The new Barclays Premier League season gets underway on Saturday and prior to the first kick, TSN. Thomas Ives Jersey .ca presents a week long look at some of the teams and stories that will shape the up coming campaign. Today we look at the defending champs and what is on tap for the team that can once again call itself the best team in Manchester. Manchester City Manager: Manuel Pellegrini Last Season: 27-5-6 (Premier League Champions) Notable Additions: Fernando (Porto), Willy Caballero (Malaga), Bacary Sagna (Arsenal), Frank Lampard (New York City FC on loan), Eliaquim Mangala (Porto). Notable Subtractions: Jack Rodwell (Sunderland), Gareth Barry (Everton), Javi Garcia (Zenit St. Petersburg), Costel Pantilimon (Sunderland), Joleon Lescott (West Bromwich Albion) That was Then: On the final day of the 2013-14 season, in much less dramatic fashion than the title they captured two years ago, Manchester City secured the Premier League title with a 2-0 victory over West Ham United. While the final day of the season lacked the same drama, the campaign that built to the ending had nothing but twists and turns right up to the end. In the first half of the season, Manchester City suffered incredibly poor road form dropping games at Cardiff City and Aston Villa as well as points at Stoke City before finally earning their first away win at West Ham. At Etihad Stadium they were telling a completely different story, earning emphatic victories over Manchester United (4-1), Norwich City (7-0) and Tottenham (6-0), all before the calendar had reached December. City defeated title contenders Liverpool and Arsenal at home and headed into the new year locked in a tight battle at the top of the table. The fight seemed lost after a late season, emotional 3-2 defeat at Anfield, which handed the title initiative to Liverpool as the run in kicked into high gear. However the Reds would suffer a defeat to Chelsea and surrender a three goal lead to settle for a 3-3 draw to Crystal Palace. Those results would open the door for Manchester City to celebrate their franchises fourth top flight English Football title and second in the Premier League era. The BPL title was actually Citys second trophy of the season as they were also successful in the League Cup, thanks to a 3-1, come-from-behind victory over Sunderland. They fell behind after 10 minutes in the Wembley final, before midfielders Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri scored within 60 seconds of each other to turn the game and bring the hardware back to Manchester. While they advanced as far as they ever have in their third tour of the Champions League, playing beyond the group stage for the first time in franchise history, it would still have to be considered a disappointment that City were eliminated in the first knockout stage round against Barcelona. This is Now: Before things really got rolling for Manchester City in the off-season, UEFA slapped them with a fine and roster restrictions for violating the Financial Fair Play rules, putting a cap on the amount of money they could spend in the transfer window as well as they amount of players they are able to field in the next Champions League competition. Even with the sanctions and in opposition of what they did after their last title, City still managed to strength their squad while unloading a few players that have become superfluous along the way. First choice and England number one keeper Joe Hart struggled at times last season even briefly losing his place in the net, in response, Willy Caballero has been brought in to either battle for that position or provide a strong backup keeper incase needed. Fernando and veteran Frank Lampard (for half the season) will provide depth at the central midfield position which while being a position of strength for the team is probably the most important place on the park not to falter. Bacary Sagna made the move from Arsenal and will make the team even stronger at the back, fighting for starting time with one of last seasons standout players Pablo Zabaleta. The team also scrounged up 32 million pounds for French defender Eliaquim Mangala from Porto. While not being able to spend money to bring in players, City has used this offseason to lock up the core of the team to long term extensions. David Silva, Vincent Kompany and Sergio Aguero all inked long term deals to stay with the English champions and form the core of what they hope will be a strong contender in Europe for many years to come. While they will hope to once again find success in the league, FA Cup and League Cup, it will be the Champions League that will determine if this team has made major strides toward the goal of being a globally powerful franchise. Burning Question: This is the year that Manchester City finally has their European breakthrough and finds success in the Champions League? Cordarrelle Patterson Jersey . The Mavericks avoided a season sweep by the Nuggets, who ran away with a win in Denver two weeks ago to hand Dallas its longest losing streak at three games. Dallas (42-28) got a boost in the playoff race when Miami rallied from seven down in the last 3 1/2 minutes to beat Memphis 91-86 Friday night. Roy Robertson-Harris Jersey . When New Zealand finally held on for an 8-7 win, France No. 8 Imanol Harinordoquy collapsed to the ground, having given every drop of energy he could muster, and lay prone as All Blacks danced around him in celebration. Few critics had given France any chance, but coach Marc Lievremonts team rallied from 8-0 down and came within one kick of taking the lead with 15 minutes remaining, only for flyhalf Francois Trinh-Ducs 49-meter effort to drift wide.SAN ANTONIO - The San Antonio Spurs knew the Philadelphia 76ers were coming in on a long losing streak. They had no intentions of taking it easy on them. Austin Daye had 22 points and Tim Duncan added 19 as the Spurs earned their 14th straight win with a 113-91 victory Monday night that sent the 76ers to their 25th consecutive loss. Philadelphia will face Houston on Thursday with the dubious distinction of being a loss shy of tying the NBA record for consecutive losses set by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010-11. Before the game, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said he felt terrible for former assistant Brett Brown, now the 76ers coach. But he added that he did not feel sorry for "one of my best friends," because pity would upset his former protégé. "Obviously, its a rough season for them," Duncan said. "Its a rebuilding season for them. (Brown) knows that, they know that. They have a lot of young guys. Hes just trying to get the system in place that has them playing the way he wants them playing. Its a process. He knows that." Kawhi Leonard and Patty Mills scored 15 points each and Cory Joseph added 12 for San Antonio, which maintained the leagues best record at 54-16. The Spurs did not play starters Tony Parker, Tiago Splitter and Danny Green, but did not need them against the lowly 76ers. Thaddeus Young and Michael Carter-Williams each scored 19 points, Byron Mullens added 15 and Elliot Williams had 14 for Philadelphia (15-56). Daye, who was averaging 2.3 minutes while playing in only four games since being acquired from Toronto on Feb. 20, finished 6-for-10 on 3-pointers and had six rebounds in 29 minutes. It was familiar to Brown, who served as an assistant under Popovich for seven seasons. "Hes lucky," Brown said, "and Ive seen this over so many years — people can come into that system and shine. This system creates opportunities for everybody, and he took advantage of those. The attention you have to give others and the movement that they have in their structure allowed him to get freed up a lot. "He reaped the benefit of playing in that system." The Sixers kept pace early against the Spurs, with Carter-Williams fearlessly driving into the paint for a series of short jumpers and Hollis Thompson hitting a pair of 3s. Popovich called timeout with 3:44 left in the first quarter after Williams dunked over Duncan to tie it at 19. Philadelphias early success awoke the Spurs and brought out the best in Daye. His athleticism and energy were just what San Antonio needed after a listless sttart. Isaiah Irving Jersey. "Hes a skilled guy," Popovich said. "Obviously he can shoot it. But hes also a good passer. He knows how to play the game. It was good to be able to get him some time tonight." San Antonio went on a 26-5 spurt bridging the first and second quarters, capped by a 19-0 run. Daye first ran down Carter-Williams, swatting his layup attempt from behind, leading to Leonards driving layup for a 23-19 lead with 3 minutes left in the opening quarter. Mullens 3-pointer snapped a 6 1/2-minute drought, but the Spurs were up 45-27 with 6:35 left in the first half. Daye then stole an outlet pass on the run, driving directly at a backpedalling Mullens on a 3-on-1 break. Daye faked a behind-the-back pass to Duncan on the left and dished to Joseph on the right, who fed an open Duncan for a layup and a 47-27 lead. "He got an opportunity," Duncan said. "He really stepped up and shot the ball really well. The boy is really long. He made some great plays defensively (and) rebounded the ball. He did a lot of good things out there." The Spurs started Ginobili to give the team another facilitator on the court with Parker out. Ginobili did that and more, scoring seven points and grabbing two rebounds in eight minutes. He drove to the basket for a series of reverse layups, but was blocked by the rim on a one-handed dunk attempt in starting 2 for 3 from the field. San Antonio finished with 31 assists while shooting 56 per cent from the field. "Its tough," Carter-Williams said. "They move the ball really well with the extra pass. They try to move the ball and almost tire you out on defence. You got to be able to rotate and play throughout the shot clock." The victory did little to satiate the Spurs or Popovich, who are hoping to return to the NBA Finals after falling to Miami last season in a heartbreaking seven-game series. "Were playing well through this stretch and winning some games," Duncan said. "Pop is still not satisfied, obviously, with what were doing. We want to stay healthy. We want to stay moving in the right direction. "Hopefully we can ride this into the playoffs and feel good going into the playoffs." NOTES: San Antonios Big Three of Duncan, Ginobili and Parker have played for 39 seasons, which is seven years more experience than the entire Philadelphia roster combined. The 76ers have six rookies on this years roster. ... Former Spurs F Malik Rose, a Philadelphia native, now serves as an analyst for 76ers television. He filled in for the Spurs in the same capacity before joining Philadelphias broadcast team. Wholeslae Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Cheap College Jerseys Cheap Football Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Cheap Baseball Jerseys ' ' '
The new Barclays Premier League season gets underway on Saturday and prior to the first kick, TSN. Thomas Ives Jersey .ca presents a week long look at some of the teams and stories that will shape the up coming campaign. Today we look at the defending champs and what is on tap for the team that can once again call itself the best team in Manchester. Manchester City Manager: Manuel Pellegrini Last Season: 27-5-6 (Premier League Champions) Notable Additions: Fernando (Porto), Willy Caballero (Malaga), Bacary Sagna (Arsenal), Frank Lampard (New York City FC on loan), Eliaquim Mangala (Porto). Notable Subtractions: Jack Rodwell (Sunderland), Gareth Barry (Everton), Javi Garcia (Zenit St. Petersburg), Costel Pantilimon (Sunderland), Joleon Lescott (West Bromwich Albion) That was Then: On the final day of the 2013-14 season, in much less dramatic fashion than the title they captured two years ago, Manchester City secured the Premier League title with a 2-0 victory over West Ham United. While the final day of the season lacked the same drama, the campaign that built to the ending had nothing but twists and turns right up to the end. In the first half of the season, Manchester City suffered incredibly poor road form dropping games at Cardiff City and Aston Villa as well as points at Stoke City before finally earning their first away win at West Ham. At Etihad Stadium they were telling a completely different story, earning emphatic victories over Manchester United (4-1), Norwich City (7-0) and Tottenham (6-0), all before the calendar had reached December. City defeated title contenders Liverpool and Arsenal at home and headed into the new year locked in a tight battle at the top of the table. The fight seemed lost after a late season, emotional 3-2 defeat at Anfield, which handed the title initiative to Liverpool as the run in kicked into high gear. However the Reds would suffer a defeat to Chelsea and surrender a three goal lead to settle for a 3-3 draw to Crystal Palace. Those results would open the door for Manchester City to celebrate their franchises fourth top flight English Football title and second in the Premier League era. The BPL title was actually Citys second trophy of the season as they were also successful in the League Cup, thanks to a 3-1, come-from-behind victory over Sunderland. They fell behind after 10 minutes in the Wembley final, before midfielders Yaya Toure and Samir Nasri scored within 60 seconds of each other to turn the game and bring the hardware back to Manchester. While they advanced as far as they ever have in their third tour of the Champions League, playing beyond the group stage for the first time in franchise history, it would still have to be considered a disappointment that City were eliminated in the first knockout stage round against Barcelona. This is Now: Before things really got rolling for Manchester City in the off-season, UEFA slapped them with a fine and roster restrictions for violating the Financial Fair Play rules, putting a cap on the amount of money they could spend in the transfer window as well as they amount of players they are able to field in the next Champions League competition. Even with the sanctions and in opposition of what they did after their last title, City still managed to strength their squad while unloading a few players that have become superfluous along the way. First choice and England number one keeper Joe Hart struggled at times last season even briefly losing his place in the net, in response, Willy Caballero has been brought in to either battle for that position or provide a strong backup keeper incase needed. Fernando and veteran Frank Lampard (for half the season) will provide depth at the central midfield position which while being a position of strength for the team is probably the most important place on the park not to falter. Bacary Sagna made the move from Arsenal and will make the team even stronger at the back, fighting for starting time with one of last seasons standout players Pablo Zabaleta. The team also scrounged up 32 million pounds for French defender Eliaquim Mangala from Porto. While not being able to spend money to bring in players, City has used this offseason to lock up the core of the team to long term extensions. David Silva, Vincent Kompany and Sergio Aguero all inked long term deals to stay with the English champions and form the core of what they hope will be a strong contender in Europe for many years to come. While they will hope to once again find success in the league, FA Cup and League Cup, it will be the Champions League that will determine if this team has made major strides toward the goal of being a globally powerful franchise. Burning Question: This is the year that Manchester City finally has their European breakthrough and finds success in the Champions League? Cordarrelle Patterson Jersey . The Mavericks avoided a season sweep by the Nuggets, who ran away with a win in Denver two weeks ago to hand Dallas its longest losing streak at three games. Dallas (42-28) got a boost in the playoff race when Miami rallied from seven down in the last 3 1/2 minutes to beat Memphis 91-86 Friday night. Roy Robertson-Harris Jersey . When New Zealand finally held on for an 8-7 win, France No. 8 Imanol Harinordoquy collapsed to the ground, having given every drop of energy he could muster, and lay prone as All Blacks danced around him in celebration. Few critics had given France any chance, but coach Marc Lievremonts team rallied from 8-0 down and came within one kick of taking the lead with 15 minutes remaining, only for flyhalf Francois Trinh-Ducs 49-meter effort to drift wide.SAN ANTONIO - The San Antonio Spurs knew the Philadelphia 76ers were coming in on a long losing streak. They had no intentions of taking it easy on them. Austin Daye had 22 points and Tim Duncan added 19 as the Spurs earned their 14th straight win with a 113-91 victory Monday night that sent the 76ers to their 25th consecutive loss. Philadelphia will face Houston on Thursday with the dubious distinction of being a loss shy of tying the NBA record for consecutive losses set by the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2010-11. Before the game, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said he felt terrible for former assistant Brett Brown, now the 76ers coach. But he added that he did not feel sorry for "one of my best friends," because pity would upset his former protégé. "Obviously, its a rough season for them," Duncan said. "Its a rebuilding season for them. (Brown) knows that, they know that. They have a lot of young guys. Hes just trying to get the system in place that has them playing the way he wants them playing. Its a process. He knows that." Kawhi Leonard and Patty Mills scored 15 points each and Cory Joseph added 12 for San Antonio, which maintained the leagues best record at 54-16. The Spurs did not play starters Tony Parker, Tiago Splitter and Danny Green, but did not need them against the lowly 76ers. Thaddeus Young and Michael Carter-Williams each scored 19 points, Byron Mullens added 15 and Elliot Williams had 14 for Philadelphia (15-56). Daye, who was averaging 2.3 minutes while playing in only four games since being acquired from Toronto on Feb. 20, finished 6-for-10 on 3-pointers and had six rebounds in 29 minutes. It was familiar to Brown, who served as an assistant under Popovich for seven seasons. "Hes lucky," Brown said, "and Ive seen this over so many years — people can come into that system and shine. This system creates opportunities for everybody, and he took advantage of those. The attention you have to give others and the movement that they have in their structure allowed him to get freed up a lot. "He reaped the benefit of playing in that system." The Sixers kept pace early against the Spurs, with Carter-Williams fearlessly driving into the paint for a series of short jumpers and Hollis Thompson hitting a pair of 3s. Popovich called timeout with 3:44 left in the first quarter after Williams dunked over Duncan to tie it at 19. Philadelphias early success awoke the Spurs and brought out the best in Daye. His athleticism and energy were just what San Antonio needed after a listless sttart. Isaiah Irving Jersey. "Hes a skilled guy," Popovich said. "Obviously he can shoot it. But hes also a good passer. He knows how to play the game. It was good to be able to get him some time tonight." San Antonio went on a 26-5 spurt bridging the first and second quarters, capped by a 19-0 run. Daye first ran down Carter-Williams, swatting his layup attempt from behind, leading to Leonards driving layup for a 23-19 lead with 3 minutes left in the opening quarter. Mullens 3-pointer snapped a 6 1/2-minute drought, but the Spurs were up 45-27 with 6:35 left in the first half. Daye then stole an outlet pass on the run, driving directly at a backpedalling Mullens on a 3-on-1 break. Daye faked a behind-the-back pass to Duncan on the left and dished to Joseph on the right, who fed an open Duncan for a layup and a 47-27 lead. "He got an opportunity," Duncan said. "He really stepped up and shot the ball really well. The boy is really long. He made some great plays defensively (and) rebounded the ball. He did a lot of good things out there." The Spurs started Ginobili to give the team another facilitator on the court with Parker out. Ginobili did that and more, scoring seven points and grabbing two rebounds in eight minutes. He drove to the basket for a series of reverse layups, but was blocked by the rim on a one-handed dunk attempt in starting 2 for 3 from the field. San Antonio finished with 31 assists while shooting 56 per cent from the field. "Its tough," Carter-Williams said. "They move the ball really well with the extra pass. They try to move the ball and almost tire you out on defence. You got to be able to rotate and play throughout the shot clock." The victory did little to satiate the Spurs or Popovich, who are hoping to return to the NBA Finals after falling to Miami last season in a heartbreaking seven-game series. "Were playing well through this stretch and winning some games," Duncan said. "Pop is still not satisfied, obviously, with what were doing. We want to stay healthy. We want to stay moving in the right direction. "Hopefully we can ride this into the playoffs and feel good going into the playoffs." NOTES: San Antonios Big Three of Duncan, Ginobili and Parker have played for 39 seasons, which is seven years more experience than the entire Philadelphia roster combined. The 76ers have six rookies on this years roster. ... Former Spurs F Malik Rose, a Philadelphia native, now serves as an analyst for 76ers television. He filled in for the Spurs in the same capacity before joining Philadelphias broadcast team. Wholeslae Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NBA Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Cheap College Jerseys Cheap Football Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Cheap Baseball Jerseys ' ' '