Aston Villa are close to announcing Roberto Di Matteo as their new manager with Steve Clarke his assistant, according to Sky sources. The clubs new owner Dr Tony Xia is understood to have been impressed with Di Matteos CV and his plans for the Villa squad, but despite reports circulating that the deal was done, Sky Sports News HQ reporter Pete Colley says nothing is signed yet.They are negotiating, he said. Roberto Di Matteo is trying to bring in an assistant in Steve Clarke. The negotiations are going well and should be wrapped up on Friday morning. Who is Tony Xia? All you need to know about Villas new owner We are expecting a statement at some point on Friday. We are also expecting Di Matteo to arrive at Villa on Friday, but I am hearing that there will be no parading of the new manager. They want to get this over the line, so that he can get down to work and try to get Aston Villa back into the Premier League.The former Chelsea boss, who stepped down at Schalke a year ago after a seven-month spell at the German club, is understood to have been at the top of Villas wish-list ever since the takeover, with new owner Dr Tony Jiantong Xia looking to make a marquee appointment to replace Remi Garde. Di Matteos CV has impressed Villas new owner Di Matteo led Chelsea to Champions League glory in 2012, stepping up from his role as assistant to Andre Villas-Boas, only to leave six months later following a 3-0 Champions League defeat by Juventus.Burnley boss Sean Dyche and David Moyes have also been linked with the Villa Park vacancy. Damien Comolli was initially touted as a possible technical director but the former director of football at Liverpool is not aware of any interest and has had no contact with the Chinese consortium. Get Sky Sports Alerts Keep up to date during the close season. Your teams breaking news - direct to your mobile Also See: Taylor: Player retention key Villa can be worlds most famous Xia promises millions for Villa Xia confident over league test . Toronto FC hosts the three-time Italian league champions in a friendly Aug. 7 at BMO Field, a game that Roma CEO Italo Zanzi said falls within a key part of their pre-season. . Reimer told TSNs Mark Masters on Tuesday that he doesnt know if he will be moved leading up to the March 5 trade deadline but added he wasnt interested in discussing it. "Who knows whats going to happen on the horizon here and right now I dont know if I want to talk about it too much.
http://www.officialredsoxfanstore.com/a ... ox-jersey/. Bryant underwent an operation in December to correct an irregular heartbeat. His season ended with four games left because of a rapid heartbeat, a condition he has known about for several years and had been treated for in the past. . Osmond, of Marystown, N.L., fell in the middle of her routine and placed fifth in the ladies free skate at Iceberg Skating Palace (110.73 points), but that was all the Canadians needed after a strong performance by Kevin Reynolds in the mens free earlier Sunday. . "Im not even that added up," the 39-year-old Australian replied. And to the Hall of Famers surprise, when all the math was done Sunday in the JTBC Founders Cup, she was the one posing for pictures with the big trophy.Raleigh, NC (SportsNetwork.com) - Thomas Greiss came up with 32 saves to help the Pittsburgh Penguins exact some revenge on the Carolina Hurricanes with a 3-2 victory. The Penguins supported Greiss solid effort with first-period goals by Chris Kunitz and Robert Bortuzzo, with Christian Ehrhoff netting the eventual game-winner in the third as Pittsburgh bounced back from a 4-2 home loss to the Hurricanes on Friday. I thought the intensity tonight, our battle level was certainly a lot higher than last night, Penguins head coach Mike Johnston said. Justin Faulk scored just over 3 1/2 minutes in to give Carolina an early edge, but the Hurricanes didnt get another past Greiss until Eric Staals power- play tally with 11.7 seconds remaining. Anton Khudobin stopped 30 shots in the loss, Carolinas fourth in five games. Saturdays rematch began with a flurry of goals, with Pittsburgh scoring twice and the Hurricanes once during the first six minutes of play. An early penalty to Bortuzzo allowed Carolina to strike first, with Faulk one- timing a long drive past Greiss just 22 seconds into the power play and 3:39 into the contest. The Penguins answered almost immediately. Kunitz dumped the puck into the Carolina zone off the ensuing faceoff, and Evgeni Malkin retrieved it before skating around the net and dropping a pass that Kunitz rifled home a mere 17 seconds following Faulks goal. Bortuzzo then put Pittsburgh ahead less than two minutes later, skating right by two Hurricaane defenders and beating Khudobin stick-side at the 5:32 mark.dddddddddddd You dont want to give up a goal right after you score one, Faulk said. Thats not the way you want things to go, and its something that in the long run, drained some momentum from us. The action settled down thereafter, with the clubs playing to a scoreless second despite the Hurricanes putting up 14 shots on Greiss and having three power-play opportunities. Carolina generated fewer chances in the final period, and fell behind by a 3-1 count when Ehrhoff rushed up the ice and snuck the rebound of his initial attempt under Khudobins skate for the offseason pickups first goal as a Penguin, which came with 4:33 remaining. Our defense tonight, two big goals from Bortuzzo and Ehrhoff. Those were key goals, obviously, in a tight checking game, said Johnston. Staal made it interesting by successfully re-directing Victor Rasks blast with Khudobin pulled in the final seconds, too late for Carolina to mount a serious comeback. Game Notes The Penguins scratched defenseman Kris Letang prior to the game with an lower-body injury, while forward Marcel Goc also sat out with an ailing foot ... Faulk added an assist on Staals late goal, while Rask assisted on both Carolina scores ... Pittsburgh has now won four straight meetings with the Hurricanes in Raleigh ... Carolina has just one winning streak this season, a four-game run from Nov. 1-7. ' ' '
