digits three times this season, which is the most since they

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. Fake White Sox Jerseys . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . White Sox Jerseys 2020 .C. -- Rodney Hood connected from all over the court while freshman Jabari Parker was busy swatting shots and scoring in transition. https://www.cheapwhitesox.com/ . Nathan MacKinnon, Jamie McGinn and Jan Hejda also scored for the Avalanche, who won despite being outshot 38-23. MacKinnons goal, also on the power play, came with just over a minute remaining. Cheap White Sox Jerseys . Los Angeles star goalie survived those perilous gymnastics with no problem, and he eventually backstopped the Kings to a skid-snapping win. Quick stopped 27 shots in his return from a 24-game injury absence, Jeff Carter scored the tiebreaking goal with 7:55 to play, and the Kings snapped their five-game losing streak with a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. Chicago White Sox Gear . Q: Team Canada announces their Olympic roster three weeks from today. Who is general manager Steve Yzerman watching? LeBrun: Over the last 48 hours, hes taken in the home-and-home between the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche with Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene being the obvious targets. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Florida State will go into Sundays game against No. 21 Florida on a roll.Seven Seminoles scored in double figures as their 118-63 victory over Nicholls State on Thursday was the most points scored in Leonard Hamiltons 15 seasons.The previous mark was 109 set in last years opener against Nicholls State. The 55 point margin is the seventh largest in school history.We made it a priority to keep our foot on the gas and not take any possessions on either side of the floor off. Tonight was a step in the right direction, said Xavier Rathan-Mayes, who had 16 points.FSU (9-1) -- which won its fifth straight -- has been locked in on offense the past two games, especially from the perimeter as they have made 31 3-pointers, including 17 on Thursday.PJ Savoy led the Seminoles in scoring for the second straight game. The sophomore junior college transfer had 18 points with all of them coming on 3-pointers. He has made 13 in the past two games.He stretches the floor for us. We expect them to make those shots and everyone is looking to him on the floor to get him the ball, Hamilton said.Florida State also had 32 assists, which is tied for third in school history, with seven coming from Rathan-Mayes.Dwayne Bacon also scored 16 while Braian Angola-Rodas added 14 and Trent Forrest 13.Florida State led throughout, scoring the games 14 points as it was 25 of 37 from the field in the first half and shot 62.5 percent (45 of 72 for the game). It was up by 29 by the time Nicholls State reached double figures with 6:51 remaining in the first half. The Seminoles would lead by as many as 57 late in the game.JaDante Frye led Nicholls State (4-5) with 17 points and Jahvaughn Powell added 14. The Colonels were missing leading scorer DeAndre Harris (16.1 points per game), who remained on campus to deal with what coach RRichie Riley described as academic issues.ddddddddddddThey jumped us early and took us out of anything we wanted to do, Riley said.BIG PICTURENicholls State: The Colonels were 4-3 at one point, which was their best start in six seasons. However they have dropped their last two by an average of 43.5 points.Florida State: The Seminoles have recorded two of the 13 largest blowouts in school history in their past two games (they beat Southern Mississippi by 49 on Tuesday). However things wont be easy against the Gators.CENTURY MARKFlorida State has scored in triple digits three times this season, which is the most since they had three in 1994-95. It is the eighth time in Hamiltons tenure they have scored over 100. The Seminoles also had a chance for 100 earlier this season against Iona (99-78) and Southern Miss (98-49) but elected to dribble out the clock instead of taking a shot.MOVING UPHamilton got his 265th win at Florida State, which moves him into ninth in Atlantic Coast Conference history. With his next win, he would tie former North Carolina State coach Norm Sloan for eighth.INJURIESFlorida States Jonathan Isaac missed his third straight game due to a hip flexor and Phil Cofer (foot) was also held out as a precaution for the second straight game. Both are expected to be available for Sundays game.UP NEXTNicholls State: The Colonels host Thomas University, which is an NAIA school, on Sunday.Florida State: The Seminoles host No. 21 Florida on Sunday. FSU has won its last two over its in-state rival after dropping five straight.---More AP college basketball at http://collegebasketball.ap.org and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25---Follow Joe Reedy on Twitter at www.twitter.com/joereedy ' ' '