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SAINT-DENIS, France -- Football is a cruel game. Custom NCAA Jerseys . Sometimes even for its winners.Cruel because Cristiano Ronaldo had to watch the victory of his life -- at least one of them -- from the sidelines.Portugals name, for the first time, is now engraved on a major trophy. But one of the enduring memories of the European Championship final will be that Ronaldo played too small a part in the 1-0 win against France for him to deserve being anointed as world player of the year for a fourth time. Truth is, Portugal played better without him.And cruel because France lost in the very stadium that suicide bombers attacked last November. After that horror there was a solid argument to be made that the French would have been more endearing winners, that a pick-me-up trophy could have helped speed their recovery from the trauma.And also cruel because in six games before they lost their scoring touch in the all-important seventh match, the French on balance played better football at Euro 2016 than Portugal.Wales, in the semifinals, was the only team the Portuguese beat inside of 90 minutes. Against France, it took them 109 minutes for Eder to burst through Les Bleus defenses, with a stunning strike.Lets also not forget that, in Portugal, Europe has a champion that didnt win any of its group-stage games and only squeezed into the knockout stages, with just three points, thanks to the more forgiving format adopted for this expanded first tournament with 24 teams. Critics who feel that the new systems addition of eight teams has come at the expense of footballing quality will doubtless argue that Portugals victory proves them right.But, as the French themselves say, cest la vie -- or, as English speakers would say, thats football. Because footballs stubborn refusal to follow the script is what makes it so compelling, this final again offering strong evidence of that.Who, after all, would have penned only a cameo role for Ronaldo, now the proud owner of one type of winners medal that Lionel Messi doesnt have, in Portugals Hollywood moment?As at Euro 2004, we again saw Ronaldo cry -- this time after his left knee buckled in a scrap for the ball in the 9th minute with Dimitri Payet. Normally, the French winger tends not to bother himself with the grunt work of tackling and defending. But Payet and his teammates were combative, even borderline aggressive, in the opening half where they quickly swarmed over Portugals defenses. France, a team that used to be bullied, most infamously in losing a 1982 World Cup semifinal to Germany, was the more physical side.To be fair to Payet, the injury to Ronaldo wasnt malicious, but rather just one of those things that can happen when one man clatters into another at an awkward angle. Portugals captain tried soldiering on. When he sat down on the field, distraught, in need of treatment, a moth settled on his right eye, as if coming to dry his tears. With the knee strapped up, a sprint up field that finished in a hobble made it clear that Ronaldo couldnt continue. Referee Mark Clattenburg called on the stretcher bearers and that was it. Ronaldos final was over, after just 25 minutes.Liberated of their attention-grabbing superstar, no longer at the beck and call of his demands to give him the ball, his teammates played better, sharing the workload, getting into Frances box in numbers and giving French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris more to think about.For the French, this will be remembered as another final they should have won, like the 2006 World Cup final unhinged when Zinedine Zidane head-butted Marco Materazzi. Euro 2016 top scorer Antoine Griezmann twice came close to winning it. And Andre-Pierre Gignac saw what would have been a certain match-winner rebound off the post in injury time before the game went to extra time.But, with time, the if and buts will perhaps matter less than the fact that reaching this final was proof that France is now out of the long trough that followed its 2006 World Cup loss to Italy, with the nadir being a strike by French players at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.Going forward, France again has a team it can be proud of. All but one of its starting 11 against Portugal either play abroad or, in the case of Barcelona-bound Samuel Umtiti, are on their way overseas. The French domestic leagues bleeding of players to foreign shores proved to be Les Bleus gain at Euro 2016. Their street-wise football and their handling of the heavy weight of host-nation expectations owed no small debt to the experience and expanded world view players have picked up on their travels. Eder, Portugals match-winner, also plays overseas, for Lille in France.From France, football will now look, with some trepidation, eastward to Russia, host of the sports next major tournament, the 2018 World Cup. Then will come Euro 2020, which will be spread confetti-like across 12 host countries, followed by the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.All present logistical challenges for traveling fans. Although the quality of the football at Euro 2016 wasnt always much to shout about, it will be fondly remembered for easy French pleasures and for Frances security measures that helped keep the 31-day tournament safe from the threat of more terror attacks without souring the mood.For that, we can all be grateful.---John Leicester is an international sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at jleicester(at)ap.org or follow him at http://twitter.com/johnleicester NCAA Jerseys China . -- Josh Sterk scored once and set up two more as the Oshawa Generals edged the visiting Belleville Bulls 3-2 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Fake NCAA Jerseys .5 million, one-year contract on Friday. Hawkins, who turns 41 in December, will compete with Rex Brothers for the closers role at spring training. https://www.chinajerseysncaa.us/ . By having more great seasons. Manning was the only unanimous choice for the 2013 Associated Press NFL All-Pro team Friday. UPPER ARLINGTON, Ohio -- The final round of the U.S. Senior Open was postponed Sunday because of heavy rain, giving Miguel Angel Jimenez another night to sleep on the third-round lead.The course at the Scioto Country Club absorbed 2.36 inches of rain late Saturday and Sunday, leading to the decision late Sunday afternoon. The USGA had hoped to get at least the first groups through during a break in the rain on Sunday, but the course was too wet to play.Rain was forecast for Monday, too. The first groups are scheduled to off at 7:30 a.m.Were going to have a drying period overnight, and we think weve got a shot to get it in tomorrow, said John M. Bodenhamer, the USGAs senior managing director of rules, competitions & equipment standards.Jimenez was at 3-under 207 on Jack Nicklaus boyhood course, a stroke ahead of Gene Sauers, and in position to win after blowing leads in his last two tournaments.Three weeks ago at Carnoustie in the Senior British Open, the 52-year-old Jimenez took a four-stroke lead into the last day, only to shoot 75 and tie for third -- three strokes behind winner Paul Broadhurst. Last week in the 3M Championship, The Spanish player was a stroke ahead entering the final round and ended up losing when Joe Durant shot 63 and eagled the first hole of a playoff.He said the delay in finishing the tournament is inconvenient more than anything else.I think all the people have the same effect, you know? he said. And everybody wants to finish a tournament on Sunday. Thats with everything. It will affect hotels, fflights and everything. Wholesale NCAA Jerseys China. So anyway, we have to do what we have to do.Ian Woosnam, Loren Roberts and senior newcomer Billy Mayfair were tied for third at 1 over.The 53-year-old Sauers said a delay and a soggy course wont change how hell approach his round Monday.You have to just keep hitting fairways and greens and give yourself opportunities, Sauers said. Im going to the range a bit right now and try to work out things, try to work the ball left to right, vice versa, and try to figure out how I feel today, he said. I wasnt too comfortable yesterday. So Im going to try to see where I feel today and hopefully continue it into tomorrow, just kind of not think about things and just kind of relax and clear my mind of all whats been happening today, because I was ready to play today.Bernhard Langer, tied for sixth place at 2 over, said some adjustments will be necessary Monday after the dry, hard course they played in the first three rounds.It will play quite different because it was pretty firm, Langer said. So (well) probably get plugged balls in the fairways, mud balls. So dont know if theyll play preferred lies or not, and the greens will be softer, might spin balls back off the green instead of going over. So things like that. It will be different.---Follow Mitch Stacy at http://twitter.com/mitchstacyFor some of his other recent stories: http://bigstory.ap.org/content/mitch-stacy ' ' '