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MOSCOW -- When Antonio Conte took over at Chelsea, his longtime assistant seemed to have been cast aside.After following Conte through his time with Juventus and Italy -- including a spell in charge of Juventus when Conte was banned for failing to report match-fixing -- Massimo Carrera was stranded, and took a relatively obscure post as assistant coach with Spartak Moscow.Four months later, however, Carrera is on the rise. Since being promoted to head coach in mid-August he has turned Spartak, a sleeping giant without a title since 2001, into the Russian league leaders and underlined that success Saturday by dominating rival CSKA Moscow 3-1 in a chaotic derby.Spartak, a team which failed even to progress through Europa League qualifying under Carreras predecessor, was incisive on the counterattack against reigning Russian champion CSKA and ruthlessly exploited the oppositions injury-depleted midfield. Cape Verde forward Ze Luis scored two goals and constantly battled for the ball.Its about the growth of the team, who are getting better every day and giving their heart and soul on the pitch, Carrera said after the game, adding that he has tried to bring an intelligent Italian style to Russia, where football is less tactical and teams are less organized.The derby took place against a backdrop of fire and smoke as rival fans burned captured banners and scarves, boasted of past hooligan victories on Moscows streets, waved flares and threw pyrotechnics into sectors packed with opposing supporters.Though there were no violent clashes inside the stadium and no injuries were reported from the flare-throwing, the chaos and thick smoke forced the referee to stop the game for five minutes. The sheer quantity of pyrotechnics used is likely to prompt questions over how so many banned items were allowed through security screening at a 2018 World Cup venue.Carrera said the intense atmosphere reminded him of the Milan or Turin derbies, but complained CSKA fans had spoiled the atmosphere with aggressive antics.Russia has given Carrera a fresh start in football as well as personal matters, with little mention in Moscow of his involvement in a fatal car crash in the early hours of New Years Day in 2011. His easy-going manner has won him friends among Russian fans and journalists, unlike fellow Italian Fabio Capello, whose brusque manner alienated many during his tenure of the national team.As Carreras fortunes rise, those of CSKAs Leonid Slutsky plummet. In May, he had just won his third Russian title in seven years with CSKA and was on the way to the European Championship as Russia coach. Since then, its been all downhill.Slutsky quit the national team after failing to get out of the group stage, and now he is under pressure at CSKA. Injuries, an aging defense and a lack of funds to replace departed forward Ahmed Musa have all limited Slutskys options. With CSKA seven points off the Russian league lead and last in its Champions League group, Slutsky is being criticized for tactics which once seemed pragmatic but are now derided as overly defensive.With anti-Slutsky banners appearing at games, a leading CSKA fan group issued a statement slamming his tactics and his personal conduct, a charge which some observers link to Slutskys recent appearance in a PR campaign for a Jewish cultural center.Unless CSKA turns its season around soon, it looks like a straight fight for the title between Spartak and Zenit St. Petersburg, which matched Spartak on points following Sundays 1-0 win over Tom Tomsk.FC Rostov, the team labeled a Russian Leicester for its charge to second last season, is mired in mid-table, as is Rubin Kazan, with nothing to show for big offseason spending.The circumstances look good for Spartak to end its long title drought, and for a remarkable turnaround in the fortunes of its coach.Air Max Plus Tn Red . Pirlo limped out of Sundays 1-0 win over Udinese after just 13 minutes. Juventus says Pirlo underwent tests on Monday which revealed he has "a second-degree lesion to the collateral medial ligament in his right knee. Vapormax Plus Womens Cheap . -- Lou Brocks shoulder-to-shoulder collision with Bill Freehan during the 1968 World Series and Pete Roses bruising hit on Ray Fosse in the 1970 All-Star game could become relics of baseball history, like the dead-ball era. http://www.airmaxplusstoresale.com/air-vapormax-plus-cheap/womens-discount.html . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. Air Max Plus 3 For Sale . If ever they start actually putting pictures beside words in the dictionary, the Blue Jays left-handers mug will appear beside “Consistency. Vapormax Plus Store . They hope to persuade the other team owners and commissioner Roger Goodell to put pressure on Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to drop the nickname they find offensive. "Given the way the meeting transpired," Ray Halbritter, an Oneida representative and leader of the "Change the Mascot Campaign," said Wednesday, "it became somewhat evident they were defending the continued use of the name.TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida State quarterback Deondre Francois continues to impress with this play despite taken plenty of hard hits.Francois has completed 63 percent of his passes and thrown nine touchdowns heading into the 14th-ranked Seminoles Atlantic Coast Conference matchup with Wake Forest on Saturday in Tallahassee. What makes coach Jimbo Fisher even happier is that Francois has only two interceptions and has not had a turnover in the past three games.Besides being able to be efficient with the ball, Fisher has been pleased with Francois toughness.Even though he had to be checked out twice by the training staff for a possible shoulder injury, Francois was able to rally FSU to a 20-19 win at No. 16 Miami. During the third quarter he was 10 of 11 for 144 yards and threw a pair of second-half touchdowns as the Seminoles (4-2, 1-2) came back from a 13-point deficit.Its not about if the guy doesnt have the ability to run it. Its do they have the little intangibles to be able to stand there and take that toughness, Fisher said. Thats exactly why hes playing. He has that innate ability for a young guy to process that and do it.Francois has also been able to show off more of his ability as a dual-threat quarterback as the season has progressed. He is averaging 42.7 rushing yards over the past three games and has two touchdowns.Running back Dalvin Cook said Francois is playing like a veteran and not a freshman.You can see hes going through his progressions more, smoother, Cook added. His confidence level was through the roof since from the beginning of the season, but hes a little more comfortable back there in the pocket.Fisher and the Seminoles are hoping they can continue to sustain momentum from the Miami win. Wake Forest is also coming in with confidence. It is 5-1 for the first time since winning the Atlantic Coast Conference title in 2006.The Demon Deacons, who are 2-1 in conference, played the Seminoles tough last season. They had a chance to tie late before a fourth-quarter interception helped preserve a 24-16 FSU win.Wake Forest coach Dave Clawson has also been impressed with what he has seen from Francois on tape.ddddddddddddHe just makes throws beyond his years. He anticipates windows. Some of the tight spaces he throws the ball into is incredible, Clawson said. He throws the ball well on the run and hes also a versatile athlete.---Here are some other things to watch as the Seminoles host the Demon Deacons:PICKING THEM OFF: Florida State cornerback Tarvarus McFadden leads the nation in interceptions with four. The Seminoles had eight interceptions all of last season but already have seven in the first six games. They have also forced a turnover in seven straight games dating back to last season.MOVING UP: Dalvin Cook needs 16 yards to become the third Florida State player to rush for 3,500 yards or more in his career. Cook leads Power 5 conference backs in rushing (785 yards) and is averaging 185.7 yards in his past three games.SACK MASTERS: Defensive ends Duke Ejofor (Wake Forest) and DeMarcus Walker (Florida State) are tied for second in the conference with 6.5 sacks. Walker also blocked an extra point last week to help the Seminoles preserve their win over the Hurricanes.GROUND GAME: Wakes rushing offense is ranked 23rd nationally, averaging 118.7 yards per game. Freshman running back Cade Carney has two straight 100-yard games and quarterback John Wolford is the teams second-leading rusher with 276 yards after having minus-84 his first two seasons.KEEP AN EYE ON: Florida State wide receiver Travis Rudolph. The junior caught 13 passes, including four touchdowns, in the first two games but has just six receptions in the past four. Fisher said that Rudolph has blocked well on downfield runs and continues to play well as they try to find more ways to get him more involved again in the passing game.---Online: The APs college football page: http://collegfootball.ap.org---Follow Joe on Twitter: www.twitter.com/joereedy and his work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/journalist/joe-reedy ' ' '