he guys are getting older and more mature

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ROME - With nearly half the stadium closed to fans as punishment for territorial chants, not much was missed in a 0-0 draw between second-place Roma and fifth-place Inter Milan in Serie A on Saturday. Both sides came closest to scoring in the first half, when Roma had a goal from Mattia Destro waved off for offside and Inters Rodrigo Palacio headed high. "A draw was a fair result. Neither squad had many chances," Roma midfielder Miralem Pjanic said. The draw moved Roma provisionally within eight points of Juventus, which is heading toward its third consecutive title. Inter moved two points ahead of Hellas Verona in the race for the final Europa League spot. Roma had won eight straight at home — seven in Serie A and one in the Italian Cup. On Sunday, Juventus visits AC Milan, third-place Napoli plays at Livorno, and fourth-place Fiorentina hosts Lazio. Roma was ordered to close the sections behind both goals, where the ultras sit, for anti-Naples chants during a cup match last month. Further insults heard against Sampdoria resulted in a third section being closed. Some 500 fans protested the ban outside the stadium by lighting fireworks and flares. Second-half substitute Pjanic nearly put Roma ahead in the 75th but his effort was denied with a tough save from Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic. "I could have done better but he made a good save," Pjanic said. On the ensuing corner, Pjanic rose above the defence for a header but missed the target. Replays could be used to ban Romas Daniele De Rossi for physical contact with Mauro Icardi during the first half and Inters Juan Jesus for contact with Alessio Romagnoli toward the end of the game. PHILADELPHIA -- Its far from a coincidence that the Edmonton Oilers went big with the third pick in the NHL draft. In taking German centre Leon Draisaitl, the Oilers added some much-needed size and depth at a position of great importance. "Its not a stretch to say were really happy and think that we filled a tremendous need for our hockey club and I think is going to have a real significant impact over time with our team," general manager Craig MacTavish said Friday night. "You combine him with our No. 1 pick last year (Darnell Nurse), and we start to see some size and quite a bit of character continue to come into our dressing room." Beyond 2011 No. 1 pick Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, the Oilers are thin at centre. And in Draisaitl, the highest-drafted German in NHL history, they get a six-foot-one, 208-pound player who has drawn comparisons to Anze Kopitar and Jaromir Jagr. Playing for the WHLs Prince Albert Raiders, Draisaitl had 38 goals and 67 assists in 64 games this past season as he developed his defensive game and faceoff prowess. Hes from Cologne but came to develop in the Canadian junior system and will remain in North America this summer to train. There are still things Draisaitl believes he needs to improve this off-season but the physically mature 18-year-old also thinks hell be ready to play in the NHL in 2014-15. MacTavish cant make such a guarantee. "Obviously we project the team to be much more productive and much deeper than we were this year, and thatll be a significant factor," he said. "We want to make sure that if we do put young kids into our lineup that they have a chance to have success, and thatll be a big factor along with how well he adapts to the NHL game at training camp." Just having a chance to earn a spot at training camp is a nice opportunity for Draisaitl, who understands he wont just be handed a job playing alongside Nugent-Hopkins, Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle. "Im going to have to do my job and earrn my spot if I want to play in that league and on that team," Draisaitl said.dddddddddddd "I think theyre moving forward for sure and they made some good trades, (David) Perron, and the guys are getting older and more mature. This is just awesome right now." Draisaitl was thrilled to put on the same orange and blue of Edmonton stars of the past, most of whom had their primes before he was born. "Theyve had so many great players on their team: Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, MacTavish -- all those guys are stars in the league, and wearing the same jersey as they do is unbelievable," he said. MacTavish joked that he owed Draisaitl $100 for dropping his name in that group. More importantly for the GMs current job, he hopes Draisaitl can develop into an important piece of this already young core. Draisaitl fills a specific role, too, as the Oilers seek a variety of talent at forward. "(He) protects the puck and is a real offensive-zone player," MacTavish said. "Weve got a lot of skill, but were in need of somebody down low thats capable of sustaining the play. We have David Perron that fits that bill and now Leon will be a guy that can really protect the puck." If Draisaitl develops as scouts expect, he would slot in as the Oilers No. 2 centre of the future. His size mixed with Halls speed could be a tantalizing combination. "Hes probably the fastest skater in the league and hes an exciting player to watch," Draisaitl said. "It might be a good fit, but you never know." MacTavish would love to spend Saturday adding more depth to the organization, but the Oilers dont have a second- or a third-round pick after trades for Perron and goaltender Ben Scrivens. And he doesnt expect to be able to get into the second. "Well be sitting on our hands, it looks like, through the second or third round," MacTavish said. "Hopefully the scouts can pull a few of those impact players out of the later picks." ' ' '

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Melbourne, Australia - Tomas Berdych fended off a David Ferrer comeback on Tuesday and reached his first Australian Open semifinal as a result. Berdych, seeded seventh, won the first two sets of the quarterfinal meeting in quick fashion, then suddenly lost the momentum when the third-seeded Ferrer rallied to win the third. The hard-hitting Czech, having lost in the quarters of the Aussie Open the previous three years, made sure it wouldnt happen a fourth as he finished off a 6-1, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 triumph at Rod Laver Arena. The first set lasted just 30 minutes, and Berdych appeared poised to make it a quick one by taking a two sets to love lead. Ferrer broke Berdychs serve twice in a third set that saw him nudge a line judge standing near a chair he wanted to put a towel on, a sign he was up for a fight. The frustrated Spaniard, however, couldnt overcome Berdychs serve in the fourth, as Berdych fended off a break point in the final game and came away with the victory in three hours, three minutes. Ferrer rallied from two sets down to beat Nicolas Almagro in last years Aussie quarters before eventually losing in the semis to Novak Djokovic, who will play eighth-seeded Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka in Tuesdays other quarterfinal. The former No. 1 Djokovic is a dominant 15-2 lifetime against Wawrinka, including a fourth-round win here a year ago. The Serbian star also topped the Swiss in a U.S. Open semifinal last season. Djokovic, seeded second this year, has won his last 25 matches at the Aussie Open, where hes the three-time reigning champion and has captured four of the last six titles Down Under. Berdych fended off a Ferrer comeback attempt on Day 9. http://www.authenticjaguarsshop.com/Marqise-Lee-Jaguars-Jersey . PSG could have clinched the title this weekend if Monaco lost and it won on Sunday at Lyon. For now, Monaco pulled within 10 points of the leader. Emmanuel Riviere chased a through ball from Jeremy Toulalan to score with a sliding effort in the 55th minute. Marqise Lee Jersey . That obstacle in the divisional round of the postseason was of course, eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay. The field-stretching Packers had the opposite game plan than Atlanta, which primarily opted to run first before letting quarterback Matt Ryan do his thing in the pocket last season. http://www.authenticjaguarsshop.com/Marqise-Lee-Jaguars-Jersey . Louis Cardinals open the season on top of the TSN. authenticjaguarsshop.com/Allen-Robinson-Jaguars-Jersey . Falcao will have major surgery to repair the damage in coming days, and typically rehabilitation from such injuries takes many months. The World Cup in Brazil starts on June 12, and Colombias first match is on June 14 against Greece. Blake Bortles Green Jersey . Louis Blues on Wednesday night. Kane, the teams leading scorer, was injured when he collided with St. Louis Brenden Morrow at 7:56 of the second period.ORLANDO, Fla. -- Its not always pretty with Louisville. And sometimes, its ugly by design. The defending national champions shrugged off poor shooting, 19 turnovers and a subpar performance by star Russ Smith and still won handily Saturday to get back to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA tournament for the third straight year. "Everythings not going to be sweet or pretty," Smith said after a 66-51 victory over Saint Louis. "Were just getting the job done." Luke Hancock scored 21 points and the battled-tested Cardinals (31-5) won with defence. Saint Louis (27-7) missed all 15 of their 3-point shots and turned the ball over 18 times in losing in the third round for the third consecutive year. "These guys have had a lot of wins under their belt, a lot of great tournament experiences," said coach Rick Pitino, who huddled with the Cardinals after watching Florida wear down Pittsburgh in Orlando earlier in the day. "I said, Guys, thats the exact game youre going to be in," Pitino said. "And youre going to have to be the prettiest team in an ugly game because thats the way its going to be. ... We grinded out a win, and thats what the NCAA tournament is all about." The fourth-seeded Cardinals, who are looking for a third straight trip to the Final Four, move on the Midwest Regional semifinals in Indianapolis against either No. 1 seed Wichita State or Kentucky. "Obvious, theyve got a chance to repeat," Saint Louis coach Jim Crews said of Louisvilles chances of winning it all again. Dwayne Evans led Saint Louis, which has never been to the Sweet 16, with 16 points. Atlantic 10 player of the year Jordair Jett finished with 15. Chris Jones made a couple of huge shots and scored 11 points for Louisville. Montrezl Harrell put a punctuation mark on the victory with a dunk that gavve him 10 points and 11 rebounds.dddddddddddd Pitino improved to 50-16 in the NCAA tournament, including a 16-0 mark in the round of 16. The Cardinals are in the regional semifinals for the 20th time, matching Kansas and trailing only North Carolina (25), Kentucky (24) and Duke (23). Smith struggled shooting the ball for the second straight game, missing his first four attempts and going scoreless until his 3-pointer put the Cardinals up 25-14 in the final minute of the opening half. Saint Louis starts five seniors, and their experience and cohesion showed in weathering a slow start and methodically working its way back into the game after falling down by 11. The Billikens began the second half with a 13-2 run, holding Louisville without a field goal for nearly 7 minutes to take a 29-27 lead. But Smith hit a floater in the lane, then made two free throws to restore order for the Cardinals, who limited Saint Louis to 39.6 per cent shooting. Louisville rebuilt their lead to 13 over the next 9 minutes, with Hancock making two 3-pointers and Smith finishing a 23-8 surge with a driving layup that put his team up 50-37. Smith finished 3 of 10 from the field and had a team-high seven turnovers. The senior led the Cardinals with seven assists. "Russ Smith has grown so much as a basketball player, but he still has one thing left, and I tried to explain this to him at halftime," Pitino said, adding that Smith has to learn to recognize how other coaches are game-planning to slow him down. "All the great ones from Michael Jordan to Kobe, they dont try to score 20 points in the first quarter. They get everybody else the ball and they let the game come to me, the other team fatigues and things open up. So his last lesson is to play like he did in the second half. .. . Hes our Michael, our Kobe." ' ' '