w bad it is until he warms up Friday morning. ...Guan Tianglang, the 14-y | Forum

MADRID -- Even rivals are coming out to defend Neymar after his late-game antics got him into trouble in the Spanish league. Wholesale Reds Jerseys .The Brazil forward use his ball trickery in Barcelonas 5-1 win over Leganes last week, prompting a wave of criticism from people who accused him of showing off and trying to provoke opponents. Neymar appeared to ignore the un-written convention that top players should not make lesser opponents look foolish.Three key former players who turned coaches supported Neymar on Tuesday, the day before Barcelonas game against rival Atletico Madrid.Neymar has fun playing football. They can criticize him as much as they want, but he responds where he needs to respond, Atletico coach Diego Simeone said. He has his own style. He is an extraordinary player.With the victory safely secured on Saturday, Neymar used back-heel passes and other nifty moves against Leganes defenders. He scored one of the teams goals in the 44th minute and was fouled inside the area -- leading to a penalty kick converted by Lionel Messi in the 55th.Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said he didnt think Neymar was disrespecting his opponents.I dont think he is trying to provoke anybody, the former France midfielder said. He can do things that not a lot of players can do. You would have to ask him directly, but I dont think its a provocation.Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said Neymars style shouldnt surprise anybody.He has been playing like this since he got here, Luis Enrique said. And we want him to keep his playing like this, we enjoy it. He is allowed by the rules to do what he does.---RENEWED RIVALRYBarcelona is bracing for another hard-fought match against Atletico Madrid.The teams meet Wednesday in the first big game of the season in Spain -- the first encounter between the clubs since Atletico eliminated Barcelona in the quarterfinals of last seasons Champions League.Theres never an easy match against Atletico. Its practically the same team that has succeeded in recent years, and it will continue to contend for titles, Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said. Its a direct rival. These are very important points that will be up for grabs.Barcelona is second in the standings with nine points, three less than leader Real Madrid. Atletico is fourth, four points behind Madrid after four rounds.Both teams have their top players available and are boosted by huge wins.Barcelona was stunned at home by promoted Alaves two weeks ago but rebounded with a 5-1 rout of Leganes on Saturday. It also trounced Celtic 7-0 in the Champions League. Atletico began the league with consecutive draws but picked up the pace with a 4-0 win at Celta Vigo and a 5-0 thrashing of Sporting Gijon.We will need to defend very well because Barcelona has a tremendous offensive power, said Simeone, who has never won at the Camp Nou as a coach.---REINFORCED MADRIDCristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale are expected to return to Real Madrids starting lineup for the game against unbeaten Villarreal at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday. The Spanish powerhouse has a chance to set a record with its 17th straight league victory. Madrid is tied with Pep Guardiolas Barcelona from the 2010-11 season, which won 16 in a row.The record is nice and we will try to achieve it, especially because we want to keep adding points, coach Zinedine Zidane said.Madrid is the only team to have won all four matches to start the league and has a three-point lead over Barcelona and Las Palmas.Ronaldo and Bale were rested in the teams 2-0 win at Espanyol on Sunday after a hard-fought 2-1 win over Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League.Zidane will not be able to count on defender Pepe because of a knee injury sustained at Espanyol.---Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/tales-azzoni Cincinnati Reds Gear . Miller finished in two minutes, 6.09 seconds, one day before the first medal race on the Alpine schedule. The 36-year-old American also turned in the top time in Thursdays opening training session. Cincinnati Reds Pro Shop . -- Sergey Tolchinksy scored his second goal of the game 3:56 into overtime as the Sault Ste. https://www.cheapredsjerseys.us/ . Datsyuk will miss Tuesdays game against New Jersey and could be sidelined longer, while Cleary will likely miss at least the next three games. Its been an injury-plagued season for Datsyuk, who has suited up for just 39 games. MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Davis Love III is busy still trying to play his way back into shape after back surgery in February. Playing with Brandt Snedeker and Dustin Johnson, he did a bit better than just keep up. The 49-year-old Love shot a 4-under 66 for his best round of the year Thursday for a share of the lead with five other players after the first round of the St. Jude Classic, the final event before the U.S. Open next week at Merion in Ardmore, Pa. "I still hit some bad shots," Love said. "At the Players and Memorial, I felt like I was playing better than I was scoring. I think its rust. Im excited to be back, and Im anxious and I want to play better than Im playing. Im a little bit tired from the two 36-hole qualifiers as well. You got to be a little bit more patient and polished. Thats going to take some rounds of golf to get back." Stuart Appleby, Harris English, Nathan Green, Martin Flores and Glen Day also pushed their way into the lead on a day where at least three others had a piece of the top spot lead at some point. Defending champ Dustin Johnson was 5 under through six holes, taking advantage of near perfect conditions at the TPC Southwind with a temperature in the low 80s and only a slight breeze early. But Johnson finished with a 67 and was tied with 10 others including David Toms, a two-time winner here, and Shawn Stefani, who was tied for the lead before he hit into a fairway bunker and bogeyed No. 18. Snedeker, currently No. 6 in the world, opened with a 70. Boo Weekley, who won at Colonial, shot a 68 and was tied with seven others. Phil Mickelson had a 71. Love took off in February for surgery to relieve numbness and weakness caused by spinal stenosis and bone spurs. He didnt play at all in March or April, and this is his fourth tournament back on tour. He tied for 29th at Memorial last week, and tied for third here a year ago in what wound up being his best finish of 2012. He credited his good start to being grouped with Johnson and Snedeker, who also like to play fast. "I tried to keep up with Dustin and Brandt," Love said. Love made the turn at 2 under and birdied Nos. 10 and 11 to move into a five-way tie at 4 under with six others a stroke back at that point. He bogeyed No. 12 and bogeyed the par-3 14th. But Love birdied two of his final three holes to finish with a piece of the lead. Appleby had five birdies and a bogey for his best round this year. The Australian with nine victories hasnt won since The Greenbrier Classic in 2010, and his best this year was a tie for 35th at the Heritaage in South Carolina. Stitched Reds Jerseys. He said he was surprised the scores werent lower on a day where there wasnt any wind. "I thought there were some more birdies out there," Appleby said. "I think just with the pace of the greens if youre above the hole its tricky. Im happy with the way I played today. Anybody who got under par today, the scoreboard, certainly fought to get there." English, a 23-year-old from Georgia, got to 5 under on his back nine only to bogey his next hole at No. 5. Flores also got to 5 under when he birdied No. 13 to take the lead to himself only to double bogey the 14th after hitting into a bunker. He birdied No. 16 to get back into the lead group. Green, who lost his card last year, was the clubhouse leader at midday. The Australian who won the 2009 Canadian Open has been busy rebuilding his chipping and putting. This is his best round this year, but it had been a while since Green had seen his name at the top of a leaderboard. "I was starting to get nervous seeing my name on the board and made two good up and downs to finish off the round, which is nice," Green said after hitting into bunkers on Nos. 17 and 18 on his way in. Mickelson struggled on Nos. 15-17 with two bogeys and a double bogey on the par-5 16th where he hit into a greenside bunker into the rough and into another bunker before finally holing out. He said he wasnt sharp with his short game on small, fast greens that dont hold shots well in his first competitive round in a month. "This is great because its a great test," Mickelson said. "The guy that strikes it well is going to have a big advantage, but when you do miss greens, youve got to be pretty sharp with your short game because the lies around the greens are some of the most difficult that we get." But for someone who hadnt played in so long, Mickelson said he was happy with how he hit the ball. "Its about as good as Ive been striking it, and I feel like theres a good round in me," Mickelson said. Notes: Paul Goydos, who shot a 73, may have re-injured his left wrist hitting out of some deep rough on 15. This was his first event in more than a year after extensive surgery on his wrist. He wrote on Twitter that he got some therapy after his round and planned to ice every hour but will not know how bad it is until he warms up Friday morning. ...Guan Tianglang, the 14-year-old from China who made the cut at the Masters, opened with a 73. ... Matt Bettencourt withdrew because of illness after shooting a 39 on the front nine. ' ' '