MANCHESTER, England -- While Manchester United stumbles along in the Premier League, Europe is proving to be a very welcome distraction for the English champions.Kyle Fuller Bears Jersey . United cemented top spot in Group A of the Champions League on Wednesday with a 1-0 victory over Real Sociedad, secured through the earliest goal in this seasons competition. Only 69 seconds had elapsed when Inigo Martinez clumsily booted the ball into his own net after a shot by Wayne Rooney, the matchs standout player by a distance, came back off the post following the strikers mazy run past three defenders. United couldnt grab the second goal its overall display deserved, with Antonio Valencia driving a shot against the post and Phil Jones having a header saved from point-blank range. But it still took a one-point lead in the group over Bayer Leverkusen and a big step toward qualification. "We should have won the game by three, four or five goals," Rooney said. "But Im happy we got the win, which was the most important (thing). We played some great stuff and defended well." Sociedad slipped to a third straight loss and only stayed alive in the match through Uniteds profligacy. The Spaniards did, though, hit the goal frame twice -- through Antoine Griezmanns free kick and Alberto de la Bellas mis-hit cross -- to guarantee a nervy finish at Old Trafford. "We need to get a bit more ruthless. We have to score more," said United manager David Moyes, whose team is languishing in eight points behind Premier League leader Arsenal after eight games. Moyes was without striker Robin van Persie because of toe and groin problems, but Rooney more than made up for the absence of the prolific Dutchman. Sharp and full of energy, Rooney is seemingly back to his very best form. He was at the heart of all Uniteds attacks and often at the end of them, volleying straight at goalkeeper Claudio Bravo in the 14th minute and then sending a scissor-kick over the bar soon after. "I was going to say it was back to the old Wayne Rooney," Moyes said, purring over the England striker. "But I think its better to say its the new Wayne Rooney." There was more noise than usual inside Old Trafford as United was trialing a special "singing section" in one corner of the stadium, in an unusual experiment undertaken to generate a better atmosphere at home games. Odes to many of the clubs greats -- Roy Keane, Matt Busby, George Best, Cristiano Ronaldo, among others -- were belted out one after the other on a chilly evening in northwest England. Barely a minute after kickoff, it was Rooneys name on their lips. After dancing around three would-be tacklers, Rooney curled in a shot from the angle that struck the post and rebounded out. Under pressure from Javier Hernandez, Martinez only succeeded in planting the ball into the corner of his own net from eight yards (meters) out. "It was a disastrous goal to concede," Sociedad coach Jagoba Arrasate said through a translator. "We never recovered from it." United has had a tendency to surrender the initiative in games this season and it happened again here, with Sociedad finding some joy toward the end of the first half. Haris Seferovic had a fierce long-range shot tipped over before Griezmann curled a free kick against the post three minutes before halftime. An increasingly concerned Moyes stepped out of his technical area to voice his displeasure. Sociedad resumed control after the break, overpowering a lightweight United midfield containing a 39-year-old Ryan Giggs, who nevertheless lasted the whole game. De la Bello sounded another warning by firing a cross against the top of David de Geas bar. United still looked dangerous, though. Jones should have increased the lead when he headed straight at Claudio Bravo from inside the six-yard box before Valencia drove a low shot against the base of the post. Rooney also had chances to kill the game off -- and claim a goal his performance merited -- but United had to settle for a narrow win. David Fales Bears Jersey . I feel bad for him right now. Its all slipping away for him and he knows it. Ego Ferguson Jersey . Brunelle scored once and set up three more as his Cape Breton Screaming Eagles defeated the visiting Acadie-Bathurst Titan 7-3 on Friday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action.LAS VEGAS -- UCLA went into the season with the uncertainty that comes with a new coach. The Bruins suffered their share of setbacks, a notable one just a week earlier. Once the Pac-12 tournament got rolling, the Bruins took off. Now, after trading body blows with one of the nations best defensive teams, UCLA takes home a Pac-12 championship in its first season under Steve Alford. Outlasting one of the best closing teams in basketball, UCLA knocked off No. 4 Arizona 75-71 in the conference tournament final on Saturday. "Weve got an edge to us now, its a lot of fun," Alford said. "To win a championship means a lot to us." They definitely earned this one, emerging from a battle of the Pac-12s best teams that featured big plays, big blows and floor burns. The Wildcats locked UCLA down in the second half after an offensive show in the first. The Bruins countered by doing the same thing to Arizona down the stretch, and then made the big plays against the big-play Wildcats to finish it off. UCLA point guard Kyle Anderson was at his all-around best, finishing with 21 points, 15 rebounds and five assists. Jordan Adams made a big 3-pointer with 45 seconds left and scored 19 points. Norman Powell scored 15 points and combined with David Wear to hit four free throws in the final five seconds. After three games in three days, the Bruins are Pac-12 champions and on a big roll headed into the NCAA tournament. "This gives us the confidence that we not only play with anybody, but beat anybody," Alford said. "But youve got to get hot and stay hot." Arizona (30-4) started flat defensively, clawed back behind its offence and shut down the Bruins through most of the second half. The Wildcats were unable to finish it off for one of the rare times this season, hurt by 10 missed free throws and questionable shot selection down the stretch. Nick Johnson led Arizona with 22 points and Kaleb Tarczewski added 12. Aaron Gordon had 11 points, eight rebounds and eight assists for the Wildcats, who may have lost out on a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament with the loss. "We lost a game we could have won," Arizona coach Sean Miller said. "Jordan Adams hit a great shot and I believe some of the things we learned in todays game will better serve us for the biggest prize, why we all doo this, and thats to hopefully advance next week in the NCAA tournament. Brandon Marshall Grey Jersey. " After 10 games in three days, the Pac-12 tournament came down to UCLA and Arizona, the top two seeds, on a big roll since arriving in Sin City. Arizona, the conferences regular-season champion, overwhelmed its first two opponents with its dont-let-them-breathe defence. The Wildcats raced into the tournament record books with their 32-point win over Utah in the quarterfinals and cranked up the highlight reel in the second half of its semifinal rout over Colorado, allowing 82 combined points in the two games. UCLA swamped Oregon in its opener, turning what was supposed to be a track meet into a stomping. The Bruins did the same thing to Stanford in the semifinals, all but putting the game out of reach in the opening five minutes. These teams met once during the regular season, Jan. 9 in Westwood. Arizona ended a three-game losing streak to the Bruins in that one, escaping with a 79-75 win despite 17 turnovers and blowing a 13-point lead in the final 6 1/2 minutes. UCLA had the advantage early in the rematch by doing what two previous tournament opponents couldnt: Score on the Wildcats. Pushing the pace at every turn, the Bruins got shots seemingly wherever and whenever they wanted. UCLA used a 12-0 run to go up 14-3 and kept pouring em in against one of the nations best defences. The Bruins hit 18 of 31 shots and scored 43 points in the first half -- more than Utah did the entire game against Arizona and matching Colorados total. "They came out and punched us in the mouth," Johnson said. The Wildcats kicked their offence into gear to get back in it, shaking off some questionable shots in the opening minutes with a string of 3-pointers, including three by Gabe York. Arizona shot 16 of 30, including 5 of 8 from the arc, to close to 43-40 at the half. The game turned from an offensive show to a defensive shutdown in the second, every possession a struggle to get off a pass, much less a good shot. Travis Wear and Gordon typified the effort of the entire game late in the half, sprinting from beyond midcourt, simultaneously diving and skidding across the floor for a loose ball. Wear came up with the ball and the Bruins the win, giving them a big notch on the belt in their first season under Alford. ' ' '
