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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. Sterling Brown Bucks Jersey .C. -- Authorities say the brother of Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White has been shot and killed outside a South Carolina nightclub. Jason Smith Jersey . Burris threw for 247 yards in one half of a game -- on pace for a nearly 500-yard outing -- as the Redblacks downed the woeful Montreal Alouettes 26-10 in CFL pre-season play Friday night at Percival Molson Stadium. https://www.bucksrookiesshop.com/Pat-Connaughton-City-Edition-Jersey/ . With Bernard hurt, the second-round pick has emerged.Hill ran for 152 yards during a 27-10 win at New Orleans on Sunday, his second big game. He also ran for 154 yards against Jacksonville earlier this season. Cameron Reynolds Bucks Jersey .Y. - Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby captured his second career Art Ross trophy on Sunday after leading the NHL in scoring this season. Cameron Reynolds Jersey . Englands only win in the four most recent trips north had been tight, and Scotland was expected after losing 28-6 to Ireland six days ago to show some venom against its archrival.MONTREAL - It seems so long ago that the Winnipeg Blue Bombers went into Percival Molson Stadium and beat the Montreal Alouettes 19-11 on July 4. Who knew then that the Bombers would be 2-12 and facing playoff elimination when they returned to Montreal three months later? Watch the game on TSN starting at 12:30pm et/9:30am pt. You can also follow along with TSN.cas GameTracker. Or that the perennially contending Alouettes (6-8) would be recovering from their own setbacks, including the firing of new coach Dan Hawkins only five games into the season and a concussion that has sidelined quarterback Anthony Calvillo since Aug. 17? It was all optimism back then, and now both teams will be looking to salvage what they can from a season of frustration when they face each other on Monday afternoon. "Throw out all the stats, throw all the records out the window — all that matters is the win," Montreal coach Jim Popp. The Alouettes at least still have hope. A win Monday would give them their first three-game streak of the season and set them up for a battle for second place in the East Division in back to back games beginning Sunday against the second-place Hamilton Tiger-Cats (7-7). Finishing at 9-9 — the same record Toronto had last season before winning the Grey Cup — is not out of the question. "Theres a great feeling in the locker room and on the field," said linebacker Shea Emry. "Theres a better tempo. "Its exciting to see a team come together like that because, in years past, weve come together early on the season and then kind of dwindled at the end. But we are trying to peak. Were not there yet, but were looking towards it." For the Bombers to make the playoffs, they need to beat Montreal to win the three-game season series between the two clubs, plus win their three other remaining games and have the Alouettes lose all their games. Slim chances, indeed, and they got slimmer this week when the Bombers traded CFL sacks leader Alex Hall to Saskatchewan for an injured offensive lineman and a draft pick. But coach Tim Burke said he hasnt sensed that any of his players have thrown in the towel yet. "I dont think so,"he said. "We had another good week of practice. "We were really focused. Guys really want to play." Josh Neiswander has taken over as the starting quarterback in Montreal and has looked sharp, particularly in a 47-24 win last week in Edmonton. He has thrown only one intterception in his last three games.dddddddddddd He got the job when rookie Tanner Marsh tore a ligament in his right thumb a month ago. Marsh resumed practising this week and will dress as the third quarterback, but probably wont play. The defence has been especially effective, leading the league against the run and featuring an aggressive pass rush that has led to them leading in interceptions with 22. Popp said he asked his team to forget the first 12 games, when they were 4-8, and focus on the last six as a kind of mini-season leading into the playoffs. So far, they are 2-0 in that segment. "We had a bad start, but so did B.C. in 2011," said Emry of the Lions Grey Cup victory after a horrendous start. "I guess were trying to create our own little story over here." Linebacker Kyries Hebert said the Alouettes cannot allow themselves to take the Bombers lightly despite their four-game losing run. "Its the same as you prepare for a 12-2 team," said Hebert. "These guys lost some close games. "They found a way to come here and get a victory in Montreal. So, bigger than their record is the fact that theyre a divisional opponent and they beat us on our home turf, so we have to come back and redeem ourselves." Max Hall is likely to start for the Bombers, although Burke said the race is still on for the No. 1 job with Justin Goltz and Jason Boltus. "I dont think any of our quarterbacks have reached the point where you could say theyre starting quarterback calibre in this league," said Burke. "One of our guys has to step forward in the remainder of this year or were going to have to go out and get another quarterback." The same is true at a few positions on a team that Burke said has "personnel deficiencies." Many Winnipeg players are fighting for jobs for next season, so they wont lack motivation. And Burke himself has to wonder if he will be retained, although he feels he deserves another chance after enduring a lot of injuries and not a lot of talent. "Id like to be back," said the former Alouettes defensive co-ordinator. "Id like to have a chance to work with a team that has more of its pieces put together. "I think it would be tough for anybody to handle what weve gone through. I believe the team has competed hard every week. Weve put forth the energy necessary to be a competitive team. Nobody has ever given up. We were just not good enough." ' ' '