State has its own dynamic freshman in DAngelo Russell. After e

ARGELES-GAZOST, France -- Vincenzo Nibali crushed everyone on the last mountain leg of the Tour de France on Thursday, all but ensuring he will be crowned champion when the race ends in Paris in three days. On the big, final climb of Stage 18, the Italian broke out of the peloton, chased down breakaway riders, and rode solo in front for the last eight kilometres (five miles) uphill. Nibali, who captured his fourth stage of the Tour, stuck out his tongue, tapped his chest, and raised a fist skyward as he finished the 145.5-kilometre (90-mile) leg more than a minute ahead of Thibaut Pinot of France, who was second. Rafal Majka of Poland, in third, was another two seconds back. The remarkable effort by Nibali, set to become the first Italian to win the Tour since Marco Pantani in 1998, essentially reduced the race drama to who will join him on the podium on the Champs-Elysees on Sunday. "I didnt want to lose command. My goal was to win here," Nibali said. "It was important to me to win another stage in the Pyrenees. The team worked really hard and this victory is for them." He is also set to become only the sixth rider to win all three Grand Tours of France, Italy and Spain. He won the 2013 Italian Giro and the 2010 Spanish Vuelta. One man basking at the finish line was Alexandre Vinokourov, the general manager of Nibalis Astana team, and a former rider who was expelled from the 2007 Tour for blood doping. He said the stage victory was "not by chance." "We said, we need to show that theres a boss," Vinokourov told French TV. The last time the term "boss" was used regularly at the Tour was when a doped-up Lance Armstrong won seven in a row. While three stages are left, Fridays is mostly flat and unlikely to allow a breakaway rider to gain time. The last real challenge will be Saturdays individual time trial, but Nibalis lead is so big -- 7 minutes, 10 seconds ahead of Pinot, and 7:23 ahead of Frances Jean-Christophe Peraud -- that it would take a disaster for him to lose the yellow jersey before Sunday. "It was a very good day," said Pinot, who rose a spot from third, "but Nibali is untouchable." The race for second heated up: Alejandro Valverde of Spain lost crucial seconds on the last climb and fell from second overall to fourth, two seconds slower than Peraud. But Valverde is considered a stronger time-trial rider than Pinot, and possibly Peraud. "Everything is possible," Valverde said. "Before, I was ahead, now Im behind, but its very tight. Im pretty happy." After setting off from Pau, riders tackled the famed Tourmalet pass -- the highest Pyrenean peak on this Tour -- before heading up to Hautacam ski station. Both climbs are among the toughest in professional cycling. Two breakaway riders, Mikel Nieve of Spain and Blel Kadri, a Frenchman who won Stage 8, were the first over Tourmalet more than 4 1/2 minutes ahead. But by the valley below, the duo had lost two minutes: Nibalis chasing bunch was gaining. That was partly because Valverdes Movistar squad bolted ahead in a challenge to Nibali. The Italian didnt let that last long, and Valverde was caught within a few minutes. By the foot of Hautacam, the main contenders were bunched together. Then, American Chris Horner, who beat second-place Nibali in the Vuelta last year, broke away. Nibali stayed with him, and then, rounding a curve and looking back for the peloton, burst ahead. Nibali said later he had memories of Horners Vuelta victory in mind. That said, Horner was little threat for the Tour title: He was about 35 minutes behind when the stage began. On the way up, Nibalis shoulder whacked the outstretched elbow of a woman speaking on a mobile phone on the side of road, with her back to the peloton. He winced briefly. "Happily, it wasnt serious for her or me," Nibali said. Stage 19 on Friday in southwestern France will likely end in a sprint finish, and Nibali and his Astana teammates will keep a close watch on the riders closest to him in the general classification. They are no longer rivals, nor challengers. Jordan 13 Sale Ireland . Van Slyke drove in a career-high four runs with two homers off struggling left-hander Tony Cingrani, and the Los Angeles Dodgers pulled away to a 6-2 victory over the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night, a rare comfortable win in their pitching-dominated series. Air Jordan 13 Ireland . Not because it was right, but because referees werent allowed to determine it was wrong. http://www.cheapairjordan13ireland.com/ . Mauer drove in two runs before leaving with an injury, Eduardo Nunez homered and the Minnesota Twins beat the Kansas City Royals 10-2 on Tuesday night. Authentic Jordan 13 For Sale . For the Bombers it has been a combination of things coming together at the most inappropriate moments in time. Quarterback, injuries, Canadian talent or depth and leadership are all issues. Trust me when I say being a Bomber is no fun right now in a city that embraces football the way Winnipeg does. While Buck Pierce will be getting another shot, I think Max Hall does deserve another opportunity. Jordan Retro 13 Wholesale . Lineup news, Fantasy tips and more in Scott Cullen’s Statistically Speaking. HEROES Blake Comeau – The Penguins winger had a hat trick in a 4-3 overtime win against Toronto.Columbus, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - Coming off an upset over a Top-25 foe, the Ohio State Buckeyes set their sights on a second consecutive ranked opponent, as they play host to the 16th-ranked Maryland Terrapins in a Big Ten matchup at Value City Arena on Thursday night. Thad Mattas Buckeyes were in the Top-25 this season, but a couple of league losses dropped the team from the ranks. Ohio State is on an upswing once again however, inching closer to admittance back into the polls, thanks to wins over Northwestern (69-67) and most recently, Indiana (82-70). The win over the Hoosiers this past weekend improved OSU to 16-5 overall and 5-3 in league play, good for a fourth-place tie with Indiana and Purdue. Mark Turgeons Terrapins have certainly acclimated themselves to their new conference, as they are in the midst of a strong campaign that has the team at 18-3 overall and 6-2 in the Big Ten, good for sole possession of second place, behind only Wisconsin (7-1). Maryland has won four of its last five games and comes in off a narrow 68-67 home win over Northwestern last time out. Ohio State owns a 4-2 series advantage against Maryland, with this marking the first-ever meeting as Big Ten rivals. These two teams met last year in Columbus as part of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, a game won by Ohio State, 76-60. The Terrapins saved their best for last, as a Dez Wells tip-in with under two seconds left to play propelled Maryland to a one-point win over Northwestern. Maryland, which trailed the entire game until the last 21 seconds, received 27 points from freshman guard Melo Trimble, as the 6-3 youngster was 8-of-18 from the floor and 9-of-10 from the free-throw line in the viictory.dddddddddddd Wells added 17 points to the cause for Maryland, which won despite shooting a mere .407 from the floor overall. Strong defense has been the fuel that has driven the Maryland bus this season. The Terrapins are averaging a modest 72.5 ppg, but are allowing just 63.0 ppg, while holding foes under 40 percent shooting (.392). Trimble has been superb in his first season in College Park, leading the team in scoring (16.3 ppg), assists (61) and steals (32). Forward Jake Layman (14.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg) represents frontcourt balance, while Wells (13.6 ppg) also has a penchant for scoring. Ohio State has its own dynamic freshman in DAngelo Russell. After erupting for a career-high 33 points against Northwestern, Russell posted 22 points and 10 assists in the upset win over Indiana last time out. For his efforts, he was named the Big Ten Player of the Week. There was plenty of offense to go around in the win over the Hoosiers, as the team shot a sizzling .623 from the floor overall. JaeSean Tate went 9-of-10 from the floor and poured in 20 points, while Marc Loving and Shannon Scott added 12 and 10 points, respectively. Russell is bucking for all-conference honors this season as one of the Big Tens most complete players. The 6-5 youngster ranks second in the conference in scoring (19.4 ppg) thanks in large part to his impressive .444 efficiency from long range. He is also averaging 5.2 rpg and 5.1 apg. Loving is a distant second in the scoring column for Ohio State at 11.3 ppg, followed closely by Sam Thompsons 10.1 ppg. With Russell leading the charge, OSU is averaging a robust 80.0 ppg, on a highly efficient .509 shooting (third nationally). ' ' '