Lyon came into the game with a 1-0 lead after taking the first leg 1-0 at home. Holding Real to a clean sheet is impressive enough, but walking into Madrid’s stadium and don’t falling at the highest level was even more impressive.

The game started off with the home side dominating, including a quick strike goal by Cristiano Ronaldo that split the wickets of French international keeper Hugo Lloris. I’m not saying it was a bad goal to let in, but when you’re playing the angle and trying to look bigger, maybe you shouldn’t keep the five hole vastly open.

Then, the turning points of the game happened. Two huge missed chances became what would doom Real. First Higuan deked the goalie but hit the post instead of a wide open net. Then, I’m sure anxious to undo his mistake from a few minutes earlier, Higuan took a shot on a two on one, instead of passing to Rondalo, who had an empty net, and horribly missed. Of course, Ronaldo, being the whiner he is, couldn’t help but yell at his teammate.

These were the two telling moments of what would happen in the second half, only we didn’t know that yet.

After the break Lyon came out with renewed vigor and intensity you’ll never see from a megabucks all-star squad; they played like a team that truly wanted to win it and weren’t just looking for individual achievements. After a few chances, Lyon were able to put one home and take a 2-1 lead on aggregate, but more importantly, they now had Real in a scenario where they needed two goals to advance.

The giants were punched in the nose and they didn’t know how to react. They simply weren’t used to being in a fist fight and for all their skills and class, they didn’t have the team experience and couldn’t help from doing what overpaid headcases do best, get emotional and whine about everything. From missed passes, poor challenges and questioning the refs, Real Madrid showed exactly why they’ll be sitting at home watching the Champions League quarterfinals: They’re not a true team.

I can’t help but think of what Cristiano Rondalo’s choice to leave Manchester United – who, comparatively, trounced AC Milan at Old Trafford 4-0 to advance 7-2 on aggregate. Don’t you think that Cristiano would love to have been part of that game instead of suffering in front of his home crowd at the Bernabeu. Had he stayed instead of chasing more money and potential chances at titles, the Red Devils might’ve advanced by an even higher margin.

And well, how about this for a big ol’ jinx: This game was supposed to be used as a dress rehearsal for the Champions League final, which is being hosted by Real.

After stepping down as the team’s coach less than a month ago to take over the GM job – something he wasn’t 100% incompetent at – Dunleavy has been fired by the Los Angeles Clippers.

If you want an idea as to why he maybe was canned, read the ESPN.com story about the firing. That’s right, he was at the golf course in the afternoon, as opposed to, you know, doing his job.

Now, how about this line, straight from the press release about parting ways with Dumbleavy.

“The team has simply not made sufficient progress during Dunleavy’s seven-year tenure.”

That’s an understatement if I’ve ever heard one. We’re talking about a guy who had one winning season and one playoff appearance in seven years with the team. His career record was 215-325 over the six and a half seasons he was coach. He routinely made bad decisions both with his team on the court and by acquiring ill-suited players for his team.

While timing of this move may seem curious since Dunleavy had only stepped down as coach recently, it might have actually been a move of genius. After he had stepped down, that could have made buy out terms more reasonable considering he still has a year left on his deal. And knowing that Clips owner Donald Sterling isn’t exactly a Steinbrenner in throwing the money around, this could have made all the difference in the decision to keep Dunleavy around.

Joe Nathan of the Twins, who had 47 saves and a 2.10 ERA last season, has a torn ulnar collateral ligament. I won’t pretend to know exactly what that means, but will say that if you have a torn ligament in your elbow, that usually means Tommy John surgery and a year out of your playing career lost.

So, let’s chalk up the Twins into that unsettled closer debate. With Jon Rauch or Matt Guerrier likely to land the job, I’m not sure you’d want to reach for a Minnesota’s man this year, like previous times.

Rauch has some experience closing, but that was with the Nationals and D-Backs, two not exactly stellar situations to have been in. Plus, coming over to the American League always takes some adjustment.

Guerrier had 33 holds and a 2.36 ERA last season for Minnesota, but time and time again have proven setup men failed to grab the reins and close out games.

At least with a few weeks left in spring training, the Twins – and every other team for that matter – have plenty of time to hash out these issues before opening day.

First, Big Ben Roethlisberger was reportedly accused, for the second time in two years, of sexual assaulting a girl at a bar. You would think that a Super Bowl winning quarterback would be able to pick up a willing girl at a bar, but apparently Ben could not be satiated. With this second accusation and pending investigation, you have to wonder the validity of the first girl’s claim which didn’t get very far. When repeat actions start happening, it gets harder to forgive past alleged transgressions, even if they’re only alleged. Can Ben bounce back from this second girl’s claim, or will his on-field legacy be tarnished by his antics at the bar?

On the other side of Pa., Allen Iverson’s saga continues in its downward spiral nature. Former ESPN personality has reported that after his daughter’s illness, his divorce and leave from the team, Iverson “will either drink himself into oblivion or gamble his life away.”

That’s some pretty heavy stuff for a guy that seemed to have turned his life around after representing a hip-hop lifestyle earlier in his career. It also turns out that Iverson has been banned from multiple casinos in Atlantic City and Detroit. That really tells you how much of a problem he has and we can only hope that he wakes up to the severity of his issues.

A quick aside about how quick negotiations can go with these midnight start times:  How can you hammer out a multi-million dollar contract in a matter of minutes without any prior negotiation? I mean, there has to have been some “tampering” involved, right? I just find it hard to believe that terms can be agreed to within minutes of the opening bell. Just saying.

A few things did go down before the clock struck midnight. The Chargers reversed their course and decided that it might be a good idea to keep at least one running back on their roster. So instead of letting Darren Sproles test the waters of free agency, they put on the biggest tender they could to hold on to the restricted free agent.

The Cowboys presented a similar tender to all-pro receiver Austin Miles with the hopes also signing him long term. If I’m Jerry Jones, I wouldn’t mess around with this guy. He’s one of the few great wide outs in the league that also has the unselfish gene – an excellent contrast to the previous elite receiver that Dallas had, T.O. It’s a rarity that a guy this good doesn’t demand the ball every play and for that, it makes him one of the most valuable players in on the team.

After free agency opened there wasn’t exactly a rush to sign Julius Peppers, though the Bears are reportedly close. The million-dollar-per-game man last season looked bound for the windy city to help them improve their pass rush, which hasn’t exactly been solid for a few seasons now. I just hope that they’re not going to pay him what Carolina foolishly did last season.

The Jets traded for San Diego’s Antonio Cromartie in a deal that will give the Jets the best cornerback tandem in the league. Cromartie’s form suffered last season with off-field issues put was an all-pro in 2007 and led the league in INTs. After a change of scenery, he could be the perfect compliment to reigning cover-man extradonaire Darrelle Revis.