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Watching the Montreal Canadiens lose goaltender Carey Price to injury this week reminded me of what I often think is the great weakness of North American sports. The reliance of individuals in team sports. Hockey is obsessed with goaltenders. A team loses and the first place people look at for blame is in between the pipes. Baseball? As they say, momentum is all about the next days starting pitcher. NFL? Find an elite quarterback if you want to win the Super Bowl and stop using Trent Dilfer as an example (unless you can find one of the greatest defences to go alongside him). Basketball? You wont find many NBA championship teams that doesnt feature a current or future hall of famer. The global game of soccer is often very different, as the achievements of Atletico Madrid this week have shown. A sport that is so reliant on teamwork rarely allows a figurehead to rise to such prominence to make a championship be about them. Sure, domestic leagues have outstanding players who take over games, weeks, even months of a campaign, but without their teammates they are just one man with a ball at their feet. Even the greatest players in the world today are surrounded by players close to their level that allows them to perform brilliantly so often. For some reason, however, every four years many forget the common sense around this belief and two words are the reason for it. World Cup. There have only been nineteen of these in history and, specifically for the last 16 of them, it has been considered as the ultimate thing in the sport to win. However, the World Cup is not without its failings. Many games produce predictable, sterile games dominated by defensive-minded teams, unable to replicate the teamwork earned by club teams over long periods of time, who, subsequently, know its far easier to stop than score. It is a tournament that lasts one month every four years. The best team plays seven games and does not even have to win them all. Yet, because it is so short in time and so infrequent on the games calendar, the World Cup cares little for reputations, instead choosing to make them. This allows the sport to be much more North American in terms of individuals stamping their authority on it. With this in mind, collectively, we owe it to future generations to be extremely careful with the evidence provided (and this is not always easy with the lack of video available to us once the tournament ends). First of all we must remember that players can have excellent tournaments without actually winning it. This rule is for all, not just for those you didnt expect to win it anyway. Take Lionel Messis 2010 World Cup. Many adjectives have been used to describe this including poor and disappointing. What nonsense. Messi was excellent in South Africa but because he didnt score a goal some thought he was disappointing. When his out-of-his-depth manager, Diego Maradona, decided to play without a central midfield, Argentina were sent home packing in the quarterfinals. They never had a chance of winning the World Cup and none of that fell on the shoulders of Messi. Since leaving South Africa, Messi, with Barcelona, has won everything there is to win in club football, and added three more Ballon DOr awards. He has consistently succeeded in the most competitive tournament, the Champions League, the sport has to offer. He is described by many as one of the greatest players to play the game but suddenly he is removed from such a camp, by some, the closer a World Cup gets to starting, when a new hurdle is put in his path to reach the pantheon of greatness; a hurdle he simply cannot jump himself. Messis countryman, Ossie Ardiles, who won the World Cup in 1978, hit the headlines last week with this gem of a quote: "To be considered alongside the top, top guys like Pele and Diego Maradona and so on, Messi not only needs to be in the World Cup but to win it." Mr Ardiles isnt the only one who feels this way, of course, and in fact there is an alarming chance he is in the majority rather than the minority when it comes to this topic. What a pity. And while we are on this quote, who is so on exactly? When Pele played, the World Cup was everything. He changed the sport and is arguably the greatest player to play the game. The World Cup made him the global star that he simply couldnt reach himself at Santos. Maradona graced four World Cups and is forever remembered as the face of Mexico 1986. It is fitting for a man so talented that he had that event to catapult him towards the legends of the game but many who celebrate Maradonas greatness, because of those 30 days in Mexico, often, conveniently, forget his 1982 and 1994 World Cups ended in disgrace. 1990? Dont let their runner-up spot fool you. His team was even worse than Messis 2010 side and his performances werent even close to the ones shown by Barcelonas current star in South Africa. There is no disputing Maradonas greatness on the field but if the guardians of football history and, subsequently, the makers of reputations are going to base so much on what happens at World Cups then they need to be fair about it. In a sport that cares so often about who wins and loses this seems like an impossible task. Only one team can lift the trophy when it all finishes on July 11. Of course, Messi will be considered as one of the true greats if that team proves to be Argentina but why should we wait to find out what some of his flawed teammates can do for him before we give him such an honour? Just because Maradona, Pele and so on won the World Cup? The game is full of true, elite greats who never did. Pele and Maradona call Alfredo Di Stefano the most complete player ever and what of Johan Cruyff, who was magnificent in the 1974 World Cup and did everything but win the tournament? Rather than holding the World Cup to a higher standard that some cannot reach, those who lean on individual quality, should enjoy its beauty at producing other stars whose solo acts can carry their teams far. Garrincha, Eusebio, Cruyff, Paolo Rossi, Toto Schillaci, Roberto Baggio, Romario, Davor Sukur, Ronaldo, Oliver Kahn, Fabio Cannavaro, Diego Forlan and David Villa are just some examples of that. Some won, some didnt. Some are true greats, some arent. Their reputations were enhanced by their World Cup play but also because their team was able to get to the final week of the event. Neither Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo needs to win a World Cup to be graced amongst the greatest ever. It appears, before the tournament already starts, that Ronaldo doesnt have the team to get him to the trophy, and if the tournament proves the same for Argentina why should Messi be judged differently to Ronaldo? This special group, created by the likes of Ardiles, that features Maradona, Pele and so on is a hindrance to football history and an ignorance to the game itself. Greg Zuerlein Jersey . Pace had a career-high 10 sacks for Rex Ryans defence-- second only to Muhammad Wilkersons 10 1/2 -- in his sixth season with the Jets. The 33-year-old outside linebacker was an unrestricted free agent. 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In the opener of the World Group first-round series, world No. 18 Kei Nishikori defeated Peter Polansky of Thornhill, Ont.Freddie Freeman says he wont try to change to prove he deserves the biggest contract in Atlanta Braves history. "Im going to go out there and just keep trying to get better," he said Wednesday, a day after his $135 million, eight-year deal was finalized. "I progressively got better the last three years. Hopefully, I can stay healthy and continue to do so. Im not going to try to put extra pressure, just go out there and keep doing what Ive been doing." Freeman already has plans on how to spend some of the money. "The first thing Ive got to do is pay for a wedding," he said, looking ahead to the Nov. 22 ceremony. Freemans finance, Chelsea Goff, sat in the front during the news conference alongside the players father. She said planned to shop for a wedding gown on Thursday. Freeman gets a $2,875,000 signing bonus, of which $1,875,000 is payable on May 1 and $1 million on July 1. He receives salaries of $5,125,000 this year, $8.5 million in 2015, $12 million in 2016, $20.5 million in 2017, $21 million in each of the following two years and $22 million in each of the final two seasons. The agreement covers three arbitration-eligible seasons and five years in which he could have become a free agent. Freemans deal tops the $90 million, six-year contract for Chipper Jones that covered 2001-06 and came one year after the Braves gave outfielder B.J. Upton the biggest contract for a free agent in team history -- $75.25 million for five years. Upton struggled in his first year in Atlanta, hitting only .184 and losing his starting job. After the season, general manager Frank Wren said Upton may have felt too much pressure. Wren said Freeman can handle the long-term deal. "One of the things we were looking at was ... the right timing," Wren said. "Has the player established himself well enough that this wont affect him one way or the other? This was the perfect timing for us." Freeman, 24, has played only three full seasons. He was an All-SStar last year, when he hit .dddddddddddd19 with 23 homers and 109 RBIs. He matched his career high in home runs, set highs in batting average and RBIs and finished fifth in NL MVP voting. He has topped 20 home runs in three straight seasons. "He keeps getting better," manager Fredi Gonzalez said. "I think before all this is said and done, its going to be a contract thats well worth it because hes going to keep getting better. His numbers are going to keep getting better. Last year he set out to drive in 100 runs. And he did it." Freeman said he was humbled to receive the long extension so early in his career. "For them to believe in me with this kind of contract is truly an honour, humbling," he said. "But to happen this young, I never thought it would be even possible." Freeman then paused before adding with a huge grin "But Im happy!" In addition to his salary, he would get a $500,000 bonus if hes NL MVP, $1 million if he wins the award a second time and $1.5 million for a third. He gets $200,000 if hes second through fifth in the voting. In addition. Freeman receives $50,000 apiece for All-Star selection and World Series MVP, and $25,000 each for Gold Glove, Silver Slugger and league championship series MVP. Outfielder Jason Heyward and the Braves agreed Tuesday to a $13.3 million, two-year contract. Heyward and Freeman had filed for salary arbitration last month. Closer Craig Kimbrel is the Braves only player left in arbitration. The Braves biggest news of the off-season was their surprising plans to open a new stadium in 2017 in suburban Cobb County. Wren said expectations for increased revenue from the new stadium played a role in Freemans deal. "We looked to how we could strategize to make that happen," Wren said. "And I think theres also the element of the new situation in Cobb County three years from now that allows us to be more competitive. And I think thats evidenced by this signing." 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