r winning the previous two U.S. titles, and she cracked, finishing

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Ashley Wagner knew she wouldnt lose any sleep this night.A year after a miserable trip to the U.S. Championships, Wagner won the short program with 72.04 points Thursday. Her performance had her thinking beyond nationals and to contending for international medals.Defending champ Gracie Gold was second, 5.02 back after doubling the toe loop in her triple-triple combination. In 2014, Wagner was the one with all the pressure after winning the previous two U.S. titles, and she cracked, finishing a distant fourth to spend a night fearing shed missed out on an Olympic berth.Wagner made the team because of her previous successes and finished seventh in Sochi with some redemptive performances. After winning bronze at the Grand Prix Final last month, she vowed that she needed more difficulty in her programs to make the podium at the world championships.Wagner tried a triple lutz-triple toe loop combination in competition for the first time Thursday. She two-footed the second landing but was heartened by the jump.I think that it is one of the steppingstones along the way to becoming one of the top ladies internationally, she said.The top of the U.S. standings looked familiar. Polina Edmunds, the third U.S. woman at the Sochi Games, was third, .98 points behind Gold. And in fourth, just .76 behind her, was Mirai Nagasu, the skater bumped from the Olympic team by Wagner.Fewer than four points separated second from seventh place. But Wagner had a cushion at the top — though one that can be easily overcome during the free skate.I dont have to worry about fighting through this long program, Wagner said. I feel like Ive put myself in a position where I can just relax and let things happen.A very different feeling from a year ago, when Wagner was fourth after the short program. She then fell twice in her free skate.On Thursday, she could grin as she told reporters: Its really great to be standing in front of you guys and I dont have to explain myself.Gold was the one with some questions to answer after what she called just a minor slipup. She couldnt work on her jumps for most of December because of a stress fracture in her left foot. And even when she was cleared to practice, she had to limit how often she did the toe loop.It would be extremely easy to say the mistake on the toe loop was because of the recovery from the foot fracture, she said. However, it was not, because Id been skating very well.But she had never before arrived at this event as the defending champion.The hum of the arena was different than any other nationals Id been to, Gold said.There were no skaters to defend their title in the pairs competition earlier Thursday.Alexa Scimeca and Christopher Knierim won the short program with 74.01 points, a record for the event, to lead Haven Denney and Brandon Frazier by 5.63.Scimeca and Knierim were the runner-ups at their first U.S. Championships together in 2013. They were fourth a year ago with an Olympic berth at stake. But the three teams that finished ahead of them arent competing this time.Two-time defending U.S. champions Marissa Castelli and Simon Shnapir split in the spring. Castelli was in third place Thursday with new partner Mervin Tran. Shnapir, who skated next with DeeDee Leng, was eighth.Nathan Bartholomay, who earned the Americans other Olympic spot with Felicia Zhang last year, was fifth with Gretchen Donlan after the short program.Scimeca had fallen on the side-by-side triple salchow in four or five straight competitions — the streak was dragging on so long she couldnt remember exactly the last time she landed it cleanly. So she sent out a light-hearted tweet in November that she was saving the successful jump for U.S. Championships.Sure enough, Scimeca was perfect on it Thursday.Chris and I skate best when were joking around, Scimeca said of Knierim, whos her fiance. When it gets too serious, thats when skating gets harder. Cheap FC Barcelona Jerseys . Felton pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon and criminal possession of a firearm. He admitted he knowingly had a large-capacity ammunition magazine and a semi-automatic pistol without a license. 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Cheap AS Roma FC Jerseys . -- During Kansas shootaround on Wednesday before the Jayhawks faced Oklahoma, coach Bill Self told Wayne Selden Jr. Cheap Arsenal FC Jerseys . -- David Ortiz saved his only hit for a key moment for the Boston Red Sox.BARCELONA, Spain - Neymars two-goal performance to help knock Atletico Madrid out of the Copa del Rey showed why Barcelona spared no expense to win the bidding war for the young Brazil striker.With his hard-to-match speed and quick dribbling, Neymar scored from two counterattacks started by Lionel Messi to lead Barcelona to a 3-2 win and into the semifinals on a 4-2 aggregate score on Wednesday.Neymar had an outstanding performance, said Barcelona coach Luis Enrique. He is daring. He provides us with so many things with his goals and his ability to challenge on the dribble.Last season, Neymars first goal in Barcelonas burgundy-and-blue came against Atletico to give Barcelona the Spanish Super Cup, its only title from a disappointing campaign.Now, his 20th and 21st goals of the season have put Barcelona one step closer to another cup final. Only Messi has scored more for Barcelona with 31 goals this season.Barcelona sports daily SPORT splashed the headline Neys Cup on Thursdays front page.The 22-year-old strikers swashbuckling style, however, left no one indifferent.Atletico players bickered with Neymar during the match and openly complained about him afterward.Neymar and Fernando Torres had to be separated after tempers flared as they held a heated argument while leaving Vicente Calderon pitch at halftime. Atletico midfielder Gabi Fernandez earned a second booking during the break for arguing with the referee, and he didnt mince words about Neymar.He has a peculiar way of playing, above all when he is ahead, said Gabi. He always makes gestures that are annoying when he is winning.The signing of Neymar from Brazilian clubb Santos in June 2013 brought Barcelona plenty of problems.dddddddddddd A lawsuit filed by one of its club members over the cost of the transfer led to club president Sandro Rosell resigning in January 2014.Barcelona then paid 13.55 million euros ($18.6 million) to Spanish tax authorities to cover any potential irregularities in its signing of Neymar — which initially cost 57.1 million euros ($74 million).The club has suffered increasing instability since then, and this month new president Josep Bartomeu announced early elections this summer.That said, the benefits of teaming up Messi with Neymar are undeniable.After a season of adjusting to the more physical Spanish league, Neymar has developed into a perfect partner for Messi.Less than a month ago Barcelona had entered crisis mode following a loss at Real Sociedad and the firing of its sports director. Luis Enrique looked like he could be the next to go.But Messi and Neymar have led Barcelona on a seven-game winning streak, including thr