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GENEVA -- Roma hung on to draw 1-1 at Porto in a Champions League playoff first-leg on Wednesday after having defender Thomas Vermaelen sent off before halftime on his debut.Seeking to improve on Italian clubs dire run in the playoff round, Roma began strongly and led in the 21st minute when Porto defender Felipe diverted a cross into his own net.Porto dominated the second half against 10 Roma men but only scored through Andre Silvas penalty in the 61st, awarded for handball against substitute Emerson Palmieri .Monaco won 2-1 at Villarreal in a rare loss for a Spanish team at this stage of the competition, and Celtic beat Champions League newcomer Hapoel Beer Sheva 5-2.Irish minnow Dundalk lost 2-0 to visiting Legia Warsaw, and Ludogorets Razgrad beat Viktoria Plzen 2-0.Return matches are played on Tuesday, and winners advance to the 32-team group-stage draw in Monaco on Aug. 25.Italian clubs have failed in the playoffs for five of the last six seasons, typically leaving Serie A with only two representatives among Europes elite.Roma looked to exploit shaky Porto defending, including one handling error by goalkeeper Iker Casillas that almost gifted Edin Dzeko a goal.When a weak Casillas punch teed up Mohamed Salah, the Spanish veteran saved twice from the Egypt winger and again when the loose ball fell to Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan.The game turned when Vermaelen was shown a second yellow card in the 41st minute of his first match since moving on loan from Barcelona last week.The Belgium defender struck Andre Silva with a raised boot on the edge of the penalty area with his eyes fixed on a lofted pass and not the Porto forward.Porto thought it had levelled in the 50th but a goal awarded to Adrian Lopez was then disallowed for offside after Dutch referee Bjorn Kuipers consulted with two assistants.Its a positive result, Nainggolan said. We regret not scoring more goals in the first half, when we were on top.While Italy has struggled in the Champions League, Spain would again have five teams in the group-stage draw if Villarreal advances.Monaco led from a third-minute penalty by Fabinho, before another Brazilian, Alexandre Pato, equalized with a close-range header in the 36th. Monaco led for good in the 72nd through Bernardo Silva.Celtic raced to a 3-0 halftime lead against its Israeli visitors, started by Australia midfielder Tom Rogic and capped by a stoppage-time free kick by Leigh Griffiths -- his second goal in just over six minutes.The perennial Scottish champion lost in the playoff round the past two seasons, and was pegged back by two Hapoel goals in three minutes, by Lucio Maranhao and Maor Melikson. The three-goal lead was restored by substitute Moussa Dembele and Scott Brown.Dundalk would be the first team from Ireland to advance from the qualifying rounds in 25 seasons since the European Cup was rebranded as the Champions League.Playing at the national stadium in Dublin, Dundalk was undone by second-half goals for Legia: a Nemanja Nikolic penalty in the 56th, and Aleksandar Prijovic in stoppage time.Ludogorets also played at its national stadium, in Sofia, because the Bulgarian champions own stadium does not meet UEFA standards. It led through defender Cosmin Motis 51st-minute penalty and Dutch forward Virgil Misidjan added a second in the 64th. Kenny Moore Youth Jersey . Now that hes hitting streaking teammates with pin-point passes for easy layups, Love is asserting himself as one of the true superstars in the league. Malik Hooker Womens Jersey . And follow TSN.ca right through Deadline Day for all the updates. From Pierre LeBrun While Anaheim GM Bob Murray said earlier this season he was not going to trade Jonas Hiller despite the fact hes an unrestricted free agent on July 1, some sources have told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun that Murray might be willing to move another goalie. http://www.officialindianapoliscoltspro.com/Marshall-faulk-colts-jersey/ . LOUIS -- Theres no telling how these wacky World Series games will end. Parris Campbell Youth Jersey . LOUIS -- The New Orleans Saints looked like a team playing out the string. Khari Willis Jersey . Halifax beat the Saint John Sea Dogs 7-5 on the strength of two goals apiece from Nikolaj Ehlers, Matt Murphy and Brent Andrews. Jonathan Drouin also scored and had three assists while Zachary Fucale made 17 saves for the Mooseheads (16-8-0), who led 6-1 after two periods. The path to the 2016 Breeders Cup is a road with plenty of ups and downs as talented racehorses vie for a spot in one of 13 championship races. This blog provides a capsule look at three horses who are heating up on the Road to the Breeders Cup World Championships and three horses whose Breeders Cup chances are not quite as strong as they were a week or two ago.For this weeks edition, there were too many heating up candidates to choose from, so I focused on the three I believe have the best chance to make some serious noise in the Breeders Cup World Championships.Heating Up1. Lady Eli After finishing second in her first start in more than a year after overcoming life-threatening laminitis, Lady Eli showed on Oct. 8 that she was back at the top of her game when winning the Grade 1 Flower Bowl Stakes by three-quarters of a length. Lady Eli has tremendous finishing speed when shes at her best and she covered the final quarter-mile of the Flower Bowl in about 22-3/5 seconds, which is impressive for that distance. With a 117 Equibase Speed Figure in her return and a 118 for the Flower Bowl, Lady Eli could be poised to run a huge race in the Breeders Cup Filly and Mare Turf in what would be a fitting cap on one of the great comeback stories in the sports long history.2. Classic Empire I thought highly of Classic Empire before he ran in the Grade 1 Hopeful Stakes and dumped his rider at the start. He rebounded as Id expected in the Grade 1 Claiborne Breeders Futurity, but I have to admit he was even better than Id anticipated. The bay colt by Pioneerof the Nile stalked the pace while very wide early, took charge entering the stretch at Keeneland Race Course and pulled away effortlessly to win by three lengths in a 12-horse field. He posted a 105 Equibase Speed Figure earlier this summer when winning the Grade 3 Bashford Manor Stakes from off the pace at Churchill Downs, but that was at three-quarters of a mile. He looked plenty good when stretching out to 1-1/16 miles for the Breeders Futurity and the 103 speed figure further suggests hell be a major player in the Sentient Jet Breeders Cup Juvenile.3. Miss Temple City This was the toughest final spot that Ive faced since I started writing this blog. Ultimately, I went with Miss Temple City because shes been consistently very fast and defeated males in a Grade 1 race for the second time this season on Oct. 8 in the Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes. It also helped that the expected Breeders Cup Mile favorite, Tepin, finished a well-beaten second in the First Lady, which perhaps opened the door a crack for the Mile on Nov. 5. In four U.S. races this year, Miss Temple City has recorded Equibase Speed Figures of 123, 115, 114, and 114, respectively, and in her European race she ran well to finish fourth in a Group 1 race at the prestigious Royal Ascot meeting. You have to respect a horse who gives her all every race, and I expect Miss Temple City to be right there with a shot to win in the stretch of the Breeders Cup Mile.Honorable MentionsPhoto Call delivered a brilliant effort in winning the Grade 1 First Lady Stakes over Tepin. I considered her for the final spot based on a huge 128 Equibase Speed Figure, but I expect shell face more pressure up front in the Breeders Cup Mile and consistency has not been her game. There also were quite a few impressive 2-year-olds last weekend. Practical Joke won the Grade 1 Champpagne Stakes over a very game Syndergaard and Yellow Agate took the Grade 1 Frizette Stakes at Belmont Park.dddddddddddd Both figure to be viable candidates to win on Breeders Cup day, Practical Joke in the Sentient Jet Juvenile and Yellow Agate in the 14 Hands Winery Juvenile Fillies. Practical Joke is not nominated to the Breeders Cup and would need to be nominated for $100,000 to compete in the World Championships. Dancing Rags and Keep Quiet punched their tickets to the Breeders Cup World Championships in style at Keeneland in the Grade 1 Darley Alcibiades and Grade 3 Dixiana Bourbon Stakes, respectively. Expect to see Dancing Rags in the Juvenile Fillies and Keep Quiet in the Juvenile Turf.Cooling Down1. Nonna Mela Coming off a pair of dominant victories by a combined margin of 13-1/4 lengths, including a six-length runaway in the Grade 2 Adirondack Stakes, and with a nice pedigree, I expected Nonna Mela to handle the competition in the Grade 1 Frizette Stakes on Oct. 8. By Arch out of a full sister to 2006 Haskell Invitational Stakes winner and Kentucky Derby runner-up Bluegrass Cat, she looked like an ideal candidate to to improve as the distances got longer, but she came up empty when fourth, beaten by 10-3/4 lengths. She didnt have the cleanest of trips, bobbling at the start before dueling for the lead, but I would have liked to have seen a little more tenacity in the stretch.2. Mondialiste Mondialiste didnt run an absolute clunker in the Grade 1 Shadwell Turf Mile Stakes on Oct. 8, but he definitely took a step back with a fourth-place finish that followed a victory in the Grade 1 Arlington Million Stakes. In his final prep for the Breeders Cup Mile, a race in which he finished second to Tepin a year ago, Mondialiste needed to win to give me confidence he can run as well as he did a year ago. I dont think the very firm turf he can expect out in Southern California suits him as well as the lush grass in at Woodbine in Canada, at Arlington Park and at Keeneland Race Course, where hes run his best races in the U.S. over the last two years. Mondialiste is a terrific racehorse, dont get me wrong, I just needed to be convinced he was sitting on a pinnacle performance to give him a big shot in this years Mile. Fourth, beaten by a length and a half, was not that type of performance.3. Stonetastic For those of you expecting to see Tepin here, she actually ran a very credible race and it took a monster effort to beat her. Instead, I went with Stonetastic. Shes another runner who didnt disgrace herself in any way in finishing second in the Grade 2 Thoroughbred Club of America Stakes, but I didnt like how she packed it in when challenged by Irish Jasper in the Keeneland stretch on Oct. 8 as the 11-10 favorite. Stonetastic is a filly capable of really big races, but shes susceptible when she faces pressure from another runner or two with early speed. Shell almost certainly face plenty of other speed horses in the Breeders Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, and I needed to see a little more resolve in the stretch of the TCA Stakes to have confidence in the Breeders Cup. The drop from a 112 Equibase Speed Figure in her previous race to a 99 also does not inspire confidence.For more stories like this check out Americas Best Racing. ' ' '