Beachsaison 2011 » Jays down the stretch. “To me, if he can d

LIVERPOOL, England -- Embracing his teammates after a hugely significant win in the Premier League title race, Steven Gerrard looked to the skies and cried tears of joy. A first championship in 24 years is tantalizingly in sight for Liverpool and its inspirational captain. A 78th-minute winner by Philippe Coutinho earned Liverpool a 3-2 victory over title rival Manchester City and capped a thrilling and emotionally charged match at Anfield on Sunday. A 10th straight win kept Liverpool top of the standings and means four more victories in its last four matches will ensure the league trophy returns to Merseyside for the first time since 1990. "That is probably the biggest statement we have made so far," Gerrard said, moments after the leaving the pitch to a standing ovation and a pat on the back from City manager Manuel Pellegrini. "That was the longest 90 minutes I have probably played in. It felt like the clock was going backwards." Driven on by its passionate and frenzied support, Liverpool blew away City in a breathtaking opening, going 2-0 ahead thanks to goals by Raheem Sterling and Martin Skrtel inside 26 minutes. City produced a stirring second-half fightback, with David Silva scoring in the 57th before Glen Johnsons own goal five minutes later looked like giving the visitors a point. But Coutinho pounced on City captain Vincent Kompanys poor clearance to curl home a low strike, sending the home crowd into delirium. Jordan Hendersons injury-time red card for a studs-up challenge on Samir Nasri came too late to affect the outcome. An emotional Gerrard rounded up Liverpools players into a huddle after the final whistle and -- with his fist clenched -- delivered a rousing speech, imploring his teammates to keep going to the end of the season. For the title race is far from over. Third-place City is seven points behind Liverpool but with two games in hand. Second-place Chelsea is two points off the lead and also has the title in its own hands, with one of its last four games coming at Anfield on April 27. "The title does not finish today," Pellegrini said. "A lot of things will happen between now and the end of the season." All the momentum is with Liverpool, however, and it would mean so much to the club and its fans if it can win the league this season, given that Tuesday marks the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster in which 96 Liverpool fans were killed in a stadium crush. Gerrards cousin was among those to die in the tragedy. Thousands of Liverpool fans lined the streets outside Anfield hours before kickoff to cheer the team bus into the ground -- "the game started on the way in," Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said -- and the sea of flags, scarves and banners in the iconic Kop stand harked back to the days in the late 1970s and 80s when the club dominated English and European football. A string of tributes to mark the upcoming Hillsborough anniversary added to the gravitas of the contest and Citys players simply failed to deal with it in the first half. By the 26th minute, they had fallen two goals behind, lost midfield driving force Yaya Toure to a hamstring injury and their defence was being undone by the pace and movement of Luis Suarez, Sturridge, Sterling and the excellent Coutinho. The Liverpool crowd also played its part, following Rodgers orders to "unleash" themselves on City, and there was lift off inside the stadium when Sterling opened the scoring. Suarez played a pass in behind Kompany, whose fitness was in doubt after twisting his knee in training on Saturday. Sterling raced through before coming to a stop, befuddling Kompany and goalkeeper Joe Hart with some nifty footwork and then stroking home into an empty net. City looked rattled already and its predicament worsened in the 19th when Toure hobbled off. Then, after Gerrard had a header brilliantly saved by Hart, the midfielder whipped in the resulting corner for Skrtel to peel off Kompany and glance a header into the far corner. Cue furious scarf-waving across Anfield. "Poetry in Motion" was the chant from the Kop, but City reacted well and raised the tempo at the start of the second half, with the introduction of James Milner for Jesus Navas sparking an improvement. Milner crossed for Silva to poke home in the 57th and Silvas centre was deflected unwittingly into the net off Johnson five minutes later. It was all City but in a rare foray forward by Liverpool, Kompany miscued his clearance, Coutinho gathered and curled a shot into the corner. "We live with Hillsborough every day -- the families and the victims are in our thoughts every day," Rodgers said. "It was an inspiration for us, rather than something that held us back." Clearance Nike Air Max 270 . Virtanen opened the scoring at 6:45 of the first period, then gave Canada a two-goal lead with a power-play goal 1:03 into the second. Sweden cut the lead in half when Daniel Muzito Bagenda scored a power-play goal at 10:57 of the second. Wholesale Nike Air Max 270 .C. -- After a listless first half, the Washington Wizards used a big third quarter run to beat the Charlotte Bobcats Bradley Beal scored 21 points and the Wizards used a 17-0 run in the third quarter to take control of what had been a close game and beat the Bobcats 97-83 on Tuesday night. https://www.cheapnikeairmax270china.us/ . Englands only win in the four most recent trips north had been tight, and Scotland was expected after losing 28-6 to Ireland six days ago to show some venom against its archrival. Nike Air Max 270 From China .J. Ellis have avoided arbitration, agreeing to a one-year contract. Nike Air Max 270 Sale . The best round belonged to Pat Perez. Tiger Woods didnt come close to claiming either Thursday in the Farmers Insurance Open, where the seven-time champion failed to break par in the opening round for first time in his career.TORONTO – The Blue Jays wrapped up a nine-game homestand with a 7-4 win over Milwaukee on Wednesday afternoon and afterward, boarded a plane for the long flight to Californias Bay Area. It will be in Oakland, on Thursday night, where the club begins a 10-game, pre-All-Star Break road trip which will be a grind, both in terms of miles logged and quality of opponents. After four with the Athletics, the Jays travel down the pacific coast for three with the Angels and then across the southern part of the continent, concluding with three against the Rays in St. Petersburg. Then comes the Midsummer Classic in Minneapolis, where general manager Alex Anthopoulos expects trade discussions will begin to heat up. “We still have a month. A lot can change,” said Anthopoulos. “We started out June 5-0 and obviously we did play well down the stretch. I think you reassess at the All-Star Break and this trip will be part of it. As long as youre in the hunt is probably an important way to look at it. Knock on wood; unless we go on a long streak where we dont win some games and our competition goes on a streak, as long as youre still within reach, then its going to be a battle.” The Blue Jays approach the break in a unique position, legitimate contenders for a playoff spot for the first time in a generation. The lineup is veteran laden, built to win now. Jose Bautista is 33 years old, turning 34 in October. Edwin Encarnacion 31 and so is Adam Lind. Yet, theres understandable hesitancy to part with pieces viewed as part of the future core, including star pitching prospect Aaron Sanchez, whos now toiling at Triple-A Buffalo. Anthopoulos wades into unfamiliar territory but he approaches this deadline no different than those previous, willing to make any trade to improve his ballclub. There are no untouchables. He wont divulge priority areas so as to not create a competitive disadvantage in trade talks. The bullpen and an additional infielder, be it a second or a third baseman (Brett Lawrie can play the other spot), should be points of emphasis. He would be willing to acquire a third baseman. “Lets say theres an all-star calibre player, a great player, theree, I think wed be open to doing that,” said Anthopoulos.dddddddddddd “That makes the team better. But I dont want to make that a story. Thats not the plan. Were not close to doing that. Were not actively pursuing that. Bretts our third baseman. Hes got the positional flexibility to play all over the place.” The starting rotation has been a pleasant surprise this season. Mark Buehrles 10 wins and 2.50 ERA have led the way. J.A. Happ, with seven more effective innings on Wednesday, has solidified himself after missing the start of the year injured and returning out of the bullpen. Drew Hutchison has run hot and cold but is a promising young pitcher. Marcus Stroman has fit in well and R.A. Dickey is logging innings even though the results have been mixed. The organization believes Sanchez, 23, has turned a corner with the Bisons after struggling for parts of this season with his command. Hes changed his arm slot slightly, staying better on top of the ball as a result. Anthopoulos didnt deny Sanchez could contribute to the Blue Jays down the stretch. “To me, if he can do it again, Im convinced that they got him right on track and hell be ready if we have a need,” said Anthopoulos. HOFFMAN AND PENTECOST SIGN The Blue Jays locked in their two first-round picks from last months amateur draft. General manager Alex Anthopoulos confirmed that Jeff Hoffman (ninth overall), a 21-year-old right-handed pitcher out of East Carolina University and Max Pentecost (11th overall), a 21-year-old catcher who attended Kennesaw State University, signed for their bonus slot. Hoffman cashes in slightly more than $3-million; Pentecost comes in just shy of $2.9-million. Hoffman underwent Tommy John elbow ligament replacement surgery in May. Its club policy that no pitcher appear in a competitive game until at least one year after the procedure was completed. Hoffman is in Florida, in the early stages of his rehabilitation. Pentecost is in Dunedin, getting back into baseball shape after his college season ended about a month ago. Pentecost is waiting for his passport and when it arrives, hell report to the Blue Jays short season affiliate in Vancouver. ' ' '