BERLIN - Bayern Munich looks likely to wrap up another successful year by claiming two more Bundesliga records, while Borussia Dortmund is desperate to avoid the winter break in the relegation zone.Both sides have experienced vastly contrasting fortunes in the league this season, leaving Wolfsburg, Borussia Moenchengladbach, Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke to scrap it out for the privilege of being best of the rest. Dortmund is merely fighting for survival.Five points are all that separate last-place Werder Bremen from 10th-place Cologne, ensuring the whole bottom half of the table is concerned with relegation.Here are some things to know ahead of the last set of games before the Bundesligas six-week winter break:___BAYERNLIGABayern has all but clinched the league title even before the halfway point. The defending champions have an 11-point lead over second-place Wolfsburg after 16 games with 39 goals and only three conceded.Bayern was already assured of the top spot going into the winter break with two games to spare for the unofficial autumn championship title. On only three of the previous 19 occasions has the club failed to go on and then win the league.Unless Bayern concedes four goals at Mainz on Friday, the side will set a record for the fewest goals conceded in the opening half of the season. If it wins, it will beat its own record of 44 points at the halfway stage of the 2005-06 season by one point.Unbeaten in the Bundesliga this season, with two defeats last season and only one the season before, Bayern has only its own records to beat.___BREITNERS BROADSIDEBayern representative and former player Paul Breitner has criticized the clubs domestic rivals for not doing enough to keep up.Perhaps Real Madrid or Barcelona would be opponents of which wed say, OK, you can lose against them. But seriously, who should this team lose against in the form theyre in at the moment? he asked on Sport1 television.Breitner dismissed the idea of distributing more German Football League money to the smaller clubs to help them better compete.Stop with this nonsense. Bayern cant do anything about the other clubs failures, said Breitner, who also criticized Dortmund: You always have the situation where clubs that cant be relegated get suddenly relegated because they think they are too good.___DORTMUND DOLDRUMSBayerns main domestic rival for the past four seasons, Dortmund, remains in the relegation zone with one point from its last two games.The 2011 and 2012 champions have lost nine times already this season, more than any other side in the league, and next face Werder Bremen, which has shown signs of improvement under new coach Viktor Skripnik despite finding itself in last place.Dortmund has been hit by injuries but a bigger problem has been its inability to score. Only three sides have scored fewer goals.Meanwhile, as the pressure builds, anxiety is leading to defensive lapses, and Dortmund seems unable to hang onto a lead. Dortmund led twice against Wolfsburg on Wednesday but had to settle for a 2-2 draw.___FEARLESS FRANKFURTEintracht Frankfurt is quickly becoming the most entertaining side in the league. Since former Werder Bremen coach Thomas Schaaf took over in the off-season, the team has been adopting his cavalier style to games: lots of goals, not so much emphasis on defence.At home against Hertha Berlin on Wednesday, Frankfurt found itself three goals down to the visitors by the 37th minute, then 4-2 down by the 80th, only for league-leading scorer Alexander Meier to score twice in injury time to salvage an unlikely draw.Its tremendous fun to work with this team but its not good for the nerves, said Schaaf, whose side the second best attack and the second worst defence, with 33 goals scored and conceded. Wholesale New Balance .com) - Many people at Eastern Washington are waiting to see if star quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. Wholesale New Balance Shoes Australia . PAUL, Minn – The clock lingered for what seemed like an interminable two minutes and 51 seconds before Mark Fraser finally escaped to the bench during a wildly one-sided first period of an eventual loss to Boston. http://www.wholesalenewbalanceaustralia.com/. After deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league would consider pulling out of Sochi if something "significant" happens before players arrive, those set to participate are trying not to worry about that scenario. New Balance Shoes Australia Sale . According to a report from the Vancouver Province, the Lions are expected to replace former DC Rich Stubler with defensive backs coach Mark Washington. New Balance Sale Australia . - The Green Bay Packers got back to work on Friday without star quarterback Aaron Rodgers.HOUSTON -- Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said after Saturdays game against Houston that Nelson Cruz is in a good place. Great or excellent would be more fitting adjectives to describe how the first-year Orioles star is playing. Cruz hit his major league-leading 20th home run and drove in three runs to back a solid start by Chris Tillman, and the Orioles snapped a four-game skid with a 4-1 win over the Astros. "Nelson is letting the ball travel and letting it get deep," Showalter said. "Hes come in with a reputation of being streaky and I dont think Ive ever seen him locked in for this long a period of time. A lot of guys at his age start figuring out who they are and learning from their mistakes through the years in more ways than one." Cruz was suspended 50 games last year while playing for the Texas Rangers as a result of Major League Baseballs investigation into the Biogenesis drug scandal before signing a one-year deal with the Orioles this off-season. He agreed with Showalters assessment of his recent play. "I see the ball well," he said. "Like I said before, its hard to be consistent for that long. I just take my routine and try to do it on a daily basis so I can stay more consistent." The loss ends a season-best seven-game winning streak for the Astros. Tillman (5-2) allowed one run on four hits over 6 2-3 innings to bounce back after allowing 14 runs combined in his last two starts. Zach Britton pitched a scoreless ninth for his fourth save. The Orioles took the lead when Dallas Keuchel (6-3) walked home two runs in the fifth and Cruz extended the lead to 4-1 with his solo shot to left-centre off Jerome Williams in the eighth. Cruzs 52 RBIs lead the majors and are the most in team history at the end of May, surpassing the 50 RBIs Chris Davis had entering June last year. Cruz, who also doubled on Saturday, has a 12-game hitting streak with six doubles, eight homers and 15 RBIs in that span. He was pleased that the was able to get the offence going on Saturday after scoring just two runs in the previous two games combined. "As a team we know we can score runs. No doubt," he said. "We have top to bottom one of the best lineups in the league. So it waas a matter of time (before) we came back and do what we were supposed to do.dddddddddddd I think today was a great example." Keuchel allowed six hits and three runs with three walks in six innings to end a four-game winning streak. He was done in by his lack of control on Saturday after walking just one batter in his previous four starts combined. Keuchel was coming off two stellar outings where he posted a 1.02 ERA and was named AL player of the week. "I just didnt have a feel," Keuchel said of the fifth inning. "Give them credit for laying off a few pitches. Thats a good team. I was lucky to get out of there with just three runs." Manny Machado singled off Keuchel with one out in the fifth before a two-out single by Caleb Joseph. Nick Markakis walked to load the bases before the Orioles took the lead on a walk by Steve Pearce. A third straight walk -- this one by Cruz -- scored another run to push the lead to 3-1. Keuchel took Adam Jones to a full count before striking him out to end the inning. Markakis hit a leadoff double and scored on a sacrifice fly by Cruz with one out to put Baltimore up early. Jason Castro doubled with no outs in the second inning before Tillman plunked two of the next three batters to load the bases with one out. Robbie Grossman singled on a dribbler down the right field line to tie it at 1-1. NOTES: The series wraps up on Sunday when Baltimores Wei-Yin Chen opposes Scott Feldman. ... Saturday was the 1,000th career game for Jones. ... Baltimore RHP Tommy Hunter, on the 15-day disabled list retroactive to May 21 with a left groin strain, will throw a bullpen session on Sunday. ... Machado, who has hit in the No. 2 spot for most of his career, was moved down to the seventh spot this week after struggling this season. Showalter is confident that Machado, who had two hits Saturday, will get back on track and thinks this move could help. "Were just trying to be patient for him to work his way back into it, but thats a challenge," Showalter said. "He gets frustrated. He hides it pretty well. Hes the same body language, the same everything that he was last year, just not getting the return. And its frustrating for him." ' ' '