t. Nick Russell had 15 points to go with

A football education is not complete without a visit to the magnificent Westfalenstadion in the heartland of industrial Germany. Anyone who graduates this test does so with a smile on their face. Borussia Dortmund has that effect on people. The club is to football lovers, what Christmas is to children; leaving you with a warm feeling, full of stories about something that is done right. It happened to me at the World Cup with my wife in 2006 and this past week English journalists, in town for Arsenals visit to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League, typed at great lengths about their love for the club. Dortmund is everyones second team wrote John Cross of the Daily Mirror who was clearly enamoured by the surroundings. He wasnt alone. Arsenal, though, were not in town for a sightseeing trip. The great aspect of sport remains its unpredictability. Arsenals performance in Dortmund on Wednesday flipped the script and made them the main characters in a fascinating subplot, known as Group F of this seasons Champions League campaign. No English club had ever won in Dortmund before Aaron Ramsey headed in Arsenals winning goal in front of their travelling fans, who up until then had played the part of non-speaking extras inside a theatre dominated by a chorus of passionate, singing bees. It gave the Gunners a sensational 1-0 victory, their 14th win in their last 15 away games in all competitions dating back to their last win in Germany, when they defeated the soon-to-be European Champions Bayern Munich in March. Yes, in 2013, a club still searching for respect in its homeland has beaten both teams who made the Champions League final, at home. Their last win in Germany ended their Champions League journey for another year; its latest win opened up a whole host of possibilities. Not only did it place Arsene Wengers men in pole position to qualify for the knockout stages for the 14th year in a row it also means they have a great shot at winning the group, something they have accomplished just twice in the last five years. No team has felt the importance of this more than Arsenal in recent years. "Perhaps, we have been very unlucky with our opponents," said Wenger earlier this season on their failures in Europes top competition. It is true the last 16 has often presented them with a tough opponent, including eventual winners Barcelona in 2011 and Bayern Munich last season, but it is equally true that Arsenal have blown crucial opportunities to win their group and avoid such a difficult draw. For those in England struggling to believe in Arsenal, Wednesdays victory showed glimpses of another side to the Gunners, a much more mature display to their game, full of belief in themselves even when they were against the ropes. Dortmund, who had scored in 59 of their last 60 home games heading in, dominated much of the games best chances but rarely threatened the centre-back core of Laurent Koscielny, again excellent in the Champions League, and Per Mertesacker. Aside from a torrid fifteen minute spell at the start of the second half, Wengers men, crucially, seemed in control of their emotions, if not the game. They had learned to keep things tight and remain content with the score level, something they struggled with at home to Dortmund last month. Santi Cazorla and Tomas Rosicky, creators so used to coming inside to work and combine with Olivier Giroud, stayed wide and tracked their opponents. Their football intelligence shone. Dortmund wanted to stretch the game and Arsenal played them at their own game even if some of their key men struggled at times. Mesut Ozil and Giroud couldnt combine as they like to while Mikel Arteta, desperate for a partner to help him be the guardian of the gates, at times seemed to struggle with the flow of the game but such scenarios, against a team who had won all eight of their home matches this season, will surely have been anticipated. Few teams in the world transition as well as Dortmund, who explode in numbers the moment they turn over the ball, and on another night Arteta, as the principal holder in midfield, could have been exposed but Arsenal withstood the pressure and still found a moment to shine themselves. Rosicky, a poster child for a former Dortmund team of debt and disarray, played a superb one-two with Ramsey before unleashing Ozil on the right. The German, whose presence has done so much to install a new belief in Arsenal, crossed a ball in dangerously that wasnt dealt with by Dortmunds defence, allowing Ramsey to continue a dream season by heading home. Suddenly Arsenal found themselves, much like many before them, smiling inside the iconic Westfalenstadion. On Wednesday night they board a plane back to a land where many still wait for their match at Manchester United on Sunday to see if they are for real. They neednt bother. The facts are clear. Win, lose or draw on Sunday, Arsenal are still a far superior side to the one that played for the majority of last season and are finally a team that is looking like one that is coached properly. Whether or not that makes them title contenders remains unclear and only the future will declare the verdict. What was declared on Wednesday was people need to find a middle ground when analyzing this club. How they match up against Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City over 38 games is irrelevant in November. Right now, Arsenal are playing a level of football their high-paying fans expect and those searching to see what they will do come May are losing sight of special performances and it doesnt get much better than a win at the Westfalenstadion. Cheap Air Jordan 13 . Pedroia reached the milestone with a little panache, hitting a grand slam in the sixth inning and propelling the Boston Red Sox to a 7-1 win over the Oakland Athletics on Friday night. Jordan 13 For Sale Cheap Real . Their 9-19 record remains identical to the crosstown rivals in Brooklyn and trails both Toronto and Boston in the Atlantic Division. Raymond Felton, their declining point guard, is back on the sideline nursing his third injury of the season. http://www.cheapairjordan13.net/.Gasol had 16 points and 13 rebounds, and the Bulls beat the winless Orlando Magic 98-90 on Tuesday night.Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 21 points and Taj Gibson added 16 for Chicago, which finally pulled away in the final minutes of a game that was tied after three quarters. Jordan 13 Cheap China . Hargreaves began his career in 2008 with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers and has played with the Edmonton Eskimos and last season with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. Jordan 13 Retro Cheap .com) - The Tennessee Titans agreed to terms with running back Jackie Battle on a one-year contract Friday.DALLAS -- Moody Madness indeed, and quicker than even Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown thought. Nick Russell had 15 points to go with a couple of big steals as SMU beat No. 7 Cincinnati 76-55 on Saturday night, ending the Bearcats 15-game winning streak. It was the Mustangs third win over a Top 25 team in seven games since moving back into renovated Moody Coliseum on campus five weeks ago. "If we didnt have a good team, all wed have is a beautiful building," said Brown, in his second season at SMU. "I didnt imagine it would be like this this quickly. But I was hopeful that we could get it that people wanted to see our team play and appreciate the fact that were playing hard and playing the right way." Before their recent surge, the Mustangs (19-5, 8-3 American Athletic Conference) hadnt defeated a ranked opponent anywhere since December 2003. They hadnt had multiple wins against Top 25 teams in the same season since 1984-85, the last time SMU appeared in the poll. They reached as high as No. 2 that season. After this one, fans rushed the floor to celebrate. "It was crazy," said Cannen Cunningham, who had 11 points. "Everybodys my best friend now." Russell had two steals in less than a minute that led to breakaway baskets, with a 3-pointer from Nic Moore in between, to cap an 11-0 run by the Mustangs after Cincinnati (22-3, 11-1) cut the gap to 48-41 midway through the second half. "Theres not much to say. They beat us in every facet of the game," Bearcats coach Mick Cronin said. "We didnt meet the challenge. ... I think we just got rattled, no question about it. We didnt show poise." Cincinnati, with its highest ranking in 10 years, hadnt lost since dropping consecutive games against New Mexico and Xavier in the first half of December. The Bearcats beat SMU 65-57 at home in thee AAC opener on New Years Day.dddddddddddd Ben Moore also had 15 points for SMU, while Nic Moore scored 14. AAC scoring leader Sean Kilpatrick led Cincinnati with 22 points on 5-of-18 shooting, including 3 for 12 on 3-pointers. The Bearcats scored six points in a row to make it 48-41, the closest they had been since there were 3 minutes left in the first half, when Titus Rubles hit two free throws after being fouled on a breakaway drive after stealing a pass. They didnt get any closer after Russell made a layup after Markus Kennedy broke through two defenders and passed him the ball. SMU was back up 59-41 with 8:13 left when Russell had a steal and broke free for a thunderous, one-handed dunk. Nic Moore hit a 3-pointer right before that, after Ben Moores breakaway layup that came after another steal by Russell. "When Nick got a steal and they didnt even try to run back with him, I figured it was over," Cunningham said. The sellout crowd in the 7,000-seat building broke into chants of "Larry! Larry! Larry!" several times -- from before tipoff until late in the game. While students at one end serenaded Cincinnati players with "Over-rated," students sitting at the end near Brown and the SMU bench yelled out "Under-rated!" Maybe that wont be the case any more for the Mustangs after another convincing victory over a ranked team. The Mustangs won all six of their home games played off campus before re-opening Moody Coliseum with a 74-65 win Jan. 4 over then-No. 17 UConn. Last Saturday, SMU beat then-No. 22 Memphis 87-72. "At the beginning of the year, we knew that we believed in each other, but not a lot of people did," Russell said. "Im sure nobody expected us to be here. We knew what we had: Weve got a great coach, a great coaching staff -- the skys the limit." ' ' '