Once upon a time, in a land Down Under, two great rivals had scheduled a duel. They were not fighting over a grand prize - the cup did not even have a name - but something far more important. Theirs was a battle for honour. Both had strong sporting prowess and both had plenty to prove.The hosts, Australia, had just returned from a humbling in Sri Lanka where they had to give up the crown they had worn for just a few months. They were ranked No.1 before that trip, buoyed by a satisfying home summer, but like the Emperor who thought he was clad in finery, their batting was actually bare.The challengers, South Africa, were embarking on their first mission since they were humiliated in India with their first away series loss in nine years. The months after that sent them reeling - a home defeat to England, an early exit from the World T20 and an off-field overhaul that put the focus on a change in team make-up through transformation. They arrived like Princess Aurora, asleep but still attractive.Still, something stirred in South Africa early on, which suggested they were ready to shake their last-season slumber. Their spearhead Dale Steyn threatened to push the oppositions Humpty Dumpty off the wall. He said that would cause the body to fall but in a cruel twist, it was his own shell that could not be put back together again.The kings other soldiers and the kings other men had to go out on their own and Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj accepted the task. A stirring comeback allowed the two stepsisters of the WACA - JP Duminy, whose career was born there eight years ago but had returned on life support, and Dean Elgar, whose career could have been stillborn there four years ago - to go to the ball. When midnight came, they had both scored hundreds and another little star was twinkling too. Temba Bavuma effected the run-out that started the second Australian collapse and led to the unlikeliest of South African wins.Australia were caught off guard but they promised not to make any changes. Rod Marsh and Darren Lehmanns noses grew as the words came out. They were proved Pinocchios when Australia made three changes for the second battle.Fee-fi-fo-fum , Philander smelled the blood of an Australian. He turned the Hobart pitch into a magic carpet, rolled back the years, and claimed his first five-for on the road since Lords 2012. Australia were all out for 85, which made for better reading than their 47 four years ago but would have felt a lot worse.All the better to rub your nose in it then, my dear, thought Quinton de Kock and Kyle Abbott. De Kock racked up a fifth consecutive score of fifty or more; Abbott claimed a nine-wicket match haul in his eighth Test over three years. South Africa had found a way to make stone soup, while Australias pot was still boiling.Too hot, too cold and nowhere near just right, explained the golden-locked Steven Smith. If there is anything in the wicket - spin, swing, seam - at the moment, we are not adapting well enough. We are not willing to grind it out.A trail of mints leading to a ball-tampering allegation shone in the moonlight but unlike Hansel and Gretel, the Australian team had no interest in following it. The ICC, however, did. It was alerted to the footage through media reports and laid a charge against the victorious stand-in captain Faf du Plessis, turning him from hero to villain. Despite carrying a previous conviction for this offense, he cried wolf and so did his cricket board.Everybody does it, they bellowed. The term artificial is not clear, they said. Ball shining is different to ball tampering, they pleaded. They huffed and puffed but they could not blow the house down. Match referee Andy Pycroft found du Plessis guilty. The punishment was not harsh enough to prevent du Plessis from playing the Adelaide Test, a fixture that could lead to a pot of gold at the end of a slightly different-coloured rainbow.South Africa were chasing a whitewash in a game that would be played with a pink ball. They would have to beat another new-look Australian side to do that. The hosts had replaced grumpy, sleepy, dopey and sneezy with driven, determined, defiant and daring. Their fresh faces saved their snow whites with a consolation win in which their Rapunzel, Usman Khawaja, let down his long hair. He made South Africas attack toil, for only the second time in the series, and scored a century to finish as the series top-scorer.South Africa wont leave too disappointed, though. After everything, they have plenty to celebrate. After du Plessis turned Cinderella, with a redeeming century, even their ugly duckling, Stephen Cook, whose technique was written off and career looked over, became a swan.In Perth and Hobart, Sleeping Beauty woke up; in Adelaide, the Emperor found a clever little tailor to begin stitching the basics of a new wardrobe and in the end, they all lived happily ever after. At least until the next series. Laurent Koscielny Jersey . Defenceman Yannick Weber scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period and the Canucks breathed a sigh of relief with a 2-1 win on Saturday night. Arsenal Jerseys . But Bourque, who has missed three games with a lower-body injury, wont be in the lineup when the Habs travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Wednesday. http://www.footballarsenalstore.com/Women-Rob-Holding-Arsenal-Fc-Jersey/ . The showiest items on Calgarys lot were forwards Mike Cammalleri and Lee Stempniak. Both will be unrestricted free agents this summer. Sokratis Papastathopoulos Arsenal Jersey . Brad Jacobs and his Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., team took control of the game early. Alexandre Lacazette Jersey . -- Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Farmar will be out for roughly four weeks after tearing his left hamstring.VANCOUVER - Will Johnson got mad — and then he helped his team get even. Johnson scored on a penalty kick and earned an assist as the short-handed Portland Timbers came back to earn a 2-2 draw with the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday in Major League Soccer action. Johnsons heroics occurred after his foul enabled Vancouver to take a 1-0 lead into the dressing room at halftime. The 26-year-old Toronto native felt extra motivation after his early miscue. "Im the kind of person (if) you punch me in the face, Im not going anywhere," said Johnson, who also plays for Canadas national team. "Im going to punch back." Second-half substitute Jose Valencias goal in the 84th minute gave the Timbers (4-1-7) the draw and extended their unbeaten strike to 10 games. "This team continues to do things that amaze me," said Portland coach Caleb Porter. "Weve gone 10 games without a loss, and throughout those 10 games weve come from behind, in some games two goals, and this is just another example of what this team is made of." The tying marker came while Portland was playing with 10 men due to Mamadou Dansos ejection only three minutes earler. Camilo led Vancouver with a goal and an assist, while Gershon Koffie also scored for the Whitecaps (3-4-4), who remain unbeaten at home (3-0-3). Vancouver has never beaten Portland in six MLS games. "We did very well," said Koffie. "The chances we had, we took our chances. But its a disappointing result for us, that we did not get three points." Valencia scored after receiving a long, high lob from Johnson. The ball appeared to touch Valencias arm and he and Vancouver defender Brad Rusin went up for it, but play was allowed to continue and Valencia tucked a short shot inside the near post. "The players really deserved to win it," said Rennie after his clubs third game in seven days. "They put in a fantastic effort this week." Continuing a trend of recent games, he juggled his lineup and made some surprising moves. In the most notable one, Camilo, who has been utilized mainly as a midfielder, played as a lone striker. The move paid off as Camilo was a scoring threat and also generated a number of chances. Rennie said he inserted Camilo because he was fresh after resting in Montreal. "He is the top scorer in the clubs history, and he showed us why tonight," said Rennie. The Brazilian fired just wide on a free kick from about 35 yards out in the 23rd minute, taking the shot after Russell Teibert was fouled on the right flank. But Camilo made no mistake a minute later as he curled a shot high into the corner of the net from about 20 yards. The free kick resulted after Camilo himself was fouled by Johnson, who receivved a yellow card for the infraction.dddddddddddd "It wasnt a great play," said Johnson. "He wasnt looking to shoot or try and do anything. He was looking for the foul. Ill have to see it again (on video), but a player with my experience should know better and know that hes looking for a foul because hes deadly on free kicks. "But I take my hat off to him. Thats a world-class free kick." In the 52nd minute, Johnson made up for his miscue as he fired in a penalty kick to create a 1-1 tie. The spot kick resulted after Johnsons shot hit Vancouver defender Andy OBriens arm and the Caps were called for a hand ball. But Koffie put the hosts ahead just two minutes later as Camilo, grappling with two defenders in the Portland box, sent the ball back to him and he curled in a high shot. Danso received a straight red card after he and Camilo tangled legs while rushing for a loose ball deep in the Portland zone. But the short-handed situation did not hurt the Timbers for long as Valencia emerged the hero for the visitors. Rennie said Dansos ejection was the turning point in the entertaining contest. "We relaxed a little bit, and the goal came right after that," said Rennie. "I think we could have dealt with that better." Vancouver goalkeeper Brad Knighton, who made his first MLS start of the season, said the Caps felt that they should have had three points instead of one. "One long ball right down the middle of the field beats us," he said. "We cant let the referee make the decisions for us. We need to take care of business." Notes: The Timbers lost forward Darlington Nagbe in the first half after he was injured in a sequence in which Portlands Diego Valeri delivered a hard tackle on Vancouvers Young-Pyo Lee. Porter said Nagbe "tweaked" his ankle, but the coach did not know how long he could be out. ... Whitecaps striker Darren Mattocks was rendered a second-half substitute after scoring in Vancouvers last MLS game, and defender Alain Rochat, a perennial starter, subbed in as a midfielder, a position he also played in Montreal. ... The game served as part of an in-season competition, the Cascadia Cup, between Vancouver, Portland and the Seattle Sounders. ... Gambian centre back Pa-Modou Kah dressed for his first game with Portland after signing earlier this week. He is expected to see action soon. The Timbers have a shortage at centre back as David Horst and Mikael Silvestre battle knee injuries that are expected to keep them out six to nine months. The Timbers also released Colombian centre back Hanyer Mosquera after he returned to his homeland. ... Vancouver striker Kenny Miller (hamstring) and midfielder Daigo Kobayashi remained out with injuries. ' ' '