LONDON - Lionel Messi topped the Associated Press Global Football 10 for the second straight week on Tuesday after his latest hat trick.
[b]Tyler Webb[/b] .His 22nd Spanish league treble in Barcelonas 4-0 rout of Deportivo La Coruna saw him beat Santi Cazorla, the inspiration of team-of-the-week Arsenal.Messi is one hat trick away from matching Cristiano Ronaldos league record of 23.One of the few (records) that is not yet the Argentines, Leonardo Bertozzi of ESPN in Brazil said.Since the emergence of the news about his difficult relationship with Luis Enrique (the Barcelona coach), Messi has made a point of showing that it will not affect his performance on the field.Cazorla scored one goal from the penalty spot and assisted on another in Arsenals impressive 2-0 away win against English Premier League defending champion Manchester City on Sunday.Winning against top teams has been Arsenals biggest challenge in past seasons, Ubiratan Leal of trivela.com in Brazil said. Wengers side urgently needed a victory like the 2-0 away over Manchester City.Ronaldo was third in the poll for netting two as Real Madrid won 3-0 at Getafe to remain in first place in the Spanish league.Chelsea attacker Oscar rose to fourth, with teammate Diego Costa taking fifth.The pair was instrumental in Chelseas ruthless display against Swansea, where it won 5-0. They both hit the back of the net twice before halftime, and Oscar scored the first after only 50 seconds.Oscar is a fantastic talent and is showing his real potential under Jose Mourinhos influence, Aurelio Capaldi of Italian broadcaster RAI Sport said.Carlos Tevez is also in the top 10, with Fernando Torres, Eljero Elia, Gonzalo Higuain and Paul Pogba.In the team poll, last weeks winner, Barcelona, dropped to second with Premier League leader Chelsea third.Juventus was fourth after beating Verona 6-1 in the Italian Cup and 4-0 in Serie A to extend its advantage over second-place Roma to five points.Juventus scored 10 goals last week, affording them pride of place in Serie A, Chris Tait of The Herald in Scotland said. With Paul Pogba in demand across Europe, and Carlos Tevez on form, the Old Lady has started to flutter her eyelashes.Real edged city rival Atletico Madrid into fifth after its win over Getafe. Defending Spanish league champion Atletico won 2-0 at home to Granada on Sunday.There followed Napoli, Southampton, French league leader Lyon, and Marseille.___AP Global Football 10
layers:1. Lionel Messi, 134 points.2. Santi Cazorla, 81.3. Cristiano Ronaldo, 80.4. Oscar, 74.5. Diego Costa, 73.6. Carlos Tevez, 67.7. Fernando Torres, 39.8. Eljero Elia, 38.9. Gonzalo Higuain, 25.10. Paul Pogba, 20.Teams:1. Arsenal, 127.2. Barcelona, 121.3. Chelsea, 120.4. Juventus, 100.5. Real Madrid, 66.6. Atletico Madrid, 54.7. Napoli, 52.8. Southampton, 40.9. Lyon, 27.10. Marseille, 21.
[b]Jack Buck[/b] . After the loss, White refused to make good on the bet, instead offering Hoyt tickets to a Bears game.
[b]Yadier Molina[/b] .Y. - The NFL has fined Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch $20,000 for making an obscene gesture during last Sundays NFC championship game, a person with knowledge of the fine told The Associated Press on Thursday.MINSK, Belarus - Canadian captain Kevin Bieksa paid the price in the form of a chipped tooth and stitches on the inside of his mouth. After Canada held on to beat the Czech Republic 4-3 on Monday at the world hockey championship, it was worth it. Bieksa took Jan Kovars stick to the mouth, a penalty that gave Canada a five-minute man advantage it scored twice on. When the Czechs scored twice in the third period to make things interesting, those power-play goals loomed large. "If you look at it, its the difference in the game," coach Dave Tippett said. Canadas power play was 1-for-11 in the tournament before Nathan MacKinnon and Morgan Rielly scored 17 seconds apart to build a three-goal lead. Even though Jiri Novotny and Tomas Hertl cut the advantage to one late, it was enough of a cushion to allow Canada to survive for a second straight victory. Still flush in his face from stopping 31 shots, goaltender James Reimer joked he and his teammates just wanted to keep it close and entertain the fans at Chizhovka-Arena. But he expected the Czechs to make a push. "Theyre a good team," Reimer said, pausing to catch his breath. "And obviously theyre playing desperate. ... You know they werent going to roll over, you knew they were going to come hard." That was thanks in part to what Tippett called "unforced errors" by his players. "Theyre going to get their pressure just because theyre good players, but then adding fuel to the fire, thats when youre really in trouble," Tippett said. "There was two or three times in that third period where we had a good chance to clear it, make a good, solid, simple play and we forced pucks that got turned over and then it comes right back at you." Even though it got nerve-wracking late, Canada had some breathing room. Goals by Joel Ward — his third of the tournament — and assistant captain Kyle Turris helped the Canadians rebound from giving up the first goal for a third straight game before the power play finally clicked. That wasnt just a coincidence. Tippett made some personnel switches on the power-play units, putting Alex Burrows, Ward and Turris on the ice to see what would change. "Less skill and more work," he said. Work behind the net put Bieksa in position to draw the game-altering slashing penalty 15:01 into the second period on Kovar, who got an automatic game misconduct.
[b]Bob Gibson[/b]. Czech coach Vladimir Ruzicka was surprised it was called slashing and not high-sticking after checking it out on video. No matter the penalty, Bieksa required medical attention on the bench while the game was delayed as workers brushed his blood off the ice. The 32-year-old Vancouver Canucks defenceman remained in the contest, to the surprise of no one. "Give credit to him: Just spat out some blood and was ready to go on the next shift," winger Matt Read said. "Hes a warrior, hes our leader and its good to see that." Bieksa was unable to talk to reporters afterwards because he required stitches that made it difficult for him to speak. His teammates spoke for him, most notably on the five-minute major power play. "Thats a huge aspect of the game," Read said. "A guy sacrificing his body, unfortunately, but if you dont come out with at least one goal, you know youre on your heels and it gives them all the momentum." Instead, Canada had all of it until midway through the third when the Czech Republic turned up the heat. The pro-Czech crowd of 6,317 came to life, but two late penalties — to Jaromir Jagr and Jiri Hudler — ended the chances of a comeback. The win gave Canada seven points atop Group A. Its next game is Thursday against Denmark. Before then, Tippett hopes to work on some things and use the third period as a teaching tool. "Those are all good things — not good things for our team, but learning experiences for our team that we have to make sure we can get through situations like that," he said. Just minutes after holding on, Canadas players recognized the value of getting tested in a game they looked to have total control of. "Its something were going to learn from moving forward that you cant take it easy going into the third, no matter what kind of lead you have," Turris said. "Were gaining experience as we go." NOTES — Former Calgary Flames forward Roman Cervenka opened the scoring for the Czech Republic, cashing in on a two-on-one rush with Vladimir Sobotka. ... Canada chased Czech starter Jakub Kovar after Riellys goal, the fourth on 13 shots. Alexander Salak got a roughing penalty for punching Burrows just seconds after he entered the game, then stopped the seven shots he saw the rest of the way. Follow @SWhyno on Twitter ' ' '
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