BARCELONA, Spain - A matchup worthy of the final will knock out Barcelona or Atletico Madrid in the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey.Barcelona hosts Atletico on Wednesday in the opening leg, less than two weeks after they met in the league at Camp Nou, where Lionel Messi ended a scoring drought that lasted through six winless meetings with Atletico by scoring once and setting up fellow forwards Neymar and Luis Suarez for a 3-1 victory.Atletico, however, arrives on firm footing after eliminating cup holder and crosstown rival Real Madrid in the round of 16.It will be an intense and tough tie, Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta says. Atletico is a difficult rival. We will have to play our best without making mistakes.Here are some things to know about this weeks quarterfinals:____WHAT CRISIS?: Barcelona appeared to be on the verge of a breakdown before it last faced Atletico on Jan. 11 following a loss at Real Sociedad, the firing of its sports director, and club president Josep Bartomeu calling for early elections.But since then it has roared to four straight lopsided wins by the combined score of 16-1.Messi has been his usual amazing self, with five goals in that span — despite sitting out one match — including his 30th career hat trick for Barcelona at Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday.THE BOY IS BACK: Fernando Torres two goals to seal Atleticos elimination of Real proved that the 30-year-old striker, who once shone as Atleticos brightest rising talent, can make a strong contribution in his second stint at his boyhood club.With his ability to work well in open space, Torres gives coach Diego Simeone a third option in attack to combine with the bigger Mario Mandzukic and the quicker Antoine Griezmann.Torres likes his teams chances against Barcelona.After Madrid and Barca, there is a third team in Atletico, and it has shown it can beat them, Torres said. We are an uncomfortable rival.V FOR VICTORY: Villarreal hosts Getafe also on Wednesday, with the winner meeting either Barcelona or Atletico in the semifinals.Manager Marcelino Garcia has Villarreal playing both the most vibrant and the most consistent football in Spain.Villarreal has risen into sixth place in the league and has reached the knockout rounds in the Europa League after not losing once in a 15-game span across all competitions.BRUISED BILBAO: With 23 cups, Athletic Bilbao trails only Barcelonas 26 as all-time winners in the competition.And Bilbao visits Malaga on Wednesday needing another strong performance in the cup with pressure increasing on coach Ernesto Valverde after the Basque side lost four of their last five matches.SNEAKY SEVILLA: While Spains top teams get most of the attention, Sevilla is quietly having an excellent campaign and positioning itself to fight for silverware.Six points off the pace in the league with a game in hand against pacesetting Real, Sevilla is also opting to challenge for the cup as it visits Espanyol on Thursday. Jeff Keppinger Jersey . -- Without Carey Price, the run for a first Stanley Cup in 21 years got steeper and longer for the Montreal Canadiens. Bobby Jenks Jersey .Before a raucous sellout crowd, the Hawks won for the 29th time in 31 games to extend their Eastern-best record to 36-8.As usual, pretty much everyone chipped in.Four starters were in double figures and backup point guard Dennis Schroder led a spurt at the start of the fourth quarter that helped the Hawks pull away. http://www.whitesoxteamshop.com/White-Sox-Lucas-Giolito-Kids-Jersey/ .Lets go back to the Avs, who have become one of the funnest teams to watch in this years playoffs. Bo Jackson Jersey . Toronto announced the deal with the restricted free agent on Saturday. The terms were not disclosed. Michael Jordan Jersey .com) - Stephen Currys jumper with 3.Each week, The Reporters put their thumbs out to the good and the bad in the world of sports. This week, they discuss Chad Johnson signing in Montreal, RA Dickeys excuses, Marc Bergevins dance moves, and the NCAAs decision to provide meals to athletes. Dave Naylor, TSN 1050 My thumb is up to the Montreal Alouettes who this week signed former NFL star Chad Johnson - aka Ochocino - despite the fact he is 36 and hasnt played in the NFL since 2011. Why is my thumb up when so few ex-NFL stars ever succeed in Canada? Well, because theres really no down side to it. If Chad Johnson is truly as motivated and well-conditioned as he claims ... then hell be a welcomed addition to the Als and the CFL. And if hes not, well, hell be gone. Montreal has proven no one makes its team based on whats on the back of the jersey - just ask Ahman Green, Dominic Rhodes and others the Als signed - and then cut, when they couldnt cut it against CFL competition. Will Chad Johnson be the exception to the rule? At least it should be fun finding out. Huit-cinq anyone? Steve Simmons, SUN Media My thumb is down to RA Dickey, the erstwhile Blue Jays ace, the former Cy Young award winner who seems to lead the Major Leagues in just one category - excuses. With RA, theres always something. Something wrong. Its either too cold or its too hot. The roof at Rogers Centre is either open or closed. The wind is blowing in or its blowing out. Its day or its night. Everything, it seems, affects the knuckleball. He would be one of the three bears of pitching but with him, iits not often just right.dddddddddddd Dickey has made four starts for the Jays in this young season, and he already owns a 6.26 earned run average. Im sure he has a plausible explanation for that: I just dont want to hear one. Michael Farber, Sports Illustrated My thumb is up to Marc Bergevin, Canadiens general manager and dancin fool. After Montreals Game 1 overtime win in Tampa, cameras caught Bergevin doing a shimmy and a shake, touching off a dance craze now known as the Marcarena. Somehow I cant imagine Bergevins predecessors, Pierre "go go" Gauthier and disco Bob Gainey, men who were neither hip nor hop, busting moves in a luxury box. But thats Bergevin, who has been blessed with a sense of fun. When he played, he would often check into hotels as Denis Lemieux, the goalie from Slap Shot. Maybe Bergevin should switch aliases - to Mikhail Baryshnikov. Dave Hodge, TSN My thumb is down to NCAA President Mark Emmert, who congratulated himself and his organization for changing a dumb rule that used to prevent schools from providing meals to athletes, but allowed snacks. As Emmert pointed out, a bagel was considered a snack unless it had cream cheese on it, and then it was considered a meal. Well, maybe my thumb should be up to Emmert and the NCAA for giving their heads a shake, but no, its down for looking at what they can and cant provide to the athletes and thinking that the term "meal-ticket" actually and only refers to food. Never mind cream cheese, they should spread some money around, too. ' ' '