It was only then that the defending team sprang into action, actively contesting each pass and shot.
The defending team--for 132 years the New York Yacht Club--traditionally ran the final two-boat Cup race, while the challengers ran the elimination races leading up to it.
In Wednesday's other matches, defending champions Team USA got off to a winning start after beating France 4-2 at a sparsely populated Hampden Park in Glasgow.
"We didn't deserve anything in the first half, " conceded Benitez, who, perhaps with Thursday's Europa League match against Lille in mind, broke from his usual approach of defending his team following a poor performance.
This year's defending champion, Oracle Team USA, is owned by Larry Ellison, the billionaire chief executive of technology giant Oracle Corp.
The Pacers, who also were the league's best team at defending the 3-pointer, limited the Knicks to 19 attempts and actually made more (8-7).
Founded in 2008 by owner, Mark Ein, the Kastles are the defending WTT champions and first team in 36 seasons to complete a season undefeated.
For Indiana, it sets up a postseason rematch with the defending NBA champs, the team that eliminated them last May after the Pacers had taken a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven semifinals.
Team USA, the defending champions, had a boat capsize in a practice session in San Francisco in October.
The defending champions have put back their team announcement for the match against Samoa on 22 September from Monday to Tuesday.
Hamilton's lead over McLaren team-mate and defending champion Fernando Alonso was cut to four points after he slid off in the season's penultimate race.
BBC: SPORT | Motorsport | Formula One | No more slip-ups, vows Hamilton
The two-time defending national champions became the first college team to produce three consecutive first-round picks since the common draft started in 1967 Thursday night.
Bertarelli's defending Alinghi syndicate went on to beat Emirates Team New Zealand in a closely fought match off Valencia, Spain, in July.
They have played each other the last few years, but not ranked number one and number two, with Texas the defending champion, and Ohio State, the team many people think will succeed it as champion.
All the admissions about what Diablo III has gotten wrong and where it needs to improve, and even the stuff about the team Wilson purports to have been defending, should have found its way either to the chopping block or into another post.
FORBES: Was Jay Wilson's Apology To David Brevik Sincere, Or Just PR Spin?
The largest cheer was for the host team Canada, with Clara Hughes, defending 5000m speed skating champion waving the flag and clad all in red.
But it was poor defending for County's opening goal as Mignolet and team-mate Kieran Richardson collided as they tried to clear Westcarr's cross under pressure from Hughes.
BBC: Simon Mignolet fails to deal with Craig Westcarr's cross
The 16-team tournament, played every four years, sees defending champions Iraq facing Iran in Group D on Tuesday.
Boston coach Doc Rivers clearly saw a Nets team that was aggressive offensively, especially when his best defending guard, Avery Bradley, got in foul trouble.
In the end, the sprint was a formality for Cavendish but, with the breakaway group finishing 41 seconds ahead of the peloton, Armstrong proved the big winner, gaining time on all his rivals including Astana team-mate and 2007 Tour winner Alberto Contador, defending champion Carlos Sastre and Giro d'Italia winner Denis Menchov.
Germany midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger scored the only goal in Frankfurt to earn Bayern's 24th win in 28 league games this season, leaving the team 20 points clear of second-placed two-time defending champions Borussia Dortmund.
And the defending was so swift and organized that Barcelona looked thoroughly pedestrian, a frustrated team that couldn't connect passes when it counted.
WSJ: Bayern Munich, FC Barcelona: Bayern Buries Barcelona, Reaches Champions League Final
The match itself was a straightforward affair for United, although a combination of stubborn Stoke defending and poor finishing, particularly from Dimitar Berbatov, initially frustrated the home team.
Sgt Romesha also led a team to secure an ammunition supply point and then turned his attention to defending a vulnerable entry point.
The North Carolina Tar Heels won't be defending their title in this month's NCAA tournament, but when it comes to team value they can claim bragging rights for another year.
Team New Zealand opted to go around the left buoy and Alinghi went around the right, but the defending champions made the most of better wind shifts and tacked aggressively to squeeze back in front.
BBC: SPORT | Other Sport... | Sailing | Alinghi on brink of retaining Cup
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