ROME - Roma beat Empoli 2-1 after extra time to reach the Italian Cup quarterfinals on Tuesday thanks to a very contentious penalty.Daniele De Rossi converted the spot kick five minutes from time, sending Empoli goalkeeper Davide Bassi the wrong way, after Piotr Zielinski was harshly adjudged to have brought down Leandro Paredes.You can see that he takes his legs away, but its difficult to tell whether it was before or after he got the ball, Roma coach Rudi Garcia said. I think the referee was in a great position to judge.Empoli almost equalized right at the end, but Roma goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski pulled off a great save to deny Francesco Tavano.Roma was jeered off the pitch by its own fans after a lacklustre performance against a team struggling at the wrong end of the Serie A table, 22 points behind the capital club.Im upset above all for my players, Empoli coach Maurizio Sarri said. What did I think about the penalty? What everyone in the stadium thought, but the club has asked me not to comment on anything, although the pictures speak for themselves.Garcia may say it could have been a penalty, but not according to his players. I spoke to two Roma players and they said it wasnt a penalty.Roma got off to the perfect start as it took the lead with less than five minutes on the clock after Douglas Maicons cross was flicked on to Juan Manuel Iturbe.Empoli levelled 10 minutes from the end of normal time when Simone Verdi beat the offside trap to race past Davide Astori and round Roma goalkeeper Lukasz Skorupski before firing into the far corner.Ashley Cole made his first appearance for Roma in nearly two months — after poor form had seen him dropped to the bench. But his return lasted barely 23 minutes before he was carted off following an accidental kick to his chin from Matias Vecino.Roma will next face either Fiorentina or Atalanta. Stefan Noesen Jersey . Martin Reway and David Griger both recorded four points with a goal and three assists each. Mario Lunter, Daniel Gachulinec and Stanislav Horansky also scored for Slovakia (1-0). Dominik Kahun had both goals for Germany (0-2), who lost its opening match to Canada 7-2 on Thursday. Adidas Ray Shero Jersey . Johns IceCaps erased an early two-goal deficit to come from behind and defeat the host Portland Pirates 5-4 on Saturday in American Hockey League action. http://www.cheapdevilsjerseys.com/ . Top-ranked Rafael Nadal was also taken to three sets but emerged with a 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-3 win over Tobias Kamke of Germany, while second-seeded David Ferrer joined Murray in making an early exit after a 6-4, 7-5 loss to Daniel Brands of Germany. Ben Lovejoy Jersey . Mike Vecchione tied it at 2 with 4:01 left in the first, Saskatoon native Eli Lichtenwald gave the Dutchman the lead 57 seconds later, and Daniel Ciampini capped the spree with 2:57 to go. Travis Zajac Jersey . There are some early surprises in the race for the Hart Trophy, but two of the contenders are the leagues biggest stars over the past decade. There are many more players in contention for the awards than just the three that Ive named, and a good or bad week can easily alter the landscape, but through the first 20 or so games of the NHL season, this is how the awards races look to me.HOYLAKE, England -- The ovations from the packed galleries remain as warm as ever for Tom Watson at the British Open. His scoring continues to be just as impressive, too. The 64-year-old Watson extended his record of being the oldest man to make the cut at the games oldest major when he shot a 1-over 73 on Friday. That put him at 2-over 146, just on the cut line. "Lets see what happens on the weekend," the five-time British Open winner said, with that glint in his eye. "See if the old guy can maybe get it rolling a little bit." Playing a brand of "old mans golf," as he put it, Watson outlasted Masters champion Bubba Watson as well as Webb Simpson, Patrick Reed and Harris English -- three guys looking to make the U.S. Ryder Cup team captained by Watson. The way Watson has been hitting the ball this week, he wouldnt look out of place on the team at Gleneagles in September. "Im thinking about picking the captain," he said, laughing. He needed a par 5 at No. 18 to stay at Hoylake for another two days and, to the delight of the spectators filling the horseshoe stand around the green, he avoided trouble and made it with ease. "It was pretty special playing with Tom, and the reception he got," Jim Furyk said. "And to watch him grind it out and make a birdie on the way in and make the cut was pretty cool. "I was pulling for him pretty hard on No.dddddddddddd. 18." Royal Liverpool is not among the venues where Watson lifted the claret jug between 1975 and 83, but he is as popular here as at Muirfield, Royal Birkdale or anywhere else on the Open rotation. He acknowledged that he has been looking up at the stands more this year, soaking up the tournaments special atmosphere in his next-to-last appearance at a British Open -- provided, of course, he doesnt finish in the top 10 at St. Andrews in 2015. And who would bet against that? "I am enjoying it," he said. "Today on the practice range, my swing turned around. I really started hitting the ball well. ... It was the best warm-up session Ive had all year. I felt very good going out to the golf course." When he bogeyed No. 10 after hitting his gap wedge over the green from the middle of the fairway, Watson was missing the cut line at 3 over and under pressure. He hit every fairway after that, picking up that crucial birdie at No. 14 and parring his way home. Two solid shots at No. 18 allowed him to enjoy the ovation from all sides as he approached the green. "It was a pleasure playing with a little bit of heat on me to make the cut and doing so well, especially coming down the stretch," he said. The headaches over Ryder Cup selection can wait for a few days. Watson has something else to occupy his mind at the British Open this weekend. ' ' '