inning the second of consecu

SEVILLE, Spain -- Stephane Mbia and Carlos Bacca scored within four minutes of each other as Sevilla beat Valencia 2-0 in the first leg of an all-Spanish Europa League semifinal on Thursday. David Johnson Authentic Jersey . With his back to goal, Mbia backheeled Ivan Rakitics bouncing free kick over goalkeeper Victor Guaita for the opener after 33 minutes. Mbia appeared to score after receiving in an offside position. Guaita could do little moments later as Bacca raced free into the area to fire a low shot past the outstretched Valencia goalie to put the Andalucian club in command and on the verge of its first final since winning the second of consecutive UEFA Cups in 2007. Sevilla keeper Beto denied late Valencia substitute Jonas from point-blank in the 87th to preserve the advantage, then Eduardo Vargas headed off the crossbar as Valencia nearly scored a valuable away goal. "We played a good game against a great rival," Bacca said. "Despite the result, it wont be easy in the return." Valencia must rebound in one week at its Mestalla Stadium with a place in the May 14 final at Juventus Stadium in Turin at stake. Benfica won 2-1 at home to Juventus in the other semifinal. Valencia was fortunate to only be two goals down after the first leg after it failed to produce any concrete opportunities while relying on Guaita for important stops. Valencia doesnt have to look far back for inspiration after overturning a 3-0 first-leg deficit against Basel to reach the last four. "Im happy with the team and the effort they made," said Valencia coach Juan Antonio Pizzi, whose club is looking to return to its first final since winning in 2004. "I dont think the result reflects the effort we made tonight." The visitors started brightly with Joao Perreira testing Beto with a swerving shot from outside the area, but the hosts took control after that through Rakitic. The Croatia midfielders free kick was headed on to the far post where Mbia, who appeared to be offside, got turned around trying to reach it as it bounced through his legs before recovering for the athletic score. Valencia looked demoralized right after Victor Perez combined with Bacca to play the Colombian through to create a two-goal cushion. "One of the most important things is that we didnt concede," Bacca said. "We could have had a third, but them too." Bacca was dangerous throughout, forcing Guaita to save his header and a solo effort set up by Rakitic in the 56th, either side of Guaitas save on Federico Fazios header. Sevilla midfielder Vicente Iborra headed over goal in stoppage time after Valencias final flurry of chances. "Were strong at home and we can come back from this," said Valencia forward Pablo Alcacer, who will miss the return after being booked for trying to avoid contact with Beto, who stuck his leg out at the Valencia midfielder in the closing moments. "Were going to try and get the yellow rescinded. Its clear I didnt do anything." Jeromey Clary Jersey . The United States-born Fiva, who was eliminated in the first round at the Sochi Olympics, won the final ahead of Tomas Kraus of the Czech Republic, Didrik Bastian Juell of Norway and Christopher Del Bosco of Montreal. Duncan, from London, Ont., won the small final and is clinging to a tight lead in the standings as he aims to become the first Canadian to win a mens skicross Crystal Globe. Eric Weddle . The pitchers agent, Bob Garber, confirmed the decision and said Oswalt would go to work for his agency, RMG Baseball. Oswalt will be vice-president of baseball operations. NEW YORK -- It looked like Ohio States winning streak to start the season was over. The third-ranked Buckeyes were down eight points to Notre Dame with less than 2 minutes to play and their offence was nowhere to be found. They still had their tough defence and somehow they were able to turn the game completely around and beat the Fighting Irish 64-61 on Saturday night in the BlackRock Gotham Classic at Madison Square Garden. "I dont really know what happened. It was a big blur," Ohio State senior guard Aaron Craft said. "We never stopped. We never gave up. Guys were running around getting tips and guys made big free throws." While a few players did come up with big defensive plays, it was mostly one guy who made the free throws for the Buckeyes (12-0). Lenzelle Smith Jr. scored seven of his nine points in the final 33 seconds -- including going 5 of 5 at the line -- to lead the rally. "Im still trying to figure out what happened," Ohio State coach Thad Matta said. "My mind was fixated on if we wanted to foul with the time situation or do we play it out defensively and all of a sudden it was closer and closer and closer and we get the lead. It happened quick, It was a great win." The Buckeyes went 9:10 without a field goal and at one point were 6 of 21 from the field as Notre Dame (8-4) opened what seemed to be a comfortable lead late. Jerian Grant hit a 3-pointer as the shot clock was expiring to give the Fighting Irish a 58-50 advantage with 1:54 to play. "I am so thoroughly disappointed," Notre Dame coach Mike Brey said. "We had such a good chance at such a great win." The Buckeyes turned up the defensive intensity and they converted consecutive steals into a 58-56 deficit with 40 seconds to go. Demetrius Jackson made two free throws for Notre Dame a second later. Smith was fouled taking a 3-pointer and he made all three free throws to bring Ohio State within 60-59 with 32 seconds left.. Malcom Floyd Authentic Jersey. . Steve Vasturia, who was in the game because point guard Eric Atkins had fouled out, missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 31 seconds left, his first free throw attempt of the season. Smith scored down low on a nice pass by Craft to give the Buckeyes a 61-60 lead with 16 seconds to go. After a Notre Dame turnover, Smith made two free throws for a 63-60 lead with 9.8 seconds left. Grant made one free throw with 6.7 seconds left and Craft made one free throw with 3.3 seconds left. Jackson missed a potential tying 3 as the buzzer sounded. "They really turned the heat up on us and flustered us. We had a hard time doing anything right," Brey said. "We didnt have Atkins but the other guys should have handled it better." LaQuinton Ross had 16 points and 11 rebounds for Ohio State while Amir Williams had 13 points and Shannon Scott and Craft both added 10. Grant had 18 points for Notre Dame, which committed five of its 13 turnovers in the final 2 minutes, while Garrick Sherman had 14 and Pat Connaughton 13. "Im a senior and I have to find a way to not turn the ball over when we didnt have our point guard in there," Grant said. The Buckeyes shot 34.5 per cent in the second half (10 of 29, including missing all nine 3-point attempts). They went 9:10 without a field goal in the second half, and thats when Notre Dame opened a 52-44 lead with 5:33 to play. Williams dunked on the next possession to end Ohio States long drought. "They packed that zone in and I dont think we were trusting the system as much as we needed to," Craft said. "We took some bad shots and didnt attack. We were letting the missing offensively affect us defensively and let that get tied together and thats not what good teams do." Notre Dame opened the second half on a 9-2 run that tied the game at 35. The run was started by a 3-pointer by Atkins, the Fighting Irishs first in seven attempts from beyond the arc. ' ' '