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he season, hopefully Im

Started by wff0605, 2015/05/16 05:02AM
Latest post: 2015/05/16 05:02AM, Views: 171, Posts: 1
he season, hopefully Im
#1   2015/05/16 05:02AM
wff0605
LONDON - Real Madrid stormed into the Champions League quarterfinals with a 4-1 victory over CSKA Moscow on Wednesday, while Chelsea needed extra time to overturn a first-leg deficit and beat Napoli by the same score. Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in a 5-2 aggregate victory for nine-time champion Madrid, taking his tally to 42 goals this season. "We played a mature match. It wasnt anything out of this world," coach Jose Mourinho said. "Were in the quarterfinals, which is the most important thing." Chelseas 3-1 loss at Napoli in the first leg contributed to Andre Villas-Boas being fired, but the revival continued under interim coach Roberto Di Matteo with a third straight win. Chelsea advanced 5-4 on aggregate, with Frank Lampards 75th-minute penalty kick sending the game into extra time and Branislav Ivanovic scoring the winner. In what has been a dismal season for the Premier League in Europes elite club competition, the goal helped ensure England avoided being without a team in the quarterfinals for the first time since 1996. In Fridays draw there will be teams from seven countries, with defending champion Barcelona, AC Milan, Bayern Munich, Marseille, Benfica and APOEL also through. Madrid had failed to progress past the last 16 in the six previous years before Mourinhos arrival for the 2010-11 season, but the teams progress was secured with ease at Santiago Bernabeu stadium. After drawing 1-1 in the first leg in Moscow, there was no looking back for Spanish leader Madrid when Gonzalo Higuain found the net from Kakas through ball. Ronaldos long-range shot was then fumbled into the net by goalkeeper Sergei Chepchugov in the 55th minute. Although Karim Benzema poked home the rebound from his own shot in the 70th, Zoran Tosic cancelled it out from distance seven minutes later. But Benzema set up Ronaldo to round off the win by tapping the ball into an empty net in the closing seconds. "The most important thing isnt always to score but to play as a team and to be a collective," Mourinho said. Mourinhos former club, Chelsea, has spent the last week and a half regrouping since Villas-Boas was sacked. But the London teams season appears to be back on track, even if it is only fifth in the Premier League. "The lads put in a great display. Really solid, really resilient, with the firepower going forward," captain John Terry said. "We proved were a team tonight. That desire, that togetherness. We showed what Chelsea are made of tonight." Napolis first-leg lead had been wiped out by the 48th minute. Fresh from scoring his 100th Premier League goal at the weekend, Didier Drogba headed home from Ramires cross in the 29th minute. Terry then nodded the ball into the net from Frank Lampards corner at the start of the second half. And after Ivanovics header hit the raised hand of Andrea Dossena, Lampard levelled the tie on aggregate from the penalty spot. Ivanovic scored the decisive goal in stoppage time, the defender lashing the ball into the roof of the net before helping his side protect the lead. "He finished it unbelievably, like a striker really," Lampard said. "He deserved that. He was fantastic tonight and was a symbol of the determination we showed, the way he played. "It was important we showed a desire and spirit to keep ourselves in the competition. Its been a difficult season, but a performance like that tonight can change things for us so its important we go on from here." Cheap NFL Jerseys . The 120th-ranked German shot a 4-under 67 in the final round to beat Francesco Molinari of Italy by 1 stroke. "You get those Facebook things these days and all of the people talking badly about you," Siem said. Wholesale Jerseys . "Todd had a three-month interview," Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson said. "He passed it with flying colours." The Blue Jackets announced Monday that they were removing the word "interim" from Richards job title and had offered him a two-year contract to continue what he started in an upbeat second half of the 2011-12 season. http://www.cheapjerseysmall.us.com/[/ur... .C. -- Russ Cochran holed an 8-foot putt on the final hole Sunday for his fourth straight birdie and a one-stroke victory over David Frost in the SAS Championship. [url=http://www.cheapjerseysmall.us.com/]Cheap Jerseys From China . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. Jerseys From China . -- Manu Ginobili talked about wanting to find his rhythm after helping the San Antonio Spurs win yet another road game. ARLINGTON, Texas -- Move over, Reggie, Babe and all other October sluggers. Nobody has ever had a post-season power surge like Nelson Cruz just did in the AL championship series. With a two-run homer Saturday night, Cruz upped his ALCS totals to six homers and 13 RBIs -- both major league records for a post-season series. The numbers will hold, too, because his Texas Rangers beat the Detroit Tigers 15-5 in Game 6 to advance to the World Series for the second straight year. "When the team needed me, I delivered," Cruz said. "It was amazing." It also made him an easy choice for series MVP. Cruz went 8 for 22 (.364), with every hit going for extra bases; his two non-homers were doubles. Only once has anyone had more extra-base hits in a post-season series; Hideki Matsui had nine for the Yankees when they lost the 2004 ALCS to Boston. Consider his other Cruz-ian feats this round: -- He hit the first game-ending grand slam in post-season history. -- He became the first player with extra-inning homers in two games of one series. -- He became the first player to hit six homers in two post-seasons, and hes done it in back-to-back years. -- He became the franchises career post-season home run king. And, get this -- he did it all while batting seventh in the lineup. "It was fun to watch," said teammate Josh Hamilton, last years ALCS MVP. "Its one thing to be in the stands. But when youre down here on the field with him, you can see the intensity, see the focus. To watch him do that was incredible. ... When Nellie gets in those streaks, they can come at any time. Thats what the funnest part is. Every at-bat when hes up there, it could be the at-bat where he hits another one." On Saturday night, the Rangers already were well on their way to victory when Cruz sent another high-arching shot over the left-field wall in the seventh inning. A stadium filled with fans eager to celebrate the pennant chanted "Cruuuuuuz" long and loud, and he stepped out of the dugout for a quick salute. When Michael Young caught the final out at first base, Cruz was running toward the play and began smiling. He then dropped to a knee and said a quick prayer, slapped the ground and charged into the pileup near the mound. During the ceremony, there were more roars of "Cruuuuuuz" whenever his name was mentioned and of course when he received the MVP hardware. "Nellie worked hard all year," Texas manager Ron Washington said. "Coming down the stretch, he didnt really have a whole lot of at-bats. He kept battling, his teammates supported him and in the ennd it all came together.dddddddddddd" Cruz homered in every game the Rangers won -- and in every game, period, except the third. He also helped Texas win Game 4 by throwing out a runner at the plate in the eighth inning of a tie game. Coming into this series, Cruz may have been the least likely player to have a historic performance. He had one measly single in 15 at-bats in a first-round series against Tampa Bay. "It was only a matter of time," said Mike Napoli, who bats ahead of Cruz. "We were like, Whats wrong with Nellie, he hasnt hit a home run yet? But he did it (in Game 1) and there he went." Once he found his power stroke in the opener, Cruz stuck with it. Nearly every long drive came at a great time, too. His solo shot in Game 1 put Texas up 3-0 on the way to a 3-2 victory. He tied Game 2 with a solo homer in the seventh inning, got hit in the wrist by a pitch in the ninth, then hit the grand slam in the 11th. He hit a three-run homer in the 11th inning of Game 4 and ripped another on a 100 mph heater from Justin Verlander in Game 5, turning what seemed like a lost cause into a 7-5 game that ended with the potential go-ahead run at the plate. "When Nellie gets going, hes good as any power hitter in the game," Young said. "Hes going right now, and its a lot of fun to watch." Cruz showed he could throw with power, too, in Game 4. Detroit had a runner at third with one out when Cruz caught a fly ball and threw a strike to catcher Mike Napoli. The ball arrived in plenty of time for Napoli to brace himself for a collision with Miguel Cabrera for the inning-ending out. Cruz showed great fundamentals with the way he approached the ball, ready to step into his rifle throw. The 31-year-old Cruz has rewarded the Rangers for their tough love approach to his career. Back in 2008, he was waived at the end of spring training and sent to Triple-A. It was a challenge to see if he could force them to bring him up. He certainly did, hitting 37 homers and batting .342 over 103 games. Cruz hit .318 with 22 homers last year, then whacked six more in the post-season -- three in the first round, two in the ALCS and one in the World Series. The only other players with five homers in a single post-season series were Reggie Jackson, Ken Griffey Jr., Juan Gonzalez and Chase Utley. The previous RBI record was 12 by Bobby Richardson and John Valentin. "Right now, Im just enjoying it," Cruz said. "After the season, hopefully Im going to sit down and relax and reflect on it and make sure I realize what happened." cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '


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