Regeln und Hinweise! » care of the football for the most part. But

BARCELONA, Spain -- A first-half goal from Karim Benzema guided Real Madrid to a 1-0 win at Espanyol in the first leg of their Copa del Rey quarterfinal on Tuesday. Nine days after Madrid eked out a 1-0 victory at Espanyols Cornella-El Prat Stadium in the Spanish league, the visitors were again limited to the narrowest of winning margins -- despite dominating the first half, when Cristiano Ronaldo hit the post before Benzema headed home in the 25th minute. The second half was more evenly matched and Espanyols Sergio Garcia came close to an equalizer before Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas denied Jhon Cordoba in a one-on-one in the 83rd minute. "Espanyol played better in the second half and made us suffer, but that is normal," Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "The tie isnt decided." Casillas had a quiet first half, with Espanyol only mustering one clear scoring chance in the 18th when Luis "Pizzi" Afonso wasted Garcias pass by sailing his close-range shot over the crossbar. Early on, Ronaldo appeared eager as ever to add to his season tally of 31 goals in all competitions. He had four shots before halftime and hit the post with one of them in the 21st minute, but the new Ballon dOr winner faded in the second half. Benzema broke the deadlock when the France international headed a cross from Alvaro Arbeloa that was flicked on by Gareth Bale. Goalkeeper Kiko Casilla got a hand on the ball but couldnt keep it out. Espanyol pressed forward after halftime and Garcia twice shot wide, while Casilla stopped Arbeloa twice before denying Benzema on the break. The closing stages swung back in Espanyols favour and Casillas was forced to rush out to stop substitute Cordoba before weathering a final barrage of corner kicks. Ancelotti praised Casillas, who only starts in the Copa del Rey and the Champions League, while Diego Lopez plays in the Spanish league. "I want to congratulate Casillas because he is playing well," Ancelotti said. "Iker is just as much a starter as Diego Lopez." In other first legs this week, Barcelona visits Levante on Wednesday, when third-tier Racing Santander plays at Real Sociedad. Defending champion Atletico Madrid hosts Athletic Bilbao on Thursday. The second legs will be played next week. Manny Machado Jersey . -- Fresh off their surprising run in the playoffs, the Portland Trail Blazers have signed head coach Terry Stotts to a multi-year contract extension. Chris Davis Jersey . Louis and Ryan Kesler have demanded to be traded. http://www.cheaporiolesjerseys.com/. In mens doubles, Vancouvers Vasek Pospisil and American Jack Sock reached the quarter-finals with a 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3), 6-4 win over Croatian Mate Pavic and Andre Sa of Brazil. Jonathan Schoop Jersey . They say things like "stress is when you dont know what youre doing" and "I wasnt hired to motivate players, I was hired to coach motivated players." They ring as true now as they did when Mularkey heard them the first time playing tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame coach 25 years ago. Kevin Gausman Jersey . The thinking at the time was Clowney could have already been promised he would be selected first overall by the Houston Texans, therefore negating any need to meet with any other teams. The plot took another twist this week.INDIANAPOLIS - Chuck Pagano is wasting no time trying to get back on track.The Colts coach wants his team to gain some momentum heading into the post-season. But Indianapolis problems in a 42-7 thrashing at Dallas on Sunday were too obvious and could be lethal for a team with hopes of a playoff run.You want to be confident going into the playoffs and you want to go in feeling good about yourself, Pagano said. Nobody wants to go through a day like we went through yesterday, but you have to bounce back and you have to keep moving forward.Weve got a game to play this Sunday and we better prepare and we better practice and try to clean up what we can clean up in a short amount of time.The Colts (10-5) have to turn things around quickly with the playoffs beginning the first weekend in January. The AFC South champs plan to get on a roll starting this weekend at Tennessee (2-13) in the regular-season finale.Indy had won four straight before the Cowboys ended the streak. Still, the Colts havent been playing well and Dallas took full advantage.The Colts had three turnovers, eight penalties and were held to just 1 yard rushing — something that certainly surprised Pagano.Ive never seen it, and obviously its out of character for us, he said. Youre not going to win a football game by rushing for 1 yard. You have to be able to run the ball in the playoffs, you have to be able to run the ball on the road late in the playoffs in January. We all know that.Nothing went Indys way.In the first quarter, linebacker Jerrell Freeman was penalized for taunting on third down and with a chance to force the Cowboys to punt.Later, Pat McAfee faked a punt and instead threw a pass that was dropped by a wide-open receiver, and the Colts turned the ball over on downs.Dallas scored on both ensuing possessions.From that point on, it just seemed like what could go wrong didd go wrong, Pagano said.dddddddddddd We just didnt execute and didnt play good football.Indy is looking for a different performance this week against a struggling Titans team that has lost nine in a row.The Colts were just settling into a groove when they beat Tennessee 41-17 on Sept. 28. It was Indys second win after starting the season with two losses. The Colts won five straight before a loss to Pittsburgh on Oct. 26, and Indianapolis hasnt been consistent since.When you look back early in the season, Pagano said. You saw the way the offence was moving the football on the ground, through the air mostly, guys making plays, moving the chains, staying on the field, winning the time of possession, taking care of the football for the most part. But we have not played well and have not executed well, and we need to get it fixed and we need to get it fixed in a hurry.Injuries have damaged the Colts, too.Receiver T.Y. Hilton was out last week with a hamstring injury and Reggie Wayne hasnt been himself with various injuries.Starting offensive tackle Gosder Cherilus missed Sundays game with a groin injury. Various offensive linemen have faced injury issues, making it tough for the Colts to develop some continuity, Pagano said.That obviously makes it more difficult, he said. Wed like to hopefully settle in at some point before this things over with. Its coming down to the wire with one regular-season game left and then the playoffs.NOTES: Pagano said he expects Hilton (hamstring) to play this week against the Titans. . Pagano said tight end Dwayne Allen had an MRI on a knee injured in Sundays game and is day to day. . Pagano said Freeman is day to day with a hamstring injury. . Cherilus is day to day and Pagano said it was too early to tell if he would return this week.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '