BERLIN -- Bayern Munich ground out a hard-fought 2-0 victory over bottom side Eintracht Braunschweig on Saturday to end the champions three-game winless streak in the Bundesliga. Claudio Pizarro broke the deadlock in the 75th minute, when Mario Goetze sent the Peruvian through, and Mario Mandzukic secured the win with four minutes remaining as the home side pushed for an equalizer. Bayern failed to impress for long periods, however, and will hope for improvement for Wednesdays Champions League semifinal first leg at Real Madrid. "It was important to win before the game against Real Madrid. It gives us confidence," Pizarro said. Second-place Borussia Dortmund secured Champions League football next season by defeating visiting Mainz 4-2, and Freiburg took a giant step in its fight against relegation by beating Borussia Moenchengladbach by the same score. "My players ... somehow worked out their luck today," Freiburg coach Christian Streich said. Augsburg drew 0-0 with Hertha Berlin, while Werder Bremen came from behind to beat Hoffenheim 3-1 and end its relegation fears. Wolfsburg defeated Hamburg 3-1 away in the late game to move provisionally fourth and leave the home side contemplating its first relegation from the Bundesliga. Ivan Perisic put visiting Hamburg ahead in the second minute after a great through ball from Luiz Gustavo, Kevin de Bruyne scored in the 31st, and Ivica Olic made it 3-0 four minutes after the break. Though Ivo Ilicevic pulled one back in the 58th, it might have been worse for the home side. Rene Adler was forced into at least two crucial saves, and Luiz Gustavo hit the post and the crossbar. The Brazilian was shown his second yellow card in the final minute. "We won hardly any challenges. We simply werent there," Hamburg midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu said. Hamburg, the only side to have played every Bundesliga season since the leagues formation in 1963, remains in the relegation playoff place, but could be overtaken on Sunday if Nuremberg beats Bayer Leverkusen, which can reclaim fourth. Bayern coach Pep Guardiola started arguably his strongest available side to fine tune for the trip to Madrid. Nevertheless, the home side frustrated the visitors through determined tackling, constant running, and a clear desire to avoid an immediate return to the second division. The effort eventually took its toll as players tired and Guardiola swung the game in Bayerns favour in the 73rd, with the introduction of Thomas Mueller and Mandzukic for Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben. Despite TV replays showing he may have been offside when receiving the ball, Goetze unlocked the Braunschweig defence for Pizarro to hammer the ball under the crossbar. A long kick out from Lukas Raeder, making his first league start in goal, allowed Mandzukic to seal the win with his 18th goal of the season. Only Dortmunds Robert Lewandowski, who will replace or challenge the Croat for a starting place next season, has as many goals. Lewandowski scored again against Mainz as Dortmund assured itself of at least third place. Milos Jojic got Dortmund underway in the sixth minute with a 20-meter shot that took a deflection from Oliver Kirchs right hand. TV replays showed the Dortmund defender tried to take his arm out of the way. Shinji Okazaki equalized with another deflected effort in the 14th, but Lewandowski restored the home sides lead four minutes later, when Henrikh Mkhitaryan set up the Poland striker to finish coolly. Okazaki intercepted an inexplicable back-pass from Nuri Sahin to equalize again in the 54th, but Lukasz Piszczek made it 3-2 to Dortmund three minutes later, with a backward header from Marco Reus free kick. Reus then secured the result from the penalty spot in the 79th, after Niko Bungert was sent off for blocking Lewandowskis goalward shot with his arm. "It was outstanding what my squad delivered today," Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp said. "Another nine points from the last three games and everything is well." Freiburg denied Moenchengladbach the chance to go provisionally fourth, with the game turning after Freiburg goalkeeper Oliver Baumann saved Filip Daems penalty and Moenchengladbach midfielder Granit Xhaka was sent off for his second booking with the score still 1-1. Xavier Sua-Filo Titans Jersey .C. - The Panthers will be without starting defensive tackle Star Lotulelei for Saturday nights NFC divisional playoff game against Seattle after undergoing surgery Wednesday to repair a broken bone in his foot. Will Compton Jersey . -- Officials have approved a deal to build a new $672 million stadium for the Atlanta Braves away from the downtown Atlanta area that has traditionally been its home. http://www.titansfootballpro.com/Titans-...n-Evans-Jersey/. But that changed when he committed a five-minute major penalty and helped pave the way for a comeback by the Philadelphia Flyers. Vincent Lecavalier scored at 2:45 of overtime and the Flyers rallied from a two-goal deficit for a 5-4 victory on Sunday. Malcolm Butler Titans Jersey . on the 15-day disabled Monday list because of a strained right hamstring. Will Compton Titans Jersey . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer.OTTAWA -- Patrick Chan said he was like a "puppy in puppy daycare" at the Vancouver Olympics four years ago, a wide-eyed teenager at his first party, where everyone was cool and everything was free. "It was so exciting, like Oh my god, there are so many cool things. Cool clothes. And the gyms right here. Everything is available to you," Chan said Thursday, on the eve of the Skate Canada national championships. Chan only turned 23 on New Years eve, but hes a veteran on a completely different comfort level from the "deer in the headlights" who finished fifth in Vancouver. A move to Detroit last spring that also meant a split with his mom Karen (theyd been living together in Colorado Springs) hastened the maturing process. "Now it will be more normal (in Sochi) because I live on my own," Chan said. "I had the chance to have that excitement living on my own and going to the grocery store, and be like I want Oreo cookies today, or I want ice cream. "Im in complete control of what I want, so going to the Olympics will be more of a comfortable feeling as opposed to summer camp-kind of feel." Chan, who will take aim at his seventh straight Canadian senior title this week, has become the skater to beat at Sochi since winning three consecutive world crowns. At the Trophee Bompard Grand Prix in November, he ran away with gold, smashing the world records in the short and long program, and for overall score, to finish a whopping 31 points ahead of closest pursuer Yuzuru Hanyu of Japan. Chan predicts Hanyu, who trains in Toronto under Canadian coach Brian Orser, will be his stiffest competition in Russia. The 19-year-old beat Chan at the Grand Prix Final in December, and broke Chans world record in the short program. Still, Chan pointed out that Hanyu was skating on home ice in Fukuoka. "Its his first Olympic Games and its not in Japan. So Olympics is an even playing ground for all of us," Chan said. "But Im not going to write off anyone. Daisuke (Takahashi of Japan) has had a rough season, but he can do something special. And so can Javier (Fernandez of Spain). So can Denis (Ten of Kazakhstan)." Three-time world champion Elvis Stojko has been keeping an eye on the mens events this season, and predicts Sochi will be a two-skater race between Chan and Hanyu. "Theres an excitement level with Hanyu because hes got that unpredictability, that freshness to it. Then youve got the maturity of Chan," Stojko said. "(Chan) is going to need to be focused because the competition is getting close to him now," Stojko added. "Right now for me, (Hanyu) is the guy to beat. Hes at the top of his game. Patrick has the experience under his belt, he has the Olympics under his belt, hes the three-time world champion, hes going to have to stay focused and not allow the pressuree to settle on him.dddddddddddd "Itll be a little easier, because its not in Vancouver, its not in Canada. But its still going to be something where hes got to be very focused and not get caught up during the week." Kevin Reynolds had hoped to be in the medal conversation for Sochi as well, but Canadas No. 2 male skater is only just now making his season debut after six frustrating months of equipment problems. The 23-year-old from Coquitlam, B.C., had hoped to build on the momentum from the world championships last spring where he finished fifth. But his season came to a dead stop when he bought new skate boots that, despite custom fitting, were too wide for his narrow AA heel. "Theyre still not 100 per cent but Im feeling much better," Reynolds said. "Im able to do the skills not at a level Im comfortable with but hopefully Ill be able to manage through this week and manage through Sochi. "Its definitely not an ideal situation, nationals being first competition and Sochi being so close, about 30 days away," he added. "I really would have liked some competitions under my belt for that experience." Reynolds withdrew from both his Grand Prix assignments, and wasnt comfortable enough to do any of his big jumps in practice, which included his quads. He estimates hes onto his ninth or tenth pair of Risport skate boots since his previous skates wore out last season. He even travelled to the manufacturer in Italy to be custom fitted in December. "I was so frustrated at that point, I had withdrawn from my second Grand Prix and I wanted to do everything I possibly could in an Olympic year," Reynolds said. He tried to go back to last seasons skates, a pair of stock Risport skates that werent custom fitted but happened to fit perfectly. "They feel like tissue basically," Reynolds said. "Theres no life left in them." Canada has three Olympic berths in mens singles, ice dance and pairs, and two berths in womens singles, which make it the largest figure skating team in Sochi. Skate Canada will name its Olympic team on Sunday. Olympic ice dance champions Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir will most likely be making their final competitive appearance in Canada at this weeks nationals, as theyre expected to retire following Sochi. The tightest race to make the Olympic team will be in pairs. Meagan Duhamel of Lively, Ont., and Eric Radford of Balmertown, Ont., won bronze at the world championships last spring and have set their sights on the podium in Sochi. Other teams battling for an Olympic berth are Kirsten Moore-Towers and Dylan Moscovitch, Paige Lawrence and Rudi Swiegers, and Natasha Purich and Mervin Tran. Purich and Tran are in their first season competing together. 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