SportsBlitz: This Week's Sporting News, Views, Coverage and more!

European Football, crowning new Champions, WWE comes to London, a wild night at UFC 159, Amir Khan fights in England, and the NBA Playoffs are underway. All this in a great week of sport, with SportsBlitz! 




Football
It was a jam-packed amazing week of football that featured dramatic European football and some great action in the Barclays Premier League.
On Monday, Manchester United were triumphant, after a 3 - 0 victory over Aston Villa to be officially crowned as Barclays Premier League Champions for the 2012/13 season. The title race certainly was not as close as that of last season, but Manchester United are deserving Champions with a great season.

Embracing Triumph: van Persie and teammates celebrate their win. Picture: GETTY IMAGES via BBC SPORT

The UEFA Champions League semi-finals took place on Tuesday and Wednesday, and footballing fans across the globe were to receive two shockers. The two Spanish Footballing Giants, Barcelona and Real Madrid found themselves on the other side of a thrashing. Bayern dominated Barcelona 4 - 0 at home, meanwhile it was an uneasy trip for Real Madrid when they lost 4 - 1 to Dortmund. This all but sets up an All-German final, there may be room for unbelievable comebacks, but surely it is over. Could we be witnessing a turn in the tables of European football? Could it be the end of the Spanish dominance era?

Lewandowski's four-goal performance stacks the deck against Real Madrid. Picture GETTY IMAGES via BBC SPORT

It was a dramatic Europa League matchday on Thursday as the semi-finals took place. Fenerbahçe scored a 1 - 0 victory as they hosted Benfica. Meanwhile, Chelsea put up a magnificent performance to win by 2 goals to 1 at Basel. With small margins going into the second legs, all seems open. Who will make it to the finals of the Europa League?

The Barclays Premier League title may be sorted, but at the depths of the league lie the teams battling relegation. Two teams were to drop and be relegated from the Premier League, at the expense of each other. A goalless draw between Queens Park Rangers and Reading sent both teams going down, relegated into the Championship. But there is still one team yet to be relegated, and with minimal points as gaps, who will join QPR and Reading in the Championship?

QPR and Reading both suffered relegation. Picture: BBC SPORT

Picture: GETTY IMAGES via BBC SPORT

Manchester United's attempt to break Chelsea's record for most points in the season was thwarted by Arsenal in a 1 - 1 draw at the Emirates with an equalizer by the returning Robin van Persie. It was indeed an interesting game, as the focus shifts to Arsenal amongst other teams, battling for the coveted spot to be in the Champions League next season.
Liverpool demolished Newcastle, in an away trip that saw the visitors score six goals. Sturridge, Henderson among others were on fantastic form, and Liverpool made a remarkable response to Suarez's ban. They look to finish the season on a good note, and beating Newcastle in devastating fashion was the right way to go about it.


Boxing
Amir Khan was victorious in what probably was his last fight in England. Amir Khan's homecoming was not an easy one, as he went the 12-round distance with the Mexican Julio Diaz. Diaz got Khan down in the fourth round and Diaz gave Khan some hard shots in the latter rounds and almost had it won, but Khan managed to persevere in a grueling fight. Amir Khan's next plans look to be fighting for a World title in December.

Amir Khan took a lot of damaged but persevered to win. Picture: GETTY IMAGES via BBC SPORT

It's a huge boxing weekend next week, as Floyd Mayweather returns to the ring and battles Robert Guerrero, this should be an interesting fight. Meanwhile Vitali Klitschko faces Francesco Pianeta in Germany. Two big main event fights that are sure to please many a boxing fan.


UFC
April's Month of Fights in the UFC came to a conclusion with a wild night at UFC 159. There was some controversy with two technical decisions from accidental thumb strikes, raising questions to the UFC glove style. Jon Jones was to successfully defend his Light Heavyweight Championship by finishing Chael Sonnen in the first round with elbows. Many protested that it was an early stoppage by the referee, and Jon Jones was to realize that he suffered a nasty injury during the fight when he broke his toe, it was horrendous. WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES: VIEW THE INJURY HERE.

Jonny Bones lands a spinning elbow to Chael Sonnen, before finishing him in the first round. Picture: UFC.com

Michael Bisping defeated Alan Belcher but not in the way he wanted. An accidental thumb in the third round to Belcher's eye made the bout get stopped, and Bisping won by technical decision. Meanwhile, Roy Nelson proved he has some of the best striking in the UFC when he knocked out Chieck Kongo in the first round. UFC 159 was a great night of UFC action. Jon Jones has an injury to recover from, Bisping has climbed up the middleweight ladder. Chael Sonnen's future seems uncertain, Roy Nelson wants the UFC Heavyweight title and much more fallout. It will last as great memories for the next three weeks that will feature no UFC until UFC on FX 8 on May 18.


NBA
The NBA Playoffs kicked off this week. The Knicks and Celtics are 3 - 1 in the series, as Celtics saved from a sweep, to win an incredible game in overtime, talk about clutch. Brooklyn and Chicago went to Triple Overtime in yet another thrilling game, and the Bulls take a 3 - 1 series lead. The NBA Playoffs are already delivering, amidst the first round and beyond, NBA fans have a lot to look forward to. Miami HEAT were the first team to progress to the second round with a clean sweep over the Milwaukee Bucks, winning by double-digits in all four games. Their title defense off to an emphatic start.

Paul Pierce guided his team to an overtime victory, "They're Not Done Yet" Picture: ESPN.com

WWE
WWE were in the United Kingdom this week, as RAW and SmackDown came LIVE from the O2 Arena in London, England. I was in attendance for RAW at the O2, and it was an electric atmosphere in London, which saw the Undertaker wrestle on RAW for the first time in three years.

Undertaker's entrance left everyone at the O2 Arena on their feet. Picture: WWE.com

Undertaker was not to have a good week though, as his team lost to The Shield, and he also suffered an attack from The Shield on SmackDown. Hall of Famer Mick Foley was in England to confront Ryback, but John Cena came to the aid of Foley and he gave an Attitude Adjustment to Ryback. Mark Henry and Sheamus were at each other's throats on SmackDown, and it looks like they are even. Triple H set London wild when he was in London and accepted Brock Lesnar's challenge for a Steel Cage match at Extreme Rules.

The Shield were triumphant this week. Who can stop The Shield? Picture: WWE.com

It was a great week of sport, many significant moments that ultimately lead to even better things. Next week the second legs of the semi-finals, a big boxing weekend and more.

And that's your SportsBlitz...
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