end the drought and pick up his first goal with Minnesota. T

FORTALEZA, Brazil - With tears streaming down his face after being kneed in the back, Neymar was carried off the field on a stretcher. He wont be coming back. Not to this World Cup, anyway. The 22-year-old Brazil striker, the one with the hopes of a nation on his shoulders, was ruled out of the rest of the tournament after fracturing his third vertebra during Fridays 2-1 quarterfinal win over Colombia. "Its a big loss for us," Brazil midfielder Fernandinho said. "We need to find a way to stay together and become stronger after losing our greatest player. We will try to win this World Cup and for sure we will dedicate it to Neymar." Neymar is the biggest football star in Brazil, and one of the biggest at the tournament along with Argentina forward Lionel Messi. His face has been plastered on billboards and shown on television continuously, leading many of his staunchest supporters to copy his dyed-blonde fauxhawk. His millions of fans had expected Neymars World Cup to end with him holding the trophy, not being carried off the field in tears. Neymar was kneed by Colombia defender Juan Camilo Zuniga late in the second half at the Arena Castelao. He was taken to a private clinic and was released a short time later. He was not expected to need surgery, Brazil team doctor Rodrigo Lasmar said, but he will also not be able to face Germany on Tuesday in the World Cup semifinals. "He will not be in condition to play, he will need a few weeks to be fit again," Lasmar said. "He is very, very sad." About 50 Brazil fans, many still wearing the teams jerseys, crowded outside the clinic where Neymar was taken, while the ambulance that carried him remained parked in front, lights blazing. Neymar was hurt in the 86th minute, falling to the ground in pain after Zuniga jumped into him from behind. Brazil teammate Marcelo quickly called for medical assistance when he saw Neymar writhing in pain. Neymar stayed face down until team doctors arrived and put him on a stretcher. "Everybody knew that Neymar would be hunted," Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said. "Its been happening in the last three matches and we had been talking about it. But nobody listens to us." Fridays match ended with 54 fouls in total — 31 by Brazil and 23 by Colombia. Scolari said Spanish referee Carlos Velasco Carballo should have done more to take control of the match. According to Hulk, another of Brazils striker, Neymar needs more protection from the officials. "Every time is like this. Players always come after Neymar," Hulk said. "The referees need to do more to keep this from happening." ___ Associated Press video journalist Renata Brito contributed to this report. Paul George Shoes For Sale . -- Aaron Rodgers isnt out for revenge in Green Bays season opener. Clearance Paul George Shoes . Mired in an offensive slump, Lowry - the NBAs leader in taking charges this season - did what he has learned to do best, standing his ground and drawing a crucial offensive foul on the Cavaliers all-star point guard. Fast forward 30 seconds to the Cavs next possession, with the home team still trailing by three, Spencer Hawes - one of the leagues best passing big men - threw an interception, intended for Tyler Zeller and picked off by DeMar DeRozan. https://www.cheappaulgeorgeshoes.com/ . George Hill had 13 points and seven rebounds for the Pacers, who stayed atop the overall NBA standings despite losing twice on their West Coast trip. Los Angeles kept it close into the second half before the Pacers finished an easy win over the injury-riddled Lakers, who have lost five straight. Paul George Shoes Deals . The United States clinched the final berth into the Ford Worlds, March 28-April 6 at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, on Saturday in Blaine, Minn. Paul George Shoes Outlet . -- With the Memphis Grizzlies struggling to find their offensive rhythm, O.(SportsNetwork.com) - A pair of streaking clubs will meet Tuesday in St. Paul, as the sizzling Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Minnesota Wild in a showdown at Xcel Energy Center. The Penguins and Wild have been two of the leagues better teams in 2014-15, with Pittsburgh posting a 7-2-1 record so far and Minnesota entering Tuesday with a 7-3-0 mark. Pittsburgh is currently riding a four-game winning streak, and the Wild have come out on top in three straight and five of their last six outings. Pittsburgh has been firing on all cylinders lately, having outscored the opposition by a 19-3 margin over the last four games. Pens goaltender Marc- Andre Fleury also has posted his first three shutouts of the season during the span and is now tied with Minnesotas Darcy Kuemper for the league lead. Fleury only needed to stop 18 shots for the shutout in Saturdays 5-0 rout of the visiting Buffalo Sabres. As a team, I think weve been pretty solid and not giving up much, said Fleury. Fleury could start in net tonight, but he has never beaten the Wild in his career, going 0-5-0 with a 3.74 goals against average versus Minnesota. Chris Kunitz scored twice and notched an assist in Saturdays easy win and has four goals and seven points over his last three games. Evgeni Malkin finished with a goal and two assists, Blake Comeau and Patric Hornqvist also scored and Sidney Crosby supplied three assists for Pittsburgh. Crosby was named the NHLs Second Star of the Month for October, and he is leading the league with 18 points on seven goals and 11 asssists.dddddddddddd Pittsburgh is opening a five-game road trip tonight and is 2-0-1 as the guest this season. The Wild posted their third straight win Saturday against visiting Dallas, with Kuemper making 19 saves in the 4-1 victory over the Stars. Minnesota failed to score on its first power play of the game, moving them to 0-for-28 on the season. But Thomas Vanek scored at 19:03 of the second period with Jamie Benn off for holding to end the drought and pick up his first goal with Minnesota. The Wild had been the only team without a power-play goal entering Saturday, but went 2-for-4 on the man advantage. Nino Niederreiter scored 5:03 into the third period with Benn off for slashing, giving the Wild their 4-1 lead. It was a good feeling to kind of get the monkey off our back, said Wild defenseman Matt Dumba. I dont think we were feeling it that much. We were just sticking with our game. We knew it was going to come eventually. It was just one of those things where we werent getting the bounces but hopefully now we can get it going. Mikael Granlund and Matt Dumba also scored for the Wild, who are aiming for their first four-game winning streak since April 5-10 of last season. Minnesota has gotten the better of the Pens over the years, going 10-4-0 with a tie in the 15 all-time meetings between the clubs. The Wild have claimed five of the last seven encounters overall and two of the past three tests in St. Paul. Former Penguins forward Matt Cooke is expected to miss tonights game with a lower-body injury. ' ' '