Stuttgart, Germany - Top seeds Fabio Fognini and Mikhail Youzhny were a pair of second-round winners Thursday at the Mercedes Cup tennis event. The top-seeded reigning champion Fognini got past Kazakhstans Andrey Golubev 6-4, 6-4, while the second-seeded 2002 Stuttgart titlist Youzhny, of Russia, whipped Argentine Leonardo Mayer 6-1, 6-1 at Tennis Club Weissenhof. The Italian Fognini defeated German favorite Philipp Kohlschreiber in last years finale at this clay court tournament. A fifth-seeded Kohlschreiber finally played his first-round match on Thursday and defeated fellow German Jan-Lennard Struff, 6-4, 6-3. Rain prevented Kohlschreiber from playing here on Tuesday and Wednesday. Unfortunately for Kohlschreiber, he had to play two matches on Thursday and lost the second one, 7-5, 7-6 (7-5), to Czech slugger Lukas Rosol in the round of 16. Third-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut reached the quarterfinals by outlasting Irish lucky loser Louk Sorensen 6-3, 1-6, 6-1, while fourth-seeded Feliciano Lopez moved into the round of eight by overcoming fellow Spaniard Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-7 (3-7), 6-2, 6-3. In some other second-round action on Day 4, sixth-seeded Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez held off Swiss qualifier Yann Marti 7-6 (15-13), 7-5, seventh- seeded Colombian Santiago Giraldo edged out Russian qualifier Philip Davydenko 6-1, 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, and eighth-seeded Argentine Federico Delbonis overcame German Benjamin Becker 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 6-4. Fridays quarterfinals will pit Fognini against Giraldo; Youzhny versus Delbonis; Bautista Agut against his fellow Spaniard Garcia-Lopez; and Lopez versus Rosol. The 2014 Stuttgart champion will earn $105,000. Bob Gainey Canadiens Jersey . The No. 5 Aztecs held Burton, the Mountain Wests leading scorer, to 11 points, 10 below his average, in beating the Wolf Pack 73-58 on Saturday night. Joel Armia Jersey .com) - Delon Wright made all 12 of his free throws and finished with 21 points and six assists as No. http://www.canadienssale.com/authentic-saku-koivu-canadiens-jersey/ . The union filed a grievance late Thursday, one day after Goodell suspended four players who participated in bounties from 2009-11. The complaint says Goodell is prohibited from punishing players for any aspect of the case occurring before the new collective bargaining agreement was signed last August. Karl Alzner Jersey . -- DeMarcus Cousins had 29 points, nine rebounds and six steals to lead the Sacramento Kings to their third straight preseason win, a 107-90 victory over the Phoenix Suns on Thursday night. Serge Savard Jersey .J. -- Jaromir Jagr has hit so many NHL milestones this season for the New Jersey Devils that he is starting to downplay them.On the morning after the Tartan Armys invasion of Wembley, dozens of weary Scotsmen and approximately 10,000 beer cans lay strewn across Trafalgar Square - the traditional gathering point for any London-based football celebration. Following a very successful preseason for the Barclays Premier League (as clubs criss-crossed the planet delivering the BPL eulogy to the faithful), dont be surprised if you catch CEO Richard Scudamore sipping champagne from those very same Trafalgar Square fountains this weekend. Whist the debate rages on regarding the collateral damage caused to the national team - due to the league wide preference to import talent at the cost of providing top flight competitive football for English players - the BPLs global footprint continues to enlarge. Earlier this month, the well-regarded sportingIntelligence.com provided a statistical breakdown of all BPL players nation of origin. English-born players now represent less than 37 per cent of the overall talent pool in a season where we will see the very first Kenyan play in the Barclays Premier League - Southamptons Victor Wanyama. Outside of the four home nations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, Wanyamas signing means the East African nation of Kenya will become the 100th different nation to have a player ply his trade in the BPL since the league was formed back in 1992. To understand how extremely popular and emotionally attached the locals are to their favourite club, one only had to witness scenes this summer as teams jetted into destinations like Jakarta, Bangkok, Sydney and Durban. Then when you factor in clubs who toured the U.S., its hardly surprising to read one UK newspaper claim the 20 BPL teams collectively racked up over 200,000 Air Miles. In other words, the equivalent of circumnavigating the globe eight times this pre-season. Although this will be the very first season we wont witness Sir Alex prowling the touchline in search of prey, the storylines will compel soccer fans across the globe to gather round their TV sets in record numbers every weekend between now and mid-May. The Barclays Premier League is now screened live in more countries than there are member states of the United Nations. Coincidentally this comes in a season where TV monitors will play an active role this season. My how Goal Line Technology will miss the worlds most famous Scotsman! Following the IFABs decision back in March to allow Goal Line Technology in football - Hawkeye, one of the two systems FIFA approved, has been installed this summer at all BPL stadiums. By the time beautiful B.C. fully awakes Saturday morning, we may have already witnessed the very first instance in world club football the video replay monitor will be the determinant on whether a ball fully crossed the line. Although very few disputed goal calls occur in any one season, it can only be a matter of time before GLT replaces AVB on the back pages of our newspapers. As for the debate over whether David Moyes can replicate the unprecedented success and riches his predecessor bestowed on Manchester United? If the stock market is anny indicator, it would seem so.dddddddddddd Ticker symbol MANU has gained over 10 per cent since the ex-Everton manager took over at Old Trafford on Canada Day. Speaking of splashing the cash (as opposed to the conversation settling on which one of the big names), outrageously-priced new players will dominate the BPL this season as the focus has been on the pending departures of Gareth Bale, Luis Suarez and Wayne Rooney. With every passing day and only 17 more sleeps until the transfer window closes, there stands a greater probability that Crystal Palace will win the title this season than these so-termed want away players all getting their wish this offseason. Of the top clubs garnering success in the transfer market by doing their shopping early and often, Manchester City stand head and shoulders above all other contenders. Cesc Fabregas still remains elusive for the champions and Jose Mourinho admitted telling fibs about whether or not Chelsea will table a third bid for Rooney. But lets just hope for the sake of his health that Arsene Wenger has more success at the grocery store then he does in the transfer market. Ironically, the only manager in the BPL with an economics degree seems with each passing summer to become less capable of attracting the highest calibre players to the Emirates. Ferguson proved you could win with youngsters, but the manager who has bought more promising youngsters than any other manger in BPL history has yet to mould a winning team round that philosophy. Wenger cant ever be accused of not adding to his clubs bottom line. No one in England develops and then sells on their best players quite as effectively as the 63-year old Frenchmen who is just about to embark on a ninth season without any type of trophy. To me, the best story of this preseason hails from highly unfashionable Stoke. As BPL clubs continue to increase their revenues domestically and globally as they look to squeeze every last penny, baht or rupee from their fans - the club which was formed in 1863 when they became only the second-ever professional football club in existence are picking up the entire travel tab for their 3,000 supporters who will make the journey to Anfield Saturday morning. Yes - money will continue to dominate and players salaries will increase to yet more record levels, but how comforting it is to know that at least one club is not only recognizing and paying lip service to the financial sacrifice their supporters are willing to endure - but they are actually doing something about it? Something tells me when the pictures from Anfield this weekend are boomed into living rooms, roadside tea shops and shanty towns across the globe, Stoke City will have cut a swathe into that gap they currently have with the champions who claim 659 million followers worldwide. Kicking Off with Arsenal v Aston Villa Saturday at 10:00am TSN Radio is your BPL home this season.Broadcast schedule available here: http://www.tsn.ca/toronto/feature/?fid=103193 You can reach and follow Noel Butler at:Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca @TheSoccerNoel on Twitter ' ' 'Cat Craig Butler has been fined for using his helmet to deliver a blow to an opponents helmet. As per league policy, fine amounts are not disclosed. ' ' 'ward Alex Tanguay, who played alongside Roy when the Avalanche won the 2001 Stanley Cup title. "The emotion and intensity of a first game probably got to him a little bit at the end. Hes fine." The Avs are certainly feeding off his energy this year as they try to turn around a franchise thats missed the playoffs the last three seasons. "Were a passionate group and it starts with the guy behind the bench," Jamie McGinn said. "Hes really passionate about this game. He wants to win and it carries over." Overshadowed by the melee at the end was the performance of MacKinnon. Just a shade over 18 years old, he had two assists to become the youngest NHL player to record two or more points in a game since 1944, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. "There are some things I need to do better," MacKinnon said. "A couple passes, but I mean, there are a lot of things I can work on as well." Just the attitude Roy appreciates. "This is an opportunity there for him and he needs to be himself," Roy said. "With time, hell play a larger role on our team." Thats why he came to MacKinnons defence when he was hit by Lovejoy. "I think it was what needed to be done," Roy said. "The incident with Lovejoy going after Nathan at the end of the game, I thought that was something that was inappropriate. "This is the way I dealt with this one. Will I deal with it differently next time? Maybe. Or maybe not." NOTES: Captain Gabe Landeskog missed practice Thursday with a leg injury. Roy said hes being examined by a doctor. ... On Friday, MacKinnon will face good friend Seth Jones, the fourth overall pick by Nashville in June. Jones was drawn to the game in part because of Hall of Famer Joe Sakics influence when Jones father, Popeye, once suited up for the Denver Nuggets. "Its going to be fun to play against him," MacKinnon said. ' ' 'ome, so I just need to stick with that." Holland, who played only eight minutes against Carolina, is tied for third on the team in December scoring. Stats-Pack .949 – Save percentage for Jonathan Bernier over the past five games. 43-72 – Leafs in the face-off circle against the Hurricanes. 17:14 – Ice-time for Tyler Bozak in his return to the lineup against Carolina. 6 – Seasons with 20-plus goals for Phil Kessel. 8 – Points in the last five games for Bozak, who had three assists against the Hurricanes. 8 – Goals from the Toronto defence in the past 12 games. Along with Ranger, Dion Phaneuf scored his fourth marker of the season on Sunday. Special Teams Capsule PP: 0-2 Season: 22.3% (5th) PK: 1-2 Season: 77.5% (27th) Quote of the Night "I wasnt waving the pompoms to be involved with it to start with." -Randy Carlyle, on the upcoming Winter Classic. Up Next The Leafs face the Red Wings in Wednesdays Winter Classic. ' ' '