last season were eliminated in the quarterfinal

Borussia Dortmund were runners up in the Champions League two years ago and last season were eliminated in the quarterfinal round. Amazing then, that they have lost the Bundesliga title to Bayern Munich by 19 and 25 points in the past two seasons. Last seasons 19 point championship gap to second place was the largest in any of the major European leagues and also saw Bayern Munich become the earliest ever German Champions, clinching the title in March. Dortmund are once again the closest competitors with a chance of wrestling the crown away from Munich, but for the second season in a row it will be the defending champions spot to lose. In his second season at the helm, Pep Guardiola will have to deal with a long injury list to start the season as top names such as Thiago Alcantara, Bastian Schweinsteiger and Javi Martinez are all out for an extended period of time. Player of the year finalist Franck Ribery is also out to open the season still dealing with a back injury that caused him to miss the World Cup as well as knee problems that have bothered him more recently. The biggest move of the offseason however is the defection of Robert Lewandoski who has made the move from Dortmund to Munich, further strengthening the top team while dealing a major blow to the runner up. Arjen Robben starred in the World Cup with the Netherlands and proved to still be one of the most skilled players in the world. Can Juergen Klopps Borussia Dortmund side mount any kind of challenge for the top of the table? While they will suffer with the loss of Lewandoski, they have signed a few players to take his place in the lineup and will at least not be looking at taking a full step back offensively. Ciro Immobile and Adrian Ramos have joined the fray, while Marco Reus has returned from injury to help the cause. Wolfsburg, the team that will open the season against Bayern Munich, would need to have everything go perfect for them this season to have a chance at entering the title conversation. Nikolas Bendtner has made the move from Arsenal and will be their key man in attack. If they can steal a result in their opening contest it would go a long way to helping the confidence of the side. Schalke 04 have grabbed Sidney Sam away from Bayer Leverkusen and have also retained the services of Julian Draxler a young attacking midfielder key to their offensive game plan. Bayer Leverkusen finished in the top four last season and could be a player if they are able to come together under new head coach Roger Schmidt. The key to the season will of course be Bayern Munich but if they stumble there will be quality teams at their gate ready to storm into the picture. Cheap MLB Jerseys China . Its the games against the leagues struggling franchises that have proved to be an issue. Jerseys Cheap China . The defending champions sent their preliminary list to FIFA on Tuesday, with coach Vicente del Bosque to announce the final 23-man squad on May 25. Costa is set to lead the attack in his native Brazil, with Atletico Madrid teammate David Villa and Chelseas Fernando Torres also included, while David de Gea replaces injured goalkeeper Victor Valdes. http://www.nflwholesalejerseyscheapchina.com/.com) - Klay Thompson is quickly proving he is worth every penny of his recently signed four-year contract extension. Cheap NFL Jerseys China . The two-time former Formula One champion downplayed his third-place finish three weeks ago in China and said progress is going slow for Ferrari as it tries to make up ground on Mercedes. Wholesale Jerseys Cheap . Both sides came closest to scoring in the first half, when Roma had a goal from Mattia Destro waved off for offside and Inters Rodrigo Palacio headed high. "A draw was a fair result. Neither squad had many chances," Roma midfielder Miralem Pjanic said.FORT WORTH, Texas - PGA Tour rookie Brice Garnett grew up in a small Missouri town where his home course is a nine-hole layout. Garnett has gone from Daviess County Country Club and then Missouri Western State to leading at Hogans Alley after two rounds at Colonial. After starting with an eagle, Garnett shot a 4-under 66 on Friday and moved to 7-under 133. He had a one-stroke lead over long-putting Chris Stroud (64) and Robert Streb (68). "Im just keeping my head down and trying to make as many birdies as possible," Garnett said. "Im going to try to embrace it this weekend and have fun, and well see where we stand come Sunday." Adam Scott, playing as No. 1 in the world for the first time, had birdies on three of his last seven holes for a 68 to get to 1 under. He has made the cut in his last 34 PGA Tour events, the longest active streak. Matt Kuchar, ranked No. 4 in the world, had a chance to move to the top with a victory. But he missed the cut by a stroke at 2-over 142 after a 70. The 30-year-old Garnett is from Gallatin, Missouri, a town of about 1,800 people. He has only one top-10 finish in his 18 previous starts on the PGA Tour, and has never won on the Web.com Tour. This is the first time he has even been in the top 10 after the second or third round on the PGA Tour. "I think each and every week the rookies feel more comfortable. I know I have," Garnett said. You cant get down on yourself being a rookie. ... Its been fun, and Im learning each and every day." First-round leader Dustin Johnson (70) dropped into a seven-way tie for fourth at 5 under. That group also included Texas resident Jimmy Walker (68), a three-time winner this season and No. 1 in the FedEx Cup standings. Walker had a strange occurrence when his tee shot at the 17th hole appeared to nick a bird in flight — though the bird kept flying before Walker made another par. "We saw (the ball) fly the whole way and then it kind of disappeared over the ttrees," said Walker, the only player still without a bogey this week.dddddddddddd "I didnt see it." Stroud made five putts from over 20 feet, all coming in his last 12 holes. His made putts in the round combined for just under 221 feet, the most on the PGA Tour since Brent Geiberger covered 240 feet during the first round at Booz Allen in 2006. And Stroud did that using a new putter he picked up this week. "It has no lines on it. ... Ive been using another, but it had a bunch of lines on it," Stroud said. "I simplified my putting. Get over it, line up and try to bring the putter back square and back to the ball square at impact. Ive just been rolling it beautifully." Stroud drained a 16-footer on the 193-yard 13th hole, his third birdie of the day coming on his fourth hole. The Texas native was just getting started, with his first 20-footer coming at the par-3 16th when he made birdie from 23 1/2 feet. There was a 22-footer for birdie at the par-5 No. 1 hole, and he rolled in a 56-footer across the green at No. 4, the difficult 211-yard par 3. There was a 26-footer at No. 6 and yet another long birdie putt at his last par 3, a 34-footer at No. 8. "My driver has been bad. ... Ive hit it terrible the last two days. Really, really bad. But putted awesome," he said. "So I dont have to worry about the greens. I just need to get the ball on the greens. Usually its the opposite. I usually hit the ball really well and struggle to get the ball in the hole." On his final hole, the 406-yard dogleg-right ninth, Strouds approach was well left into a bleacher area near a concession stand. After a free drop and pitching to about 26 feet on the fringe, he two-putted from 26 feet for bogey. Tim Clark was 7 under and tied for the lead after four consecutive birdies only six holes into his round of 68. But he three-putted at the par-3 16th and didnt have another birdie until No. 9, his last hole, to get to 5 under and tied for fourth. ' ' '