NEW ORLEANS -- Erik Thomas scored 31 points and grabbed 10 rebounds off the bench to lead New Orleans to a 103-67 rout of Division III LaGrange College in the season opener Friday night.Elijah Adedoyin, who finished with 15 points, drilled a 3-pointer to jump-start the Panthers, who held the lead for the first five minutes of the game and grabbed a 23-22 lead midway through the first half.But the Privateers took a 10-point lead at intermission and out-scored LaGrange 58-32 in the second half.Thomas was 11 of 15 from the field and grabbed nine of his 10 boards off the offensive glass.Christavious Gill and Makur Puou added 13 and 10 points, respectively, for New Orleans, which shot 48.6 percent from the field (34 of 70) and converted 27 of 37 from the free throw line.LaGrange was 23 of 64 from the floor, including 6 of 28 from distance. sWell Bottle Sale 17oz .Y. -- Marcell Dareus and the Buffalo Bills defence made life miserable for Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco. sWell Marble Water Bottle . -- In a span of seven Washington Redskins offensive plays, Justin Tuck sacked Robert Griffin III four times. http://www.swellwaterbottlesale.com/ . -- Peyton Manning will have all of his wide receivers available for the first time in a month when the Denver Broncos begin their playoff run Jan. Swell Bottle Wood Cheap . - Derek Wolfe says hes finally healthy after suffering a seizure in November that doctors now believe was related to the spinal cord injury he suffered in the preseason. sWell Traveler Bottle Sale . -- An ugly goal by Nick Bonino helped the Anaheim Ducks overcome the defensive-minded Phoenix Coyotes on a night when their ragged power play continued to struggle.Guillem Balague believes lingering muscle problems could partly explain Lionel Messis dip in form for Barcelona. The Argentina international failed to score for the fifth consecutive game as his side crashed out of the Champions League to Atletico Madrid on Wednesday.And Balague, who says Messis recent tendency to drop into midfield is limiting his effectiveness, thinks the Barca star is in pain. Lionel Messi was largely on the periphery as Barcelona were knocked out by Atletico Madrid When asked to explain Messis form on Sky Sports News HQ, Balague said: He has not scored in five games, and Barcelona depend on a very good Messi.Theres two ways to explain this. First, you look at him and hes dropping deeper, hes walking instead of running - although he normally does that - and he doesnt look as sharp. Whats up with Barca? Barcelona out: Reliance on Messi, Neymar and Suarez proves costly When he doesnt feel sharp he doesnt get in the box. As a midfielder, hes good but hes not that great.But you can also explain it in a different way. Minutes after the Atletico Madrid game finished a story came out that he has been struggling with muscle problems. Not an injury as such, but about three weeks ago he went to Venice to see a nutritionist and he was asking him, Why is it I dont feel well at the moment?It could be the training and hes in pain certainly, and all those things have made him perform at a lesser level.Some will say its just excuses, but look back at his last five games and you can see it hasnt been the same Messi. Ive checked with the family and the muscle issues are one of the problems that is worrying him. Antoine Griezmann scored once in each half to send Atletico Madrid into the Champions League semi-finals Barca have lost three of their last four matches in all competitions, but sit three points clear of Atletico in La Liga and remain on course for a league and cup double.And Balague believes La Liga and Copa Del Rey titles will still represent a strong season, even if they failed in their pursuit of back-to-back trebles. This is what were used to seeing from Lionel Messi.dddddddddddd They can still win the league and the cup, but nobody is talking about that because it has been a surprising demise in the last month, he added.Winning after winning is so difficult and to keep at that level for so long is almost impossible.Imagine if they do win the league, it means they will have had a good season, but if they also beat Sevilla in the cup, its a very good season. But at this point the Champions League blurs everything else and it looks like something is missing. Luis Enrique took full responsibility for Barcelonas Champions League defeat The main culprit according to the media in Catalonia is Luis Enrique, who hasnt done some of the things that made Barcelona good last season.Enrique has to be the coach and say Neymar you havent scored since mid-March and Messi perhaps you should rest too.But now there are seven games left and its difficult to tell them that because everyone wants to play as soon as possible and bounce back from what has been a hurtful defeat. Win a t-lab Peloton t-shirt We have teamed up with original British mens t-shirt label t-lab in our new giveaway Also See: Whats up with Barca? Griezmann knocks Barca out How Spain reacted to Barca loss Enrique: Im to blame for exit ' ' '