As Manchester United, like Arsenal and Manchester City before them were humbled on the European stage in midweek, the infernal debate about what the best league in Europe rages on. Even Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger felt the urge to discuss the matter during his pre-match press conference ahead of tomorrows visit to Stoke. Anointing the BPL the best, Wenger trotted out the top to bottom competiveness theory. What cant be denied though is that English football is never too far away from grabbing the football headlines. This weeks offering began with a slip of the Mourinho lips. Then we had the national manager waxing lyrical about the possibility of adding a Penalty Psychologist to his Brazil bound backroom staff and how about this mornings revelation Sir Alex Ferguson attributes six of the best as a school boy influenced his managerial ways. Mourinho was clearly agitated and embarrassed when he faced the media Tuesday following the publication less than 24 hours earlier of disparaging remarks he made about Torres, Etoo and Demba Ba to a senior executive of a club partner. Unbeknown to Mourinho, what he thought was a private conversation ahead of a scheduled interview, was in fact been taped by a French TV channel. Who in turn published it for the world to see on their website. Using the old adage the best form of defense is attack, The Happy One launched into the media labeling them a disgrace for publishing extracts of that conversation - which included mocking Etoo and wondering out loud if he was actually older than his stated age. Torres had the last laugh though by responding to his managers harsh words in the most effective way possible by putting Chelsea up early in Wednesdays first leg against Galatasaray. It was no laughing matter not long after the final whistle in Istanbul when Chelsea revealed the club would be immortalized on the small screen in an upcoming edition of the Simpsons. In which a number of players, including Torres will feature in an episode where Bart Simpson plays referee. The week for Torres though didnt end on a happy note. We learnt earlier today and long with Manchester Uniteds Juan Mata both players had been omitted from Spains squad for next weeks prestigious friendly match against the 2006 World Cup winners, Italy. Roy Hodgson who named Toronto FCs Jermaine Defoe in his squad for the March 5 friendly at Wembley versus Denmark yesterday, made news earlier in the week when addressing England penalty woes at tournaments. The England manager, along with all other managers of the 32 nations going to this summers World Cup Finals, has just returned from visiting Brazil let it be known earlier in the week he is giving serious thought to having a psychologist at his disposal as ways to improve on Englands inability to win penalty shootouts. Hodgson experienced penalty misery first hand at Euro 2012 when Italy eliminated England in the quarter finals but certainly does not want to suffer that same fate for a team that has bowed out on penalties in six of the last 10 major tournaments they have qualified for. One of world footballs most dubious of records only once over this period have England progressed from the Achilles Heel of a penalty shootout. This occurring when they edged out Spain at EURO 96 - only then to fail at the next hurdle, Germany beating England on penalties in the semifinal. Hodgson isnt the first England World Cup manager to make the headlines for matters of the mind. As part of final preparations for the 1998 Finals the-then England manager Glen Hoddle arranged for a faith healer to visit the England camp before their departure to France. Such were part of Hoddles unorthodox methods, the ex-Manchester United captain Gary Neville revealed in his 2011 autobiography Hoddle had requested his staff walk around the pitch anti-clockwise as ways to create positive energy before their round of 16 match against Argentina. A match won, by you guessed it, Argentina on penalties. Paired in a group this summer with Uruguay and Italy my how the legions of England fans who will journey to Brazil would dearly love to face the possibility of a penalty shootout. At least this would signify England had successfully made it out of a difficult group. Sir Alex Ferguson who tasted penalty glory himself in the 2008 Champions League Final made it on to the back pages today when it was revealed in the London Times that as a school boy he often found himself in trouble. Not only that, but Ferguson disclosed he felt the corporal punishment he received because of his bad boy ways went a long way to helping shape his hair dryer ways. He also revealed the belt which was used now hangs proudly on the wall of his study at home. With Manchester United not in action this weekend as their scheduled opponent, Manchester City play Sunderland in Sundays League Cup Final, perhaps it might be an idea if Ferguson invites David Moyes over for a cup of tea. In a BPL season which continues to shock, and will do so until mid May, tomorrows action throws up potential banana skins for each of the clubs who currently sit in the Champions League slots. The West London derby sees the current leaders Chelsea, paying a visit to the worst club, Fulham who are desperate for a win. Especially so after coughing up an 86th minute equalizer away to West Brom last Saturday, welcome to the BPL Felix Magath. Arsenal, with a well-rested Mezut Ozil expected to return following his own penalty demons, are sure to be weary of Stokes direct approach. While Liverpool wont need reminding of their early season 0-1 reversal at home to Southampton - result which knocked them off the top spot. Even though his club arent playing, whats the odds occasional Manchester United bad boy Wayne Rooney does not feature prominently come Sundays tabloid headlines? You can reach and follow Noel Butler at:Noel.Butler@BellMedia.ca@TheSoccerNoel TSN & TEAM Radio is your exclusive BPL radio home this season. Saturdays double header action features, Fulham v Chelsea with kickoff at 10am et/7am pt and Southampton v Liverpool with kickoff 12:30pm et/9:30am pt Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys . The young man, never lacking confidence, thought he could be really good. Authentic NHL Jerseys Cheap . No, the San Antonio star didnt announce retirement plans during an off day at the NBA Finals on Wednesday. http://www.cheapnhlcustomjerseys.com/ . Team officials travelled to Los Angeles on Thursday night to meet with the free agent, a person with knowledge of the plans said. Wholesale NHL Jerseys Authentic . On paper, it looks a little like Andre the Giant taking on a midget wrestler. It has all the makings of a rout with the Americans adding an eighth win in nine outings of this biennial event. The Yanks have eight players in the top 15 in the world while the Internationals have just one. Stitched NHL Jerseys .Y. -- The Montreal Canadiens have had few reasons to celebrate this season as they have been mired near the basement of the Eastern Conference.DENVER - Jordan Crawford scored a career-high 41 points and Harrison Barnes added 30 as a squad of Golden State backups beat the Denver Nuggets 116-112 Wednesday night. Crawford beat his previous career high of 39 points set against Miami on March, 30, 2011, when he was with Washington. He surpassed it with a runner that put the Warriors ahead for good at 110-108. Randy Foye, who led Denver with 32 points, raced downcourt in response but his finger-roll rimmed out and Golden State corralled the rebound. With 30 seconds left, Barnes sank a free throw and Draymond Green swooped in to tip in his errant second shot, giving the Warriors a 113-108 lead. Crawford and Steve Blake each missed a free throw over the next 14 seconds, giving the Nuggets an opening. Green was whistled for goal-tending on Foyes 3-pointer with seven seconds left but the call was overturned upon review, leaving the Nuggets trailing 115-112. Anthony Randolph tied his season high with 19 points for the Nuggets, who are missing the playoff party for the first time since 2002-03, the year before Carmelo Anthonys arrival. The Warriors are headed to their second straight Western Conference playoffs, again as the No. 6 seed and this time, theyll face the third-seeded Clippers starting Saturday in Los Angeles. With Andrew Bogut out indefinitely and nothing to play for as far as seeding, the Warriors rested their regulars for the playoffs. Guard Klay Thompson was the only starter coach Mark Jackson put in his starting lineup 48 hours after Golden State secured its first 50-win season since 1993-94. Thompson played just eight minutes but his was an efficient cameo with eight points. Green was pressed into duty in the fourth quarter when Hilton Armstrong fouled out. Nuggets coach Brian Shaw had no problem with his counterpart going with a short bench by design, something Denver has had to do out of necessity for much of the season because of a rash of injuries to the likes of Ty Lawson, JaVale McGee, Danilo Gallinari, J.ddddddddddddJ. Hickson and Nate Robinson. "It will be like playing ourselves," Shaw said before tip-off. "Well get to see what its like." The Warriors reserves had fresh legs and continually beat the winded Nuggets downcourt. By halftime, Golden State, despite shooting just 9 of 17 from the foul line, was ahead 66-52 behind 22 points from Barnes and 19 from Crawford. The Nuggets opened the fourth quarter on a 12-2 run to take the lead and give the home crowd something to cheer about. This marked the final game for Nuggets trainer Jim Gillen, who never missed a game or a practice in 23 seasons with the Nuggets. He worked for nine head coaches and four interim coaches, five general managers and nearly 200 players, taping up, by his estimate, 15,000 ankles. Shaw called Gillen the fabric of the franchise. "As a first-year head coach, Ive had to rely on him in so many different situations from his experience and knowledge and know-how from things that we need to get together on, from hotel stays to when we need to get together and practice and how much rest guys need and to even in-game strategy, timeouts at the end of the game and things like that," Shaw said. NOTES: As expected, Lawson (sprained ankle) did not play in the season finale, meaning he missed the last seven games of the season. ... The visiting team won all four games in the season series. ___ Follow AP Sports Writer Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton ' ' '