GroundReport.com

NFL 2009: Week 11 Preview: Two Teams 9-0

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:37:49 -0600

NFL 2009: WEEK 11 PREVIEW

Week 11 NFL Preview

11/17/2009

TWO 9-0 TEAMS FOR THIRD TIME IN NFL HISTORY;

DIVISION LEADERS SHOWING WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES

As the NFL season rolls into Week 11, there are still two undefeated teams. The two unbeatens – the Indianapolis Colts and New Orleans Saints – form just the third pair in NFL history to start a season 9-0, joining the 1934 Detroit Lions and Chicago Bears and the 1990 New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers.

To get to 9-0, Indianapolis needed a come-from-behind victory over the New England Patriots on Sunday night. Trailing by 17 points in the fourth quarter, the Colts scored three touchdowns in the final period to pull out a stunning 35-34 victory. Indianapolis quarterback PEYTON MANNING threw four touchdowns on the night, including the game-winner to REGGIE WAYNE with 13 seconds remaining.

“Reggie called the last play,” says Manning. “He kept fighting through and made an extended catch. Maybe not his best catch ever, but it sure was timely.”

The Colts, who are 9-0 for the third time in the past five years, have won a franchise-record 18 consecutive regular-season games, tied with the 2003-04 Patriots for the second-longest streak in NFL history.

“We can’t be any better,” says Indianapolis head coach JIM CALDWELL about the team’s 9-0 record. “But the fact of the matter is, there’s still a lot of work to be done.”

New Orleans, who visits Tampa Bay this Sunday, improved to 9-0 for the first time in franchise history with a 28-23 win at St. Louis. The Saints, who were 4-5 at this time last season, are one of three 2009 division leaders – Cincinnati (7-2 in 2009; 1-8 in 2008) and Dallas (6-3; 5-4) – who were in last place after Week 10 a year ago.

The nine 2009 division leaders (Denver and San Diego are tied for first in the AFC West) are a combined 63-18 (.778) through Week 10, 22 wins better than their records from a year ago at this time (41-40, .506).

The Bengals completed a sweep of the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers last week to vault into first place in the AFC North. Cincinnati is now 4-0 against division rivals Pittsburgh and Baltimore, the two teams that met in the AFC Championship Game. The Bengals are just the third team in the Super Bowl era to go 4-0 against the reigning Conference Championship Game participants (1967 Raiders vs. Buf/KC and 2006 Chargers vs. Den/Pit/Sea).

“The Steelers and Ravens have been the cornerstones of the league the last few years,” says Bengals cornerback JOHNATHAN JOSEPH. “We want to make our presence felt as well.”

Some of the headline games in Week 11:

MIAMI DOLPHINS (4-5) at CAROLINA PANTHERS (4-5) (Thursday, NFLN, 8:20 PM ET)

“These two teams are clawing their way back into the playoff picture,” says NFL Network’s BOB PAPA, who will call the game on Thursday night. “It’s power running versus power running.”

It will be a matchup of two of the league’s best rush teams as the Panthers (156.6 yards per game) are third in the NFL and the Dolphins (156.2) rank fourth. Carolina’s attack will showcase DE ANGELO WILLIAMS (860 yards, 7 TDs) and JONATHAN STEWART (466 yards, 6 TDs) while Miami’s offense will feature RONNIE BROWN (648 yards, 8 TDs) and

RICKY WILLIAMS (558 yards, 6 TDs). The Panthers and Dolphins are the only teams in the NFL to each feature two running backs with at least 450 yards and five rushing touchdowns.

Both teams were division winners last year and are looking to get back to the postseason after slow starts. The Dolphins and Panthers have each won four of their past six games after 0-3 starts.

“We were 1-3 in the first quarter and 2-2 in the second,” says Carolina head coach JOHN FOX. “The upside of that is there is room for improvement. There is no question to get better we’ve got to take a one game at a time approach. We’ve got a lot of season left. We’ll define where the body of work is after 16 games.”

INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (9-0) at BALTIMORE RAVENS (5-4) (Sunday, CBS, 1:00 PM ET)

The Colts have won 18 consecutive games, tied for the second-longest streak in NFL history (New England, 2003-04). But head coach JIM CALDWELL is looking forward, not back.

“If you take a peak in the rearview mirror, there are some teams that are behind us, but not far behind us,” says Caldwell. “So we better make certain that we stay on our toes and continue to try and get better. All we have to do is look down the road to next Sunday and see who we’re playing. It’s an outstanding team in Baltimore. It’s going to be a tough battle.”

That outstanding team in Baltimore is coming off a 16-0 road win at Cleveland on Monday night.

“Anytime you’re in the NFL and you get a shutout, it’s big,” says Ravens linebacker RAY LEWIS.

Baltimore is gearing up for a tough series that will see them host the Colts and Steelers before traveling to Green Bay.

“This upcoming three-game stretch is probably everything for our season,” says Ravens head coach JOHN HARBAUGH.

The Colts have won six in a row against the Ravens, including a 15-6 win in the 2006 Divisional Playoffs en route to Indianapolis’ Super Bowl XLI victory.

SAN DIEGO CHARGERS (6-3) at DENVER BRONCOS (6-3) (Sunday, CBS, 4:15 PM ET)

First place in the AFC West is on the line when these two division rivals meet on Sunday.

The streaking Chargers, who will play the 1,000th game in franchise history (including preseason and postseason), have won four in a row, including last week’s 31-23 win over Philadelphia.

“We didn’t know it would happen like this or this fast,” says San Diego quarterback PHILIP RIVERS, “but we believed we could get ourselves back into the division race. There is a lot of football left and there is no telling where things can go, but it’s nice to put together a string of wins and play better football. Denver will be a tough test and we’ll put together a great week at practice and look forward to it.”

Denver has stumbled after a 6-0 start, but head coach JOSH MC DANIELS knows his team is still in good position at 6-3 and tied for first place.

“We’re 6-3 and playing San Diego, who is also 6-3,” says McDaniels, whose club defeated the Chargers 34-23 in Week 6. “It’s a huge division game at home. I don’t know why we wouldn’t like to be in this situation. We need to fix the problems and play good football from here on out, starting this week against a great team coming from San Diego in our division.”

TENNESSEE TITANS (3-6) at HOUSTON TEXANS (5-4) (Monday, ESPN, 8:30 PM ET)

“Monday Night Football is very big,” says Houston wide receiver ANDRE JOHNSON, who ranks third in the NFL with 800 receiving yards. “Everybody is watching. This is a real big game and it will be a test for us.”

The Texans, coming off a Week 10 bye, will look to slow down the red-hot Titans, who have won three in a row and have averaged 35.0 points per game in their three victories, all started by quarterback VINCE YOUNG. Running back CHRIS JOHNSON, who became the second player in team history with 100 yards receiving and 100 yards rushing in a game last week, leads the NFL with 1,091 yards. He is the third player in NFL history (Pro Football Hall of Famer JIM BROWN and ADRIAN PETERSON) to rush for at least 1,000 yards and average 6.4 yards per carry in his team’s first nine games.

“My confidence level is high right now,” says Johnson. “We’ve won three in a row, and like I said earlier, our goal has been to try and go 10-0 in these last games (after the team’s 0-6 start).”

“It’s all about the next game,” says Titans head coach JEFF FISHER about the team’s winning streak. “We just have to keep it going.”

************************************************** ************************************************** ************************************************** *****************************************

NFL FACTOID

There are nine quarterbacks – BRETT FAVRE, DREW BREES, PEYTON MANNING, AARON RODGERS, TOM BRADY, MATT SCHAUB, PHILIP RIVERS, BEN ROETHLISBERGER, DONOVAN MC NABB – with a passer rating of at least 95.0, the most through the first 10 weeks of a season since 1970.

************************************************** ************************************************** ************************************************** *****************************************

NFL

Old Head

Sportscapper Island

____OLD HEAD______________
SHOW NO EMOTION

NFL QB Drew Brees Leads Charge In Pro Bowl Balloting

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:20:51 -0600

NFL 2009: Drew Brees Leading Pro Bowl Voting

New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees Leads Pro Bowl Charge With Five Weeks of Voting Remaining on NFL.com

11/18/2009

NEW ORLEANS SAINTS QB DREW BREES LEADS PRO BOWL CHARGE WITH FIVE WEEKS OF VOTING
REMAINING ON NFL.COM

Teams to be Announced on Pro Bowl Selection Show December 29 on NFL Network

New Orleans Saints quarterback DREW BREES, with 539,228 votes, leads all NFL All-Stars in balloting for the 2010 Pro Bowl, NFL.com announced today. 2010 Pro Bowl voting will continue on NFL.com/probowl and on web-enabled mobile phones by going to NFL.com through Monday, December 21.

Indianapolis Colts quarterback PEYTON MANNING (532,455 votes) ranks second overall, while Minnesota Vikings running back ADRIAN PETERSON (529,319 votes), Minnesota Vikings quarterback BRETT FAVRE (476,799 votes) and Arizona Cardinals wide receiver LARRY FITZGERALD (328,451 votes) round out the top five on NFL.com.

Balloting for the 2010 Pro Bowl will conclude on Monday, December 21 following the conclusion of Monday Night Football (New York Giants at Washington Redskins, ESPN, 8:30 PM ET). The teams will be announced at 4 PM (ET) Tuesday, December 29 on a special NFL Total Access 2010 Pro Bowl Selection Show on NFL Network.

The 2010 Pro Bowl will be played on Sunday, January 31, 2010 and televised live on ESPN at 7:20 PM ET from Dolphin Stadium in South Florida, also the site of Super Bowl XLIV a week later on Sunday, February 7.

Fans can buy tickets to the 2010 Pro Bowl at NFL.com/probowl and TICKETMASTER.com or by calling 800-745-3000.

The AFC and NFC All-Star squads are based on the consensus votes of fans, players and coaches. Each group’s vote counts one-third towards determining the 43-man rosters that represent the American Football Conference and National Football Conference in the Pro Bowl. NFL players and coaches will cast their votes on December 22 - 23.

The NFL is the only sports league that combines voting by fans, coaches and players to determine its all-star teams. It was the first professional sports league to offer online all-star voting in 1995.

Listed below are the top 10 overall All-Star vote-getters and the players with the most votes at each position through November 16:

NFL ALL-STAR TOP-TEN VOTE-GETTERS

Pos. Name, Team Votes

QB Drew Brees, Saints
539,228

QB Peyton Manning, Colts
532,455

RB Adrian Peterson, Vikings
529,319

QB Brett Favre, Vikings
476,799

WR Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals
328,451

RB Cedric Benson, Bengals
321,552

QB Tom Brady, Patriots
295,477

QB Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers
291,466

WR Andre Johnson, Texans
279,395

TE Dallas Clark, Colts
274,400

AFC LEADING VOTE-GETTERS

Pos. Name, Team Votes Pos. Name, Team Votes

QB Peyton Manning, Colts
532,455

DE Dwight Freeney, Colts
200,568

RB Cedric Benson, Bengals
321,552

IL Casey Hampton, Steelers
121,108

FB Le'Ron McClain, Ravens
78,194

OLB James Harrison, Steelers
124,676

WR Andre Johnson, Texans
279,395

ILB Ray Lewis, Ravens
148,480

TE Dallas Clark, Colts
274,400
CB Champ Bailey, Broncos
185,103

T Jake Long, Dolphins
107,299

SS Troy Polamalu, Steelers
192,289

G Alan Faneca, Jets
122,029

FS Ed Reed, Ravens
146,388

C Jeff Saturday, Colts
215,658

P Daniel Sepulveda, Steelers
48,468

K Adam Vinatieri, Colts
72,029

ST Joshua Cribbs, Browns
61,851

KR Darren Sproles, Chargers
77,972

NFC LEADING VOTE-GETTERS

Pos. Name, Team Votes Pos. Name, Team Votes

QB Drew Brees, Saints
539,228

DE
Jared Allen, Vikings
212,605

RB Adrian Peterson, Vikings
529,319

IL
Pat Williams, Vikings
135,669

FB Naufahu Tahi, Vikings
63,872

OLB
DeMarcus Ware, Cowboys
169,270

WR Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals
328,451
ILB

Patrick Willis, 49ers
115,350

TE Tony Gonzalez, Falcons
183,979

CB
Asante Samuel, Eagles
123,107

T Bryant McKinnie, Vikings
137,844

SS
Adrian Wilson, Cardinals
120,372

G Steve Hutchinson, Vikings
145,279

FS
Darren Sharper, Saints
184,993

C John Sullivan, Vikings
127,695

P
Jeff Feagles, Giants
52,952

K Ryan Longwell, Vikings
68,197

ST
Heath Farwell, Vikings
54,830

KR Percy Harvin, Vikings
143,880

NFL

Old Head

Sportscapper Island

# # #

___OLD HEAD_______________
SHOW NO EMOTION

Tony Hawk

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:22:47 -0600

Tony Hawk is a pro skateboarder in the united states. He spent most of the time skating at his towns skate park almost everyday of his child hood. He was so into it that he wouldnt leave the park untill he had his trick completely down and mastered. He is a professional skateboarder now and has his own charrity to help get skateparks in small towns.

By Austin DuVall

Brawn Won't Meet Demands

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:16:22 -0600

Ross Brawn has indicated Jenson Button's salary demands will not be met and is instead prepared to offer the new world champion more freedom to seek out personal sponsorship deals to boost his income.

Button has been locked in contract negotiations with Brawn GP since wrapping up the world title in Brazil last month, with the two parties unable to agree a wage deal.

The 29-year-old is believed to be seeking a return to the salary he commanded at Honda and has been consistently linked with a move to partner Lewis Hamilton at McLaren.

The Briton took a £5million pay cut to help the team stay afloat following Honda's withdrawal last winter but Brawn is reluctant to return Button to his former salary of around £8million.

Brawn this week said there was 'still a 99% chance' that Button would remain with the Brackley-based team for 2010, but has since indicated he will not be held to ransom.

'We can offer a higher proportion of driver freedom and that will probably be the route we will go,' Brawn said in quotes reported by the Guardian.

'Jenson has some freedom for his own endorsements but has a commitment to meet our obligations.'

Brawn have concluded a deal for Nico Rosberg to join the team from the start of the 2010 season, but Brawn insist the German will not be confirmed until Button's future has been resolved.

Egypt: One day before playing Algeria

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 06:05:25 -0600

Hisham of GVO covered the Algerian side of the online feud and tension over the decisive football match due to take place in Cairo on November 14. The encounter will determine which of both teams will qualify to next year's FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Some Egyptian bloggers enjoy a game with a twist.

Sue of AdBasha posted the Coca-Cola TV ad supporting the national team and said:

In what can only be called a brilliant initiative, CocaCola brings its fans an utter sense of nostalgia, mixed with goosebumps and smiles and even loud laughter.
With their latest National Football Team sponsorship campaign, “1989″ marks some of the best commercial content I've seen in a long while.

20 years ago, same two teams, same crucial crossroad, same month…Egypt and Algeria met for a World Cup qualifying game; A Special Dedication to 80 Million Egyptians.

Zeinobia called the campaign a beautiful marketing disaster

If you hear tomorrow that angry Algerian hooligans have crashed every single Coca Cola bottle in their country , do not be surprised.
If you hear tomorrow that someone has set the Coca Cola factory there on fire do not be surprised.
If you find that the Algerians are calling for boycotting Coke do not be surprised.
Despite how beautiful this ad is from the artistic point of view , I do not know if it is the suitable time to release it in this tension between the two countries.
The Algerian FM has visited Egypt to speak with his Egyptian counterpart and there is talk that the presidents of both countries will attend the match in order to ensure maximum security , I do not know about the Algerian President’s security but I know ours very well.

Henkel came up with another campain “From Egyptian mothers to the Egyptian team”

Persil - Pril support Egyptian Team

MohAly is fed up with all the noise

I am definitely cheering for Egypt, I even will allow my students to leave 30 mins early to watch the match, but I still can't see why is it as important as October war (as some papers have written)?! Does this mean if Algeria wins, it will be another Naksa that will take another 40 years to fix its consequences. I am wondering that we have reached a stage where I wish that we take our work as serious as we are dealing with football issues!

Football is the opium of the masses and in Egypt it is used to distract people from real issues but what about Algeria, Zeinobia thinks that

Algeria is suffering from the similar problems that we have in Egypt and driving anger and despair. They are headed by sick president who refuses to leave his place , an army that controls the country, ghost of terrorism moving around and youth that want to leave the country in every possible way because of the economic conditions !!

The Egyptians and Algerians love their countries so much and are extremely angry that they feel helpless in front all these challenges despite they are not ; they just need a strong motive , a strong and real motive not a pseudo match for 90 minutes.

On her thoughts of the thoughtless Shaimaa wondered how a history teacher would talk about November 14, 2009 twenty years from now:

He will refer to a page in a book, or maybe an e-book, that tells the details of the crucial role facebook groups played to prepare the masses for that day. The page will tell, that even those who had no access to facebook and knew nothing about internet still got the information because those on what so called specialized sport satellite channels had nothing to do but putting fanatics in the spot light. And in no time, everyone became a fanatic too. Only fanatics were counted as true Egyptians. Those who looked at the match as only a game were condemned.

He may recommend an extra-curriculum reading that would tell that it was business that created the stress. It was a pure business decision for all the multi-million dollars corporations playing in the Egyptian playground to invest on the only left patriotic feeling.

I can see now an eager student asking his teacher, “What happened?” And the answer would be “Abo Treika missed”.

The whole 80 million Egyptians did nothing but watching that match.

SandMonkey summed up the war explaining how the Egyptians are gearing up:

There is a football tradition of killing owls in order to jinx your opposing team. It has been relayed to me that an Owl holocaust was started last week and is continuing until this very moment.

Tamer from the popular TV show el beit beitak went on TV a couple of days ago and informed the Egyptian audiences of the Hotel the Algerian team will be staying in, and urging the Egyptian people to “go there and hang out” until the day of the game.

How the Algerians retaliated

Algerian airlines has donated 3000 free tickets to hardcore Algerian fans in order not to have their team stand by its lonesome against the cheering might of 80,000 Egyptians.

Algerian hackers hacked the Egyptian football association webpage today, and put the Israeli flag on it (??!!!?).

Algerian municipality workers have stopped the paperwork for an Algerian girl getting married to an Egyptian guy, telling her that she can come back for it after Saturday’s game.

And what happened one day before the game

Egyptians dying for a ticket to the Game attacked all ticket selling centers in droves today. The Elite Heliopolis Sporting club managed to secure a couple of thousand tickets to sell to its members, only to have word of this reaching the Egyptian population and having hundreds of Egyptians storm into the private club to get their hands on tickets. 40 police cars were called to secure the facility.

The Bus carrying the Algerian team got attacked today, with Egyptian fans reportedly attacking it by throwing rocks at them. And then this is where the story gets hazy: The Algerians claim that the rock throwing reached such a degree, that the windows chatters and 4 of their players got injured. The Egyptian officials deny that any Algerian players got injured, and some are even claiming that the Algerians are making the entire thing up, with them breaking the glass of the bus themselves to set the Egyptians up. There are videos here and here. You make up your own mind.

Zeinobia thinks this video is sad:

It is very sad because it will be much better if I had heard those football fans screaming “We Want better education , We Want better health care system, We Want clean water and clean streets, We Want better salaries and better food , We Want democracy , We want our rights backs “ but unfortunately all what I heard was “We Want tickets” !!! It was just loud lost scream !!

Miami World Cup Bid Struggling

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 23:52:31 -0600

Although some accuse me of being on my high horse, I can say one thing- I put my money where my mouth is. Well at least my signature.

If there is one sign of apathy of soccer in Miami it's that only 2,752 people as of Tuesday have logged on to GoUSABid.org. That is crap. I don't necessarily blame the fans. You can't really galvanize and rally the troops towards a cause no one knows about. This is the primary problem with this World Cup bid petition. People cannot sign or be made aware of this if they aren't informed or if the people spearheading this operation got out and inform them.

I think I have my talking points memorized to a tee. Soccer is a poor man's sport. Soccer is an inclusionary sport, not exclusionary. Some want to strangle me when I say it, but when they get it through their heads they'll understand. You have to get to the people in order to get a message. In marketing, the mountain doesn't come to Mohammad; that's why Mohammed must got to the mountain. I have no scientific evidence, but around 90% of the soccer community here in Miami does not know that Miami FC even existed last year. It wasn't because they refused to know about it, it was mostly because no one told them the club was around- after four years of existence.

Who is being aimed at this? Who is being talked to? Is it the the same heads involved in this that have been involved in soccer in South Florida for the past 30 years? If that is the case, then there is no way that we are going to get a bid because they have limited themselves to a core of fans that maybe are 2% of the South Florida demographic. You can market to Biff Wall Street or Joe Tourist all you want, but José from Homestead, Jean-Jacques from Liberty City or Carlton from North Dade are the ones that make the difference. This goes from a franchise perspective as well as a World Cup venue perspective as well.

If I am misinformed, then so be it. Please educate me because I am in the dark as well as 98% of the soccer people down here.

Goalkeeper for German national team dies after being struck by train

Thu, 12 Nov 2009 03:07:28 -0600

Robert Enke, the top contender to play goalkeeper for Germany’s 2010 World Cup team, died Tuesday after being hit by a train in what investigators believe was a suicide, according to the Associated Press.

The train crossing was near Enke’s home in Hannover, and police said first indications were of a suicide.

According to AP, Enke and his wife lost a daughter to a heart ailment in 2006, but had recently adopted.

Tweets from Hannover were wraught with shock, sorrow and support for Enke and his family:

NFL 2009: Week 9 Preview: 5 Key Divisonal Contests

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:31:33 -0600

NFL 2009: PREVIEW-- WEEK 9

Week 9 NFL Preview

11/06/2009

KEY DIVISIONAL CONTESTS HIGHLIGHT WEEK 9 NFL ACTION

As the NFL approaches the halfway point, it’s still a wide open race to the playoffs.

Sure, the Indianapolis Colts (7-0) and New Orleans Saints (7-0) are in good shape with spotless records. But in the unpredictable NFL, you don’t want to count out anybody. Since 1990, when the current 12-team playoff format was adopted, 47 teams (20.6 percent of the 228 playoff clubs) have advanced to the postseason after starting the season with a .500 or worse record after eight games. So while being undefeated is nice, Colts wide receiver REGGIE WAYNE knows there’s a lot of football left to be played.

“We know that 7-0 guarantees us nothing,” says Wayne. “We’ve gotten farther than this in the past and came out with nothing. We just want to stay dialed in and continue to win games.”

And “continue to win games” is exactly what the Colts have been doing. Indianapolis has now won 16 consecutive regular-season games and can tie the 1933-34 Chicago Bears for the third-longest streak in NFL history with a win this Sunday against the 5-3 Houston Texans.

The 7-0 mark for Colts head coach JIM CALDWELL is the second-best start in the past 80 years for a rookie head coach, trailing only POTSY CLARK (8-0) of the 1931 Portsmouth Spartans. “They’re not handing out anything for whatever record that is,” says Caldwell. “We’ve got a lot of work ahead of us.”

And that work continues this Sunday. Both the Colts and Saints will look to remain unbeaten as part of five key divisional matchups in Week 9:

DIVISION
VISITING CLUB (RECORD)
HOME CLUB (RECORD)

AFC North
Baltimore (4-3)
Cincinnati (5-2)

AFC South
Houston (5-3)
Indianapolis (7-0)

AFC East
Miami (3-4)
New England (5-2)

NFC South
Carolina (3-4)
New Orleans (7-0)

NFC East
Dallas (5-2)
Philadelphia (5-2)

Some of the headline games in Week 9:

BALTIMORE RAVENS (4-3) at CINCINNATI BENGALS (5-2) (Sunday, CBS, 1:00 PM ET)

The 4-3 Ravens will visit the 5-2 Bengals in a matchup between two of the top teams in the AFC North. Baltimore is riding high after an impressive 30-7 victory over the previously unbeaten Denver Broncos while the Bengals, who had a bye in Week 8, have won five of their past six games.

“It was a special win,” says Ravens running back RAY RICE after defeating Denver. “It was a game that we needed, especially coming off the bye week. To come out and play all three phases the way we played, that was special.”

In Week 7, the Bengals played, according to offensive coordinator BOB BRATKOWSKI, “our best game of this year.” Cincinnati defeated Chicago 45-10 behind quarterback CARSON PALMER’s five touchdown passes and running back CEDRIC BENSON’s career-high 189 rushing yards. But head coach MARVIN LEWIS is looking forward, not back.

“It’s a new season,” says Lewis, speaking of the games after the bye week. “We have a nine-game schedule and we open with Baltimore.”

************************************************** ************************************************** **************************************

NFL FACTOID

There have been 81 touchdowns of at least 50 yards scored this season. That is the most through the first eight weeks of a season since 1970. The previous high was 80 touchdowns of 50+ yards scored in 1998.

************************************************** ************************************************** **************************************

HOUSTON TEXANS (5-3) at INDIANAPOLIS COLTS (7-0) (Sunday, CBS, 1:00 PM ET)

Two of the NFL’s hottest clubs will meet at Lucas Oil Stadium this Sunday in a battle of the AFC South’s top teams.

Houston has won three games in a row, including a 31-10 victory at Buffalo last week. The Texans, now 5-3, are two games above .500 after eight games for the first time in franchise history.

“This team has grown so much since the day I got here,” says Houston wide receiver ANDRE JOHNSON, who leads the NFL with 697 receiving yards. “I’ve pretty much been through it all here. We’ve come a long way.”

The Colts, who are 7-0 for the fourth time in the past five seasons, begin a stretch that will see them play teams that are a combined 19-11 (.633) over the next four games. That starts this Sunday against the Texans.

“We’re heading into the teeth of our schedule,” says Indianapolis quarterback PEYTON MANNING.

Indianapolis remained unbeaten with an 18-14 win over San Francisco last week, highlighted by running back JOSEPH ADDAI’s 22-yard fourth-quarter touchdown pass to REGGIE WAYNE.

“I couldn’t drop that one,” says Wayne, who ranks second in the NFL behind Houston’s Johnson with 689 receiving yards. “If I had dropped that one, he would have messed with me forever.”

DALLAS COWBOYS (5-2) at PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (5-2) (Sunday, NBC, 8:20 PM ET)

“Philadelphia and Dallas are playing great in all three phases,” says NBC analyst TONY DUNGY. “It’s setting up a big showdown game – with first place in the NFC East on the line – on Sunday night.”

The Cowboys have won three consecutive games and have scored 101 points (33.7 per game) during their recent winning streak. Quarterback TONY ROMO has posted a 100+ passer rating in all three games and wide receiver MILES AUSTIN has recorded 21 catches for 482 yards (160.7 per game) and five touchdowns in the past three – the first three starts of his career. Austin’s 482 receiving yards are the most by a player in his first three starts since 1970.

“The Cowboys are the best team in the NFC East right now,” says NFL Network analyst STEVE MARIUCCI.

Last week, the Eagles scored 40 points in a 23-point victory over the New York Giants, the team’s largest margin of victory over the Giants since 1996. In Philadelphia’s five wins this season, the team has averaged 34.4 points per game.

One of the weapons in the high-octane offense is wide receiver-punt returner DE SEAN JACKSON, who has scored six touchdowns of at least 50 yards this year, becoming just the second player in NFL history – Pro Football Hall of Famer ELROY (CRAZYLEGS) HIRSCH (1951) – to score six 50-yard touchdowns in the first seven games of a season.

“I’ve just been put in some great positions to score long touchdowns,” says Jackson. “Whatever we need to do to make it work, that’s what we’re going to do. I want to keep winning, keep making plays and hopefully make it to the Super Bowl.”

PITTSBURGH STEELERS (5-2) at DENVER BRONCOS (6-1) (Monday, ESPN, 8:30 PM ET)

The defending champion Steelers, coming off a bye, will look to extend their winning streak to five consecutive games this Monday night at Denver when two division leaders clash.

“We’re stacking wins,” says Pittsburgh wide receiver HINES WARD of the team’s recent winning streak. “In the month of November, we’re heading in the right direction.”

In Week 7, the Steelers, who currently are tied for first in the AFC North with Cincinnati, scored two defensive touchdowns in the fourth quarter – 77-yard fumble-return TD by linebacker LA MARR WOODLEY and 82-yard interception-return TD by linebacker KEYARON FOX – in the team’s 27-17 win over Minnesota.

“There’s a lot of season left and we have some growing to do defensively,” says Pittsburgh defensive coordinator DICK LE BEAU. “I think we have the potential to be a very, very good defense.”

A team that has shown a very, very good defense in 2009 is Denver. The Broncos, who enter the week in first place in the AFC West with a 6-1 mark, rank second in the NFL allowing just 13.7 points per game. Denver will look to rebound after suffering its first loss of the season last week against another AFC North opponent, the Baltimore Ravens.

“You can find out just as much about your team through the adversity of a loss as you can through six wins,” says Broncos head coach JOSH MC DANIELS. “Now we’ve got to get ready to play against a really good team in Pittsburgh.”

NFL

OLD HEAD

Sportscapper Island.com

____OLD HEAD______________
SHOW NO EMOTION

sports + trophy

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:11:20 -0600

SPO distributed cheques among different civil societies to kick campaign for decreasing suicide ratio among the women folk.

CHITRAL: Strengthening Participatory Organization (SPO) held a cheuqe distribution ceremony in a local hotel of Chitral. Cheques worth rupees 111000 were distributed among representatives of different civil society organizations. Who were given the task to launch campaign regarding awareness raising among the general public to decrease and minimize increasing ratio of suicide among the women folk. The stakeholders were also given the task for organizing different activities like seminar, workshop, debates on peace keeping, culture preservation and eradicating women suicide trend from the society. Program director Ijaz Qasim and program Officer Miss Shabnum Nooreen distributed cheques among different non-government organizations. Addressing on the occasion engineer Temour Shah coordinator of Rural Community Development program thanked high ups of SPO for starting their activities at Chitral regarding strengthening local community and civil societies by virtue of capacity building and giving them training on different task. He also thanked representatives of different civil societies for devoting their time and money only for the sack to sever the needy people and for development of their area. He said due to continue efforts of SPO some 17 civil organizations were given membership under umbrella of SPO. As well as they also conduct 5 training workshops of 5 days duration. as a result it enabled us to eradicate civil evils from the society and play vital role in uplifting of our area and social development. He said that stake holders of SPO umbrella established Chitral Development network and Temour Shah was elected its president for one year. He specially thanked to Ijaz Qasim and Shabnam Nooreen for taking keen interest in development of Chitral who frequently visiting Chitral despite chilly cold weather in winter season. A large number of stakeholders comprising over representatives of different civil societies attended the session.

District football tournament trophy 2009 cups distribution ceremony held.

CHITRAL: District football tournament 2009 trophy and cup distribution ceremony held at town hall Chitral. Tehsil Nazim Chitral Sartaj Ahmad khan was chief guest on the occasion. While the ceremony was presided over by Sultan Shah Convener of Zilla council. Addressing on the occasion chief guest Sartaj Ahmad Khan said that Chitral is the only piece on world where peace still maintained by people of Chitral. He said that people of Chitral very much fond full of games and Governor NWFP Owais Ghani has announced for establishment of stadium and announced of 1 million each for polo and football association. Bashir Ahmad president Cricket association announced rupees 3000 for winner and 2000 for runner up team. Sartaj Ahmad Khan also announced of 10000 for football association. Hence the ceremony was not attended by president district football association due to a clash between two teams on final day fo the match in presence of Governor NWFP on a disputed goal. Sultan Shah also said that former DCO Mutasim Billah Shah has declared that Chitral is a land of peace and this is a university of civilization and humanitarians. At last chief guest distributed winner trophy and runner up cup among the captain of both football teams of district football tournament 2009. a large number of people attended the ceremony.

G.H. Farooqi PO Box NO. 50 GPO Chitral Pakistan phone No. 03025989602, 0943-302295, 0943-414418
Email: gulhamad@gmail.com

Indian Union Minister regrets non participation of Services team’s decision

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 08:13:40 -0600

Srinagar, November 3 (Vijay Kumar)-- Indian Union Minister for New and Renewable Energy Dr. Farooq Abdullah who is also President of Jammu and Kashmir Cricket Association has regretted non participation of Services team in the Ranji Trophy Cricket match which was scheduled to be played between Jammu and Kashmir and Services teams at Sheri-Kashmir Cricket Stadium today.

The Umpires and the Observers nominated by BCCI who were present on the ground awarded walk over to the Jammu and Kashmir and declared it the winners.

Dr. Abdullah expressed satisfaction on the immediate action of BCCI to debar the services team from playing the remaining matches of Ranji trophy.

He said that the matter shall be taken up with the Prime Minister, Defence Minister and other concerned agencies so that the matter is investigated. Referring to the recent visit of Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, UPA Chairperson Mrs. Sonia Gandhi and their assertion at the public meeting in Anantnag that there is a marked improvement in the situation in the valley he said that the decision of services team is highly condemned.

Dr. Abdullah said that all out efforts shall be made to improve the sports related infrastructure in the state so that all players are able to compete at National and International events.

An exhibition match was played by the players of Jammu and Kashmir at Sher-i-Kashmir Cricket Stadium which was witnessed by Dr. Farooq Abdullah and Advisor to Chief Minister, Mr. Mubarak Gul among others.

Jammu and Kashmir team shall play its next match against Haryana on 10th November at Sher-i-Kashmir Cricket Stadium and 3rd cricket match on November 17 against Kerala at Jammu.