Offtopic/fun » Lynch and then hobbling back up the ramp. She

GENEVA -- Four teams, including five-time winner Bayern Munich, sealed early places in the Champions League knockout rounds on Tuesday.Barcelona, shockingly, was not among them despite Lionel Messis goal taking a first-half lead at Manchester City.Pep Guardiolas team turned a memorable game on its head to win 3-1, and end the English sides run of being outclassed by its coachs former club in recent years.Now, we realize we won against the best team (in the world), Guardiola said. For the future generations, they are going to realize, `Wow these guys are able to beat the best team.Bayern and Atletico Madrid both advanced from Group D, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain booked their tickets from Group A to the round of 16.Arsenal took an adventurous route in Bulgaria, trailing Ludogorets Razgrad by two early goals before Mesut Ozils sublime solo goal in the 88th minute clinched a 3-2 win.Here is how Tuesdays action unfolded:----GROUP AArsenal and PSG are tied on 10 points and each could win the group -- and seeded status in the round of 16 draw -- with victory when they play in London on Nov. 23.Both needed late goals to secure three points on Tuesday.PSG dominated at Basel but a 2-1 win was only sealed in the 90th by defender Thomas Meuniers volleyed shot from outside the penalty area into the top right corner of the net. The Swiss side was down to 10 men at the time, following an 84th minute red card for midfielder Geoffroy Serey Die.Basels leveler in the 76th was also a stunner. Substitute Luca Zuffis dipping shot from 35 meters out deceived goalkeeper Alphonse Areola.PSG had led in the 43rd when Blaise Matuidi diverted Meuniers shot across the goalmouth with a deft flick off his right heel.Arsenal advanced from its group for a 17th consecutive season under coach Arsene Wenger.Down 2-0 after 15 minutes, the game was soon level through goals by Granit Xhaka and Olivier Giroud.Ozil then perhaps bettered his hat trick in a 6-0 rout of Ludogorets last month. He collected a through ball, lifted it over goalkeeper Milan Borjan, and then glided past two defenders before calmly slotting into an empty net.---GROUP BIn a tight group, Napoli and Benfica are on seven points with unbeaten Besiktas on six.Penalties were key to Besiktas and Napoli drawing 1-1 in Istanbul, and Benfica beating visiting Dynamo Kiev 1-0.Besiktas led in the 79th when Ricardo Queresma scored from the spot, and Napoli talisman Marek Hamsiks arching shot from distance leveled three minutes later.There were reports that a Napoli fan was stabbed before the match in an Istanbul metro station after a clash between supporters.Eduardo Salvio put Benfica ahead with a powerfully hit spot-kick in first-half stoppage time, and Dynamo was denied an equalizer when goalkeeper Ederson saved a penalty from Junior Moraes.---GROUP CManchester City had lost all five Champions League games against Barcelona since 2012 -- including a 4-0 mauling at Camp Nou two weeks ago.Messis 90th goal in Europes top club competition in the 21st minute, finishing a clinical counter-attack, suggested a repeat.However, inspired by Kevin De Bruyne, Guardiolas team fought back first through Ilkay Gundogan in the 39th.De Bruyne fired in a free kick in the 51st, and then sent a stunning through-ball for the third, slammed in by Gundogan from close range in the 74th.Celtic did City a favor by levelling late in a 1-1 draw at Borussia Moenchengladbach. Moussa Dembeles penalty in the 76th cancelled out Lars Stindls opener in the 32nd.Barcelona leads with nine points, two clear of Man City. `Gladbach has four, trailing City by three points before they meet in Germany on Nov. 23. Celtic has only an outside chance on two points.---GROUP DAtletico, beaten finalist in two of the past three seasons, is the only club with four wins.Antoine Griezmanns stoppage time goal, adding to his acrobatic opener in the 28th, clinched a 2-1 win against Russian newcomer Rostov. Sardar Azmouns leveler in the 30th was the first goal conceded by Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak in this seasons competition.Bayern forward Robert Lewandowski scored twice in a comeback 2-1 win in Eindhoven, where PSV led through defender Santiago Arias in the 14th.Lewandowski already struck a post and the crossbar with headers before he scored with a 34th-minute penalty. The Poland star finished off a cross by David Alaba in the 74th, and later had another shot hit the bar.Rostov and PSV have a point each, and Bayern has nine, trailing Atletico by three.Bayern hosts Atletico in the last game next month, and whichever finishes runner-up will likely be the most dangerous unseeded team in the round of 16 draw.---PRIZE MONEYTeams advancing Tuesday ensured an extra 5.5 million euros ($6.1 million) payment from UEFA for playing in the round of 16.UEFA pays a basic fee of 12 million euros ($13.3 million) to clubs in the group stage, and adds 1.5 million euros ($1.66 million) for each win and 500,000 euros ($553,000) for a draw.The 32 group-stage teams share a UEFA prize fund of more than 1.3 billion euros ($1.45 billion).Earlier Tuesday, UEFA said Manchester City got the biggest payday last season -- collecting 83.8 million euros ($92.6 million) despite reaching only the semifinals. Citys total was boosted by a share of valuable British television rights. Deandre Ayton Jersey . Lack made 20 saves for his third shutout of the season as the Canucks blanked the St. Louis Blues 1-0 in the first post-Olympic game for both teams night. Suns Jerseys China . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. https://www.cheapsunsonline.com/139z-amare-stoudemire-jersey-suns.html . "I dont know that were close," said general manager Alex Anthopoulos. "I just think, right now, the acquisition cost just doesnt work for us right now. I dont know if I can quantify how far off or things like that that they might be but I would say we continue to have dialogue. Paul Westphal Jersey . Takahashi, who had a 10-point lead after the short program, received 268.31 points after the free skate to finish 15 points ahead of second-place Nobunari Oda. Charles Barkley Jersey .H. -- Matt Kenseth made it 2 for 2 in the Chase, holding off teammate Kyle Busch to win Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. With only three episodes of SmackDown Live left in the year, it would be completely reasonable for the show to start mailing it in as the holidays start to roll around and audiences start to wane. While there was definitely some element of that in play Tuesday, with some major storylines put on pause, SmackDown made a smart decision heading into the last two weeks of the year: They elevated performers who could use the opportunity.The promised WWE world championship match between AJ Styles and James Ellsworth was once again pushed off for another week, leaving a void that was filled by a Fatal 4-Way elimination match to determine a new No. 1 contender. Zack Ryder once again proved his stunning record of success in battles royal to make the Hype Bros No. 1 contenders for the SmackDown tag team championships (although a knee injury suffered during that match might make that victory moot). And an impromptu SmackDown womens championship match, albeit a brief one, gave Alexa Bliss another opportunity to prove just how far shes come in the last six months.Giving shots to guys like Dolph Ziggler, who seemed to be on a meandering path without anywhere to go after his feud with The Miz, makes the most of a window thats historically been filled with multiman tag team matches and silly gimmick matches. That goes for Luke Harper?too, who got a chance to prove he belonged against SmackDowns main event-level talent. And putting The Miz in the world title picture, which both myself and Brian Campbell have clamored for over the last couple of months, is a fitting reward for someone whos done so much to help carry the show as Intercontinental champion.There are a few different ways to manage a smaller roster effectively, and while a large contingent likely lamented the unfulfilled tease of adding Sami Zayn to the mix on SmackDown, giving underutilized talent a chance in the spotlight is another great way to make the show feel fresh. With John Cena set to return on Dec. 27, and a WWE world championship to boot on the last 2016 edition of SmackDown, it seems like coasting is the last thing on their minds.The build to the Royal Rumble and the show as a whole should benefit once the calendar turns over to a new year.Ziggler becomes No. 1 contender, and Harper truly shinesFor whatever reason, the epic clash between Ellsworth and Styles was postponed yet again as Ellsworth showed up to a meeting with Daniel Bryan and Shane McMahon sick as a dog in the shows open. Ellsworths ability to fake sneeze on command and contamination of Bryan aside, there was a sudden need for a new No. 1 contender to the WWE world championship, and wouldnt you know it, wed get a solution right off the bat.A mutual admiration society between Styles and The Miz kicked off another edition of Miz TV, but the WWE nailed the execution of a fairly simple, but truly effective concept -- the good guys dont have to get along with all of the good guys, and the bad guys dont have to like all of the other bad guys. After running down mutual acquaintances, things broke down as The Miz claimed to have made the Intercontinental championship legendary and suggested he might do the same for the world championship.You said nobody is on your level, Miz said, after Styles dismissed every legitimate contender. Well, youre right. Im above it.Cue the inevitable chaos, as a mutual enemies in Dean Ambrose and then Ziggler came out. Ambrose laid out both Miz and Ziggler, but as Styles walked away, the Wyatts entrance hit and Harper appeared in the ring, clotheslining Ambrose out of his boots. The unlikeliest of four contenders then stared down the world champion, and even as the match went on, Styles put Harper over as a powerful unknown X-factor.As for the Fatal 4-Way itself, Harper cleaned house early and showed his versatility and mobility for a man of his size. Hes been an underutilized talent for most of his main roster run, excepting this most recent stretch and a brief run with the Intercontinental championship. But with any luck, this appearance in the main event is more evidence that the recent Wyatt Family surge also elevates Harper along the way.We also got a backdoor chance for a little more Miz-Ziggler after their rivalry seemingly closed at TLC. This Fatal 4-Way felt similar in a lot of ways to conflicts between Miz, Ziggler and Ambrose, but the inclusion of Harper kept things fressh in terms of story and pacing.ddddddddddddMiz ultimately got caught up trying to vulture a fall, and he ended up the first person out of the elimination match after Ambrose rolled him up. Similarly to American Alphas failure to become No. 1 contenders earlier in the night, you have to believe Mizs time in the world title picture is coming, but not quite yet. It was a competitive match for the next 10 minutes, and it took a superkick and a Dirty Deeds in quick succession to finally neutralize Harper.Ziggler vs. Ambrose seems to be a good mesh of styles, and the pairing showed some signs of great in-ring chemistry in about five minutes of action to close out the match. Keep an eye on this as a potential direction for both men once Ziggler gets his shot at Styles and Cena reintroduces himself to the mix.The Miz ultimately came back out and distracted Ziggler, but Ambrose hit a tope suicida, and Ziggler followed with a superkick. In the waning moments, Miz ultimately cost Ambrose the match by holding onto his leg, and thus laid out another potential path for Ambroses future. While few might foresee a Ziggler upset in two weeks, any excuse to get two of the best workers in the company into the ring and competing for a world title should be taken -- and it should be a great way to wrap up whats been a great year for SmackDown.Hits and misses? Some people might be disappointed by American Alpha not getting another shot at The Wyatts, but with Harper, Bray Wyatt and Randy Orton looking like theyre going to hold on to the Smackdown tag team titles for a while, its probably for the best for a few other teams to get a shot in the spotlight while Chad Gable and Jason Jordan rack up some wins and build back to the top. They seem to be the favorites to get a shot down the line, especially once Orton and Wyatts unlikely partnership likely dissolves at some point down the line.? The tag team battle royal was a fun and believable mechanism to give the Hype Bros their highest-profile opportunity since joining the SmackDown roster. Unfortunately, it appears they wont get to cash in on it in the near-future with Ryders injury. It could be The Usos, who missed the match because of a leg injury of their own but pleaded with Daniel Bryan on Talking Smack for a shot, who are now next in line? We also witnessed the likely end of the partnership between Heath Slater and Rhyno, as Slater accidentally knocked out his partner of the battle royal and then couldnt get it done on his own.? Carmella and Natalya had a pretty solid match, and Carmella is getting noticeably better in the ring by the week. Natalya, who for a long time in the WWE womens division was the most experienced in-ring competitor, has been a bit inconsistent of late, but this was a good showing for her too.? Alexa Bliss match with Deonna Purrazzo never started, with the champion indicating her disgust for even having to get into the ring. I dont do charity cases, Bliss said, followed by a forearm to Purrazzos face for good measure. Becky Lynch came out to demand a rematch, and as Bliss tried to exit, McMahon inserted himself into the situation and made the title shot a reality.The match and everything that preceded it was all good for Bliss, who displayed great heelish instincts in dismissing contenders and faking a knee injury to get herself counted out. The match itself was good, but the best part for Bliss was how quickly she went from faking the injury to laying in kicks to Lynch and then hobbling back up the ramp. Shes been thrown into the deep end of the pool with this title reign, but so far Bliss is more than holding her own.? Im not always a fan of the way WWE does its commercial tie-ins, but any excuse to play the Honky Tonk Mans Cool, Cocky, Bad music video gets a big thumbs up from me.? We didnt get a Baron Corbin appearance, but a sharp-looking promo video fit the bill and kept him fresh in our minds. On the opposite end of the spectrum, we got a rare Apollo Crews appearance, which featured an interaction with Miz, Maryse and comedian Gabriel Iglesias. The Miz got in some of the best lines, and Iglesias fell flat with his sophomoric line about Uranus, but if this is a sign that Crews can start making more regular appearances, Im all for it. ' ' '