bledsoe added 19 points, including 3 of 3 on 3-pointers, and Tucker had 18 points and a career-high 13 rebounds for the Suns. Amir Johnson scored a season-best 22 points for the Raptors. Kyle Lowry added 19 and Rudy Gay 17. The Raptors lost Tyler Hansbrough with a sprained left shoulder in the first quarter. "He is going to get a look at his shoulder tomorrow (in Los Angeles)," Toronto coach Dwane Casey said, "but we missed his toughness." The Suns outrebounded the Raptors 53-36, including 18-11 on the offensive boards. "That has to be our biggest advantage of the year," Hornacek said. "EEverybody went for them.dddddddddddd" Morris and Tucker each had six offensive rebounds. "We did a decent job of getting stops," Casey said, "but then didnt get the rebounds. Thats about toughness, thats about attention to detail." Phoenix took control with a 16-6 run late in the third quarter. Bledsoe made a 3-pointer, fed Morris for a layup, then made a free throw when Lowry was called for a technical foul and Phoenix led 76-63 with 1:51 left in the period. Morris final field goal, a 17-footer, put the Suns up 81-69 with 42.9 left in the quarter. Toronto scored the next five to cut the lead to 81-74 entering the fourth. "They got out and played at their tempo in the third quarter," Lowry said. After the Suns scored the first five points of the final quarter, Steve Novaks 3-pointer cut it to 86-77 with 9:44 remaining, but Gerald Green made two 3s in an 11-6 surge to give Phoenix its biggest lead of the night, 97-83 with 4:37 to go. The Raptors scored the next eight to make it 97-91 on Johnsons layup with 2:42 left before Bledsoes 3 boosted the lead to 100-91 with 1:46 remaining. Morris string of baskets ended when he lost control going up for a layup and the shot went off the front of the rim. Toronto led by seven points in the second quarter before a late 9-0 Phoenix run. Goran Dragics 3 put the Suns up 48-47 with 2:05 left in the half, then Morris 12-foot turnaround jumper from the baseline made it 52-47. Phoenix led 52-50 at the break. NOTES: The Raptors had beaten Phoenix three times in a row. ... Toronto had two days off during a road trip for the first time this season. ... The Raptors entered the game first in the NBA in second-chance points at 17.7 per game but the Suns had 21 second-chance points to Torontos 16. ... The Raptors led by 27 in the third quarter Tuesday night at Golden State but lost, the largest comeback by an opponent in Raptors history. ... Toronto completes a three-game road trip Sunday against the Lakers. ' ' '
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