New York City FCs Stiven Mendoza is good enough to play for a top-flight club in Europe, according to his former employer. Tyler Austin Jersey . New York will be hoping the 24-year-old Colombian will be in top form when they look to overturn a 2-0 aggregate deficit to Toronto FC in their Eastern Conference semi-final second leg at Yankee Stadium, live on Sky Sports 3 on Sunday night.Mendoza, who is on a season-long loan from Brazilian side Corinthians, lit up the 2015 Indian Super League, with two goals in the last three minutes of the final, handing Chennaiyin the title with a thrilling 3-2 win over FC Goa. New York City vs Toronto FC November 6, 2016, 11:40pm Live on Get Sky Sports Get a Sky Sports pass And Chennaiyin co-owner, Indian actor Abhishek Bachchan, revealed he was thwarted in his efforts to re-sign Mendoza for this season due to City boss Patrick Vieiras faith in the Colombian forward.Stiven was a game-changer for us and will always be part of the Chennaiyin family, he told Sky Sports. Chennaiyins co-owner says Mendoza is benefitting from playing with Andrea Pirlo and David Villa He was an integral part of our title-winning campaign last season and was the leagues highest goalscorer. His pace and control are very hard to defend against and we were very keen to bring him back to Chennaiyin this season.But Patrick Vieira was very keen to hold on to him because he needed him and Stiven is having a great season and has scored some important goals. Frank Lampard has 12 goals in 15 starts this season Hes a very talented young footballer and to have team-mates like Andrea Pirlo, Frank Lampard and David Villa - for a 23-year-old like him - is absolutely brilliant. I dont think the day is very far away when he is playing for a top-flight club in Europe.Chennaiyin, managed by World Cup winner Marco Materazzi, were crowned ISL champions against all odds last season, rising from bottom after eight matches to qualify for the end-of-season semi-finals. Chennaiyin co-owner Abhishek Bachchan urges his team forward Their journey was made harder by the floods that swept through Southern India last year, forcing them to play out the season in Pune, more than 700 miles from Chennai.I am hugely proud of what we did last season, Bachchan said. We climbed the table and qualified for the semis after the floods hit, and we couldnt play at home, but the boys played with so much emotion, especially as underdogs in the final against Goa, in Goa.And the reception the boys got back in Chennai was magnificent. It was an amazing journey and thats what football is all about. Also See: Wright-Phillips in MVP running Drogba to return after snub LA Galaxy warned off Rooney Ridgewell arrested in US Chris Capuano Jersey . -- Raiders wide receiver Jacoby Ford made it through a third straight practice without any setbacks and expects to play in Oaklands regular-season finale against San Diego. Jordan Lyles Jersey . For Sweed, a second round pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2008, this will be his second go around in the CFL after previously having spent time with the Saskatchewan Roughriders. https://www.cheapbrewers.com/1549y-teddy-higuera-jersey-brewers.html . -- Edwin Encarnacion hit a three-run homer, Colby Rasmus drove in two runs and the Toronto Blue Jays beat the Detroit Tigers 9-4 on Saturday.LOS ANGELES -- Jordan Hill barely played for coach Mike DAntoni when they were together with the New York Knicks four years ago, and he started this season on DAntonis bench again with the Los Angeles Lakers. Hill has quickly made it impossible for DAntoni to keep him off the court while the Lakers chase wins without Kobe Bryant. Hill had career highs of 24 points and 17 rebounds, and Jodie Meeks and Nick Young scored 19 points apiece in the Lakers 114-99 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night. Steve Blake had nine points and 16 assists for the Lakers, who made a late surge for just their second victory in six games. Los Angeles scored 16 consecutive points in a rally spanning the third and fourth quarters, holding Detroit without a field goal for more than five minutes. Hill extended his impressive start to the season with another high-energy effort down low. Five days after moving into the starting lineup and promptly hitting his career high with 21 points against New Orleans, Hill surpassed that mark and his previous best rebounding game with relentless work against the Pistons imposing front line. "I get more confidence every time I step on the floor," said Hill, who washed out in New York and Houston before hitting his NBA stride with the Lakers over the past two seasons. "We dont have Steve Nash. We dont have Kobe. Weve got guys that we know have to step up. Were banding together as a team." Los Angeles scored the final 10 points of the third quarter, taking a 79-71 lead into the fourth on consecutive 3-pointers by Young and a buzzer-beating turnaround jumper by Jordan Farmar. Strong playmaking by Blake and Farmar catalyzed the rally, which continued with the first six points of the fourth. "Its going to take that type of effort to win games," said Pau Gasol, who had 12 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. "We need everybody to chip in and play well." Detroit missed six field-goal attempts and three free throws during the Lakers rally. Los Angeles stretched its lead to 106-87 on Meeks 3-pointer with 3:26 to play, building a lead too big to be threatened by Brandon Jennings four consecutive 3-pointers late. DAntoni began the season with Shawne Williams -- another former New York forward -- in the lineup alongside Gasol. Hill took over the starting spot, but he also excels when the Lakers go small, using Hill in Gasols place as their nominal centre. "Hes playing as hard as he can play," DAntoni said. "Hes got talent, and hes getting better. .. Brent Suter Jersey. ... I think hes just more confident and more everything -- and more minutes." Jennings scored 23 points and Andre Drummond had 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Pistons, who have lost five of six. Greg Monroe had 17 points and seven rebounds for Detroit, which has lost 38 of its past 40 road games against Western Conference teams. Josh Smith scored 18 for the Pistons, who went 1-3 on their four-game West Coast road swing. Playing without injured guards Will Bynum and Chauncey Billups, Detroit got 16 points off the bench from Rodney Stuckey, but struggled offensively midway through the second half of an otherwise even game. "We knew going into the game that they would spread the floor with the 3-point shooting," Detroit coach Maurice Cheeks said. "They got some pick-and-rolls that had some guys diving to the rim, and that opened up the 3-point shooting. We had some chances to score and missed some easy shots and some foul shots, and they were able to extend their lead." Detroit made more than 62 per cent of its shots and led for most of an uneventful first half that was punctuated by Jennings lob pass off the backboard to Drummond for a rim-shaking dunk late in the second quarter. "It was like playing against a clone of myself," Drummond said of his matchup with Hill. "I stopped moving, and he got the offensive rebounds because he was constantly moving and grinding the whole game. He runs around and plays hard. He played a hell of a game." After playing 12 games in 20 days to open the regular season, the Lakers get the next four days off to recover. Theyll probably practice with Bryant, who returned Saturday for his first workout with his teammates since tearing his Achilles tendon in April. Bryant still hasnt given a timetable for his return to the court. DAntoni again advised patience Sunday, saying the fourth-leading scorer in NBA history still will miss "a bunch" more games, likely not returning before Thanksgiving. The Lakers also dont know when Nash will return from nerve root irritation, although the two-time MVP point guard will be examined this week. NOTES: Billups missed his second straight game with knee tendinitis. Bynum sat out with a strained hamstring. ... Both teams wore alternate jerseys, with the Lakers in their Sunday whites and the Pistons in their blue "Motor City" jerseys. ... Pistons owner Tom Gores watched the game from a seat next to the Detroit bench. Gores, a private equity investor, lives and works in Beverly Hills. ' ' '