MOSCOW - Russia will cut the budget for hosting the 2018 World Cup as part of plans to slash state expenditure while recession looms, Sports Minister Vitaly Mutko said on Thursday. Pink Cardinals Jerseys .The Russian government is cutting its spending by 10 per cent across the board after the central bank predicted last month that the economy could contract 4.5 to 4.7 per cent this year, under pressure from low oil prices and international sanctions.Mutko, also a FIFA executive committee member, said in comments reported by the Tass news agency that World Cup stadiums and associated infrastructure would be exempt from the cuts. However, various organizational issues and subsidies to the organizing committee would be cut, he said, along with spending related to the draw ceremony.Mutko did not provide specific figures, but suggested the cuts would also apply to the non-exempt areas of World Cup spending.This month, FIFA President Sepp Blatter said he had been assured by President Vladimir Putin that economic problems would not affect the tournament, and FIFA told The Associated Press it was not worried by Mutkos announcement of cuts.We are not concerned that this will have any impact on the delivery of general infrastructure required for a successful staging of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, FIFA spokesman Olegs Sokols said in emailed comments.In a statement issued to the AP, the organizing committee said, This rationalization of federal funding will not affect key infrastructure essential for staging the tournament, like stadiums, training sites, and team base camps, public transportation, IT infrastructure, and safety and security measures.Russia has already cut the capacity of two of its 12 World Cup stadiums from 45,000 to 35,000, citing financial and legacy reasons, but Mutko ruled out further shrinking of stadiums to save money, saying FIFA was unwilling to lose any more ticket revenue from hosting games in front of fewer fans.FIFA wont give us any more concessions, and all the stadiums should be 45,000-capacity, he said. The ticketing program has started, its economics, its FIFAs earnings. The fact that they lowered two of the stadiums to 35,000 people for us; according to their projections, they already lost $60 million.Mutko said the Industry and Trade Ministry was tasked with gathering World Cup contractors for meetings at which they were encouraged to lower the price of concrete for tournament-related projects.According to government figures before Mutkos comments on Thursday, more than half of Russias projected $9.6 billion World Cup spending will come from the federal government budget, with much of the remaining sum paid for by Russian regional authorities and state-owned companies.At previous World Cups, FIFA has occasionally picked up the tab when the host nations government has been unable or unwilling to fund certain aspects of the preparation. In the run-up to last years tournament in Brazil, for example, FIFA covered a reported fee of $20 million to provide generators to power broadcast facilities. Pat Tillman Stitched Jersey . Her return engagement begins tonight as TSN presents Day 1 coverage of the 2015 event from Melbourne. Watch Eugenie Bouchards opening round match at the Australian Open live tonight on TSN5 at 3am et/Midnight pt. Red Cardinals Jerseys . Some teams got significantly better, some teams divested themselves of talent and some teams had quiet afternoons, keeping the status quo. http://www.officialcardinalsnflauthenticshop.com/ . The team announced the moves before Sundays game against Houston. Shaw was 1-4 with a 4.26 ERA in 43 games for the Diamondbacks. Bergesen was claimed off waivers from Baltimore on Friday.PHILADELPHIA -- Chase Utley is feeling healthy and his bat certainly isnt hurting, either. Utley extended his hot start with the tiebreaking homer among three hits, sparking the Philadelphia Phillies to a 4-3 victory over the Miami Marlins on Sunday for a three-game sweep. Utley raised his average to .500 through 10 games, with six doubles, three home runs and 10 RBIs. The five-time All-Star, who missed two games with the flu, has a hit in each of his games this season. Knee issues the last few seasons knocked Utley off an All-Star pace, but hes playing now as if those problems are behind him. "I just see him in really good shape, moving really well on the field defensively and running the bases," Philadelphia manager Ryne Sandberg said. "Hes staying so active on the bases. Maybe that shows how well hes feeling. Thats (knee problems) a non-issue and hes having quality at-bats and seeing the ball well. Hes just in a real good zone. Even his outs are hard." Utley, notorious for keeping things close to the vest, said hes feeling no better or worse physically. "Ive had some decent days, feel OK," he said. "I feel fine, like I normally do." Will Nieves had three hits and two RBIs for Philadelphia, which has won 13 of its last 16 games against Miami. Garrett Jones homered and Casey McGehee had two hits and an RBI for the Marlins, who lost their seventh straight. The Marlins return home to face the Nationals on Monday after getting swept on the six-game road trip through Washington and Philadelphia. "Everyone has to take ownership for this trip," Miami manager Mike Redmond said. "Weve got to get better. There are areas we have to improve on, but were still battling. Nobodys going to give up." Utley broke a 3-all tie with two outs in the eighth by driving a 1-0 offering from Mike Dunn (0-1) into the seats in right-centre. "Just finding some holes," Utley said. "Not trying to do too much. Trying to put the ball in play and right now theyre falling." A.J. Bastardo (1-1) pitched a scoreless eighth for the win. Jonathan Papelbon pitched a scoreless ninth for his third save in four chances. Kyle Kendrick has a sparkling career record against the Marlins, going 12-2 with a 3.48 ERA in 21 career games coming in. In his last 11, he was 9-0 with a 2.21 ERA. But he did not factor into the decision Sunday after giving up three runs -- two earned -- on six hits in six innings. His counterpart, Henderson Alvarez, yielded tthree runs and 12 hits in six innings. Josh Rosen Stitched Jersey. The Marlins took advantage of first baseman Ryan Howards fielding error to get a run in the first on McGehees RBI single and tacked on a run on in the second on Christian Yelichs run-scoring single. Jones launched his first homer of the season to deep right with one out in the fifth to give Miami a 3-1 lead. Philadelphia tied it in the bottom half on Nieves two-out, two-run double to right. The Phillies requested an out call at home plate be reviewed in the seventh inning. Tony Gwynn Jr. was called out trying to score from first on Utleys double to left. But Sandberg asked for the play to be reviewed because he thought catcher Jeff Mathis was blocking the plate with his left leg prior to Gwynns slide. Under the expanded replay format, umpires initiate a review of the new rule covering collisions at home plate. After a 54-second delay the out call by homeplate umpire Mark Ripperger was upheld. Sandberg, though, believes there needs to be clarification to the rule. "I thought the catcher did not give the base runner a lane," he said. "I saw the replay and I still say the leg was blocking it, so Gwynn didnt have a lane to home plate. I felt like Gwynn had to alter his slide because the plate was blocked, so theres some confusion there." Howard had just three hits in his last 17 at-bats before homering to the opposite field with one out in the third to tie it at 1. It was the second homer of the season for Howard. Gwynn started in centre field in place of Ben Revere for the third straight game and had three hits. Revere struck out swinging in the seventh as a pinch-hitter. The Phillies, who entered leading the NL with 43 bases on balls, walked six times against three Marlins pitchers. NOTES: Hall of Fame third baseman Mike Schmidt debuted in the Phillies broadcast booth during the game. Schmidt will serve as a colour analyst on Sunday home games this season. ... Prior to the game, the Phillies optioned RHP Justin De Fratus to Triple-A Lehigh Valley and recalled RHP Luis Garcia. De Fratus allowed four runs in five innings (7.20 ERA) over four games this season. ... Phillies RHP Roberto Hernandez (1-0, 4.35) opposes Atlanta RHP Ervin Santana (1-0, 0.00) when the teams open a four-game series in Philadelphia at 7:05 p.m. Monday. ... Marlins LHP Brad Hand (0-0, 3.24) faces RHP Jordan Zimmerman (0-0, 8.10) Monday. ... Philadelphia 3B Cody Asche went 0 for 2 and is hitless in 10 at-bats. Cheap Diamondbacks Jerseys Cheap Braves Jerseys Cheap Orioles Jerseys Cheap Red Sox Jerseys Cheap Cubs Jerseys Cheap White Sox Jerseys Cheap Reds Jerseys Cheap Indians Jerseys Cheap Rockies Jerseys Cheap Tigers Jerseys Cheap Astros Jerseys Cheap Royals Jerseys Cheap Angels Jerseys Cheap Dodgers Jerseys Cheap Marlins Jerseys ' ' '