retiring at the end of the US Open. She didnt go out the way she wanted

  LIVERPOOL, England -- Liverpool took advantage of Chelseas erratic defending to earn an emphatic 4-1 win on Tuesday, gaining a small measure of revenge for Saturdays FA Cup final loss and putting the Blues out of contention for fourth place in the Premier League. . Three days after Chelsea beat Liverpool 2-1 at Wembley, the Reds dominated from the start in their last home game of the season and were up 3-0 within 30 minutes. While Stewart Downing missed a penalty right before halftime and Ramires pulled one back for Chelsea after the break, Jonjo Shelvey took advantage of backup goalkeeper Ross Turnbulls blunder to put the game away with his first Premier League goal for Liverpool. "It was an excellent performance," Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish said. "The pleasing thing is the performance was matched by the result and also the fact the supporters could go away from the final match of the season here with a smile on their faces." Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo made eight changes from Saturday, and the players on the pitch seemed to already have their minds on the Champions League final against Bayern Munich as they looked lethargic throughout. A win against Bayern in Munich is now the only route for Chelsea back into the Champions League next season, as the loss means it cannot overtake Tottenham for fourth place. "It wasnt the team selection. We have to give credit to them (Liverpool)," Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo said. "We have played with these players the whole season and they have carried us so far and we still had a chance with two games to qualify for fourth spot. ... But you know how demanding it has been for us -- we have played every three days in the last eight weeks -- and I thought tonight I thought a team which was energetic and fresh mentally would give us a chance." Captain John Terry was one of the few holdovers from Wembley, but had a horrendous start to the game. Luis Suarez easily went past him as he produced a great run down the right side and into the area, and the Uruguay forwards attempted cross was knocked by Michael Essien into his own net in the 19th minute. Terry then slipped six minutes later to set Jordan Henderson free on goal, and the Liverpool player calmly slotted the ball past Turnbull. It was a similar scene to Terrys slip during Chelseas 5-3 loss against Arsenal at Stamford Bridge earlier this season, which set Robin van Persie free to score. Three minutes later, Andy Carroll headed the ball down for Daniel Agger to make it 3-0 and effectively make sure of a Liverpool victory in the last game at Anfield this season. The hosts looked likely to add a few more, as Stewart Downing blasted a great volley from outside the area against the crossbar before Carroll was knocked down in the area by Branislav Ivanovic for a penalty on the stroke of halftime. However, Downing hit the woodwork again, sending his spot kick against the post to leave Chelsea with a flicker of hope going into the break. That hope grew when Ramires pushed the ball over the line following a scramble in the area in the 50th, but another defensive mistake cost Chelsea again. Turnbull sent an attempted clearance straight at Shelvey, who blasted the ball into an empty net from 30 yards in the 61st to give Liverpool its biggest Premier League victory of the season. . -- Nate McCoy shot a 1-under 71 Saturday to hang on to a one-shot lead heading into the final round of the Canadian Tours Syncrude Boreal Open. . The troubles been getting them in during a stretch in which theyre trying to hold on to the top spot in the AL Central. . On Monday, the club announced that forward Brendan Gaunce had signed an entry-level deal. . Tim Duncan got the result. Duncan prevented Pierce from driving to the basket, forcing him to take a fadeaway jumper that clanged off the rim at the buzzer and the San Antonio Spurs held on for their ninth straight win, 87-86 over Boston on Wednesday night. . The sophomore running back rushed for a career-best 172 yards and three touchdowns to power the Toronto Argonauts past the Tiger-Cats 45-31 at Rogers Centre to sweep their Labour Day series.Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week, they discuss the NFL and replacement referees, Blue Jays first-round pick Marcus Stroman, Kim Clijsters and catcher-turned-broadcaster Bob Uecker. Bruce Arthur, National Post: My thumb is down to the NFL, though that thumb may yet be called up by a replacement referee. But this is about a bigger bad call. An industry that generates $9 billion per year and rising, whose owners clawed back hundreds of millions of dollars from the players in a lockout last year, has decided that instead of paying a couple million per year to its officials to become full-time employees, it will lock out the men who give the games their structure, and are charged with so much health and safety on the field. Its incredible. Its disgusting. Its billionaires soaked in naked greed and gambling in a league so based on wagers with their own integrity. Steve Simmons, Sun Media: My thumb is down to Marcus Stroman, the Blue Jays first-round pick who makes his first real headlines as a pro ballplayer for being suspended for testing positive for a drug better known as DMAA. Im not here to judge Stroman, who claims he is a victim of taking the wrong over-the-counter supplement. Only Stroman knows the circumstances of his personal setback. But the optics are horrible in this Blue Jays season gone wrong. Never mind the injuries to Jose Bautista and Brett Lawrie and most of the Jays pitching staff. Never mind the likely last place finish. Never mind the absolute collapse of Ricky Romero. You wonder: what else can go wrong? And you get the answer when the first round picck, this close to a September call up, is set back for another year. . Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated: In lieu of a two-cheek kiss, my thumb is up to Kim Clijsters, retiring at the end of the US Open. She didnt go out the way she wanted, an early straight-set loss, but it was the way we wanted, with uncommon grace. Even more than four Grand Slam singles titles, Clijsters made an indelible impression because she was universally respected. Even beloved. In an era of swagger, Clijsters was a reminder that fierceness and generosity of spirit are not mutually exclusive. And she could do the splits like nobodys business. She retired once before, to have a daughter, but the Open is her final act.  The show goes on, but tennis is poorer. Dave Hodge, TSN: Its not the way to compliment the Milwaukee Brewers to say that a career .200 hitter is the most famous name in the history of the franchise, but thumbs up to that backup catcher-turned-broadcaster Bob Uecker. He was honoured by the Brewers this week with a statue outside Miller Park, honoured for his 42 years of service in the booth. Uecker was better known for appearing on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson more than 100 times than he was for appearing in six big league seasons, and he was much better known for his quips than for his hits. He said his way of catching a knuckleball was to wait until it stopped rolling and then pick it up. And he said of himself:  "its not hard to stay in the Major Leagues if you can play - to last as long as I did was a triumph of the human spirit." Lines like that have made the broadcasting career seem easy. ' ' '