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Rejuvenated striker Mario Balotelli took his league tally to eight goals in eight games as French leader Nice beat struggling Dijon 2-1 on Sunday to move four points ahead of Monaco and seven clear of defending champion Paris Saint-Germain.Regardless of what happens in the upcoming midweek games, Nice is guaranteed to head into the winter break in first place.Monaco could have closed the gap to one point, but it was reduced to 10 men in the first half and lost 3-1 at home to a rapidly improving Lyon on Sunday night.Lyon is now up to fourth place, five points behind PSG and with a game in hand.Monaco was under pressure after left back Benjamin Mendy was sent off in the 39th minute -- 10 minutes after Algeria midfielder Rachid Ghezzal had given Lyon the lead.Lyon winger Mathieu Valbuena is getting back to his best as he chases a France recall, having being left out of the European Championship squad this summer, and scored for the fifth time in the past six games to make it 2-0 in the 65th.Monaco rallied thanks to midfielder Tiemoue Bakayokos strike five minutes later, his teams 54th goal in just 18 league games. But Lyons top scorer, Alexandre Lacazette, wrapped up the win late on with his 12th league goal in just 13 games. In the previous two league campaigns, the prolific forward -- rated at around 45 million euros ($47 million) -- scored 48 in 67 games.PSG had lost 2-1 at Guingamp on Saturday for its fourth league defeat of the season and still has to play at Nice in the second part of the campaign.Nice has lost only once this season under Lucien Favre in his first season in charge.The Swiss coach should also take credit for helping to relaunch Balotellis career when many observers had written him off.Balotelli scored from a penalty kick in the 32nd minute and, after Julio Tavares equalized from the spot shortly after, pounced five minutes after halftime for the winner.The Italian forward joined in the summer as a free signing from English Premier League side Liverpool, and is reviving a chaotic career where he has often stood out for controversial incidents on and off the field.His unhappy time at Liverpool came to end when the English club sent him on loan last season to AC Milan -- his former club -- but he only managed one goal in 20 league games for the Italian side.The season before that, Balotelli had scored only one league goal for Liverpool in 16 games.But now, despite an occasional absence through minor injuries, he is a key part of Favres plans.Balotelli struck his penalty low to the left, with goalkeeper Baptiste Reynet guessing the right way, and then turned in defender Arnaud Souquets cross from the right.---MARSEILLE 2, LILLE 0Coach Rudi Garcias methods seem to finally be working as Marseille won for the third league game in a row to climb up to sixth place.Striker Bafetimbi Gomis opened the scoring in the 56th minute and winger Florian Thauvin added the other four minutes later.They have been Marseilles most consistent players this season and have 14 league goals between them: nine for Gomis and five for Thauvin.Garcia took charge in late October, replacing Franck Passi, but won only two of his first seven games in all competitions.---CAEN 3, METZ 0Croatian striker Ivan Santini scored his eighth league goal of the season as Normandy side Caen moved two points away from the relegation zone.Caen took the lead through 18-year-old striker Yann Karamoh in the 20th minute.Santini netted in the 61st before substitute forward Pape Sane sealed the win in injury time.Caen is in 16th place, while Dijon is 18th. Daniel Lovitz USA Jersey . Their 38th instalment is arguably their biggest fight card to date, including three-title fights and a main event which was selected by the fans. The promotion boasts 14-straight years of business and is operated by MFC president Mark Pavelich, who is often overlooked in this country for the foundation hes established for MMA in Canada. Omar Gonzalez USA Jersey . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. http://www.soccerusateamonline.com/Jesse-Gonzalez-America-Jersey/ . On Saturday night, the normally free throw-challenged centre did just that. Howard scored 18 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including 13 of 19 free throws in a 2 1/2-minute stretch, and the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 122-111. Gyasi Zardes Jersey .Y. - General manager Billy King says the Brooklyn Nets are looking to add a big man and confirmed the team worked out centre Jason Collins, who would become the first openly gay active NBA player if signed. DaMarcus Beasley Jersey . One game after a miserable showing in Oklahoma City, Gay tied a career high with 41 points and the Sacramento Kings cruised to a 114-97 victory at the New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday night. SAN JOSE, Costa Rica -- Wave after wave of opponents kept overwhelming beleaguered and befuddled Americans.Only these players were Costa Ricans in red jerseys, not Brazilians in yellow or Italians in blue.With one of its worst performances in decades, the United States put itself in a deep -- but not insurmountable -- hole in World Cup qualifying.Theres going to need to be some urgency, U.S. captain Michael Bradley said after Tuesday nights 4-0 wipeout. Were going to have to look collectively real hard in the mirror at ourselves and understand its not been a good start. But the reality of this hexagonal format is that nothing is lost yet, not even close. So anybody who thinks that is sorely mistaken.Johan Venegas scored in the 44th minute, Cristian Bolanos doubled the lead in the 68th and second-half substitute Joel Campbell beat beleaguered goalkeeper Brad Guzan in the 74th and 78th minutes.The U.S., which dropped to 0-2 in the final round of the North and Central American and Caribbean region for the first time, had not lost a qualifier by four goals since a 5-1 defeat at Mexico in November 1980 and had not dropped a shutout loss in a qualifier by that margin since a 6-0 rout at Mexico in April 1957.Central defenders John Brooks and Omar Gonzalez, and right back Timmy Chandler had particularly poor games. The absence of injured defender Geoff Cameron was glaring.A very, very bitter moment for us. Theres no doubt about it, said U.S. coach Jurgen Klinsmann, who called it the defeat that hurts most of his five-year tenure.Costa Rica (2-0), a 2014 World Cup quarterfinalist, leads the hex with six points, followed by Mexico and Panama, both 1-0-1 following Tuesday nights 0-0 draw in Panama City. Honduras (1-1) has three points, and the U.S. is tied with Trinidad and Tobago.Was the result embarrassing? Yes. But Im not embarrassed by our team, U.S. Soccer Federation President Sunil Gulati said. Im very disappointed, obviously.Seeking its eighth straight World Cup berth, the Americans opened with a 2-1 loss to Mexico on Friday at Columbus, Ohio, their first home defeat in a qualifier since 2001.The top three teams qualify for the 2018 tournament in Russia, and the No. 4 finisher advances to a playoff against Asias fifth-place nation.Mexico qualified with 11 points, Gulati said, thinking back to the last hex. Theres a lot of points left on the board -- 24 to be exact.As the U.S. dropped to 0-9-1 in qualifiers at Costa Rica, jubilant Ticos fans sounded air horns at the end of a match that reignited questioning of Klinsmanns tactics. A former World Cup champion and coach with Germany, Klinsmann will be under perhaps the most scrutiny since he was hired.HHe insisted he is the right person to lead the team.ddddddddddddI obviously understand that when you lose two games and especially two World Cup qualifiers right after each other, that there will be a lot of your comments, he told reporters after the match. That is just part of the job.Qualifying resumes with a March 24 home game against Honduras followed by a match at Panama four days later. Gulati would not be drawn into a coaching discussion.We dont make any decisions right after games, he said. Well think about what happened today and talk with Jurgen and look at the situation.There was some whistling during The Star-Spangled Banner from the capacity crowd of about 35,000 in Estadio Nacional, where the field is surrounded by an athletics track and crowd noise dissipates -- even from a band in the second deck. The venue appears less intimidating to visitors than old Estadio Ricardo Saprissa, where fans were directly behind the benches.Costa Rica went ahead after a giveaway by Brooks. Randall Azofeifa took a short pass from Jose Salvatierra in the center circle and played a long ball into the corner, where Bolanos ran it down on its third bounce. Gonzalez didnt close down Bolanos, who crossed for Venegas just outside the 6-yard box. Venegas beat Brooks to the ball and sent a header across Guzan.Bolanos scored after a turnover by 18-year-old midfielder Christian Pulisic near midfield. Salvatierra sent a pass down the flank to Bryan Ruiz, and his cross found Bolanos in front, with Chandler a step late.Ronald Matarrita created both of Campbells goals, first sending a looping ball that Brooks misplayed into the path of the forward, who broke in alone and slotted the ball past Guzan from 16 yards. Then Matarrita lifted the ball from just past midfield as Campbell beat an offside trap by Brooks and Gonzalez, to break in alone again and follow with a second celebratory dance.At moments like this it does you no good to point fingers and to be looking around trying to figure out who you can throw under the bus, Bradley said. Come March, theres going to be the need to go after things in a strong way so we can start to put things right.Game notes Chandler and MF Jermaine Jones are suspended for the next qualifier because of yellow-card accumulation, both cautioned by Mexican referee for fouls against Ruiz. ... Honduras (2-0) beat visiting Trinidad and Tobago 3-1 on goals by Romell Quioto in the 16th, Emilio Izaguirre in the 19th and Eddie Hernandez in the 80th. Carlyle Mitchell scored in the 51st for the Soca Warriors (0-2). ' ' '