Pochettino hails Spurs’ character

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Mauricio Pochettino was delighted with the strength of character shown by his Tottenham side after their last-gasp 2-1 Premier League victory over Swansea.


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Swansea, United Kingdom – Mauricio Pochettino was delighted with the strength of character shown by his Tottenham side after their last-gasp 2-1 Premier League victory over Swansea at the Liberty Stadium.


Christian Eriksen earned the visitors all three points with an 88th minute goal, after Wilfried Bony had cancelled out Harry Kane's early header.


It was enough to lift Tottenham into seventh place in the table and earn them a first win in four games.


“It was an important win, but it is also important to show character and fight and we did that,” said Pochettino.


“They are a very good side with good players and it's not easy to get three points here.


“We scored a late goal, but in football it happens. Swansea pushed us after their goal and maybe they were better than us in that period. But we were always alive in the game and it was a great goal.”


He added: “When you arrive at a new club, with different players, you need time to try and put your ideas across to the squad. However, we are in a good place and I'm very pleased today that we showed that character.


“Christian is still young and this is only his second season in England, but he is a great talent and a very important player for us.”


Having made changes after the midweek Europa League trip to Besiktas, Pochettino said: “We needed to manage our players after the game in midweek. If you make changes and you win, you are an unbelievable manager, but if I had have changed things and we had have lost, it wouldn't have been like that.”


Swansea manager Garry Monk lamented his team's lack of a killer punch in front of goal.


“It was sickening. I couldn't see that coming to be honest, but two individual errors have cost us. And, of course, we were not clinical enough at the other end.


“We created enough chances to score a number of goals. I was pleased with the way we regained momentum after their first goal and to be honest, after we scored it was one way traffic. If it was a boxing match, they would have called it off.


“It was certainly more a case of us losing it, than Spurs winning it. It's hard to take that we have come away with nothing. They had a couple of counter-attacks but they were hanging on at times. When it's like that, you have to kill off sides. We didn't and it came back to haunt us again.” – Sapa-AFP






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Rodgers laments 'top-class' de Gea

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Brendan Rodgers had high praise for David de Gea after the keeper played a pivotal role in United's win over Liverpool.


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Manchester - Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers had high praise for David de Gea after the Spanish goalkeeper played a pivotal role in Manchester United's 3-0 Premier League win over Rodgers's side on Sunday.


Goals from Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and Robin van Persie secured a sixth consecutive win for United, but it was De Gea who took the plaudits at Old Trafford after a string of spectacular saves.


Defeat left Liverpool 10 points below United and seven points off the Champions League places, and Rodgers felt his team might have taken something from the game had it not been for De Gea's razor-sharp reflexes.


“We created so many chances today and David De Gea was man of the match. He's had four or five games like that this season,” Rodgers told Sky Sports.


“David's a top-class goalkeeper and his ability to make saves is outstanding, but his distribution is also excellent. He knows when to go short and when to go long.”


Defeat completed a bleak week for Liverpool, who were eliminated from the Champions League after a 1-1 draw with Basel on Tuesday, but Rodgers was encouraged by the number of chances his players had created.


“Today we created opportunities, which we haven't been doing,” added the Northern Irishman, who lost defender Glen Johnson to a groin injury mid-way through the first half.


“I'll keep searching for the solutions. It's been difficult this year, but that's the way it works. It's clear we haven't scored or created enough goals.”


United managed Louis van Gaal, whose side closed to within eight points of leaders Chelsea, conceded that De Gea's brilliance had helped conceal the hosts' shortcomings.


“I'm proud we have a clean sheet, but that is also because David de Gea has superb reactions,” he told the BBC.


“We gave unnecessary balls away today. That's not good. I will ask the players tomorrow why.


“I'm very happy, but the next match at Aston Villa is important. We have had difficulty in away matches.”


Van Gaal revealed that Marcos Rojo had sustained an injury in training, which meant that midfielder Michael Carrick was redeployed in central defence alongside Jonny Evans and the fit-again Phil Jones.


De Gea's display also earned praise from United goal-scorer Van Persie, who said: “David was outstanding. He was brilliant - it's not often a team wins 3-0 and the goalkeeper is man of the match.”


Mata's 40th-minute goal left a bone of contention for Liverpool to gnaw on as he appeared to have been offside when he scored after Van Persie applied a faint touch to Ashley Young's in-swinging cross.


Van Persie confirmed that the goal should have not have stood, saying: “I have to be honest, I had a touch on that cross. But you can put that down as an assist!”


Sapa-AFP






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News sport : NHL Three Stars: Leafs win 5, Calgary lose 5 games in a row; NYR beat Oil, lose Brassard to mumps

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No. 1 Star: James Reimer, Toronto Maple Leafs


The Leafs went up 2-0 before the Kings came back 3-2 in the third. JVR evened the score for Toronto, and Reimer kept the Leafs in it through the shoot-out for their fifth straight win.


No. 2 Star: Brandon Saad, Chicago Blackhawks


Hey Johnny Hockey! KNEEL BEFORE SAAD!





No. 3 Star: Dan Girardi, New York Rangers


Girardi scored what would be the game winner in a really boring 2-0 game between the blue shirts and the Oilers.


Honorable Mention: After ripping his team the night before, Jonathan Toews led by example etching 2 assists in the Blackhawks 2-1 win against Calgary; including this beaut for Patrick Sharp on the power play ...





... Alec Martinez and Justin Williams each had 2 assists in the loss ... Joffrey Lupul scored the only goal in the shoot-out.


Did You Know? The Maple Leafs are 12-0-0 when James van Riemsdyk scores a goal.


Dishonorable Mention: Derick Brassard was announced as the most recent mumps case in the NHL ... Edmonton could only muster 16 shots on goal against the Rangers ... In 5 games since Craig MacTavish's informal press conference, the Oilers are 1-4-0 ... With the loss tonight, Calgary has dropped 5 straight.






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News sport : NJ governor Chris Christie hangs with Jerry Jones, is a Cowboys fan

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Look, you can understand why New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie would be a Cowboys fan. It's not like there's a pro football team in New Jersey, right?


Oh, wait, right. Well, the Cowboys were playing the Eagles on Sunday night, and it's not like the Eagles have much of a presence in Jersey, right?



Hmm. Well. That's no good for Christie. Nobody likes a bandwagoner, governor. Christie's presence in Jerry Jones' owner's box was bad enough, but then the two began really enjoying themselves:



Christie's presence didn't sit so well with the quick-react masses on Twitter:






Oh, but it doesn't end there. Former Pennsylvania mayor Ed Rendell has taken shots at Christie's Cowboys fandom before, most recently this week. “It indicates a basic inferiority complex," Rendell told a local radio show. "If you are a Jerseyite or a Pennsylvanian and you're rooting for the Cowboys, it means you're not secure in yourself and you wanted to root for a team that was a team in your youth that was a constant winner."


Regardless of all the jabs, Christie got the last laugh, with the Cowboys winning and the Eagles now reeling. Expect to see a lot more of Christie should the Cowboys plunge further into the playoffs.


____

Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter.



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News sport : Music City Miracle II was a bust ... or was it?

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The Titans-Jets game on Sunday afternoon was a strange one. First off, it ended at 16-11 Jets, the first game in NFL history ever to end by such a score. But it also very nearly ended on the kind of miracle play that once, a long time ago, sent Tennesee to the Super Bowl. (Yes, really.)


Cast your mind back to 2000, when the Titans were playing the Bills (man, this WAS a long time ago) in an AFC wild card game. The Bills had gone ahead 16-15 with 16 seconds remaining, but on the ensuing kickoff the Titans executed a lateral-and-runback that sent Tennesee to victory and an eventual Super Bowl berth.


Nothing so auspicious was on the line here, but watch the video: once the lateraling gets going and the possibility of a last-second game-winner becomes clear, you can't help but get excited. And when the play ends just yards short of the end zone, you can't help but feel cheated.


For Titans fans, though, it's probably for the best that the Music City Miracle II was yet another disappointing sequel. As Shutdown Corner noted earlier Sunday, the loss puts the Titans in the driver's seat for a prime draft pick, perhaps even Heisman-winning QB Marcus Mariota. Heaven knows Tennessee could use a new one.


____

Jay Busbee is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Contact him at jay.busbee@yahoo.com or find him on Twitter.



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News sport : Sunday Scene, Week 15: Jeremy Hill buries the Browns

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Only one man in a Cleveland jersey had any success stopping Jeremy Hill on Sunday, and he wasn't actually an employee of the Browns .


Hill seized the lead role in the Cincinnati backfield this week, then feasted on the road, in a division matchup. The rookie rushed for 148 yards and two scores on 25 carries, adding four receiving yards on one reception. Giovani Bernard was invited to the party, too, gaining 103 scrimmage yards on 18 touches. But Hill absolutely dominated the rushing workload in the first-half, when the game was still competitive. He needed only two quarters of play to reach the 100-yard plateau.


Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson basically telegraphed Hill's usage earlier in the week, when he indicated a preference to rely on a single featured runner. Hill delivered in a massive way on Sunday. At 230-plus pounds, the kid runs with plenty of power, but he's more than simply a run-to-contact punisher. Check the Week 15 highlights right here . Hill is a patient runner with tackle-dodging ability, and he also happens to wield a stiff-arm of fury. He's now averaging 4.95 yards per carry on 177 totes this season. I'm sold. Hill faces a degree-of-difficulty matchup next week at home against the Broncos, but he cannot be benched ... unless Denver signs that end-zone Browns fan, which seems unlikely.


• What the heck are we gonna do with Odell Beckham Jr. in fantasy drafts next season? Is he a top-five fantasy wideout? Top-three? We have a few months to sort out the player pool, but that kid has certainly put himself squarely in the top-of-draft discussion. Beckham shamed Washington's defense on Sunday, snagging 12 balls on 15 targets, finishing with 143 yards and three scores. No other member of the Giants' receiving corps saw more than four targets, and none finished with more than 30 yards. Beckham was the whole show, basically. And he was uncoverable.


Odell Beckham, still scorching hot (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun) We should note that Robert Griffin III made an appearance in relief of an injured Colt McCoy, and the results were encouraging (although the opposing D was nothin' special). RG3 completed 18 of 27 throws for 236 yards, one score and no picks, plus he added 46 yards on the ground on five carries. Griffin also had an apparent rushing TD wiped out by review, which resulted in a glorious Santana Moss explosion .


• If you were banking on a Chris-Johnson-unleashes-hell-on-former-team scenario in Week 15, you didn't exactly win the fantasy lottery. CJ carried 10 times for 55 yards against the Titans, catching no passes. The Jets two touchdowns went to Chris Ivory and fullback John Connor. The game wasn't such a fun watch until its absurd final play , a multi-lateral near miracle that ended at the 6-yard line.


• Buffalo's defense has faced Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers over the past two weeks, which sure seems like a scheduling nightmare. But the Bills were more than ready, holding Manning and Rodgers to a combined 358 passing yards, zero TDs and five turnovers. Simply put, that's ridiculous. Mario Williams, you're a terror. Buffalo travels to Oakland next week, and my early projection for the game's final score is 24 to -8.


(If you need more details on Rodgers' no-good fantasy day, Scott Pianowski has you covered.)


• Jamaal Charles owners, you have every right to complain. It should not have gone down this way — not in the fantasy semis, not with the Raiders on the schedule. Charles carried just 12 times for 52 yards in Kansas City's relatively easy home win over Oakland, which of course means Knile Davis did work. Davis poached a short rushing score in the third quarter — one of his nine carries for 11 yards — and he converted his only catch into a 70-yard touchdown. Thus, those of us who started Charles in a dream matchup are somewhat displeased. Raiders quarterback Derek Carr put the ball in the air 56 times on Sunday, while Latavius Murray saw only 12 carries. Seems like a reasonable approach. It's not as if Murray did anything the last time these teams met, right?


• At halftime in Foxboro, the Pats appeared to be involved in a serious skirmish with the Dolphins, leading 14-13. Miami had pulled to within a single point in the final seconds of the half, on a beautiful 32-yard touchdown grab by Mike Wallace. But when the third quarter began ... well, things escalated quickly. LeGarrette Blount scored, then Gostkowski, then Gronk, then Edelman. And a mauling was underway. Blount investors should note that we had a Jonas Gray sighting in Week 15, an unwelcome development. Gray out-carried Blount 11 to 8, gaining 62 yards to LeGarrette's 17. Jonas was involved before garbage-time kicked in, so let's not dismiss his workload as a total fluke.


• Andrew Luck threw a pair of touchdown passes to teammates on Sunday (Nicks & Allen) and one to the Texans, and that pretty much sums up the scoring in Indy. Dan Herron and Trent Richardson again split carries for the Colts, with the usual results: 11-60-0 for Herron, 9-32-0 for T-Rich. Houston lost quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick to a nasty early injury (fractured tibia), which led to an appearance by rookie Tom Savage, who did nothing of note (127, INT). Savage actually limped away from Week 15 with a leg/knee injury himself, so the Texans are in desperate need of help. (Asking J.J. Watt to fill in at QB seems a bit much, but let's maybe keep an open mind.) Baltimore awaits next week.


Harry Douglas, PPR machine (Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports) • Josh McCown was a mess for the Bucs this week, tossing one pick and losing two fumbles. But he managed to find Mike Evans for a score (no surprise), plus he added a rushing touchdown (small surprise). Doug Martin ran for 96 yards on Sunday, a total that he typically needs three games to reach. Derek Anderson played well enough for Carolina in relief of Cam Newton, completing 25 of 40 throws for 277 yards and one score. Greg Olsen and Kelvin Benjamin dominated the receiving stats for the Panthers, combining for 214 yards and 18 catches on 26 targets. So at least we know Anderson can continue to feed the team's two must-start fantasy assets.


• Harry Douglas had a day against the Steelers, piling up stats with Julio Jones sidelined by injury (hip). Douglas was targeted 14 times, hauling in 10 balls for 131 yards. Atlanta gets an exceedingly friendly matchup next week, facing New Orleans on a short week. Keep Douglas in your plans, depending on the Julio news.


• Matthew Stafford entered the week coming off back-to-back excellent fantasy performances, so I suppose we should have seen a dud coming. He finished with just 153 yards and one score on Sunday against Minnesota, averaging just 5.5 YPA. The Viking scored the game's first 14 points, but Detroit scored all the rest. Joique Bell delivered all the yards you expected (103 total) and none of the touchdowns. All things considered, the game was a fantasy sinkhole. Let's move on...


• If you were expecting a shootout between the Broncos and Chargers on Sunday, um ... sorry. Request denied. Denver and San Diego combined for an unsatisfying 32 points and 625 total yards. Peyton Manning was apparently dealing with flu-ish symptoms, and he suffered a minor mid-game thigh injury, but he still delivered 233 passing yards and one score on only 20 attempts. Philip Rivers managed one less yard than Manning on 41 throws. With Ryan Mathews dinged, neither Branden Oliver or Donald Brown could dent the Broncos defensive front; the pair combined for just 44 rushing yards on 17 carries. Oliver had the lead role, not that it led to anything notable. The Bolts face San Francisco next week, so none of the team's backs will be a recommended fantasy play.


• Down the road, Johnny Manziel might very well become a useful fantasy weapon and a competent NFL quarterback. But on Sunday, he was neither of those things. He sailed plenty of throws, he was late on others, and his receivers weren't necessarily at their best. If you were among the few fantasy owners who started Manziel on Sunday, it's unlikely that you'll be advancing to title week. Johnny finished with an abysmal line: 10-for-18, 80 yards, zero TDs, two INTs. Josh Gordon claimed 48 of the yards, for what it's worth. (Not much.) Browns skill players are waaaay outside the circle of trust at this late stage in the season.


• Frank Gore suffered a concussion in his team's 17-7 loss at Seattle on Sunday, and his understudy Carlos Hyde was injured as well (ankle/leg). San Francisco is now eliminated from the NFC playoff race, so there's no obvious reason to rush any injured players back for Week 16. Alfonso Smith was the last RB standing on Sunday — and he apparently wasn't on the scouting report for Seattle...



EARLY ADDS FOR CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK


QB Robert Griffin III, Was (vs. Phi)*

QB Kyle Orton, Buf (at Oak)*

QB Alex Smith, KC (at Pit)*

RB Kerwynn Williams, Ari (vs. Sea)

RB Matt Asiata, Min (at Mia)

RB Doug Martin, TB (vs. GB)

RB Toby Gerhart, Jac (vs. Ten)

WR Harry Douglas, Atl (at NO)

WR Cecil Shorts III, Jac (vs. Ten)

WR Marquess Wilson, Chi (vs. Det)

DEF Carolina (vs. Cle)


* OK, these are probably terrible ideas, but I feel obligated to include QBs in the pickups. Let's hope you have more reliable options.






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News sport : Jets win! Jets win! ... and also lose 2015 draft-pick positioning

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The New York Jets beat the Tennessee Titans. Rex Ryan is not dead yet, although his team almost found a way to blow the game at the end with an aborted Music City Miracle, Part 2.


Reason to rejoice?


Uhh, not if you're wanting the Jets to land Marcus Mariota.


The Jets' 16-11 victory (and yes, it was ugly as that score looks on your screen) was the team's third victory of the season, and it moved them behind the glut of four two-win teams that includes the Titans in the race for the first overall pick in the 2015 NFL draft.


Yes, the Jets' win Sunday was really a loss.


As things stand now, the top of the draft looks like this:


1. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

2. Tennessee Titans

3. Jacksonville Jaguars

4. Oakland Raiders

5. Washington Redskins

6. New York Jets


The Jets and Redskins both have three wins, but the Redskins would pick ahead of them because the winning percentage of their opponents is far lower.


Can the Jets move up for a quarterback? We shall see — plenty of time to debate that one. Maybe Ryan was trying to sabotage the Jets' chances of getting Mariota by trying to win this game, realizing that it wasn't likely to save his job status.


More interesting to the top of the draft is the fact that the Titans and Jaguars play on Thursday to kick off Week 16. And that literally is the only interesting thing about that game.


- - - - - - -


Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!






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News sport : Kobe Bryant passes Michael Jordan for third on NBA's scoring list

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Raw pro basketball statistics, for good reason, aren’t held in the same regard as the numbers many grew up memorizing as baseball fans. NBA fans have a good idea as to how many points Kareem Abdul-Jabbar scored (thirty-thousand … something), how many rebounds Wilt Chamberlain pulled in (a lot), or the number of assists that John Stockton dished (plenty?), but the actual totals involved aren’t as memorable as any of the record numbers Henry Aaron, Lou Gehrig, or Lou Brock once set.


That doesn’t away from the accomplishment that Kobe Bryant just earned. On Sunday night the Los Angeles Lakers superstar hit two free throws at the 5:24 mark of the contest to put him at 32,293 points (and counting) for his career, passing Michael Jordan to move into third place on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. The Minnesota Timberwolves swingman that fouled him, rookie Zach LaVine, was born 13 months before Bryant announced that he would forego college to jump directly to the NBA.


Kobe was then presented with the game ball by Minnesota Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor before resuming action. He is currently averaging 25.4 points per game this season, second in the NBA just a tick under his career average of 25.5. Jordan still holds the NBA record with a 30.1 points per game career average.


Bryant is still some four thousand points behind Karl Malone for second on the all-time list and six thousand behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for the league’s all-time mark of 38,387, but this doesn’t diminish Bryant’s brilliance. Malone and especially Kareem played in different eras with speedier paces and more possessions per game to score with. Kobe may have played with the benefit of the three-point line, but he’s a below-average three-point shooter on his career so the advantage isn’t all that distinct. More impressively, as a guard Bryant had to slash and shoot his way to his points, while the bigger Malone and Abdul-Jabbar were allowed to play closer to the basket.


Kobe’s advancement is a rare bright spot in an otherwise turgid Lakers 2014-15 campaign. The team’s win over the defending champion San Antonio Spurs on Friday was a season highlight, with Bryant falling short in his attempts to pass Jordan but contributing down the stretch of a close win with several assists. That contest came one day after Bryant was caught by cameras berating both his lacking teammates and Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak, a tongue-lashing with such a blithe response that suggested that his teammates weren’t unfamiliar with those sorts of outbursts.


The Lakers were 7-16 upon entering Sunday night’s action, statistically on pace for just 25 wins in a Western Conference that features a seventh seed on pace to win 56 games. The team has been accused of attempting to tank the season in attempts to secure a high draft pick – if Los Angeles falls out of the top five following the NBA’s draft lottery, it surrenders its pick to Phoenix in the wake of the disastrous Steve Nash sign and trade. A tanking maneuver, as applauded by at least one Laker legend, would waste what could be the penultimate season of Kobe Bryant’s career, as his two-year and $48.5 million contract runs out in 2016.


None of this mattered over the course of this long weekend, of course. Kobe Bryant, in the NBA since 1996 and already a legend, just brushed past his idol.


And he’s not done yet.


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Kelly Dwyer is an editor for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at KDonhoops@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!






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News sport : Andrew Hawkins wears protest T-shirt, Cleveland police aren't pleased

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NFL players continue to use their platform to bring awareness to social issues despite backlash from police organizations and some fans.


This week, it was Cleveland wide receiver Andrew Hawkins, who wore a T-shirt reading "Justice for Tamir Rice and John Crawford III" during pregame warmups and introductions:



Tamir Rice, age 12, died last month after Cleveland police shot him while he was waving a pellet gun. John Crawford III was shot in an Ohio Wal-Mart earlier this year while holding an air rifle. Both cases have drawn scrutiny because of the uncertain and questionable reasons behind the shootings.


The message didn't go over so well with the Cleveland police department. "It's pretty pathetic when athletes think they know the law," said Cleveland police union head Jeff Follmer, per a local Cleveland journalist. "They should stick to what they know best on the field. The Cleveland police protect and serve the Browns stadium, and the Browns organization owes us an apology."


If the Browns follow the same path as other teams whose players have taken public stands on social issues, there will be no apology.


____

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News sport : Fan wins $1 million at Patriots game with help of Tom Brady's number

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Never bet against Tom Brady at home ... or Tom Brady's number either, apparently.


At halftime of the New England Patriots' game against the Miami Dolphins, a Patriots fan had the opportunity to win $1 million in a Massachusetts State Lottery drawing. Ernest Tomascik had to choose one of 24 different oversized scratch-off lottery tickets. Tomascik went with No. 12, Brady's number, opened the envelope attached to the ticket, and boom: instant millionaire.



What were the odds against Tomascik? To start, he was guaranteed to go home with $100,000, but had two chances in 24 to pick the correct envelope. More than that, his number was randomly selected from more than 965,000 entries in the state lottery's "Second Chance Drawing" contest for $5 Patriots scratch-off tickets that didn't win the first time around.


The Patriots didn't really need his luck, demolishing Miami 41-13, but every little bit helps.


____

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News sport : Green Bay Packers lose game on fumble that they recover (Video)

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The Green Bay Packers lost control of home-field advantage in the loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.

One big reason: Aaron Rodgers lost control of the ball on the game-clinching safety.


Bills defensive end Mario Williams strip-sacked Rodgers as the Packers were trying to win the game, down 19-13 with less than two minutes remaining.


The loose ball just sat there in the end zone — untouched — for a few seconds before Packers running back Eddie Lacy picked it up and tried in vain to run the ball. But Lacy was tackled in the end zone for the two-point safety.


Rodgers had no idea where the ball was. The ball sat there for ages, it seemed. Lacy got it but couldn't do enough with it. What a weird-looking play — especially the replay angle.


Although it remained a one score game with the Bills leading 21-13, Chris Hogan fell on the ensuing onsides kick attempt by the Packers to preserve the victory.


- - - - - - -


Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!






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News sport : Fan comes to Panthers game in a classless 'tribute' to Cam Newton

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I'm not sure what would cause someone to come to the Carolina Panthers' game dressed as a car accident victim, a few days after quarterback Cam Newton was in a car accident, but it happened.


I saw enough Ray Rice Halloween costumes that I can't say this was the most crude and classless NFL-related costume of the year, but it wasn't too kind either (h/t to BusinessInsider.com's Cork Gaines):



As inappropriate as the costume was, he went all out with it, complete with steering wheel and neck brace.


Newton suffered two fractures in the transverse process in his back on Tuesday, after a car collision in which his truck flipped over multiple times. Reports this weekend said Newton might play next week.


- - - - - - -


Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!






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News sport : Odell Beckham makes late ROY push with three-TD game

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Even with one score called back, Odell Beckham scored three touchdowns in the New York Giants' win over the Washington Redskins.


The way he's playing, can he steal the Rookie of the Year award from the slew of other impressive rookie receivers?


Beckham caught a nice fade pass for his first score — nothing like his two-fingered grab, mind you, but a solid catch, even on the Beckham Meter.


For his next score, Beckham ran a post, faked out the entire Redskins secondary and burned his way to the end zone for score No. 2.


Beckham appeared to catch his third TD on a 30-yard would-be catch, but it was ruled incomplete.


No worries. Beckham snagged Actual No. 3 on a quick slant in the red zone, finishing off his touchdown with a fancy little spin dance routine.


For the game, he totaled 12 catches for 143 yards and the three scores.


So here's your updated receiving numbers for Kelvin Benjamin, Sammy Watkins, Mike Evans, Jarvis Landry and Beckham through Week 15:

















































Name Receptions Yards Avg. TDs
Benjamin6795214.29
Watkins5985014.45
Evans5994816.111
Landry716729.55
Beckham7197213.79

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Jordan Matthews enters Sunday night's game with 56 catches for 709 yards and seven scores, so he's right in the mix, too.


But the fact that Beckham has compiled his stats through only 10 games, missing time early on with a hamstring injury, makes his season all the more impressive.


- - - - - - -


Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!






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News sport : Green Bay Packers might have lost chance at NFC's top seed

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The Packers have had a lot of home games lately, so we’ve gotten used to seeing Aaron Rodgers play just about perfect football.


The Packers, however, are not the same team on the road. And now, they’re in danger of having to go on the road in the playoffs.


Green Bay dropped a low-scoring 21-13 game to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. The Packers’ offense just never showed up. That’s a big result for the NFC playoff picture, and in particular for whoever wins the NFC West. The 11-3 Arizona Cardinals have a one-game lead over the Packers now. The Seahawks were alive for the No. 1 seed, but they had to win out and take the division title from Arizona, and have the Packers take a loss. They got that Packers loss.


The Packers don’t have an inside track for the No. 1 seed anymore, because of a poor offensive game against a pretty good Bills defense (don’t forget, Peyton Manning didn’t throw a touchdown pass against them last week, either).


Rodgers was uncharacteristically off. Dropped passes didn’t help. Green Bay had six of them. The worst one came in the third quarter when the normally reliable Jordy Nelson just dropped what would have been a 94-yard touchdown. That’s the kind of day it was.


A long Nelson touchdown would have made Rodgers’ numbers look better, and the Packers might have won. But Rodgers didn’t play well. He was 17-of-42 yards for 185 yards, no touchdowns and two interceptions. It was shocking to see him be off, considering how good he had been. And given one final shot, deep in Green Bay territory trailing 19-13 just inside of the two-minute warning, Rodgers was stripped of the ball by defensive end Mario Williams and the Bills had a game-clinching safety. With Tom Brady and J.J. Watt playing well in Sunday victories on Sunday as MVP voting nears, maybe Rodgers cost himself in that race too.


The road for the Packers gets tougher now. The NFC North race isn’t over, although it would likely take the Lions winning at Lambeau Field in Week 17 to put the Packers into the wild-card race. But given how well the Packers have played, the NFC North wasn’t the goal. Winning the NFC and the Super Bowl was. And if the Packers have to go on the road, especially to Seattle (we all remember the Thursday night season opener), it is a much bigger challenge than doing it from home, where they seem unbeatable.


That cheer you heard? It came from Arizona and Seattle. Whoever wins the division among them might not have to go freeze in Wisconsin in January.


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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!






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News sport : Jose Canseco wants shot at CM Punk in UFC

♠ Posted by channel-top-news in ,,,,,,,

Since it was annouced that Phil "CM Punk" Brooks had signed multi-fight deal with UFC, fighters ranging from rookies to mixed martial arts legends have been coming out of the woodwork looking to be his first opponent.


A few celebrities with fighting experience have joined that parade as well. Most notably. "Power Ranger" Jason David Frank, who has five professional fights under his belt, called out Brooks earlier this week.


He wasn't the last though. Predictably, and perhaps even sadly, we can officially add the name of Jose Canseco to that growing list.



Yeah, those definitely qualify as fighting words.


As UFC President Dana White has stated in the days following the signing, he'd prefer to match the former WWE champion with an opponent with limited experience. Oddly enough, in that regard, Canseco does quality. Back in 2009, he fought K-1 veteran Hong-man Choi in Japan and actually fared well for a stretch, before submitting in the first round.


Seeing as Brooks has yet to step inside the octagon, it's impossible to say who might have the advantage if Brooks and Canseco squared off. At 36, Brooks has youth on his side. But he's obviously an older 36 than most because of his near 20-year career in the professional wrestling business. Perhaps Canseco's biggest disadvantage would be the fact he has one less finger with which to gauge Brooks' eyes.


That's probably more analysis than you needed to read. It's certainly more analysis than we're comfortable giving. But we can't help but be a little bit intrigued. Perhaps if the whole UFC doesn't work out for Brooks, we can pitch this fight to Vince McMahon for a future Wrestlemania. You know he's always willing to welcome back former stars that fall on hard times. In fact, he's probably printing the posters as we speak.


BLS H/N: Fox Sports


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Mark Townsend is a writer for Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at bigleaguestew@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!






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