hurting," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said.

The clouds were grey and there wasnt a sign of sunshine anywhere. Two Spanish players kicked the ball between each other as cameras ran around them looking for the perfect shot. The weather had given it away. It was clearly the north of England, but the skill on show on the pitch came from elsewhere. Juan Mata struck the ball hard off the bar and that was Ander Herreras cue to turn around, rifle the ball in the net and send a stern message to the camera. ‘Have you got the instinct? It was a message created up by the brain trust behind the latest Adidas campaign, but it is a test his new team has to pass if they want to progress. The two Manchester United players represent a new era at Old Trafford, despite them not being directly linked with Louis van Gaal. Gaalaticos, these are not. Mata was a David Moyes signing and Herrera was pursued by Moyes and the clubs chief executive, Ed Woodward, as early as the summer of 2013, yet only became a United player once the club finally caved and agreed to pay the 36 million Euro out clause to Athletic Bilbao for the midfielder. Herrera admitted he hadnt spoken to his new manager before he signed, but, then again, van Gaal was making his way to Fortaleza at the time for a last-16 tilt with Mexico for the Netherlands when the Spaniard finally put pen to paper at Old Trafford. It would be unfair on Herrera, though, to presume his face did not fit with van Gaals philosophy. The Dutch boss had been named the next manager at Old Trafford well before the final successful bid had been submitted to San Mames and it was clear, no matter who the manager was, that Herrera was a player United needed. It can take some time for overseas players to adapt to the Premier League, but last weekend the 25-year-old Spaniard looked like he had been playing in England all his life. Herrera was magnificent against QPR, operating on the right side of a midfield diamond, but receiving an incredible 87 passes all over the field. Highlighting his exceptional movement, both his full-backs, Rafael and Marcos Rojo, finished in the top three of players who completed passes to him. It was only QPR Four small words that have been thrown in the face of Manchester United fans all week. For the first time in 25 years, the club are not playing in a European competition this season, so they have more time than usual to digest domestic successes from the past weekend. It may have only been QPR, but Sundays hammering of the London club by van Gaals men showed they had the instinct, demonstrating a desire to push forward regularly with a speed from midfield that was lacking under Moyes. The game was over as a contest by half-time and, finally, their fans saw strong signs of progression away from the Moyes era. Such a low bar may have been set after the disastrous campaign of last season, yet it is important United break stride away from that period as quickly as possible. Before QPR, against Swansea and Burnley for example, questions remained. There are different ways to measure progress. Clearly, the easiest way to do this is by looking at the result and the 4-0 thumping over QPR meant van Gaal accomplished something, in his second home league game, that Moyes never did by winning a Premier League match at Old Trafford by four goals. United only won one game at home by four goals last season, coming in April under caretaker boss Ryan Giggs. It is also easy to look at a man-of-the-match performance from Angel Di Maria and see that United are finally trending in the right direction. Indeed, the former Real Madrid man was sensational on his home debut. The Argentine winger received a lot of praise for his performance, where he operated on the left side of the diamond, that was the reason for much of Uniteds success. Di Maria is a modern day footballer who brings speed, creativity and intelligence to pivotal positions on the field, starting counterattacks, igniting transitions and sending precise final balls into the penalty box for a striker to finish off. He is a player United should have had for some time, bought at a high-end cost that the club have avoided for far too long. The same can be said for the loan capture of Radamel Falcao, harshly criticized in the English media as a unnecessary luxury based on the issues in defence, but what both bring is a high level of talent and intelligence sadly lacking at Old Trafford for some time. They arrive at the gates of Old Trafford already as genuine world class players and, although this has been reported as a change of identity for the club, it was one that was needed. Falcao and Di Maria will be stars for United this season, helping shape an identity away from what they had become under Moyes where the team was, simply, far too predictable, far too direct and far too English. Midfield General The addition of Herrera is equally important as they move away from that direction. No matter what system van Gaal employs this season, what he needs is a vital link-up between defence and attack. A midfielder who has an appreciation for space and reads the game quicker than most and not one whose first move is to pass sideways. Herrera, the son of a former technical secretary at his boyhood club, Real Zaragoza, used to write scouting reports for his father on players before he was a teenager. He is a self-confessed football addict, who watches multiples leagues around the world. On the pitch it shows. He is a player with great instincts. Against QPR, he made a run into the box early in the game because he knew where Di Marias cross was going before he hit it. Robin van Persie collided with him because he wasnt used to having midfielders make those runs. He is now. His instincts and desire for the ball in tight quarters ensured he won all eight tackles he attempted and secured his team the free kick that Di Maria powered home in the first half. A short time later, he sprinted from deep in his own end on a Di Maria counter, checked his run, and then powered home his shot. He wasnt done, as he glided inside and into space to play a one-two with Mata that allowed United to penetrate into the final third that led to Wayne Rooneys goal. It was only one game of football, against inferior opposition, but Herrera brought qualities to Uniteds midfield that have been missing since Paul Scholes retired. An ability to join the attack, to always be an intelligent outlet by desiring the ball in space, by reading the flow of a move by his team and his opponent, and regularly being in the right place, with or without the ball. Di Maria and Falcao will be fun to watch for United fans this season, but Herreras development under van Gaal will be fascinating to observe. He blossomed under Marcelo Bielsa at Bilbao and in the Dutchman he gets another detailed-oriented boss who loves the game as much as him. He may not be a Gaalatico, but Herrera is the intelligent instigator whose instincts will win Manchester United a lot of games going forward. Ander Herrera and Manchester United travel to Leicester City this Sunday for their next Premier League clash. Join Kristian Jack and Andi Petrillo for the coverage starting at 8am et/5am pt TSN2. Cleveland Indians Jerseys .com) - The 12th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes continue a four-game homestand at Value City Arena on Wednesday night when they face off against the High Point Panthers in a non-conference matchup. Carlos Baerga Jersey . -- Golden State Warriors reserve centre Ognjen Kuzmic is expected to miss at least six weeks after undergoing surgery on his fractured right hand. http://www.indianssale.com/indians-corey-kluber-jersey/ .com) - Real Madrid claimed its 16th consecutive victory across all competitions on Saturday after earning a 2-1 win over Malaga at the Estadio La Rosaleda. Satchel Paige Jersey . Salah, who scored against Chelsea in two Champions League group matches this season, is Jose Mourinhos third significant recruit in the January transfer window after Nemanja Matic and Bertrand Traore. Joe Carter Jersey .com) - The Vancouver Canucks will try to win two straight games for the first time since mid-January on Monday night as they play host to the struggling New York Islanders. MIAMI -- LeBron James couldnt wake up Sunday. He was sluggish when his alarm went off at 8 a.m. and still in a funk when the Miami Heat and New York Knicks tipped off five hours later. He eventually got into form, just in time to perhaps doom the Knicks playoff chances. James scored 38 points and the Heat survived an NBA-record 22 3-point attempts from New Yorks J.R. Smith in a 102-91 victory that kept Miami atop the Eastern Conference standings. "You do your job and you live with the results," James said. "We lived with the result of J.R. making some of those bombs." Chris Bosh added 14 points and Ray Allen had 12 for the Heat (53-23), who are a full game ahead of Indiana (53-25) and two up in the loss column in the East race. The Pacers lost at home to Atlanta later Sunday night. Smith was 11 for 28 from the floor, 10 for 22 from beyond the arc, and took 10 3s in the fourth quarter alone while Carmelo Anthony didnt attempt a single shot in the period. The single-game mark was previously held by Damon Stoudemire, who hoisted 21 3s on April 15, 2005. "Its not really been a goal of mine," Smith said. "I saw the open 3 and tried to take them. I had to take advantage." Smith finished with 32 for the Knicks, who got 14 from Raymond Felton and 13 from Anthony on 4 for 17 shooting. Anthony has been bothered by a sore right shoulder, but played 44 minutes. "Melo is still hurting," Knicks coach Mike Woodson said. "I couldnt rest him again tonight. That second half, he was giving us what hes got." A bad day got worse for New York when the Hawks-Pacers game went final. The Knicks (33-45) are two games behind the Hawks in the race for the final playoff spot, three in the loss column. And New York has only four games left. "Our fate is almost now in Atlantas hands," Anthony said. "Its tough. ... My fate is in somebody elses hands." The start suggested it would be a great day for the Knicks. James had four turnovers in the opening minutes and New York -- which had its best opening 2 1/2 minutes offensively in at least a decade, according to STATS LLC -- held a 16-3 lead. "Flummoxing," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. "It was bizarre. Our turnovers were, no offence to the Knicks, absolutely unforced." It was still 16-3 when Felton was whistled for a second early foul, and everything changed. The Knicks missed six straight shots and the Heat scored niine straight points.dddddddddddd James -- who had one turnover in the final 3 1/2 quarters -- settled down and things started going Miamis way. "I wasnt awake yet," James said. Miami got snippy with one another in plenty of huddles during the game, something that Spoelstra seemed to particularly relish. "Verbally spitting at each other, I like it," Spoelstra said. "Thats what we need to get ready for the second season." Miamis lead was 15 with just under 9 minutes to go before the Knicks made it interesting. Iman Shumpert missed a wide-open 3 with 3:30 left that would have gotten New York within four. James answered a layup at the other end and after Smith made his ninth 3, Mario Chalmers answered with one of his own, making Miamis lead 97-88. So Smith made another, giving the Knicks life. And Miami again answered, this time Bosh doing the long-range honours to restore the nine-point edge. Miami played without Dwyane Wade (hamstring), Greg Oden (back) and Chris Andersen (back, knee). Amare Stoudemire scored 12 and Tyson Chandler finished with 10 points and 11 rebounds for New York. James had four turnovers by the time Miami scored six points. But he settled in before the quarter was over, outmuscling Tim Hardaway Jr. for what became a three-point play. Hardaway tried to wrap James up on a break, but the four-time MVP kept going, scored and then flexed a biceps muscle to the roaring crowd. "Trying to make a play," James said. And after that sizzling 14-point beginning, New York needed more than 13 minutes to score its next 14 points. A 31-10 run helped the Heat take as much as an eight-point lead in the second quarter, before the Knicks went into halftime up 50-48. Miami found some breathing room by scoring the final seven points of the third. James laid it in while getting fouled with 4.1 seconds left -- and as "M-V-P" chants rained down he gave Miami its biggest lead to that point, making the free throw that put the Heat up 73-64 entering the fourth. NOTES: Jeff Van Gundy worked the game for ABC, sitting three chairs away from former Heat coach Stan Van Gundy, working for ESPN Radio. ... Bosh had no rebounds in the first half, then seven in the third quarter. ... A fan clad in Knicks garb caught a T-shirt thrown into the stands by a Heat dancer during the fourth quarter. He threw it back onto the court. ... Hardaway Jr. is 2 for 22 in two games in Miami this season. 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