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Whilst we are in the midst of the most enthralling title race in the BPL era, towards the foot of the table things of an ominous nature appear to be taking shape. Joe Girardi Jersey . If reports of apparent bullying at Villa Park and training ground punch-ups at Swansea were not bad enough for a pair of clubs whose recent form has dragged them into the end of season relegation dog fight, then what to make of the alleged leaking of Cardiffs starting XI ahead of their crucial encounter with fellow strugglers, Crystal Palace on April 5th. Almost a week would pass before we got the first indications of what Cardiff are now alleging. By this point the club had fired a member of staff and suspended another over the leaking of Solskjaers team to their relegation rival. Yesterday the BBC revealed Cardiff, in the form of a five page letter through their lawyers, had filed a formal complaint to the BPL. Within the letter it is alleged they have proof Palace knew the Cardiff team the day before the match. The central character in this saga appears to be Crystal Palaces sporting director Iain Moody, who was head of player recruitment at Cardiff until he was fired without explanation back in November. Cardiff further allege in their letter Crystal Palace manager Tony Pulis was aware Moody, through his contacts at the Welsh club, was attempting to obtain the Cardiff team. To his credit, in an interview with a UK tabloid, Moody dismissed the allegations and referred to them as, ‘extraordinarily untrue. Now add this into the mix. Dougie Freedman, who played for Palace in the mid-1990s and went on to manage the club during the 2011/12 season, is alleged by Cardiff to have mistakenly received a text message from Moody on April 4th. The text explicitly detailed Cardiffs starting XI and is also reported to name the source of the leak as Cardiff midfield player, Aron Gunnarsson. Freedman, who had met Cardiff boss Solskjaer when they took their coaching licenses, remained in touch with the ex-Manchester United player and called him after receiving the text. Solskjaer is reported to have not registered any formal complaint but had words with Pulis when they exchanged their team sheets an hour before April 5ths kick off between the two clubs. For its part the BPL, through a spokesperson, said it will stage an investigation. Cardiff is demanding the 3-0 result is nulled. In todays pre-match press conference ahead of tomorrows match against West Ham, Tony Pulis said he was willing to meet the league over the matter. In some circles Pulis is being mentioned as a candidate for the manager of the year following the incredible turn around at Selhurst Park. When the ex-Stoke boss took over in late November the club were firmly rooted at the bottom of the table, remarkably they now sit in mid-table respectability with the 11thspot. No matter what the outcome of the investigation, the fact this is part of the public debate casts significant embarrassment for a league and comes at such a pivotal time of the season. There is no precedent. Comparisons though are been drawn to 2007s relegation battle - when West Ham and Sheffield United were embroiled in legal action following West Hams last day relegation escape, which consigned this seasons FA Cup semi-finalists to the Championship. Carlos Tevez, who was on loan to West Ham, scored the winner at Old Trafford that day in a match they had to win. However, as the Argentine strikers rights at that time were owned by a 3rd party this was in serious contravention of BPL rules. West Ham was found guilty and fined £5m by the league. Sheffield United took the matter to court and eventually received £18m in compensation from the London club. For the three clubs who will suffer relegation this season to ease their drop into the Championship they will receive so termed ‘parachute payments amounting to approximately $100m over a four-year period. Even so, and as ever increasing amounts of money pours into English footballs top tier, it becomes inevitable clubs threatened by relegation will use any means necessary to secure their place in the most lucrative domestic league in all of world football. Over to you Mr. Scudamore. CITY WORLD BEATERSJust as reports surface UEFA will shortly put the 2012 BPL Champions on the Financial Fair Play naughty step it was revealed in the week by the splendid Sporting Intelligence website no team on planet sport pays more in compensation to their players. Sporting Intelligences annual Global Sports Salaries Survey is carried out in association with ESPN The Magazine. Manchester City players earn on average over $10m a season. Ominously for MLS the New York Yankees came in second place. NYCFC joins the league next season. MANU NYSEStaying with the Manchester, New York, and money theme, shares in Manchester United climbed over 10% Wednesday. The shares, which trade on the New York Stock Exchange, had been trending down since David Moyes took over last July. The dramatic move to the upside is thought to be related to the clubs next apparel deal that is expected to net the club well over $1 billion over a 10-year period. With first option to renew, Nike remain the favourites to secure the deal but reports indicate Manchester United are also in discussions with Adidas and PUMA. ANNUAL BPL GONGSEarlier today the Professional Footballers Association [PFA] released the nominations for this seasons Player of the Year and Young Player of the Year awards. Unsurprisingly, Liverpool dominates the six man shortlist for the main award. Led by captain Steven Gerrard, who won the award in 2006, Suarez and Sturridge also feature. A name that also appears on the shortlist and would have been on no ones thoughts before the season kicked off, is Southamptons Adam Lallana. The 24-year old Sturridge, who has scored 20 league goals this season, is also named in the Young Players category. Winners will be announced at the PFAs banquet April 27th. Cardiff Vs Stoke City - Live on the TSN2 Saturday 9:50am et/6:50am pt You can reach and follow Noel Butler at:Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca @TheSoccerNoel on Twitter Larry Bowa Jersey . -- The Detroit Lions made it crystal clear to Golden Tate that he was their top target in free agency. Cubs Jerseys China . Billy Hamilton finished off Cincinnatis biggest comeback of the season for a doubleheader sweep. https://www.cheapcubs.com/1910t-koji-uehara-jersey-cubs.html . He made the comment at a media availability Saturday prior to Game 2 of the Boston-Montreal playoff series when a Quebec reporter said there is sentiment in Quebec that the NHL looks more favourably on Seattle than Quebec City when it comes to future expansion. OKLAHOMA CITY -- The drama was sapped early from Oklahoma Citys blowout win over Utah, except for one detail. Thunder forward Kevin Durant is nearing Michael Jordans mark for consecutive games with at least 25 points. With the crowd buzzing late in the third quarter, Durant reached the mark for the 38th consecutive time, leaving him two games short of Jordans accomplishment, which is the most in the past 50 years. He finished with 31 points and nine assists to help Oklahoma City defeat the Jazz 116-96 on Sunday afternoon. Jordan did it for 40 straight games for the Chicago Bulls during the 1986-87 season. Durant is aware of the mark, but the NBAs leading scorer left worrying about it to the crowd at Chesapeake Energy Arena. "Im just going out there, playing my game," he said. "If it happens, cool. If it doesnt, cool. Thats how I approach it -- just playing within the offence. If a shots there, shoot it. If a pass is there, pass it. I try to play as simple as I can. If that (25 points or more) comes with it, then so be it, but if not, Im not going to lose any sleep." Durant was fouled on a 3-pointer with 4:02 left in the third quarter and was awarded three free throws. He scored his 24th point on the first one, and the crowd got into it before the second one. After he made it, the fans let out a loud cheer. He also made the third to give the Thunder an 84-56 lead. Durant extended the streak without playing in the fourth quarter for the second consecutive game. Russell Westbrook scored 19 points, Serge Ibaka had 17 points and Caron Butler added 15 for the Thunder, who have won six of seven. Oklahoma City shot 55 per cent from the field and made 11 of 18 3-pointers and 23 of 26 free throws. Enes Kanter had 18 points and 12 rebounds, Richard Jefferson scored 17 points and Gordon Hayward added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Jazz, who have lost four in a row. Utah trailed 11-0 before Jefferson finally scored with 7:34 left in the first quarter. Oklahoma City led 26-9 at the end of the quarter. It matched the fewest points the Thunder have allowed in any quarter this season and was the lowest for the Jazz in a first quarter this season. Utah missed the NBA low for an opening quarter this season by making a basket with 19.5 seconds left. "They were aggressive on the defensive end and we settleed for a lot of jump shots," Jazz coach Tyrone Corbin said. Ben Zobrist Cubs Jersey. "We missed jump shots and they were able to run the ball out on us. In that first quarter, I thought we were hungry for it, but thats what good teams do. They come out and try to bury you right from the beginning. They had a lot of success doing it in the first quarter." Haywards first basket came with 3:21 left in the first half. Even with his 3-point play, the Jazz still trailed 49-30. Oklahoma City led 59-40 at halftime, and it might have been a larger lead if Jefferson hadnt dropped in 15 points in the first half, well above his season average of 10.2 points per game. Durant scored 18 points in the first half on 6-for-8 shooting and helped the Thunder shoot 57 per cent before the break. Utah cut Oklahoma Citys lead to 89-77 late in the quarter before Durant hit a 3-pointer over Hayward with two seconds remaining to push the lead back up to 15 points. "That was tough," Utah forward Marvin Williams said. "That was a big three. It almost took the wind out of your sails, to fight so hard to get back to that position, to cut it to 12, thinking youre going to start the fourth at 12 (down), and he makes an amazing shot like that over a defender. It was a big shot. It kind of took the wind out of our sails, almost, a little bit, because we had fought so hard." Hayward scored 13 points in the period, and the Jazz scored 37 points on 60 per cent shooting. Utah scored 21 points in the final 3:44 of the third. The Thunder held on, and now, Oklahoma City can look ahead to Thursdays showdown with West leader San Antonio. The Spurs have won 17 in a row and are three games ahead of the Thunder for the best record in the West with nine games to go. "Just continue to play our brand of basketball," Butler said. "Play with a lot of energy and effort and do a good job defensively and stay on the same accord, and we will be fine." NOTES: Thunder G Reggie Jackson missed his second straight game with a mid-back sprain. ... Jazz G Alec Burks returned to action after missing the previous four games with a left ankle sprain. ... Utah missed its first seven shots. ... Oklahoma City won three of four against the Jazz this season. ... Utah, which has the worst record in the Western Conference, won the previous meeting 112-101. ' ' '