ity with its lack of star power, but the group did have th

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BARCELONA, Spain -- Barcelona eased into the Champions League quarterfinals for the seventh straight year, shaking off a slump that has dropped it to third place in the La Liga standings. . Lionel Messi and Dani Alves scored second-half goals in a 2-1 win over Manchester City on Wednesday night that completed a 4-1 aggregate victory. "We had some pretty big setbacks, especially in the way we were playing -- but today we got back to playing the way we know, the Barca people love," Messi said. "Even though the goal came in the second half, I dont think we were ever in danger of an upset." In addition to on-field troubles, Barcelona has been dealing with a tax fraud case involving its acquisition of Neymar last summer, and the resignation of team president Sandro Rosell. The match drew 85,957 to Camp Nou, Europes highest-capacity stadium, but about 14,000 short of a sellout. In the nights other game, Paris Saint-Germain gave up an early goal and rallied past visiting Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 for a 6-1 aggregate win. Barcelona dominated with 56 per cent possession and a 16-9 advantage in shots, and could have gone in front early. French referee Stephane Lannoy didnt award a penalty kick when Messi went over Joleon Lescotts leg in the eighth, and Neymars tap-in of Jordi Albas pass in the 18th was called off for offside in what appeared on replay to be an officiating error. Cesc Fabregas pass bobbled through the legs of defender Joleon Lescott in the 67th minute, and Messi ran onto the ball and flicked it over goalkeeper Joe Hart. Messi has eight goals in five Champions League matches this season and 67 overall in Europes top club competition, four shy of Raul Gonzalezs record. City, in the knockout stage for the first time, played a man short after Pablo Zabaleta received his second yellow card in the 78th. The card was given for protesting after Gerard Pique barged into Edin Dzeko inside the area without a penalty kick being award. City defender Martin Demichelis had been ejected in the first leg last month. "Going for a second time down to 10 men after it was a clear penalty, its not easy conditions to come and play against a strong team," City captain Vincent Kompany said. "Over the course of two games, whenever there was 11 players, there wasnt much between the two teams." Kompany scored for City in the 89th from what appeared to be an offside position. Dani Alves scored for Barcelona in the first minute of stoppage time, adding to his goal in the first leg. In Paris, Sidney Sam scored for Leverkusen in the sixth minute, but Marquinhos tied it in the 13th and Ezequiel Lavezzi got a go-ahead goal in the 53rd. PSG goalkeeper Salvatore Sirigu saved Simon Rolfes penalty kick in the 28th after Christophe Jallet tugged Eren Derdiyoks jersey as he ran into the penalty area, earning a yellow card. Leverkusens Emre Can was ejected in the 68th for his second yellow card. PSG coach Laurent Blanc, who rested several regulars, felt his team eased up after the opening leg. "Its all well and good saying to the players forget the first game, but its true that subconsciously you tell yourself youve got a bit of a cushion," Blanc said. "But there were players out there who dont play that much, and you have to show your best level. The Champions League is a level above, and I was expecting more from my team." . -- Arizona coach Bruce Arians says there "were obviously very, very many problems" with the officiating in the Cardinals 24-21 loss at Philadelphia. . They wanna make t-shirts about it and sell them at our next hockey game..DB: Wow, they want to make t-shirts? That sounds pretty amazing.MS: Yeah, I was also on the Top 10, I was number 1 today, so that was pretty cool. . 4 jersey of former defenseman Rob Blake this coming season. The ceremony will take place prior to the Kings January 17 game against Anaheim.The Kansas City Royals are back in the American League Championship Series for the first time in 29 years. They will continue their quest toward their first World Series appearance since 1985 when they start the best-of-seven series against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards on Friday. While its been a generation since the Royals have been back to the Fall Classic, its been an even longer wait for the Orioles, who were last in the ALCS back in 1997, but havent made a trip to the World Series since winning it all back in 1983. I look at it as two fan bases starving for a winner, Orioles outfielder Adam Jones said. Our fan base, its been 31 years. Theirs, its been since 1985, so thats 29 years. Theres some adults that havent seen winners in their lifetime. I think both teams want to see a winner. Kansas Citys improbable run almost ended in the wild card game against the Oakland Athletics, but the never-say-die Royals rallied to send that game into extra innings, before coming from behind once again to win the game in 12 innings. Ned Yosts crew carried that momentum into the ALDS where the Royals upended the ALs best team, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, in three straight games. They needed more than nine innings to win the first two in Anaheim, before routing the Halos, 8-3, in Game 3 to advance in front of a wild Kauffman Stadium crowd. Im more happy for the fans than anyone else, because they waited a long time to get to this point, owner David Glass said, drenched in champagne in the clubhouse celebration. But listen, were not at the end. Were at the beginning of something that could be really good. No team signified small ball more than Kansas City, which won 89 games this season thanks in large part to its ability to play defense and manufacture runs. The Royals also led the AL with 153 stolen bases, but their 95 home runs were the fewest in baseball. Kansas City, though, has enjoyed the luxury of the home run here in the postseason and won the first two games in Anaheim on the strength of two extra-inning homers. The Royals have hit just as many this postseason (4) as the Orioles, a team that blasted 116 more than them during the regular season. Well, you know, it was huge. Won us two games, Yost said of the power hitting after Sundays clincher. Coming into this game, we were hitting .162 as a team, they were hitting .141, but the difference were the two big home runs. That gave us the edge. Tonight the power was huge again. If there is one perceived weakness within the Royals it could be their starting pitching. James Shields is the ace and will get the call in Game 1 against the Os. Shields has yet to live up to his Big Game James moniker in the postseason, going 3-4 with a 4.96 ERA in eight starts. Hes also lost both of his ALCS starts while with the Tampa Bay Rays. The right-hander, though, picked up the win in his teams clincher over the Angels, surrendering a pair of runs and six hits in six innings. He is 11-7 lifetime versus the Os with a 3.52 ERA in 26 starts. Hes that guy whos going to set the tone for the series, said reliever Wade Davis. He goees out and does his thing, the next guys going to follow suit, and its worked like that since the day I got called up. . Baltimore, meanwhile, beat the ALs last three Cy Young Award winners to sweep its way past the Detroit Tigers. While the Tigers three aces werent exactly lights out, the Orioles were able to batter the beleaguered Tigers bullpen to the tune of 10 earned runs in just 4 2/3 innings. Theyve got a lot to be proud of, said Orioles manager Buck Showalter, who won his first postseason series. Its a step. Theres different steps during the season that you have to take and this is one of them. Its so hard against a team like Detroit that has a great pedigree and experience at (the postseason). Baltimore slugged its way to the postseason for the second time in three years thanks to its first AL East crown since 1997 after going 96-66. The win total was the most for an Os team since they accumulated 98 in the year of their last division title. The Os had to overcome a pair of serious injuries along the way, as catcher Matt Wieters was lost for the season in June with an elbow injury, while promising third baseman Manny Machado again suffered a serious leg injury that required surgery in August. Then as if that wasnt enough last years home run champion Chris Davis was suspended for the use of amphetamines in September. Davis is eligible to return for Game 6 of this series, but will probably be left off the roster. Regardless, it didnt slow the Orioles down from an offensive standpoint, as they hit a league high 211 dingers, with Nelson Cruz leading the way with an MLB-best 40. Cruz continued to mash against the Tigers, going 6-for-12 with a pair of home runs and five RBI. Eight of Cruzs 16 postseason home runs have come against Detroit. Hes been awesome all year, said Orioles right fielder Nick Markakis. Thats the main reason we got him. I played a lot of games against him and hes done a lot of damage against us. Im just glad hes on our team doing the damage now. Baltimores rotation almost mirrors Kansas City with its lack of star power, but the group did have three 13-game winners (Wei-Yin Chen, Bud Norris and Chris Tillman) for the first time since 97, when Scott Erickson, Jimmy Key and Mike Mussina helped pitch the Os to a division title. Tillman gets the call on Friday after beating the Tigers in Game 1 of the ALDS. He surrendered two runs and four hits in five innings of that one. Tillman was as good as any pitcher down the stretch, going 6-1 in the second half with a 2.33 ERA in 14 starts. Overall he was 13-6 with a 3.34 ERA. Chris is not a look-at-me guy, said Showalter. He wants to blend in. Weve got a lot of those guys. And hed be the first to tell you, when youre talking about Shields and youre talking about (Justin) Verlander and (Max) Scherzer and (David) Price, Chris will say, I havent earned that, I havent done it consistently over a long period of time. In five starts against the Royals he is 2-2 with a 6.21 ERA. The Royals won four of seven from the Orioles during the regular season, outscoring Baltimore 26-18. ' ' '

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