my team that I wanted to lead," Aldridge said. Beverley re-injured his r

LONDON -- Manchester United is closing in on signing Juan Mata after bidding 37 million pounds ($61 million) for the Chelsea midfielder Juan Mata, the teams first move in the January transfer window. Houston Texans Jerseys . United is waiting for its English Premier League rival to sign off on the club-record deal for the 25-year-old Spain international, a person close to negotiations said on Thursday. The person spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the deal has not yet been finalized. Mata is yet to have a medical examination at United, which is in no rush to complete the deal as its next match is not until Tuesday against Cardiff. The transfer would eclipse the 30.7 million pounds United paid to sign striker Dimitar Berbatov from Tottenham in 2008, and show that the American owners are willing to spend to revitalize a struggling team. Matas move could speed up now Chelsea has struck a deal with Swiss club Basel to sign Mohamed Salah. The Egypt midfielder still has to agree to personal terms and pass a medical with the London club. In a sign that Matas departure from Chelsea is nearing after falling out of favour, the clubs player of the year for the last two seasons did not train with the first team on Wednesday. "He has great skill, great imagination, flair and goal-scoring ability," former United defender Gary Pallister said. "A lot of people cant quite understand why he has not been in Jose Mourinhos team after being player of the year for the last two seasons. "He is the kind of player Manchester United fans want to see ... and can get people off their seats in anticipation of the things he can do with a football." Signing Mata would be a coup for United manager David Moyes, and lift some of the gloom surrounding recent performances. The bright spot is still remaining in Champions League contention going into the round of 16 against Olympiakos next month. But the team is seventh in the league, 14 points behind leader Arsenal, and facing a fight to secure one of the four Champions League places. Having already exited the FA Cup, United missed out on a spot in the League Cup final on Wednesday when Sunderland won a penalty shootout at Old Trafford. One fan was so distressed about the loss that he called an emergency number and asked to speak to former manager Alex Ferguson, who retired in May after more than 26 trophy-filled years in charge of United. "Last night, at approximately 10:30 p.m. a man from the Crumpsall area of north Manchester rang 999 in a drunken state demanding to speak to Sir Alex Ferguson about last nights result," Greater Manchester Police said on one of its Facebook pages. "Obviously, it can be a sad and depressing moment when your football team loses a game, however can we all please remember that 999 is to be used for emergencies only." Custom Houston Texans Jerseys . -- The Kelowna Rockets earned their 16th straight win with a 7-2 rout of the Portland Winterhawks in Western Hockey League action Thursday. Ibraheim Campbell Texans Jersey . The 23-year-old Neustaedter will move at the end of the season when his contract with Moenchengladbach expires. He signed a four-year deal with Schalke. http://www.officialauthentictexansstore.com/authentic-aaron-colvin-jersey.html .Y. - Everyone expected Clayton Kershaw to pitch a shutout, and he did — a unanimous choice for the NL Cy Young Award. HOUSTON -- LaMarcus Aldridge had just fouled out late in overtime after scoring a career-high and franchise playoff-record 46 points when he went to Portland teammate Damian Lillard with a simple message. "I said: Take it over," Aldridge said. Lillard did just that, finishing with 31 points and making the go-ahead free throws in overtime to lift the Trail Blazers to a 122-120 victory over the Houston Rockets on Sunday night in a thrilling first-round series opener. Aldridge fouled out with about a minute left in overtime and Lillard, who was making his playoff debut, scored Portlands next five points and put the Trail Blazers on top by one point with a pair of free throws with 17 seconds left. "When youve got your best player playing like that, it fires you up," Lillard said. "When he went out of the game, I felt like our team ... had to have L.As back and come through for him." Joel Freeland made one of two free throws seconds after Lillards free throws to give the Blazers the win in their first trip to the post-season since 2011. Game 2 is Wednesday night in Houston. Aldridge, who was playing in his home state, also had 18 rebounds and two blocks. "Hes been a handful for us all year long," Houston coach Kevin McHale said. "We just didnt have any answers for him." James Harden and Dwight Howard each scored 27 points for Houston, and Howard grabbed 15 rebounds. Houston could have tied it, but Harden missed a short jump shot at the buzzer. He had missed a 3-pointer on Houstons second-to-last possession. "Ive got to play better," Harden said. "I didnt shoot the ball well ... Ive got to shake it off, but it will be better in Game 2." It was a physical game with the teams combining for 79 free throws. A three-point play by Lillard gave Portland a one-point lead with 44.5 seconds remaining. Francisco Garcia and Howard both made one of two free throws after that to give Houston a 120-119 lead 20 seconds later. Aldridge fouled out when he knocked Patrick Beverley to the floor setting a pick with 1:04 left in overtime. An emotional Aldridge continued to yell at the referees even after he went tto the bench. Jordan Akins Texans Jersey. . "This is one of those games where I could show my team that I wanted to lead," Aldridge said. Beverley re-injured his right knee on the play where Aldridge fouled out and McHale said the Rockets would know more about the guards status after an MRI exam on Monday. Beverley missed eight games late in the season because of a torn meniscus in that knee. A dunk by Robin Lopez gave Portland a 116-114 lead before he fouled out seconds later. Howard made both free throws to tie it. Houston scored the first seven points of the fourth quarter, with the first four from Howard, to make it 86-73. But Portland used a 10-0 run, with the help of the Hack-A-Howard defence of intentionally fouling the centre, to tie it at 98 with 2:46 remaining. Howard missed four straight free throws as Portland cut the deficit. A 3-pointer by Lillard had tied it at 104-all before Harden put Houston up with two free throws. Aldridges tip-in with 2.9 seconds left tied it at 106. Houston had a chance to win it in regulation, but Hardens shot was off. Howard and Jeremy Lin both made three-point plays to start overtime before Aldridge and Nicolas Batum hit consecutive 3s to tie it back up. Portland trailed by 11 when it used a 9-2 spurt to get within 73-69 with about two minutes left in the third quarter. Aldridge started the run with four points and Wesley Matthews finished it off by scoring the last five and capping it with dunk on a fast break. The Rockets had a four-point lead early in the third quarter when Harden heated up, scoring 10 points of a 12-3 run that extended Houstons advantage to 66-53 with 7 1/2 minutes left in the period. NOTES: Rockets Hall of Famer Hakeem Olajuwon and Houston Texans star J.J. Watt watched the game from courtside seats. ... Houston general manager Daryl Morey asked local rappers Slim Thug and Bun B if they could make a remix of the 2005 hit "3 Kings" for the Rockets, and the pair came through in just one day. The two did a concert before the game across the street from the Toyota Center and dropped the track, which mentions several players by name, to wrap up the show as Morey bobbed his head and sang along. Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale NFL Camo Jerseys NFL Jerseys From China China NFL Gear Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Stitched NFL Jerseys ' ' '