The World Cup of Darts is a chance for eccentric arrowsmiths from faraway lands to establish themselves on the scene. Billy Hamilton Jersey . England, represented by Phil The Power Taylor and Adrian Lewis are the defending champions when the 2016 tournament gets underway later this week, live on Sky Sports, but the event is about so much more than that.What should we expect? We answer the key questions ahead of the festivities in Frankfurt which starts on June 2 with the semi-final and finals taking place on June 5. Who are the favourites? Raymond van Barneveld Michael van Gerwen won the World Cup in 2014 In its five-year existence, England and the Netherlands remain the only two teams to have won the World Cup of Darts with Phil The Power Taylor and Adrian Lewis winning three times.The pair from the Potteries, both ranked in the worlds top four, will enter as defending champions after last years victory, while the Netherlands duo of Michael van Gerwen and Raymond van Barneveld will provide the obvious competition once again. Third seeds Scotland, runners-up last year, boast Premier League duo Gary Anderson and Robert Thornton so will be expected to make the latter stages.Interestingly, it is worth pointing out that the Netherlands first World Cup triumph in the inaugural 2010 competition didnt include current world No 1 Van Gerwen. Back in those days, Van Barneveld was paired with Co Stompe - remember him? The result with Barney was arguably Stompes best achievement before he was left behind by emerging Dutchmen like Van Gerwen.Who could spring an upset? Kim Huybrechts will team up with older brother Ronny to represent Belgium There is plenty of danger among the seeded nations and even some dark horses elsewhere. Northern Ireland are fourth seeds on account of world No 21 Brendan Dolan and No 28 Daryl Gurney, while Gerwyn Prices excellent form makes Wales a threat.Simon Whitlock and Kyle Anderson might be Australias best pair in years, while Belgiums Huybrechts brothers are always in sync at the oche.Outsiders may include the Republic of Ireland who have William OConnor and Mick McGowan, while John Parts inclusion for Canada will be interesting. And who knows if a shock challenger will emerge and put their nation on the darting map?Which unsung nation will become Peoples Champions? Gibraltars Dyson Parody and Manuel Vilerio will make a triumphant return Gibraltar have emerged as cult heroes over past years thanks in part to the magnificently named Dyson Parody, who is a genuine darts player rather than a mockery of a home appliances device.He is the greatest darts player ever to emerge from Gibraltar, which admittedly isnt an accolade to hang his hat on yet. But Parody, the 31-year-old born and bred within spitting distance of the famous monkeys on the Rock, is emerging as a viable contender.This year he became the first Gibraltarian to make the quarter-finals of a European Tour event, beating Jelle Klaasen and Max Hopp along the way. He missed three match darts before losing to Van Gerwen. In the World Cup, he will team with Manuel Vilerio and they may well find themselves with more fan support than they bargained for. Gibraltar won their first ever game at the World Cup of darts and celebrated in style Are the hosts any good? Max Hopp (Picture by Lawrence Lustig) Germany will stage the World Cup for the fourth consecutive time, bringing the worlds top players to Frankfurt for the second year in a row. Only the first edition of the competition, held in Englands north-east, has been outside of Germany.This year, the German darts will be handed to Max Hopp and Jyhan Artut who equalled their nations best-ever finish last time with a quarter-final loss to eventual winners England. Yes, thats correct. England eliminated Germany from a World Cup quarter-final!Hopp, the 19-year-old, is rapidly improving and his promise makes a mockery of his No 45 ranking. His partner Artut is 39 and, teaming together for the second time, the unseeded Germans might fancy going beyond the final eight for the first time.Will a cult hero like Cristo Reyes emerge? Reyes has a fan-base but could be an improving contender Hardcore darts fans may have admired Reyes mediocre European Tour performances for years but, for many people, last years World Cup was an eye-opener to the standard of Spanish arrows.Hailing for Tenerife, it remains unconfirmed that Reyes learned his trade in local establishments known as The Red Lion or the The White Horse accompanied by a full English. Reyes made his name largely in the 2015 World Championship, forcing Gary Anderson to muster the second-highest average of the whole tournament in order to eliminate him.The exotically named Spaniard is leading the charge for Iberian darts and impressed sufficiently in last years second-round exit to Belgium to suggest that he and Antonio Alcinas will be worth watching again.Watch the World Cup of Darts from June 2-5, live on Sky Sports. Also See: WATCH: England win World Cup World Cup pairs confirmed Sky Bets darts odds Darts on Sky Joe Morgan Jersey . -- Kenneth Faried made a turnaround hook shot over Draymond Green with a half-second remaining, and the Denver Nuggets made Golden State wait at least one more game to secure a playoff berth with a stunning 100-99 win over the Warriors on Thursday night. Pete Rose Jersey . -- Los Angeles Angels outfielder Josh Hamilton will be sidelined for at least two weeks because of a strained calf muscle, and pitcher C. http://www.redsgearshop.com/Reds-Tom-Seaver-Kids-Jersey/ . The Montreal Alouettes announced Tuesday that they have acquired the return specialist from Calgary, as well as the Stampeders fifth-round draft pick in the 2014 CFL Canadian Draft.SANTA CLARA, Calif. - As if there werent already enough humiliating elements to San Franciscos lopsided loss to its biggest rival on Thanksgiving night, owner Jed York weighed in on an effort he said wasnt acceptable.Cassie Baalke, daughter of general manager Trent Baalke, called for offensive co-ordinator Greg Romans ouster before quickly deleting her Twitter post and later closing the account altogether.Trent Baalke issued a statement Friday saying he and Cassie had apologized to Roman.My daughter and I both regret that her feelings got the best of her after last nights game and that she chose social media as an avenue to express her feelings. We have apologized to Greg for this unfortunate matter, Baalke said. While disappointed, as a father I will use this as a teachable moment to help my daughter grow.Just when the 49ers had some nice momentum as they approached the seasons final month, it all went away in a matter of four hours in a 19-3 loss to the Seahawks on Thursday night at Levis Stadium.San Franciscos playoff hopes dwindled in the process.Any time you lose, its a low point, wide receiver Anquan Boldin said. But well bounce back.The offence was awful. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick had one of his worst games as a pro. Richard Sherman and the Seattle Seahawks celebrated all over the home field that hardly offered much advantage when fans left in early.We celebrate every play. Even when they get a catch and its a great hit, we celebrate that. They didnt even understand that, Sherman said. They were getting frustrated that we were celebrating those plays, but that happens when youre a team and youre together.Whats next for these downtrodden Niners? Coach Jim Harbaugh spoke about a reboot.The speculation is running rampant again that he might get the boot following season four of his $25 million, five-year contract he signed in January 2011.Any day-after thoughts would have to wait. Harbaugh isnt scheduled to address the media again until Monday, with players likely on Tuesday as is the teams regular schedule.Thats a long few days for team executives, coaches, players and fans to figure out what went so wrong.York posted on Twitter in the waning moments: Thank you (hashtag)49ersfaithful for coming out strong tonight. This performance wasnt acceptable. I apologize for that.The post ffrom Cassie Baalkes Twitter account read: Greg Roman can take a hike. Brandon Finnegan Jersey. .the 49ers dont want you no more. After her words, were a pair of icons of hands clapping.Yorks post had about 5,200 retweets by early Friday afternoon, with replies from fans calling for Romans job.I try and stay out of that. Whatever is going on upstairs or in the next room, I leave it up to them, tight end Vernon Davis said. I just stay in my corner and do what I am supposed to do and control the things I can control.Harbaugh is not immune to the constant chatter about his future, though he has been steadfast in staying the course of winning each week — a one-game season mantra recently started by Boldin — though this could get ugly in a hurry if the 49ers cant clean things up.In their next game Dec. 7, they will make the short trip to Oakland to face a Raiders team that heads into Sundays game at St. Louis with a 1-10 record.While the timing of Yorks public Twitter apology was strange, nobody in the losing locker room could really argue with him. Harbaugh wouldnt specifically address the remarks.We didnt get it done. The Seahawks played much better team football than we did, he said. We know what we have to do now — to come back and win them all.Thats a daunting task. After the game in Oakland, San Francisco must get on a plane the next week and go to Seattle for what will be another wild matchup Dec. 14 between two teams that have come to truly dislike each other.San Francisco returns home to host San Diego and then division-leading Arizona to end the regular season Dec. 28.Its hard to see this 49ers team reaching the playoffs the way things are spiraling. This group began the season thinking Super Bowl championship or bust following three straight trips to the NFC title game and a runner-up Super Bowl ending after the 2012 season.After Shermans two-interception night, the star cornerback took a couple of parting shots. He noticed the thousands of fans leaving early from this debacle.Yeah, I waved them goodbye, he said.San Franciscos players will get back to work early next week.Well take a couple days off and regroup, cornerback Perrish Cox said. Weve just got to stay together. Not point any fingers or anything like that.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '