Tuesday,  June 17, 2014 • Vol. 16--No. 333 • 36 of 39

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John Brooks dreamed of scoring on late header and then he did for US in World Cup

• NATAL, Brazil (AP) -- Smiling ear to ear after winning a World Cup match with his first international goal, John Brooks had a story to share.
• "I told some teammates that I dreamed that I scored in the 80th minute and we won the game," he said. "And now it was the 86th minute and we won."
• One of the surprise picks by U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann, Brooks hadn't been in the starting lineup for the Americans' World Cup opener against Ghana. But after central defender Matt Besler felt tightness in his right hamstring during the final five minutes of the first half, Klinsmann inserted the 21-year-old Brooks for the start of the second.
• Just four minutes after Andre Ayew's 82nd-minute goal wiped out a lead Clint Dempsey had given the U.S. just 29 seconds in, the 6-foot-4 Brooks outjumped Ghana's John Boye to meet Graham Zusi's corner kick and bounced an 8-yard header past goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey.
• Overcome with emotion, Brooks ran in disbelief, slumped to the ground arms first and felt teammates pile onto him. When they finally moved off, he put both hands to his lips and blew a kiss.
• ___

AP PHOTOS: Mexico City soccer league is an outlet for blind and visually impaired players

• MEXICO CITY (AP) -- As nations from around the globe battle in the World Cup, a more unusual soccer championship has just been decided on a hard court in Mexico's capital.
• For 18 years, the men of the Ignacio Trigueros Soccer League for the Blind and Visually Impaired have spent Sundays traveling long distances from their homes to central Mexico City to play the country's most popular sport.
• Each six-man team is allowed one sighted player or two visually impaired players who can use their eyes on the court. All other players wear blindfolds to make sure they are evenly matched.
• Without their eyes to guide them, they rely on the sound of a special ball ricocheting off the boards that surround the court or is rolling at their feet. Risking collisions and falls, the players pass, shoot, defend and occasionally even slide tackle.

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