s campaign. Courtois did his part by making sav

MADRID, Spain -- Atletico Madrid moved one step closer to its first Spanish league title in 18 years with a 2-0 win over Elche on Friday, and now turns its attention to receiving Chelsea in the Champions League semifinals. Atleticos eighth straight win in the league kept it in control of its destiny and needing three wins in the final four rounds to claim its first league title since 1996. Defender Miranda scored the opening goal at Vicente Calderon Stadium in the 72nd minute when he floated his header just inside the upright before Diego Costa added a penalty he had earned in stoppage time for his 27th league goal of the season. Atletico needed goalkeeper Courtois Thibaut to make successive saves around the half-hour mark, and didnt lose its composure after David Villa had a penalty saved in the 51st. Atletico provisionally extended its lead over Real Madrid to six points, with Barcelona another point behind. Madrid wont play Valladolid until May 7 as it rests after winning the Copa del Rey title and prepares to host Bayern Munich on Wednesday in the other Champions League semifinal. Barcelona hosts Athletic Bilbao on Sunday needing to rebound from losing in the Copa del Rey final and keep alive its dwindling hopes of defending its league title. Regardless of the two powerhouses results, Atletico can break their combined nine-year hold on the league crown by winning three of its four remaining games at Valencia and Levante, then home against Malaga, before the season finale at Barcelona. "All the games here on in are going to be tough," said Atletico coach Diego Simeone. "We have made it through one final and have four to go. I dont even want to think that winning three will be enough. All our effort and work make us focus on the four games left, and three are away from home. "Now we need to recover the best we can for Chelsea, a game that is very important for us, our fans and the history of the club." Diego Costa showed no signs of the deep cut in his left shin he received last week when he slammed into the goal post while scoring at Getafe, with the Brazilian striker causing Elches defence trouble from the start. He earned a penalty when fouled from behind by Ionut Sapunaru, who was sent off with his second yellow card, giving Diego Costa the chance to pull within one goal of Cristiano Ronaldos league-leading tally of 28 goals for Madrid this campaign. Courtois did his part by making saves to deny Javi Marquez and Sapunaru, again proving his major contribution to Atleticos championship bid. Simeone sent on midfielders Raul Garcia and Jose Sosa early in the second half, and both set up scoring opportunities. Raul was fouled to produce a penalty, only for Villa to have his spot kick smothered by goalie Manuel Herrera before he was replaced by Sosa. Sosa picked out Miranda at the far post for him to lift his corner kick into the side of the net and set Atletico on its way. "It was a set piece we had worked on," said Miranda, the latest role player to step up at big moments and score key goals for Atletico. "We know how to dig down when we have to. We have four finals left and we have to win them." Kirk Cousins Youth Jersey . The Hockey Canada Foundation is donating $50,000, with Hockey Quebec contributing $15,000. Hockey Canada also announced it will hold a skills camp for all levels of minor hockey in Lac-Mégantic during the 2013-14 season. Representatives from Hockey Canada, the Hockey Canada Foundation and Hockey Quebec were on hand Tuesday night at a meeting of the AHM de Lac-Mégantic to make the announcement and presentation. Chuck Foreman Youth Jersey . Right-hander Todd Redmond took the loss. Jose Bautista hit his second home run of the spring. Here are a handful of tidbits from around camp: Hutchison impressive The Blue Jays are being cautious when talking about their young arms but internally, excitement is building over the way Drew Hutchison is looking and performing this spring. http://www.thevikingsshoponline.com/Yout...Vikings-Jersey/. It led to his downfall on Tuesday. The Major League Soccer club fired Rennie after a second straight up-and-down season that saw the Whitecaps start strong before limping across the finish line. Paul Krause Vikings Jersey . No, the San Antonio star didnt announce retirement plans during an off day at the NBA Finals on Wednesday. Garrett Bradbury Vikings Jersey . - Josh Sterk scored twice to lead the Oshawa Generals to a 7-1 rout of the Ottawa 67s in Mondays Ontario Hockey League action.Marian Gaborik will not be going to Sochi. The Columbus Blue Jackets announced on Thursday that the winger was not medically cleared to compete due a broken collarbone he incurred during a December 21 game against the Philadelphia Flyers. "Marian has worked extremely hard and done everything possible to rehabilitate his injury and return to the ice with the hope of representing his country in Sochi," said Blue Jackets general manager Jarmo Kekalainen in a release. "We share his deep disappointment that he will not be able to do so, but are optimistic that he will be fully recovered very soon. Gaborik, who turns 32 next week, already missed significant time earlier in the season with a sprained knee. In 18 games this year, Gaborik has five goals and seven assists.dddddddddddd "Im extremely disappointed that I wont be able to play for Slovakia at the Olympic Games but understand the decision is the right one for my recovery and for the national team," said Gaborik. "I have been lucky and proud to represent my country at two Olympic Games and other international tournaments and look forward to doing so again in the future." Replacing him on Slovakia will be former NHLer Branko Radivojevic. The 33-year-old Radivojevic played for six seasons in the NHL with the Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes and Minnesota Wild, where he played with Gaborik. He currently plays for Bratislava of the KHL. Slovakia sees their first action on February 13 when they take on the United States. ' ' '