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BERLIN -- Unbeaten Bayern Munich defeated visiting Hamburger SV 3-1 for the Bundesligas unofficial title of "autumn champion" on Saturday, while Borussia Dortmund could only draw 2-2 at Hoffenheim. Goals from Mario Mandzukic in the 42nd minute and Mario Goetze 10 minutes later put Bayern in a comfortable position before Hamburg striker Pierre-Michel Lasogga scored with three minutes remaining. Xherdan Shaqiri scored in injury time to ensure Bayern won its 950th Bundesliga game and its last of the year. The side will next appear in the Club World Club semifinals in Morocco. Dortmund came from two goals down at Hoffenheim, but missed a host of chances as it fell 12 points off the pace. Also, Hannover came from three goals down to draw 3-3 with Nuremberg, Augsburg defeated Eintracht Braunschweig 4-1 and Borussia Moenchengladbachs six-game winning streak came to an end in a 0-0 draw at Mainz. "We can live with it," Moenchengladbach coach Lucien Favre said. Wolfsburg defeated Stuttgart 3-1 at home in the late match, the latest Bundesliga game to feature a goal-line incident. With the game still scoreless, Stuttgarts Timo Werner was denied a goal when Robin Knoche cleared off the line. TV replays appeared to show the ball crossing the line but, despite Stuttgarts furious protests, it wasnt given. Wolfsburg went 2-0 up through free kicks from Ricardo Rodriguez and Diego in the 38th and 53rd respectively, four minutes before Werner pulled one back with a powerful volley. Ivan Perisic effectively dashed Stuttgarts hopes in the 78th when he scored at the second attempt after Ulreich saved his first effort. Bayern is the first Bundesliga side to rack up 44 points from its first 16 games, while its unbeaten run of 41 games is a league record. With his eye on the upcoming trip to Morocco, Bayern coach Pep Guardiola opted to leave Franck Ribery and David Alaba on the substitutes bench. Hamburg, which had conceded 20 goals in its previous three league visits to Munich, made the better start before Bayern gradually assumed control. Toni Kroos unlocked the Hamburg defence with a brilliant ball over the top for Rafinha to cross for Mandzukic, who scored with a helpful shove on Jonathan Tah. There was no disputing the quality of Goetzes fourth league goal of the season. The Germany midfielder controlled Thiago Alcantaras pass with his first touch on the volley, then swiveled to dispatch the ball inside the left post with his next. Lasoggas fine strike under the crossbar injected some interest in the closing minutes, before Shaqiri held off a defender and fired inside the near post to remove any doubt. "Now we fly to Morocco to win the last tournament of the year," said Guardiola, who has made the most successful start as a coach in the Bundesliga. Dortmund had a goal ruled out early on for offside in Sinsheim, where Sven Schipplock chipped Dortmund goalkeeper Mitch Langerak to celebrate his Hoffenheim contract extension with the opening goal in the 18th. Roberto Firmino played the final pass in a well-worked counterattack. Hoffenheim was more efficient and Kevin Volland made it 2-0 in the 37th. A mistake from Hoffenheim goalkeeper Jens Grahl, when he dropped a simple corner and Jannik Vestergaard failed to clear, allowed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to reply for Dortmund in the 44th. Lukasz Piszczek equalized in the 67th. Henrikh Mkhitaryan should have scored minutes later, and Grahl deflected Lewandowskis effort onto the post, before Volland missed a great chance to win it at the other end. "In the end a win wouldnt have been undeserved," Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp said. "But we could also have lost." Nuremberg looked set for its first win in the Bundesliga this season when Adam Hlousek scored with a deflected shot in the 30th, Josip Drmic rounded the goalkeeper in the 38th, and Per Nilsson scored with a header three minutes later. But Leonardo Bittencourt pulled one back on the hour, and Mame Biram Diouf scored twice with three minutes remaining as Nurembergs Bundesliga record 16-game run without a win continued. Nurembergs players were particularly aggrieved by Dioufs first goal, which TV replays showed was offside. "The referee decided the game. I cant put it into words," Nuremberg goalkeeper Raphael Schaefer said. "You cant make such a mistake. The referee brought Hannover back into the game with this wrong call." Braunschweig remains rooted to the bottom after the promoted sides 12th defeat of the season. "Our fans patience is now depleted. We have to prepare for stormy times," Braunschweig coach Torsten Lieberknecht said. . The weekend at Oriole Park has been less kind, with three players suffering varying degrees of injury. The worst ailment of the three, at least optically, is the deep bone bruise suffered by Adam Lind when he fouled a pitch off the top of his right foot in the sixth inning of Saturdays game. . Ted Ligety, Mikaela Shiffrin, Bode Miller and Tim Jitloff underlined the squads enormous potential on the Rettenbach glacier in Austria. . 31-Feb. 2. While organizers havent decided if itll be red or green clay, they feel their choice of surface will give the Americans an advantage over Britain, which is expected to be led by defending Wimbledon champion Andy Murray. . Speaking on Leafs Lunch with Bryan Hayes and Jamie McLennan on Thursday, Bernier said it was "very hard" at times being entrenched behind Jonathan Quick and is now excited at the prospect of getting an opportunity to compete with Reimer for the top spot with the Leafs. . James Erskine said Tuesday that Thorpe was "quite sick" in a Sydney hospital but dismissed media reports the swimmer might lose the use of his left arm. "Hes not in the intensive care," Erskine said.MINNEAPOLIS -- After three consecutive years of 90-plus losses, Minnesota Twins general manager Terry Ryan is hoping a rare in-season, free-agent signing will keep his team in contention the rest of the summer. Minnesota signed first baseman/designated hitter Kendrys Morales to a one-year, prorated, $12 million contract on Sunday. The Cuban-born slugger, who hit .277 with 23 homers and 80 RBIs in 156 games with the Seattle Mariners last season, has been in Miami working out while waiting to sign. "Why not the Twins?" Ryan asked during a press conference announcing the signing. "I read there were probably a handful of clubs that were chasing Kendrys. We were ahead of many of those clubs in the standings." The Twins have lost 291 games the last three seasons, but are 29-31 this year, five games back in the AL Central and 2 1/2 back in the wild card standings. Morales, who turns 31 on June 20, had been unsigned because teams were hesitant to surrender a compensatory first-round pick to sign him. Since the Twins signed him after the MLB draft, they do not have to give up a coveted pick. The prorated portion of Morales contract will total slightly more than $7.4 million. "It just made sense," said Ryan, who is back in the GM chair after stepping away during spring training to battle skin cancer. For Morales, the deal gives him an opportunity to provide some power to an inconsistent Twins offence in desperate need of a full-time designated hitter. "It wasnt easy for a baseball player to watch baseball games when he knows he can pllay," Morales said through an interpreter.dddddddddddd "But you have to be mentally tough and be prepared so when this opportunity does come around, youre ready to do what you gotta do." In 620 career games, Morales has 102 home runs and 345 RBIs. He also missed 1 1/2 years after breaking his leg celebrating a game-ending home run on May 29, 2010, when he was with the Los Angeles Angels. Since Morales is out of options and not injured, the Twins cant send him to the minors to shake off the rust from missing the seasons first 60 games. Hell work out with the team and take the field when hes ready. "Its a day to day thing, Ill be working out and talking to (manager Ron Gardenhire) and the coaching staff," Morales said. "When Im ready, Ill be in there. We just want to do it the right way." Morales greeted his new teammates in the clubhouse before Sundays game against the Houston Astros and spent some time with Tony Oliva, Minnesotas most famous Cuban-born player. Since the Twins arent known for making splashy moves, especially during the season, players viewed the signing as a signal from management that theyre serious about contending. "Its a good signing. A lot of us are real excited right now," Joe Mauer said. "It tells you how close this division is and us adding is definitely a great thing." To make room on the 25-man roster, Minnesota released Jason Kubel, who appeared in 798 games over parts of eight seasons with the Twins. He was hitting .224 this year, but just .158 since April. ' ' '
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