left and after missing the first free throw made the second

SANTIAGO, Chile -- Arturo Vidal made his much-awaited return from injury as Chile beat Northern Ireland 2-0 in its final World Cup warm-up match on Wednesday. Vidal, who underwent knee surgery just a month ago, made an unexpected appearance as a 76th-minute substitute, and immediately made an impact. Two minutes after coming on, the Juventus midfielder made a fine pass to Barcelona forward Alexis Sanchez. Sanchez lobbed the ball to striker Eduardo Vargas, who headed in the first goal of the match. Sanchez made another inch-perfect pass four minutes later that Mauricio Pinilla sent into the net to seal the win at the Elias Figueroa Stadium in the port city of Valparaiso. "The decision to let him play was agreed with both the medical team and Arturo. It was important to let him play some minutes and we got a chance to see him again," Chiles coach Jorge Sampaoli said after the match. "Arturo had a very short recovery and he came were we need him to, thanks to his boldness," Sampaoli said. He always wanted to play this game, and although we had some doubts, he cleared them all. Tomorrow hell have to get into the rhythm of things so he can be in the opener...It no longer depends on his knee, but on the level for competition." Vidal underwent knee surgery on May 7 and had been in doubt for Chiles World Cup opener against Australia on June 13. Chile also faces defending champion Spain and 2010 finalist Netherlands in Group B. Throughout the match, midfielder Jorge Valdivia orchestrated Chiles attack and created good scoring opportunities that were denied by superb saves by goalkeeper Roy Carroll. Chile continued to struggle to find a way past a defiant Northern Ireland defence until Sanchez, Vidal and Vargas showed the class which Chile will rely upon at the World Cup, which kicks off on June 12. Harmon Killebrew Jersey .com) - The Chicago Cubs reportedly signed recently-acquired outfielder Dexter Fowler to a one-year contract on Friday, avoiding arbitration. Marwin Gonzalez Jersey . The Toronto Argonauts (11-7) look for an opportunity to repeat as CFL champions when they host the surging Hamilton Tiger-Cats (10-8) on Sunday. http://www.twinssale.com/twins-kent-hrbek-jersey/ .com) - Former FBI director Robert Mueller said his investigation found no evidence that the NFL saw the elevator video of Ray Rice striking his then-fiancee before the tape was released in September. Nelson Cruz Jersey . Jason Zucker and Matt Cooke also scored for Minnesota, which has won five of six. Kuemper made five saves in the first, nine in the second, and nine in the third. The rookies best save came with 2:17 left in the third period when he denied former Wild forward Matt Cullen from just outside of the crease on the right side. Blake Parker Twins Jersey . Off-Season Game Plan looks at what the Blue Jackets may do to build upon last seasons success to return to the playoffs again next year.LOS ANGELES -- Coming off a resounding victory over the Lakers in which they posted the largest winning margin in franchise history, the Los Angeles Clippers had to fight to the bitter end against the Atlanta Hawks after squandering an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter. Blake Griffin had 27 points and eight rebounds, Chris Paul added 19 points -- including a go-ahead layup in the final minute -- and the Clippers beat the Hawks 109-108 on Saturday night for their season-high seventh straight win. "In the locker room, I almost felt like we lost the game, because we expect a lot from themselves," Paul said. "But the name of the game is winning. So obviously, were happy we won. But theres a lot of things we need to clean up." The Pacific Division leaders got 13 points and 12 rebounds from DeAndre Jordan, and 17 points from Matt Barnes on the eve of his 34th birthday. The Clippers shot 53.2 per cent from the field, improving to 22-1 when shooting 50 per cent or better. "The Clippers are a really dangerous team," Atlantas Kyle Korver said. "We tried to eliminate their fast-break points, and they had one little stretch in the third quarter and they had a couple of plays that were hurting us with Blake and Chris. But other than that, I think we did a pretty good job." Griffin made 11 of 19 shots while extending his career-best streak of games with 20 or more points to 22. Jamal Crawford had three points in 10 minutes off the bench after missing three games with a left calf strain. DeMarre Carroll scored 19 points in Atlantas 14th loss in 15 games and sixth in a row. The Hawks have gone from four games over .500 to 26-35 during this sudden freefall but are still eighth in the Eastern Conference, 2 1/2 games ahead of Detroit for the final playoff berth. The Clippers had lost seven of the previous nine meetings, including 107-97 defeat in Atlanta on Dec. 4. Barnes missed that game because of a torn retina in his left eye. "The first thing you do is watch the last time you played them, and that was a good basketball team that night," Clippers coach Doc Rivers said. "They were playing so well at that time, then all of a sudden they just fell on hard times. A lot of that is confidence. When you start losing, you start pressing. Theyve also made a lot of trades and (roster) moves, and I think that affects your team." The Hawks have dropped their last 10 on the road, their longest drought since losing their final 13 in 2006-07. The Hawks were 12 for 28 from 3-poinnt range.ddddddddddddIt was the 27th time they made at least 10 from behind the arc, tying the club record they set last season. All-Star forward Paul Millsap scored 14 points in his second game back, after missing the previous five with a bruised right knee. Korver was 3 for 3 behind the arc against the team with the leagues best 3-point defence, two games after his NBA-record streak of 127 games with a 3-point basket ended at Portland. Paul began the final quarter on the bench with the Clippers holding an 88-78 advantage. Danny Granger, playing his third game for the club since signing as a free agent, hit a 16-footer and a 20-footer 33 seconds apart and Willie Green added a 3-pointer for a 98-87 lead with 8:41 to play. The Hawks closed to 102-100 with an 11-2 run capped by Korver, who recorded his seventh four-point play of the season and 12th of his career. He also had a four-point play in the previous meeting. Jeff Teagues driving layup tied it at 107 with 1:35 remaining, but Paul responded with a driving layup with 54 seconds to go. The Hawks, whose 19 turnovers were converted into 25 points by the Clippers made a costly one under their own basket with 33 seconds left. But Griffin missed two free throws, giving Atlanta another life. Teague was fouled by Jordan with 1.2 seconds left and after missing the first free throw made the second when he was trying to miss. "I just told Blake in the locker room that I think this is the worst Ive felt about a win this season," Barnes said. "This was just a nasty win, a different kind of win. But at the end of the day, it was a win. We still have a lot to work on. With my game, its more mental that anything -- cut down turnovers and play solid defence." Already playing without injured forwards J.J. Redick and Jared Dudley, the Clippers had to go the final 9:50 of the second quarter without newly acquired forward Glen Davis after Big Baby picked up his first three fouls in a 3:53 span. Davis finished with four points in 13 minutes. NOTES: Rivers played eight seasons with Atlanta and is still the Hawks career assist leader with 3,866. "Its shocking, especially because of the fact that I didnt know I still had it," said Rivers, whose final regular-season game with them was on April 21, 1991. "Mookie Blaylock didnt break that? Then its going to stand forever. Im going to talk to Danny Ferry (the Hawks GM and president of basketball operations) and every time a guy gets close, Im going to request that he get traded." ' ' '