Barca in driving seat but Ronaldo keeps Real in race

                 Barcelona's Lionel Messi in action. Photo: Albert Gea/Reuters

Barcelona closed in on the La Liga title by thrashing local rivals Espanyol 5-0, as Atletico Madrid dropped out of the race after losing 2-1 at Levante.

A Cristiano Ronaldo brace helped Real Madrid to a 3-2 win that prevented Barca lifting the title.
The victory left them one point behind Barca on 87, while Atletico have 85 with one game remaining.

The Catalans went ahead in the eighth minute when Lionel Messi curled a 22-yard free-kick into the top corner with a magnificent finish.
Luis Suarez stretched the hosts' lead with two goals in the second half, before Rafinha and Neymar completed the rout.

Atletico took the lead at Levante in the first minute through Fernando Torres, but the relegated home side fought back, equalising through Victor Casadesus before Giuseppe Rossi grabbed the winner in stoppage time.
Real were without goalkeeper Keylor Navas, defender Dani Carvajal, midfielder Luka Modric and winger Gareth Bale through injury, but went ahead thanks to a thunderous low finish from Cristiano Ronaldo in the 26th minute.

Karim Benzema scored the second before the break but Rodrigo Moreno, who was later sent off, pulled one back for Valencia after half-time.
Ronaldo added his second a few minutes later, before Andre Gomes scored a sumptuous consolation goal for Valencia.

Barca knew any slip-up could prove fatal to their title hopes, but Messi's brilliant curled free-kick got them off to an ideal start, although they were aggrieved when Ivan Rakitic had a goal harshly ruled out for offside and Messi had a strong penalty appeal turned down.
Messi laid on the pass for Suarez to smash in the second in the 52nd minute and the Uruguayan headed in a third to move on to 37 goals for the league season.

Brazilian midfielder Rafinha pounced on an embarrassing error by goalkeeper Pau Lopez to score his first goal since returning from a serious knee injury. Neymar added the fifth by tapping in Suarez's low cross following a scooped pass from Dani Alves.
In Germany, Bayern Munich secured a record fourth consecutive Bundesliga title on Saturday after a 2-1 victory at Ingolstadt 04 eased the disappointment of their midweek Champions League exit.

The Bavarians clinched a 26th German league crown, and their first silverware of the season, thanks to two goals from top scorer Robert Lewandowski in the first half.
Elsewhere, PSV Eindhoven retained the Eredivisie title after a dramatic final day saw them win 3-1 away to PEC Zwolle, as rivals Ajax were held to a surprise 1-1 draw at relegation battlers De Graafschap.

Ajax went into yesterday's matches top of the table with a superior goal difference.

PSV were crowned national champions for the 23rd time after a first-half goal from Jurgen Locadia (34) and a brace from captain Luuk de Jong (43 and 67) secured what was, in the end, a comfortable victory.














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Home Run Kitten Relishes the Wet Track in American Stakes

Shifted from turf to dirt late in the afternoon due to unexpectedly heavy rains, Friday’s $100,000 American Stakes went to 14-1 longshot Home Run Kitten, who rallied to take the lead in the shadow of the wire and prevailed by a half length under Joe Talamo.  Trained by David Hofmans and owned by Tarabilla Farms, Inc., Home Run Kitten covered one mile on Santa Anita’s “wet fast” main track in 1:35.30.

With three late scratches, the American was reduced to a field of six three year olds and up.  Breaking from the far outside, Home Run Kitten, who was adding blinkers, was away alertly and sat a comfortable fourth into the Club House turn.  Heading to the three furlong pole, he was set down by Talamo and rallied wide-out to just overhaul Little Curlin in the final thirty yards.

In just his second-ever try on dirt and first on an off surface, Home Run Kitten was off at 14-1 and paid $30.40, $10.20 and $3.60.

“The track feels good,” said Talamo.  “It feels great when you win.  It’s easy to run on, it’s pretty versatile and you can kind of do what you want out there…This horse has so much confidence.  He works so well in the mornings and Dave always keeps him fresh, so I just tried to be a good pilot today.”

Originally scheduled to run in last Saturday’s Grade III San Francisco Mile (turf) at Golden Gate Fields, Home Run Kitten, a 5-year-old Kentucky-bred horse by Kitten’s Joy, picked up his fifth win from 18 overall starts.  With the winner’s share of $60,000, he increased his earnings to $402,645.

“He had a slight temperature the day we were supposed to ship him and with this race coming up, we didn’t want to take a chance,” said Hofmans.  “We thought we’d give him a shot in here even if it  came off the dirt…His last two or three races were so uncharacteristic and I was totally lost.  I had no (explanation) whatsoever. 

“I even gave him…a few months off, turned him out because we campaigned him so hard and he came back super and stronger, but just ran like hell…I came into this race like ‘Who’s going to show up today?’  Let’s hope he’s back on track because he’s a nice horse, a real nice horse.”

Ridden by Martin Pedroza, Little Curlin rallied boldly around the far turn, took over from Si Sage turning for home and finished second, a half length in front of favored Twentytwentyvision.  Off at 10 -1, Little Curlin paid $6.80 and $3.40.

Last approaching the quarter pole, Twentytwentyvision rallied widest of all and was finishing fast under Rafael Bejarano, but had to settle for third money, finishing 3 ¼ lengths in front of Si Sage.  Off at 6-5, Twentytwentyvision paid $2.40 to show.

Ohio, the 3-2 second choice in the wagering, stumbled at the break and ended up last under Brice Blanc.

Fractions on the race were 23.08, 46.20, 1:10.35 and 1:22.68.

Earlier in the day, jockey Santiago Gonzalez, who was seriously injured on March 20 and who returned to the saddle yesterday, got his first winner since being injured when he pointed Prince Valiant (8-5) to victory in the third race for Jack Carava.  Gonzalez followed up with his second win in race five, when he guided trainer Mark Glatt’s Big Tire from last to first at odds of 10-1.

Santa Anita’s admission gates will open early on Saturday, Kentucky Derby Day, at 7:15 a.m.  First live race post time is at 12 noon.  Approximate post time for the Kentucky Derby is at 3:34 p.m. PDT.











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NFL: Denver Broncos draft Utah’s Devontae Booker in fourth round

(Trent Nelson | The Salt Lake Tribune) Utah Utes running back Devontae Booker (23) stiff-arms Oregon State Beavers safety Justin Strong (4) as the University of Utah hosts Oregon State, NCAA football at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Saturday October 31, 2015.


Orange will replace red, and his home field will be a mile high.

The running back Utah fans came to know as "Bookmode" will make some changes as he starts his NFL career, but he's not going far.

Running back Devontae Booker was the only former Ute picked in the 2016 NFL draft, selected by the defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos with the 136th overall pick.

Booker waited longer than he would've liked, still waiting after six running backs had already been selected. But Denver snatched him up before the end of the fourth round, an announcement made by former Broncos quarterback Jake Plummer, skiing up to cameras with the pick in hand.
The Broncos later released video footage of Denver coach Gary Kubiak and general manager John Elway calling Booker to congratulate him.

"Can't wait to get you here, man," Kubiak said. "We're looking forward to making you part of our organization, and I really enjoyed my time with you when you came through here."

The Sacramento, Calif., native put himself in the conversation for one of the most talented backs to ever play for the Utes, rushing for 2,773 yards, the third-best mark in program history, in only two seasons. The 23-year-old set Utah's career mark in rushing yards per game (120.6 ypg) with 21 touchdowns in 23 games.

He was known as Utah's workhorse back, grinding down opponents with a punishing physical style and lots of carries. He also did plenty of work in the receiving game with 80 catches for 624 yards in his career. He had 14 games of 100 yards or more, with his career-high 229 yards coming in a double-overtime win at Oregon State in which he had the winning touchdown.

Kubiak may be the ideal pairing for Booker: The Denver coach who just earned his first NFL title is well known for producing 1,000-yard running backs — including former Utah rusher Mike Anderson, who was the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2000 when Kubiak was the offensive coordinator for the Broncos. Kubiak also presided over productive seasons from Clinton Portis, Terrell Davis and Arian Foster.

Booker often met comparisons to Foster in NFL scouting reports for his quick-cutting ability, and he paid a visit to Denver prior to the draft. Elway tweeted after the pick that Booker was "one of the highest RBs on our board. Physical, versatile & has great ball skills."

Booker is the first Utah running back picked in the draft since Quinton Ganther in 2006. He's the fourth Ute to be drafted by the Broncos, following John Huddleston (1976), Anderson (2000) and lineman Zane Beadles (2010).

Booker joins a running back corps of C.J. Anderson and Ronnie Hillman. Former Utah lineman Sam Brenner is also on the Broncos' roster.

Twice named to all-Pac-12 teams, Booker made the first team in 2014 when he ran for 1,512 yards and 10 touchdowns to fall just short of Utah's single-season rushing record.

His Utah career came to an abrupt end last season when he tore his meniscus 10 games into the year. The injury required two surgeries that left him unable to participate in most NFL Combine and Utah Pro Day activities. He held his own Pro Day earlier this month at his hometown high school when he was able to do field drills, but he did not run the 40-yard dash.

Projected by several outlets to be selected on the second day in rounds 2 or 3, Booker waited until Saturday to be drafted, and several analysts on NFL Network graded him as one of the top prospects remaining until he was picked.

Booker came to Utah on a circuitous route, but never failed to put up eye-popping stats wherever he went.

He was a star at Grant High in California, running for 2,884 yards and 45 touchdowns as a senior. He signed with Washington State out of high school, but academic issues prevented him from going to Pullman.


He ended up attending American River College, where he posted more gaudy numbers (1,472 yards, 15 touchdowns in 2012). He sat out the 2013 season for academic reasons.











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Cristiano Ronaldo shows off his hard work in the gym as Real Madrid star fights to be fit to face Manchester City in second leg

1 Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema miss Real Madrid's Saturday game
2 Star pairing are fighting to be fit to face Manchester City next week
3 Ronaldo showed off his prowess in the gym as he fought the pain barrier

Real Madrid forwards Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema will miss Saturday's league match as they try to recover in time to face Manchester City in their Champions League semi-final decider.
Zinedine Zidane said that neither of his top two scorers were fit for the trip to Real Sociedad, where Madrid need a win to realistically remain in La Liga's title race. Madrid trail leaders Barcelona and second-place Atletico Madrid by one point with three matches to go.
Ronaldo was in the gym on Friday, working hard in the pool and with a series of exercises showed off on his Instagram account as he battles to get back from the hamstring injury that ruled him out of the first leg stalemate with City. 

Cristiano Ronaldo posted this image on Instagram as the Real Madrid star tries to battle back from injury

Madrid are the hosts on Wednesday after the two sides drew 0-0 in the first leg, where Madrid clearly missed Ronaldo's spark in attack and where Benzema played only the first half.

'I am worried because each time you have a player injured it is difficult,' Zidane said on Friday. 'Now the most important thing is that they completely recover because we cannot take risks with Cristiano and Karim.'

Zidane did not specify Ronaldo's injury, a subject of intense speculation in the Spanish media.

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This NFL draft wasn’t going to be all about the quarterbacks. But now it is.

Jared Goff could be in line to be chosen first overall in the NFL draft Thursday night by the Rams. (Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
This NFL draft was not necessarily supposed to be all about the quarterbacks. It is one year after the eagerly anticipated pro-football arrivals of Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota led to them being selected first and second overall in the 2015 draft, and this is a quarterback class without anything resembling that kind of star wattage.

But in today’s pass-happy NFL, it is always about the quarterbacks. Any franchise that doesn’t have a highly productive passer is in a constant, ever-more-desperate search to get one. Even with no former Heisman Trophy winners or celebrated quarterbacks adored by the football-watching public in the mix, and even with the Denver Broncos having just demonstrated to the rest of the league that a defense-first approach still can win a Super Bowl, it will be all about the quarterbacks Thursday night when the draft gets under way with its opening round.

Quarterbacks Jared Goff of Cal and Carson Wentz of North Dakota State widely are expected to be chosen with the top two picks after the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles made blockbuster deals to trade up to obtain those selections.

[The Rams made a reverse-RG3 trade and now must hope that Jared Goff or Carson Wentz is really, really good]

What remains up for debate is whether Goff and Wentz have sufficient promise as would-be NFL franchise quarterbacks to justify that lofty draft status and the maneuvers made by teams to be in position to get them, or if it all merely reflects how dire the circumstances are for the sport’s quarterback-deprived franchises.

“I took a lot of abuse a month or two ago for saying that I thought Wentz and Goff were every bit in the conversation with last year’s Mariota and Winston,” said Mike Mayock, a draft analyst for NFL Network. “And I still believe it. And apparently two other NFL teams do if they’re willing to give up that kind of firepower to move up and get those guys.”

Not everyone necessarily agrees.

“There’s no question this was driven by the needs at quarterback,” a front-office executive with one NFL team said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he did not want to comment publicly on players headed to other franchises. “These players [Goff and Wentz] are not quite on par with the two quarterbacks at the top last year.”

The prospect of being certain to get either Wentz or Goff was not enough to convince the Cleveland Browns, who have had 24 starters at quarterback since 1999, to keep the No. 2 pick. They traded it Wednesday to the Eagles for a handsome package of draft choices, a week after the Tennessee Titans agreed to send the top selection to the Rams. So the Browns will have to hope their quarterback of the future emerges from among the recently signed Robert Griffin III or a rookie chosen either with the No. 8 pick or later.

“Everybody keeps talking about two of the best quarterbacks in the draft,” Browns Coach Hue Jackson said at a news conference last week. “No one knows that, right? No one really knows that. We will see how it all unfolds here in two or three years and see if we were right or wrong.”

[Another huge NFL draft trade shows the Browns are really counting on RG3 and the Eagles really love Carson Wentz]

If the Titans, who selected Mariota second overall last year, had retained the top pick, they would have chosen from among a group of prospects that includes Mississippi tackle Laremy Tunsil, Florida State defensive back Jalen Ramsey and Ohio State pass rusher Joey Bosa. Tunsil probably would have been the selection. So it was not until recent weeks, with the trades, that this became viewed as a draft in which quarterbacks would be selected first and second.

Goff, who once played as a freshman on a Cal team that went 1-11, and Wentz, who played at a Football Championship Subdivision (formerly known as Division I-AA) school and missed much of last season because of a broken wrist, have comparatively low public profiles. Even Mayock said he was unfamiliar with Wentz before doing his pre-draft homework beginning in October and November.

“I’d never even heard of him,” Mayock said. “He was just a name on my quarterback list. The first guy I looked at was Goff. When I got done four games of Goff, I said, ‘I think this is gonna be my first guy. This is gonna be my top quarterback.’ I liked everything about Jared Goff. I thought he was a top-10 pick in just about any draft.















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BYU volleyball: Cougars, UCLA clash Saturday night for MPSF title

    (Chris Detrick | The Salt Lake Tribune) BYU's Jake Langlois (10) and Ben Patch (13) celebrate a point during the MPSF         tournament semifinal at Smith Fieldhouse Thursday April 21, 2016

Provo • Ben Patch didn't get embarrassed. He just got even.

BYU's All-American opposite hitter messed up royally at the end of the fourth set Thursday night in an MPSF semifinal volleyball match against UC Santa Barbara, mis-hitting a ball so badly that it came closer to hitting the bottom of the net than the top.


The error gave the Gauchos a 25-23 win, and sent the match to a decisive fifth set. From there, though, Patch was sensational, making five kills down the stretch as the top-seeded Cougars took a 3-2 win to advance to Saturday's championship match against second-seeded UCLA.
First serve is at 7 p.m. and the match will be televised by BYUtv.

"I was really impressed with the way [Patch] rebounded from the end of that fourth set," said BYU coach Shawn Olmstead. "He rebounded in the fifth set and did exactly what we know he can do. And so I was proud of him."

A sophomore, Patch finished with a season-high 32 kills and a spectacular .480 hitting percentage in what may have been his best performance as a Cougar.

"It is a credit to Leo," Patch said, referring to setter Leo Durkin, who had a career-high 62 assists and a team-high 12 digs, which tied a career high. "He did an awesome job and put up just amazing sets."

Said Durkin: "I just kept going to what was working."

The No. 1-ranked Cougars (25-3) played reasonably well Thursday, but were vulnerable in the middle and gave up 74 kills to the visitors. Olmstead said they will have to play better Saturday to knock off UCLA (25-5), which swept Long Beach State 3-0 before BYU and UCSB played what Patch called "a grinder."

BYU defeated UCLA 3-1 twice in Los Angeles on April 1 and April 2, but the Bruins have recovered nicely, downing Stanford, Pepperdine and Hawaii before routing the 49ers on Thursday.

"They played good volleyball," Olmstead said. "We were able to watch. We had front-row seats. It is a wonderful program. We have had some great battles already this year and so they are going to be ready to play come Saturday. So we got to focus and be ready to do the same."

While Durkin said the Cougars would need some time in the ice bath after the grueling win, Patch said he was ready to go against a program that has won 19 national championships.

"Of course, bring it on," Patch said. "They are an awesome team."

Both teams have likely punched their tickets to the NCAA Tournament May 3-7 at Rec Hall on the campus of Penn State University. Up for grabs, though, is seeding for that tournament, which is important because the top two seeds get byes into the semifinals.


The other four entrants will participate in play-in games on May 3, with the fourth seed taking on the fifth seed and the third seed taking on the sixth seed.










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Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion Premier League: Team news, injury news, team line ups and TV times

    Arsenal were held to a 1-1 draw by Crystal Palace at the weekend (Picture: Getty Images)


There was a time when finishing in the Premier League’s top four prompted celebrations at Arsenal. Not this year.

Lifting the FA Cup gave the last two seasons a certain gloss of success, while buying time for Arsene Wenger to once again perfect his mixture and land the big one.
Just as soon as big-spending Chelsea, Manchester City or United have dropped their guards, Arsenal would swoop in to snatch their title. Playing beautiful football with a beautiful team, as balanced as their beautiful books.

That’s what we thought anyway.
Chelsea, Man City (to an extent) and United have done their bit this year, but it is Leicester and Tottenham who are cashing-in their chips.
The battle for fourth place that has so often inspired them in the recent past looks like it is draining them this year.
Dropped points in their last two game – both from winning positions – make this a must win. But they are all hollow now.

Prediction: West Brom will revel in the role of spoilers. 1-1










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