NEWS » At 247km (153.5 miles), it is the second

BERLIN -- Schalke defeated Hannover 2-0 to maintain its perfect start to the year and consolidate fourth place in the Bundesliga on Sunday. Matt Miazga Jersey . Jefferson Farfan opened the scoring in the 39th, converting from close range after Sead Kolasinac outran Hannover defender Marcelo on the left. Farfan instigated Schalkes second goal five minutes later, playing through a brilliant ball for Atsuto Uchida, who cut back for Klaas Jan Huntelaar and he in turn left it for the better positioned Max Meyer to stroke home. Huntelaar headed over early in the second half and Meyer drew a good stop from Hannover keeper Ron-Robert Zieler as the home side came closest to adding to the scoreline. "I think we played very well," Meyer said. "Thats three wins from three since the winter break. I think the training camp together did us well. It brought us closer together as a team." Schalke opened a four-point gap over Borussia Moenchengladbach to consolidate the last Champions League qualification place, while Hannover remains 10th after Tayfun Korkuts first defeat as coach. "Its a shame we couldnt get a point here," Zieler said. Already without injured captain Benedikt Hoewedes, Schalke has further concerns after defensive midfielder Roman Neustaedter went off with a knee injury in the first half, while Uchida went down clutching his knee late in the game. Schalke hosts Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League round-of-16 tie on Feb. 26. Augsburg continued its fine Bundesliga season with a 4-1 win at Stuttgart earlier Sunday, condemning the home side to its fifth consecutive loss. The visitors opened the scoring against the run of play in the 35th minute through Arkadiusz Milik and built on the lead when Halil Altintop sprung the offside trap for Andre Hahn to finish with aplomb in the 44th. Stuttgarts hopes effectively evaporated with Vedad Ibisevics sending off in the 53rd. TV replays showed the Bosnian striker struck out at Jan-Ingwer Callsen-Brackers face in an off-the-ball incident, leading the Augsburg defender to fall to the ground. Hahn scored his second of the game three minutes later for his ninth of the season. Konstantin Rausch pulled one back for Stuttgart in the 62nd, but Tobias Werner ended any hopes of an unlikely comeback two minutes later. Augsburg stretched its unbeaten run to eight league games and climbed to eighth, while Stuttgart is just two points off the relegation zone after its seventh defeat in eight games. "Its a difficult period. There were many negative highlights for us today," Stuttgart sports director Fredi Bobic said. "The first goal was the turning point. We had them under control for 30 minutes before that." Bayern Munich maintained its 13-point lead over Bayer Leverkusen with a 2-0 win at Nuremberg in the Bavarian derby on Saturday. DeAndre Yedlin Jersey . A player confirmed to TSN on the condition of anonymity that he received his ballot yesterday. Another confirms hes been told to expect his shortly. "The unions executive committee insists a strike vote does not mean were pushing away from the table," the player said. "But we want the league to know were serious about our position. Eric Wynalda Jersey . According to a report from ESPN, the veteran safety has signed another one-year deal with the team Raiders, the team that drafted him, and who he returned to last year after a long stint with the Green Bay Packers. https://www.cheapusasoccer.com/ . -- At the beginning of training camp, Andrew Bogut set a goal to play all 82 regular-season games and regain his place among the NBAs best centres.VIGGIANO, Italy -- A powerful final burst from Diego Ulissi helped the Italian cyclist win the fifth stage of the Giro dItalia on Wednesday, while Australian rider Michael Matthews retained the overall leaders pink jersey. Ulissi came from behind with 150 metres to go to cross the line solo, with his arms raised high in celebration at the end of the 203-kilometre (126-mile) leg from Taranto to Viggiano. Australias Cadel Evans was second, with Julian David Arredondo Moreno of Colombia third, both of them in a group which crossed a second behind Ulissi in the first uphill finish of this years Giro. "Starting as the big favourite is always difficult. I showed I was ready," Ulissi said. "So Im enjoying this moment. I wanted this win too against the big names who were up there in the finale of the stage." Weather again played a part, with wet and windy conditions, although there was sunshine on the five-kilometre (three-mile) climb to the finish. Matthews fought hard to stay near the front in the final kilometre and finished sixth. He will wear the pink jersey for a fourth day, a record for an Australian cyclist. The Orica-GreenEdge rider extended his lead to 14 seconds, with Dutchman Pieter Weening moving into second spot. Evans is third. "I think the boys rode really well alll day, they worked hard to keep me out of the wind and of problems," Matthews said. Djordje Mihailovic Jersey. "I still havent won a stage, which I really wanted, but Im still in the pink jersey and well try again to fight to win tomorrows stage." Former champion Ryder Hesjedal of Victoria is 69th while Svein Tuft of Langley, B.C., is 171st. There was an early break of 11 riders and, although their lead rose and fell at several points, the Orica-led peloton was happy to control the gap to an average of four minutes. There were several attempted breaks up front with 30km (18.6 miles) to go, but none stuck and the group was back together on the penultimate climb -- the first ascent up to Viggiano -- just before the slippery roads caused the first big crash of the day. There were several more crashes as the rain made the tight and technical descent even trickier. Gianluca Brambilla attacked bravely on the descent, opening up a 30-second advantage, but Joaquin Rodriguezs Katusha team chased him down and he was caught on the final climb, setting up the scintillating finish. Thursdays stage is another hilly finish, up to Monte Cassino, the site of a major World War II battle. At 247km (153.5 miles), it is the second longest stage of this years race. The Giro ends in Trieste on June 1. ' ' '