MELBOURNE, Australia -- Montreals Eugenie Bouchard has been preparing for the Australian Open semifinal her entire life. Bouchard became the first Canadian woman to reach a Grand Slam semi in three decades with her 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 quarter-final win over former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic on Monday. She faces Chinas Li Na on Thursday in the Australian Opens final four. "This is something Ive been doing since I was five years old and working my whole life for and sacrificing a lot of things for," said Bouchard. "So its not exactly a surprise. I always expect myself to do well. Im just happy to have gone through this step. Im not done. I have a match on Thursday. Im just looking forward to that." The semifinal pairing of the 19-year-old Bouchard versus the 31-year-old Li, who won the 2011 French Open, has captured the attention of tennis fans around the world. Li has played two of the last three finals at Melbourne Park. That kind of WTA rep does not bother the confident Bouchard, whose ad-hoc Genie Army of a dozen or so Aussie fans will surely be out in full force for the showcase event. "Lis a great champion, shes won a Slam, as well, its going to be really tough," said Bouchard, playing in the main draw of a major for only the fourth time. "I played her once in Montreal two years ago. We had a close match, one of my first bigger matches. "It will be interesting to play her. I know shes very solid, very good from the back. Its going to be hard, but Im looking forward to it." Beside her tennis, its Bouchards bubbly personality that has captured fan fancy, with commentators already labelling her the next breakout womens star. The Canadian extrovert, who confesses to possessing a Type A, get-it-done personality -- especially on the court -- is dealing with the expectations well. "Im a really focused person, really driven. Off the court Im almost impatient in a way," said Bouchard. "On the court Im the same way. I really just want to play my game, be aggressive, take it to my opponent, and not just wait around and wait for opportunities. "I think its a good thing to take my chances when Im on the court." Bouchards not intimidated by the big stage of a Grand Slam tournament, either. "The matches I had last year on the big courts, like (Maria) Sharapova at the French Open, Ivanovic at Wimbledon, just being on those big stages gave me a lot of experience," she said. "Now walking out on centre court in Australia, I feel like Ive been here before. Ive been able to perform on big stages as well. It gives me that extra confidence." While she wont make any predictions about her match with Li, Bouchard is fairly certain that her supporters will be tossing another stuffed Aussie animal onto the court after the match, bringing her tournament total to five. The bulky mementos have a special place in her heart, with Bouchard bringing each new one to post-match media availability and sitting it proudly next to the microphone. Getting the growing menagerie back to Quebec should not be a problem for the resourceful Bouchard. "I have a koala, and kangaroo, a kookaburra, and a wombat," she said. "I will create luggage space. Its worth it to take my wombat home." Balenciaga Triple s Cheap . The third-ranked Buckeyes were down eight points to Notre Dame with less than 2 minutes to play and their offence was nowhere to be found. Yeezy Boost 350 v2 Fake For Sale .com) - DAngelo Harrison posted 21 points to guide No. http://www.brandshoescheaponline.com/who...-max-china.html. Six years of waiting are finally over for the Dallas defenceman. 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"In large part, it was due to recognition of the great work theyve done on the stadium," Commissioner Roger Goodell noted. "Its been 10 years and weve always been driving to build a stadium," Vikings owner Zygi Wilf said. "We can rejoice right now for being rewarded this, but the hard work comes now." New Orleans bid committee members were certain the new Minneapolis stadium, set to open in 2016, swung the vote. The stadium will hold up to 72,000 for the Super Bowl. "The new stadium was absolutely the deciding factor," Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation President Jay Cicero said. "Any time that there is so much public support for a $1 billion stadium, the NFL owners are impressed. "We did everything we were supposed to do, had a fantastic presentation. In the end we think the stadium did it." The big game will be staged in the Twin Cities for the second time. It was there in 1992, when Washington beat Buffalo. It will be there in 2018 because the Vikings lobbied for years to replace the aging Metrodome, one of the NFLs least profitable facilities. When Minnesota political leaders realized the team could move out of state without a new home, the stadium project moved forward. Legislators in 2012 approved the stadium, with taxpayers carrying about 56 per cent of the freight. Owners needed four ballots to choose Minneapolis, with Indianapolis the first city eliminated. Indy was praised for a highly successful 2012 Super Bowl, but could have been hurt by the recent legal troubles of Colts owner Jim Irsay. Irsay underwent treatment after he was arrested and accused of having $29,000 in cash and bottles of prescription drugs in his car. He made his first public appearance at these meetings since the arrest. Irsay said Indianapolis will bid again. "Before, we had to lose one to get one," he said, noting Indy fell short in previous bids before landing the 2012 game. "It will take persistence and we know we have the type of people who will be that." New Orleans was considered the favourite and has staged the Super Bowl 10 times, tied with South Florida for the most. Its bid might have been damaged by the blackout tthat interrupted the 2013 title game.dddddddddddd. Next years game is in Glendale, Arizona, followed by Santa Clara, California, for the 50th Super Bowl, then Houston. Earlier at their spring meetings, NFL owners tabled any vote expanding the playoffs to 14 teams. There is strong sentiment among the owners to add a wild-card team in each conference to the post-season, most likely beginning in 2015. Under such a setup only the team with the best record in each conference will get a week off at the beginning of the playoffs. Goodell said it will be discussed again in October. "I do believe it will be approved for the 2015 season," he said. New York Giants owner John Mara is against adding more playoff teams. "I dont think its a sure thing at all," Mara said. "Its probably more likely than not, but nothing is set in stone. There was no straw poll taken. ... I think its good the way we have it." The players union says it needs to be consulted on an expanded post-season, and Goodell said he spoke with NFL Players Association Executive Director DeMaurice Smith two weeks ago about it. Also Tuesday: --A committee examining the time, length and site of the draft reported to the owners. The NFL will consider whether to keep it in May. It drew record TV ratings this year after it was moved back two weeks from its usual late April slot. It also will look into adding a fourth day and moving it from its traditional spot in New York to a variety of NFL cities, with a dozen already having expressed interest; "If I was king of the world, Id put it right back where it was," Mara said, referring to the April dates. --Goodell said that had HGH testing been implemented, 104 other cases under the leagues drug policy would have been heard by an independent arbitrator, with 21 players being referred to the first level of the drug program rather than being suspended. The NFL and players union agreed to HGH testing in the 2011 collective bargaining agreement, but the union first balked at the procedures for testing, then at Goodell having the final say on appeals. The NFLPA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. --New director of football operations Troy Vincent hired three advisers, including Hall of Fame linebacker Mike Singletary. Vincent, a former All-Pro defensive back, also hired former NFL player and coach Jimmy Raye and former player and general manager Mike Reinfeldt. Among other chores, the three new hires will serve as liaisons to league coaches and front-office personnel. ' ' '