makeup, it was 101 degrees when the game started an

MANCHESTER, England -- Jose Mourinho has cut an unhappy figure during Manchester Uniteds first wobble in his time at Old Trafford.The smile has gone. The answers in interviews are getting shorter. His list of targets for criticism is getting longer. He is even starting to feel sorry for himself.The worst manager in the history of football, Mourinho said of himself, sarcastically, on Friday.Three losses in nine days led to widespread criticism of Mourinhos management style and the makeup of his United team. Beating third-tier club Northampton in the English League Cup on Wednesday gave Mourinho some brief respite, but there will be more scrutiny if United loses at home to Leicester in the Premier League on Saturday.Mourinho won his first four games in charge of United but the honeymoon period is over. He has been typically outspoken in railing against refereeing decisions, those he described as Einsteins in the media, and against even his own players on occasion over the past two weeks.Mourinho insisted Friday he was upset with nothing and was a lucky guy, saying his only gripe was what he perceived as unfair criticism of his players from outsiders.I should protect them, I would love to protect them, (but) I cant, Mourinho said. It is something that is completely out of my control.But with me, its fine and with the Einsteins its fine, he added. They can speak, they can write, they can criticize the work of other people, but I am a good man.Yet, it was Mourinho who was criticizing United players Luke Shaw, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Jesse Lingard after poor performances or individual mistakes during recent matches. Mourinho was the same with some of his Chelsea players during his second spell at Stamford Bridge.One player he continues to support is captain Wayne Rooney, who has taken the brunt of criticism during Uniteds poor run.Mourinho said he believes there is a direct correlation between Rooneys slump in form and some criticism Englands record goal scorer received after his performance in Englands 1-0 win over Slovakia in World Cup qualifying on Sept. 4.Honestly, I think there was a Wayne before the Slovakia-England and a Wayne after Slovakia-England, Mourinho said, adding that he in no way held England manager Sam Allardyce responsible for any loss of form.I am not blaming Sam, not at all. I am blaming the people who, after the England-Slovakia were, in my opinion, too strong with somebody that is a very important player in the history of English football, Mourinho said. I think it was too much. But I still think, a big boy like he is, he has to face it in a strong way.Mourinhos comments came a day after Rooney said he wasnt affected by the disparaging remarks made about him.Ive had that my whole career, Rooney said, a little bit more of late, I think, but thats football. I listen to my coaches and my teammates, the people around me, and I dont really listen to what a lot of people out there are saying because a lot of it is rubbish.Mourinho has a big call to make on Rooney, who was the only first-team regular to play the full 90 minutes against Northampton. That means he might be left out for a match against Leicester that comes less than 72 hours later.Mourinho said Anthony Martial will miss the Leicester game because of calf and ankle problems sustained in the 3-1 loss at Watford on Sunday. Cheap NFL Jerseys China . 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The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit.ARLINGTON, Texas -- Inconsistency was the key for Yu Darvish. With a devastating slider going in different directions and command of his fastball, Darvish matched his major-league high with 14 strikeouts and the Texas Rangers won their fourth game in a row, 7-1 over the Arizona Diamondbacks in a makeup game Thursday night. "Some of (the sliders) were dropping down, some of them were going sideways," Darvish said through an interpreter. "The movement on my slider was really inconsistent and that worked in my favour." Darvish (10-5) certainly had the Diamondbacks hitters baffled, 78 of his 111 pitches were thrown for strikes over seven scoreless innings. He had no walks and scattered five hits in his 50th major league start. "As a hitter you have a lot of different thought processes in the box," Arizonas Adam Eaton said. "When you hit your spots and you have that many pitches, its tough as a hitter to put the ball in play and get good swings on the ball." Darvish also had 14 strikeouts when he faced the Diamondbacks just more than two months ago. But they managed to score four runs over 7 2-3 innings that night and won with a run in the ninth. A.J. Pierzynski, Mitch Moreland and David Murphy all homered off Zeke Spruill (0-1), who went four innings in his first major league start. Pierzynski later added a two-run single. Those homers were all hit early for the Rangers, who came off a three-game sweep of the Los Angeles Angels with game-ending homers in each. They had been shut out in three of the four games before the short homestand, and will now play 10 in a row on the road. "Our offence has woken up, and the key is to just keep going," Rangers manager Ron Washington said. "We knew it was in there, it was just a matter of it coming out, and were playing as a group." Darvish struck out 10 of his first 13 batters, marking the 16th time since he joined the Rangers from Japan last season that he fanned at least 10. Dwight Gooden with 20 is the only other pitcher since 1900 with more in his first 50 starts. "He was as good as Ive seen him all year, counting the almost perfect game he threw the first start of the year. His stuff was just nasty," said Pierzynski, also the catcher when Darvish retired the first 26 batters at Houston four months ago. "He was throwing fastballls to the corners, he had a really good split, and obviously he always has a slider.dddddddddddd "He just kept mixing it up, and the strikeouts just kept coming and coming. Nights like that are fun." It was the fourth game this season Darvish reached 14 strikeouts -- there are only two other 14-K games in the majors this season. It is the most 14-strikeout games in one season for the Rangers, surpassing Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryans three in 1990. Over seven seasons in Japan, Darvish had 15 strikeouts three times. The only Arizona starter who didnt strike out was Cody Ross. Leadoff hitter Gerardo Parra, who had a 10-game interleague hitting streak, and All-Star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt both struck out three times against Darvish. "He was using all his pitches, pounding the strike zone," Washington said. "Everything he threw up there, they just couldnt get on." The Diamondbacks scored their only run in the ninth inning on Martin Prados RBI single. Arizona had to make a side trip to Texas, on the way from Tampa Bay to Boston, to make up the game postponed on May 29 because of unplayable field conditions. A severe thunderstorm hit the area about an hour before that scheduled game, and the grounds crew struggled to get the tarp on the field. For the makeup, it was 101 degrees when the game started and still in the upper 90s at the end. Texas right fielder Nelson Cruz is among 14 players targeted for discipline by Major League Baseball because of their relationship to a closed Florida anti-aging clinic accused of distributing banned performance-enhancing drugs. The All-Star was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the seventh because of tightness in his left quad. Depending on the timing and length of any possible suspension, which could be announced this weekend, it could have been the last home game this season for Cruz. He leads the Rangers with 25 home runs and 73 RBIs and is eligible for free agency after the season. Notes: Rangers SS Elvis Andrus extended the majors longest active hitting streak to 14 with a double in the seventh. ... According to STATS, Darvish was the sixth pitcher since 1974 to have 10 strikeouts in the first 13 batters. The last was Ricky Nolasco for Florida on Sept. 30, 2009. ... The announced attendance was 41,569, but a lot of those purchased tickets went unused. ' ' '