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MADRID, Spain—Lionel Messi scored his 61st goal of the season to help
Barcelona beat Getafe 4-0 Tuesday and provisionally trim Real Madrids Spanish
league lead to a single point. Matt Cassel Jersey . Alexis Sanchez scored in
each half while Pedro Rodriguez also netted as the three-time defending
champions earned its 10th straight league win to increase the pressure on
Madrid, which can restore its four-point lead by beating Atletico Madrid on
Wednesday. Messi took his league-best tally to 39 goals, leaving him one shy of
matching Cristiano Ronaldos record 40 in a season. With Barcelona having at
least nine games left to play this season, he has a realistic shot at reaching
70 in all competitions. “Hes capable of getting there, but I dont know if he
will,” Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola said. “He scored a great goal that allowed
us to play with calm.” Sanchez curled home a 13th-minute opener at the Camp Nou
before Messi added another dazzling strike to his resume against Getafe, a team
that has been the victim of some of his most memorable goals—including a solo
run in 2007 often compared to countryman Diego Maradonas goal against England in
the 1986 World Cup. This time, Messi ran on to Andres Iniestas subtle backheel
pass and sent a rising shot into the top corner in the 44th minute. Messis goal
capped a first half dominated by the hosts, who looked in danger of letting
their good play go to waste as they failed to convert a number of opportunities.
Iniesta was also involved in the opener as he looped a pass inside toward Messi,
who chested it down onto the foot of Sanchez. The Chile striker cut inside to
find space before curling a shot out of Miguel Angel Moyas reach. Sanchez saw
Moya tip a similar chance around the post three minutes later, while Cata Diaz
cleared Xavi Hernandezs chip off the goal line a minute later and Messi headed
the clearance over. Although the European champion was without injured defenders
Gerard Pique and Daniel Alves, it still held Getafe—which beat the Catalans
in Madrid earlier this year—without a single shot on goal. Eric Abidal
underwent his liver transplant surgery during the game and the 76,041 spectators
paid tribute after 22 minutes to match the France defenders number. “We wanted
to dedicate (the win) to Abidal and his cousin, Gerard (who donated the liver),”
Guardiola said. Barcelona cruised through much of the second half before a pair
of goals inside three minutes put the game away. Sanchez headed home Cuencas
cross into the area in the 73rd before Pedro sent Messis cross over Moya in the
75th with his back to goal. Messi nearly matched Ronaldos record in the final
moments after a superb dribble through the defence only to loft a shot across
the face of goal. Ronaldo has 37 goals this season. “We did the job we had to,”
Guardiola said. Atletico will be desperate to end a 13-year winless run against
Madrid after sixth-place Osasuna beat nine-man Espanyol 2-0 to move four points
clear into the final Europa League spot. Raul Garcia scored in the 53rd, two
minutes before Philippe Coutinho was sent off for a second booking, and then
added his second in the 69th. Espanyol lost Juan Forlin to a red card in the
82nd. Also Tuesday, Ruben Castros 13th goal of the season cancelled out Carlos
Velas 56th-minute strike as Real Betis rallied for a 1-1 draw at Real Sociedad.
In other 32nd round matchups this week, its: Sporting Gijon vs. Levante; Granada
vs. Athletic Bilbao; Valencia vs. Rayo Vallecano; Villarreal vs. Malaga; Racing
Santander vs. Mallorca; and Sevilla vs. Zaragoza. Tamba Hali Jersey . Its tough to predict what
type of season the Eskimos are headed for after such a tumultuous off-season. Eric Berry Jersey . —Milos Raonic dominated
his second-round match at the BNP Paribas Open. http://www.chiefsprostore.com/jamaal-charles-jerseys
. Baldwin, 29, returns to Winnipeg for his fifth season after finishing his
post-secondary education at West Virginia State. Dwayne Bowe Jersey ., moved into a tie for
first in the womens standings at the world junior curling championship Tuesday.
Peyton Hillis Jersey .S. Open. The
expectations that have followed Tiger Woods this year are a lot like the
fairways at The Olympic Club—up, down, often sideways.LONDON—Martin
Johnson resigned as England manager on Wednesday, unwilling to recommit to the
team in the wake of a shambolic Rugby World Cup campaign overshadowed by
indiscretions on and off the pitch. “Its in the best interests of myself and the
England team that I dont carry on into next year,” Johnson said at a news
conference at Twickenham. Appointed without any coaching experience in 2008, he
didnt want to renew his contract which expires in December. A series of lurid
headlines followed England around New Zealand before a limp quarterfinal exit
against France in October. “Ive tried to take emotion out of a lot of (the
decision) and the disappointment,” Johnson said. “The off-the-field things
during the World Cup didnt help. They portray the team in a bad light, and not
an accurate light. “This is my call, and if I hadnt made it someone might have
made it for me.” Johnson was referring to two reviews by the Rugby Football
Union into the World Cup campaign, which included his debrief last week with his
assistants. The first findings are to be revealed on Thursday, and they arent
expected to be kind to Johnson. He didnt act decisively on the indiscretions in
New Zealand even though he said he would before the tournament. On Wednesday he
said he didnt feel let down by the players in New Zealand and believed the
off-field issues didnt affect their game preparations. He did everything on his
terms, he said, and had no interference from the RFU throughout his tenure and
at the World Cup. He said hed considered his options before the World Cup, so
this was “not a knee-jerk decision, but a considerate, thoughtful decision.”
Still, he took more than five weeks to make up his mind, leaving RFU elite rugby
director Rob Andrew little time to find a replacement who will have to pick an
elite squad in the first week of January for the Six Nations starting in
February. Former South Africa coach Nick Mallett said he was approached by the
RFU this week about the prospect of taking charge but decided against taking the
job. “I will not be making myself available for the position and I have
disclosed this to the RFU,” he said. But former Australia coach Eddie Jones is
keen on the job. “Youd always be interested in coaching England,” he told the
BBC. “Over the last period of time England rugby has lost its way and youd have
to question the people in place now. That is the challenge of getting it right.
If you get it riight, the benefits are absolutely enormous. Derrick Johnson Jersey. quot; Andrew admitted
he was also accountable for Englands World Cup debacle but said he wasnt
resigning. Johnson, he added, “did a terrific job in pretty difficult
circumstances.” Andrew said Johnson rebuilt almost the entire team into Six
Nations champions. Johnson added he was excited for the teams future, and they
would be better off for what they went through at the World Cup. “Part of me
regrets leaving the job in these circumstances,” he said. “There is unfinished
business and a feeling to put things right. But I wont leave with any regrets.”
The 6-foot-8 (2.03 metre) Johnson made 84 appearances for England, 39 of them as
captain, before replacing Brian Ashton, who led England to the 2007 World Cup
final. “Johnno didnt have the CV to do the job but the RFU backed him and he
backed himself and unfortunately and regrettably he came up short,” Johnsons
former England teammate Jeremy Guscott told the BBC. Johnson had hoped a relaxed
regime for his squad would help them emulate his 2003 World Cup triumph, but it
spectacularly backfired. Johnsons team lost 19-12 to the French in the
quarterfinals after struggling to narrow pool victories over Argentina and
Scotland. Mike Tindall, Chris Ashton, James Haskell and Manu Tuilagi were all
disciplined for incidents that undermined Johnsons leadership. The first major
incident to be exposed came early in the tournament when captain Tindall was
captured on security footage holding a womans hand and receiving a kiss on top
of his head at a Queenstown bar. That made front-page news because the 2003
World Cup-winning centre had just married Zara Phillips, Queen Elizabeth IIs
granddaughter. He has since been dropped from the national squad and fined
25,000 pounds ($40,000). Three players were also reprimanded for making sexist
comments to a Dunedin hotel worker on the trip that culminated in Tuilagi being
detained by police after jumping off a ferry into Auckland harbour the day after
the France loss. England also narrowly avoided being punished by World Cup
organizers when the RFU voluntarily stood down two assistant coaches amid a
ball-switching scandal in the 67-3 win against Romania. The highlight of
Johnsons 38-test tenure as manager came earlier this year with Englands first
Six Nations title since 2003. His overall record since he took control for the
2008 autumn internationals was 21 victories, 16 defeats and one draw. ’ ’ ’