ROME -- Edin Dzeko and Ciro Immobile are enjoying a Roman renaissance this season.On both sides of the Tiber River, the Roma and Lazio strikers are scoring at a rate that has already -- less than three months into Serie A -- eclipsed their output from last season.Dzeko leads the Italian league with 10 goals in 11 matches while Immobile is next on the scorers chart with nine goals.Last season, Dzeko produced only eight league goals in his dismal first year in Italy after transferring from Manchester City, while Immobile hit the target five times on loan with Torino.Its never easy in Italy, even for the best players. Serie A is a very tactical league and its not easy for people coming from abroad to get used to it, Roma midfielder Radja Nainggolan said after Dzeko completed his fourth two-goal match of the season in a 4-2 win at Austria Vienna in the Europa League on Thursday.He barely got going last year and people started to criticize him after two games without a goal, Nainggolan added. Hes always looked sharp in training and this year hes proving himself with lots of goals. ... Hes showing hes a top striker.Dzeko is on pace to beat the 16 goals he scored when he helped City win the English Premier League title in 2014. And he already has 12 goals in 16 matches in all competitions for Roma this season.Its been quite a turnaround for a player who Roma fans ridiculed as being cieco -- the Italian word for blind, which rhymes with Dzeko.When Roma signed Dzeko a year ago, the Bosnian appeared to be the perfect fit for a squad full of speedy wingers and playmakers but lacking a true center forward.At 1.93 meters (6-foot-4), Dzeko is finally putting his height to use against the smaller defenders of Serie A -- scoring on a header without even jumping against Napoli last month -- and clinically redirecting crosses from Mohamed Salah and Stephan El Shaarawy.Roma coach Luciano Spalletti has been just as pleased with Dzekos efforts to help out on defense as with his goals.He feels like hes more a part of the squad now and that has enabled him to get back to being the great player that he is, Spalletti said.Meanwhile, Immobile is also back to his best after leading Serie A with 22 goals in 2014 for Torino.After that big-scoring season, Immobile transferred to Borussia Dortmund and lost his scoring touch. A loan spell at Sevilla didnt help but another loan back to Torino for the second half of last season reunited him with current Italy coach Gian Piero Ventura and reignited his desire.After a full transfer to Lazio in July for a reported fee of 8.5 million euros ($9.4 million) -- half of what Dortmund paid for him two years earlier -- Immobile has helped Lazio to an unexpected fourth place in Serie A and become one of Venturas top choices at forward for the national team.Lazio supporters have likened Immobiles exploits to those of Miroslav Klose, the recently retired Germany great who spent his final five seasons with the Roman club. Media have labeled the transformation at forward as a one-letter change from Miro to Ciro.Bruno Giordano, another former Lazio great, called Immobile Italys best current center forward.A couple of poor unfortunate seasons abroad made us forget his worth but Ciro is still really good. I think hell be the top scorer in the league, Giordano told the Gazzetta dello Sport.Dzeko and Immobile go head-to-head in the seasons first Rome derby on Dec. 4, while this weekend Roma hosts Bologna and Lazio visits Immobiles hometown club Napoli.---Andrew Dampf on Twitter: www.twitter.com/asdampf Buy Shoes Black Friday . PAUL, Minn. Fake Shoes Black Friday . The nimble-footed quarterback got his wish, dashing through the snow and a weary defence all the way into the NCAA record book. https://www.cheapshoesblackfriday.com/ . LOUIS -- The New Orleans Saints looked like a team playing out the string. Shoes Black Friday Deals 2020 . Vettel was 0.168 seconds faster than Red Bull teammate Mark Webber around the Suzuka circuit. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was two tenths of a second off Vettel. "The car balance is decent, but I think we can still improve," Vettel said. Discount Shoes Black Friday . Blackwood, 28, has played the last three seasons in the San Diego Padres system, including the past two summers with Class AA San Antonio of the Texas League. The Manny Pacquiao-Jessie Vargas pay-per-view undercard will consist of three world title fights, giving the card four in all, Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said.Pacquiao, boxings only eight-division world titleholder, is coming out a brief retirement to challenge Vargas for his welterweight world title in the main event on Nov. 5 (Top Rank PPV, 9 p.m. ET) at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas, but the rest of the telecast will also include one title fight after another, Arum said.We were bound and determined to make this the best overall boxing card of the year, and four world title fights on it with fighters from all over the word does just that, Arum told ESPN.com. We think boxing is a great sport and it has global ramifications, and we will have fighters from the United States, from Mexico, from China, the Philippines and Japan. I love that. Its like Im promoting fights in the United Nations.Arum will host a news conference Tuesday in Los Angeles to formally announce the undercard.In the co-feature, junior featherweight titlist Nonito Donaire (37-3, 24 KOs), 33, the most famous active Filipino fighter other than Pacquiao, will make his second defense when he takes on mandatory challenger Jessie Magdaleno (23-0, 17 KOs).Jessie is a great challenger, a mandatory defense and I know hes hungry because he has been calling me out on social media, said Donaire, the 2012 fighter of the year who has won world titles in four weight classes (five if interim titles are included) from flyweight to featherweight.Donaire has parted ways with his father, Nonito Donaire Sr., as his trainer for this fight and is working with Ismael Salas, a former Cuban amateur national team trainer.I am working great with my new trainer, Ismael Salas. We are learning about each other and hes instructing me about a more precise, compact way of fighting, but still [how to] be very explosive as everyone is going to see on Nov. 5, Donaire said.Said manager Cameron Dunkin: [Donaire has] fought the best and beat the best. Hes faced many tough challenges. This is a very tough challenge, but this is what Nonito does.Magdaleno, 24, of Las Vegas, will be facing his most significant opponent but says he is ready for the big time.As a kid, Ive dreamt of this moment, and the time is finally here, said Magdaleno, younger brother of former lightweight world title challenger Diego Magdaleno. Nov. 5, I will be victorious with my hands up high.Frank Espinoza, Magdalenos manager, has watched Donaire for years and respects him but believes his fighter is ready to knock off the veteran.Jessie Magdaleno is very, very motivated for his fight against Nonito Donaire, Espinoza said. Nonito has been a great champion and has fought in many big fights for a long time. But this is Jessies time. He has worked hard, and he has what it takes to win and become a world champion.Said Arum: I think its a terrific fight. The managgers are really confident, Cameron and Frank.ddddddddddddMagdaleno, when he lets his hands go, is terrific, and I love Donaire as a fighter. This is going to be a good one.Featherweight titlist Oscar Valdez (20-0, 18 KOs), a 25-year-old, two-time Olympian from Mexico, knocked out Matias Adrian Rueda in the second round on July 23 to win a vacant belt and will make his first defense against mandatory challenger Hiroshige Osawa (30-3-4, 19 KOs), 31, of Japan. Hiroshige will be facing the first notable opponent of his 12-year career.As a world champion, you have to face tough challenges, and my first defense will be against a tough challenger, but I am ready to face him, Valdez said. I worked hard to get my belt, and I intend to keep it for a long time.Espinoza also manages Valdez and expects a similar kind of performance to the explosive one he turned in to win the belt.Oscar Valdez won his world championship with a spectacular performance in July, and on Nov. 5, I am sure he will give us another great fight and he will get the win to retain his belt.The opening bout of the pay-per-view will pit two-time Chinese Olympic gold medalist and three-time world amateur champion Zou Shiming (8-1, 2 KOs) against Thailands Kwanpichit Onesongchaigym (39-1-2, 24 KOs) for one of the flyweight world titles vacated earlier this month by Juan Francisco Estrada, who is moving up in weight.Zou, who lost a decision to Thailands Amnat Ruenroeng in his first world title opportunity in March 2015, already owns a victory against Onesongchaigym. The 35-year-olds met in November 2014 in Macau, China, on the Pacquiao-Chris Algieri undercard, and Zou cruised to a one-sided decision, 120-103, 119-106 and 119-106. But they are the two highest-rated contenders in line for the belt Estrada vacated, so they will meet again. Onesongchaigym has won 12 fights in a row since the loss to Zou.Zou is enormously popular in China and responsible for big-time boxing in Macau. Arum said Zou brings a lot to the card in terms of sponsorships, ticket sales and Chinese television revenue.And I know (casino magnate) Steve Wynn is delighted he is on the card because there will be many high-rollers from China coming in for the fight and staying at (host casino) The Wynn because Zou is fighting for a world title. And if he wins, it means huge fights in 2017 in China and Macau.In a non-televised undercard bout, but one that the pay-per-view probably will include highlights from, lightweight Robson Conceicao, 27, of Brazil, will make his much-anticipated pro debut in a six-round bout against an opponent to be determined.Conceicao thrilled the home fans in Rio de Janeiro in August by becoming the first Brazilian boxer to win an Olympic gold medal. A few weeks later, he signed with Top Rank. ' ' '