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BATA, Equatorial Guinea - Guinea beat Mali to a place in the African Cup of Nations quarterfinals thanks to a lucky break in a random draw conducted at a hotel on Thursday.Guinea joins the likes of Algeria, Ivory Coast and Ghana in the last eight. Mali, after losing the cruel lottery, goes home.Heres why Guinea progressed through sheer chance, and some other things to know, ahead of the African soccer championships first knockout games this weekend:___GUINEA GETS LUCK OF THE DRAW: There was no other way to separate Guinea and Mali after they had three identical 1-1 draws in Group D to tie for second behind Ivory Coast. That meant the drawing of lots under tournament rules.An official from each country picked a ball out of a bowl. In one, there was a piece of paper with the No. 2 printed on it. In the other, a No. 3, indicating what would be the final ranking of the teams, and who would take the second qualifying place behind the Ivorians. The Guinean official made the right choice, letting a big smile spread across his face before showing the lucky No. 2 to observers.We have no other choice, Confederation of African Football President Issa Hayatou said before the draw, which was criticized by both teams as a cruel way to decide who stays and who is eliminated. CAF say they will consider changing the rule.The drawing of lots is rare but not completely unprecedented. It happened in 1988, when Algeria progressed at the expense of Ivory Coast.ALGERIA-IVORY COAST CRUNCH GAME: This year, Algeria and Ivory Coast are rated the best teams, but will meet sooner than expected. Top-ranked in Africa, Algeria was edged to first place in Group C by Ghana, setting up a quarterfinal meeting with the star-studded Ivorians, winners of Group D and led by Manchester Citys Yaya Toure.While Algeria is undergoing a recent revival, Ivory Coast has a painful history of near misses at the Cup of Nations. It has lost two finals in the last five tournaments on penalty kicks. Sundays knockout game in Malabo, which should see the return of Ivory Coast forward Gervinho from a two-game suspension, is the biggest of the 2015 tournament so far.LEGEND OF LE ROY: Claude Le Roy has reached the quarterfinals in seven of his record eight African Cups as a coach. Hes done it with five different countries. Le Roys latest success is with Republic of Congo, a champion 45 years ago but now a rank outsider that won its first game at the tournament since 1974 when it beat Gabon last week. It is into the quarters this year as Group A winner.The team and Le Roy — an unmistakable figure with his spectacles, toothy grin, and floppy blond hair — have had a pretty rough ride in Equatorial Guinea off the field. They were given a hotel that had no running water. Without a proper escort, their bus got caught in a traffic jam and they nearly missed their opening game. The bus then broke down on a three-hour road trip to another match. Unflappable, Le Roy hasnt let it affect the campaign.No, no. I am happy every day of my life, he said when asked if he was getting angry with the organizers.HOST HUNTS HISTORY: Equatorial Guinea shouldnt even be at the tournament after being thrown out for fielding an ineligible player in qualifying. But Morocco was dumped as host nation and the tournament given to Equatorial Guinea, meaning the team was back in. And its making the most of it.Equatorial Guinea has little soccer history to call on, but has ridden a wave of rowdy home support to make the last eight under Argentine coach Esteban Becker, who was appointed just before the African Cup kicked off.QUARTERS MOVED: The hurried preparations after the late change of host nation have come at a cost. Hastily built stadiums in the remote eastern cities of Ebebiyin and Mongomo have held up, but the fields havent. So, all four quarterfinals will be at the established venues in the bigger cities of Bata and Malabo.That makes for two doubleheaders: Bata hosts the first two quarters back-to-back on Saturday, and Malabo has the second two on Sunday. For fans at the stadiums, thats at least 180 minutes of soccer, and not just 90. Maybe more, if extra time and penalties are needed.___AP Sports Writer Chris Lehourites contributed to this story from Malabo.___Gerald Imray is on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GeraldImrayAP Fake Jerseys For Sale . Jurrjens signed a minor league contract with Cincinnati in May, and was 2-3 with a 4.46 ERA at Triple-A Louisville. He has a 53-37 record with a 3.63 ERA in seven major league seasons, including five with Atlanta. Fake Soccer Jerseys . Yup, he definitely needed this one. Craig homered twice and had three RBIs Wednesday night to lead the St. Louis Cardinals to a 7-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates. 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Gano became the first of Carolinas 20 soon-to-be unrestricted free agents to re-sign with the Panthers on Friday, signing a four-year contract. Financial terms were not released. "Im really excited to be back in Carolina," Gano said. "It is where my family and I wanted to be. I love the organization and feel this is the best place for me." The 26-year-old Gano is coming off a successful season, converting 24 of 27 field goal attempts while helping the team to a 12-4 record and the NFC South title. He set a franchise record and tied for the NFL lead with six made field goals from 50 yards or more. He was the only NFL kicker with three or more attempts from 50 yards or more without a miss from that distance. "The special teams unit was a large part of our success last year and we are excited to keep Graham as a part of our team," Panthers coach Ron Rivera said in a news release. "Graham has shown range and accuracy in his field goal kicking, and his strong leg has been a weapon for us on kickoffs." Of his 82 kickoffs, 76 reached the end zone, including 63 for touchbacks, the highest percentage in the NFL since 1994. A five-year NFL veteran, Gano spent his first thhree seasons with the Washington Redskins.dddddddddddd He has converted 92 of 118 field goal attempts in his career. Gano tied the NFL record for most overtime field goals in a season with three in 2010, a mark previously accomplished by John Kasay for Carolina in 2003 and Jason Hanson for Detroit in 1994. Gano feels like he has some stability on the team, which has helped his game. "When I was in Washington I went through four holders and that took some getting used to," Gano said. "I finally got comfortable there and made my last 14 of 17 field goals. Ive carried over that consistency to Carolina." Gano said he was celebrating the new deal by taking his son to Chic-fil-A. 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