Gareth Wheeler of TSN Radio 1050 Toronto offers his Midweek Musings for Match-day 24 in the Barclays Premier League. - Chelseas 1-0 win at the Etihad, spoiling Manchester Citys perfect home record continues to be the talking point of the week. Chelseas prudent defensive record and approach under Jose Mourinho always makes them a contender in all competitions. Tactically, the Portuguese is among the finest managers in the game. His public demeanour remains all over the place, providing fodder for argument. Despite sitting only two points back of Arsenal atop the table and having an easier schedule the rest of the way, Mourinho continues to downplay Chelseas title chances. Assessing the title race, Mourinho explains, "Two horses (Arsenal, Man City) and a little horse (Chelsea) that still needs milk and to learn how to jump. A horse that next season can race." Not sure if were getting the straight goods, straight from the horses mouth. Yes, Chelsea is a team in transformation as Mourinho finds players to ideally play his way. Add a striker and another centre-back for next season, and add the injured Marco van Ginkel into the fray, Chelsea promises to be scary good next season. That being said, Mourinho suggesting Chelsea is on the outside looking in is a fallacy. Mourinho cant believe it to be true. A trip to Anfield is as difficult as it gets away from Stamford Bridge. And his team is undefeated in their last 10. In this analysts eye, Chelsea are favourite to win the league. Downplaying Chelseas chances is an alternative type of psychological warfare. Sir Alex Fergusons Manchester United, who dominated the Premier League for the better part of the last two decades, were always full of belief, publicly and privately stating their intent in the title race. Its shocking Mourinho is using this tact when he has a team of millionaire superstars at his disposal. No matter what he says, Mourinho isnt fooling anyone. At the very least, it keeps things interesting. - City was down two key players in Mondays loss. Centre-midfielder Fernandhino and top striker Sergio Aguero missed the all-important occasion through injury. While Fernandhinos steady approach was missed, it paled in comparison to the void left by Aguero. While Citys other forwards are of high quality, they lack the same game-breaking ability of Aguero. 15 league goals in 15 games is an astounding record. A constant danger inside the box and lethal on his right foot, City lacked the Argentines cutting edge against a team difficult to penetrate. Its no coincidence David Silva is at his best with Aguero on the field. The movement off the ball makes the duo as difficult a combination to play against as any in world football. Matches against Chelsea in the FA Cup and Barcelona in the Champions League in the next two weeks, potentially without Aguero, raises true questions of whether City can truly compete in all four competitions. Aguero is that important. - As Mourinho continues to make a near seamless transition back into English football, David Moyes struggles at Manchester United remain. A 2-1 loss against lowly Stoke City, a team having picked up just one point in their previous six, compounds his problems. Moyes has made 83 changes to his starting XI in league games, 11 more than any other manager in the Premier League. Injuries have been an issue here, but no excuse for such poor form. The lack of involvement and interplay between attacking players was ultimately most disturbing at the Britannia. Michael Carrick being forced to centre-back is one thing, but the attacking players going MIA speaks to Moyes team approach lacking inspiration. Where are the fresh ideas? What is his teams identity? These questions cant be answered. And that is a failure. United are playing an unimaginative, passive, unaware brand of football. One has to wonder if a manager of alternate stature would be faring better at present time with this team. What if Mourinho was at Manchester United? Its difficult to think this same team would be in seventh place under the Portuguese leadership. Its a valid question to ask, as it seemed all along Mourinho wanted the Old Trafford job. And in his autobiography, Sir Alex Ferguson was full of praise of Mourinho and his managerial ability. Ferguson may have seen some of himself in Moyes. But did United need another Ferguson? Better question: can another Ferguson be cultivated in the present day climate? Moyes isnt going anywhere, for now. But its legitimate to question whether Ferguson picked the right successor for a new Manchester United. - Arsenal may be the most under-respected among title contenders. There has been a remarkable consistency in the side. The attacking flair and superior passing remains, even without Theo Walcott and Aaron Ramsey. The development of the centre-back partnership between Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker has been essential to the exceptional form. The spine of the team is arguably the strongest in the league, led by the duo. Arsenal remain undefeated since January 2012, a stretch of 31 games with Koscielny and Mertesacker both in the starting XI. The next two games are massive for Arsenal and potential title hopes. Back-to-back games at Liverpool and home to Manchester United are true tests. Full points would be a giant step towards ending their 10-year title drought. It would also silence the critics wondering where the January striker signing ended up. - The true importance of a manager will be tested now that Michael Laudrup has been sacked by Swansea City. Laudrup helped build on the accomplishments of Brendan Rodgers at the Welsh club, leading Swansea to their first major silverware in the clubs history and venturing into the previous unchartered territory of the Europa League. Injuries have decimated the team, with last years star player Michu a long-term absentee. The midfield has been torn apart, and the failure to bring back Ki-Sung Yueng off loan from Sunderland raised eyebrows. A vacation to Paris, dressing room turmoil, an uncertain future, and six points from their last 10 matches all contributed to his sacking. Fact remains Swansea have completed almost 600 more passes than any team in the league and still have the top pass accuracy. The stylish football is no fluke. Its progressive and refreshing. Credit Laudrup. With the short-term hiring of Garry Monk, the club is apparently choosing stability over style. A risk, not worth taking. It will be determined in short order the importance of style vs. stability. Id choose Laudrup. Now a relegation fight beckons under the veil of the great unknown. Good luck with that. - The Sunderland climb off the bottom continued with an emphatic 3-0 away derby win over Newcastle. Gus Poyets side is flying, with true competition for places in the side, and a good combination of strength and skill. As for Newcastle, its all gone pear-shaped. The loss of Yohan Cabaye was the first blow. Being without top goal scorer Loic Remy, suspended for three was the clincher. An in-form Remy and consistency from Hatem Ben Arfa will be essential to staying in the top half of the table. Some good news for Newcastle, the teams latest embarrassment, director of football Joe Kinnear has mercifully stepped aside, putting an end to experiment gone wrong from the get-go. Kinnear said hed be judged in the transfer window; he didnt sign one player last summer or in January. He did however state potential transfer interest in a player already at the club during a radio interview. An absolute nightmare. Alan Pardew now solely has to deal with the bad dreams. His team is a mess, again. - West Hams co-owner David Gold is threatening legal action over Andy Carrolls red against Swansea City. Carroll swung recklessly, albeit not making much contact, after challenging for an aerial ball with Chico Flores. Its difficult to judge intent, and if there was, it should always be an automatic sending off. Carroll now faces a three-match ban. Most troubling, West Ham believes Carrolls suspension could make-or-break the Hammers in their relegation fight. Scary thought. Carroll was involved in both West Ham goals last week, but has been an absolute nightmare in front of goal. His performances have been abysmal. And the player often looks lost. If West Ham is relying upon Carroll as saviour, they may as well already punch their ticket to the League Championship. Not good enough. Jim Sundberg Jersey . With the union re-formed, negotiations with owners will resume Friday on the remaining issues that would be in the collective bargaining agreement, according to a person familiar with the plans. Ariel Jurado Jersey .com) - The Carolina Hurricanes hope to remain perfect at home in January on Friday night as they welcome the Vancouver Canucks to PNC Arena. https://www.cheaprangersbaseball.com/. The Brewers finalized a US$36 million, three-year contract with free agent third baseman Aramis Ramirez on Wednesday, adding a much-needed bat to their lineup. Jose Trevino Jersey .Y. Islanders 4Winnipeg 5 Dallas 2Nashville 3 Colorado 0San Jose 5 Edmonton 2---AHLProvidence 5 St. Johns 4 (OT)Chicago 6 San Antonio 2---NBACleveland 105 Toronto 101Portland 98 Detroit 86New Orleans 104 New York 93Oklahoma City 114 Milwaukee 101Memphis 114 Dallas 105Miami 103 Phoenix 97Utah 100 San Antonio 96L. Juan Gonzalez Rangers Jersey . Louis Blues just continue to roll -- especially against the Nashville Predators. ATLANTA -- The last time Alex Wood started against Miami at Turner Field, he pitched eight strong innings before losing 1-0 to Jose Fernandez. More than four months later, even though Fernandez is out for the season with an elbow injury, Wood enjoyed a little payback. "Its probably a little different because going against Fernandez, hes got electric stuff," Wood said. "Its always fun going against guys like that. But this will probably top it just because we came out on top." Wood struck out 12 in eight dominant innings and Evan Gattis homered to help the Atlanta Braves beat the Marlins 1-0 on Sunday. Miami had gone 60 games without getting shut out, the longest active streak in the majors. Atlanta, which has won four of five and 11 of 15, remained 1 1/2 games out of the second NL wild-card spot. Craig Kimbrel earned his major league-high 41st save in 45 chances. Kimbrel retired Donovan Solano on a grounder and Giancarlo Stanton on a popup before giving up a single to Casey McGehee. The All-Star closer struck out pinch-hitter Garrett Jones to end it. Wood (10-10) matched his career high in strikeouts for the second time this month. The 23-year-old lefty, who improved to 3-2 with a 1.86 ERA in his last seven starts, gave up five hits and walked none. Wood had no problem with not getting a chance to earn his first career shutout when manager Fredi Gonzalez removed him for a pinch-hitter so Kimbrel could pitch the ninth. "I wouldve liked to go back out there, for sure," Wood said. "But thats the nature of the beast when you have the best closer in baseball." Gattis, who batted .237 in his previous 33 games after returning from a back injury, hit his 21st homer in the second. The Braves got just three runners in scoring position after that despite finishing with 11 hits. In the first five innings, Wood allowed two hits -- a leadoff single to Solano in the fourth and a one-out single to Jeff Baker in the second -- before Nathan Eovaldi, Christian Yelich and Solano loaded the bases with consecutive singles in the ssixth.dddddddddddd But Stanton, who was tied for tops in the majors with 98 RBIs, struck out on three pitches, and McGehee took a called third strike on a slow, inside curve to end the threat. "That was a huge situation," said Gattis, Atlantas catcher. "He went out there and pitched like it was no big deal. Just competing. You could see he was fired up. Just outstanding." Wood, mixing his fastball, curve and changeup to keep the Marlins guessing, threw strikes on 74 of 101 pitches. Eovaldi (6-10) gave up nine hits and struck out six in 6 2-3 innings, dropping his fourth straight start. Chris Hatcher replaced him after Phil Gosselin and Freddie Freeman had consecutive singles in the seventh, ending the threat on Justin Uptons flyout. "We always have close games with them, it feels like," Eovaldi said. "Alex threw well tonight. Again, it came down to that one home run by Gattis." Miami has lost six of eight. UP NEXT The Marlins return home Monday, when RHP Henderson Alvarez (10-6) faces the Mets. Alvarez has won four of seven career starts against New York. RHP Julio Teheran and the Braves face Philadelphia LHP Cole Hamels. Teheran has won three straight starts with a 1.47 ERA. RECORD RELIEF Kimbrel is the first pitcher to begin his career with at least 40 saves in four straight seasons. TOUGH CLIMB Despite losing just four times in their last 15 games, the second-place Braves have gained no ground on Washington in the NL East and remain six games back. LONG DAY Atlanta RF Jason Heyward went 0 for 4 after going 5 for 7 in the first two games of the series. Heyward began the afternoon hitting .348 over his last 41 games. ... Upton, who went 1 for 4, had hit safely in 20 of 27 games with 28 RBIs this month. ... Miamis Nos. 3-6 hitters -- Stanton, McGehee, Baker, Jones and Marcell Ozuna, went a combined 2 for 15. HES OUT Marlins manager Mike Redmond unsuccessfully challenged that Solano was safe in the ninth after 3B Chris Johnsons throw barely beat the runner. The review took 1 minute, 27 seconds. ' ' '