is not the first top national recruit out of the Peach State to pick Ohio State. Former starting safety Vonn Bell signed with Ohio State in the 2013 class, and starting inside linebacker and prese

During last season, Manchester City got their man for the touchline. Over the summer, they have again gotten their men through the transfer market, exorbitant price tags be damned.All eyes will be on Pep Guardiola at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday when Manchester City once more begin a season of sky-high expectations against a Sunderland side in a state of flux.One of the worst-kept secrets in all of European football, Guardiola was named Manuel Pellegrinis successor Feb. 1 and signed a three-year contract worth a reported ￡45 million -- the highest average managers salary in the Premier League. That ended an awkward dance in which Pellegrini -- who claimed he knew of the deal a month prior -- was left to twist in the wind on a weekly basis and eventually guided the Citizens to a fourth-place finish and a Champions League playoff spot.City will have a quick turnaround after this match to start that two-legged series, which opens Tuesday at Steaua Bucharest in Romania. The winner will advance into group play proper.Guardiola had previously announced last Christmas he was leaving Bayern Munich, wrapping up a three-season spell in Bavaria rich in domestic glory with three Bundesliga titles but lacking a Champions League trophy. In fact, Bayern was eliminated in the semifinals all three years of his tenure -- a round City reached for the first time in club history during Pellegrinis final season in charge.The former Barcelona taskmaster has been reunited with his boardroom partners from the Catalan club -- director of football Txiki Begiristain and chief executive Ferran Soriano -- and the trio spent lavishly this summer reshaping City to fit Guardiolas vision to win the Champions League trophy team owner Sheikh Mansour is so desperate to lift as well as another domestic title.Thats why Im here. To prove myself, Guardiola said at his introductory news conference last month. I was in Barcelona where I had absolutely everything, the best player ever and one team where most of the players grew up from the academy so I knew them. Bayern Munich, a club who have a lot of experience as well for many, many things.Here is another test for my career. It would have been comfortable to stay where I was, I feel that it is the right moment to come here and prove myself. If Im able to convince these players the way we want, and show a level at the end then well see. If its not going well, were ready to prepare whats going to happen.Accordingly, it was another busy offseason on the blue side of Manchester, where central defender John Stones was the latest acquisition Wednesday for a reported transfer fee of ￡47.5 million to Everton. The 22-year-old, who suffered a dip in form last season and was left on Englands bench during the European Championship this summer, is expected to form a partnership with captain Vincent Kompany when the Belgium international fully recovers from his calf woes.It all seems so surreal, admitted Stones, who was desperately wanted by Jose Mourinho before he was sacked at Chelsea last season. It was a lot of things, I spoke to a lot of the boys and they wanted me to come in. (Pep) was a big part of that. I want to help the team win trophies.Stones is one of six new signings for City, who laid out a combined ￡72 million in transfer fees for midfielders Leroy Sane (Schalke), Ilkay Gundogan (Borussia Dortmund) and striker Nolito (Celta Vigo). With their arrivals, defender Martin Demichelis has already left, while City are reportedly listening to offers for Samir Nasri, Wilfried Bony and Eliaquim Mangala among others.It will be interesting to see how the new faces mesh with the holdovers. There is still plenty of firepower up front, paced by forward Sergio Aguero and wing Kevin De Bryune. Both missed stretches of time with injuries, but Aguero still nearly won the Golden Boot after totaling 24 goals in just 30 league matches. De Bruyne had seven goals and nine assists in 22 league matches but also contributed three goals in Champions League play.It is also a reunion of sorts for Guardiola and midfielder Yaya Toure, who had six goals in an uneven 2015-16 campaign. The 33-year-old played two seasons under Guardiola at Barcelona before joining City in 2010.After another season of flirting with relegation before Sam Allardyce pulled them through the fire, Sunderland finally appeared on an upward trajectory. But that has all been thrown into chaos with Allardyce leaving to take the England national team job late last month.In his place comes David Moyes, looking to rebound after a disastrous stint of less than one season at Manchester United as Sir Alex Fergusons successor and a one-year run at Real Sociedad that ended with him being sacked last November following a poor start.The former Everton boss fully understands the urgency at stake for both the Wearside club and his legacy, telling the teams official website, I can see this giving me a chance to progress and make the team better and hopefully -- Im going to say it again -- do a bit of an Everton because in my last eight years we never finished outside the top eight.Sunderland have got potential which many clubs dont have, but we have to progress because we dont want to be in the position we have been although we know thats easier said than done. Winning for me is the biggest thing. I want to win.The Black Cats signed Donald Love and Paddy McNair from Manchester United on Thursday, and Moyes is trying to line up their former teammates Marouane Fellaini and Adnan Januzaj. Fellaini was with Moyes at Everton before following him to Old Trafford, where he is trying to find first-team minutes under Mourinho. Moyes also had interest in another of his former Everton players, Phil Jageilka, but Stones move to City has scuttled that possibility.City have won four on the bounce in league play and five in a row overall over Sunderland, including a 4-1 romp in last seasons corresponding fixture. Raheem Sterling, Toure and Bony all scored in the first 22 minutes, and De Bryune added a second-half tally after assisting on two of those first-half markers.The Black Cats are winless in their last seven (0-1-6) in all contests versus City and 0-2-10 all-time in Premier League matches at Manchester City. Authentic Custom Packers Jersey . "Were just throwing s--- at the wall hoping something sticks," said Tortorella about the possible line combinations for Fridays game against Columbus. The Canucks have lost five straight games and six of their last seven, leaving them in a logjam in the Pacific Division, currently sitting fifth - good for ninth in the Western Conference. Packers Jerseys China . Detroit and Boston are deadlocked, 1-1, and Tigers manager Jim Leyland could be forgiven if he was caught rationalizing instead of dissecting how his club could blow a 5-1 lead late in Game 2. http://www.custompackersjersey.com/ . -- Matt Kuchar and Harris English ran away with the Franklin Templeton Shootout, shooting a 14-under 58 on Sunday in the final-round scramble to break the tournament course record. Cheap Custom Packers Jersey . Instead of dwelling on the negative, Oates focused on what was good about the clubs recent play. It worked. Wholesale Custom Packers Shirts . There was no hesitation from the 40th-ranked Pospisil, from Vernon, B.C., who admitted that he cut back on his training sessions over the last few days to conserve energy as the long ATP season finishes next week at the Paris Masters. Its safe to say Ohio State is dominating on the recruiting trail. The school already held the No. 1 spot in the class of 2017 rankings, and coach Urban Meyer made an early statement about the 2018 class on Friday.Emory Jones, the No. 2-ranked dual-threat signal-caller in the junior class, committed to Ohio State over Tennessee, Clemson, Georgia and a host of others Friday morning, getting the class of 2018 jump-started.The 6-foot-2, 193-pound quarterback made a number of unofficial visits in June and July, including trips last week to Knoxville and Columbus, before announcing his decision today. Ohio State was considered the favorite for much of the spring and summer.Jones commitment will add to what is already an impressive group of quarterbacks who are either already at Ohio State or heading to Columbus. Meyer has landed ESPN 300 quarterbacks in each of the last four classes, including Under Armour All-America Game selection Dwayne Haskins Jr. in February, and Tate Martell, who is committed in the 2017 class.ddddddddddddones is not the first top national recruit out of the Peach State to pick Ohio State. Former starting safety Vonn Bell signed with Ohio State in the 2013 class, and starting inside linebacker and preseason All-American pick Raekwon McMillan selected the Buckeyes in the 2015 class.Jones verbal commitment adds to Ohio States already-considerable momentum. The Buckeyes 2017 class is currently ranked No. 1 with a bevy of ESPN 300 verbals, including cornerback Shaun Wade, tackle Josh Myers, defensive end Chase Young, tackle/guard Wyatt Davis, safety Isaiah Pryor and running back J.K. Dobbins, who all made?the Top 100 of the prestigious list.Jones is the second commitment for Ohio State in the 2018 class, joining Sunshine State running back Brian Snead out of Tampa-area power Armwood High. ' ' '