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ROME — Napoli and Roma remained perfect atop Serie A with key wins, Inter Milan thrashed Sassuolo 7-0, and two-time defending champion Juventus struggled at times before edging Hellas Verona 2-1 in a busy Sunday of the Italian league. Jason Kidd Jersey . Napoli came away from the San Siro with a 2-1 victory over AC Milan with goals from Miguel Britos and Gonzalo Higuain, while Mario Balotelli failed to convert a penalty kick for the first time in his career. „We worked really well as a squad today and I think thats our strength,“ new Napoli coach Rafa Benitez said. „Were still starting this job and we allowed a lot defensively tonight but beating a big squad like Milan at the San Siro is important.“ Roma beat rival Lazio 2-0 in the city derby, with fullback Federico Balzaretti scoring the decisive goal and the Giallorossis 36-year-old captain Francesco Totti again proving decisive. In the lunchtime fixture, Diego Milito scored twice on his return from injury as Inter thrashed its recently promoted opponent amid news that Indonesian businessman Erick Thohir is closing in on a takeover of the club. Juventus came from a goal down in Turin to edge visiting Verona with goals from Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente, while Mati Fernandez and Giuseppe Rossi scored as Fiorentina won 2-0 at Atalanta. Also, it was: Catania 0, Parma 0; and Bologna 1, Torino 2. Through four rounds, Napoli and Roma are two points ahead of Juventus, Inter and Fiorentina. In Milan, Britos put Napoli ahead six minutes in with a header following a free kick and Higuain doubled the lead in the 53rd with a long, low shot that Rossoneri goalkeeper Christian Abbiati got a hand on but wasnt able to stop. Balotelli was 21-for-21 in his professional career from the penalty spot but Napoli goalkeeper Pepe Reina blocked his effort in the 61st after the striker was dragged down by Britos. Balotellis shot wasnt perfectly placed to the corner and Reina guessed right as he lunged to his right. „We knew Mario was very strong at the penalty lottery and we were a bit lucky,“ Reina said. Balotelli was unfortunate again in the 71st when he hit the crossbar, although he finally found the target in added time with a splendid, curling, long-range effort. Still, Milan dropped eight points back, and Balotelli picked up his second yellow card after the final whistle, for protests, and will miss the Rossoneris next match. In Rome, two days after extending his contract for two more seasons, Totti provided the cross in the 63rd when Balzaretti volleyed in for his first goal in Serie A since April 2011, when he played for Palermo. Seconds before his goal, Balzaretti hit the post. Lazios best chance at the Stadio Olimpico came when the ball bounced just wide off Miroslav Kloses thigh in the 55th. Lazio was reduced to 10 men when Andre Dias was sent off for a last-man foul on Totti in the 82nd. New signing Adem Ljajic earned and converted a penalty for Roma in added time. Lazio had won four of the last five derbies, including a victory in last seasons Italian Cup final, which left Roma and its fans despondent throughout the summer. „We put the church back in the centre of town,“ Romas new coach Rudi Garcia said, using a proverb from his native French tonque. „It was a huge match for us and for our fans and like I said, You dont play the derby, you win it.“ In Turin, Fabrizio Cacciatore gave Verona the lead in the 36th. Tevez equalized with an angled shot in the 40th for his third goal in three league matches and Llorente, who was growing unhappy after playing only one minute previously this season, scored the winner with a glancing header in first-half added time following a cross from Arturo Vidal. However, Juventus risked conceding an equalizer to the end and failed to dominate for its third successive match, following draws with Inter last week and at FC Copenhagen in the Champions League. Inters victory marked only the third time in Serie A that a team won 7-0 away, after Juventus beat Pro Patria in 1950 and Udinese routed Palermo in 2011, prompting Delio Rossi to be fired. Padova and AC Milan hold the record with 8-0 wins in 1949 and 1955, respectively. „Im sorry about the result,“ Inter coach Walter Mazzarri said. „We tried to hold ourselves up but there were vertical spaces left wide open.“ Rodrigo Palacio, Saphir Taider, Ricardo Alvarez and Estaban Cambiasso also scored for Inter, and defender Raffaele Puccino added an own goal. Milito, who came on in the 54th, had been out since injuring his left knee in February. Having moved from Napoli, Mazzarri has made an immediate impact with Inter, which finished ninth last season with 16 losses. The Nerazzurri have yet to lose this season. „This was an important mental test, to move from Juventus to Sassuolo,“ Mazzarri said. „Someone could have thought about doing things slightly less well but everyone was focused.“ Palacio put Inter ahead seven minutes in following a cross from Yuto Nagatomo, Taider scored his first goal with Inter in the 23rd by redirecting a rebound from Palacio and Puccino made it 3-0 in the 33rd when he tried to beat Taider to the ball but ended up putting it in his own net instead. Alvarez made it 4-0 with a rebound of a shot from Palacio in the 53rd. Milito replaced Palacio a minute later and needed just nine minutes to score, taking a cross from Alvarez and redirecting it in from close range. „I broke down when he scored that goal,“ Mazzarri said. „Hes an exceptional kid.“ Cambiasso found the target with a long shot in the 75th and Milito scored again in the 83rd after taking a pass from Fredy Guarin. Josh Reaves Jersey . Kevin Martin and Kevin Love paced the Timberwolves like they do so often. Martin had 27 points with some key baskets down the stretch, Love had his usual double-double, and the Timberwolves snapped a three-game losing streak with a 112-106 victory Saturday night over the suddenly slipping Dallas Mavericks. Jamal Mashburn Jersey . — Cordell Cato scored his first goal of the season and the San Jose Earthquakes survived a full half playing a man down to beat FC Dallas 2-1 Saturday night.With the NHL Draft coming up on June 27 and free agency opening on July 1, discussions between NHL general managers are heating up towards a busy off-season. Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Defensive Depth TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun is reporting the Toronto Maple Leafs have considerable interest in unrestricted free-agent defenceman Dan Boyle. LeBrun says one source believes Torontos interest is „serious.“ The Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers are also interested in the services of the 37-year-old. LeBrun says the New York Islanders still remain an option with the Montreal Canadiens likely out of the running after re-signing Andrei Markov. TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reported on the following issues: Patience is a Virtue Minnesota Wild forward Dany Heatley and former Tampa Bay Lightning forward Ryan Malone may have to be patient in free agency according to Dreger. Dreger says their willingness to take one-year contracts will draw attention from more teams. The Lightning used their second compliance buyout on Malone on Wednesday while Heatley will become an unrestricted free-agent on July 1. Draft Talk Conversation regarding the Florida Panthers first overall pick should heat up Thursday ahead of Fridays NHL Entry Draft. If offers for the top pick dont improve, Florida intends to hold on to it. Canucks Complex Dealings The Vancouver Canucks are still trying to trade Ryan Kesler but this is a complicated negotiation. Its believed Kesler has identified just two teams in the Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks. That puts rookie general manager Jim Benning and the management of the Canucks in a tough spot because theyre just negiotioation with the two teams. Maybe its possible that the Canucks try to pull in their horns in an effort to encourage Kelser to expand his list. Blackhawks Hope to Keep the Band Together GM Stan Bowman and the Chicago Blackhawks are very eager to make sure the star component remains intact for a lengthy period of time. Were talking about how the new CBA is going to impact the superstar model of player and certainly Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toewws qualify as such. Rolando Blackman Jersey. No longer is it allowed to frontload and go with that 10, 12 or 15-year mega-deal. Now we know its a maximum of eight years so its not inconceivable that, as long as the salary cap climbs to around $75 million in 2016 that Kane and Toews could come in around $11-12 million each. Iginla and Alfredsson Drawn Together Jarome Iginla and Daniel Alfredsson could have an impact on each others future, depending on whether they both get what they want, which is to sign where they played last year. Iginla wants to stay with the Boston Bruins and theres talk theyre negotiating on both a two-year deal and perhaps a one-year deal maybe very similar to the contract he signed with the Bruins last year with a cap hit of $1.8 million with a bonus structure that deeply impacted the Bruins. If they cant get a deal done in Boston, then the Detroit Red Wings are among the teams that are keenly interested in Iginla as well. The Red Wings also have interest in Alfredsson, who is believed to be coming back but he hasnt made it 100 per cent certain yet. He works on his own timeframe, similar to Teemu Selanne but Im also told hes willing to be flexible. —————————————– Shopping Around Despite a good conversation between the team and his agent, Paul Stastny plans to test the free-agent market before making a decision on his future. Adrian Dater of the Denver Post spoke with Avalanche executive vice president of hockey operations Joe Sakic, who said Stastny wants to field offers before seeing if his current team will match the amounts.  Dater also reports Sakic saying that he isnt put off by Stastnys plan to field offers because hes earned the right to be in that position. Vinny On The Move? Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports that Flyers general manager Ron Hextall might be willing to move veteran forward Vincent Lecavalier if he agrees to waive his no-trade clause.   In the report, Hextall is quoted as saying hes spoken to Lecavaliers agent but would not elaborate further.  Carchidis story also talks about Flyers draft prospects and the players they are looking at selecting in the upcoming NHL Draft. ‚ ‚ ‚