MAYAN TZOLKIN- TRUECOUNT KALENDER » air.Laurinaitis noted with pride, Our

BARCELONA, Spain -- Carlos Vela skillfully chested down a long pass before firing in Real Sociedads injury-time winner to snatch a dramatic 2-1 win at home over Espanyol in the Spanish league on Saturday. Velas 13th goal in league play allowed Sociedad to rise into provisional sixth place, and moved the Basque club closer to clinching a Europa League berth. "This victory ... almost books our place in Europe" Sociedad coach Jagoba Arrasate said. "Vela wasnt having his best day, but that doesnt bother him and he is able to score a goal like he did. He is a player that makes the difference." Sociedad hemmed Espanyol into its area from the start, pushing the action into its final third of the pitch. But Espanyol striker Jhon Cordobas solo effort put the visitors ahead at Anoeta Stadium in the 26th minute, when he quickly spun around Mikel Gonzalez before slotting the ball past goalie Claudio Bravo. Sergio Canales levelled in the 32nd when his cross took a deflection off the back of Espanyols Manuel Lanzarote, catching goalie Kiko Casilla wrong-footed. The match looked destined to end in a draw until Vela used a deft touch to control a lobbed pass and slip the ball by defender Juan Fuentes before firing in the late winner. Also, Valencia forward Jonas went on in the second half and scored to secure a 1-1 draw at Osasuna, while Getafe stayed in the drop zone after a 0-0 draw at Levante. Valencia can focus on preparing for its visit to Sevilla on Thursday for the first leg of their Europa League semifinal. Striker Oriol Riera put Osasuna ahead in the 19th when he tapped in a rebound that Valencia goalkeeper Vicente Guaita knocked down to his feet for his 12th league goal. Host Osasuna controlled the match with Roberto Torres hitting the upright in the 53rd, until Jonas took a pass from fellow Brazilian substitute Araujo on the run and slotted an angled shot inside the far post in the 82nd. "The draw is fair," Valencia coach Juan Pizzi said. "They thought that they could defend well and it would be difficult for us to score, but we did so at the end." The draw left Valencia in eighth place and seven points off the final Europa League berth, while Osasuna stayed three points from the relegation zone. Getafe finished at Levante with 10 men following Alexis Ruanos second yellow card in the 81st minute of a foul-filled match. Getafe remained among the bottom three sides along with Almeria and Real Betis. Levante stayed in the middle of the standings. Atletico Madrid beat Elche 2-0 on Friday to provisionally extend its league lead to six points over Real Madrid, which wont play its game from this round against Valladolid until May 7. Barcelona trails Atletico by seven points before hosting Athletic Bilbao on Sunday. Zack Collins White Sox Jersey Evan Marshall White Sox Jersey . -- The Oakland Raiders expect to have starting right tackle Tony Pashos back for Sundays game against the Houston Texans. https://www.cheapwhitesox.com/2844e-george-davis-jersey-white-sox.html . Louis, MO (SportsNetwork. Ozzie Guillen Jersey . - Andrew McCutchen went 4 for 5 and finished a home run short of a cycle, and Jordy Mercer drove in a career-high four runs to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to an 8-2 rout of the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday. Carson Fulmer White Sox Jersey .C. -- Duke sophomore Rodney Hood is entering the NBA draft.ST. LOUIS - Rodney McLeod lowered the boom, legally, with a perfectly timed, shoulder-to-shoulder hit on Broncos wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders.The pass breakup on a deep sideline route sent Sanders off to be examined for concussion-like symptoms, but that wasnt the point. The St. Louis Rams hopes for a late-season rally rest on a defence thats been making its presence felt more and more.Thatll definitely go down as one of my best hits ever, McLeod said. Very great play by me, and Im glad to see Sanders is OK.Coach Jeff Fisher congratulated McLeod after the hit in the third quarter and protested an unnecessary roughness penalty then, after the game, and again the day after the Rams (4-6) won 22-7. McLeod had a number of nice hits in that game and, perhaps with an assist from the coach, none of them was costly.I think theyve already passed out all the fines and nothing came in my locker, McLeod said. When you go back and review the tape, I think you can see I levelled my shoulder and not my helmet. I think the league made a great call.The last three weeks, the Rams defence has permitted just 34 points; the Cardinals defence scored 14 points on turnovers by the Rams during that span. Theyre in the middle of the pack overall, ranked 17th, and aiming higher.Even before Sam Bradford was sidelined by a knee injury in preseason for the second straight year, the blueprint called for ball control on offence, but capitalizing on big plays on the other side of the ball. St. Louis dominated in time of possession against Denver.The Rams scheme hasnt changed appreciably from 2012 when co-ordinator Gregg Williams son, Blake, was defensive line coach. Holdovers from then had a better feel early on, and now those getting their first taste of Williams system, such as McLeod and fellow safety T.J. McDonald, outside linebacker Alec Ogletree and tackles Aaron Donald and Michael Brockers, are catchiing on.ddddddddddddhe Rams had two interceptions and two sacks against the Broncos, and the pass rush has finally gotten revved up with 13 sacks the last three games. Robert Quinn has been such a force that officials can whistle opposing tackles for holding all day.It wasnt any magic fairy dust, said middle linebacker James Laurinaitis, dueling Ogletree for the team tackles lead. We all stuck to the script and just kept practicing, and weve just gotten better results.Ogletree has an interception in two straight games and has been an all-around force in recent weeks. The second-year player said hes getting comfortable in Gregg Williams aggressive scheme.Just being able to line up and see the right things, Ogletree said. Just being able to capitalize on the opportunities when the balls in the air.Laurinaitis noted with pride, Our confidence should be high as a unit, what we can be.But in the next breath, he points out the Broncos lone touchdown came on broken coverage in the secondary.Quite frankly, Im not going to let this team become complacent, Laurinaitis said. Weve all taken turns busting things like that, when were just not in our right areas.I think we have to eliminate all of those the rest of the season.This week, theyll try to make things uncomfortable for the Chargers Philip Rivers, nursing sore ribs. San Diego (6-4) has dropped three of four.NOTES: Fisher said its probably unlikely DE Chris Long will play this weekend. Instead, the Rams intend to use all of the 21-day window before activating Long from the injured reserve-designated for return list next week at home against Oakland. Id say hed have a pretty good chance next week. ... The Rams practiced outdoors in chilly weather the last two days, with temperatures in the 30s and 40s, and Fisher makes it a point to wear shorts until Dec. 1.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '