LONDON -- Andre Schuerrles hat trick sent Chelsea four points clear at the top of the English Premier League with a 3-1 victory at Fulham, capitalizing on Arsenal losing at Stoke on Saturday. Craig Biggio Jersey . Chelsea took until the second half to trouble the leagues bottom team, but Schuerrle then ripped through the defence with ease at Craven Cottage to keep Jose Mourinhos side on track for the title. Having not won on seven previous visits to Stoke, Arsenal came unstuck again as Jonathan Walters clinched a 1-0 victory from the penalty spot. Liverpool moved ahead of Arsenal on goal difference into second by winning 3-0 at Southampton in the late game. Manchester City dropped to fourth but it was only six points from the top with two games in hand, and could collect its first piece of silverware of the season against Sunderland in the League Cup final at Wembley Stadium on Sunday. In the days biggest controversy, Football Association officials will be investigating Newcastle manager Alan Pardew, who was sent off for appearing to head-butt Hull midfielder David Meyler. The touchline altercation overshadowed Newcastles 4-1 victory at Hull. Everton recovered from back-to-back league losses by beating West Ham 1-0 and returning to sixth place. After Chelsea made the short trip to Fulham, Mourinho was so annoyed at a poor first-half display that he wouldnt speak to his players during the break. The silent treatment was motivation enough, and the team was transformed, with the opener coming seven minutes into the new half. From inside his own half, Eden Hazard picked out Schuerrle, who headed the ball past Dan Burn, ran forward and slotted into the net. Schuerrle was on the end again when Hazard slipped the ball through in the 65th and the Germany midfielder scored. Torres was the creator for the third, with Schuerrle scoring again with ease in the 68th. Fulham came alive again in the closing stages, but all the team could produce was Johnny Heitinga tapping into an open net. At St. James Park, Newcastle wrapped up the victory before halftime with two goals from Moussa Sissoko and another from Loic Remy. But the real drama unfolded in the 72nd minute with the dismissal of Pardew, who faces a touchline ban. The apparent head-butt happened after Meyler barged into Pardew as he looked to retrieve the ball for a throw-in at KC Stadium. "He was right on top of me and I wanted to just ease him away from me but obviously I put my head in a forward motion," Pardew said. "I want to apologize." On the south coast, a fourth straight league win maintained Liverpools unexpected title push. Strikes from Luis Suarez and Raheem Sterling, and a late penalty by Steven Gerrard pushed Liverpool above Arsenal into second. The Britannia Stadium proved unwelcome territory for another leading team, as Stoke followed up wins over Chelsea and Manchester United, and a draw against City, by seeing off Arsenal. The breakthrough came with around 15 minutes to go when Laurent Koscielny was penalized for a handball and Walters scored from the spot to clinch Stokes second win in 11 league games. "It is not slightly worrying -- it is a big worry for us to lose a game like that," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. "It is a massive setback." Ken Giles Jersey . With Washington teammate Nene drawing double-teams coming off his big game against the Lakers, Gortat scored 25 points on 11-of-12 shooting and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Wizards to a 100-92 win in overtime over Milwaukee on Wednesday night. Jose Cruz Jr. Jersey . "Im going to send Webbie a six-pack (of beer) tonight," she said. Webb wasnt sure that would help. "Ill probably drink one and go to sleep," the Australian veteran said. The two players set up a Sunday showdown between former HSBC champions after finishing off their third rounds with identical birdies over three of the last five holes Saturday to separate themselves slightly from the rest of the crowded leaderboard. http://www.astrosteamproshop.com/Astros-Jose-Altuve-Kids-Jersey/ . Luke Wileman and I stood in the corridor outside of the Vancouver Whitecaps dressing room at BC Place in Vancouver. PHOENIX -- Kevin Towers appeared to have a tenuous hold on his job as Arizonas general manager when the Diamondbacks hired Tony La Russa to run their baseball operations. Though the Hall of Fame manager said he was going to evaluate the entire organization, it seemed only to be a matter of time before the reins were taken away from Towers. The change came on Friday, when Arizona fired Towers in the midst of a third straight disappointing season, less than four months after La Russa was named chief baseball officer. "Over the past three months, I have had the opportunity to evaluate all aspects of our baseball operations and have decided to restructure our staff in order to improve our decision-making process," La Russa said. "I have the utmost respect for Kevin and a friendship with him that dates back many years which has allowed me to appreciate his talents and experience." Towers was hired in 2010 after 14 seasons as the San Diego Padres general manager. He had almost immediate success, pulling off all the right moves to help Arizona win the 2011 NL West crown, its first division title since 2007. Since then, Towers moves havent paid off quite as well and the Diamondbacks have suffered, following a pair of .500 seasons with a nosedive this year. "You can see it coming but you dont want to believe it," catcher Miguel Montero said. "Its really sad that its come to this." Plagued by injuries and subpar seasons from players it had counted on, Arizona lost 22 of its first 30 games to plummet into last place and never really recovered, entering Friday nights game at 59-81 -- 11 1-2 games behind the first-place Los Angeles Dodgers. "Its a bummer," first baseman Mark Trumbo said. "You never want to see anyone relieved of their role in the organization, especially when it comes as a result of the team underperforming." Towers said La Russa told him he wanted to restructure the front office a couple of weeks ago and was offered another position within the organization. Towers plans to stay with the organization at least until the Diamondbacks hire a new GM and decide on his future once he knows who the new person will be. La Russa said current agent Dave Stewart, a pitcher under La Russa with the Oakland Athletics, and St. Louis farm director Gary LaRocque are on Arizonas list of potential replacements. He also has talked to Diamondbacks scouting director Ray Montgomery, and asked permission to speak with New York Yankees assistant GM Billy Eppler and Los Angeles Angels scouting director Hal Moorris. Tyler Clippard Jersey. "When I took this job in 2010, we wanted to win a World Series and we won very early here, set high standards for ourselves," Towers said. "Since 2011, we havent met the standards that we hoped, ownership had hoped for and our fan base hoped for, and ultimately Im going to be held accountable for that." With manager Kirk Gibson at the helm, Arizona had a dramatic turnaround in 2011, winning 94 games and the NL West after losing 97 games the season before. The success didnt continue. Arizona went 81-81 the next two seasons despite a slew of moves by Towers and took another step backward this season after Gibson and Towers were given contract extensions. "I look at K.T. and the thing that comes to my mind is how much better the organization is right now than we he arrived," Gibson said. "Hes done a great job." Injuries were a big part of the fall this season. The Diamondbacks lost their No. 1 starter and setup man before the season even started, when Patrick Corbin and David Hernandez underwent Tommy John surgery. Trumbo, the teams key off-season acquisition, was tied for the NL lead in homers and second in RBIs, but went down with a stress fracture in his foot less than a month into the season. Outfielder A.J. Pollock also missed significant time with a broken hand and All-Star first baseman Paul Goldschmidt was lost for the season last month with a broken hand. "Wish we could have stayed healthy and enjoyed success year after year, but this season was a very trying year and when you dont meet expectations, things like this happen -- and I know that," Towers said. Even before the injuries struck, the Diamondbacks laboured after a series of deals by Towers didnt pan out. The big trade under Towers came before the 2013 season, when the Diamondbacks sent outfielder Justin Upton to the Braves for top pitching prospect Randall Delgado and three minor leaguers. Upton has continued to produce in Atlanta while the players Arizona got in return have yet to have much of an impact. Towers also traded away several starting pitchers, including Ian Kennedy, Trevor Bauer, Jarrod Parker and Tyler Skaggs, along with outfielder Adam Eaton. With the team out of contention, Towers and the Diamondbacks began dismantling the team around the trade deadline, pulling off deals that sent right-hander Brandon McCarthy, third baseman Martin Prado -- the key cog in the Upton trade -- and outfielder Gerardo Parra out of the desert. ' ' '