Gareth Wheeler of TSN Radio 1050 Toronto offers his Midweek Musings for Match-day 24 in the Barclays Premier League. Joseph Noteboom Rams Jersey . - Chelseas 1-0 win at the Etihad, spoiling Manchester Citys perfect home record continues to be the talking point of the week. Chelseas prudent defensive record and approach under Jose Mourinho always makes them a contender in all competitions. Tactically, the Portuguese is among the finest managers in the game. His public demeanour remains all over the place, providing fodder for argument. Despite sitting only two points back of Arsenal atop the table and having an easier schedule the rest of the way, Mourinho continues to downplay Chelseas title chances. Assessing the title race, Mourinho explains, "Two horses (Arsenal, Man City) and a little horse (Chelsea) that still needs milk and to learn how to jump. A horse that next season can race." Not sure if were getting the straight goods, straight from the horses mouth. Yes, Chelsea is a team in transformation as Mourinho finds players to ideally play his way. Add a striker and another centre-back for next season, and add the injured Marco van Ginkel into the fray, Chelsea promises to be scary good next season. That being said, Mourinho suggesting Chelsea is on the outside looking in is a fallacy. Mourinho cant believe it to be true. A trip to Anfield is as difficult as it gets away from Stamford Bridge. And his team is undefeated in their last 10. In this analysts eye, Chelsea are favourite to win the league. Downplaying Chelseas chances is an alternative type of psychological warfare. Sir Alex Fergusons Manchester United, who dominated the Premier League for the better part of the last two decades, were always full of belief, publicly and privately stating their intent in the title race. Its shocking Mourinho is using this tact when he has a team of millionaire superstars at his disposal. No matter what he says, Mourinho isnt fooling anyone. At the very least, it keeps things interesting. - City was down two key players in Mondays loss. Centre-midfielder Fernandhino and top striker Sergio Aguero missed the all-important occasion through injury. While Fernandhinos steady approach was missed, it paled in comparison to the void left by Aguero. While Citys other forwards are of high quality, they lack the same game-breaking ability of Aguero. 15 league goals in 15 games is an astounding record. A constant danger inside the box and lethal on his right foot, City lacked the Argentines cutting edge against a team difficult to penetrate. Its no coincidence David Silva is at his best with Aguero on the field. The movement off the ball makes the duo as difficult a combination to play against as any in world football. Matches against Chelsea in the FA Cup and Barcelona in the Champions League in the next two weeks, potentially without Aguero, raises true questions of whether City can truly compete in all four competitions. Aguero is that important. - As Mourinho continues to make a near seamless transition back into English football, David Moyes struggles at Manchester United remain. A 2-1 loss against lowly Stoke City, a team having picked up just one point in their previous six, compounds his problems. Moyes has made 83 changes to his starting XI in league games, 11 more than any other manager in the Premier League. Injuries have been an issue here, but no excuse for such poor form. The lack of involvement and interplay between attacking players was ultimately most disturbing at the Britannia. Michael Carrick being forced to centre-back is one thing, but the attacking players going MIA speaks to Moyes team approach lacking inspiration. Where are the fresh ideas? What is his teams identity? These questions cant be answered. And that is a failure. United are playing an unimaginative, passive, unaware brand of football. One has to wonder if a manager of alternate stature would be faring better at present time with this team. What if Mourinho was at Manchester United? Its difficult to think this same team would be in seventh place under the Portuguese leadership. Its a valid question to ask, as it seemed all along Mourinho wanted the Old Trafford job. And in his autobiography, Sir Alex Ferguson was full of praise of Mourinho and his managerial ability. Ferguson may have seen some of himself in Moyes. But did United need another Ferguson? Better question: can another Ferguson be cultivated in the present day climate? Moyes isnt going anywhere, for now. But its legitimate to question whether Ferguson picked the right successor for a new Manchester United. - Arsenal may be the most under-respected among title contenders. There has been a remarkable consistency in the side. The attacking flair and superior passing remains, even without Theo Walcott and Aaron Ramsey. The development of the centre-back partnership between Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker has been essential to the exceptional form. The spine of the team is arguably the strongest in the league, led by the duo. Arsenal remain undefeated since January 2012, a stretch of 31 games with Koscielny and Mertesacker both in the starting XI. The next two games are massive for Arsenal and potential title hopes. Back-to-back games at Liverpool and home to Manchester United are true tests. Full points would be a giant step towards ending their 10-year title drought. It would also silence the critics wondering where the January striker signing ended up. - The true importance of a manager will be tested now that Michael Laudrup has been sacked by Swansea City. Laudrup helped build on the accomplishments of Brendan Rodgers at the Welsh club, leading Swansea to their first major silverware in the clubs history and venturing into the previous unchartered territory of the Europa League. Injuries have decimated the team, with last years star player Michu a long-term absentee. The midfield has been torn apart, and the failure to bring back Ki-Sung Yueng off loan from Sunderland raised eyebrows. A vacation to Paris, dressing room turmoil, an uncertain future, and six points from their last 10 matches all contributed to his sacking. Fact remains Swansea have completed almost 600 more passes than any team in the league and still have the top pass accuracy. The stylish football is no fluke. Its progressive and refreshing. Credit Laudrup. With the short-term hiring of Garry Monk, the club is apparently choosing stability over style. A risk, not worth taking. It will be determined in short order the importance of style vs. stability. Id choose Laudrup. Now a relegation fight beckons under the veil of the great unknown. Good luck with that. - The Sunderland climb off the bottom continued with an emphatic 3-0 away derby win over Newcastle. Gus Poyets side is flying, with true competition for places in the side, and a good combination of strength and skill. As for Newcastle, its all gone pear-shaped. The loss of Yohan Cabaye was the first blow. Being without top goal scorer Loic Remy, suspended for three was the clincher. An in-form Remy and consistency from Hatem Ben Arfa will be essential to staying in the top half of the table. Some good news for Newcastle, the teams latest embarrassment, director of football Joe Kinnear has mercifully stepped aside, putting an end to experiment gone wrong from the get-go. Kinnear said hed be judged in the transfer window; he didnt sign one player last summer or in January. He did however state potential transfer interest in a player already at the club during a radio interview. An absolute nightmare. Alan Pardew now solely has to deal with the bad dreams. His team is a mess, again. - West Hams co-owner David Gold is threatening legal action over Andy Carrolls red against Swansea City. Carroll swung recklessly, albeit not making much contact, after challenging for an aerial ball with Chico Flores. Its difficult to judge intent, and if there was, it should always be an automatic sending off. Carroll now faces a three-match ban. Most troubling, West Ham believes Carrolls suspension could make-or-break the Hammers in their relegation fight. Scary thought. Carroll was involved in both West Ham goals last week, but has been an absolute nightmare in front of goal. His performances have been abysmal. And the player often looks lost. If West Ham is relying upon Carroll as saviour, they may as well already punch their ticket to the League Championship. Not good enough. Custom Los Angeles Rams Jerseys . "That was a great lift for the staff," Padres manager Bud Black said. Yonder Alonso and Yasmani Grandal homered, and Chase Headley drove in three runs, as the Padres beat the Chicago Cubs 11-1 on Friday night. Marcus Peters Rams Jersey . MacIntyre stopped 49 shots and the Marlies defeated the Texas Stars 5-1 in Game 1 of the American Hockey Leagues Western Conference final. "I felt in control, so that was nice," MacIntyre said. http://www.authenticramsfansclub.com/Black-Friday-Aqib-Talib-Jersey/ .com) - The Columbus Blue Jackets rewarded starting goaltender and pending restricted free agent Sergei Bobrovsky with a four-year contract extension on Friday. DALLAS -- Ricky Rubio hasnt given up on the idea of Minnesota making the playoffs. The case is a little easier to make after the Timberwolves avoided what would have been a disastrous loss in Dallas. Rubio had a triple-double, Kevin Love scored the last of his 35 points with the go-ahead basket late in overtime, and the Timberwolves hung on for a 123-122 victory over the Mavericks on Wednesday night after blowing several leads. Minnesota broke a six-game stretch of alternating wins and losses with a second straight victory to move two games over .500 for the first time since Nov. 23. The Timberwolves (34-32) are still 5 1/2 games behind Dallas and Memphis for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference with 16 games to go. But at least they didnt lose after squandering a 22-point lead in the first half and a 13-point edge with 7 minutes to go. "It was a big game against a tough team who is fighting for the playoffs, too," said Rubio, who had 22 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds for his third career triple-double. "We want to try to catch up to them." Dirk Nowitzki scored 27 for Dallas and put the Mavericks ahead with a fadeaway over Love with 33 seconds left in overtime before Love scored on a jump hook with 17 seconds to go. Nowitzki missed on another try over Love in the final seconds as the Mavericks saw a three-game winning streak end and missed a chance to move a season-high 15 games over .500. "This is a tough one," said Nowitzki, who had his second straight tough shooting night at 11 of 27. "This feels like a playoff loss. It really does. I dont even know what to say." Monta Ellis scored the last 12 Dallas points of regulation on a three-point play and three consecutive 3-pointers, the last one giving the Mavericks their first lead since early in the first quarter at 113-111. Rubio answered with a pair of free throws for the tie with 50 seconds left. Nowitzki missed a 3-pointer to finish his 0-for-5 shooting in the fourth quarter, but Kevin Martin missed from just inside the arc and Robbie&nnbsp;Hummel missed from just outside it for Minnesota. Ramik Wilson Rams Jersey. Dallas Devin Harris was short on a mid-court heave at the buzzer in regulation. "We knew they were going to go on a run," said Love, who was 11 of 20 from the field and 11 of 14 from the line. "We will take the win, whether it is in regulation or overtime." Nowitzki hit his first shot of overtime from the baseline and added a 3-pointer for a 120-115 lead, but the Timberwolves went back in front by a point on a reverse layup from Rubio and four free throws from Love. All five Minnesota starters were in double figures. Martin scored 19, Corey Brewer had 11 of his 13 points during Minnesotas fast start in the first quarter and Gorgui Dieng had 10 points and 11 rebounds. Former Dallas guard J.J. Barea had 15 points. Ellis finished with 22 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter and overtime. Shawn Marion had 16 points and 11 rebounds, and Sam Dalembert had 14 boards. Early in the game, the Dallas defence didnt look anything like a unit that had held consecutive teams to less than 40-per cent shooting. Minnesota was at 69 per cent after Dieng hit a hook shot to give the Timberwolves their biggest lead at 50-28 early in the second quarter. The Mavericks had six of their 16 turnovers in the first quarter, and several led to breakaway baskets for Brewer. "They were aggressive. We were sloppy," Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said. "The first quarter was really the biggest factor in the game." The Mavericks forced four straight misses to spark a 24-5 run that got them back in the game. Nowitzki opened the spurt with a jumper, and Jae Crowder finished it with a dunk after a steal by Jose Calderon to make it 55-52. NOTES: Rubio had seven assists in the first quarter, one more than Dallas as a team. Minnesota had 12 for the quarter. ... Ellis was called for a technical after getting his fourth foul in the third quarter. Referee Monty McCutchen screamed at Ellis that he had been warned four times as Ellis walked to the Dallas bench. Cheap Canadiens Jerseys Cheap Predators Jerseys Cheap Devils Jerseys Cheap Islanders Jerseys Cheap Rangers Jerseys Cheap Senators Jerseys Cheap Flyers Jerseys Cheap Penguins Jerseys Cheap Sharks Jerseys Cheap Blues Jerseys Cheap Lightning Jerseys Cheap Maple Leafs Jerseys Cheap Canucks Jerseys Cheap Golden Knights Jerseys Cheap Capitals Jerseys Cheap Winnipeg Jets Jerseys ' ' '