BERLIN -- Hoffenheim defeated Bayer Leverkusen 3-2 in the Bundesliga on Sunday, handing the home side its eighth loss in nine games across all competitions, while Eintracht Frankfurt defeated Nuremberg 5-2 to ease its relegation fears. cheap jerseys from china . American defender Fabian Johnson crossed for Anthony Modeste to tuck the ball away in the 89th minute for Hoffenheim. The French striker pointed to the net in an apparent reference to the "ghost goal" scored by Stefan Kiessling in the sides last meeting, when the ball went through a hole in the sidenetting. Sead Salihovic put the visitors in front with a penalty in the 14th, after Roberto Hilbert handled in the area. Emir Spahic crossed for Kiessling to equalize with a header in the 39th, but there was an immediate brilliant response from Kevin Volland, who eluded Andres Guardado and lifted the ball over the Leverkusen keeper inside the far post. The home side equalized again through Simon Rolfes, set up by Lars Benders back-heel after Hoffenheim keeper Jens Grahl saved Guardados free kick. Modeste had the final say with his 10th goal of the season to increase the pressure on Leverkusen coach Sami Hyypia. Frankfurt earlier handed Nuremberg its fourth straight loss to leave the home side mired in the relegation zone. The visitors scored in the 21st minute when Stefan Aigner blocked Emanuel Pogatetz attempted clearance and crossed for Tranquillo Barnetta to score. Nuremberg was dealt a further blow when defender Ondrej Petrak suffered a suspected broken nose and concussion after receiving Joselus elbow to the face in a challenge. Nuremberg captain Raphael Schaefer suggested Joselu should have been sent off. "Its quite clear. Everyone can see it," the goalkeeper said. "Red card and we would have conceded two goals less." Aigner unselfishly set up Joselu in the 49th, and Alexander Madlung thought hed decided the game with Frankfurts third four minutes after that. "There was only fear in the first half. We played like a relegated team," Nuremberg coach Gertjan Veerbek said. But Josip Drmic scored the goal of the afternoon in the 64th, controlling Jose Campanas cross with his first touch and then firing high to far corner with his next, and Campana reduced the deficit further four minutes later with a shot from distance. Nurembergs revival was ended when Javier Pinola was sent off for bringing down Joselu as the last defender in the 80th. The Spanish striker decided the game on a counterattack in the 88th and set up Vaclav Kadlec for the visitors fifth in injury time. "The way I see it, we were lucky a red card wasnt issued (for Joselu). It would have been very close for us then," Aigner said. The result lifted Frankfurt to 12th, six points clear of Nuremberg and Hamburg in the relegation zone. "I got a sprain from celebrating. Incredible," Frankfurt coach Armin Veh said. wholesale jerseys . -- Stephen Strasburg says hes "ready to rock. cheap nfl jerseys . The eighth-year point guard played in his 500th career game on Sunday, a 98-93 win over the Orlando Magic. Does he feel like hes played in that many games? "No," he said initially, before reconsidering.WASHINGTON -- General manager George McPhee and coach Adam Oates lost their jobs with the Washington Capitals on Saturday, about two weeks after the team failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2007. "We were left with the overall impression that the team wasnt trending toward being able to compete for a Stanley Cup," Capitals owner Ted Leonsis said in a news conference at the clubs arena. "And that was just a clear signal and why it was time to make those changes." McPhees contract was up and the team announced it will not give him a new one after his 17 years as the GM, which included drafting Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom in the first round. Oates was fired with one season left on his three-year deal. A former star player for the Capitals, he was in his first job as an NHL head coach. Washington finished this season with the ninth-most points in the Eastern Conference, one spot out of a playoff berth. "You have to do something to pivot the team to be an ongoing strong team," Leonsis said. "And I just felt that new leadership at this time was needed, and lets start it with a clean slate." Asked whether any player would be untouchable as part of upcoming changes -- a chance, perhaps, for Leonsis to mention captain and top scorer Ovechkin -- the owner replied: "Im not the general manager. So If the general manager comes with something, we would listen to the general manager." Ovechkin has won three league MVP awards and again led the NHL in scoring this season with 51 goals, but the Capitals havent made it past the second round of the playoffs during the Russian wings career. Dick Patrick, the president of the Capitals, said the team already has drawn up a list of potential GM candidates. "Typically, youd like to have a general manager in place and have him choose a coach," Patrick said. The Capitals reached the Stanley Cup finals in 1998, McPhees first year on the job, and were swept by the Detroit Red Wings. Later, MMcPhee oversaw a "rebuild" ordered by Leonsis, including jettisoning top players with big contracts such as Jaromir Jagr. cheap jerseys. "Lets not forget that rebuilding process was dramatic. And I watched a great executive go through really, really hard times and really rebuild that team quickly. We just didnt get there," Leonsis said. "At some point, you just have to try something different." While McPhee eventually built a young roster filled with offensive stars, he never placed as much emphasis on constructing a rugged, defensive-minded blue line crop. He hired a succession of coaches with zero previous NHL experience running a team, including Glen Hanlon, Bruce Boudreau, Dale Hunter and Oates. Led by Ovechkin, the Capitals produced terrific regular-season results for a half-dozen seasons, without similar success in the post-season. Four years ago, Washington won the Presidents Trophy for having the most points during the season, then lost in the first round of the playoffs to the eighth-seeded Montreal Canadiens. Leonsis called McPhee, who built seven division-winning teams, "a talented man, a great friend," but that it was time for "a fresh set of eyes." The Capitals went 65-48-17 under Oates in his two seasons. In a brief statement released via the team, Oates called it "a tremendous honour to coach the Capitals these past two seasons" and said he was "grateful for the opportunity." In his first season in charge, which was shortened because of a labour dispute, Washington reached the playoffs with a late surge before losing in the first round to the New York Rangers in seven games. "We were a continuously improving playoff team until we werent. And the last two seasons showed us that we need to improve. And thats what it came down to," Leonsis said. "Dick and I said, We have to make that gut check. Do we have to change? And where do you start? And you start with the coach and the general manager." cheap jerseys ' ' '
