Bayern Munichs main title rivals all slipped up last weekend, leaving them more in competition with each other for European qualification places than for the German championship. Kyle Fuller Womens Jersey . Bayern continues its march at Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday, while second-place Bayer Leverkusen hosts Stuttgart on Saturday. Third-place Dortmund gets the 19th round of games underway at bottom side Eintracht Braunschweig on Friday. LEAGUE OVER?Bayern Munich was 14 minutes from its first loss of the season Wednesday, down 1-0 at Stuttgart with its league-record unbeaten run on the line, before Claudio Pizarro equalized and Thiago Alcantara sealed the sides 16th victory from 18 games. It was the manner of the Spaniards goal that stole the headlines, a spectacular overhead kick to win the game in injury time, but it also stretched Bayerns commanding lead over Bayer Leverkusen to 13 points, with Borussia Dortmund another four behind after 18 games. Bayern hasnt lost in the league in 43 games. At the same stage last season, Bayern led Bayer Leverkusen by nine points and Borussia Dortmund by 12. Jupp Heynckes side went on to clinch the quickest ever Bundesliga title. His successor, Pep Guardiola, is already well ahead of his pace. DORTMUND DEPRESSIONJakub Blaszczykowskis season-ending injury - the Poland captain tore his cruciate ligament in last weekends 2-2 draw at home with Augsburg - is just the latest serious injury blow to Borussia Dortmunds faltering Bundesliga season. Dortmund has already had to contend with long-term injuries to defenders Lukasz Piszczek, Neven Subotic, Mats Hummels and Marcell Schmelzer, as well as influential midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, while dealing with the distraction of Polish striker Robert Lewandowskis end-of-season transfer to Bayern. German media reports suggest that Serbian attacking midfielder Milos Jojic is on the verge of signing from Partizan Belgrade, while Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg says Hertha Berlins Colombian striker Adrian Ramos is likely to be Lewandowskis replacement in the summer. HUNTELAAR RETURNSAfter a troublesome season so far, Schalkes mood visibly improved last Sunday with the return of Klaas Jan Huntelaar after five months out injured. The Dutch striker opened the scoring and his mere presence seemed to bring the best out of his teammates as they triumphed 3-0 at Hamburger SV. Adding to the new-found sense of optimism, all the sides above dropped points - with the exception of Bayern - allowing Schalke to climb to fifth, two points off Borussia Moenchengladbach in the last Champions League qualification place. Schalke hosts big-spending Wolfsburg, which is just a point behind and also aiming for fourth place, on Saturday. Huntelaar, who has 50 goals in 85 games for Schalke, is back just when hes needed most. "His presence alone does us the world of good," Schalke coach Jens Keller said. HAMBURG CRISISHamburger SV, the only Bundesliga side to have played every season, finds itself firmly in a battle against its first relegation after four defeats in succession. "Were going down if we keep going like this," Hamburg playmaker Rafael van der Vaart said after the latest defeat to Schalke left the side in the relegation play-off place. Hamburg fired Thorsten Fink as coach in September but has seen little to no improvement under replacement coach Bert van Marwijk. The Dutchmans job has been complicated by a host of injuries hitting a small squad. Standout striker Pierre-Michel Lasogga (nine goals) has been ruled out for two weeks, while defender Lam Zhi Gin is also ruled out against Hoffenheim. Defender Marcell Jansen is doubtful but goalkeeper Rene Adler could return. Last Sundays defeat to Schalke was the sixth loss in nine home games this season for Hamburg, which has conceded 41 goals. Only Hoffenheims record of 42 goals conceded is worse. A goalless draw is not expected on Sunday. LEVERKUSEN RUFFLING FEATHERSIn an effort to get more fans at games, Bayer Leverkusen has taken out advertising on public transport services in the area, but this has riled football fans in nearby Wuppertal. Since Monday, the Wuppertal suspension railway has been carrying the slogan: "Top class football: only 30 kilometres further." Wuppertaler SV chairman Achim Weber, whose side was relegated to the fifth tier because of insolvency, was not amused. "This Bayer-train goes right by our stadium all the time. Bayer are fishing in foreign waters," Weber told the Cologne-based Express newspaper. "We need every supporter. You dont do something like that." Leverkusen hosts Stuttgart on Saturday, when all fans, including Wuppertals, are welcome. Kyle Fuller White Jersey . -- Arron Afflalo didnt make a big fuss after his name wasnt among those announced this week as reserve selection for the All-Star game. Walter Payton Orange Jersey . Bortles, one of three quarterbacks vying to be the first taken in the NFL Draft in May alongside Bridgewater and Johnny Manziel, helped his cause by impressing scouts with a clean performance at the UCF Pro Day Wednesday, according to reports.LOS ANGELES -- Russell Westbrook scored 30 points in his return to the lineup, Kevin Durant added 27, and the Oklahoma City Thunder held off the Los Angeles Clippers 107-101 Wednesday night in a possible playoff preview. Serge Ibaka added 15 points for the Thunder, who had their starting five together for just the second time since Christmas Day. Westbrook had sat out two of the previous three games and has missed 34 games this season with a variety of injuries. Blake Griffin had 30 points and 12 rebounds, and Chris Paul added 25 points and eight assists for the Clippers, who could have owned the tiebreaker over the Thunder if they had won. Instead, the teams split their season series 2-2. Los Angeles rallied from a 15-point deficit in the fourth to twice get within a point, but the Clippers only lead was by one point in the first quarter. The Clippers big run had them trailing 94-93, with Paul sandwiching 3-pointers around Griffins free throw and DeAndre Jordan dunking off Darren Collisons miss to cap a 14-0 run with 5:03 to play. Jordan finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds. Griffin missed two free throws that would have tied the game at 97. Westbrooks putback dunk off Durants miss kept the Thunder ahead 99-95. Durants 3-pointer pushed their lead to 102-97 before Collison answered with a 3 to get the Clippers within two. Matt Barnes fouled Durant, who made both for a 104-100 lead. Paul missed the first and made the second free throw with 38 seconds left to keep the Clippers down by three. The final 38 seconds were a free throw contest, with the Thunder making 3 of 4 to close out the win. The Thunder are second in the West sstandings with four games remaining in the regular season; the Clippers are third with three to play. http://www.nflbearsus.com/Elite-Brandon-Marshall-Mens-1940s-Throwback-Jersey-Chicago-Bears-15-Autographed-Alternate-Navy-Blue-Nike-NFL-42.html. They could potentially meet in the second round of the playoffs. Oklahoma City opened the third on a 14-4 run, with four different players scoring in extending the lead to 73-58. Durant scored four in a row to push the Thunders lead to 81-64. Defensively, the Thunder forced the Clippers into a mistake-prone, eight-minute stretch that included four turnovers -- two each by Griffin and Paul -- and a series of missed shots. Led by five points from Paul and three by Griffin, the Clippers ran off nine in a row to get within eight before Reggie Jacksons 3-pointer sent the Thunder into the fourth leading 85-73. The Thunder led by 15 points when the Clippers offence put together a 20-10 run to trail 59-54 at halftime. Jordan starred in his own highlight reel, dunking three times, twice off alley-oop passes. Griffin got in a slam of his own and Hedo Turkoglu hit a 3-pointer that beat the shot clock and helped bring the Clippers back within single digits. Notes: The Thunder improved to 8-6 in the second game of a back-to-back. They were playing their 14th such set this season. ... Theres still no timetable for the return of Clippers G Jamal Crawford (sore left Achilles tendon) and F Danny Granger (strained left hamstring). Crawford has missed five straight games and Granger six. ... The Clippers are one win away from tying the franchise record of 56 wins in the regular season, set on the last day of the season a year ago. ... Rapper Drake and singer Rihanna, sitting separately, and former NBA guard Baron Davis attended the game. ' ' '
