Brazil 2014 World Cup: Neymar rooting for Messi and co win over Germany

Argentina may be Brazil's biggest rivals, but that won't stop Neymar from supporting his Barcelona teammates to win the World Cup in Sunday's final.
Brazil's injured star said he hopes Lionel Messi can win the World Cup -- but that doesn't necessarily mean he is a fan of Argentina.
"I am not supporting Argentina, but my teammates Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano," he said. "I support Messi FC and for everything he represents to football I hope he can win."
Neymar moved to Spain to join Barcelona last summer and struck up a friendship with his fellow South American.
He has no club teammates on Germany's World Cup squad, though Barcelona's newly acquired goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen has previously earned four caps for Die Mannschaft.
Messi's performance will be key for Argentina to overcome the favoured Germans. Though he failed to touch the ball in the Netherlands' penalty area in the semifinals, Messi will face up against perhaps Germany's weakest link, left-back Benedikt Howedes.
Normally a centre-back, Howedes has been used on the left by coach Joachim Low during the tournament and is likely to be assigned to keeping up with Messi's runs on the right wing.
"I'll do my part, but it will be a collective effort. That's how even a player of such quality can be stopped," Howedes said on Thursday.
Also on Thursday, Neymar said the injury that ruled him out of the tournament robbed him of his "destiny" to win the World Cup at home in Brazil. He also rejected his agent's statements calling for Brazil coach Luiz Felipe Scolari to be fired.

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Pregnant Women Should Never Leave the House- Kim Kardashian

Kim Kardashian and her two sisters Khloe Kardashian and Kourtney Kardashian were interviewed by Elle magazine for its latest issue before they hosted an event which was held to celebrate Babies"R"Us' partnership with Operation Shower in New Jersey. In the interview, Kim gave some advice for pregnant women and talked about North "Nori" West's style .

Talking about pregnancy style, Kim said, "I recommend hiding for a good year and having no pregnancy style. That's what I recommend. If you can do it, hide. Never leave the house." Khloe then asked Kim to give a different answer because she thought Kim's anwer was not "practical." Kim then added, "That's really my recommendation. Wear a huge blanket." She continued her advice, "You just wear regular clothes in a bigger size."

When asked about Nori's style, she replied, "North doesn't really like pink. Like, she's very neutral...she doesn't like prints. She hasn't liked it for her whole life." Khloe then refuted, "Kim and Kanye determine, and that's what parents do." Kourtney agreed with Khloe's statement, "Kim and Kanye don't like pink or prints."

The wife of Kanye West then added, "North is a princess girly, but in creams. Like a cream textured princess." Khloe disagreed with Kim, "I would never define North as princess-y. She's like badass. Like, I'm North. She's very confident in who she is. I will say that. And [Kourtney's daughter Penelope] is like submissive and sweet. North is very sweet, but North is like 'Hi,' like she bosses people around." Khloe then joked, "This is the best interview I've ever done."

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Scientists Discovery: Why can't i remember when i was still a baby?

There is plenty of photographic evidence that you were once a tiny, onesie-sporting newborn with a penchant for putting everything except food in your mouth. Yet as hard as you try, you can't nail down the faintest memory of those years.

Scientists recently came across a physical mechanism to explain our baby amnesia: When new cells sprout in young brains, they crowd out the circuits where memories are formed.

So the reason you remember your best friend's wedding day but can't seem to recall the time you decorated your hair with mashed potatoes is because making new memories destroys the older snapshots.

When researchers experimented with mice, they found that when they slowed down their ability to make new brain cells, they helped them craft more solid memories. Conversely, when they sped up their brain-cell-generation, the critters had a harder time remembering. In other words, more new brain cells meant fuzzier memories, and less new brain cells meant clearer ones.

It sounds counter-intuitive, but here's why it makes sense: We can't remember everything because our ability to store memories is limited. "Some kind of forgetting is important for memory. There's finite capacity," Paul Frankland, a neurobiologist at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto who led the study, told Vox. "You want to get rid of all the junk, and you want to remember the important features and important events."

Frankland's findings are published in the journal Science.

Here's how they made the recent discovery: After instilling memories in rodents by creating an association between a place and a mild electric shock, they played with their brain cell regeneration rates, to see how forming new cells would affect their ability to remember.

Why it matters: Our strange inability to remember being a child has puzzled scientists, psychologists and philosophers for decades. Freud, one of the first to write about the phenomenon, thought we repressed our early memories because they were so heavily charged with psychosexual content that we wouldn't be able to handle them — even as adults. Others have said we can't remember our early life because we couldn't speak at that age (words help us encode some types of memories), or because we didn't yet have a sense of self.

But after discovering that other animals are also missing memories of their infant lives, scientists realized there had to be another mechanism that was causing us to forget.

The recent research is a step towards a fuller understanding of how and why we remember what we do. Given that our capacity for remembering is finite, perhaps some memories are more important than others. Would you trade your memory of the look on your partner's face when you propose for a snapshot of spitting up on someone's shoulder? I would not.

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Brazil 2014 World Cup: As Tearful Brazilian Grandpa Seen Handing World Cup Trophy Replica To a German Fan

Everyone’s heart broke when they saw the above image play out during Tuesday soccer mauling. As the German team slaughtered the Brazilians, an elderly, mustachioed man clung to his replica World Cup trophy and wept.

This guy has to be sports fan of the year! While it’s not verified, he reportedly said as he handed the trophy over to a Germany fan “Take it to the final! As you can see, it is not easy, but you deserve it, congratulations.”

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Justin Bieber Sentenced to 5 days Community Labor for Egg Case

Justin Bieber has pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor vandalism charge after he was accused of pelting his neighbor's house with eggs. Bieber's lawyer, Shawn Holley, entered the plea on the behalf of his client at Superior Court in Van Nuys on Wednesday, July 9.

The 20-year-old pop star eventually was sentenced to two years of probation, ordered to attend a 12-week anger management program, take part in 5-day community labor and pay $80,900 in damages. He is also ordered to stay at least 100 yards away from the said neighbor and his family for two years.

Bieber's camp has released a statement following the legal problem. "Justin is glad to get this matter resolved and behind him. He will continue to move forward focusing on his career and his music," the statement read. A hearing is scheduled for August 12 to check his progress.

A neighbor of Beiber in Calabasas claimed that the "Baby" singer threw some eggs at his house in January. A few days later, police raided his house and took some videos from surveillance cameras around the house. During the search, Bieber's friend Lil Za was arrested for drug possession. Lil Za then was sentenced to probation and ordered to seek professional help.

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Brazil 2014 World Cup: As Argentina Edgeout Netherlands On Penalty Shootout To Reach Final

Argentina are just 90 minutes away from lifting the World Cup in the Maracana after they edged past the Netherlands on penalties in Wednesday's semifinal at the Arena Corinthians.
After an uneventful and goalless 120 minutes, the match went to a penalty shootout in Sao Paulo.
Argentina did not miss once and Sergio Romero saved from Ron Vlaar and Wesley Sneijder, meaning Alejandro Sabella's team clinched the showdown 4-2.

Argentina will now face Germany in Sunday's World Cup final at the Maracana -- the spiritual home of their fierce rivals Brazil, who were brutally knocked out by Germany on Tuesday night.
The last time the Argentines made it through to the final in 1990, they lost to the Germans. They also met in the 1986 final, which Argentina won. Germany will take encouragement from watching this performance from Sabella's side.
Germany, who battered Brazil 7-1 in Belo Horizonte, will take encouragement from watching this performance from Sabella's side.
Lionel Messi scored one of the penalty kicks, but he was otherwise quiet and Argentina failed to impress all night.
Louis van Gaal did well to snuff out Messi during normal time, but his team were also devoid of ideas in attack.
Van Gaal will now take charge of the Netherlands in Saturday's third-place play-off against the hosts before flying to England to take over at Manchester United.
The Dutchman may regret deciding against bringing on Tim Krul, who saved two penalties against Costa Rica in the previous round, as Jasper Cillessen was easily beaten from 12 yards.
After a mad opening half an hour in Belo Horizonte on Tuesday, both teams started cautiously on a cold night.
Messi drilled a low free-kick right at Cillessen and Ezequiel Garay headed just over for Argentina, but nothing else of note happened in the first period.
After the break, Argentina briefly upped the tempo. Vlaar blocked Messi as he advanced towards goal and substitute Daryl Janmaat denied Gonzalo Higuain.
Nigel de Jong, a surprise starter, was struggling to keep up with the game and he came off for Jordy Klasie with 28 minutes left.
Lucas Biglia and Janmaat both needed treatment after sliding into each other in a nasty challenge that made Argentina coach Sabella wince on the touchline.
There was no inkling of a goal until the final minute of normal time when Enzo Perez dashed down the right and delivered a pinpoint low cross to Higuain, who turned the ball inches wide.
The Argentina fans who saw the net ripple thought they had finally seen a goal, but the referee awarded a goal kick.

That proved to be Higuain's last contribution as he was replaced by Sergio Aguero. Sabella also threw on Rodrigo Palacio to boost his attack.
A few errant tackles started flying in as the game became sloppy. Martin Demichelis, already on a booking, took out Robben but the referee kept his cards in his pocket.
All of a sudden the Netherlands were presented with a chance to win the game.
Sneijder glanced a diagonal pass into the path of Robben, but luckily for Argentina, Mascherano came to the rescue and the game went to extra time.
In the 98th minute, the Netherlands mustered their first shot on target, an effort from Robben that flew into Romero's hands.
In his final substitution, Van Gaal brought Klaas-Jan Huntelaar on for Robin van Persie, meaning Krul would not be allowed on for the inevitable penalty shootout.
Cillessen jangled the nerves of the Netherlands fans when he performed an audacious turn to wriggle away from the advancing Aguero at the start of the second half of extra time.
Sabella was incensed with Palacio when he tried -- and failed -- to head over Cillessen from 10 yards in the dying minutes of extra time.
Dirk Kuyt fluffed a good chance at the other end and the match went to penalties.
Romero saved straight away from Vlaar. Messi, Garay and Aguero found the net while Romero saved to his right from Sneijder.
Dirk Kuyt slotted the Netherlands' fourth penalty away, but Maxi Rodriguez then beat Cillessen to send Argentina through to the final.

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Brazil 2014 World Cup: As Brazil coach 'Scolari' refuses to quit job

Luiz Felipe Scolari has refused to quit his post as Brazil coach before the World Cup is over, but admits he faces talks with the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) over his immediate future.
Scolari, 65, could only look on in horror as Germany racked up a 5-0 lead within half an hour of Tuesday's semifinal at Estadio Mineirao, before going on to win 7-1, with the Selecao feeling the absence of influential duo Thiago Silva and Neymar.
Few if any of Brazil players emerged from the loss with any credit, and while Scolari -- whose contract expires on July 13 -- has accepted the blame for the host country's exit from the competition, he insists he will not give up ahead of Saturday's third-place playoff.
"I am not going to talk about my future until we finish our participation here, which is on Saturday. It makes no sense to discuss this now. After it's over I will submit my report to the Brazilian Football Confederation and they will make a decision," he told a news conference.
"This is nothing going through my head right now. I will continue with my life, the players will also continue to be winners and we must continue -- you can not end the life of the players for it.
"History will have to record that Brazil, for the first time since 2002, reached the semifinals.''
Asked if Brazilian football will have to reinvent itself, Scolari said: "Why? Because we lost one match? 13 or 14 of those players out there will be at the 2018 World Cup.
"They're working, developing still. I think you'll see at least that many there in 2018.
"This is a catastrophic, terrible loss. The worst loss by a Brazilian national team ever, yes. But we have to learn to deal with that.''
He added: "We had a disaster in six minutes but it happened. Let's work for Saturday's game. If I could explain what happened in those six minutes I would answer but I do not know.
"The crash was also the coaching staff, the fans, it was overall, no one understood. And the team from Germany, which is good, took the opportunity.
"I cannot explain, I will not justify. An error occurred and this error was fatal.
"We can lose by one or two but we lost in a way that we had never done before in the history of Brazilian football. But the tournament was not all bad. We had a bad defeat."
Scolari's assistant Carlos Alberto Parreira, though, said this was now a time to re-examine Brazilian football after admitting Germany were far more advanced in all aspects of the game.
"They have numerous training centres for athletes, for coaches too, and the result was seen here,'' he said.
"German football is the perfect base and we now have a chance to rethink, revise and invest in better training of athletes.
"We need to improve and focus on training athletes from the clubs and give full attention to it, provide good structure and train good professionals.''
CBF vice-president Delfim Peixoto, meanwhile, has called for Scolari's immediate retirement "Scolari was too stubborn, at all times. One thing I can assure you; Scolari will never return to the Brazilian national team. Never. A shame, a shame.
"And I'll tell you more, Scolari should retire. He does not need money. He should get his things and say goodbye."

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