Offtopic/fun » ACC championship game.RECORD DAYWats

BARCELONA, Spain -- Lionel Messi netted two goals within 15 minutes of coming on as a substitute to give Barcelona a 4-2 comeback win over Real Betis on Sunday and push his team to the brink of the Spanish league title. After his teammates had rallied back twice to level at 2-2, Messi went on in the 56th and four minutes later curled in a free kick to extend his record scoring streak to 21 straight league appearances. The Argentina forward struck again in the 71st by polishing off a superb passing combination with Andres Iniesta and fellow goalscorer Alexis Sanchez to reach the 60-goal mark in all competitions for the second straight season. "We know Messi is the best," Barcelona defender Gerard Pique said. "We know every time he comes on he will give us something." Barcelona leads by 11 points with four rounds to go and would clinch its 22nd domestic crown if defending champion Real Madrid drops points against Malaga on Wednesday. Messi has been hampered for the past month by a right hamstring injury. Since hurting his leg on April 2, the four-time world player of the year has missed four games-- including Wednesdays stinging 3-0 loss to Bayern Munich that sealed its exit from the Champions League-- and come off the bench in two more before Sundays match. Like last weeks game at Athletic Bilbao, Messi looked fit enough as he again tilted the match in Barcelonas favour. "Against Messi, you cant do anything," said Betis coach Pepe Mel, whose team remained in seventh place. "At San Mames he ran through opposing players like they were cones. And here, the first ball he touches he puts it right inside the corner of the goalframe. It was like it had been scripted. It was suddenly a big party and went down from there." Messis double gave took his league-leading goal tally to 46 for the season, and kept him on pace to beat his own record of 50 from the last campaign. Elsewhere on Sunday, Real Zaragoza beat Rayo Vallecano 3-0 to escape the relegation zone, while Mallorca remained in last place after drawing 1-1 with Levante. Sevilla, meanwhile, rolled to a 3-0 victory over Espanyol to move into eighth place and stay in the hunt for a Europa League berth. Barcelona showed signs of still feeling the effects of its midweek defeat to Bayern that completed its 7-0 dismantling of the Catalan side over their two-leg semifinal. Barcelona was sluggish at the start and in the second minute its defence was slow to react to an apparently routine high ball that bounced through to Dorlan Pabon, who expertly slotted it beyond goalkeeper Jose Pinto, playing for the injured Victor Valdes. Whistles of frustration were immediately heard from the demanding Camp Nou crowd, and they combined with the drizzling rain to further damper the hosts spirits just when they should have been trying to take a step toward the league title. Barcelona was quick to react, and with Messi on the bench, it fell to playmaker Iniesta to unlock Betis defence in the ninth when he picked out Alexis at the far post to nod in his cross. Barcelona pressed for a second goal with David Villa squandering two good chances before Cristian Tello hit the crossbar. But it was Betis that went ahead again-- this time against the run of play-- with Ruben Perezs unstoppable long strike from well outside the area that Pinto had no chance to keep out two minutes before halftime. "Football was a little cruel with us in the first half," Pique said. "We created a lot of scoring opportunities while they scored on the two chances they had, but then it was kind to us in the second half. "We are close to the title. The sooner it comes, the better." Messi started to warm up at the start of the second half to the relief of the home fans who cheered his presence on the sideline. Seconds before coming off for Messi, Villa made up for his earlier misses by knocking Dani Alves cross under goalie Adrian San Miguel with a header after Betis defence has left him unmarked in the box. Messi then took over in his 20th multi-goal game of the season. He had touched the ball just once when he scored an exquisite free kick, bending a left-footed shot just inside the near corner of the goalframe that San Miguel did well to touch but couldnt turn away. Messi almost hit with another free kick in the 69th, with the ball landing on the corner of the goalframe. But his second goal soon came when Messi linked up with Iniesta, who flicked on a no-look pass to play Alexis free in the area. The Chile forward then unselfishly crossed for Messi to tap in and complete the kind of beautiful move that Barcelona is known for and few other teams are capable of performing.Air Force 1 Scontate . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. Vans Italia . That left plenty of energy for pitching books and swatting away free agency questions. Anthony had 24 points and nine rebounds, and the Knicks avenged an embarrassing home loss with a rout of their own, beating the Boston Celtics 114-88 on Wednesday night for their third straight victory. http://www.scontatescarpenikeoutlet.it/italia-air-jordan-1-offerte.html . -- Matt Ryan needed one of the best games of his career to lead the Falcons and their depleted offence out of their three-game losing streak last week. Vapormax Scontate . It says Pocklingtons lawyer filed the appeal Friday in a California court. CTV Edmonton also says Pocklington gave a $100,000 cash deposit as part of the conditions of his bail, and that he will be out on bail until his appeal is heard. Scarpe Nike Economiche . After a replay, the winner will meet Sunderland in the quarterfinals. Sagbo did well to control Sone Alukos right cross and fire past Brighton goalkeeper Peter Brezovan. Aluko was making his first start in four months after recovering from an Achilles injury.CLEMSON, S.C. -- James Conners smile said it all -- Pittsburgh was happy to once again shuffle up the national championship picture.Hey, sorry to do that. But we wanted this one bad, said Conner, who had two touchdowns and ran for 132 yards in the Panthers 43-42 stunner over No. 3 Clemson on Saturday.Conners 20-yard TD run with 5:17 left inched the Panthers into striking range and Chris Blewitt -- after a kiss on the cheek from coach Pat Narduzzi -- struck a perfect, 48-yard field goal with six seconds left for the winning points.Well remember this one forever, Conner said.So, too, will Clemson (9-1, 6-1 Atlantic Coast Conference) which saw its run at perfection halted after escaping so many other jams this season. A fourth-down stop a yard shy saved the Tigers 42-36 win over No. 5 Louisville on Oct. 1. North Carolina States missed field goal at the end of regulation boosted Clemson to a 24-17 overtime win.This time, it was the Panthers (6-4, 3-3) who made the critical plays.When Clemson was driving for a touchdown already up 42-34, linebacker Saleem Brightwell picked off quarterback Deshaun Watson -- his third interception -- and returned it 70 yards to set up a 20-yard TD by Conner that drew Pitt within 42-40.When Clemson attempted to run out the clock, the Panthers defense (despite allowing 630 yards) stuffed Wayne Gallman a yard short on third and fourth downs to take over near midfield with 58 seconds left.We had a chance to put the game away and they stopped us, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. We had been making those kinds of plays this year.Nathan Peterman moved Pitt to the Clemson 30 and Blewitt steadily knocked through.It was Pitts highest-ranked win since defeating Backyard Brawl rival, No. 2 West Virginia, 13-9 in 2007 and spoiling the Mountaineers chances at playing for the national title.Our team had a lot of guts tonight, Narduzzi said.And a whole lot of playmakers to topple the defending ACC champs.Peterman had a career-best five TD passes and 308 yards. Conner rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown. He also caught one of Petermans scoring throws.Blewitt, who had a kick blocked at the end of the opening half, was steely eyed and ready. Narduzzi gave his senior a kiss on the cheek and sent him out for the winning kick.As soon as I saw the kick go up, I knew it was going in, Scott Orndoff said. It was jubilation.Clemson had its offense going. Watson threw for an ACC record 580 yards and three touchdowns.dddddddddddd Gallman ran for three TDs and Mike Williams had 15 catches for 202 yards and a touchdown.In the end, it was Clemsons first loss to an unranked opponent in five seasons, a span of 46 games.Come Monday, well start over because its a long season, Watson said. Get ready for Wake Forest. Hopefully, we can clinch the ACC (Atlantic) and punch our ticket for the championship game next week.THE TAKEAWAYPittsburgh: The Panthers showed that Narduzzis program is taking hold. Peterman stayed calm in the face of Clemsons strong pass rush and Conner was able to avoid the Tigers middle duo of Carlos Watkins and Dexter Lawrence to keep Pitt moving.Clemson: Many non-Tiger fans will say this team had it coming after escaping with close wins at home against No. 5 Louisville (42-36 on Oct. 1) and North Carolina State (24-17 in overtime on Oct. 15) after the Wolfpack missed the potential game-winning kick to end regulation. Clemsons path is still clear -- win out and hope its one-loss season is better than most others.POLL IMPLICATIONSA rankings fall seemed likely for Clemson after the loss but that is likely to be mitigated by losses suffered by No. 2 Michigan and No. 4 Washington later in the day. After Wake Forest, the Tigers face revived rival South Carolina at Death Valley before potentially heading to Orlando, Florida, for the ACC championship game.RECORD DAYWatsons passing yards broke the 21-year-old mark of Wake Forests Rusty LaRue, who passed for 545 yards against North Carolina State on Nov. 18, 1995. Watson said the record doesnt console him after the loss. Id rather go 0-for-30 with no yards and get the W, he said.SAYING GOODBYEThis wasnt the farewell Clemsons offense wanted. Watson, Gallman, Williams and receiver Artavis Scott are all juniors who were honored with Clemsons seniors Saturday after Swinney said they would all be leaving the program for the NFL after this season. Watson acknowledged wild emotions. Still, Im going to keep a smile on my face, he said.UP NEXTPittsburgh closes the year with two games at home, starting with Duke next week.Clemson will try to earn the ACC Atlantic Division title with a win at Wake Forest next Saturday.---More AP college football: www.collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '