hanced leverage in talks with the IOC.As in: Weve got our hanced leverage in talks with the IOC.As in: Weve got our own great tournamown great tournam | Forum

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LISBON, Portugal -- Defending champion Real Madrid advanced from the group stage of the Champions League for the 20th straight time after beating 10-man Sporting Lisbon 2-1 on Tuesday. Wholesale NCAA Jerseys Authentic .Karim Benzema came off the bench to get the late winner in the 87th minute.A draw would have been enough to get Madrid through to the knockout stages anyway, but victory gave the team a chance to finish first in Group F -- with a home victory over Borussia Dortmund in the final round.It was important that we won here, Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said. We achieved what we came to get. We are going to play a final against Dortmund now.The German side, which routed Legia Warsaw 8-4, has a two-point lead over Madrid.Benzema salvaged Madrids victory with a header after a well-placed cross by Sergio Ramos. That came just seven minutes after Sporting midfielder Adrien Silva equalized by converting a controversial penalty kick. The penalty was awarded after the ball hit Fabio Coentraos arm, which he had just thrust into the air to complain of a hand ball by Sporting.We had our difficult moments in the game but thats normal, Zidane said. But we managed to score a wonderful second through Karim Benzema.Benzema had been doubtful to play during the week because of an injury but his recovery proved crucial. He entered the match in the 67th to replace Francisco Isco Alarcon.Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo, returning home to play against the team where he started his career, got an assist in Madrids first goal when he mis-hit a shot inside the area. The ball bounced off his back foot and moved forward for Raphael Varanes easy shot from close range in the first half.It was the third straight game for Ronaldo without a goal in the Champions League, keeping him two short of becoming the first player to reach the 100-goal mark in European competitions.Sportings Joao Pereira was sent off in the 64th with a straight red after an altercation with Madrids Mateo Kovacic.We were great both technically and tactically. We only missed a few details, Sporting coach Jorge Jesus said. In Madrid we were not able to defend our lead after 87 minutes and tonight the red card to Joao Pereira was decisive.Madrid scored two late goals -- the first in the 89th -- in the 2-1 win over Sporting in the teams opener in the group stage.Gareth Bale limped off the field on Tuesday after being substituted because of an apparent ankle injury in the 58th.The game marked Madrids return to Lisbon for the first time since winning the 2014 Champions League against Atletico Madrid at the Estadio da Luz.The victory extended Madrids unbeaten streak to 30 matches in all competitions. The Spanish club has scored 25 goals in its last six away games. Discount NCAA Jerseys . -- Matt Kuchar and Harris English ran away with the Franklin Templeton Shootout, shooting a 14-under 58 on Sunday in the final-round scramble to break the tournament course record. Cheap NCAA Jerseys From China .com) - The Chicago Blackhawks aim for their third three-game winning streak of the season when they host the struggling Edmonton Oilers in Sundays battle at the United Center. http://www.cheapncaajerseys.net/ . Third-seeded Murray had the easiest path to victory on New Years Eve, barely breaking a sweat during his 6-0, 6-0 win over 2,129th-ranked Qatari wildcard recipient Mousa Shanan Zayed. TORONTO -- The question, which doesnt yet have an answer, is what a successful World Cup of Hockey means in the Olympic equation.On the eve of this tournament dropping the puck here in this hockey-mad country, one ponders: If the event ends up being a smashing hit, will that lead NHL owners to believe theyve found their new, best-on-best vehicle? After all, NHL owners have never been that enamored with shutting down their season in mid-February for an Olympic tournament they make no money from.To which Alex Ovechkin on Thursday reminded the hockey world that nothing replaces the Olympics, no matter how much fun and entertaining the World Cup of Hockey might be.I asked the Washington Capitals superstar if, as in the lead-up to the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics, when he threatened to play even if the NHL didnt participate, he felt the same way about the South Korea Olympics in 2018.My decision is the same, he responded. So I dont know whats going to happen right now, but we just have to wait [for] what they say and well see. ...Its a situation where you dont know whats going to happen, he added. But obviously, I said Im going to play.Ovechkin doesnt speak for all NHL players; in fact, I think theres a wide range of thoughts and beliefs about how the league should proceed.First and foremost, though, its foolish to think that the level of success of this World Cup isnt related in any fashion to the Olympic discussion. It has to be, regardless of the decision. Theyre tied to each other in some fashion.Yeah, definitely, agreed Team Canada captain Sidney Crosby. This will be something that people are going to compare, that players are going to relate to when youre talking about making a decision like that. Theres so many factors: the timing of it, where the Olympics are, but the fact is, if theres an ability to put on an event like this, its an option and it probably makes the decision harder, especially if people enjoy it. You can only do so many things and you want to be involved in everything, but at the end of the day, this looks like its going to be a great event -- I havent been able to be part of it before. ... Ive had great experiences in the Olympics; well have to see what happens.Its all a moot point if the International Olympic Committee doesnt change its tune when it comes to paying for players insurance and travel costs, something the IOC has always done dating back to Nagano 1998.Still, I think the Olympic question goes beyond that. Vancouver 2010 and Sochi 2014 were held in countries rich in hockey history. Will playerss care as much about wanting to travel across the world to nonhockey countries?Depends on whom you ask. Cheap Basketball NCAA Jerseys. One hundred percent, young Canadian phenom Connor McDavid said Thursday, without hesitation, when asked about wanting the NHL to stay in the Olympics. For some of the guys that have been there, the answer might be a little bit different, but for us young guys that have never had an opportunity to play and win an Olympics, I think it would be something a little bit different. For me, personally, Ive always dreamt of playing in the Olympics and representing my country there. The World Cup is awesome and all that, and its similar in that kind of sense. But do I hope it takes over the Olympics? Not at all. I definitely want the Olympics to be an option for NHL guys.Two-time Team USA Olympian Patrick Kane doesnt want the World Cup to be a replacement for the Olympics; rather, he wants the World Cup to be an important add-on to the best-on-best competitions.I dont know if you want to think of it as a substitution; for me, I look at it as having the chance to play for your country every two years at such a high level, said the Chicago Blackhawks star, last seasons Hart Trophy winner as NHL MVP. Hopefully, its something thats put in there along with the Olympics.Echoed Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask of Finland: I dont think you can ever replace the Olympics, but if you can add to it, and keep them both in the picture, I think that would be a great thing.Besides, Rask said, the opportunity to sell the game in a new market like South Korea could be of great benefit.I think it would be a great thing for hockey to go there and kind of showcase for Asian people, show what hockey is all about, said Rask. I think Olympics are great. If we have a chance to go, I think we should go.Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price knows where his vote lies.The Olympics are a special event, and I really enjoyed my experience going to Sochi and being able to experience that world event, he said. It was really special for me and family to be able to go and take that in. It would be kind of sad to not be able to do that again.Perhaps, in the end, what a successful World Cup of Hockey truly means for the NHL and the NHLPA is enhanced leverage in talks with the IOC.As in: Weve got our own great tournament now, so if you dont play ball, were gone.First, however, this tournament has to be a hit.Were about to find out. ' ' '