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Two superb goals by Alessandro Del Piero handed Juventus a 2-0 win at Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday and a place in the knockout stage with two games to spare.

Del Piero celebrates one of his two goals in the stunning win over Real Madrid. (GettyImages)

Holders Manchester United, former winners Bayern Munich and Ligue 1 champions Olympique Lyon moved a step closer to the last 16 but Arsenal still have work to do after a 0-0 home draw with Fenerbahce.

Sunderland manager Roy Keane was charged Tuesday with improper conduct by the Football Association after he was sent to the stands at half-time during his team’s 5-0 defeat away to Chelsea last weekend.
Former Manchester United midfielder Keane was told to leave the dugout by referee Martin Atkinson, having questioned decisions the official had made in the players’ tunnel during the break at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea coach Luiz Felipe Scolari said on Monday he was looking to gain at least a point from Tuesday’s Champions League clash against AS Roma in the Italian capital.

The Londoners are in control of Group A on seven points from three matches and should they win in the Stadio Olimpico, and Romanian debutants CFR 1907 Cluj beat Bordeaux, then Scolari’s men will have qualified for the knock-out phase.

That would be the first step en route to a return to Rome where the final will be held in May, but Scolari is concentrating on the job at hand and not looking too far ahead.

“It’s a long way to go to May and first we need to win tomorrow (Tuesday), or get a minimum of one point,” he said.

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It’s the slow season, so here at Devil Ball we’re looking at more than just the PGA Tour. That’s right, there is golf beyond Tiger! (Not much, but still.) And today, we kick off DB’s Celebrity Golfer Cavalcade with the most famous non-golfing golfer alive. Ladies and gentlemen, cover your heads and hide your children; Charles Barkley is on the tee.

” Heading into today’s final cut day, Patrick Ewing Jr. hadn’t heard much advice from his dad about the final 24 hours before the verdict.

“He probably never had to go through it,” Ewing Jr. said yesterday. “There’s not really much he can say to me ’cause I’m not worried about it.”

Ewing Jr., the rookie forward from Georgetown, is on the Knicks’ final-cut bubble, battling it out with two-guard Anthony Roberson. The decision is due today by 6 p.m.

“At one point, when things were looking grim in a difficult and messy third quarter, Justin Tuck looked around and saw all those yellow towels swirling and heard the noise cascading down. In that moment, he had a most unusual thought.

There’s no place he’d rather be.

As many as eight N.F.L. players, including Saints running back Deuce McAllister, face suspensions after testing positive for performance-enhancing substances, according to people briefed on the matter.

McAllister, Saints defensive end Will Smith and at least one other player tested positive for the substance bumetanide, a diuretic that can also be used as a masking agent, they said. Smith and McAllister had been using the weight-loss supplement Star Caps, which contained bumetanide, according to one person briefed on the matter. Star Caps is widely available at supplement and nutrition stores.

ST. PETERSBURG — Joe Maddon appears the obvious front-runner for the official AL Manager of the Year Award that will be presented next month by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.

But he said Thursday that he couldn’t be more thrilled than to be honored by his peers and voted the Sporting News’ top skipper by a panel of 18 managers.

“Anytime you win an award or are part of a group where you are voted in by a group of your peers, it’s most rewarding, gratifying,” Maddon said. “It means the most.”

Executive vice president Andrew Friedman said Maddon deserved to be recognized for leading the Rays to a 97-65 record and the AL East title, but that the manager did just as well in 2007 when they were 66-96.

Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf was back on the ice Thursday, “100 percent ready to go” in preparation for Friday night’s game against the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place.

After missing Tuesday night’s 3-2, shootout victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs because of an abscessed tooth that required intense dental treatment that morning, Getzlaf was just glad to feel like himself during practice at Carleton College in Ottawa.

“Things are back to normal,” he said. “I had a chance to clear my head and get off the medication. We got everything solved at the dentist.”

Getzlaf, who had experienced similar dental problems earlier in his career, got progressively worse after taking a high-stick to the mouth Oct. 14 in a 6-3 loss to the Kings at Staples Center. He played in three more games last week, including Sunday’s 3-1 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at Honda Center before things got out of hand.

ST. PETERSBURG Once again, the Rays responded.

They didn’t have to win Thursday to stay alive in the World Series, but heading to Philadelphia needing to win two out of three just to bring it back home would not have been an ideal formula for success.

While there’s still a chance they could be knocked out before a return trip to Tropicana Field after they dropped homefield advantage in the opener, the Rays will be able to prepare a bit more confidently today after dispatching the Phillies 4-2 in Game 2.