MANCHESTER, England -- Stung by a surprise opening-day defeat and with injuries taking their toll, the honeymoon period for Louis van Gaal at Manchester United is definitely over. "Two weeks ago, I was the king of Manchester," Van Gaal said. "Now, I am the devil of Manchester." After opening the English Premier League season with a 2-1 home loss to Swansea, the pressure is already on United and its manager ahead of a trip to Sunderland on Sunday. However, Van Gaals list of absentees is growing, with Marcos Rojo -- signed on Wednesday for 20 million euros ($27 million) from Sporting Lisbon -- unavailable as the Argentina defender has yet to receive a work permit. Central midfielders Ander Herrera, Marouane Fellaini and Michael Carrick were all ruled out of contention by Van Gaal on Friday, along with wide midfielder Jesse Lingard. With Luke Shaw still out with a hamstring injury, Van Gaal cannot call on his three big summer signings -- Rojo, Herrera and Shaw -- who cost a combined $77 million. The only piece of good news for Van Gaal is that striker Robin van Persie is available this weekend after being given extra time off to recover from his exertions with the Netherlands at the World Cup in Brazil. Van Gaal is already pleading for patience from Uniteds fans, who saw the team slump to a seventh-place finish in May in a tumultuous season under David Moyes. "It shall be difficult in the first three months," Van Gaal said. "I have said that to (executive vice-chairman) Ed Woodward and (owners) the Glazer family. "I am hired to build up a team and that is a process, and that process needs time. You have to believe in the philosophy that we make again a big club but it needs time and its not an overnight job." Reacting to comments by former United midfielder Paul Scholes, who said this week he was "genuinely scared" about the clubs future, Van Gaal added: "I can imagine that fans are also scared. Because they have seen what happened last year and they have seen the first match (this season)." Rojo was presented as a United player Friday, with Van Gaal saying he had been "enchanted" by the left-sided defenders performances for Argentina during the World Cup. Argentina beat Van Gaals Netherlands in a penalty shootout in the semifinals. "My philosophy is that you have to buy only players who fit in the profile and I think Marcos fits in the profile as a left central defender but also as a wing back," Van Gaal said. "He played a fantastic world championship, so I am very pleased." Van Gaal had no news about any more incoming players at United before the transfer window shuts on Sept. 1, and refused to confirm or deny reports that England striker Danny Welbeck has been told he can leave the club. "I do not speak about that because thats private," Van Gaal said. Wholesale Jordan Shoes Cheap .com) - On the bright side, either the Minnesota Wild or Buffalo Sabres will end their losing streak on Thursday night. Discount Jordan Shoes Wholesale . When the next inning rolled around Wednesday, though, Nationals manager Matt Williams sent Strasburg to the mound to face the top of the Dodgers order in what would become a 3-2 victory for Washington, the first time this season the No. http://www.airjordancheapireland.com/ . Every. Single. Game. Thats 1,230 in total to cover the regular season. The man is Corey Sznajder, a soft-spoken 23-year-old Salisbury University grad who lives in Annapolis, Maryland and has been charting zone entries and zone exits throughout the NHL. I love big projects, he said. No kidding. At the 2013 Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, I met Eric Tulsky, who presented research on the value of controlled zone entries (short answer: about twice as valuable to enter with control of the puck rather than dumping it in) and Sznajder had charted a couple hundred games that were included in that study. Nike Air Jordan Shoes Wholesale . 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. Craig went 4 for 5 and Yadier Molina added three hits for the Cardinals, who salvaged the final game of a three-game set in hopes of staying within shouting distance of front-running Milwaukee in the NL Central. Air Jordan Cheap Authentic . "First, I would like to offer my deepest and sincerest apologies for any harm I have inflicted on University of Missouri defensive lineman, Michael Sam," the statement read.NEW YORK -- When Zack Wheeler put the first two batters on in the second inning, he dialed it up with three strikeouts. When he saw how his pitch count was a bit high, he threw more to contact. Either way, everything is starting to work for the rising star. Wheeler struck out 10 in a gritty performance, Eric Campbell hit a three-run homer and the New York Mets beat the free-swinging Chicago Cubs 3-2 Friday night. "When he gets you in certain situations, those guys, they dont know whats coming," said manager Terry Collins, complimenting Wheelers assortment of pitches. "They just cant sit on one pitch." Wheeler (8-8) threw a career-high 120 pitches in 6 2-3 innings, allowing two runs and four hits. He walked four and hit a batter but overpowered the Cubs in winning his fifth consecutive decision. "The big thing is trying to keep my pitch count down and I really havent been able to do that," Wheeler said when talking about going deeper in games. The Cubs entered having struck out 77 times in their previous seven games, including 16 on Thursday in a loss to Milwaukee. Five of their first six outs Friday came by the K, and they fanned 14 times overall. Pitching with a hernia, Jenrry Mejia fanned one in a perfect ninth for his 18th save. "We have been facing some pretty good pitching. This guy today was pretty good, too," Cubs manager Rick Renteria said. "When you face arms like that, it happens. I thought we had a lot of really strong at-bats in terms of driving his pitch count up." Travis Wood (7-10) gave up three runs and four hits in 5 1-3 innings to drop to 0-5 in his last 11 starts. The Mets rebounded from a dreadful three-game sweep at the hands of the NL East-leading Washington Nationals to beat the Centrals last-place Cubs for just the first time in four meetings between the teams this season. Chicago swept three games at Wrigley Field in June. "We need to start playing better, theres no doubt about it," Campbell said. The Cubs took a 2-0 lead in the third -- the one inning Wheeler did not record a K -- behind Anthony Rizzos run-scoring groundout and Staarlin Castros RBI single.dddddddddddd Campbell hit the second homer of his career an out after Wood walked David Wright and Lucas Duda. "Walks killed me," Wood said. TRAINERS ROOM Cubs: Luis Valbuena is being held out of the starting lineup Friday and Saturday. Renteria thinks the scuffling infielder needs a break. Valbuena also has a cold. He grounded out as a pinch-hitter to end the game to fall to 1 for 30. Mets: Right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka (elbow inflammation) will make a rehabilitation start for Double-A Binghamton on Saturday. Collins says he is not sure where Matsuzaka will fit when he returns. UP NEXT Cubs: Right-hander Dan Straily, obtained in the trade that sent Jeff Samardzija to Oakland on July 5, will make his Cubs debut. Renteria said Straily is being called up from Triple-A Iowa to give the rest of the rotation an extra days rest. The team is in a stretch of having a game on 20 straight days. OF Junior Lake is being sent to Iowa. Mets: Jonathon Niese (6-8) is 2-4 with a 5.26 ERA against the Cubs. Castro is 5 for 16 (.313) with a homer and five RBIs against the left-hander WISHFUL THINKING Some Mets fans recently have called for their beleaguered team to make a deal with the shortstop-rich Cubs for Castro. If Castro, who is signed with Chicago through 2019, has his say, hell stay right where he is. "I know a lot of teams could have me and want me, but Im here and I dont want to leave here," Castro said. THAT DIDNT WORK When Juan Lagares hit a one-out fly to right field in the sixth, Campbell took off running. Collins said he was given a steal sign, but Campbell was at third base before he turned back. Ryan Sweeney made an easy throw into the infield for the double play. Rizzo, the first baseman, dropped the ball and catcher Wellington Castillo had to pick it up and step on the base for a rare 9-3-2 double play. ITS OFFICIAL The Mets gave OF Chris Young his unconditional release. Young, who is making $7.25 million this year, was designated for assignment last week after hitting .205 with eight homers and 28 RBIs in 254 at-bats. China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '