SAN FRANCISCO -- Mix Diskerud figures the whole honour of wearing No. Kris Letang Jersey . 10 is only temporary. He fully expects to play alongside Landon Donovan again down the road with the U.S. national team. For one night at least, Diskerud did that jersey proud. Diskerud and Aron Johannsson, a pair of second-half substitutes raised in Scandinavia, scored to lift a heavy-legged United States over Azerbaijan 2-0 on Tuesday night in the first of three World Cup warmups for the Americans. "Its an honour. A lot of great players have been wearing that No. 10 for the U.S. previously," Diskerud said. "Ill enjoy it. When it comes to Landon, Im sure that were going to be playing together again someday, and of course he has more caps than me so Im just borrowing the uniform right now." The U.S. needed a boost from the bench after captain Clint Dempsey was scratched just before kickoff because of a sore left groin. But the 14th-ranked Americans had trouble breaking down No. 85 Azerbaijan. Diskerud, born in Oslo to a father from Norway and mother from Arizona who met in college, entered in the 71st and scored four minutes later off Brad Davis free kick. With the ball high in the box, Diskerud headed it down to Michael Bradley, whose shot was cleared off the goal line by Elvin Yunuszade. Diskerud then banged the ball in with a right-footed shot 6 yards for his third international goal. "It deflected, and then it was just an easy job for me to score," Diskerud said. "I got tackled exactly when I was going to shoot, and I was just laying down on the ground in agony." He was wearing the No. 10 freed up when Donovan was cut from the roster last Thursday. Johannsson, who was born in Mobile, Alabama, and moved to Iceland with his family when he was 3, entered in the 62nd and scored his second American goal in the 81st with an open header from the top of the 6-yard box off a corner kick by Davis, who replaced Graham Zusi at the start of the second half. "I think we can be very happy with this game," Johannsson said. "Weve been working ridiculously hard in training." Tim Howard, making his 98th international appearance, got his 53rd win to tie Kasey Kellers U.S. record. The Americans began their intense two-week training camp May 14 at nearby Stanford University, and there appeared to be tired legs. "It was exactly what we need at this point of our preparation after two fully loaded weeks," U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann said. "It was a tricky game. You want to open it up with a goal, and it gets easier. You want to score a bit earlier. Next up is a match Sunday against Turkey at Harrison, New Jersey, followed by a game with Nigeria six days later in Jacksonville, Florida. Then the Americans head to Brazil for their seventh straight World Cup appearance and first-round matches against Ghana, Portugal and Germany. "Its good to finally get going. Now we can play hard, recover, travel and go again," Howard said. "I thought it was good. I thought tonight was what we probably expected." The Americans arrived in a red-white-and-blue bus sporting the teams slogan: "One Nation. One Team." The focus was on Klinsmann, who made the controversial decision to cut Donovan, the American career scoring leader. Dempsey, slated to start up top with Jozy Altidore in a 4-4-2, was an unexpected absence. "We dont want to risk here anything," said Klinsmann, who estimated Dempsey would heal in two-to-three days. "Its not serious at all." Chris Wondolowski, a local fan favourite of the San Jose Earthquakes inserted in place of Dempsey, was stopped twice early by goalkeeper Kamran Aghayev, the first with a knee on a diving header in the fifth minute. Wondolowskis header off a cross from Alejandro Bedoya in the 15th was parried over the bar. "You have to be ready at a moments notice," Wondolowski said. "Thats why I was a bit disappointed not to find the back of the net. I had a couple of great opportunities that I need to find the corner and hit the back of the net." Azerbaijan, coached by U.S. team adviser Berti Vogts, was outscored 5-0 in a pair of World Cup qualifiers by Portugal. With wind whipping the corner flags early and even the ball out of place during restarts, a new-look U.S. defence was hardly tested. Fabian Johnson started at right back, with Matt Besler and Geoff Cameron as the central defenders, picked over Omar Gonzalez, who replaced Cameron in the second half. DaMarcus Beasley, looking to become the first American to appear in four World Cups, was at left back. Besler and Cameron played together in the middle once previously, against Jamaica in a World Cup qualifier last October. For the first time since 1990, the Americans have no central defenders with previous World Cup experience. Johnson started three games at left back last year but just once on the right -- in the clinching World Cup qualifier against Mexico in September. Klinsmann used a midfield diamond for the second straight game, with Michael Bradley at the top, Jermaine Jones deep, Zusi on the right and Bedoya the left. This match became the true final football game at Candlestick, former home of the NFL San Francisco 49ers through last season and baseballs San Francisco Giants until after 1999. NOTES: A foul by Azerbaijan D Evlin Yunuszade on Davis early in the second half appeared to be inside the box but was called a free kick by Costa Rican referee Henry Bejarano. ... Timmy Chandler played left back in the second half for his first appearance with the U.S. since a World Cup qualifier at Honduras in February 2013. ... Donovan was named MLS Player of the Week for his two-goal performance with an assist for the LA Galaxy in Sundays 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Union. ... Injured American MF Stuart Holden attended the game ... A Nike ball was used rather than the Adidas World Cup model. Bryan Trottier Penguins Jersey . Louis Cardinals, the team will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the opening of the SkyDome. Jays legends Jimmy Key and Ernie Whitt, members of playoff and World Series-winning teams of the past, will be on hand for the festivities to look back at what was the beginning of the Jays halcyon years. Chad Ruhwedel Jersey . Inter Milan ended its five-match winless streak in all competitions by beating 10-man Bologna 3-1 on new manager Claudio Ranieris debut, while injury-plagued AC Milan edged Cesena 1-0 with an early goal from Clarence Seedorf. http://www.penguinsauthenticofficial.com/evgeni-malkin-jersey/ .A. remained bitter for Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers on the long flight back home to New York.INDIANAPOLIS -- The Pacers were back to being themselves Sunday. They made shots. They defended hard for 48 minutes. Lance Stephenson regained his swagger and, yes, the reeling Pacers even looked like a playoff-ready team. David West made three free throws in the final 15 seconds and Stephenson produced his league-leading fifth triple-double to give Indiana a 102-97 win over Oklahoma City 102-97, putting the Pacers on the cusp of clinching the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference. "Were going to treat it (the season finale) like a playoff game. We have to get that No. 1 spot," Stephenson said. "Thats what we wanted from the beginning of the season so we have to take it, not get it, we have to take it." All they need is a win Wednesday night at Orlando or one more Miami loss. The Heat visit Washington on Monday and host Philadelphia on Wednesday. Its been a wild second-half ride for Indiana (55-26), which held the top spot in the East from opening night in October until the last week of March. When the Pacers beat the Heat on March 26, they had a three-game lead and a seemingly firm grasp on home-court advantage. As the losses mounted, though, Miami charged back and finally took the top spot on March 31. But rather than pulling away, the two-time defending champs gave the lead right back. Miami retook a one-half game by beating the Pacers at home Friday, then fell into a tie with Indiana after losing Saturday night in Atlanta. The Pacers went into Sundays game with six losses in eight games and the knowledge that all they had to do was win their last two -- because they have a better conference record than the Heat. So just like that, Indiana flipped the switch and got back to looking the a championship contender. Six players reached double figures including West, who had 21, and Stephenson, who had 17 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds. He broke Detlef Schrempfs franchise record for most triple doubles in a season (four in 1992-93). "Hes a big part of our personality, a big part of our edge, a fan favourite with good reason and hes one of the head coachs favourites," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said after getting a low-five from Stephenson after a late 3-pointer. Paul George finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds and C.J.&nnbsp;Watson scored a season high 20 points. Jaromir Jagr Penguins Jersey. . The Pacers didnt even need much from Roy Hibbert, who had six rebounds, no points and was 0 for 9 from the field. The Thunder (58-22) shot 42.9 per cent from the field, were 7 of 28 on 3-pointers and were outrebounded 46-32. NBA scoring leader Kevin Durant had 38 points and Russell Westbrook had 21 as they rallied Oklahoma City from a 10-point deficit over the final seven minutes. The Thunder, who were trying to lock up the No. 2 seed in the West, have no doubt Indiana can play with the best in the NBA. "Whats surprising to me is the people who are down on them," Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks said. "In an 82-game season, youre going to have some tough times. Unfortunately for them, theyre having it late in the season. But all it takes is a game or two to get back on." What changed for the Pacers, aside from returning to their home court? They were gritty and selfless, the starters who sat out Wednesday at Milwaukee looked well-rested and the bench that produced a big win over the Bucks looked more confident. While there were still signs of lingering problems, such as 21 turnovers. Indiana stayed in control and closed it out late. After Georges 12-foot runner gave the Pacers an 87-77 lead with 6:59 to go, the Thunder charged back, tying the score at 89 when Westbrook hit a 3 with 2:46 to go. "We put ourselves in good position, we just couldnt finish," Durant said. The Pacers wouldnt allow it. George broke the tie with a 3 and 2:09 to play, West followed that with two straight mid-range jumpers and Stephenson knocked down a 3 with 34.2 seconds left to give make it 97-91. "Were just trying to put together good basketball at this point and hopefully carry it into the playoffs," West said. Notes: George welcomed a 15-year-old Cincinnati boy as part of the Make-A-Wish foundation. Roei, a Pacers fans, has been waiting 10 months for a liver/small bowel transplant. ... Indiana finished 35-6 at home and is assured of having the leagues best home record. ... Nick Collison received eight stitches to close a cut above his nose and backup guard Reggie Jackson injured his neck after running into Ian Mahinmis pick in the fourth quarter. ' ' '