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GENEVA - Luis Figo wants to be FIFA president and claims he has the nominations needed for official challenge against Sepp Blatter.The former Portugal, Barcelona and Real Madrid playmaker announced his campaign in a statement on Wednesday timed for release with an interview with CNN.I look at the reputation of FIFA right now and I dont like it. Football deserves better, the 42-year-old Figo said in the statement. Football has given me so much during my life, and I want to give something back to the game.FIFA president Blatter is the strong favourite to get a fifth presidential term in the May 29 ballot despite bribery and financial scandals which have implicated several of his executive committee colleagues.The deadline for would-be candidates to file nominations from five of FIFAs 209 member federations is 2300 GMT Thursday.I have seen the image of FIFA deteriorate, and as I speak to many people in football — to players, managers and association presidents — so many of those people have told me that something has to be done, Figo said.Figo, the 2001 world player of the year, launched his campaign one hour before Netherlands federation president Michael van Praag held a news conference in Amsterdam to explain his bid.Van Praag also says he has five nominees but, like Figo, has not identified them.Their rival campaigns suggest splits within UEFA, which is the only one of the six FIFA confederations officially opposing Blatter.Figo was UEFAs ambassador for the Champions League final in Lisbon last year, and Van Praag is an elected member of UEFAs ruling board which met on Monday.Van Praag, an outspoken critic of Blatter last year, said late Monday he was running because no other credible challenger had emerged.UEFA president Michel Platini opted last August not to stand against Blatter, though said he encouraged rivals for his 78-year-old former mentor.On Wednesday, Platinis spokesman, Pedro Pinto, welcomed Figos entry.Credible candidates with new ideas will hopefully add to an open debate in the campaign, Pinto said in a statement. It is good for FIFA, and it is good for football to have valid candidates with extensive experience in the sport, and from different parts of the world.Platini has also supported the candidacy of his fellow FIFA vice-president, Prince Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan.Other potential contenders seeking nominations include former FIFA official Jerome Champagne — a longtime Blatter ally and the only contender to publish a detailed manifesto — and former France player David Ginola, who is being paid by a betting operator to run.Figo is also paid to do promotional work for a betting firm, Asian operator Dafabet, and was an ambassador for its 2014 World Cup promotions.It is unclear if Figo and Ginola will pass mandatory integrity checks on potential candidates by FIFAs ethics committee.The FIFA code of ethics covers officials who are forbidden from taking part in, either directly or indirectly, or otherwise being associated with, betting, gambling, lotteries and similar events or transactions connected with football matches.FIFA has set up an election oversight panel, chaired by its audit and compliance panel chairman Domenico Scala, to assess the integrity checks and nomination papers before declaring which are the official candidates.Scala is expected to publish the candidate list before mid-February.Blatter has led FIFA since 1998, and has worked for footballs governing body for 40 years.Beside the scandals during his leadership, the Swiss official has overseen FIFA use spectacular commercial success from the World Cup to build cash reserves of $1.5 billion and distribute increasing bonuses to its national members who have shown little desire for change.Blatter needs two-thirds of the votes for victory in a first round of secret balloting of the 209 members in Zurich, or a simple majority in subsequent rounds. 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Bernie Parent Jersey .The 24-year-old quarterback spent four seasons at Northern Illinois and in 2013 was a finalist for the Heisman, which is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in U. BUFFALO, N.Y. -- After watching his team fail to hold a big lead in its previous game, Barry Trotz was happy to watch the Predators build another and hold on for a win. "Last night we cheated in a couple areas," Trotz said. "Tonight we managed the puck better. We exited better. All those type of things were much better for us." Nashville scored twice in a five-minute span in the second period on the way to a 4-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night. It marked the second straight win for the Predators, who lost a 3-0 advantage in Ottawa on Monday before beating the Senators in overtime. "We werent going to let that happen two games in a row," said Colin Wilson, who had two assists for Nashville. Shea Weber had a goal and an assist for the Predators, who also got goals from Nick Spaling, Craig Smith and Paul Gaustad. Drew Stafford scored for Buffalo, which has lost three in a row. After Nashville built a 3-1 lead, backup goaltender Carter Hutton helped stave off a Buffalo attack that controlled possession and outshot Nashville 11-5 in the second period. "Keeping that two-goal lead going into the third was pretty huge for us, confidence heading out there," Hutton said. "After last night, we knew we were going to lock it down and play our game." Hutton had allowed multiple goals in eight consecutive starts entering the game, but was stout on Tuesday. "Hutton was really good," Trotz said. "He stabilized us when they had a little push." The Predators arrived in Buffalo after 2 a.m. after Mondays game at Ottawa and skipped their morning skate before having to fight off a slow start to Tuesdays game. "It was penalties right off the bat," Trotz said. "First five minutes, we were killing the four. Thats a hard way to get going, especially when youre in back-to-back. Those are hard minutes." An early power play helped Buffalo take a 1-0 lead at 2:09 of the first as Stafford pulled a rebound away from Huttons left pad to score his 12th goal of the season. The goal ended a 0-for-11 slump for the Sabres power play, and came in Staffords 500th career NHL game. Yet aside from Staffords line, Buffalo had trouble generating offence. "There was only one line basically going," Sabres interim head coach Ted Nolan said. "Youre not going to win too many games doing that." Nashvilles equalizer came at the 17:10 mark of the first period, as Spaling used his skate to deflect a Weber shot past Jhonas Enroth. The power-play goal came on Nashvilles only attempt with the man advantage. Tied at 1 after 20 minutes, Weber picked up aa drop pass from Wilson and beat Enroth to make it 2-1 at the 3:33 mark of the second.dddddddddddd Smith doubled Nashvilles advantage at 7:51. His low slap shot from just in front of the blue line beat Enroth between the legs. The goal was Smiths 20th of the season, a career best. "Its great, a good feeling," Smith said. "We just have to keep moving forward, trying to make a little push here." The game was a shaky one for Enroth, who had played well since Buffalo traded Ryan Miller to St. Louis on Feb. 28. Buffalos Zenon Konopka was challenged to fight by Gaustad at 9:20 of the second after the Sabres forward put an open-ice hit on Viktor Stalberg. Gaustad received a two-minute instigator and 10-minute misconduct in addition to his fighting major. Trotz thought the penalty was questionable, and appreciated Gaustads response. "To me that was a really good glue play," Trotz said. "We thought it was a questionable hit and thats what you want your team to stand up for each other. "Gaustad knows how tough Konopka is, and thats why hes so valuable to us. He brings those intangibles. He does whats right and is very detailed in his game." Hutton made a big save on Tyler Ennis moments later. Stafford worked the puck behind the net before passing to Cody Hodgson, whose high shot was gloved by the Nashville goaltender. "He made a bunch of great saves that kept us in it," Wilson said of Hutton. "It could have been a bit of a different game if they got a couple at the beginning there." The Sabres finished 1 for 4 on the power play. Gaustad added an empty-net goal at the 18:29 mark of the third period to a chorus of boos from a crowd that chanted his nickname "Goose" when he was a Sabre. "We joked about that," Gaustad said. "I didnt know when I was here if they were booing me or saying my name. Some of the best fans and people on Earth. Salt of the earth people." Nashville finishes a three-game road trip on Friday in Chicago, while Buffalo begins a stretch of playing 12 of its next 17 on the road. "Their confidence is a little bit rattled right now," Nolan said. "But through tough times like this you find out true character of certain players and through some ashes sometimes there rises some people." NOTES: Sabres LW Matt Ellis played in his 300th NHL game. ... Patrick Eaves was scratched after going pointless in his first three games with the Predators after being acquired in a trade with Detroit for David Legwand. ... Sabres rookie C Zemgus Girgensons missed his third game with an undisclosed injury. ' ' '