BARCELONA, Spain -- Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty kick but scored three times to restore his touch and help Real Madrid increase its lead of the Spanish league on Saturday.Ronaldo could have scored a fourth in Madrids 4-1 win at Alaves if not for goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco, who saved his spot kick.Madrids win ensured it stayed two points ahead of Barcelona after the defending champion moved into second place with a 1-0 win over bottom-side Granada. Atletico Madrid also won to move into third after overtaking a Sevilla side that was the only top team to stumble.Ronaldos first multi-goal performance of the season for Madrid was his club record 31st hat trick in La Liga. And it came just when voices in the Spanish capital were wondering if Ronaldos 31 years were finally catching up with him.(Ronaldo) is patient and is showing it on the pitch, Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said. Im very happy with his performance. We are always going to ask him for goals, but he was very good in every facet today.Ronaldo got his hat trick following his worst start to a season since his debut campaign at Madrid in 2009. Before Saturday, he scored only four times in nine matches, twice in the league and twice in the Champions League. By comparison, Barcelona rival Lionel Messi has struck 14 times in this campaign.An early goal by Deyverson gave the home fans hope that newly promoted Alaves could add a win over Madrid to an impressive list of results, which include a shock victory at Barcelona and a draw at Atletico Madrid.But Ronaldo leveled the score 10 minutes later from the penalty spot after Deyverson appeared to use his arm inside the area to block Gareth Bales free kick. Ronaldo sent Pacheco the other way before firing home.Ronaldo put Madrid in front shortly after with a vicious strike that deflected off a defender before looping over an outstretched Pacheco.With Madrid hurt by an injury to defender Pepe that forced him to be substituted, Alaves didnt roll over, and goalie Keylor Navas had to deny Victor Camarasa and Deyverson to protect the visitors advantage.After Pacheco blocked Ronaldos spot kick, Marcelo set up both substitute Alvaro Morata and Ronaldo to score in the final minutes.Ronaldo lives to score, Marcelo said. Hes happy today, but more so for the three points than his goals.BARCELONA 1, GRANADA 0With Messi, Neymar, and Luis Suarez having a subdued night, Barcelona needed another goal from midfielder Rafinha in its 1,500th match at Camp Nou to see off the leagues worst team.Rafinha netted his fifth goal of the season with a bicycle kick to fire in a ball that Neymar sent off the post in the 58th.Barcelona failed to create many more chances, apparently eyeing Tuesdays Champions League visit to Manchester City to face former coach Pep Guardiola.That wasnt our most brilliant game, Barcelona manager Luis Enrique said. We lacked sharpness and it didnt come easy, but the win was never in danger.ATLETICO MADRID 4, MALAGA 2Yannick Carrasco and Kevin Gameiro each scored twice to lead Atletico Madrid to another commanding win. Atletico is ahead of Sevilla on goal difference, and three points behind Real Madrid.Gameiros second goal to make it 3-1 just before halftime came from an excellent headed pass by Antoine Griezmann.But Carrasco topped that effort with a scorching solo goal struck from the edge of the area after a long sprint that sealed the win in fine style.Both teams finished with 10 men after Atleticos Stefan Savic and Malagas Gonzalo Castro earned two bookings each.SPORTING GIJON 1, SEVILLA 1Jorge Sampaolis Sevilla endured its first non-win in five matches across all competitions. Luciano Vietto scored on the break to give Sevilla the lead four minutes into the away match, but Moi Gomez volleyed in the equalizer soon after. Matt Garza Jersey . The native of Mont-Tremblant, Que., captured a World Cup downhill event Saturday, his second this year and fifth career victory on the circuit. Yovani Gallardo Jersey . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. http://www.brewersteamshop.com/Brewers-Orlando-Arcia-Kids-Jersey/ . Halifax beat the Saint John Sea Dogs 7-5 on the strength of two goals apiece from Nikolaj Ehlers, Matt Murphy and Brent Andrews. Jonathan Drouin also scored and had three assists while Zachary Fucale made 17 saves for the Mooseheads (16-8-0), who led 6-1 after two periods. Corey Knebel Jersey . LOUIS -- St. Stephen Vogt Jersey . Datsyuk will miss Tuesdays game against New Jersey and could be sidelined longer, while Cleary will likely miss at least the next three games. Its been an injury-plagued season for Datsyuk, who has suited up for just 39 games. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Fifteen years ago, Melissa Stockwell was a senior at Colorado, wearing her ROTC uniform as she watched the Sept. 11 attacks unfold on television.On Sunday, she will put on a different national uniform, Team USAs, as she competes for gold in the Paralympic triathlon.To hear the national anthem, with my hand over my heart on Sept. 11 -- theres not even a way to really describe the feelings that I would have in that moment, Stockwell said.In 2004, Stockwell lost her left leg to a roadside bomb while serving in Iraq, becoming the first female American soldier to lose a limb in active combat.Stockwell usually competes with a Never Forget 9/11/01 sticker on her American flag-themed bike. The sticker is just above the handlebars, so she can see it while shes racing.For Sundays race, though, she will have to cover up the sticker to comply with International Paralympic Committee rules. She used some blue electrical tape for the job.We have specific rules regarding what brands can be displayed here in competition, IPC spokesperson Craig Spence said, so that (covering the sticker) is consistent with the rules.Said Stockwell: I know its under there, so Ill be imagining it.Stockwell was a gymnast as a child. Through that, she fell in love with the American flag and the idea of putting on a uniform and representing the U.S. at the Olympic Games.While that dream never materialized, Stockwell found another way to represent her country by joining the Army through ROTC. Three weeks after she was deployed to Iraq in 2004, the Humvee she was riding in hit the bomb.In 2008, Stockwell became the first Iraq War veteran to compete in the Paralympics, swimming in three events. She did not qualify for any finals. She carried the flag for Team USA in the closing ceremony.She won the first of three consecutive paratriathlon world championships in 2010. Then, in 2014, she gave birth to her son, Dallas.She basically had to start over, Stockwells husband, Brian Tolsma, said aboout her training.ddddddddddddShe went harder, stronger and faster than Ive ever seen.But now shes back on a global stage. The Rio Games mark the first time paratriathlon is on the program.While in Rio, Stockwell will be away from her son for about 2+ weeks. She shared with her husband that she felt depressed about being away from Dallas for so long, but then she remembered all of the soldiers that leave their children for a year at a time.Stockwell has been awarded a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star Medal. She said she would cherish a Paralympic medal slightly more.I want to be known more for not what happened to me, she said, but what I did with my injury after it happened.Stockwell signs everything Melissa Stockwell USA, said Keri Serota, executive director of the nonprofit Dare2tri Paratriathlon Club that Stockwell co-founded to help athletes with physical disabilities and visual impairments train for triathlons.Tolsma joked that she signs her checks the same way, so people end up referring to her as Mrs. USA.Anywhere she can put a flag, shes just going to do it, Tolsma said. Whether its a room in her house, her bike or her prosthetic leg, there is an American flag of some sort.She does this, she said, because it might spark a conversation with a bystander about the military and thanking those who have served for their sacrifices. Stockwells sacrifice did not stop her. Instead, she called it added motivation for Sundays race, on the 15th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks.Somebody over in Iraq didnt want me here anymore and they took my leg, Stockwell said, but I have the rest of me and here I am competing in Rio at the Paralympic Games, going for the gold.---Kendra Hansey is a journalism student at the University of Georgia. Penn State and Georgia are partnering with The Associated Press to supplement coverage of the 2016 Paralympics. ' ' '