ST. LOUIS -- Ray Rice and Joe Flacco watched from home. Before the preseason finale, the Baltimore Ravens had one foot out the door. "Theres no need for an assessment for where were at," coach John Harbaugh said after a 24-21 loss to the St. Louis Rams on Thursday night with backups fighting for jobs on both sides. "Its right around the corner, weve been on Denver now for a while. "In reality, Im sure theyve done the same." Bobby Rainey, fourth on the Ravens depth chart at running back, scored his first two touchdowns of the preseason. "I tried to take care of stuff," said Rainey, who had 39 yards on 13 carries. "Ive got no regrets." The Rams (1-3) avoided their first winless preseason since 2002 on Chase Reynolds lone reception of the game, a 17-yarder from Austin Davis with 2:40 to go. They clinched it when Drew Thomas intercepted third-stringer Caleb Hanie at the 4 in the final minute. The Ravens (2-2) open the NFL season next Thursday night at Denver. Harbaugh typically sits all of his regulars for the final preseason game, and Hanie went the distance with second-stringer Tyrod Taylor held out. "It was just practice, basically," said Ravens wide receiver Marlon Brown, who scored on a 50-yard touchdown reception in the fourth quarter. "We just practiced the plays that we know how to execute." The ultimate goal for both teams was to get out of the finale unscathed. The only significant injury was to Ravens backup linebacker D.J. Bryant, who left with what the team called a significant knee injury late in the first half. "A lot of ligament damage but nothing he cant come back from," Harbaugh said. "Hell need surgery. Hes a talented guy, hes got a future." Neither side had much to say about cutdown day Saturday. "Its always hard," Harbaugh said. "Its always difficult choices. You have to do whats best for the team." The Rams, who were 7-8-1 in coach Jeff Fishers first season, open at home against Arizona Sept. 8. "I thought we had a really good training camp. I thought we did some really good things during the preseason when we were on the field," quarterback Sam Bradford said. "Now, its full steam ahead and getting ready for Arizona next week." Attendance was announced at 53,364, although the 67,000-seat Edward Jones Dome appeared about one-third full for a sloppy show marred by six total turnovers. The Rams were whistled for 113 yards in penalties. "We had a nice little candid discussion at halftime about that," Fisher said. "The reality is most of the flags were directed at players who are not going to be on the field for us." Fisher opened with a handful of starters, including both first-round draft picks. Tavon Austins outing was damaged by one of the teams three fumbles in the first five minutes, and linebacker Alec Ogletree had two tackles. Rookie Zac Stacy scored on a 1-yard run in the second quarter in a bid to secure the Rams backup running back job. St. Louis traded its last two picks in the draft to get Stacy, the career rushing leader at Vanderbilt who had 37 yards on 11 carries, and undrafted rookie Bennie Cunningham had 76 yards on eight carries in the second half. Isaiah Pead is suspended for the opener and fumbled for the second time in the preseason on the opening kickoff. The Rams recovered that one, but quickly coughed up two more to the Ravens with Brian Quick and Austin both losing their grip after 14-yard catches. Davis and Kellen Clemens both had strong games competing to be Sam Bradfords backup. Safety Matt Elam, the Ravens first-round pick, had a solid first half with a forced fumble and four tackles. "I had a lot of fun out there," Elam said. "I had the opportunity to play and I wanted to take advantage of that." St. Louis took its first lead on Nick Johnsons 4-yard catch early in the fourth quarter, and the Ravens answered 2:21 later on Browns 50-yard catch and run for a 21-17 lead. Rainey had opened the scoring with a 1-yard run in the first quarter and had an 8-yard run in the second. Discount Air Max . The three goals bring Messis career tally for Barcelona to 371 in all games -- including friendlies -- breaking the club record of 369 held by Paulino Alcantara since 1927. The 26-year-old Messi was already the clubs all-time leading scorer in official games. Messi assured Barcelonas fans they will enjoy his goals for years to come, saying "as long as people want me, I will stay here. Fake Air Max 720 . Kyle Denbrook, a soccer player from Saint Marys University, took the CIS male athlete of the week honour. Stanley, a fourth-year business administration student from Charlottetown, scored both goals in a 2-0 win over Dalhousie on Friday and tallied again in a 1-0 win over Saint Marys on Sunday. http://www.airmaxsneakersonsale.com/. Early in the first period, Stuart pinched in from the blue line, hit Nash and was assessed a minor penalty for elbowing. Nash remained in the game for the rest of the first period, but did not return for the second. Cheap Air Max 720 Mens . -- Sami Salo joked that as the shootout went on and on, one thing went through his mind: "Youve got to tie up your skates. Cheap Air Max 200 . According to MMAFighting.com, MacDonald needs an x-ray on his right ankle and doctors clearance to fight or he will be subject to a mandatory medical suspension that will end on August 22, 2014.The 2014 FIFA World Cup draw took place in Brazil on Friday, as the 32 qualified teams were drawn into eight groups of four. Some quick thoughts on what it means for the tournament next summer: 1. Brazil were favourites going into the draw - and they still are As host nation, Brazil did not need to qualify for the World Cup. That is sometimes regarded as a disadvantage, as the host nation does not play any competitive games leading up to the tournament, and instead relies on a series of friendly games for their preparation. I dont believe that this will affect Brazil one bit. They have been impressive in 2013, winning their last six exhibition games by a cumulative score of 20-2. They comprehensively won the Confederations Cup in the summer, defeating reigning world and European champions, Spain 3-0 in the final. In total, Brazil lost just two of their 19 games played in 2013; a 2-1 loss to England to start the year, and a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Switzerland in August. They have a wealth of talent to choose from, with players like Ramires, Oscar, Paulinho, Thiago Silva and Hulk all likely to be relied upon. But the player that everyone is looking at to steal the show in Brazil next summer is Neymar, the 21-year old superstar who was voted the best player at this years Confederations Cup. Next summers World Cup could be his tournament to decide. 2. South American teams will dominate This is the fifth time the World Cup will be played in South America. The previous four tournaments have all been won by South American nations. Uruguay lifted the first World Cup in 1930, then again in 1950; Brazil claimed victory in 1962, and Argentina took home the trophy in 1978. There is plenty of evidence to support the idea that this trend will continue. The qualification process in CONMEBOL is an arduous one; 16 games played over a two-year period ensures that only the best teams reach the finals. The experience gained by those nations - getting used to the climate, conditions, travel and logistics - is invaluable, not to mention the competitiveness of the qualifying games themselves. Do not underestimate the effects of the weather conditions and travel distances, either. It will be very hot and humid in some of the Brazilian venues, something that the northern European countries do not prefer. The midday kickoff times for many games will simply add to their discomfort. And the travel between venues as teams progress in the tournament just adds another obstacle for teams to overcome. 3. England is not a legitimate contender This might seem like common sense to anyone who follows the world game, but it is worth repeating every four years. England will not win the World Cup - and they wont even come close. Regardless of the players selected and regardless of the form of the team heading into the tournament, there is always an unrealistic expectation from England fans that this could be the year that England will claim its first World Cup victory since 1966. Well, it isnt going to happen. In fact, England will do well to get out of their group. Drawn in Group D with Uruguay, Costa Rica and Italy, it is not an unreasonable scenario to see England going home after the group stage. Uruguay boast two of the best strikers in the worlld in Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani, and despite having to qualify through the playoffs, they will be favourites to win the group.ddddddddddddItaly will be a difficult opponent for England, who lack the individual creativity to break down the Italians traditional strong defensive unit. In Mario Balotelli and Giuseppe Rossi, the Italians have offensive talents that will be difficult for England to contain, so I make the Italians favourites to pip England and reach the knockout stage. 4. Group of Death is a tired cliché Every four years, fans and pundits alike revel in discussing which is the Group of Death, the most difficult from which to reach the knockout stage. Do we really need to do this? Every group is difficult. Every team has its own unique strengths and weaknesses. Even minnows like Iran and Algeria will not simply roll over and accept defeat at the hands of their more illustrious opponents (remember New Zealand in 2010?) The coaching staff of each team, regardless of their relative strengths or weaknesses, will meticulously prepare their teams to ensure that they are capable of achieving their objective in each game. That being said, there are some interesting matchups. Many people were quick to point out the strength of Group G, with Germany, Portugal, Ghana and the United States, but for me, Group B is far more interesting. Defending world and European champions Spain are the seeded team, with the Netherlands, Chile and Australia rounding out the group. Do not be surprised to see Chile finish ahead of the Netherlands. Alexis Sanchez is a fabulous attacking talent, and Arturo Vidal is one of the most complete box-to-box midfielders in the world. The Chile vs Netherlands game will decide which of the two nations accompanies Spain into the knockout stage. 5. Winners and losers There are always teams that come out of the draw with a figurative smile on their face, while others are left to curse their bad luck. Here are the winners: Brazil - Group A shouldnt pose a problem for the favourites, and they will cruise through in first place. Argentina - The seeded team in Group F will face Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iran and Nigeria. Again, expect comfortable passage to the knockout phase. Belgium - Many people see Belgium as a dark horse in the World Cup, and given that they face Algeria, Russia and Korea Republic, theyve been given a fairly gentle introduction in the group stage. Here are the losers: Australia - It couldnt get much worse for the Aussies, who face defending champs Spain, the always difficult Dutch and the attacking flair of Chile in Group B. It will be three and out for Australia. England - While England should get the better of Costa Rica, they have two extremely difficult games against Uruguay and Italy - not to mention the weight of expectation that is always heaped on their shoulders. If England are to make it to the knockout phase, they will have to perform above their capabilities. United States - Three very different opponents in Group G; the efficient Germans, the powerful Ghanaians, and the brilliance of arguably the worlds best player, Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portuguese team. It is hard to envision Jürgen Klinsmann leading the U.S. into the knockout stage. ' ' '