pringsteens "Born in the U.S.A." blared from the soun

BERLIN -- Bayern Munich left it late to grind out a 2-0 win in Mainz on Saturday and move one victory away from the Bundesliga title. Bastian Schweinsteiger broke the deadlock in the 82nd minute and substitute Mario Goetze added another goal four minutes later to secure Bayerns league-record 18th consecutive win and stretch its unbeaten run to 51 games -- also a record. Second-place Borussia Dortmund won 3-0 at Hannover but remains 23 points behind Bayern with eight games remaining. "We dont really care when were champions," said Schweinsteiger, whose side can secure the quickest title in 51 years of the Bundesliga by winning at Hertha Berlin on Tuesday, regardless of Dortmunds result against Schalke in the Ruhr derby the same evening. "Its really great that we can be champions in Berlin, where it all began for me," Bayern defender Jerome Boateng said. "We laid the groundwork today." Schalke consolidated third with a 3-1 win over bottom side Eintracht Braunschweig. Stuttgart beat 10-man Hamburger SV 1-0 to move above the visiting side and climb provisionally out of the relegation zone. It was the home sides first win in two games under new coach Huub Stevens. Wolfsburg also ended with 10 men in a 1-1 draw with Augsburg. Kevin de Bruyne was sent off in injury time with his second yellow card for arguing the first. Borussia Moenchengladbach was hosting Hertha Berlin later. Mainz suffered its first defeat in six games but the home side frustrated Bayern for long periods and might have scored after the break, when Eric Maxim Choupo-Motings effort crashed back off the crossbar with Manuel Neuer beaten. Mainz goalkeeper Loris Karius was busier, blocking Arjen Robbens effort in the fourth minute and producing good saves to deny Mario Mandzukic and Franck Ribery in the second half. Claudio Pizarro came on for Mandzukic in the 81st and made an immediate impact, playing the ball out left to Xherdan Shaqiri, who crossed for Schweinsteiger to head home from five meters. Then Ribery capitalized on a botched clearance to set up Goetze for a clinical finish. "Its not easy for us to play outstanding games all the time with a 23-point lead," said Bayern coach Pep Guardiola, whose side has won 24 of 26 games and drawn the other two. Sky television reported at halftime that Uli Hoeness was not in the stadium. The former Bayern president is expected to soon begin his 3 1/2 year prison term for tax evasion. Dortmund failed to impress in Hannover, where Andre Hoffmann hit the post for the home side in the 18th. Mats Hummels scored two minutes before the interval, prodding the ball home from close range after Sokratis headed it on. Robert Lewandowski made it 2-0 in the 52nd, cutting in from the left wing, gliding past four Hannover defenders before shooting inside the left post from a central position, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan set up substitute Marco Reus for a flattering score in injury time. "Everything went in the right direction after the second goal but I could only breathe easily after the third," Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp said. In Gelsenkirchen, Leon Goretzka was allowed plenty of time and space to fire Schalke into a 17th-minute lead from 23 metres. Klaas Jan Huntelaar made it 2-0 with a deflected free kick in the 66th, before Benjamin Kessel pulled one back with another deflected shot in the 81st. Adam Szalai settled Schalkes nerves in injury time. Hamburgs hopes took a blow when Hakan Calhanoglu was sent off with his second yellow card for a tactical foul in the 53rd. Ibrahima Traore capitalized on a mistake from Hamburg captain Heiko Westermann to set up Alexandru Maxim to score in the 69th. Stevens had introduced the Romanian midfielder six minutes before. "It was a difficult game in a difficult situation," said Maxim, whose goal ended a 10-game winless streak. Second-to-last Nuremberg can overtake both Hamburg and Stuttgart by beating Eintracht Frankfurt at home on Sunday. Wolfsburg moved provisionally fifth thanks to Ivica Olics 81st-minute equalizer. Tobias Werner fired Augsburg ahead in the 43rd, when he cut inside two defenders before unleashing inside the far post. Theoren Fleury Jersey . “Im not sure well get Melky Cabrera at all,” said Gibbons. The 29-year-old left fielder struggled all season with knee and hamstring problems. Cabrera was first on the disabled list from June 27-July 20 with tendinitis in his left knee. Mike Vernon Jersey . has left the San Jose Sharks to become the Boston Bruins director of player personnel. http://www.flamessale.com/authentic-doug...-flames-jersey/. Grilli hasnt pitched since straining his left oblique in late April. Manager Clint Hurdle says the right-hander will make a couple of appearances in middle relief before the team determines whether to return Grilli to the back end of the bullpen. Miikka Kiprusoff Jersey . Louis Blues have returned to the top spot in the TSN. Joe Nieuwendyk Jersey . Down 2-1 after Rick Nash scored on a penalty shot, the Oilers ran off four unanswered goals in the remainder of the second period on the way to a 6-3 victory on Sunday.SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- At last, Mario Manningham is back in game-week mode. And that has a far better ring to it than rehab mode given the countless hours he has spent for much of the last year nursing himself back to health following major knee surgery. Manningham walked through the locker room Wednesday, binder in hand and headed for meetings with the expectation that he will play for the San Francisco 49ers (6-2) in Sundays game against Carolina (5-3), even if coach Jim Harbaugh has yet to formally say so. "Mario, hes a receiver whos easy to throw to, so its not going to take much time for him to get back up to speed," quarterback Colin Kaepernick said. Manningham is on the active roster again nearly 11 months after a knee injury derailed his season and forced him to the sidelines long before the Super Bowl run. Michael Crabtree is back on the practice field six months after he suffered a torn right Achilles tendon that also sent him to surgery. Kaepernick credits both of his star wideouts for returning to their former explosive selves so soon. Such compliments go a long way. "Its important when it comes from your teammates," Manningham said. "I know I can get better, everybody can always get better. Im trying to take it step by step and do what I can do to make my team look better. Im practicing like Im playing, just trying to make plays and come out with a W." At the start of practice, the first full session for Crabtree since he was medically cleared Tuesday, he planted hard with his healthy right foot to cut inside on a short route. Between drills, he shuffled his feet in a little jive as Bruce Springsteens "Born in the U.S.A." blared from the sound system. Crabtree has been doing speed work for a few weeks. "I really just want to get back out there. They really have to calm me down. I was the first person out there today stretching for no reason," he said. "When I come back Ill let you know if its stronger. Right now Im just trying to get going." Harbaugh wandered over for a glimpse of the receivers doing their position work. He will be among those to keep Crabtree on task so he doesnt try to do too much too soon. "Good to have him back, 15 reporting eligible," Harbaugh said earlier, referencing Crabtrees uniform number. "Everybody kind of watchees out of the corner of their eyes doing their drills.dddddddddddd Its neat to see any player who comes back from a serious injury, understanding the grueling rehab thats taken place, the mental toughness grinding through those rehab sessions. ... Hell be on a pitch count." Just imagine what San Franciscos 32nd-ranked passing game might look like down the stretch with these two back in the offensive mix for Kaepernick to complement Anquan Boldin. Suddenly, San Franciscos players will allow themselves to think about the added big-play potential for a unit already on a nice roll and riding a five-game winning streak in which the team has scored at least 30 points in each victory. "Itll be crazy," running back Frank Gore said. "Looking back the way guys were playing, especially with Kap and Crab on the field last year and how they were so used to breaking a lot of plays down the field, the running game will be getting easier. Thats big for the team. A lot of teams are playing us with a lot of people in the box. With those guys back out there making plays, with the people who are already making plays -- Vernon (Davis), Anquan Boldin, adding Crab, Mario, thats big." Before his injury last December, Manningham had 42 receptions for 449 yards and one touchdown in 12 games and 10 starts. He injured his left knee in a loss at Seattle Dec. 23 then underwent reconstructive surgery to repair torn anterior cruciate and posterior cruciate ligaments. Crabtree, the teams 10th overall pick in the 2009 draft out of Texas Tech, established career highs last season with 85 receptions for 1,105 yards and nine touchdowns. Then Crabtree sustained the injury during 7-on-7 drills in an organized team activity May 21. Manningham is likely to make his season debut for the 49ers in Sundays home game against Carolina. Crabtree shouldnt be more than a couple of weeks behind him. In Crabtrees case, the 49ers have slightly less than three weeks before they must activate him. "I had the math since the surgery, five months, 27 days as of Sunday, so five months, 30 days, today," Harbaugh said. "Surprised? I dont know the surprise there, I guess because you watch them day to day. Successful surgery, on track at every point, doing everything he was asked to do by the doctors. All reports were really good." ' ' '