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BARCELONA, Spain - Tito Vilanova, the coach who succeeded Pep Guardiola at Barcelona and won the Spanish league title in his only season in charge, died Friday following a long battle with throat cancer. He was 45. Vilanova, who has battled a recurring tumour in a saliva gland, was admitted to a local hospital in Barcelona last week. He reportedly had emergency surgery on Thursday. "It is with sadness that Barcelona must announce that Francesc Tito Vilanova has died today at the age of 45," Barcelona said in a statement on its website. "The death of our former coach occurred this afternoon when he could not overcome this disease which he had battled since 2011." Vilanovas death prompted an outpouring of condolences from players and coaches across Europe. Barcelona star Lionel Messi posted a photograph of himself with Vilanova on his Facebook page with the message: "We will always remember you. All my sympathy goes to Titos family." Former Barcelona defender Eric Abidal, who recovered from liver cancer and a liver transplant to help hoist the 2012-13 league trophy with Vilanova, wrote on Twitter: "For everything we went through together, I will always remember you, my friend. Thanks for fighting." Spains royal family and Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy also sent telegrams to Vilanovas family and Barcelona, according to the Europa Press news agency. Vilanova first became ill in November 2011, while still an assistant to Guardiola, and took a leave of absence after undergoing surgery. The soft-spoken Vilanova returned and took over from Guardiola the next season, when he led Barcelona to the Spanish league title with a record-tying 100 points. Vilanova had a second tumour removed in December 2012 and travelled to New York several times during the season to receive further treatment before returning to the sidelines. In April 2013, Vilanova said he felt fine and "had never thought about quitting." He finished the season before suddenly being forced to resign following a relapse in July. As an assistant, Vilanova helped Guardiola propel Barcelona into its most successful period and transform a team led by Messi into the worlds best. With a team that also included several of the players that led Spain to the World Cup title in 2010, Barcelona won 14 of a possible 19 major trophies from 2008-12 under Guardiola before adding the league title with Vilanova in 2013. Despite the impressive league display, Vilanova was unable to win another Champions League title last season. Barcelona lost to eventual champion Bayern Munich 7-0 on aggregate in the semifinals, one of its most humbling results of the last decade. As Guardiolas assistant, Vilanova provided the tactical know-how that helped the coach build one of the best teams in the history of the sport — winning two Champions League titles in its impressive haul. Vilanova will also be remembered for his role in a brawl in the 2010 Spanish Super Cup won by Barcelona, when Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho poked him in the eye. Mourinho, who is now at Chelsea, also sent his condolences "at this most difficult time." "Tito Vilanovas passing is a sad day for football, for Barcelona and most importantly for his family and friends," Mourinho said. Born in the Catalan village of Bellcaire dEmporda, Vilanova began his career as a player at Barcelonas training academy from 1984-89 but never made it to the first team. Instead, he went on to play for clubs such as Celta Vigo and Mallorca before his career was cut short by a serious knee injury. Vilanova then went into coaching and got a job in Barcelonas youth system, tutoring current players Gerard Pique, Cesc Fabregas and Messi. Vilanova left to work as sport director at third-division club Terrassa before returning to Barcelona to take over the clubs "Barca B" feeder team. His funeral will be on Monday at Barcelonas cathedral. Vilanova is survived by his wife, Montse Chaure, and two children. His son Adrian is currently in Barcelonas youth academy. AP Sports Writer Paul Logothetis contributed to this report from Madrid. Bobby Hull Jersey . Rico dove horizontally to meet Andoni Iraolas precise long cross from the right to score his second league goal of the season in the 33rd minute. Two minutes later, Aritz Aduriz netted Bilbaos second when he raced forward and pounced on a poor clearance by Villarreal defender Mateo Musacchio, sending a low shot rolling past goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo. Tony Esposito Jersey . The Calgary Stampeders running back received the West Division nomination for the CFLs top individual award Thursday in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada and leagues eight head coaches. http://www.officialblackhawksauthority.c...ks-jersey-c-25/. Jovanovski, the 2012 champ seeded fifth, will meet surprise Japanese qualifier Misa Eguchi on Friday. Eguchi, ranked 183rd, qualified for her first WTA main draw this week, then beat No. CM Punk Jersey .Y. -- Dwane Casey admitted hed been concerned about his young Raptors team who had zero experience playing in close-out games -- what awaited them with the vastly-experienced Brooklyn Nets, and how theyd react. Jonathan Toews Jersey . -- The Detroit Lions made it crystal clear to Golden Tate that he was their top target in free agency.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Baltimore Ravens have long been defined by their defense, but it is Joe Flacco and the offense that has the club off to a 3-1 start. Meanwhile, Andrew Lucks MVP-type start to the season has the Indianapolis Colts at .500. The two clubs put their winning streaks on the line this Sunday at Indianapolis Lucas Oil Stadium. Lost in the never-ending Ray Rice saga is the fact that the Ravens have ripped off three straight victories since a Week 1 loss to Cincinnati, putting them second in the AFC North behind only the 3-0 Bengals. Baltimore has won three in a row by an average of 17.3 points, posting two blowout wins around a two- point nail-bitter over Cleveland. Baltimores latest win came last Sunday on a big game by Steve Smith Sr. over his former Carolina Panthers club, with the wide receiver hauling in a pair of touchdown passes in a 38-10 rout. Smith spent his first 13 seasons with the Panthers before getting released in March. He signed a three-year deal with the Ravens and came back to haunt his former club, grabbing seven passes for 139 yards. Im 35 years old and I ran around those guys like they were school-yard kids, said Smith. Flacco threw for 327 yards and also hooked up with Torrey Smith for a touchdown pass, while running backs Justin Forsett and Lorenzo Taliaferro combined for 124 yards on 29 carries. Each back also found the end zone as Baltimore racked up a season-high 454 yards. The Ravens are aiming to open a season 4-1 for the fourth time under head coach John Harbaugh and will do so while kicking off a span of two straight and four of their next five on the road. That made last weekends home win over Carolina all the more important. To step up like they did, in a really important game at home, a game that we needed to win, Harbaugh praised of his team. Were about to head on the road, were about to be the road warriors here for a while. And that becomes a very important game to win. The Colts have also picked up a pair of important wins, rebounding from losses at Denver and at home versus Philadelphia to begin the campaign with dominating wins over Jacksonville and Tennessee. Indianapolis routed the Jaguars 44-17 in Week 3, then blew past the Titans 41-17 last weekend. Luck threw four touchdown passes for a second straight game, racking up 393 yards passing. Reggie Wayne and T.Y. Hilton both went over 100 yards receiving, with Wayne notching 119 yards and a score on seven catches. Ahmad Bradshaw caught his fourth touchdown pass of the season, the most among all running backs this season. Were blessed with a bunch of great playmakers, guys that need the ball in their hands, and as a quarterback thats what you want, said Luck. At 2-2, the Colts sit second in the AFC South, right behind 3-1 Houston. Their win over Tennessee pushed their winning streak over division opponents to nine in a row. Needless to say, after posting 85 points in two weeks, the Colts are a pretty confident bunch right now. It gives us a mojo and thats what were taking with us on the road, Bradshaw said of getting to .500. In every game, the mojo, we just got to have energy at all times, come out playing strong, fast and physical. Thats the way we did today. The Colts will play three of their next four on the road after this game and will try to remain unbeaten against the Ravens in Indy. They have won all four regular-season meetings in Indianapolis and lead the all-time regular-season series 7-3. These clubs are meeting for the first time since the Ravens won a 24-9 decision at home on Jan. 6, 2013 in an AFC wild card game clash. That marked the final home game in the career of Baltimore linebacker Ray Lewis, and true to form, the Ravens defense did not give up a touchdown. WHAT TO WATCH FOR High-powered offenses are set to clash against middle-of-the-road defenses, and both the Colts and Ravens rank in the top three in point differential. Baltimore is second at plus-43, while the Colts are third at plus-41. The Ravens are sixth in the league with 394.3 yards per game and are averaging 25.8 points per game, while the Colts lead the NFL in scoring at 34.0 PPG and are averaging an NFL high-tying 444.0 YPG. Luck leads the NFL with 13 touchdown passes, the most ever by a player through the first four games in franchiise history.dddddddddddd He has also completed passes to nine different receivers in back-to-back weeks. Hes doing a great job of that, of taking what the defense is giving him and not getting greedy, so to speak, and spreading the ball around, said Colts coach Chuck Pagano. Theyve got to make a decision defensively who they want to identify like we do as game- wreckers and take those guys away, but its going to open it up obviously for somebody else either in the run game or the pass game. Luck is the first player in NFL history with consecutive games of 370-plus passing yards, four-plus touchdown passes, a 70-plus completion percentage and one interception or fewer. Flacco, meanwhile, has been helped by an offensive line that has not given up a sack in three straight games. The Ravens prevented the Panthers from getting to Flacco despite tackle Eugene Monroe missing the game with a knee injury. James Hurst stepped in and helped give Flacco time to complete 22 of his 31 pass attempts. Its been really good. We get the ball out, and those guys have been holding up big time when we do the play-action, when teams come after us and when were dealing with really good defensive lines, Flacco said of the unit. Both quarterbacks are also getting helped by veteran receivers. Smith became the oldest player in NFL history to notch over 400 yards receiving in the first four games of a season, with the 35-year-old having 429 on 25 receptions. He can also provide an emotional spark, like he did versus the Panthers, something Colts cornerback Darius Butler knows well. I played with Steve in 2011 in Carolina, so I know what kind of a player he is, what kind of attitude he brings to a locker room, to a team. Itll be a great matchup for us on the back end and us as a whole against the Ravens, Butler said. Wayne, also 35, is coming off his 200th career game and posted the 43rd 100- yard contest of his career. His seven catches moved him past Isaac Bruce (1,024) for seventh most on the NFLs all-time list, while Wayne is just 27 yards shy of passing Cris Carter (13,899) for ninth most all-time and 132 from moving past eighth-place James Lofton. I think hes a technician. I think he has mastered the craft of being a wide receiver, Luck said of Wayne. He sees coverages incredibly well. He knows what zone, man, where the blitz is coming from. He understands football and I think hes mastered his craft, and he takes it seriously. Its his profession and he gives it the respect it deserves. The Colts have allowed just five sacks on the year, but theyll need to watch Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs, who had three sacks and forced three fumbles in the last regular-season meeting in 2011. Fellow linebacker Elvis Dumervil has 3 1/2 sacks in his last three games overall, notching 1 1/2 sacks versus Carolina. Indianapolis defensive tackle Arthur Jones has six tackles on the year, his first with the Colts after spending his first four campaigns with the Ravens. He had 8 1/2 sacks during his time with Baltimore and had a big run of nine tackles, two fumble recoveries and a sack in four playoff games as the Ravens won Super Bowl XLVII. Colts safety Mike Adams had two interceptions last weekend as the Titans avoided throwing towards cornerback Vontae Davis. However, fellow safety LaRon Landry begins a four-game suspension this weekend for violating the NFL policy on performance-enhancing substances. The ban was announced on Monday and the Colts lose their second-leading tackler in Landry. OVERALL ANALYSIS This is a key stretch for the Ravens, who have already lost to the first-place Bengals and cant afford to lose much ground during this road-heavy month. The challenge is you have to go play another team in their environment, and that takes an incredible amount of discipline and poise, noted Harbaugh. And the more disciplined and poised we are, the more able we are to execute under (pressure) and tune out the noise ... well be good, and thats what we have to do. However, tuning out the noise in Indy is the least of the Ravens worries as Luck is red-hot. Baltimores defense has been up to the task for the most part this season, but containing Luck on his own turf could prove to be too big a task. Sports Network predicted outcome: Colts 27, Ravens 23 ' ' '