with five teams separated by only three points. Yet, most of the talk entering the weekend is about whether Cristiano Ronaldo will end his scoring slump.Real Madrid leads the league ahead of its match at Alaves on Saturday, but not thanks to Ronaldos recent performances. The forward is enduring his wo

MADRID -- The Spanish league is off to a tight race atop the standings, with five teams separated by only three points. Yet, most of the talk entering the weekend is about whether Cristiano Ronaldo will end his scoring slump.Real Madrid leads the league ahead of its match at Alaves on Saturday, but not thanks to Ronaldos recent performances. The forward is enduring his worst start to a season since joining Madrid in 2009, having scored only four goals in nine matches.When youre used to scoring almost 70 goals a season, its almost like an addiction for goals, Madrid reserve forward Alvaro Morata said. For us, he is the most important player in the team and I hope that he scores lots of goals, but he is not a machine. He is a human being. Even if he comes from another planet and is different, he also has the right to miss.Ronaldo also scored five goals in two games with Portugal, against Andorra and the Faeroe Islands in World Cup qualifying, but thats no reprieve to the demanding Madrid fans.He was jeered by the crowd at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium after another disappointing performance in a 2-1 win against Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.The fans demand a lot of players, Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said. The Bernabeu is special and we know it. Cristiano knows it and he is used to it. The important thing is to continue with our work.Ronaldo has scored only two goals in the Spanish league -- in a 5-2 win against Osasuna in September and a 6-1 rout at Real Betis two weeks ago. He also scored two goals in the Champions League, one in a 2-2 draw at Borussia Dortmund and one in a 2-1 win over Sporting Lisbon, when his free-kick goal started a late rally.Of course he wants to score more, Madrid defender Marcelo said. He is a player who helps a lot and not only with goals, also with his work on the pitch.The game against Osasuna was the first of the season for Ronaldo. He hadnt played since injuring his left knee in the final of the European Championship, which Portugal won.Ronaldo seems fit and has had plenty of scoring chances, but has not been able to capitalize on them -- including on some he usually converts. Zidane says he is not worried and that its just a matter of time before he starts finding the net again.The 31-year-old was among the Madrid players rested in the teams 7-1 win over Cultural Leonesa in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday. He is set to return to the lineup on Saturday, when Zidanes team tries to defend its Spanish league lead against promoted Alaves.Sevilla, one point behind Madrid, plays at Sporting Gijon on Saturday, while third-place Barcelona hosts last-place Granada in its 1,500th game at the Camp Nou. Contrary to Ronaldo, Barcelonas Lionel Messi is enjoying one of the best starts of his career with 14 goals in 11 matches. He has more goals than Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema combined.Fourth-place Villarreal plays at Eibar on Sunday, and fifth-place Atletico Madrid, which led the league entering the last round, hosts Malaga on Saturday.---Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/tales-azzoni. Air Max 95 China Wholesale . The Montreal Canadiens announced on Friday that the veteran forward will return to the teams line-up on Saturday night when the Habs visit the Nashville Predators. Air Max 95 Cheap Sale . Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2. http://www.airmax95wholesale.com/ . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. Cheap Nike Air Max 95 Outlet . -- The plastic that was taped across the lockers in Oaklands clubhouse came down and the champagne that was on ice went back into the cooler. Wholesale 95 Air Max Shoes . 8 Kansas to a 64-63 win over Texas Tech on Tuesday night. The freshman from Vaughan, Ont. South Korean StarCraft II player Lee INnoVation Shin Hyung (Terran) took down Kim Stats Dae Yeob (Protoss), 4-0, in the grand finals of Intel Extreme Masters Gyeonggi in Gyeonggi, South Korea on Sunday for a $15,000 first prize.As the favorite to take down the tournament, INnoVation lived up to the billing and waded through the absolutely stacked 16-player field for a massive victory. After his dominant run, INnoVation could very well be the top Terran player in the world in the new patch for StarCraft II. The well-rounded Terran showed off exactly what his signature all-around play was about; whether it was defensive stances and holds against aggressive starts or late-game expertise, he was in top form.For Stats, this was yet another almost there finish. The cheesy but solid Protoss lost in a landslide in grand finals, but he proved to be a threat in the new patch for the foreseeable future. Stats looked every bit the part of a contender throughout the weekend.Game 1: Vaani Research StationINnoVation struck first on the first map with perfect counter play against Stats strategy to go to the air early. Stats timing attacks with Phoenix and Adepts put him behind INnoVations bio counter and he relinquished both the Protoss macro potential on Vaani Research Station and the map control. INnoVation demonstrated patience when he finally unleashed his stimmed bio army against the weaker ground forces of Stats for the quick victory.INnoVation 1:0 StatsGame 2: Habitation StationStats attempted a bit of a cheesy opener for early aggression aagainst INnoVation with a proxy Stargate and fast Oracles.dddddddddddd Unfortunately, INnoVations defense and response were perfectly timed. The cheese was thwarted by scouting and defensive structures at the main base and a timed defensive counter to the aggression on Stats expansion. INnoVation would counter-attack with multiple drops on the main mining base, the defensive front, and even the armies of Stats. INnoVation split up Stats forces and continued to mount relentless pressure until he pushed for the victory before the research of Psionic Storm was finished for Stats.INnoVation 2:0 StatsGame 3: WhirlwindStats went for another proxy Stargate on the bigger map, Whirlwind, to throw off INnoVations better late game strategies and play. Stats went for an all-in with Void Rays to potentially steal a victory on map three, but INnoVations scouting and defense were too quick. INnoVation set up bunkers with reinforcements to battle the push and took enough casualties for the 3-0.INnoVation 3:0 StatsGame 4: EchoUnexpectedly, INnoVation answered Stats cheesy openers with one of his own. A proxy Barracks and Factory next to the expansion of Stats caught him by surprise and dealt irreparable economic damage. Stats pulled all his workers from his main base, but INnoVations Cyclone and bio rush proved too lethal. INnoVations micro and unforeseen opener crushed the map and took down the set.INnoVation 4:0 Stats ' ' '