ekansekans's blog: "df"

BARCELONA, Spain -- Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo warmed up for their teams upcoming Copa del Rey clash with high-scoring displays on Sunday to help Barcelona and Real Madrid cruise to comfortable wins against helpless Spanish league opponents. After Ronaldo hit his 20th career hat trick in an 11-minute span to help Madrid rout Getafe 4-0, an insatiable Messi did him one better by netting four times in Barcelonas 5-1 thrashing of 10-man Osasuna. Messi is on pace to break his own Spanish league record of 50 goals from last season. The forward leads the league with 33 goals in 21 rounds, chased by Ronaldo on 21. Barcelona maintained the 15-point difference with Madrid, and restored its 11-point gap over Atletico Madrid after it lost 3-0 at Athletic Bilbao. Madrid hosts Barcelona in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal on Wednesday. "It will be a tough game," said Ronaldo, whose first goal of the day was the 300th in his professional club career. "Barcelona is a fantastic team. We will be missing several important players (Iker Casillas, Pepe, Angel Di Maria), but that is not an excuse. It will be a great night." Also on Sunday, Malaga hung on to win 3-2 at Mallorca to reclaim fourth place from Real Betis, which lost 3-0 at Rayo Vallecano. Betis fell to fifth place while Rayo climbed into sixth. With the "clasico" looming, there had been speculation that perhaps Messi would sit out Sundays game at Camp Nou. Instead, Messi stormed to his fourth career four-goal game, with only the woodwork keeping him from matching his five-goal feat from a Champions League match last season. "We went out there and took care of business like always," Messi said. "It was important to put the game away because it isnt easy when everyone is talking so much about the clasico." Messis first came in the 11th, when Xavi Hernandez intercepted goalkeeper Andres Fernandezs pass and found the Argentine forward, who brought the keeper to the ground with the subtlest of feints before rolling the ball home. That gave Messi yet another record, as he has now scored in 11 straight league games, improving on the old mark of 10 that he tied last season. He has also scored in his last 16 starts overall. Midfielder Raoul Loe surprisingly levelled for Osasuna in the 24th, but the visitors celebration was short lived. Defender Alejandro Arribas received his second booking for blocking Adrianos strike with his arm, leaving his team with 10 men and Messi walking up to the penalty spot. Messi slotted the ball just inside the post to restore Barcelonas lead for good in the 27th. The penalty was Messis 200th career Spanish league goal, making him the eighth player to reach that mark and the youngest ever by four years at 25 years old. After Messi had hit the post with a header, Pedro Rodriguez finished off a pass from Dani Alves to make it 3-1 in the 40th from another move started by Xavi. David Villa then participated in Messis goals in the 56th and 58th, first working a one-two combination with the four-time world player of the year for him to score from an angle. Villa then made a back pass that Adriano sent on to Messi, who tapped in his fourth goal of the night. Earlier, Sergio Ramos scored Madrids first goal in the 53rd minute after fellow defender Ricardo Carvalho forced goalkeeper Miguel Moya to fumble the ball by hitting his arms in an apparent foul that went unpunished. "It was clearly a foul," Getafe coach Luis Garcia said. "Its a pity. When you are losing you have to push forward, and thats what let them get out on the break. Madrid is the best team in the world on the counterattack." Ahead 1-0, Madrid didnt look back. Ronaldo finished off a counterattack from its own area in the 62nd, running onto Mesut Oezils pass and firing the ball beyond Moya. Three minutes later, Ronaldo made it 3-0 as he charged in unmarked behind Gonzalo Higuain to head home Di Marias floated cross at the far post. He then dispatched a penalty kick into the lower left corner in the 72nd after Alberto Lopo fouled Luka Modric in the box. "Im satisfied with (my hat trick), but my task is to keep it up and give my all for this club," said Ronaldo. "I want to surpass my own personal record from last season." The Portugal forward, rarely substituted, was taken off seconds later to the applause of the Santiago Bernabeu crowd. Peterson Womens Jersey . Moore has been battling a hamstring injury and was unable to practice all week. Defensive end Turk McBride (ankle), linebacker David Hawthorne (hamstring) and running back Travarias Cadet (shoulder) have also been declared out for Sundays contest. Authentic Adrian Peterson Jersey . The Wings also picked up transition players Jordan Hall, Joel White, Rob Campbell and a second-round pick in the 2014 draft in the deal. "This trade allows us the opportunity to get the most recognizable player in the sport to join our team," Wings president Michael French said Friday in a release. http://www.azulvirtual.org/new.html . - Canadian Steve Nash sliced through the lane, broke down the defence, and created shots for Kobe Bryant time and again, just the way he has for teammates throughout his brilliant 17-year NBA career.CALGARY -- Calgary Stampeders quarterback Drew Tate says he didnt remember the first half of the Western Semi-Final semifinal because he wanted to erase it from his memory, not because of a concussion. Tate issued a statement Monday clarifying comments hed made both at halftime and following the previous days 36-30 win over the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Tate got to his feet slowly after a helmet-to-helmet hit from Saskatchewans Tearrius George early in the second quarter. He told TSN at the half "I got hit in the head. I dont remember the first half" and repeated to reporters after the game: "I got my bell rung. I dont remember the first half." But Tate also stated during his post-game comments that he wasnt concussed, sparking confusion over whether the quarterback had sustained a serious head injury or not. Stampeders head coach and general manager John Hufnagel told reporters Monday that Tate passed all concussion tests "with flying colours." The players had the day off from the practice field, but Tate revealed in the statement that his amnesia was self-induced and not from a blow to the head. "I got dinged in the second quarter and there was some fuzziness on that drive, but I obviously knew what I was doing and had no problems," Tate said. "By the time I got to the sideline and talked to everyone, I felt fine. "The reason I said I didnt remember anything from the first half was because we didnt play great and I just wanted to move on. Looking back, I answered that question way too casually, but it was because I just wanted to go start warming up for the second half. For me, I meant it like forgetting about a play and moving on to the next play during a game. "After the game, I told media guys that I was having a hard time concentrating when they were asking questions. There was just so much adrenaline from winning the game, from everything that happened during the week with my family, with being named the starter. "Again, I answered questions about the hit too casually because it wasnt a big deal to me. I just said whatever because the moment was very overwhelming." With Tates status for next Sundays West Division final in Vancouver versus the B.C. Lions now clear, his performance in the semifinal indicates the quarterback can weather a storm. Tate felt emotional strain Sunday. His grandmother died last week and he was unable to attend her funeral Saturday in the U.S. because of the football game. His one previous CFL playoff game did not go well. Tate was replaced by Henry Burris after the first half of last seasons West semifinal loss to Edmontonn.dddddddddddd The 28-year-old from Baytown, Texas, was sidelined 14 games this season with a shoulder dislocation and subsequent surgery. Backup Kevin Glenn went 9-5 during Tates absence. The two quarterbacks split duties for the final two games of the regular season before Hufnagel decided Tate had reclaimed his No. 1 status. Tate hit Romby Bryant with a 68-yard touchdown pass in the dying seconds of Sundays white-knuckle game. The Stampeders quarterback completed 22-of-36 passes for 363 yards, two touchdowns and zero interceptions. While its true Tate had more success moving the ball in the second half, Calgary still held a 19-16 lead at halftime. In the third quarter, Tate dodged a sea of green and white jerseys to get a 17-yard pass away to Maurice Price. Tate went 5-for-5 in passing for 68 yards on that drive to make it 26-16 for the hosts. "He did what we need him to do that other guys maybe arent able to and thats extend plays," Stampeders offensive co-ordinator Dave Dickenson said. "It doesnt look pretty, but we get touchdowns out of it. He runs a route and kind of pulls things out of his hat. "Basically he needs to be tightening his reads, but knowing the pressure he was under because the last playoff game didnt go his way, it was a great performance. I think hell get better too. Thats why the decision was made to play him and hopefully that works out for us." Tate threw the odd long ball to no one Sunday. Hufnagel wants that to stop. "I would like to see him ... see the receiver more clearly before he throws it and Im talking about his long throws down the field where the receivers are going in and deep and hes throwing it outside," Hufnagel explained. "Its always dangerous when youre throwing the ball deep and your receiver is not in the same area code." George led with his head upon contact with Tate. The former Stampeder was slapped with a roughing-the-passer penalty but Hufnagel wasnt calling for supplemental discipline. "He lowered his head. You would like players not to do that," Hufnagel said. "I dont think he did it intentionally. I know (George) obviously and I just dont think hes that type of player. "If the league feel it needs to be dealt with, theyll deal with it." Tate may have been flippant about getting his "bell rung" but concussions in contact sport are considered serious now because of the link between repeated concussions and the degenerative brain condition called chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE. Memory loss is a common symptom of a concussion, according to the Mayo Clinic website. ' ' '