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LONDON -- Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson received a five-match touchline ban and steep fine from the Football Association on Wednesday for criticizing a referee after a Premier League match. Ben Zobrist Authentic Jersey . Ferguson was charged with improper conduct after blasting the performance of match official Martin Atkinson in Uniteds 2-1 defeat to Chelsea on March 1, saying his team didnt get a "fair or strong referee." Ferguson appealed but an Independent Regulatory Commission "found the charge of improper conduct relating to media comments proven." He was fined 30,000 pounds (C$47,405). The outburst earned him a three-game ban and two matches were added to the sanction because of a previous suspended sentence hanging over Ferguson. The Scotsmans suspension starts Tuesday. Ferguson was furious Atkinson refused to send off Chelsea defender David Luiz for fouls on Javier Hernandez and Wayne Rooney after the Brazil international had already been booked. He was also critical of the awarding of a late penalty to Chelsea for United defender Chris Smallings foul on substitute Yuri Zhirkov. Frank Lampard converted the spot kick for what proved to be the winning goal. "I must say, when I saw who the referee was, I feared it. I feared the worst," Ferguson said on Uniteds in-house television channel, MUTV. Half of a four-game ban for questioning referee Alan Wileys fitness after a match last season had been suspended until the end of this campaign. Uniteds defeat at Chelsea was followed five days later by a 3-1 road loss to rival Liverpool, leaving Fergusons team atop the Premier League but with only a three-point lead over Arsenal, which has a game in hand. The domestic suspension will force Ferguson to watch four league games -- against West Ham, Fulham, Everton and Arsenal -- from the stands. It will also take in the FA Cup semifinal against Manchester City on the weekend of April 16-17. Tampa Bay Rays Jersey . Edwin Encarnacion hit two of Torontos season-high five home runs as the Blue Jays capped a two-game mini-sweep of Philadelphia by outscoring the Phillies 12-6 on Thursday at Rogers Centre. Evan Longoria Authentic Jersey . Take a look at TSN.DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- With the famed No. 3 on his car and memories of the late Dale Earnhardt fresh in his mind, Austin Dillon took the fabled number out of hibernation and straight to the top at Daytona. Dillon reawakened the days of The Intimidator and proved he can handle the spotlight thrust on his ride in the 3, winning the pole Sunday for the season-opening Daytona 500. He took the top spot with a lap at 196.019 mph in NASCARs season opener in a car Richard Childress has refused to field at NASCARs top level since Earnhardts fatal accident on the last lap of the 2001 race. But with his 23-year-old grandson ready to move to the Sprint Cup Series, Childress allowed Dillon to use the number widely associated with the seven-time champion. Earnhardt won 67 races, six championships and the 1998 Daytona 500 driving the No. 3. Dillon was a kid when he posed for a picture with Earnhardt in Victory Lane following his breakthough 1998 win. Hell have many more memories from this milestone, like the congratulatory handshake he received from Richard Petty when qualifying ended. NASCARs family roots run deep, so Childress never had to leave the family tree to find the right driver for the number. Dillon has been using it in NASCAR national competition since 2009, when he made his Truck Series debut in the No. 3. He won the Truck championship in 2011 driving the No. 3 for Richard Childress Racing, and the Nationwide title last season in the same number. So Childress knew -- he always knew and has insisted that Earnhardt gave his blessing long before his death -- that Dillon could use the number if he ever made it to Cup. Dillon doesnt take the responsibility lightly. "Everybody wants to see this number perform well, and thats what my goals are," Dillon said. "I love getting in that race car and driving it. I think once we get through some of these races here at the beginning of the year, everything will sink in and Ill get comfortable and be able to have some fun.&quoot; Its the fourth time the No. Jake McGee Rays Jersey. 3 has won the pole for the Daytona 500. Buddy Baker did it in 1969, Ricky Rudd in 1983 and Earnhardt in 1996. Martin Truex Jr., driving a Chevrolet for Furniture Row Racing, qualified second with a lap at 195.852 mph. Truexs engine is built by Earnhardt-Childress Racing, giving the company a sweep of the Daytona 500 front row. "Obviously, without that thing under the hood, we wouldnt be where we are," said Truex, who won the Daytona 500 pole in 2009 with an ECR engine when he drove for Earnhardt Ganassi Racing. The rest of the field is set Thursday through a pair of qualifying races, but Childress and the ECR engines are strong: They had five cars in the top 12 on Sunday. Childress knew he had a shot at the pole, if not with Dillon then from another one of his four Richard Childress Racing entries. All were fast in January testing, and again in two Saturday practice sessions. But it was Hendrick Motorsports driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., the first driver to make his qualifying attempt, who set the pace early and held down the provisional pole for most of the session. RCR drivers Brian Scott and Paul Menard failed to bump Earnhardt, and it was surprisingly Ford driver Greg Biffle who finally did it as the 33rd driver to take his turn. Ryan Newman then took his shot for RCR and missed, and Dillon was the next driver out. He shot to the top of the board and his grandfather pumped his fist in celebration. He then nervously watched as the final 10 drivers made their runs, and gave another fist-pump in celebration. "We wanted to come down here and put on a good show with the 3, and to have another ECR engine with Furniture Row on the front row, we couldnt be more proud," Childress said. So could he finally relax? "The pressure is always on when youve got grandsons racing for you," said Childress, who thanked all the sponsors who "believed in this young kid, who took a chance on him." cheap nfl jerseys cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
