I.E.U. Datenbank » s Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the

Flying high with the backing of Angry Birds, Finland received a wild card for the World Cup of Basketball on Saturday in a decision criticized for being more about business than basketball. Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. The draw is Monday. Greece is ranked fifth in the world and the only team to beat the U.S. since Mike Krzyzewski became coach in 2005. Turkey is ranked seventh and was runner-up to the Americans in the 2010 world championship. Brazil, which will host the 2016 Olympics, is No. 10. Finland is only 39th, the only one of the 12 teams since 2006 to receive a wild card that wasnt in the top 24. But it had the support of Rovio, the Finnish company behind the popular Angry Birds games that had agreed to provide advertising if Finland was selected. "We are fully aware that despite our strong athletic results and fan support, we need to think creatively about how we can truly show our strength to FIBA and the basketball world," Antti Zitting, president of the Finnish Basketball Association said Thursday in a release announcing Rovios support. "As a small Northern country we cannot deliver the same type of TV audience as some other nations, but thanks to Angry Birds, we can offer an engagement platform that no other country can match." FIBA lists economic aspects among the criteria for wild cards, which became part of the organizations biggest tournament in 2006. Secretary general Patrick Baumann noted Finlands recent success on the court but also its potential off it in a statement about the decision, citing the Finns four victories over top-15 teams at the 2013 European championships and their strong fan support. "The Finns are enjoying massive support with their fans travelling in big numbers to their games," Baumann said. "The current growth of Finnish basketball is the result of a solid long-term strategy being executed by the Finnish Basketball Association and still has a lot of potential for development." Russia, the 2012 Olympic bronze medallist , China, Canada, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, Israel, Italy, Nigeria, Poland, Qatar and Venezuela were the other countries that had applied for wild cards. Italy and Germany had previously withdrawn their bids and China, which was considered a leading candidate to get one because of its population and passion for basketball, did Saturday morning. FIBA also announced it had lifted a ban on Senegal and would allow it to be in the tournament. Teemu Selanne Jersey .Bacca took advantage of Cristian Alvarezs hesitation to head a lobbed pass over the goalkeeper and then used his feet to roll the ball into an empty net in the eighth minute. 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John Wensink Jersey .com) - Pittsburgh Steelers running back LeVeon Bell, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Elvis Dumervil and New England Patriots punter Ryan Allen were selected as the AFCs top players for Week 14 of the NFL season.Calgary, AB (SportsNetwork.com) - Devan Dubnyk stopped all 30 shots fired his way and made several big saves down the stretch for his third shutout of the season as the Minnesota Wild beat the Calgary Flames 1-0 on Tuesday. Zach Parise continued his solid offensive play with the lone goal for the Wild, who ended a two-game skid. Parise now has six goals in his past six games. Jonas Hiller turned aside 31 shots for the Flames, who entered the game with wins in five of their previous six games. Its a tough loss, but like usual we battled hard, Calgary head coach Bob Hartley said. Minnesota opened the scoring after Thomas Vanek directed a turnover to Parise, who beat Hiller in front 8:59 into the game. The Flames outshot the Wild, 14-10, during the second period, but were unable to solvee Dubnyk as Minnesota still led 1-0 heading into the final stanza.dddddddddddd Hiller made a quick kick save on Jason Pominville in tight to keep it a one- goal game five minutes into the third. Dubnyk countered minutes later by snagging Johnny Gaudreaus wrister in the slot. Later in the third, Paul Byron raced into the Minnesota zone on a breakaway, but Dubnyk came up big again as he denied Byron with a pad save. After the Flames pulled Hiller with over a minute to play, Dubnyk shut the door at the other end to seal the win. Game Notes Dubnyk posted his 11th career shutout ... Vanek tallied his 300th career assist ... Minnesota is now 8-2-1 in its last 11 games against Calgary ... The two teams will meet again on Feb. 18 in Calgary. ' ' '