NEW YORK -- Byung Ho Parks demotion to the minor leagues is just the latest setback for the Korean star.The Minnesota rookie became expendable when the Twins recalled Miguel Sano on Friday. Before the roster move, Park had bounced around the Twins lineup and struggled especially with runners on base. Through 62 games, the slugger was hitting .191 with 80 strikeouts.Far from the performance youd expect from the 29-year-old who had his own theme song in South Korea complete with dance moves and set to the tune of When the Saints Go Marching In.With fans having little to dance about since Park came to the United States, the setbacks this season have stalled significant hype and potential marketability to fans in Asia.Baseball-wise (in MLB), Im still adjusting and learning and definitely still in that learning period, Park said through his interpreter, J.D. Kim.Known by the nickname Park Bang with the Nexen Heroes from 2011-15, Park led the Korea Baseball Organization in home runs (53), total bases (377) and RBI (146) in 2015. The Twins took notice and paid $12.85 million just to win bidding rights to negotiate with Park, then signed him to a four-year, $12 million contract.But Parks stardom in the United States was never a guarantee and hes struggled with the noticeable talent jump in pitching. During one stretch in June, he struck out eight times in 11 at-bats, prompting manager Paul Molitor to pull him from a start to give him a mental break.Parks major league struggles have led the Twins to hold off on pursuing marketing deals back in his homeland, team spokesman Dustin Morse said.Theyre still eager, just like other clubs who also have Asian players, like Korean hitters Dae Ho Lee of the Mariners and Jung Ho Kang of the Pirates. Clubs have seen the benefits of success by other stars from the continent, like Ichiro Suzuki, Hideki Matsui, Shin-Soo Choo and Yu Darvish, among others.Suzuki, of the Miami Marlins, is a rare example of an Asian star who achieved the same level of stardom within a year of coming to the United States.In an All-Star 2001 season with the Seattle Mariners, Suzuki was the American League MVP and rookie of the year, and also won a Golden Glove Award and a Silver Slugger Award. His marketing power has kept pace with his success each season -- Suzuki was recently honored for reaching 4,257 hits between the Japanese and North American major leagues, surpassing Pete Roses MLB total.Because of Suzuki, Miamis games are now broadcast in Japan and the teams front office officials have gone to Japan each offseason to make connections in Asia, Marlins president David Samson said.We are trying to make inroads there and we would love to be the team of Asia like we are the team of Latin American because we are Miami, Samson said.The Twins want similar connections in South Korea, sending executives to talk with companies in the country about ideas for the future.Were trying to let Byung Ho Park establish himself as a baseball player and since its his first year in Major League Baseball were not trying to go too over the top, Morse said.If Park can turn things around and establish himself in the majors, U.S. fan support and marketability could follow in his favor. Lee saw that with the Mariners after not knowing if he would even make the 25-man roster during spring training.(Lee) has become very popular amongst our fans, Mariners spokesman Randy Adamack said. They recognize him now. They get excited when he comes to the plate. His face is becoming more and more familiar around town and hes got kind of a cult following.The best way to gauge Park support in the MLB is spotting his jersey among fans in the stands, Morse said. The team had a promotional day for its first Korean player during the first month of the season, selling tickets at Target Field in a special section dubbed Byung Hos Balcony.Before Parks demotion, Minnesota officials were planning another promotion tied to Park for a July game against the Athletics. Portugal Bruno Alves World Cup Jersey . Louis Blues teammates who would also be participating in the Olympics, Alex Pietrangelo felt right at home, no different in some ways to the travel experience of any old road trip – save for the length of the journey, that is. Portugal Jose Fonte World Cup Jersey . 10 Texas Rangers jersey for one last time. Young formally announced his retirement Friday after returning to Rangers Ballpark, his baseball home for all but the last of his 13 major league seasons. http://www.cheapworldcupportugaljerseys.com/ . The defending champion beat Gael Monfils of France 7-6 (6), 6-3, while second-seeded Andy Murray of Britain dispatched Edouard Roger-Vasselin, also of France, 6-3, 6-3. Making his first appearance since injuring his wrist a month ago, Del Potro had difficulty with his service games in the first set. Portugal Joao Mario World Cup Jersey . Sgt. Eric ONeal says most of the arrests at Monday nights game were for public drunkenness, though one person was taken into custody on suspicion of trying to steal a seat from the stadium. Portugal Joao Moutinho World Cup Jersey . Team physician Dr. Steve Traina performed the surgery Friday. Robinson was injured in a spill underneath the Nuggets basket during the first quarter of Wednesday nights loss to the Charlotte Bobcats. Canada versus Team USA, 8 p.m. ET (ESPN)United States: It is painfully simple for Team USA: Win, and its hope of advancing in the World Cup of Hockey lives for another day or two. Lose in any fashion to powerful Canada, and Thursdays preliminary-round game against the Czech Republic will be meaningless, a painful reminder of the failure of this team to come together in any fashion when it mattered most. Derek Stepan of the New York Rangers likened the situation to a Game 7 in the Stanley Cup playoffs.For some of these players the faceoff against their historic rivals to the north may be the last chance internationally to establish a meaningful legacy in the face of a new generation of talented young American players -- several of whom are playing in this tournament for Team North America. Already dogged by skepticism about the makeup of their team, the U.S. players must now confront a Canadian squad that has won the past two Olympic gold medals and is a heavy favorite to win this tournament for a second consecutive time, dating back to 2004. Although the Americans did split two pre-tournament games with Canada, they will have to exponentially ramp up their intensity after a curiously dispassionate 3-0 loss to Team Europe on Saturday, but they must do so without losing their cool, which may be difficult given the stakes.Its a great spot for the Americans to be in, that type of situation, in that type of atmosphere, Team USA head coach John Tortorella insisted. If you cant get motivated to do your best in this type of situation, with the environment thats going to be there Tuesday night, theres something the matter with you. Then weve got the wrong guy. But I dont think weve got the wrong guys.One game into this highly anticipated tournament, the evidence suggests otherwise. But thats the beauty of what awaits this American team: a chance, in the space of 60 minutes on Tuesday night, to rewrite the story of this tournament and maybe their own legacy.?-- Scott BurnsideCanada:?His teams 6-0 opening win over the Czech Republic was pretty darn impressive, but not perfect, said Canada head coach Mike Babcock on Monday. He knows that his players can still pick things up a notch. For sure another level, he said. They had five looks at our net in the first six minutes. Four of them were on specialty teams, and one was on the line change. So weve got to fix that up, for sure. Other than that, I thought we played well; we played with some pace. We didnt have pace early in the exhibition, but were starting to get a little more comfortable.The question is whether Team Canada can manufacture the same kind of desperation level that Team USA will naturally have on Tuesday in a do-or-die situation. The natural rivalry that exists between both teams, on display in two meaningless-yet-feisty pre-tournament games, should ensure Canadas emotional investment. After all, you know that the Canadians would relish that chance to inflict the knockout punch to their rivals, even if they insist thats not their focus.[Were] just playing our game, veteran center Ryan Getzlaf?said.dddddddddddd Were trying to build something here. I think we have to make this whole focus about us and not really buy into the whole do-or-die thing for them. Its a matter of us just going out and playing our game and continuing to get better throughout this tournament.Look for Team Canada to try to create turnovers in the U.S. zone with an aggressive forecheck, as tight, five-man units give Team USAs blueliners little room for transition. Its what worked so well against the Czechs in the opener. There were no lineup changes for Canada at practice on Tuesday, which likely means that?Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux will sit out again. The forward lines and defense pairings were also the same, meaning the U.S. has to brace for that Brad Marchand-Sidney Crosby-Patrice Bergeron unit, which brought the Czechs to their knees in the opener. -- Pierre LeBrunFinland versus Sweden, 3 p.m. ET (ESPN)Finland: North America, the team loaded with talented players 23-and-younger, completely dismantled Finland 4-1 in its first World Cup game on Sunday. Meanwhile, Sweden defeated Russia 2-1. Finland needs to muster a major response against the Swedes on Tuesday. Both teams practiced on Monday, but the Finns worked on every aspect of their game in an attempts to figure out why theyre playing so poorly. The biggest issue for Finland to fix is its compete level. It was not there against the kids on Sunday, and now that its biggest rival is on deck, Finland needs to play a 200-foot game. Defensively, the Finns were brutal in front of their own net, so that was a point of emphasis during practice. Finlands defensive-zone coverage needs to improve, especially against a potent Swedish offense.Sweden: For the Swedes, its much of the same. Their depth was key against Russia. Sweden has the ability to roll all four lines, and its defensive core stifled Russias dangerous attack. Sweden was able to exploit Russias weak defense. In order to have success against Finland, it has to follow the same game plan.Line watch:?This game wont be won by one single line or power-play unit. It will come down to goaltending. Both teams were in a bit of a pickle after Mondays practices because of their respective goaltending situations. Swedens Henrik Lundqvist missed Sundays game with the flu. He participated in the teams full practice and showed no ill effects on Monday. While Lundqvist was optimistic after practice about his chances to play against Finland, it was a bit strange when he reiterated numerous times that it would be a coachs decision. Its possible that this could be Lundqvists final tournament for Swedens national team, so if hes healthy I cant imagine a scenario in which he wouldnt play against Finland. At the other end of the ice, its unclear whether Finland will stick with?Pekka Rinne?or switch and go with Tuukka Rask. During practice, it appeared Rask would be the starter. --?Joe McDonald China Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale Stitched Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Authentic Jerseys ' ' '