Derby Lane's Fall Sprint final kicks off season for stakes races

By Don Jensen, Times Correspondent
Friday, September 30, 2011

ST. PETERSBURG — They will walk in unison to the starting box tonight and wait for it to open. For the greyhounds in the fifth annual $50,000 Fall Sprint championship, that will be one of the few similarities.

Derby Lane's first stakes race of the season blends speedsters with closers, sprinters with dual-distance dogs, and veterans with pups. Together, the eight finalists have 564 starts and 192 victories. None has won a stakes with a purse this high ($22,000 to the winner). And none will be concerned with defending champion Flying Coal City, the industry's 2010 Triple Crown winner who was retired from racing Wednesday after the McAllister kennel standout failed to qualify for the 550-yard finale, track spokeswoman Vera Rasnake said.

The field in the Fall Sprint (Race 10, 10:11 p.m.) from the rail: Sand Cloud (D'Arcy kennel), Aerial Battle (Capabal), Ahk Colormegone (Abernathy), Storm Rush (Hambleton), Jw Titleist (Capabal), Uss Gazillionair (Lester Raines), Craigie I Am Jak (Campbell) and Manicotti Manny (Hambleton).

"I think every one of them can win," Rasnake said. "That's what is exciting about the way they drew (posts). Dog owners are coming to town (from as far as Kansas and Texas)."

Aerial Battle (Matinee Idol), Storm Rush (St. Petersburg Derby) and Uss Gazillionair (Fall Juvenile) have won stakes before. Aerial Battle turned 4 in September and is the event's senior greyhound. He is going for his 70th victory in his 140th start. Aerial Battle has overcome two injuries — including a career-threatening ankle stopper-bone issue — and is one of the early speed dogs with Ahk Colormegone, Manicotti Manny and Sand Cloud. Aerial Battle is 6-for-6 at making stakes finals and is half-brother to Jw Titleist, the meet wins leader. Abernathy has been the hottest kennel in recent stakes, winning three of the previous seven at Derby Lane.

This is the fifth stakes finale for Uss Gazillionair, who can extend Lester Raines' streak of having a stakes winner at St. Petersburg to seven consecutive meets. Storm Rush comes from well off the pace as does Craigie I Am Jak, the youngest qualifier at 21 months old. In 10 lifetime wins, Craigie I Am Jak has beaten only one dog out of the starting box. He led qualifiers with 56 points and, with a win, would give Campbell its first stakes victory at Derby Lane since Jr's Flashy won the 2005 T.L. Weaver Memorial.

HORSES: Belmont Park will host six of the 13 graded races on today's national scene. The track in Elmont, N.Y., has five Grade I races (Jockey Club Gold Cup, Joe Hirsch Turf, Flower Bowl, Beldame and Vosburgh) and a Grade II (Kelso). … Tampa Bay Downs trainer Anthony Pecoraro got his 1,000th win Sept. 24 when I'm Steppin' It Up won the Grade III Kent Stakes at Delaware Park in Wilmington.

Source: http://www.tampabay.com/sports/parimutuels/derby-lanes-fall-sprint-final-kicks-off-season-for-stakes-races/1194667

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Remember Tampa Bay Rays' Kelly Shoppach by Game 1 of AL Division Series vs. Texas Rangers

By John Romano, Times Sports Columnist
Friday, September 30, 2011

ARLINGTON, Texas — Your mind was likely made up long ago. The strikeouts have been too frequent and the highlights too rare to expect it any other way.

So if Kelly Shoppach parts ways with the Rays this winter — and that's a real possibility — the mood will likely involve more relief than regret around Tampa Bay.

Just do Shoppach this one favor. Or maybe do it for yourself.

Remember the afternoon when he stood taller than ever before. The game when his bat was magic and his work behind the plate was flawless.

Remember the playoff game when Shoppach did everything possible to erase the memories of last year's postseason disappointment.

"I'm happy for him, I really am," said hitting coach Derek Shelton, who has been with Shoppach since their days together in Cleveland.

"A big situation like this and look at what he does. The work he did with Matt Moore (Friday) and the fact he comes into a playoff game and comes into his hometown (and) has this kind of day? Pretty cool."

Shoppach had two huge home runs, a single, five RBIs and three runs scored in Tampa Bay's 9-0 whipping of the Rangers on Friday afternoon.

He guided the 22-year-old Moore through an impressive seven-inning effort, and maybe he rid himself of a little of the bad taste of last season's playoff series against Texas.

You might recall that disappointment. It's hard not to because Shoppach could hardly have been worse. He was 0-for-9 with three strikeouts, allowed five stolen bases in three games and committed an error in the 2010 American League Division Series loss.

Shoppach swears he didn't lose any sleep over that during the offseason. Instead, he found a new trainer to help improve his strength and thought about coming back stronger in 2011 instead of fretting over 2010.

"I don't want to take it too seriously. I think y'all do. You really do. This is a fun game. Why can't we have fun playing it," Shoppach said. "You leave it here at the yard. I'm going to go home, play with my kids, have some barbecue. That's what we do.

"It's my job, and I understand the severity of my actions here, but I also have a great family at home, and they're my backbone."

Even so, Shoppach is aware that his bat has not lived up to expectations since he signed with the Rays before the start of the 2010 season.

His batting average has been rolling downhill for three seasons. Shoppach has gone from .261 to .214 to .196 to .176. Among players with at least 400 plate appearances, his .185 average the past two seasons is the fourth worst in the majors.

Shoppach has been a pretty good hitter against left-handed pitching. Actually, better than league average. The problem is he has been atrocious against right-handers. He hit .114 against them in 2010 and followed that up by hitting .115 this season.

What's key, however, is he has not allowed it to affect his defense. Shoppach was not real impressive behind the plate last season, but he says that was due more to injuries.

This year he has been among the best defensive catchers in the game. He has handled a young pitching staff with a deft touch and has been a huge asset taking away the stolen base from opponents.

Of catchers who started at least 70 games this year, none threw out a higher rate of baserunners than Shoppach, who was at 40.9 percent. That goes for the National League, too.

"He's a guy with a lot of pride," Shelton said. "I was with him when he had the big year in '08 when he led all catchers in home runs. He takes a lot of pride in his offense, and the fact he hasn't produced weighs on him. It weighs on him because he cares a lot and he wants to win. As much as anybody I've been around in the game, he cares about winning.

"He doesn't care about the individual stuff, only in the sense that it might impact how much we're winning."

From that standpoint, Shoppach has shown up with his bat when the Rays have needed him most. He has hit seven home runs in his past 19 starts.

The Rays tried giving his job away a couple of months ago to rookie Jose Lobaton, but their confidence in him has obviously grown in the past few weeks. He has been back in the lineup more often, and he hit in the No. 6 spot on Friday for the first time in two months.

The Rays might not pick up his $3.2 million option for next year, but they might consider re-signing him for a lower salary.

"He's never talked about his hitting at all. He's handled it very well," said centerfielder B.J. Upton, who has the locker next to Shoppach. "He's always upbeat in the clubhouse; he doesn't wear it on his shoulders. He comes to the park every day in a good mood, and he's ready to play.

"He deserves a game like this because he's been there for us."

One afternoon does not change the past two years, but it does leave you with another perspective. It helps you recall the good things Shoppach has done.

When the time comes, remember that.

John Romano can be reached at romano@sptimes.com.

Source: http://www.tampabay.com/sports/baseball/rays/remember-tampa-bay-rays-kelly-shoppach-by-game-1-of-al-division-series-vs/1194707

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Now pressure builds for the Phillies

Thursday, September 29, 2011

PHILADELPHIA — No team enters this postseason under more pressure than the Phillies.

Expectations are so high that anything less than a World Series title will be considered a failure by fans, players and team officials.

"Our ultimate goal is to win the World Series," LHP starter Cliff Lee said. "We still have a lot of business to take care of."

Their road begins Saturday against the wild-card Cardinals. The Phillies cruised to their fifth straight NL East title and led the majors in wins with 102.

Lee, who spurned the Yankees and Rangers to take less money with the Phillies, raised expectations to all-or-nothing proportions with a 17-8 record and 2.40 ERA and six shutouts.

Much love from Cards: After overtaking the Braves for the NL wild card, Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said he owed the Phillies a tip of the cap for ending the season with a sweep of the Braves, who lost 18 of their last 27. "To me, forever and ever, I have the Phillies in the highest regard," La Russa said.

Attendance: MLB's average attendance rose by about half of 1 percent this year, ending three straight seasons of drops. The overall attendance of 73,425,568 was the fifth-highest in history. The 30 teams combined to average 30,229 (up from 30.067), STATS LLC said. Tampa Bay dropped a majors-high 19 percent to 18,846.

Indians: The club picked up manager Manny Acta's contract option for 2013, and pitching coach Tim Belcher stepped down to spend more time with his family.

Padres: Randy Ready became the fifth hitting coach to be fired since the team moved into Petco Park in 2004.

Royals: Pitching coach Bob McClure and bench coach John Gibbons were let go.

White Sox: The team acquired RHP Jhan Marinez and INF Ozzie Martinez as part of the agreement that allowed the Marlins to hire Ozzie Guillen as manager. The Marlins acquired minor-league RHP Ricardo Andres.

Source: http://www.tampabay.com/sports/now-pressure-builds-for-the-phillies/1194473

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Pitching, defense make Tampa Bay Rays a formidable postseason opponent

By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
Thursday, September 29, 2011

ARLINGTON, Texas

The Rays feel they can beat the Rangers in their first-round AL Division Series that starts today. Then they can take down the Tigers or Yankees in the AL Championship Series. And after that finish off whichever of the four teams survives the National League side of the bracket. • After what they pulled off to get here, they'd better. • "I think right now there's nothing that we don't think that we can't do," manager Joe Maddon said. "We believe. If anybody in the locker room doesn't believe anything is possible right now, I want to meet them one-on-one in my office." • The Rays have all kinds of mythical and magical reasons to be confident, given how they battled their way back into the playoff picture after being nine games out as late as Sept. 3, how the Red Sox

cooperated with a historic collapse, and how many amazing things happened in both teams' Wednesday season finales.

Enough that the Rangers have noticed. "They've got a lot of luck on their side right now," second baseman Ian Kinsler said.

But the Rays also have distinct advantages that are quite tangible and real: The arms on their top-shelf starting pitchers and the hands of their dazzling defenders.

Particularly at this time of year, when both are at a premium and offense tends to be a minimum.

"Within 162 games, I think teams don't mind playing us," top starter James Shields said. "But when it comes down to a five-game series or a seven-game series, we're a pretty tough team to beat because we do have the pitching and the defense, and we do have some guys that can step up to the plate and get the job done as well. When it comes down to a short series like that, we're definitely a team to reckon with."

Or, with a bit more bravado, from pitching coach Jim Hickey:

"We're as formidable an opponent as anybody out there, and I'm pretty comfortable saying I don't think anybody really looks forward to playing us."

That's because pitching tends to dominate in the postseason, with the Giants' 2010 world championship considered the latest example of why October can be an arms race.

"Very few teams slug their way to the championship," Hickey said. "Everybody gets neutralized a bit. If you go in there with the Philadelphia Phillies or masher lineups like the Yankees and the Red Sox, those types of lineups don't score the seven, eight, nine runs as is relatively common throughout the course of the regular season."

While some teams stagger into October with starters on their last gasp, the Rays stormed in, riding a rotation that posted an AL-low 3.53 ERA and pitched a league-high 1,058 innings. As they waited until Thursday night to name rookie Matt Moore the starter for today's opener, it wasn't because they were desperate but facing multiple options.

"There's no replacement for starting pitching," catcher Kelly Shoppach said.

The defense is also a big part of their success, as they try to have an above-average defender at every position and do extensive scouting and data analysis to position them properly, trying, as Maddon likes to say, to catch line drives.

The emphasis pays off, as they made a major-league-low 73 errors while posting the top fielding percentage, .988.

"We're pretty solid, pretty steady every day," Shoppach said. "And occasionally you look up and it's like, 'Golly, we can really pick it.' "

Given the lack of power and steady production from their lineup, that's kind of how they have to do it. "That's who we are," Maddon said.

And starting today, that's exactly what they want to be.

"I feel like we've got a great chance of winning it," centerfielder B.J. Upton said. "Our pitching and defense carried us all year, and those are definitely two important things you have to have to win. We wouldn't be where we are without it.

"I like our chances against anybody."

Marc Topkin can be reached at topkin@sptimes.com.

Source: http://www.tampabay.com/sports/baseball/rays/pitching-defense-make-tampa-bay-rays-a-formidable-postseason-opponent/1194467

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Five key decisions by the Tampa Bay Rays

By Marc Topkin, Times Staff Writer
Thursday, September 29, 2011

Five key decisions along the way to the playoffs

1. Not trading B.J. Upton

The enigmatic centerfielder seemed headed elsewhere at the July 31 trade deadline, and the rumors mounted again at the Aug. 31 deadline for waiver deals. Whether the Rays couldn't get what they wanted, or there wasn't as much interest as they expected, they hung on to him. He rewarded them with a spectacular September — a .363 average, .464 on-base percentage, five homers, 20 RBIs and a 1.123 on-base-plus-slugging percentage in his last 24 games.

2. Signing RHPs Joel Peralta and Kyle Farnsworth to anchor rebuilt bullpen

At the time, they hardly seemed like big deals. But the Rays saw something in the two 30-something relievers and they proved to be the foundation of their late-inning success, combining for 31 saves, eight wins and a 2.59 ERA while making 134 appearances. And all for a combined salary of $3.525 million — about one-third of what former closer Rafael Soriano is getting from the Yankees.

3. Manny Ramirez "retiring"

At the time, it seemed like horribly bad and disruptive news: DH Manny Ramirez, the Rays' biggest offseason addition and cleanup hitter, tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs, and in the face of a hefty suspension he opted to go home. But his departure begat the Rays bringing up 1B Casey Kotchman from Triple A and moving Johnny Damon from leftfield to DH (allowing to him to play more or better); the emergence of Sam Fuld, who carried the Rays for a good month; and the eventual July promotion of rookie Desmond Jennings.

4. Shields asking to finish more games

Frustrated with his 11-15 record and 5.18 ERA last season, RHP James Shields worked out fiendishly all winter then told manager Joe Maddon in spring training he wanted to take matters into his own hands and finish more games. His major-league-most 11 complete games (16-12, 2.82) turned out to be a big part of the Rays' success.

5. Sending Casey Kotchman to Durham to start the season

The Rays were impressed with Kotchman's spring showing after signing him to a low-risk minor-league deal, but not enough to break their commitment to starter Dan Johnson. Rather than trade or release Kotchman, they sent him to Triple A, with the promise of giving him an opportunity if one arose. A week later, he was promoted when Ramirez retired, and a week after that he started playing regularly. Though cooling recently from a season-high .341 on Aug. 9, his contributions were invaluable — a .306 average and MLB-best .998 fielding percentage.

Marc Topkin, Times staff writer

Source: http://www.tampabay.com/sports/baseball/rays/five-key-decisions-by-the-tampa-bay-rays/1194450

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Tampa Bay Rays: AL East boasts rare trio of 90-win teams; Kelly Shoppach earns honor from alma mater

By Joe Smith, Times Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 28, 2011

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text

Did you know?

The American League East has three teams with 90 wins (Yankees, Red Sox, Rays). Since 1990, only three other times has a division had three 90-win teams. And this is the first time the AL East has had three 90-win teams since 1987: Detroit (98), Toronto (96), Milwaukee (91).

With honors

Rays C Kelly Shoppach was surprised but excited to find out he was elected into the Baylor University Athletics Hall of Fame, an honor that was officially announced this week. Shoppach was the inaugural Johnny Bench Award winner as the nation's top collegiate catcher in 2001, and led the Bears to three NCAA Tournament appearances. "I just never thought with all the athletes, I never really saw myself (in the Hall of Fame)," he said. "I know I had some good years, one incredible year, man it's just unbelievable."

Quote of the night

"We'll go down in history as one of the worst collapses in history, so it definitely doesn't feel good to be part of that."

— Red Sox LF (and former Ray) Carl Crawford

Source: http://www.tampabay.com/sports/baseball/rays/tampa-bay-rays-al-east-boasts-rare-trio-of-90-win-teams-kelly-shoppach/1194278

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Latest murders in region committed by Luka Bojovic?s clan

About ten of Luka Bojovic?s closest associates are behind organization and execution of murders of Danilo Radonjic and Dzenan Ramovic killed in Zemun at the beginning of September. Bojovic is the leader of presently the most powerful criminal clan in Belgrade. This power is based on drug dealing, the business in which Bojovic is closely cooperating with criminal groups in the region. He is still at large.

Source: http://english.blic.rs/In-Focus//8044/Latest-murders-in-region-committed-by-Luka-Bojovics-clan

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Latest murders in region committed by Luka Bojovic?s clan

About ten of Luka Bojovic?s closest associates are behind organization and execution of murders of Danilo Radonjic and Dzenan Ramovic killed in Zemun at the beginning of September. Bojovic is the leader of presently the most powerful criminal clan in Belgrade. This power is based on drug dealing, the business in which Bojovic is closely cooperating with criminal groups in the region. He is still at large.

Source: http://english.blic.rs/In-Focus//8044/Latest-murders-in-region-committed-by-Luka-Bojovics-clan

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Lachmann: ?What?s really at stake here is the European banking system.? #Euromess

In May of 2010, I spoke with Desmond Lachman, a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, about the growing crisis in Greece. Lachmann, a former managing director and chief emerging market economic strategist at Salomon Smith Barney and deputy director in the International Monetary Fund?s Policy Development and Review Department, was not optimistic. I called him back today to see how he was feeling now. His answers weren?t comforting. A lightly edited transcript of our conversation follows.

Ezra Klein: A bit over a year ago, when we first spoke, you said Greece was like Bear Stearns, and behind it were a lot of potential Lehmans. Have you become more optimistic since then?

Desmond Lachman: No. What has occurred over the past year is that the situation with Greece has clearly been untenable. It is only a matter of time till Greece has a hard default. Since then we have had real problems in Portugal and Ireland. But what is of most concern is the crisis has spread to Italy and Spain, and even the French banks have trouble funding themselves. This isn?t just the European periphery. It?s the heart of the European banking system and the whole European experiment. What makes matters worse is that the American, French and German economies are slowing. That means that if the troubled countries in the periphery had any chance to export their way out of their problems before, they don?t have that option now.

EK: And if some of these dominoes fall, how bad are things likely to get?

DL: What?s really at stake here is the European banking system. These countries might be relatively small, but if you just look at Greece, Ireland and Portugal, that?s $1 trillion in sovereign debt. If you add Spain, that?s another trillion. If you add Italy, that?s another $1.9 trillion. If the European banks take the hit, that could really cause another Lehman moment. It would be a credit crunch that would throw the European economy into a meaningful recession.

EK: What would that mean for us?

DL: The United States should get no schadenfraude out of this. We are very exposed to the European banking system. Our money market funds have loaned out more than a trillion dollars to European banks, for instance. If we see real problems in Europe, that will hit the United States much in the way the U.S. financial crisis in 2008 impacted the rest of the global financial system.

EK: My gut sort of seizes when you mention money-market funds, because I remember how one ?broke the buck? in 2008 and that set off a massive panic. But aside from them, what are really the channels through which you could see the European crisis contaminate America?

DL: There would be three channels. First, you have to remember the European economy is a third of the global economy. If Europe goes into recession, that?s not good for our exports. Second, if we get defaults in Greece that impacts the European banking system and we aren?t sure who will stay in the European Union, that?s hugely negative for the euro currency. That means the dollar would appreciate massively and our exports would become more expensive. But the main way it would effect us is through the financial system. In these circumstances, investors become risk averse and they take all their money out of equities, out of lending to corporations and the like, and they put all their money into U.S. Treasuries and Swiss Francs and gold.

EK: Put aside political constraints for a moment. Is this a situation that the European Union has the fiscal and financial capacity to solve? Or is it now beyond their capabilities?

DL: They could solve it. But what?s involved is a transfer from the rich countries to the poor countries. It would be a transfer from the Germans to the Greeks and the Portuguese and the Irish. If Germany would just write them a check, that would solve the problem. But the German taxpayer is asking, ?why are we using our hard-earned tax dollars to prop up these profligate countries?? Seventy percent of the German electorate is against bailouts. It?s not like the United States where there?s a commonality of purpose and a vision of national unity.

So the Germans are grudgingly lending to the periphery but they?re lending to the periphery with conditions that are causing the deepest of recessions and much higher unemployment. The Greek economy has contracted by seven percent in recent months and unemployment is up to 16 percent. And now the IMF is saying to Greece, ?you need to tighten your belt even more.? And there?s no way that can happen for another six months. The Greeks are saying, ?this is economic suicide.?

EK: But there?s another side to this too, right? Part of the problems in Greece and Ireland and elsewhere were driven by bad loans from German and French banks, and part of the difficulty these countries are having getting back on a growth path is that they?re trying to keep their membership in the euro zone, and that has meant abiding by a tight monetary policy and a strong currency that countries in these sorts of situations would usually have abandoned long ago.

DL: I agree with you. It?s like the housing bubble in the United States. You couldn?t have had a bubble without the financing. In Europe, the debt bubble was financed by German and French banks. So for them to throw all the blame on the profligacy of the Greeks or the Spanish housing bubble is ridiculous. So just in terms of the blame game, it?s unfair just to blame the Greeks. But in terms of a solution, that?s a big part of the problem. Once you?re in a fixed exchange rate and you have these huge imbalances, they can?t be redressed without economic collapse. So the Germans and the French don?t want the Greeks to default because that will force French and German banks to recognize losses and then they?ll have a banking crisis. It?s easier for them to keep these countries afloat than to bail out the banks. But this is not a sustainable situation. Something has to give.

EK: And what do you think that will be?

DL: I think they have reached the conclusion that Greece is insolvent. According to the IMF, Greek debt will peak at 172 percent of GDP, and a dangerous level of debt is 80 percent or 90 percent. So to think Greece won?t have to write its debt down by 50 cents on the dollar, you have to be smoking something. I would be surprised if the Greeks don?t default on their debt within six weeks, and at that point, they will probably leave the euro. But a Greek default would be the largest sovereign debt on record. And the concern is that if Greece defaults, there will be a contagion to Portugal and Ireland and Spain and Italy, so the Europeans are trying to get this $2 trillion bazooka ready so they can ring fence Greece.

EK: And what are the chances that this leads us back into a recession?

DL: If you want me to depress you some more, let me tell you what really worries me. If we do go into recession this time around, what will be different from 2008 and 2009 is even if the recession isn?t as deep, we either don?t have the policy ammunition to fight it or we have convinced ourselves that we don?t have the policy ammunition to fight it. So what will the policy response be? Bernanke just showed you he thinks he has very little ammunition left. There?s no way Congress will go in for another big stimulus package. And the Europeans are tied up in the belief that they need to balance their budget.

EK: Thanks for a really depressing interview.

DL: Put an asterisk on it for me. Please tell your readers, ?don?t shoot the messenger.?

Source: http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=635f432de0601c3d0574841c02ab927c

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Leicester Mercury commented Malky Mackay fears Leicester City's power game

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Cleveland Browns host the Miami Dolphins: Who will win and by how much? Poll

Browns evened record with solid win at Indianapolis. Miami has lost both of its games, both at home.

John Kuntz, The Plain DealerPhil Dawson (center left) is congratulated by his Browns teammates after kicking a 23-yard field goal on the final play to give Cleveland a 13-10 win over the Dolphins in Miami last Dec. 5.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- The Cleveland Browns host the Miami Dolphins on Sunday at Browns Stadium.

The Browns are coming off a 27-19 win over the Colts in Indianapolis. That evened Cleveland's record at 1-1, with the season-opening 27-17 loss at home to the Cincinnati Bengals.

Miami has played two games at home, and lost them both. First, the New England Patriots visited South Beach, and left with a 38-24 win. Sunday, the Houston Texans posted a 23-13 win over the Dolphins.

While a young Browns team works to master the West Coast offense and 4-3 defense, Miami faces a number of challenges -- the formeost among them, maybe, a porous pass defense.

Miami has faced a future Hall of Fame quarterback -- New England's Tom Brady -- and another superb QB in his own right -- Houston's Matt Schaub.

All Brady did against Miami was complete 32 of 48 passes for 517 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. Schaub was not nearly as spectacular, but quite good -- going 21-of-29 for 230 yards, two TDS and no picks.

Meanwhile, Browns quarterback Colt McCoy followed an uneven performance against Cincy with a strong one at Indianapolis. Dolphins quarterback Chad Henne sparkled against New England, but struggled against Houston.

More than quarterbacks and pass defenses, of course, will come into play when the Browns meet the Dolphins. Through this week, Plain Dealer and cleveland.com Browns coverage will address the matters that will help decide the outcome of the Browns-Dolphins game.

Source: http://www.cleveland.com/ohio-sports-blog/index.ssf/2011/09/cleveland_browns_host_the_miam.html

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JSO riot reveals who ordered assassination

Serbian police yesterday arrested four former officers of the Special Operations Unit (JSO) over suspicion to have organized armed riot of that unit in November of 2011. That unit was within the State Security of Serbian Home Ministry.

Source: http://english.blic.rs/News//8025/JSO-riot-reveals-who-ordered-assassination

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Water Cooler: Dubs in same position as Cork and Kerry can rebuild

Up for discussion: Yesterday’s All-Ireland SFC final victory by Dublin.

Chatting were: Brendan O’Brien, John Fogarty, Tony Leen and Terry Reilly.

TERRY REILLY (Irish Examiner assistant sports editor): Ok lads, that was some end to the season. Have the Dubs ended this Kerry side’s reign of dominance or will they be back stronger next year?

BRENDAN O’BRIEN (Irish Examiner staff writer): Kerry lost five key men after the 2009 final and who knows how many they’ll see walk away this winter and most of them will probably be in the defence. That forward line will keep them competitive but there could be a few difficult years ahead.

JOHN FOGARTY (Irish Examiner GAA correspondent): I think it’s just so early to make that call. Gilroy said after that he doesn’t want this to be a one-off. Dublin were always on a pedestal but they’re on a perch that everybody will be desperate to knock them off next year.

TONY LEEN (Irish Examiner sports editor): After Kerry lost the All-Ireland in 2002 and the semi in 2003, they went on to play in the next six finals, winning four. I doubt they’re going to go away.

FINTAN O’TOOLE (Irish Examiner staff writer): They’re not going to fade as a force but it will be interesting to see if Marc Ó Sé’s prediction of retirements is played out. Agree with Brendan, defensively they could be hit hard if a couple of them walk away.

JOHN FOGARTY: Kerry will come back stronger. There will be a couple of retirements but the pain from yesterday will sustain them more so than that from Down last year. This was Dublin. In a final. Salt fermenting in wounds.

TERRY REILLY: Have they got new players to blood?

JOHN FOGARTY: David Moran and Buckley will give options at midfield where they were good yesterday for the first 20 minutes. Shane Enright will come in, Daniel Bohan... can he finally make the breakthrough into the team?

BRENDAN O’BRIEN: Not nearly enough. Look at their bench yesterday. A lot of young, inexperienced guys who will need time to reach the level required.

FINTAN O’TOOLE: I’ll throw Peter Crowley into the mix as well as an emerging defender but he is shy on experience.

TONY LEEN: The biggest losses of all with be the O Sés, they are an incredible family. If and when Tomás and finally calls it a day it will leave a massive hole in the dressing room, never mind the defence. Bohan and Enright look to be the most able replacements but there’s no doubt Jack O’Connor will need to come up with a couple of quality backs. Crowley is a talent but too light and inexperienced for 2012 I reckon.

JOHN FOGARTY: Only three substitutes used, does say something. Could Galvin also do a Brosnan and be reinvented as a half-back?

TONY LEEN: Would be less a reinvention as a return. This is a hobby horse of mine but I know Jack sees this as too much robbing peter to pay Paul, excuse the pun. However he has tried him at centre back in 2009 when they were on training camp in Portugal.

FINTAN O’TOOLE: One positive for Kerry yesterday I felt was that Darran O’Sullivan and particularly Bryan Sheehan stepped up to the mark. They capped off very good, consistent seasons and are no longer the fringe players they were a few years ago.

TERRY REILLY: Kudos to Pat Gilroy for turning that team around, with seven minutes to go it looked all over. With the monkey off their backs will Dublin get stronger from now on?

TONY LEEN: You would think that but just like Cork losing key attackers this year, what happens if they lose Bernard Brogan to an injury. Very reliant on him

JOHN FOGARTY: McManamon has to be a starter next year. Merits more than the super sub moniker. He’ll get an All Star nomination for two marvellous cameos if nothing else.

BRENDAN O’BRIEN: That’s the big question for the Dubs. I see similarities with Cork last year — a big athletic team that won in less than swashbuckling fashion and they will need to improve again next year.

FINTAN O’TOOLE: Mentally at least Dublin are now in a good place, yesterday will instil great confidence going forward and they clearly have resolve. Think there are shortcomings, particularly in attack though. Not sure if McManamon is suited to starting, does his best work off the bench I reckon.

JOHN FOGARTY: Another game that Dublin would have lost either last year or the year before. We saw a team evolve in character before our eyes this year.

TONY LEEN: I think we have worthy champions if not fully deserving champions for the second year in a row. Harsh if true statement?

FINTAN O’TOOLE: That’s probably a fair summation. I think every neutral is delighted for a player like Alan Brogan getting an All-Ireland medal just as they were for Graham Canty last year. But like Cork last year, Dublin did enough to get over the line. That’s all that matters when it comes to getting your first All-Ireland.

JOHN FOGARTY: As Barney Rock pointed out on Morning Ireland, Dublin lost once this year. Kerry lost three times, all by a point, twice to Dublin and once to Cork. We had two excellent teams in the final. I don’t like saying teams deserve All-Irelands but you can understand why Dublin won given the fortitude they built up this year. The cliched never say die attitude.

TERRY REILLY: What was the story with Cluxton leaving the celebrations and did he kick away the match ball Tomás Ó Sé gave him?

FINTAN O’TOOLE: Fascinating character. When was the last time a scoring hero in sport did not engage with the media?

BRENDAN O’BRIEN: Apparently. Wonder if that ball will resurface on eBay at some time. Remember Mark McGwire’s home run record ball? That got something like 2.2m in auction!

TERRY REILLY: If Cluxton was from Mayo they’d be selling that ball and the boot that kicked it to the Yanks every six months for the next 50 years!

JOHN FOGARTY: Kerry, so unlike them, appeared to think they had the game won... had they assumed they were facing the Dublin they knew and had beaten?

TERRY REILLY: It was strange the way they seemed in so much control and then gave the ball away for the goal. For it to be Declan O’Sullivan must have been a dagger in Jack O’Connor’s heart.

JOHN FOGARTY: In the post-match press conference, it didn’t appear it had sunk in with Jack O’Connor.

FINTAN O’TOOLE: All the pre-match analysis made redundant by that one play by one of the greatest forwards of all time.

TONY LEEN: What are the views on the performance of Joe McQuillan. Chatting to folk last night, most of them Kerry admittedly, he got FIVE key calls wrong. One not giving Killian Young a first half free when tripped (Dublin scored off the turnover), 2) the ludicrous Eoin Brosnan hand on the ball decision (Brogan scored free), 3) Cooper fouled in the top left corner close to the death 4) not sending Ger Brennan off in the final few moments and 5) as a result of that indiscretion, not awarding the free to Kerry instead of throwing up the ball.

TERRY REILLY: Thought Kerry were above moaning about the referee?

TONY LEEN: They are. I’m not. Is he above scrutiny?

JOHN FOGARTY: Paul Galvin also merited a yellow card for three personal fouls in a row when coming on but he didn’t get it. That said, McQuillan wasn’t great for Kerry. The Brosnan call was unusual and Brennan was lucky to stay on the pitch at the end.

TONY LEEN: “unusual” call? A rephrase there perhaps!

JOHN FOGARTY: No, it was unusual in the sense I’ve rarely seen such things given.

FINTAN O’TOOLE: Well I think from the Cooper foul that in the subsequent passage of play, Donaghy scored his point. But the Brosnan decision was a bad call and Brennan should have got his second yellow card. There were stages in the second half when I thought Dublin were imploding once more with their fouling in defence. Gave away cheap frees.

TERRY REILLY: A lot of players on Twitter were abusing McQuillan during the match, he didn’t have a great game for either side bit Kerry will feel they got the raw deal. Happens every year.

FINTAN O’TOOLE: At least 50 seconds between the Cluxton free being awarded and being kicked.

JOHN FOGARTY: Yet again, another time-keeping issue. Wexford must be whispering a told-you-so about their hooter motion which ended up on the scrap heap.

BRENDAN O’BRIEN: For what it’s worth, that was Joe McQuillan’s fourth time reffing Dublin this summer. Not saying that had anything to do with anything.

JOHN FOGARTY: McQuillan was familiar with Dublin but if I remember he blew them up a lot against Tyrone. Getting away from the referee for a second, the discipline of the Dublin defence in the first-half was exceptional.

TONY LEEN: What has been lost in the excitement of the finale, was how poor the first half was in skill terms. Pitch was like a skating rink, ball like a bar of soap. Kerry only scored 1-2 which, you could argue, was where Dublin won this final. They had enough possession to have scored another 1-3.

BRENDAN O’BRIEN: True the quality wasn’t great in the first-half especially but I can’t remember greater tension at a game in Croke Park. I was biting my fingernails after 20 minutes and I was completely neutral!

TERRY REILLY: Did Jack make a mistake by leaving Donaghy out around the middle at the start and then not feeding him any ball when he went inside or was it down to the quality defending by the Dublin backs which prevented proper deliveries?

JOHN FOGARTY: I pointed out the possibility of Declan O’Sullivan moving to full-forward on Saturday. Donaghy was supreme around the middle for the first 15 minutes before Dublin cottoned on. I thought Jack O’Connor got his match-ups right. People saying Gilroy won the sideline battle — not so sure.

TERRY REILLY: Are you saying Dublin were lucky to win it then John?

JOHN FOGARTY: I will say their victory was tinted with fortune, as most All-Ireland wins are. I can understand why people are making comparisons with Cork last year but neither win were softly won.

TONY LEEN: Most All-Irelands are tinted with fortune? Hardly. This one will never be described as “soft” but Dublin rode their luck yesterday. Good luck to them, sometimes you need that for a first one. Good test of them now to see whether they have the stomach to go at it again.

JOHN FOGARTY: Ah, Tony, you need the breaks. Everyone agrees on that.

FINTAN O’TOOLE: Back to the issue lads, Dublin’s defence was good at not letting O’Carroll be isolated. Granted Donaghy did make some brilliant catches but as demonstrated by Cian O’Sullivan’s block in the first-half, there was another defender there to help out.

BRENDAN O’BRIEN: Kerry’s ball into Donaghy has been poor all year.

FINTAN O’TOOLE: Thought it was better yesterday. Tomás’s great pass in for Donaghy’s fisted second-half point and Donnchadh Walsh floated in brilliant delivery for that first-half goal chance.

TONY LEEN: Jack O’Connor and co got only one call wrong all day — they brought Paul Galvin in too soon. I still can’t get my head around that one. If Paul was keep in reserve for impact, why spring him after 23 minutes? Kieran O’Leary was wronged being taken off at that point — and they could have done with him popping into space when the game spread a bit in the second half.

TERRY REILLY: The strange thing about the Galvin introduction was there didn’t seem to be a cheer — was that right? Did it catch the crowd by surprise too and Kerry didn’t get the lift from the supporters they should have?

FINTAN O’TOOLE: It was a strange call as O’Leary has had his best season as a Kerry player. After showing faith in him all summer, they didn’t wait long to whip him off yesterday.

JOHN FOGARTY: The problem, for me, was Galvin didn’t start early enough. He should have been in the parade.

BRENDAN O’BRIEN: Galvin appeared on the sideline stripped and ready to go just two minutes after Cooper’s goal and with the Kerry support still buzzing and digesting that. And it was another four more minutes before he came on so, yeah, the ‘impact’ in terms of the affect on the crowd was certainly diluted.

TERRY REILLY: Votes on your man of the match lads and reasons why.

JOHN FOGARTY: MacAuley — the amount of tackles he brought was incredible. Anthony Maher beat him to set up Donaghy’s late equaliser but he was consistently good throughout the 70.

FINTAN O’TOOLE: No standout player but I’d just give it to MacAuley. Constant force of energy around the middle, stood up in the second-half particularly.

TONY LEEN: Well, the Dubs did not have one of the game’s top three performances over 70 odd minutes, unconventional though that is to say about the champions. I thought Darran O’Sullivan, Bryan Sheehan and Tomás O Sé were the top three players but Dublin’s most consistent was Michael Darragh MacAuley.

FINTAN O’TOOLE: If Kerry had won, Sheehan would have got it. Was the game’s dominant performer midway through the second-half.

BRENDAN O’BRIEN: I’m not usually a fan of giving man of the match to subs but Kevin McManamon turned the game on its head completely by scoring the goal and winning the free that Cluxton stuck over to win it. Before he came on the Dubs were dead. After he came on they outscored Kerry 1-3 to 0-1. I’ll qualify that by saying Kerry scored three straight points after McManamon came on but his impact when it mattered was still incredible.

TERRY REILLY: And player of the year? I’ll start the ball rolling with a bit of controversy, Darran O’Sullivan for me. He was the most clear-cut consistent performer all season.

TONY LEEN: Agree but again convention suggests it’ll go to a Dublin player. Then it’ll be Alan Brogan. Although if RTÉ are picking the winner it could be anyone.....

JOHN FOGARTY: Alan Brogan’s my choice. Beats Darran by a nose. Had inspiring contributions in All-Ireland series after three man of the matches in Leinster. I was shaking my head looking at that defence and midfield chosen by RTÉ lads last night. Johnny Doyle in midfield? No, had a so-so game v Dublin and wasn’t great v Donegal after getting an early knock.

FINTAN O’TOOLE: I’d go for Darran as well but he won’t get it. I think Brogan’s form dipped since Leinster. And though it never is a factor, Darran was brilliant in the league.

BRENDAN O’BRIEN: Gotta be Alan Brogan with Darran O’Sullivan a close second.

TERRY REILLY: How would ye rate the season as a whole?

JOHN FOGARTY: Not a great vintage. Like the hurling, which has been poor for a number of years, the championship was banking on a wonder final. It got plenty of drama but certainly no classic. 2010 was certainly a far better season.

BRENDAN O’BRIEN: I’d say so-so. The provincial championships are listing badly and the qualifiers saved the early to mid part of the summer. Decent All-Ireland series though.

TONY LEEN: The season? Bitty. Before yesterday the big talking point was the suffocating defence of Donegal. Micko almost pulled a big one out again against Armagh, but you’d be struggling for story lines really from the football this year. Champions went out with a whimper. I reckon the pre-final best line was Kildare so near and yet so far again. I wouldn’t write them out of next year’s equation by a long way. McGeeney doesn’t do concessions.

TERRY REILLY: Special word to Tipperary. That was another unbelievable turnaround — are they the force to look out for in future?

BRENDAN O’BRIEN: All-Ireland winning minors don’t guarantee All-Ireland winning seniors. Any Laoisman will tell you that but congrats to Tipp.

FINTAN O’TOOLE: Incredible end to an incredible story. Remarkable decision by Colman Kennedy to go for goal when the simple point option was on.

JOHN FOGARTY: What a victory, what a victory, as Effin Eddie might say. Some way to win it too. A smarting defeat for the much-fancied Dubs. Something’s brewing nicely in Tipp.

FINTAN O’TOOLE: Brendan’s cautionary tale is relevant but Tipp at least continuing to travel in the right direction.

TONY LEEN: The Tip minors proved a great story too. I wonder is that the first nod to a new competitive Munster a few years down the road.

Source: http://feeds.examiner.ie/~r/iesportsblog/~3/ve0hR_wXErg/post.aspx

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Romer: ?The president seems to have developed his own view?

The initial round of publicity for Ron Suskind?s ?The Confidence Men? mostly had to do with juicy stories of dissension within the White House. Now that the book is actually out, we?re seeing some of the meatier revelations, including that President Obama confounded some of his economic advisers ? notably Larry Summers and Christina Romer ? by arguing that high unemployment was driven by rising productivity. ?The president seems to have developed his own view,? Romer said, or at least is reported to have said.

Suskind doesn?t give enough detail to say what, exactly, Obama was arguing here, but there are at least two options:

1) Short-term recovery was being impeded by corporations squeezing more and more work out of fewer and fewer workers. This was unambiguously a factor through 2010. As my colleague Neil Irwin wrote in March of that year, ?Businesses are producing only 3 percent fewer goods and services than they were at the end of 2007, yet Americans are working nearly 10 percent fewer hours because of a mix of layoffs and cutbacks in the workweek. That means high-level gains in productivity ? which in the long run is the key to a higher standard of living but in the short run contributes to sky-high unemployment.?

2) The underlying economic problem was, or perhaps is, productivity gains across the workforce. As Matt Yglesias writes, ?The way this story goes is that we had steady productivity gains going back 10-15 years, related both to Asian manufacturing and to technological change. This freed up workers to go do other things. But instead of putting the workers to productive uses, they went off to toil in an unsustainable boom in housebuilding. When this boom collapsed, what we were left with was not 1-2 years of productivity growth but an entire decade?s worth of displaced labor.? Here are some graphs providing evidence for this thesis.

What?s important to note, however, is that neither explanation is inconsistent with a view of the crisis in which insufficient aggregate demand is the major problem right now.

In the first case, companies didn?t believe demand would come back ? and in fact worried that it might fall further ? and so rather than hire more workers in anticipation of more sales, they simply drove their current employees harder.

In the second case, the housing bubble popped and demand fell through the floor and so there was a massive increase in unemployment. The first order of business is to get demand back up so unemployment can reach a more natural level. That?s more or less the phase we?re in now. The second order of business is to figure out where all of those workers go. Some people believe we need to invest in new industries such as green energy and biotech, some believe we need to devalue the dollar to juice exports or come up with a plan to revive American manufacturing, and some believe we?re simply trapped in an unhappy limbo while we wait for the innovations of the last two decades to generate a substantial number of new jobs.

There?s also an argument that we don?t have any underlying imbalances in the economy and we?re just stuck in a shortfall of aggregate demand. I?m not of that view, but the important point here is that all of these views imply the same demand-stimulating policies in the short-term. In fact, my hunch is that most of the folks who think demand is the whole of the problem would probably agree with their counterparts who worry about rebalancing when it comes to the specific policies that are worth pursuing to increase growth and build new industries in the long term.

Source: http://feeds.washingtonpost.com/click.phdo?i=5b7e4455fffdd898b57ebd79cf7c35fc

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Running: At 14, Hunter McCann collecting victories

Bryan Burns, Times Staff Writer
Monday, September 19, 2011

Treasure Island 14-year-old Hunter McCann has had a productive season on the summer racing circuit.

McCann has won multiple races over the past few months, and his good form continued Sept. 11 at the Ace of Clubs 5K race in Clearwater.

McCann was the overall winner, leading wire-to-wire as he traversed the hilly course in 17 minutes, 51 seconds. No other runner was within shouting distance of McCann as he crossed the finish line; second place Gavin Reisinger of Tampa clocked in more than two minutes after McCann in 17:53.

St. Petersburg 15-year-old Flint Troxler found his way into the top five. Troxler ran 20:40 and was fourth overall.

Palm Harbor 8-year-old Isabella Pawloski cracked the top five in the women's race, placing fourth in 23:27. Pawloski was 15th overall.

The women's champion was Jennifer Howitt. The Tampa 30-year-old broke the tape in 20:59 to win by nearly 40 seconds.

Pinellas County age group winners were: (F9 and under) Pawloski; (F10-14) Amanda Elsey, Clearwater, 25:41; (M15-19) Troxler; (M20-24) Richard Allard, St. Petersburg, 21:26; (F20-24) Amanda Nagy, Clearwater, 32:52; (M35-39) Matt Dreger, Treasure Island, 22:20; (M40-44) Jimmy Nicholson, Clearwater, 22:23; (F40-44) Tania Errett, Safety Harbor, 27:02; (M45-49) Aldelmo Lopez, Palm Harbor, 22:43; (F45-49) Andrea Fortunato, Largo, 25:04; (F50-54) Tina Rosato, Palm Harbor, 24:03; (F55-59) Debra Lombardozzi, Tarpon Springs, 26:55; (F60-64) Laura Swanson, Clearwater, 32:00; (F racewalker) Sharon Haley, Clearwater, 37:24.

The Ace of Clubs 5K saw 178 runners finish.

In the Ace of Clubs 10K, Lisa Williams of Largo had the best finish among local competitors. Williams, 32, placed second in the women's race, finishing in 42 minutes, 20 seconds.

The only woman faster than Williams? Tampa's Terri Rejimbal, the women's champion in 40:06.

On the men's side, 39-year-old Palm Harbor resident Oliver von Tempski had the fastest finish among local runners, placing ninth in a time of 42:04.

Eric Stuber of Lansing, Mich., was the overall champion in 35:51.

Local age group winners in the 10K were: (M15-19) Andrew Elsey, Clearwater, 43:11; (F15-19) Alisha Cancio, Palm Harbor, 1:41:27; (M20-24) Kellen Leja, Oldsmar, 42:17; (F20-24) Erin McElravy, Clearwater, 55:14; (M25-29) Michael O'Rourke, Largo, 43:52; (F30-34) Williams; (M40-44) Ben Wright, Palm Harbor, 44:23; (M50-54) Craig Hutchison, St. Petersburg, 45:43; (F50-54) Cheryl Lapham, Safety Harbor, 52:43; (F55-59) Mary Stewart-Wong, Safety Harbor, 51:44; (F60-64) Stephanie Bessette, Dunedin, 1:04:25; (M65-69) Gar Flisek, Tarpon Springs, 54:30; (F racewalker) Lynn Lewis, Largo, 1:11:59.

There were 289 runners that finished the Ace of Clubs 10K.

UNIVERSITY PARK CC 4-MILER: A pair of Pinellas County runners were age group champions at the University Park Country Club 4-Miler Saturday in University Park.

Silky Sullivan, 67, of Seminole, was the fastest runner in the men's 65-69 year old age division after finishing in 33:23.

Lenore Rupert, 68, of St. Petersburg, was the women's 65-to 69-year-old champ in 45:00.

St. Peterburg's Sean Connolly broke into the top 10, finishing 10th in the men's race with a time of 27:08.

The course was completed by 187 competitors.

HCSO RANCH RUN: Saturday marked the seventh annual Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Ranch Run, and a number of area residents produced successful results at the 5K race.

Hunter McCann had the fastest time as well as the best finish among all local participants. McCann was third in the men's race after crossing the finish line in 17 minutes, 11 seconds. He was also the 14 and under age group winner.

Colleen Ficco, 29, of Palm Harbor, was eighth in the women's race in 22:13. Ficco was first in the 25-29 year old age group.

Chuck McCann, 59 of Treasure Island, joined his son Hunter on the winner's podium after capturing a win in the men's 55-59 year old age group in a time of 26:19.

Laura Healy, 51, of Palm Harbor, was also first in her age group, running 25:11 to top the women's 50-54 year old division.

GALLOWAY CAPTIVA TRIATHLON: Miguel Roura of St. Petersburg topped his age group at Sunday's Galloway Captiva Triathlon on Captiva Island.

Roura was the men's 25-29 year old champion after covering the quarter-mile swim, 10-mile bike and 3.5-mile run course in 1 hour, 7 minutes and 44 seconds.

Roura won his age group by nearly five minutes.

Source: http://www.tampabay.com/sports/community/running-at-14-hunter-mccann-collecting-victories/1192505

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Tampa Bay Bucs: Gimme 5

By John Romano, Times Sports Columnist
Sunday, September 18, 2011

Talk of the town

Five topics suitable for inane debate on talk radio.

Legends are made in the fourth quarter: One more comeback, and one more reason Josh Freeman is on his way to being the greatest offensive player in franchise history. The funny thing about that? He's still just 23.

And they're still under warranty: Preston Parker and Dezmon Briscoe combine for 10 receptions for 140 yards, leading Martha Stewart to schedule Bucs GM Mark Dominik for an afternoon special on coupon shopping.

Bueller? Bueller?: At this rate, Gerald McCoy is going to get his wish. No one will compare him to Ndamukong Suh.

Note of caution: The Bucs have allowed scoring drives of 80, 84 and 90 yards in two games. Last year, they gave up five scoring drives of 80 yards or more the entire season.

Fools R Us: What was Vikings coach Leslie Frazier thinking when he let the Bucs run the clock down on their final drive? Once it was obvious Tampa Bay was in field-goal range, Frazier needed to use his timeouts so the Vikings would have time on their final drive. Instead, the clock went from 2:33 to :31 by the time the Bucs scored, and the Vikings were doomed.

A list of five

Five halftime adjustments by the Bucs.

5. Started going after Donovan McNabb's cane.

4. Those neat iPad playbooks? Yeah, just block the porn on them.

3. Owners promised to spend wildly on practice squad players.

2. Lightened the mood by watching Sabby Piscitelli highlights.

1. LeGarrette Blount introduced himself to Raheem Morris.

Five differences from Week One

Offensive formations: The Bucs ran out of the shotgun about 75 percent of the time against Detroit. Even though they were trailing until the final minute, they used the shotgun only about 50 percent of the time on Sunday.

Blitzes: The defense gambled more on Sunday. All three linebackers, safety Sean Jones and cornerback Ronde Barber blitzed at various times. The only two sacks came on blitzes.

Airline food: Bizarre as it seems, the Bucs are 9-8 on the road and 5-12 at home in the Morris era.

Defensive formations: Maybe it was because Minnesota is more of a running team, maybe it was because Quincy Black was hurt, but the Bucs stayed in their base defense far more. Which meant Mason Foster stayed on the field more. And that's a good thing. He's already making more plays than Black.

A dumber opponent: With a 17-0 lead and a third-and-3, the Vikings committed three penalties in four plays. The Bucs ended up with the ball on the Minnesota 44 and scored their first touchdown two plays later.

Five super picks

Checking out the best bets for Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis.

1. Patriots: Suddenly he's Air Belichick?

2. Packers: Even if Cam Newton chewed 'em up.

3. Saints: Nah, the Bucs didn't need Darren Sproles.

4. Jets: Rex Ryan needs his own network.

12. Bucs: Back to wondering if they can beat a good team.

Final five words

I hear tickets are available.

Source: http://www.tampabay.com/sports/football/bucs/tampa-bay-bucs-gimme-5/1192302

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Cowboys 27, 49ers 24, OT

Times wires
Sunday, September 18, 2011

Romo's ribs can't stop him or rally

SAN FRANCISCO — Tony Romo felt sick to his stomach. It hurt to breathe, let alone bark out the cadence in a hostile road stadium.

Playing with the throbbing pain from a fractured rib, Romo rallied the Cowboys just as he promised.

Romo delivered a gutsy comeback that looked unlikely when he returned to the locker room.

Romo hit Jesse Holley on a 77-yard completion on the Cowboys' first play of overtime to set up Dan Bailey's winning 19-yard field goal in a win over the 49ers.

"I just told (coach Jason Garrett) I was good to go. I think he asked some of the guys," Romo said. "I didn't give him too much of a chance. I just ran on the field."

Miles Austin made three touchdown receptions among his nine catches for 143 yards for Dallas.

Source: http://www.tampabay.com/sports/cowboys-27-49ers-24-ot/1192323

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Ohio State hosts Colorado on Saturday: Who will win and by how much? Poll

The teams last met a quarter-century ago. Ohio State is 2-1 this season; Colorado, 1-2.

Marvin Fong, The Plain DealerOhio State players gather before the kickoff of their Sept. 10 game against Toledo at Ohio Stadium. The Buckeyes won, 27-22.

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Ohio State has one game left to play before beginning its Big Ten schedule with a home game against Michigan State on Oct. 1.

That remaining non-league contest is against Colorado on Saturday at Ohio Stadium.

Neither the Buckeyes nor the Buffaloes have been especially impressive in their first three games.

Ohio State routed Akron's Zips, 42-0, in the teams' season-opener. To put that in perspective, though, consider that Akron lost, 59-14, at Cincinnati last Saturday, after trailing, 49-0, at halftime.

A week later, the Buckeyes held on for a 27-22 home win over Toledo, as the Rockets were unable to score after getting a first down at Ohio State's 22-yard line in the final two minutes.

Ohio State's weaknesses were exposed even more on Saturday night, in a 24-6 loss at Miami (Fla.) that dropped the Buckeyes from the national Top 25 rankings for the first time in nearly seven years.

Colorado, too, has had its early-season struggles. The Buffaloes, now in their first PAC-10 season after leaving the Big 12, opened with a 34-17 loss at Hawaii, then lost their home opener to California, 36-33. Colorado won at home, 28-14, over Colorado State last Saturday.

The teams have played four times, but none of the contests are relevant to Saturday's game. The last time the teams met was on Sept. 20, 1986. Ohio State senior quarterback Joe Bauserman, who is 25 and was a minor league pitcher for three seasons after being picked in the fourth round of the 2005 by the Pittsburgh Pirates, had his first birthday two weeks (Oct. 4) after that last Ohio State-Colorado game.

This, though, is how those games played out:

1986: Ohio State 13, Colorado 10, at Ohio State; 1985: Ohio State 36, Colorado 13, at Colorado; Jan. 1, 1977 Orange Bowl: Ohio State 27, Colorado 10; 1971: Colorado 20, Ohio State 14, at Ohio State.

Source: http://www.cleveland.com/ohio-sports-blog/index.ssf/2011/09/ohio_state_hosts_colorado_on_s.html

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Saints 30, Bears 13

Times wires
Sunday, September 18, 2011

Brees' daring play typifies Saints win

NEW ORLEANS — When Drew Brees needed a 12-yard completion to keep a drive alive against Chicago's vaunted defense, he stepped up in the pocket and aired it out instead.

The aggressive approach produced a stunning 79-yard touchdown to Devery Henderson and set an energizing tone that carried the Saints to a lopsided triumph.

"There's a lot of trust with that throw," Brees said. "Obviously, I have a lot of trust in Devery."

Brees had not beaten the Bears in three previous meetings since joining the Saints in 2006. He also had a clutch 4-yard scoring pass to Robert Meachem on third and goal and a swing pass to Darren Sproles for a 12-yard score.

Capsules by Times wires

Source: http://www.tampabay.com/sports/saints-30-bears-13/1192321

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Cleveland Browns' Josh Cribbs is still beating the odds, Bill Livingston writes

Josh Cribbs continues to be an elite kick returner, despite NFL rules designed to make elite kick returners an endangered species.

AJ Mast, Associated PressJosh Cribbs has made the most of his limited chances to return kickoffs this year, with two returns in excess of 50 yards in the first two games. The talented ex-Kent State QB has become the Browns' sparkplut.

Josh Cribbs was not supposed to be a star.

Not by pedigree, as an undrafted free agent out of Kent State.

When he overcame that, he wasn't supposed to be one anymore.

Not by economics, after the Browns redid his contract before last season.

And certainly not by rule, as the NFL this season instituted safety regulations to take the kickoff out of the game, or at least reduce it to inconsequence.

Cribbs has overcome it all, becoming the most exciting player on the Browns' roster. Maybe rebuking the stuff about his ragamuffin draft status and how he would handle the big money should have been expected. Cribbs always has seen himself as an outsider, driven as much as quarterback Colt McCoy to prove doubters wrong.

The kickoff thing, though, is a serious surprise.

Cribbs is the all-time NFL leader with eight kickoff returns for touchdowns and also has two punt returns for TDs. He does it with speed, power and the decisiveness to see the hole and hit it with just the kind of muscular recklessness the league is trying to curb.

By moving kickoffs to the 35-yard line from the 30, the spot still used in college football, particularly given the ballistics of kickers at the NFL level, the kickoff return should have become a raffish relic of the game's past, like the single wing or leather helmets.

But while touchbacks are up dramatically, elite kick returners remain explosive. Ted Ginn Jr., the Glenville and Ohio State flash, took a kick and a punt back for touchdowns in the opening weekend. Cribbs has done his part, too.

In the opening loss to Cincinnati, he took a kickoff 8 yards deep in his end zone and roared out 51 yards with it. In the victory Sunday at Indianapolis, he caught one 7 yards back and boomed back 52 yards with it.

The old adage, subject to considerations of ball trajectory, was that returners should take a knee if the kick carried 5 yards into the end zone and settle for a touchback. That no longer holds true.

Cribbs stands just inside the end line at the back of the end zone, almost 10 yards deep. Almost anything short of that is fair game. "I'm good with that," joked Browns coach Pat Shurmur after the 27-19 victory.

When the Colts' Pat McAfee rocketed a line drive to Cribbs, denying the coverage unit the hang time needed to get into position, the chances for a productive return went up dramatically.

"It's feast or famine," said Shurmur, noting that such returns also can result in tackles at the 10- or 15-yard line instead of the 20 after a touchback.

It is no surprise that return men are charging out of the end zone like the cavalry hearing a bugle call.

Frustration with a league that is trying, in the name of safety, to legislate them out of a job is part of it. They must make the most of the few chances they get. But as the number of returns dwindle, the chances for big returns, paradoxically, seem to be growing.

Perhaps it is simply a matter of physics.

Returners build up a bigger head of steam by bringing the ball out from so deep.

But, at the same time, an overlooked provision of the new kickoff rule slows down the coverage guys. No players on the coverage team can line up farther than 5 yards behind the ball. In the past, coverage units started running from farther back, and the quick start let them close on the returner with savage suddenness.

So scrupulous is the enforcement of this rule that Browns special teamer Kaluka Maiava, when he turned to say something to a teammate in the opener and inadvertently moved his foot behind the 30-yard line, drew a penalty.

It is also likely that the returners can see the coverage scheme and any developing holes better from farther back.

Cribbs wants more touches as a pass receiver, and that is certainly logical give his explosiveness. But his dominant value is as a kick returner. It is no surprise that he has made something out of the little chance the new rule gave him.

He has some history with that.

Source: http://www.cleveland.com/livingston/index.ssf/2011/09/post_33.html

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No. 1 Oklahoma Sooners beat No. 5 Florida State Seminoles 23-13

By Matt Baker, Times Staff Writer
Saturday, September 17, 2011

TALLAHASSEE — A school-record crowd was ready for one of the biggest Florida State home games in years. Renegade was jumpier than usual, and the Seminoles admitted to feeling goose bumps during the nationally televised contest.

FSU's resurgence wasn't quite ready for prime time yet.

The Seminoles offense fell flat and quarterback EJ Manuel was injured in a 23-13 loss to No. 1 Oklahoma on Saturday night at Doak Campbell Stadium.

Manuel and backup quarterback Clint Trickett combined for three interceptions and couldn't muster enough offense to give the No. 5 Seminoles (2-1) the kind of victory that would once again cement FSU as a powerhouse program.

"We knew we can compete up there with the top guys," said Trickett, who finished 7-of-15 for 134 yards. "And that we are some of the top guys."

But Oklahoma (2-0) was a notch better in front of 84,392.

The Sooners offense clicked early as quarterback Landry Jones became the school's all-time leading passer. He completed his first seven passes and quieted the crowd with a 15-play, 80-yard opening drive capped off by his 1-yard touchdown run.

Behind Manuel, FSU responded quickly after facing its first deficit of the year with a 53-yard field goal by Dustin Hopkins.

"We were able to answer right back," FSU coach Jimbo Fisher said.

But Manuel stumbled after his 4-of-6 start. The Seminoles drove into Oklahoma's red zone early in the second quarter and advanced to midfield later in the half. Both times, the Sooners came away with interceptions.

"Just a couple plays," FSU defensive lineman Bjoern Werner said.

Oklahoma racked up 13 first-half points — three more than the Seminoles had allowed through the first two games combined — but it could have been worse. The Sooners broke inside the FSU 10 twice in the second quarter. The results: nine plays, minus-4 yards and two Jimmy Stevens field goals.

Manuel started to recover early in the third quarter, completing four passes in a row on FSU's second drive. But he took a hard hit on a 6-yard scramble when a defender slammed his left shoulder into the turf of Bobby Bowden Field. Manuel grimaced on the next few plays and the offense stalled. He finished 13-of-19 for 85 yards and was done for the night.

Trickett took over and completed a key 29-yard pass to Jarred Haggins that set up another Hopkins field goal to cut the deficit to 13-6. Fisher said Manuel could have returned, but the coach didn't want to mess with his offense's newfound spark.

On third and 28 midway through the fourth quarter, the redshirt freshman lobbed a pass to freshman Rashad Greene, who split two defenders and raced 56 yards to tie it at 13-13.

But Oklahoma answered again.

Jones found Ryan Broyles over the middle for a 22-yard gain on third down with just more than seven minutes left. Jones hit Kenny Stills on a 37-yard pass on the next play that kept BCS title hopes alive for Oklahoma and might have crushed them for FSU.

The Sooners' last road nonconference win against a Top 5 opponent came in 1977 at Ohio State.

"They're the No. 1 team for a reason," Werner said.

Matt Baker can be reached at mbaker@sptimes.com.

Source: http://www.tampabay.com/sports/college/no-1-oklahoma-sooners-beat-no-5-florida-state-seminoles-23-13/1192265

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