The second Counter-Strike major of 2016 is almost upon us. For the third year running, ESL One Cologne will play host to CS:GOs premier competition, which features 16 teams vying for the lions share of a $1 million prize pool.Eight Legends, those that placed in the top eight at MLG Columbus, and eight Challengers, teams that qualified for Cologne, have been sorted into four groups that will begin play July 5 in the Lanxess-Arena.The months since MLG Columbus have seen a shakeup in terms of the hierarchy of CS:GO. Weve witnessed the birth of a new era in the game, and with it, a new paradigm of greatness. The battles fought at Cologne will not just be in the minutiae of what happens within the server, but will also be clashes of legacy between the teams.Living LegendsThe newly christened SK Gaming squad enters as defenders of the title. Since winning Columbus as Luminosity Gaming, the team has won two more tournaments and reached the finals in a third. This impressive run has solidified the teams standing as the best in the world; no other squad has been playing at this level in recent months. Not one to be complacent, SK has been undergoing boot camp in Europe for some time now in preparation for the major.This tournament is a chance for the squad to build a legacy. Having already won a major and achieved what was previously unthinkable, Gabriel FalleN Toledo and his band of Brazilians are yet again on the cusp of greatness, but with victory they could enter into the pantheon of the best teams to ever play the game. With a target on its back and a veritable group of death awaiting it, SK must overcome its toughest test yet to truly ascend.One of the teams standing firmly in SKs path, and one of the teams that is already in the conversation to be the best of all time, is the Swedes from Fnatic. However, the teams run at Columbus was a disappointing one, and evaluation in the interim does not lead to kind critiques. With semifinal finishes in both ESL Pro League and Esports Championship Series (ECS), it appears as if the dominant days of Fnatic are behind it.Nonetheless, historically Fnatic has matched up well against the Brazilians, with many series wins over them in early 2016. The return of Olof olofmeister Kajbjer is a promising sign. Regarded as the best player in the world before his injury, his reincorporation to the team brings with it a certain swagger that is the hallmark of Fnatics play. This tournament will also be the first in more than two years in which Fnatic isnt a near-consensus favorite to win. Free of undue expectations and reinvigorated by the return of its superstar, Fnatic could play spoiler to SKs dreams of a second major title.Once rivals to Fnatic and two-time major champions themselves, the French team EnVyUs also comes into Cologne looking to return to former glory. To say 2016 has been an underwhelming year for the previously elite team is a bit of an understatement. It went from winning the final major at Dreamhack Cluj-Napoca in 2015 to bombing out of Columbus in groups; the shocking fall from grace has been the impetus for change within the structure of the team.With a retooled focus on star AWPer Kenny kennyS Schrub, EnVy aims to at least regain Legend status at Cologne with a playoff berth. Its group draw looks somewhat favorable, as it faces a Virtus.Pro team it recently dispatched at ELeague along with two middle-of-the-pack squads in Team Liquid and mousesports. EnVys chance to return to the top starts here; displaying dominance over this group would be a fitting start.Something to proveThe third team in the group of death with Fnatic and SK is the resurgent French side Gamers2. With a 2-3 loss to FalleN & Co. in the ESL Pro League grand final, followed by a 2-0 win over them in the Esports Championship Series Season 1 grand final, G2 is the only team that has proved it has the ability to match the Brazilians. Its form of late has been brilliant behind the stars of the team, Richard shox Papillon and Adil ScreaM Benrlitom.Two of G2s players have previous major titles, but the team as a whole comes in with a chip on its shoulder. Not so long ago, G2 had been counted out as a team capable of winning a title, but a recent hot streak has it shooting up the global rankings and garnering many a fan with the flashy play of shox and ScreaM. This teams sights are set no lower than winning the $500,000 first-place prize, but it must first survive the group-stage onslaught awaiting it at Lanxess.Earlier in the year, Natus Vincere was in contention for the spot that SK Gaming now holds. Before Columbus, it had beaten the Brazilians with regularity, but lost a battle of will in the finals at Columbus to fall just short of taking home the prize. Since then, the team has been quiet on the international stage due to Ladislav GuardiaN Kovács latent injury and failures to qualify for the LAN finals of the biggest leagues.Columbus is a chance for NaVi to prove it has what it takes to be the best. Surely, it has the talent to match any of its rivals with GuardiaN and Egor flamie Vasilyev leading the way. Its grinding, patient, terrorist-side tactics and facilitation of its star-AWPer closely resembles SKs play, and it could be said that NaVi was the progenitor of this style before the round-time changes brought it to the forefront. Still, the question remains, does NaVi have the team cohesion and mental fortitude to win a major?Final thoughtsThere are many other teams in contention at Cologne, but these five all come in with something more at stake than simply earning sticker money and having a good showing. The majors are the biggest stages in Global Offensive, the tournaments that immortalize moments, the pages upon which Legends are recorded. A lot of focus will be on the new SK with the veteran Brazilians, but a surging EnVyUs and revitalized Fnatic could pose problems. Adidas Stan Smith Australia Cheap . -- The Portland Timbers and Real Salt Lake played to a 0-0 tie Saturday night that left the top of the Western Conference standings unchanged. Adidas Stan Smith Australia .Y. -- Injured Buffalo Sabres forward Marcus Foligno did not practice with the team Monday and head coach Ron Rolston said its unlikely hell play in Wednesdays season opener in Detroit. http://www.wholesalestansmithaustralia.com/ . Manuel was offered a position the day he was fired. He accepted earlier this week and the team made the announcement Friday. Wholesale Adidas Stan Smith .S. Open champion Justin Rose birdied the first hole with a blind shot he hit to a foot of the pin, and he stayed in front Tuesday until he completed a 4-under 67 for a two-shot lead over Jason Dufner in PGA Grand Slam of Golf. Wholesale Adidas Stan Smith Sale . Jon Montgomerys gold medal in skeleton at the Whistler Sliding Centre and his subsequent auctioning off of a pitcher of beer in the village square elevated him to folk-hero status. ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- There would be no easing into the season opener for Michigan. The Wolverines were held scoreless for over five minutes at the beginning of their game against Howard.Ive been coaching a long time, and what Howard did defensively, was something, I dont recall seeing it, actually, Michigan coach John Beilein said. Its an aggressive matchup zone, and theyre taking things away, and theyre really flying around with great quickness.The Wolverines eventually overcame that tough defense. Derrick Walton scored 14 of his 20 points in the first half, and Michigan fought through a poor shooting night to beat Howard 76-58 on Friday.The Wolverines ended up shooting just 42 percent from the field. The Bison trailed 41-36 with under 12 minutes remaining in the game before Michigan asserted itself.Mark Donnal scored 12 points for Michigan, and Zak Irvin added 11.Damon Collins scored 12 points for Howard, which was without guard James Daniel, the nations leading scorer last season. He is expected to miss about another month with a high ankle sprain.Free throws helped boost Michigans margin in a foul-filled game. The Wolverines went 23 of 26 from the line, while Howard was just 14 of 29.Were so used to Daniel making that play for us, Howard coach Kevin Nickelberry said. Hes an 80 percent free-throw shooter. He makes big 3s. ... Weve got to get used to, those moments are not just his moments anymore. For six or seven games, its their moments.Michigans scoreless stretch to open the game was finally broken when Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman made a couple 3-pointers. The Wolverines led 34-25 at halftime.It was 41-36 whenn Howards Solomon Mangham missed two free throws.ddddddddddddIrvin made a jumper at the other end, and Michigan slowly began extending the lead. It was 49-38 after a 3-pointer by Irvin.BIG PICTUREHoward: The Bison were picked to win the MEAC in a preseason poll of coaches and sports information directors, and they did a good job staying in the game against Michigan despite Daniels absence.Michigan: It wasnt the prettiest game, but perhaps thats not the worst thing for the Wolverines, who are trying to improve their defense this season and show they can grind out wins even when their offense isnt clicking.ENERGYDonnal had six rebounds to go along with his dozen points, and fellow backup D.J. Wilson had nine points and eight rebounds.Thats our job, is be energy guys off the bench, Donnal said. D.J. did a good job of getting a few offensive rebounds and keeping a lot of plays alive.NEW ADDITIONSMichigan announced the signing of guard Eli Brooks (Spring Grove, Pennsylvania), forward Isaiah Livers (Kalamazoo, Michigan) and guard Jordan Poole (Milwaukee) to letters of intent for 2017-18.UP NEXTHoward: The Bison take on Marquette on Monday night in Milwaukee. That game -- along with the Howard-Michigan game -- is part of the 2K Classic, which benefits Wounded Warrior Project.Michigan: The Wolverines host IUPUI on Sunday in another 2K Classic game.---For more college basketball: http://collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25---Follow Noah Trister at www.Twitter.com/noahtrister ' ' '