Arsenal reached the FA Cup final by ending second-tier Wigans impressive title defence in a penalty shootout at Wembley Stadium,

Arsenal reached the FA Cup final by ending second-tier Wigans impressive title defence in a penalty shootout at Wembley Stadium, making up for the disappointment of dropping out of the Premier Leagues top four earlier Saturday. Cheap Air Max Wholesale . After needing an 82nd-minute goal by Per Mertesacker to force extra time at 1-1, Arsenal won the shootout 4-2 to keep alive its chances of capturing a first piece of major silverware since 2005. "We have been struggling in recent weeks but you have to deal with that," said Arsenal midfielder Kim Kallstrom, who scored the second of Arsenals four straight successful penalties. "Hopefully, its a great boost of confidence for the rest of the season." Hull plays Sheffield United in the second semifinal on Sunday. When Jordi Gomez put Wigan ahead from the penalty spot in the 63rd, it threatened to be a disastrous day for Arsenal, which was replaced in fourth spot in the league by Everton thanks to its 1-0 win at bottom-placed Sunderland. While Sunderland looks doomed -- seven points from safety with six games left -- the race to avoid the other two relegation spots heated up after huge wins for Fulham and Cardiff, who stayed in the bottom three but closed the gap to their rivals. Third-bottom Fulham beat fourth-bottom Norwich 1-0 and next-to-last Cardiff surprisingly won 1-0 at Southampton, while Aston Villa is only four points from the bottom three after losing 1-0 at Crystal Palace thanks to in-form Jason Puncheons goal. Just eight points separates the nine teams above Sunderland. Sixth-place Tottenham came from 3-0 down after 31 minutes to draw 3-3 at West Bromwich Albion thanks to Christian Eriksens injury-time equalizer, although two dropped points dents the visitors already faint hopes of Champions League football next season. Newcastles slump accelerated with a 1-0 home loss to Stoke in the days other game. It was an emotionally charged day in English football, with every league and cup match starting seven minutes later than originally scheduled to mark the 25th anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster, in which 96 Liverpool fans died in a crush in the stands during an FA Cup semifinal against Nottingham Forest. That fateful match was abandoned after six minutes, and there was a minutes silence around the countrys football grounds before kickoffs on Saturday. At Wembley, 96 seats remained empty near the halfway line for the Wigan-Arsenal match, with just a Liverpool scarf draped over each of them. Wigan -- looking to become the first team in 34 years to win the FA Cup while playing in the second tier -- again rose to the big occasion, like it did in beating Manchester City in last years final and again in this seasons quarterfinals. Another shock was on when Gomez converted from the spot after Mertesacker brought down Callum McManaman. Only then did Arsenal start to look energized and the Germany defender redeemed himself by heading in the equalizer just as Arsenal fans were starting to despair. Wigan was always up against it in the shootout after Gary Caldwell and Jack Collison had the teams first two attempts saved by Lukasz Fabianski. And Mikel Arteta, Kallstrom, Olivier Giroud and Santi Cazorla made no mistake to give Arsenal the chance to win an 11th FA Cup. Arsenals other task in the final month of the season is overhauling Everton in the league, with the Merseyside club continuing its fine run of results to climb two points above Wengers side. Evertons display at Sunderland wasnt as fulsome as in the 3-0 win over Arsenal last weekend, but the team passed up a string of good chances -- two of which fell to Steven Naismith -- before Sunderland defender Wes Brown unwittingly turned Gerard Deulofeus cross past goalkeeper Vito Mannone. Tottenham is now six points behind Everton, having played a game more, but showed great spirit in a stirring comeback at The Hawthorns, completed when Eriksen drove a rising shot into the net in the fourth minute of stoppage time. The recovery looked unlikely after goals by Matej Vydra and Chris Brunt inside four minutes and a third by Stephane Sessegnon put West Brom 3-0 ahead with barely a half hour gone. Jonas Olssons own goal reduced the deficit in the 34th and Harry Kanes 70th-minute header gave Tottenham further hope, before Eriksens late goal left the team three points ahead of Manchester United in the chase for a Europa League berth. Cheap Air Max Free Shipping . Just as the meeting was beginning, Major League Baseball unveiled Rule 7.13, an experimental rule for the 2014 season aimed at eliminating what the league calls “egregious” runner/catcher collisions at home plate. Wholesale Air Max .com) - The surging Montreal Canadiens will try to match their longest winning streak of the season when they visit the Florida Panthers for Saturdays clash at BB&T Center. http://www.wholesaleairmaxfreeshipping.com/ . -- The Oakland Athletics and free agent right-hander Bartolo Colon have agreed to terms on a US$2 million, one-year contract, bolstering their depleted starting rotation.SAN FRANCISCO -- Hyun-Jin Ryu pitched for his country, doing anything he could from afar to lift spirits in South Korea after all the lives lost during a devastating ferry accident. Ryu stretched his road scoreless streak to 26 innings this season and 28 in all, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Francisco Giants 2-1 on Thursday to avoid a sweep. "Its just a really unfortunate situation," Ryu said through an interpreter of the ferry accident back home. "I have a very heavy heart today. I thought if I could just win today and pitch well maybe it would give them a little brighter side to think about. Thats why I went out there and tried to do the best I could." Ryu (3-1) struck out three and walked one on a season-high 112 pitches in seven innings, helping his club move into a tie with the Giants atop the NL West at 10-6. The Giants played their seventh straight one-run game, their most since eight in a row in 1910, according to STATS. Yasiel Puig returned to the Dodgers starting lineup and went 1 for 4 with a strikeout. He dropped a routine fly ball in right early on but recovered to throw out Brandon Belt at second. He then made a nice over-the-head catch on the next batter and a running grab in shallow centre in the eighth with a runner on second. He said the ball hit his thumb area on the play he missed, and he didnt close his glove quickly enough. The Cuban star said before the game he will stay focused on baseball despite reports smugglers who got him out of his country threatened his life. He made two baserunning blunders in the season-opening series at Australia, then arrived late at Dodger Stadium for the home opener and was scratched. He vowed to remain focused on baseball and not the off-field issues "so those things that are happening dont torment me." Tim Federowicz hit an RBI single in the second to put the Dodgers ahead, and Adrian Gonzalez singled in a run in the fifth to chase Madison Bumgarner. Gonzalez extended his hitting streak to 12 games, adding an eighthh-inning double. Cheap Air Max. Former Giants closer Brian Wilson gave up a leadoff double to Ehire Adrianza but escaped the inning unscathed. Kenley Jansen gave up a two-out RBI single to Adrianza before finishing for his fifth save. Ryu had surrendered a career-high eight runs in a career-short two innings against the Giants in the Dodgers home opener April 4. "Kind of what we needed today for him to go seven and go back out there for the seventh," manager Don Mattingly said. "It worked out." With his bushy beard freshly shorn, Bumgarner (2-1) had a three-start winning streak against the Dodgers snapped with just his second loss in the past seven outings against Los Angeles. The left-hander allowed two runs, six hits and three walks with six strikeouts in 4 1-3 innings but threw 99 pitches. "Not a whole lot went in our favour. Im not trying to change anything," Bumgarner said. "That was some of the best stuff Ive had so far. Its been tough getting deep into games right now." Los Angeles played without shortstop Hanley Ramirez, a day after he was hit by a pitch on the top of his left hand. The Dodgers said there is no fracture, and Ramirez said he had iced the hand eight times and planned to play Friday against Arizona to begin a 10-game homestand. NOTES: LHP Clayton Kershaw, on the DL with a strained muscle in his back, threw breaking balls off the mound and added velocity from his previous session. A rehab assignment is yet to be scheduled, nor any further tests at this time, Mattingly said. Kershaw will continue to throw every other day. ... Giants SS Brandon Crawford was given an extra day off to rest his tender right hamstring. He was available to play and took ground balls before the game. ... CF Angel Pagan didnt start because of knee soreness but appeared as a pinch-hitter. "He banged his knee into a wall a few days ago, so were giving him a break," Giants manager Bruce Bochy said. ... The Dodgers improved to 11-2 when they score first. Cheap Throwback Baseball Detroit Tigers Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Colorado Rockies Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Houston Astros Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Kansas City Royals Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Los Angeles Angels Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Los Angeles Dodgers Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Miami Marlins Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Milwaukee Brewers Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Minnesota Twins Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball New York Mets Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball New York Yankees Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Oakland Athletics Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Philadelphia Phillies Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Pittsburgh Pirates Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball San Diego Padres Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball San Francisco Giants Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Seattle Mariners Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball St. Louis Cardinals Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Tampa Bay Rays Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Texas Rangers Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Toronto Blue Jays Jerseys Cheap Throwback Baseball Washington Nationals Jerseys ' ' '