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MANCHESTER, England - With nine different winners in the last 11 years, no one could ever accuse the Champions League of being predictable. Mecole Hardman Womens Jersey .It does appear, however, that an established Big 4 has been created in Europes premier club competition — and this years group stage backs up the theory.Barcelona, Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid, the last four winners of European soccers top prize, were the top teams in group play, which finished Wednesday. In each of the last three seasons, at least three of that quartet has reached the semifinals of the Champions League. Madrid and Barcelona did so in 2011, too.So, heading into the knockout stage that kicks off in February, it would be a big surprise if this seasons champion didnt come from this small pool of juggernauts — teams who currently are playing football at another level to the rest.Everybodys there, so the Champions League starts now, Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho said of a last-16 lineup that contains 11 of the teams who advanced in the 2013-14 season.No club has ever successfully defended the Champions League title since the competitions inception in 1992. Could Madrid be about to end that jinx?At top of the Spanish league, a team boasting the attacking talents of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez and Karim Benzema was the only one to pick up a maximum 18 points in the group stage. Madrid has won its last 19 games in all competitions and Ronaldo, the reigning world player of the year, has already reached 30 goals for the season.I know Ive got an extraordinary team, Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said after Tuesdays 4-0 win over Ludogorets Razgrad. I dont tire from saying this.Any side that contains Lionel Messi will always have a great chance, and Barcelona will be expected to reach the semifinals after missing out last season. Barcelonas defence remains a concern — although it has only conceded seven goals in 14 games in the Spanish league — but Wednesdays 3-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain at Camp Nou gave a taster of what to expect from its expensively assembled, all-star attack.Messi — with his record-extending 75th Champions League goal — was on the score sheet along with Neymar and Luis Suarez. The trio is six weeks into its new partnership and when the last 16 comes around it could be unstoppable.We know that together we can go places, Suarez said Wednesday after Barcelona sealed first place in its group for the eighth straight season.Bayerns only defeat in a tough-looking Group E came at Manchester City after playing more than 70 minutes with 10 men and conceding twice in the last five minutes to lose 3-2. The German champions have few weaknesses in their team, with their attack looking even stronger with the addition of Robert Lewandowski, and have a coach in Pep Guardiola who has gone all the way before in the Champions League, with Barcelona in 2009 and 11.Chelsea, meanwhile, has found a cure to its attacking frailties of last season with the signing of Spain striker Diego Costa and was the top-scoring team in the group stage, with 17 goals in six games. Traditionally strong in defence, Eden Hazard is developing into one of the worlds best wingers and Cesc Fabregas has brought more creativity into the teams midfield.Last season, for sure we were not one of the top four and we played in the Champions League semifinals, Mourinho said. Lets see what we can do this season.Mourinho said there will be some sharks in the ocean in Mondays draw for the last 16. He was probably referring to Man City, PSG and Italian champion Juventus, who appear to be the strongest teams among the runners-up.Europe has been waiting for big-spending City, English champions twice in the last three seasons, to find its feet in the Champions League. And a 2-0 win at Roma on Wednesday that sealed advancement was viewed by some as a coming-of-age result, secured without arguably its four key players in Sergio Aguero, Yaya Toure, David Silva and Vincent Kompany.Citys flaws and tactical limitations in Europe were exposed previously in the group stage, though, and it is unlikely to infiltrate the four favourites. Juan Thornhill Jersey .com) - Graeme McDowell opened up with a first- round, 5-under 67 on Thursday and he holds a 2-shot lead at the WGC - HSBC Champions. Anthony Sherman Youth Jersey . Hoffman, the former star closer, will evaluate and help co-ordinate all pitchers at Double-A, Triple-A and the big league team. Byrnes says Hoffman "will be a key part of finishing the development of our younger pitchers. http://www.prochiefsauthentic.com/Youth-Juan-Thornhill-Elite-Jersey/ . Julien coached the Bruins to the Stanley Cup championship in 2010-11 and is the longest serving coach in consecutive seasons in the teams history. Claude is one of the top coaches in the NHL and has consistently shown a passion for winning, general manager Peter Chiarelli said Sunday in announcing the signing.PHOENIX -- The Arizona Diamondbacks jumped on one of baseballs best pitchers early and kept bashing, knocking off records along the way. Not a bad way to show off for their new Hall of Fame executive. Paul Goldschmidt homered twice, had a career-high six RBIs and set a team record with five runs scored, helping the Diamondbacks bash the Los Angeles Dodgers 18-7 on Saturday night in their first game since hiring Tony La Russa. "We hadnt really broken out this year and tonight we did," Arizona manager Kirk Gibson said. "Anybody they threw at us, we were patient, got good pitches to hit and hammered them." Hoping to shake out of an early season funk, the Diamondbacks announced before the game that they had hired La Russa as their chief baseball officer. Once it started, Arizona showed off its offensive capabilities by beating up on Clayton Kershaw (2-1), scoring seven runs in the second inning against the two-time Cy Young Award winner. The Dodgers came storming back with a five-run sixth to pull within 9-7, but Arizona kept hitting to set team records for runs, hits in a nine-inning game (21), extra-base hits (13) and triples in an inning (3 in the second). Goldschmidt was the catalyst, hitting a three-run homer in the seventh inning, a two-run shot in the eighth and adding two doubles to finish 4 for 5. Chris Owings finished a single shy of the cycle, Martin Prado had three RBIs and Chase Anderson (2-0) pitched into the sixth inning for Arizona. A.J. Pollock and Eric Chavez also homered, helping the Diamondbacks emphatically end a seven-game home losing streak to Los Angeles. "It was nice because we hadnt been scoring much lately, this entire year," Goldschmidt said. "Weve had better at-bats lately and tonight was a really, really good effort." The Dodgers tried to keep up even after the second-shortest outing of Kershaws career. Yasiel Puig hit a two-run homer to set one Dodgers record, tie another and stretch his hitting streak to 16 games. Carl Crawford also hit a three-run homer and the Dodgers had 13 hits. They just couldnt seem to keep the Diamondbacks from racing around the bases, going through five pitchers before turning to catcher Drew Butera to pitch in the eighth inning. "We just paid for our mistakes tonight," Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis said. "Give them a lot of credit they swung the bats extremely well. Anytime we were in the middle of the plate, they didnt miss it. TThat is what good teams do. Travis Kelce Jersey. That is a good team over there." Kershaw was solid in two starts off the disabled list and looked good in the first inning against the Diamondbacks, striking out two. It quickly fell apart in the second inning. Arizona followed Kershaws second walk of the season by pounding baseballs to the gaps, including three triples and a double. Cliff Pennington had the first triple, driving in two runs, then Pollock and Owings followed with run-scoring triples. Goldschmidt added a run-scoring double and Tuffy Gosewich and Prado had RBI singles, chasing Kershaw after 1 2-3 innings. Kershaw allowed seven runs -- three more than his season total -- and six hits, with three strikeouts, two walks and a balk. "Its kind of shocking anytime he has an inning like that," Dodgers manager Don Mattingly said. "You expect him to go seven or eight (innings) and give up two or three runs or less. If you can score you have a good chance of winning. Its definitely not the norm with him." Anderson won his major league debut against the Chicago White Sox last Sunday, but wasnt quite as sharp against the Dodgers. Puig hit the first pitch he saw in the third inning well over the wall in left-centre, the team-record eighth straight game he has had an extra-base hit and run batted in. Its the first such streak of nine games in the majors since Tampa Bays Evan Longoria did it in 2009. Puigs eight straight games with an RBI matched the team record held by four others, most recently Adrian Beltre in 2004. Anderson was lifted after giving up a three-run homer to Crawford and the Dodgers pulled within 9-7 on a two-run double by Andre Ethier off Evan Marshall. Anderson allowed five runs and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings. "I had to battle pretty much from pitch 1 today, but the offence came through and put up a lot of runs," Anderson said. "Its nice when you have that." NOTES: Arizona 2B Aaron Hill was scratched from the lineup with a sore right shoulder. ... Puig has six homers and 21 RBIs during his hitting streak. ... The last team to have three triples in an inning was Houston in the first inning against Washington on April 19, 2012. ... Arizona RHP Josh Collmenter will start the series finale against the Dodgers. He is 1-0 with a 3.42 ERA in his last four starts. RHP Dan Haren, who pitched for the Diamondbacks from 2008-10, will pitch for the Dodgers after allowing three runs in seven innings. ' ' '