tandings while Malaga, winless in three matches, stayed 11th.SPORTING GIJON 1, VILLARREAL 3Villarreal stayed near the top

WASHINGTON -- Jayson Werth knew this seasons NL Division Series defeat following a division title felt different from the same scenarios that played out for the Washington Nationals a couple of other times recently.How so?I dont know, the teams left fielder said, then repeated that phrase in a silent, somber clubhouse in the early hours of Friday after a 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5. Words are not really coming to me to describe it. Its pretty heavy. Its going to take some time to digest.For the third time in five years, Werth and Washington won the NL East. And for the third time in five years, they failed to win a postseason series.Now comes an offseason with some familiar questions about when, or even if, the 37-year-old Werth and other members of the core group thats been around for these early exits can take the next step.A lot of people have played baseball a lot longer than me and never even made the playoffs. I cherish getting to the playoffs. Everyone wants to win the World Series. Everyone wants to, obviously, get to the next level and get in a deep postseason run. The truth of the matter is, its really hard to do. You have to obviously play well, get some lucky breaks and have a few things go your way, said first baseman Ryan Zimmerman, the Nationals very first amateur draft pick more than a decade ago. I think we should look at the positives and look what weve done in the last five years. Obviously, were all disappointed right now. But weve done a lot of good things.Dusty Baker was the latest manager to get Washington into the postseason but not to an NL Championship Series, pulling all the right strings during his first regular season with the team but seeing some moves not quite pan out against LA, especially in Game 5.That added to his decade-plus, four-club track record of failing to win games that would have concluded a series.In the aftermath of elimination, Baker was asked whether its inevitable that a team or a city goes through difficult moments before getting to a championship.You do have to go through some pain. Its not a very pleasant pain. Ive gone through that pain a few times now, Baker said. But you have to persevere. Thats the story of life. Its how you deal with the down times and how you deal with pain. And if you just keep persevering, then something will happen, something good will happen. You cant stop trying. You cant stop trying to reach your goal.Here is what else to know about the Nationals 2016 season and upcoming offseason:STRASBURGS ELBOW: For the second time in his major league career, Stephen Strasburg sat out a postseason because of his right elbow. In 2012, it was because the right-hander was shut down 13 months after Tommy John surgery. This season, it was because Strasburg hurt his arm . His $175 million, seven-year contract kicks in next season, so the Nationals -- and fans -- will hold their breath waiting to find out how badly hes injured. As became clear against the Dodgers, without Strasburg, there is nothing October-ready about the rotation beyond Max Scherzer -- and the Nationals lost both games the NL Cy Young Award favorite started in the NLDS.HARPERS HEALTH: Bryce Harper went from being the youngest unanimous MVP in baseball history in 2015 to a bit of a mystery in 2016. His numbers went way down to a .243 average, 24 homers, 86 RBI in the regular season, and he had only one RBI in the playoffs. The big question is whether he or the Nationals will ever explain exactly what his health status was -- because if he wasnt badly compromised by injury, then his lack of production at the plate becomes a lot more worrisome.BULLPEN PROBLEMS: Time to rebuild the relief corps again. Closer Mark Melancon and middleman Marc Rzepczynski can become free agents (as can catcher Wilson Ramos , who had right knee surgery Friday). Setup man Shawn Kelley left Game 5 with numbness in his throwing hand. While the bullpen was spotless through three games against the Dodgers, it blew leads in Games 4 and 5 losses, the same old October story for this team.TURNERS EMERGENCE: The best news for Washington might be the emergence of rookie Trea Turner, who batted .342 with 13 homers, 40 RBI and 33 steals despite only 307 at-bats and while learning to play center field.Nike Air Max 95 Dam Rea . Parker had 26 points and eight assists and San Antonio beat Toronto 112-99 Monday night. "We won that game because of Tony Parkers aggressiveness," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "His juice; his aggression all night long. Air Max 200 Herr . -- Sergey Tolchinksy scored his second goal of the game 3:56 into overtime as the Sault Ste. http://www.reaairmaxsverige.com/ . Now that hes hitting streaking teammates with pin-point passes for easy layups, Love is asserting himself as one of the true superstars in the league. Off White Skor Sverige .com) - Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Roger Federer were easy first-round winners Tuesday at the Australian Open. Nike Air Max 90 Herr Billigt . PAUL, Minn.MADRID -- Atletico Madrids victory in its final game of 2016 in the Spanish league allowed coach Diego Simeone to overlook the teams struggles and focus on the positives of a fantastic year.Atletico beat Las Palmas 1-0 on Saturday to snap a three-game winless streak and avoid losing more ground to the leaders ahead of the winter break.It was an extraordinary year, Simeone said. We have to improve in the league, its true, but our fans should be proud of the year that we had.In the first half of the year, Atletico reached the Champions League final, losing to Real Madrid for the second time in three seasons, and contended for the Spanish league title until the final rounds, eventually finishing behind champion Barcelona and Madrid.This season hasnt started so well. It remained sixth in the league, having won half of its 16 matches. It was nine points behind leader Madrid.Atletico will play its last game of the year on Tuesday against third-division club Guijuelo in the Copa del Rey. Atletico won the first leg 6-0 in the round-of-32 matchup.On Saturday, Saul Niguez scored with a well-placed shot from outside the area in the 59th minute at Vicente Calderon Stadium, hitting the far corner with a curling left-foot shot to put an end to the teams recent struggles.This goal comes at the right time in what has been an up-and-down season, Niguez said. It helped the team win and it brings confidence.Simeones squad was coming off a 3-0 loss to Villarreal and a 0-0 home draw against Espanyol in the league. It also lost 1-0 to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, a result that kept the team from finishing the group stage with a perfect record.dddddddddddd.Madrid plays in the Club World Cup final in Japan on Sunday, when Barcelona, six points off the lead, hosts Espanyol.SEVILLA 4, MALAGA 1Striker Luciano Vietto scored a pair three minutes apart in the first half to lead 10-man Sevilla to victory.Ben Yedder and Victor Vitolo Machin also scored before halftime as the hosts won for the fourth time in their last five league matches.Malaga scored through forward Sandro in the 62nd, just a couple of minutes after Sevilla defender Adil Rami was sent off for a second yellow card.Sevilla was second in the standings while Malaga, winless in three matches, stayed 11th.SPORTING GIJON 1, VILLARREAL 3Villarreal stayed near the top with a comfortable win over struggling Sporting in Gijon.Jonathan dos Santos, Nicola Sansone and Alexandre Pato scored in Villarreals first away win since September.Sportings consolation goal was by Carlos Carmona in the 89th.The result marked Sportings fifth loss in its last six games, leaving the club 18th in the 20-team standings, inside the relegation zone.GRANADA 0, REAL SOCIEDAD 2Real Sociedad got goals from Jon Bautista and Juanmi in the second half to win its second in a row and lie fifth.Granada, which has won only one game in the league so far, stayed with nine points after 16 matches, two points ahead of last-place Osasuna.---Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni ' ' '