MESSI USES HAT TRICK TO ETCH CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SCORING MARK
nicosia, cyprus Barcelona’s LionelMessi scored a hat trick to shatter the Champions League goal-scoring record by taking his tally in the competition to 74 in a 4-0 win over APOEL on Tuesday. The previous record of 71 had been set by former Real Madrid and Schalke striker Raul over the course of 142 matches.
Raul’s record fell whenMessi struck his first in the 38th minute to give Barcelona a 2-0 lead after Luis Suarez had opened the scoring. It was Messi’s 91st match in Europe’s top club competition.
Messi’s teammates swarmed around him to congratulate the Argentina star on his achievement.
He struck again in the 58th minute when a defense-splitting pass from Dani Alves put him through andMessi’s chip past Pardo bounced into the net off the post.
Messi completed the scoring in the 87th minute of the Group F match, completing his 28th Barcelona hat trick and his fifth in the Champions League.
Montgomery tomiss UCLA gameB
stanford, calif. » Stanfordwill be without top playmaker Ty Montgomery for the regular-season finale at No. 9 UCLA on Friday.
Cardinal coach David Shaw said Montgomery will sit out with a right shoulder injury but is hopeful to return for the team’s bowl game. The wide receiver and All-American kick returner was injured in the first quarter of Stanford’s 38-17 win at California last Saturday when he was tackled hard after a 14-yard catch.
Nance on watch list for award
laramie » Wyoming senior forward Larry Nance Jr. was named to the U.S. BasketballWriters Association’s watch list for the Oscar Robertson Trophy.
Nance is the onlyMountainWest player on the list.
Nance has helped the Cowboys to a 4-0 start to the 2014-15 season, averaging 12.3 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game.
He has scored in double figures in three games, including a season-high 21 points against Northern Colorado on Nov. 16.
The player of the year award will be announced in March.
• Minnesota sophomore guard DaqueinMcNeil was jailed Tuesday without bail after his arrest on a felony domestic-assault charge involving his girlfriend. McNeil was suspended from all team activities pending the investigation. McNeil was averaging 3.3 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 18.8 minutes per game.
• Metro State men’s basketball team is ranked No. 3 in the first National Association of Basketball Coaches NCAA Division II regular-season top 25 poll. CU-Colorado Springs, the only other RMAC program ranked, moved up toNo. 9 fromNo. 18. On the women’s side, ColoradoMesa is ranked No. 16.
Lions’ Raiola not fined for block
allen park, mich. » Detroit Lions center Dominic Raiola said he hasn’t been fined by the NFL for his cut block during a kneel-down at the end of the Lions’ loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday.
Raiola said he didn’t intentionally try to hurt anybody or try to do anything out of the ordinary, and he “would have gotten a FedEx letter” if he had.
Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman rejoined the U.S. women’s national gymnastics team, a major step as the two Olympic champions point toward a return to the 2016 Rio Games. The move means Douglas, the reigning Olympic all-around champion, and Raisman, a gold medalist on floor exercise, will be available to participate in international events starting in 2015. … The LPGA Teaching and Club Professionals announced Shirley Englehorn of Colorado Springs and Donna White of West Palm Beach, Fla., will be inducted into its Hall of Fame next year.
Footnotes.