MANCHESTER, England -- As Champions League rallying cries go, Gerard Pique struck an unusually downbeat tone for a Barcelona pla

MANCHESTER, England -- As Champions League rallying cries go, Gerard Pique struck an unusually downbeat tone for a Barcelona player. Willie Snead Jersey . Particularly when speaking in the stadium of Tuesdays opponent: Manchester City. "Maybe they dont fear us as before," Pique said on Monday, "because in the last two years we didnt win the Champions League." Uncertainty is seeping into the squad that was previously lauded as the greatest-ever, having won the Champions League three times since 2006. And it is showing as the round of 16 begins. Such pessimism, though, seems at odds with Barcas current outlook. The team is already through to the domestic cup final and top of the Spanish standings, albeit only on goal difference in a three-way tussle with Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, while Lionel Messi has 10 goals in 10 games since returning from a two-month injury layoff. "We are a team with a lot of players who won the World Cup (with Spain), the Champions League, leagues," said Pique, a former defender at Citys rival, Manchester United. "We can still be the best, but we have to show the world we can do it. Tomorrow is a great chance." It is also a chance to shift the attention away from Barcas most damaging crisis in years. Club president Sandro Rosell abruptly quit last month as he fights a lawsuit alleging he misappropriated funds by hiding the real cost of the signing of Brazil striker Neymar with false contracts. The saga has taken some of the sheen of footballing perfection off a Catalan football institution that is owned by its members and prides itself as being "more than a club." "We know within the club maybe in the last six months there were some things that we could not control (as) the players," Pique said. "All we can do is tomorrow on the pitch show the world we can still be the best." Their opponents, seen by some pundits as a "Mini-Barcelona," are on a turbo-charged mission -- funded by Abu Dhabi -- to become a global force. Not only is Citys board room populated by former Camp Nou executives, but the team attempts to play with similar stylish, short-passing moves. "City is one of the greatest teams in the world right now," coach Gerardo Martino said through a translator. "They are very similar to us, maybe they are a bit more direct but they have good possession ... if we dont have the ball its just pointless to turn up." Perhaps, thats not what the visiting fans want to hear. Losing over two legs would be hard for Martino to take, given the four-time European champions are taking on a team in its first knockout phase, and is third in the Premier League. "For the last six seasons, Barcelona has made it to the semifinals and the fans are used to that," Martino said. "It would be difficult to understand that we didnt go through." Delvin Breaux Jersey . The group of Slava Fetisov, Igor Larionov, Vladimir Konstantinov, Sergei Fedorov, & Slava Kozlov were a dominant force for The Wings at one point in the 90s. Alex Anzalone Youth Jersey .J. Hardy finally got in on the fun Saturday, against a likely opponent. http://www.authenticsaintssportsonline.com/saints-adrian-peterson-gold-jersey/ . Rudy Gay made the tying basket in regulation and a 3-pointer in overtime that gave Sacramento the lead for good, and Fredette scored a career-high 24 points to help the Kings beat the Knicks 106-101 on Wednesday night.FORT WORTH, Texas - Kyle Busch has a chance at another NASCAR trifecta.While out of contention for the Sprint Cup championship, Busch gets to go for a weekend sweep at Texas after winning the Nationwide Series race Saturday.It would be real special, certainly at another venue. I think that this opportunity for that (Sunday) would be something special, Busch said. I would certainly cherish it as much as the first.The win Saturday was Buschs 141st victory in NASCARs top three series and record-extending 70th in the Nationwide Series. He also was won 29 times in the Sprint Cup Series and his 42nd victory in the Camping World Truck Series came Friday night at the high-banked, 1 1/2-mile track.He has 15 victories this season, seven each in Nationwide and Truck and one in Cup. He starts ninth Sunday in the Cup race at Texas.Busch led 116 of 200 laps and finished 1 1/2 seconds ahead of Joey Logano, giving Joe Gibbs Racing its 100th Nationwide victory.Obviously, its a special moment for all the guys at Joe Gibbs Racing, Busch said. Im proud to be part of the effort, a small part of the effort.Busch also won Nationwide and truck races at Texas in the fall of 2009, but finished 11th in the Cup race to end the weekend after leading 232 laps. The following year, he did pull off a tripleheader sweep at Bristol.Nationwide season leader Chase Elliott finished fourth, moving 48 points ahead of Regan Smith with two races left. Smith finished 11thh. Max Unger Jersey. We really struggled to start the day, we qualified 11th and we were struggling to run 13th, and couldnt hardly get inside the top 10 early, Elliott said. For me , for us, to go from that to be able to battle into the top five ... it was a great team effort to be able to turn a really, really bad day into a decent finish for us.Elliott was the only top-five finisher who is eligible for the season title in NASCARs second-tier series. Ryan Blaney finished third, and Matt Kenseth was fifth.Elliott, who turns 19 later this month, got his first career Nationwide victory at Texas in April, winning in just his sixth start. He has won two more times.Busch led six times, while Logano was in front five times for 59 laps. There were six consecutive lead changes involving the two from Lap 59 to 180.It was interesting there for a little bit, Busch said. When we were out front, it was fun. Playing with Joey there for a little bit today — racing hard, I mean we werent playing with him — he had a fast car too. Having fun racing with him. ... We were back and forth quite a few times and he was bottom, I was top. If I was bottom he was top. We were all over. So, it was fun.Smith led for five laps when the leaders took their final green-flag stops with 20 laps left. Busch regained the lead on Lap 186, and held on from there.Busch has 11 NASCAR victories at Texas, seven in Nationwide, three in Truck and one in the Cup. Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Throwback Jerseys Camo China NFL Jerseys White NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Throwback Cheap Jerseys From China ' ' '