--Madonna Promises $500,000 for Italy Quake Relief--

Madonna has promised $500,000 to help victims of Italy's devastating earthquake, said Fernando Caparso, mayor of Pacentro, the mountainside village where two of the pop star's grandparents were born. (Read "Does Madonna Still Rock?")
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Carparso told The Associated Press on Wednesday that that he had spoken to the pop star's manager and that he was deeply moved by Madonna's effort to assist the town as well as surrounding areas.
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"Madonna was the only one who could help us," he said. "Other then being a great singer, a great rock star and an intelligent woman, with this gesture she has become a great woman," he said.
~
~
~http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1890326,00.html

--Barcelona 4 - 0 Bayern Munich--

0'
Welcome to the Nou Camp - a great atmosphere in Barcelona

~

0'
Thought there was no English interest in this game? Wrong. The referee is Howard Webb.

~

0'
Barca are pretty much at full strength and are hot favourites.

~

0'
Bayern, hammered in the Bundesliga at the weekend, have several injury woes including Miroslav Klose.

~

1'
And we're off!

~

4'
Will Bayern aim to contain this talented Barca side rather than look for the away goal?

~

5'
Ribery is brought down by Alves.

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6'
Brilliant play from Barcelona as Xavi's reverse pass sends Henry through, he rounds the keeper...

~

7'
...it's run a little wide by Henry, he still gets his shot off but it's weak and Demichelis can clear off the line.

~

8'
Barcelona are rampant now. Bayern creaking..

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8'
Break from Bayern, Ze Roberto tucks it back for the onrushing Schweinsteiger who just fails to connect on the slide.

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9'
The space is worked by Eto'o, feeding in the unmarked Messi...

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9'
GOAL!!!!

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9'
Messi had acres of space as Lell left him free just inside the box. It was simple for the star man as he stroked it home into the corner with his left..

~

13'
Cross from Messi on the right, Oddo makes a bit of a hash of cutting it out but luckily for him it drops to goalkeeper Butt.

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13'
Eto'o's free..

~

13'
GOAL!!!

Wonderful reverse pass from Messi, Eto'o onto it and firing under Butt and into the back of the net. Suspicion of offside but the officials got it right.

~

14'
You would not think this is a Champions League quarter-final. Barca could do to Bayern what the German outfit did to Sporting Lisbon in the last round.

~

17'
Altintop gives the ball away in his own area to Xavi and he shoots - but it's always going over..

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18'
Messi turns Lell with ease. He goes down and it looks like a penalty - No! And a yellow card comes out for the dive.

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19'
Messi certainly played for it, but you'd get a penalty there 90% of the time.

~

19'
The fall out continues. Pep Guardiola has been sent off for his protests about the lack of a penalty and the card shown to Messi.

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20'
Wonderful play from Alves on the burst, he gets it out wide for Messi who tries the return pass and the wingback cannot shoot on target.

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22'
Iniesta feeds Henry in, right through the middle and it must be...

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25'
Henry seems to be okay, but Butt is struggling here. His face is getting lengthy treatment and is being patched up.

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27'
Bayern will hope that interlude will give them the chance to regroup. They cannot go on like this, completely over-run in the middle and being cut apart like a knife into butter.

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29'
Barceola haven't had a shot for a while. Won't be long...

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36'
Ze Roberto is tripped in centre midfield by Xavi..

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37'
Messi shows determination in the box to find Eto'o, his shot is deflected over. Barca take the corner short and it comes to nothing.

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38'
Great burst of pace from Henry, he gets to the byline and pulls it back for Messi...

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38'
GOAL!!!

So, so easy. Henry put the turbo boosters on to get past Oddo, take out Butt with the cut-back and there was Messi with the tap-in.

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41'
Bayern have barely been able to get out of their own half. They must regroup at half-time or get hammered.

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42'
Long-ranger from Henry - always going over.

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44'
4-0!!!

Messi and Eto'o link up, it breaks to Henry who coolly slides the ball past Butt and into the back of the net.

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45'
Messi got a elbow in face from Van Bommel in that move. Referee Webb did well to allow the play to develop but no card for Van Bommel who should be off..

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45'
Not even half-time in the first leg, and this tie could well be over...

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45'
Great interplay from Bayern found Ribery clear in the box but he dragged his shot across goal rather than at the target.

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45'
Four minutes to be added on..

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45'
Stunning. Simply stunning. Bayern have been blown away by a mesmerising display from Barcelona. It's four, it could be seven and might yet end up being if Barcelona want it. See you in 15min.

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47'
Bayern must score an away goal without reply. And that's the stand at least a sniff back on home turf.

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48'
If Barca are allowed the same space and freedom in midfield then Bayern will be picked off time and time again. Do they have the character to battle?

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53'
Ze Roberto is caught late by Iniesta..

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54'
Still all Barcelona, Bayern penned in.

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59'
Remember, as it stands right now Bayern Munich are not even in the Champions League qualification places for next season. Unless they react to this it will be the Europa League at best.

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61'
Ze Roberto with a petulant foul on Alves.

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67'
We've seen nothing from the likes of Ribery and Schweinsteiger... anonymous...

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71'
Ze Roberto is in! Bayern can get the away goal!

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72'
Superb block by Puyol just as Ze Roberto was about to fire home. Will that be their only chance?

~

76'
We're just running down the final 15 minutes or so here now.

~

84'
Oddo goes down injured and will need treatment.

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86'
Ribery finally beats a man and gets to the byline. His cutback is cut and the ball comes back to him... only for Ribery to misplace his pass.

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87'
Bayern enjoying some possession... in the 87th minute....

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89'
Effort from Marquez from 20 yards out, curling into the goal but it just drifts wide. Close.

~

90'
Three minutes to be added on.

~

90'
And that's it, Bayern have been put out of their misery. 4-0 to Barcelona.

~

90'
Barcelona blitzed Bayern with a mesmerising first half display. It was brilliant football with Messi at the heart of everything.

~

90'
Can Bayern come back from this? No chance. Barcelona lie in wait, most likely for Chelsea, in the semi-finals.

~

~

~http://soccernet.espn.go.com/gamecast?id=265549&cc=4716&league=UEFA.CHAMPIONS

~

~http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/fixturesresults/round=15278/match=302804/report=rp.html

--Liverpool 1 - 3 Chelsea--

0'
If this season's Champions League quarter finals were Beatles, this one would be Ringo; functional, forgettable, and ugly. Or perhaps it'll be a fest of flowing football, goals and joy. Yeh right.

~

0'
Anyway, tonight's teams: Liverpool: Reina, Aurelio, Carragher, Skrtel, Arbeloa, Lucas, Alonso, Kuyt, Gerrard, Riera, Torres. Chelsea: Cech, Ivanovic, Terry, Alex, A Cole, Essien, Ballack, Lampard, Malouda, Drogba, Kalou.

~

1'
Chelsea kick off.

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3'
Gerrard swings it out from the right, and Kuyt hits his shot well, but Ivanovic deflects it wide. No matter, the flag was up.

~

4'
Liverpool may miss Mascherano tonight. Partly because he's good, and partly because Lucas, his replacement, isn't. That's the space the Lampard will be looking to exploit.

~

4'
Long diagonal ball from Lampard right to left, Arbeloa heads clear.

~

6'
GOAL! Torres scores for Liverpool. Alex clears acrobatically, Kuyt seizes on the loose ball, plays a pass inside Ashley Cole and Torres calmly converts the cross from 12 yards.

~

8'
Drogba should equalise. Kalou robbed Aurelio, worked it through to Drogba, but he whacked it straight at Reina.

~

11'
Gerrard wins possession and feeds Torres who beats Terry but can't get away from Alex.

~

14'
Great ball from Alonso to Kuyt wide on the right, but Alex heads the eventual cross clear.

~

16'
Lampard's shot is blocked by Skrtel, the ball comes back and Drogba tries to reach it, but he's offside. Lampard, however, wasn't, and had Drogba left it alone, it'd probably be 1-1.

~

18'
Good football from Chelsea. Alex into Essien into Kalou, who's fouled by Aurelio.

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21'
Peter Cech's bright orange top clashes with Liverpool's red, although it does at least make him visible to any passing motorists.

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26'
Gerrard has hardly featured so far, which isn't especially a criticism. Benitez always knew he didn't have the nous to run a game, so now he uses his ability to do important things at important times without the responsibility of having to orchestrate, which is beyond him.

~

31'
Riera fouled by Ballack and Kalou is booked for kicking the ball away.

~

36'
Liverpool almost score again. Arbeloa cuts inside onto his left foot and curls a shot not too far wide from 20 yards.

~

38'
GOAL! Lampard's cross is headed home by Ivanovic, who runs away from Alonson to score with relative ease. Well deserved by Chelsea.

~

43'
Lampard robs Lucas, feeds Drogba in the inside-left channel and he shoots ridiculously when Lampard was well-placed to receive the return. Fwank is not happy.

~

45'
1 additional minute.

~

45'
HALF TIME: LIVERPOOL 1 - CHELSEA 1

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46'
Liverpool to kick off.

~

46'
Terry is adjudged to have fouled Torres, when Torres actually ran into him on purpose, flung himself to the ground and appealed for a free kick. Aurelio's free kick is too long and goes out for a goalkick.

~

50'
Gerrard picks the ball up wide on the left, runs away from Ballack and has a shot from 20 yards, but drags it wide. Terry is gobbing off at the referee.

~

52'
Chelsea cross from the left but Liverpool scramble it away.

~

53'
Good stooping header from Gerrard puts Torres through in the inside-left position, but he hits it high and then pretends to be injured hoping no one will notice his miss.

~

60'
A collision betwen Terry and Reina leaves both on the floor. The Liverpool players are whinging about the challenge, but the ball bounced in front of Reina and he had every right to go for it, although he's come off worse.

~

62'
GOAL! From another Lampard corner, this time on the left, Ivanovic heads home. He was completely unmarked.

~

64'
Chelsea have played very well tonight and deserve to be in front.

~

65'
I wonder if Benitez hasn't believed a little too much in his team. When he knew they weren't as good as their opponents, he was expert and devising stfling tatics to maximise what he had. Now he thinks they're the equal of anyone, his approach is more open, and the superior technical ability of the Chelsea players is exploiting that, so far.

~

66'
GOAL! Great ball inside the full back, Malouda hammers the ball low across the penalty area from the right, and even Drogba can't miss, sidefooting home from five yards.

~

66'
Benayoun replaces the anonymous Riera.

~

76'
Good ball wide to Dossena from Benayoun, but his cross is easily dealt with. You can't help but feel that Liverpool need to score in the next fifteen to keep this tie alive.

~

78'
Chelsea are sitting back and defending deep, although they now break and Dossena almost scores an own goal, heading Drogba's cross into Reina.

~

83'
You have to say, it does appear that Hiddink knows what he's doing. Chelsea have been very well organised and kept their heads and their shape when they went behind.

~

87'
It's easily cleared, to Carragher, who lofts it aimlessly and harmlessly into the air and Cech's waiting arms.

~

89'
Chelsea almost score again, Lampard striding clear in the inside-right channel after good work from Essien, but Reina saves his shot.

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92'
Good ball to Torres from Benayoun, but Alex and Terry crowd him out. The linesman signals a goalkick but the ref incorrectly overrules him and gives a corner, which comes to nothing. 3 added minutes.

~

92'
Good ball to Torres from Benayoun who plays it back to Torres who returns the compliment and lobs the ball into Cech's hands for his first save of the second half.

~

93'
Alonso shoots from distance and Cech tips it over the bar. Reina is forward for the corner.

~

93'
Essien clears and that's it. Well played Chelsea, who, it must be said, were excellent tonight. I bet Roman wishes he'd sacked Scolari sooner.

~

93'
LIVERPOOL 1 - CHELSEA 3

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93'
Chelsea could not have played very much better tonight. At the back they were solid, their midfield passed and moved well, and Drogba was at his beast-like best. Hell, even Malouda and Kalou played well.

~

93'
Liverpool meanwhile, were almost entirely nullified. It's no secret that if Gerrard and Torres are kept quiet, they have very little goal threat from elsewhere, and tonight, for the most part, they were as quiet as a mute mouse sucking on an everlasting gobstopper in a monastery.

~

~

~http://soccernet.espn.go.com/gamecast?id=265551&cc=4716&league=UEFA.CHAMPIONS

~

~http://www.uefa.com/competitions/ucl/fixturesresults/round=15278/match=302803/report=rp.html