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FORTALEZA, Brazil -- Mario Balotelli was sent home from the Confederations Cup on Monday due to a strained thigh, leaving Italy without its top striker for both the semifinal vs. Jeff Burroughs Jersey . Spain and the final or third-place match. Having already been ruled out of Thursdays semifinal, Italy coach Cesare Prandelli decided to send Balotelli home after consulting with team physician Enrico Castellacci. "I feel like a loser leaving this way. I would have liked to stay but theres the Champions League preliminary round so Ive got to take care of myself," Balotelli said upon leaving the team hotel, referring to matches in August with AC Milan. "Anyhow my teammates will do well even without me." Balotelli injured his left quadriceps during Italys 4-2 loss to Brazil on Saturday. He has been the Azzurris most explosive player in the tournament so far, scoring the winner in a 2-1 victory over Mexico, converting a penalty in the 4-3 win over Japan and setting up a goal for Emanuele Giaccherini against Brazil. "Hes obviously very upset but theres just not enough time for him to return," Prandelli said, adding that the decision was made without any pressure from Milan. "We just used good sense." Castellacci said that Milans medical staff will take over treatment. "I checked out Balotelli this morning and, considering his condition, I dont think he will be able to recuperate before the final," Castellacci said. "Its not worth taking more risks." Balotelli is the second Italy player sent home since the Brazil match, with fullback Ignazio Abate -- who also plays for Milan -- having left Sunday with a dislocated right shoulder. Meanwhile, midfielder Andrea Pirlo, who sat out Saturdays match with Brazil due to a muscle problem, continued to train separately from the rest of the squad. "Pirlo continues to work out and were optimistic but we need to evaluate him day by day and we wont decide whether he can play until the last minute," Castellacci said. In a bit of positive news, midfielder Riccardo Montolivo has fully recuperated from a knock to the head and trained regularly Monday. Alberto Gilardino would seem to be Balotellis logical replacement if Prandelli sticks with his single-striker lineup. Or he could use several forwards such as Emanuele Giaccherini, Stephan El Shaarawy, Sebastian Giovinco, Alessio Cerci or Alessandro Diamanti. "Without Mario well have to work much more collectively so well work more on that," Prandelli said. "We have a few problems but the squad is responding well despite the difficulties." John Smoltz Jersey . Last year, Islanders forward Colin Mcdonald released a "Do It For Colin" campaign to promote his teammate and friend John Tavares for the EA sports honour:The most popular sports voting video ever has to go to Chris Bosh who showcased his comedic abilities in his effort to get fans to vote him into the 2008 All Star Game:You can vote for TJ and other star players for the NHL 15 cover vote here. Johan Camargo Jersey . Then again, he really was at his home away from home. "It was nice to sleep in my own bed last night," Shields said after pitching Kansas City past the San Diego Padres 8-0 Wednesday. http://www.custombravesjersey.com/custom...-547z.html . -- Barry Bonds is all set to return to the San Francisco Giants.LOS ANGELES -- Doc Rivers couldnt begin the Los Angeles Clippers only day of preparation for Game 7 in the film room or on the practice court. The coach was downtown at the Clippers team offices Friday, meeting with an angry roomful of ticket-sellers and marketers still outraged by owner Donald Sterlings racist comments. "Ill say this much: Our players thought about not working. So did our employees, and they still felt that way," Rivers said. "They needed somebody to ask them to continue to work and support us. Were still trying to put this thing together." For both the Clippers and the Golden State Warriors, basketball has been secondary for much of this extraordinary series. But after the most tumultuous week in Clippers history, the first round is finally down to its grand finale. The Clippers will host a seventh game for the first time in franchise history on Saturday night, hoping to draw energy from their Staples Center crowd for a cathartic victory. The winner gets a second-round date with Oklahoma City or Memphis. "Weve got to protect home court," Clippers centre DeAndre Jordan said Friday. "Our season is tomorrow." The Warriors have been just one obstacle faced by the Clippers, who endured sleepless nights and immense scrutiny while their owner was exposed and subsequently banned for life from the NBA between playoff games. Los Angeles has lost two of three games since the Sterling saga began, playing lifelessly in Game 4 before struggling along with the Warriors in Game 6 on Thursday night. When the Clippers went back to work Friday, Sterling-related memorabilia had been removed from the trophy case in the hallway at their palatial $60 million training complex built by Sterling six years ago. Even the "Sterling Drive" sign outside the Playa Vista facility had been taken down. The Clippers missed their chance to wrap the series in Oakland, but the Pacific Division champions played all year for the chance to finish a series on their home court. "Its going to be tough, and youre going to face adversity, and we clearly have faced adversity in this round," said Blake& Griffin, who managed just 17 points on 8-for-24 shooting in Game 6. Dale Murphy Jersey. "I think its just important that we all stayed the course and had positive thoughts about it. It is a Game 7, but its still a playoff game. It doesnt change a whole lot." Neither team plans to spend much time working on tactics or adjustments after six games of seeing everything their opponent has to offer. Both teams arent saying much about various nagging injuries, from Chris Pauls strained left hamstring for the Clippers to Jermaine ONeals sprained right knee for Golden State. Instead, two relatively inexperienced playoff teams are eager to show off everything theyve learned about perseverance and toughness over the past two weeks, culminating in a rare winner-take-all finish to their series. "Im not sure that both teams love each other, but Im pretty positive that both teams have tremendous respect for each other," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. The Clippers core played a Game 7 two years ago, beating Memphis on the road for just their second playoff series victory since Sterling bought the team in 1981. Jordan and Griffin said there was little to draw from that victory, with Jordan barely remembering it. The Warriors havent played a Game 7 since 1977, no surprise for a franchise with just three playoff berths in the last 20 years. When asked if an injury could keep him out of Game 7, Paul scoffed. "Ill be there," Paul said. "Seven-thirty, that balls throwed up, Ill be there. Cant wait." Even with the Clippers on the front page during this series, Golden State has plenty of its own internal drama. Jackson could be coaching his final game for the Warriors after the club ownerships reluctance to publicly back his return despite the most successful two-year stretch in two decades. "I think weve had more controversy than them throughout this whole season that gets overlooked, kind of thrown under the rug a little bit," Golden States Andre Iguodala said. "Weve had some battles this year weve had to deal with, but its kept us together and made us stronger." ' ' '