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. Joseph Noteboom Jersey . 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 Italy and Germany had previously withdrawn their bids and China, which was considered a leading candidate to get one because of its population and passion for basketball, did Saturday morning.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. Ndamukong Suh Jersey . -- Steven Stamkos scored his first goal since returning from a major injury, Ryan Callahan had his first goal with Tampa Bay, and the Lightning beat the Florida Panthers 5-4 on Thursday night. Brian Allen Jersey . After Mariota was pushed around by Stanford on Thursday, finishing 20/34 with 250 yards and two touchdowns in Oregons Title hope-crushing defeat, hes going to need a poor performance or two from the remaining frontrunners to have a shot at the most coveted individual trophy in college sports. http://www.laramsfansshop.com/c-75-rams-john-franklin-myers-jersey.aspx . Rajne Soderberg, the director of the Stockholm Diamond League event, said in an email Friday that the ban still holds. Euromeetings, the organization representing Europes top track events, "will continue to recommend that members do not invite athletes who we believe cause disrepute to our meetings and our sport.WASHINGTON - Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder says its time to put some money behind his claim that his teams nickname honours Native Americans. Snyder said Monday hes creating a foundation to assist American Indian tribes, even as some in that community continue to assert that the name "Redskins" is offensive. "Its not enough to celebrate the values and heritage of Native Americans," Snyder said in a letter to the teams fans. "We must do more." The letter states the Washington Redskins Original Americans Foundation will "provide meaningful and measurable resources that provide genuine opportunities" for Native Americans. The announcement did not state whether Snyder will personally donate any money to the foundation and gave no other financial details. A major opponent of the nickname said Snyders move was "somewhere between a PR assault and bribery." Suzan Shown Harjo, a lead figure in a long-running case that seeks to strip the Redskins of their federal trademark protection, told The Associated Press that Snyder is showing the "same arrogance" that hes shown previously when defending the nickname. "Im glad that hes had a realization that Native Americans have it tough in the United States," Harjo said. "All sorts of people could have told him that, and have been trying to tell him that for a long time." Snyder again gave no indication he plans tto change the teams name. Sam Shields Jersey. . He said he believes "even more firmly" the name "captures the best of who we are and who we can be, by staying true to our history and honouring the deep and enduring values our name represents." Snyder has come under unprecedented pressure to change the name over the last year. President Barack Obama told the AP in October he would consider changing the name if he owned the team. Harjo said the refusal to budge on the name will offset, at least in part, the good that is done with the foundations money. "Will (the foundation) do much of anything? No. But it probably wont hurt," Harjo said, "except that it will continue the cycle of negative imaging of Native American people in the public arena." In the letter, Snyder said he and his staff visited 26 reservations over the last four months. He listed poverty, illness, drug abuse, violence and lack of basic infrastructure as among the problems faced by Native Americans. "Ive listened. Ive learned. And frankly, its heart wrenching," the letter said. Harjo wondered why Snyder, who has owned the team since 1999, is only just now reaching out to Native Americans. "Its sort of an admission that he was losing the PR battle," she said. "So now hes gone out to find the real story — as if someone was hiding the real story about pressing needs in Indian country." 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 ' ' '