SAN FRANCISCO -- Javier Lopez tested the market just as he wanted to do, then wound up right back where he has become so comfortable at this stage of his career. On Tuesday, the free-agent left-hander finalized his new $13 million, three-year contract to stay with the San Francisco Giants. Lopez agreed to terms on the deal last Thursday, but needed to travel to the Bay Area to undergo his physical before signing the contract. "I feel like I went through the process the way I wanted to, obviously with keeping the Giants in the know and keeping them front and centre in the whole situation," Lopez said. "I did just want to reach out and see what kind of interest there was around the league and gauge the thoughts of my family, but ultimately San Francisco was No. 1 the entire time and thats ultimately how it worked out." He will earn $4 million in both 2014 and 15 and $5 million in 2016. The contract includes up to $500,000 in incentives based on games pitched. The 36-year-old Lopez went 4-2 with a 1.83 ERA in 69 appearances and 39 1-3 innings this year. He just completed an $8.5 million, two-year contract. Keeping Lopez was among the top off-season priorities for general manager Brian Sabean after his club missed the playoffs following its second World Series title in three years during 2012. In fact, Sabean approached Lopez leading up to this summers trade deadline -- when many figured he might be someone the Giants tried to deal -- and expressed his support of the pitcher for not only 2013 but beyond. For Lopez, that gesture meant so much, along with the Giants doing what they could to keep much of the pitching staff together not to mention the entire roster. "I do think that obviously any time youre going into your last year before free agency, the trade deadline does become a barometer not only of what your future is with the club, but what the team thinks of you," Lopez said. "To have Sabean call us all in and tell us he wanted us to continue to be Giants not only this year but going into future, I think that was a big deal, I really do. Ive never had a GM do that before." San Francisco acquired Lopez in a swap that sent John Bowker and Joe Martinez to the Pirates in 2010, and Lopez emerged as a reliable option for manager Bruce Bochy as the club made an improbable run to the citys first World Series championship since moving West in 1958. The signing of Lopez to a multiyear deal gives the Giants two lefties in the bullpen for the next two seasons. Jeremy Affeldt received an $18 million, three-year contract last November. In addition, starters Madison Bumgarner and Matt Cain are signed long term, along with 2012 NL MVP and batting champion catcher Buster Posey. Two-time NL Cy Young Award winner Tim Lincecum landed a $35 million, two-year deal late last month. The Giants had to clear a spot on the 40-man roster for Lopez, so left-hander Jose Mijares was outrighted to the minors. He then cleared waivers and chose to become a free agent. Cheap Basketball College Jerseys . -- Omar Infante walked past the visiting clubhouse at Kauffman Stadium, where he dressed so many times as a member of the Detroit Tigers, and slipped on a crisp, new Kansas City Royals jersey. NCAA Jerseys China . According to bodog.ca, Cleveland moved up to grab the best odds to win the Larry OBrian trophy at 4-1 on Friday. By comparison, the Miami Heats odds plummeted from 3-1 favourites before LeBron left, to 50-1. https://www.chinajerseysncaa.us/. But San Diego had even more trouble against right-hander Tanner Roark, who pitched a three-hitter for the first complete game of his career as the Nationals shut out the Padres 4-0. The 27-year-old set down the first 16 batters before San Diego catcher Rene Rivera, an . Replica NCAA Jerseys . A day after FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke said three stadiums would not be ready in time for the Dec. 31 deadline, Brazilian officials said they actually plan to deliver all six remaining venues after that date. They claim only three are delayed, with the other three being handed over after the expected date only because of problems accommodating the schedule of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, who wants to be present for the ceremonies. Cheap NCAA Jerseys . The 21-year-old Canadian earned a spot in his third career ATP final on Saturday thanks to his first Top 10 victory of the new tennis season, a 6-4, 6-4 win over world no. 10 Nicolas Almagro of Spain. To this day, in his mind, his side were the best team. "We knew we were much better than them, we were not afraid at all." Johan Cruyff shakes his head when thinking back to the day his Dutch side lost in the 1974 World Cup final to hosts West Germany. The shake, however, is not full of bitterness, bewilderness or even disappointment. Cruyff didnt need a trophy to tell him his team was the best. After all, for the next 40 years, all he and the rest of us have heard is how good that team was. It speaks volumes about Cruyff, and indeed the Dutch philosophy, that they were happy to be the Peoples Champions, rather than the World Champions. Greatness, instead, is used to describe the team that came from behind to beat them that day, a team featuring stars like Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Muller and Paul Breitner. Sixteen years later, in Rome, West Germany became World Champions once again. Great players like Lothar Matthaus, Andreas Brehme and Jurgen Klinsmann helped to dispose of an extremely average Argentina team. It was only one game of football. The same length of a match that can happen at your local park. Yet, despite it being an awful match, it accomplished something so important. It was able to separate greatness and mediocrity, ensuring the chronicles of football history were told the way they should. Since then five other teams would go on to win the World Cup in their own different ways. Some were better than others, but all of them deserved to win it and were better than their opponents. In Brazil we are now down to the final four. It has been a great World Cup, full of great moments, many of them coming from great players. However, where greatness has yet to be sprinkled is upon any of the teams. Brazil, Germany, Argentina and Netherlands is a wonderful final group to have in the semi-finals. Indeed, it is the first time ever that the two South American powerhouses have been at this stage in the same World Cup. All four are true giants in the game, without question, but so far the 2014 versions have been far from great. They all head into the final two laps of this World Cup knowing one of them will become the champions when they cross the line for the final time next Sunday inside the famous Maracana. All four have shown glimpses of individual greatness. Netherlands, who had to come from behind against Spain, Australia and Mexico, are inexperienced in defence and have significant weaknesses in midfield but they have lethal, clinical, great finishers who have helped them get this far although Robin Van Persie has gotten progressively worse as the tournament has gone on. Argentina saved their best performance for their latest victory, a 1-0 quarter-final defeat of Belgium. However, it was far from an outstanding performance. Coach Alejandro Sabella will be glad some players stepped up in key areas that badly needed to be improved but they remain a team that is very vulnerable in defence and the collective balance of the side is still nowhere near complete. Lionel Messi has been great at this World Cup, scoring or assisting on five of their eight goals so far, but Argentina have benefitted from a very kind draw and, other than at Messi, it would be wrong to place any kind of greatness on anyone else at tthe moment.dddddddddddd In fact, it has been a clinic in countering the argument that Messi himself must carry Argentina to glory, showing glaring examples of how average the team really is. The same can be said for Brazil, whose two truly great players will not feature for them in the semi-finals. Thiago Silva (suspension) and Neymar (back injury) will be a huge loss for the hosts against Germany. However, what this allows us all to do is to sit back and see if greatness can be found by others. It will be up to the other eleven players for Brazil to see if they can reach the final in front of an expectant home crowd. The Brazilian public often demands to see winners, while being entertained at the same time, and so far the team has only managed to, barely, win. With two games to go to win an historic World Cup on home soil it appears, based on the quarter-final crowd, that the winning ugly method is fine as long as they keep jumping the hurdles towards greatness. However, more often than not, winning ugly and losing usually meet at the same point. Eventually. Luiz Felipe Scolaris side have not been anywhere close to great at this World Cup but have two games left to save their reputation and cast aside any labels that have been thrown at them so far. Standing in their way is a Germany team who has also showed some significant flaws getting to the last four. Their captain Philipp Lahm hasnt been at his best, in either position he has been played at, while Mesut Ozil and Mario Gotze have been dubbed the invisible duo by the German press while coach Joachin Low remains undecided on who plays up front. However, their latest victory, a narrow 1-0 win over France in the quarter-finals, did give us a glimpse into what could be a victorious German team going forward. The balance of the midfield is better with the outstanding Sami Khedira in it, Bastian Schweinsteiger is starting to look more and more fit and influential, while Mats Hummels returned from the flu and ensured the back four were excellent for the first time. Make no mistake, this is not a great team. Yet. However, of the final four, they look the closest to such a label at the moment. It is a team that relies heavily on the influence of its Bayern Munich players, winners who have succeeded at the highest level of the game. It is a team that has learned how to lose at the international level and modeled themselves on past victors, Spain. Spain are on their holidays now but they have played an enormous part of what is happening in Brazil. Four years ago, at this stage, they were preparing for a game against the aforementioned Germans, after finally getting over the hump of the World Cup quarter-finals, a hurdle that had knocked them out so many times before. Their run to the trophy in South Africa showed us all what greatness was. This time we have had to wait much longer for it to show up. With one week left to go at this World Cup we still need to be patient. Four teams in a knock-out stage tournament where only one will reign supreme. Thankfully, we know from past years that at least the World Cup will hand us a deserved winner. There is still time for a Peoples Champion to be crowned but there is no time for more than one team to become great. It has taken some time but it is coming. ' ' '