Monday, November 8, 2010

Latest Sports Buzz

Latest Sports Buzz

Janikowski Boots Raiders Past Chiefs In OT

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 04:00 PM PST

Jojo Doria – AHN Sports Contributor

Oakland, CA, United States (AHN) – Sebastian Janikowski, who hit the tying field goal in the closing seconds of regulation, converted on a 33-yard field goal three minutes into overtime, propelling the Oakland Raiders to a 23-20 decision over the Kansas City Chiefs Sunday night in an AFC West tilt.

Jason Campbell, who collaborated with rookie Jacoby Ford in setting up Janikowski for the tying 41-yard field goal sent the game into overtime.

Campbell, starting in his fourth consecutive week at center while the Raiders No. 1 quarterback Bruce Gradkowski continues to recover from a shoulder injury, went 19-for-33 with 229 yards, one TD and one interception.

Ford finished with six catches for 148 yards for the victors, while Darren McFadden ended with 17 carries for 89 yards and added four catches for 25 yards for the Raiders (5-4), who have won three straight for the first time since 2002.

Oakland has not won more than five contests in a season since an 11-5 campaign in 2002 that culminated in a Super Bowl appearance.

Sunday’s victory is also significant for the suddenly-resurgent Raiders, as they ended seven consecutive home losses at the Coliseum against the Chiefs.

Matt Cassel connected on 20-of-35 passes for 216 yards with two scores and an interception for the Chiefs (5-3), who saw their two-game winning streak halted.

Dwayne Bowe and Verran Tucker each caught a score in the loss.

The red-hot Raiders enter into their bye week a half-game behind division leaders Kansas City.

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Ex-Football Great Herschel Walker To Fight For Strikeforce In December

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 04:00 PM PST

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AHN Sports Staff

St.Louis, MO, United States (AHN) – After an impressive MMA debut early this year, former NFL running back Herschel Walker will once again step inside the cage to fight Scott Carson in one of several supporting bouts at Strikeforce “Henderson vs. Babalu” on Dec. 4 in St. Louis, Mo.

Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker announced Friday night Walker is scheduled to make his second professional MMA fight against the 40-year-old, Carson, who absorbed a knockout loss to Lorenz Larkin in his comeback fight last June.

Carson won his first four professional fights between 1999 to 2001, but a back injury disrupted his surging career, sidelining in almost a decade.

Carson, who reportedly spent eight years training with UFC legend Chuck Liddell before joining UFC middleweight Mark Munoz’s camp in California, warmly welcomed the opportunity to fight Walker.

“It’s a big honor to fight [Walker],” Carson told ESPN. “I’m a fan but I also believe he’s beatable and it’s a good matchup for me.”

Walker, the 1982 Heisman Trophy winner, stunned the MMA world when he recorded a third-round knockout win against Hungarian Greg Nagy last January 30 at Strikeforce Miami.

Walker, who also earned a 5th-degree black belt in Taekwondo, promised to show a more skillful fighter when he dukes it out with Carson at the Scottrade Center.

“I want to show that my experience level has increased a good deal,” Walker told ESPN. “I’ve become a much better MMA fighter.”

Walker and Carson are reportedly stipulated to weigh in below 220-pound limit for their Heavyweight showdown.

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Purdue Remains Hopeful Of Bowl Game Appearance Despite Skid

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 04:00 PM PST

Sam Klemet – AHN Sports Correspondent

West Lafayette, IN, United States (AHN) – The last time the seventh ranked team in the country played at Ross-Ade Stadium was on October 17th, 2009 when Ohio State was stunned by Purdue.

The Boilermakers 26-18 upset is the signature win in head coach Danny Hope’s career, so far, in West Lafayette.

Just over a year later, he was close to adding another marquee win to his resume, over a number seven team, but fell just short.

“We are disappointed we didn’t win,” said Hope. “We thought if we came out there and played hard and manufactured plays and cash in on our opportunities, [we'd] win.”

Purdue lost its third straight game, 34-13 to Wisconsin despite leading 10-6 at halftime.

For the past two weeks, the Boilermakers offense has looked anemic. They were outscored on the road by Ohio State and Illinois, 93-10.

Against Wisconsin, they moved the ball consistently early with quarterback Sean Robinson leading the way.

He was 19-38 for 141 yards and ran for 31, as well.

Robinson became just the first true-freshman to start at quarterback for the Boilermaker since 2002. He replaced redshirt freshman Rob Henry who has a laceration on his throwing hand. Henry stepped in earlier in the year for Robert Marve who tore his ACL.

“There is no such thing as moral victories but it was fun to be out there with a bunch of kids that had a lot of heart,” said Robinson. “To come out like that and fight like we did and be up at halftime, that’s a big momentum builder.”

The momentum didn’t last long, as the Badgers quickly took the lead in the third quarter after Robinson threw the first of his three interceptions.

Despite the second half struggles and recent three game slide, the Boilermakers remain confident they can salvage a successful season.

“There is certainly a sense of urgency,” said defensive end Ryan Kerrigan. “Especially for us seniors, we want to go out on top. That’d be going to a bowl game.”

Purdue needs two wins in its final three games to become bowl eligible.

That won’t be easy.

Next week, they host a Michigan team that scored 67 points this week and then travel to 14th ranked Michigan State the following Saturday.

Nonetheless, wide receiver Antavian Edison thinks the Boilers will make a postseason appearance.

“I don’t see us not making a bowl,” he said. “I’m feel that we are going to make a bowl because I am confident in my team.”

But Edison said if Purdue does fall short of their goal, the future looks bright because of the amount of game experience Purdue’s young players are getting.

“We are a very young team and if we can just get that chemistry now, we’ll be alright,” he said.

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Back Edwin Baker Helps Michigan State Get Back On Winning Track

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 04:00 PM PST

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John Raffel – AHN Sports Correspondent

East Lansing, MI, United States (AHN) – This week, it was Edwin Baker’s turn.

Michigan State’s talented running back sometimes doesn’t receive as much focus as other players on the Spartan offense such as quarterback Kirk Cousins and fellow running back Le’Veon Bell.

But in Saturday’s 31-8 Big Ten Conference victory over Minnesota, it was definitely Baker’s day.

The MSU sophomore gained 179 yards on 27 carries and had all four of his team’s touchdowns. Michigan State only netted 189 yards on the ground making Baker easily the top star for this particular game.

“I’ve just been staying humble and staying focused, believing in God. Good things come to those who wait and I did that this season and I just have to continue what I’m doing,” Baker said.

Bell had a minus one yard net on six carries.

“He just has to stay focused and keep working through adversity,” Baker said. “Whoever is in at the running back position just has to keep focused and motivate each other.”

The Spartans improved to 9-1 overall and 5-1 in the Big Ten a week after losing 37-6 to Iowa.

“I thought our downfall last week was not having that push, and I felt that I did a great job but I’m not the only one, the wide receivers and offensive line did an excellent job,” Baker said. “I couldn’t do it without them and all my praise and glory should go to them.

“We just needed to get back to the basics. We haven’t ran the ball well in the past four games previous to this one, so this week we have been working hard and focusing on just getting back to the basics.”

Baker had TD runs of 30, 1 and 1 yards in the first half. He also had a 1-yard plunge in the second half.

“He had a great game,” said Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio. “He was the hot back and ran the ball very effectively. We’re looking for more from him.”

“Well Edwin is certainly still the starter, and if the starter gets hot you’re going to stay with him and the other guys will fill in as needed,” said MSU offensive coordinator Don Treadwell.

“I didn’t really see anything throughout the week, I was telling a lot of media guys our young men practiced hard this week, and if you saw a week before with Iowa you would have noticed no difference. They are all focused and locked in. I think Edwin is just a young man who sometimes is his own worst critic. He is such a competitor and he was going to come out today and make sure he was going to do his job.”

Going into Saturday’s game, Baker ranked fifth in the Big Ten and 37th in the nation with his 88.9-yard rushing average through nine games (800 total yards rushing). He had seven rushing TDs going into the game and was averaging 6.5 yards per rush.

On Saturday, Baker had a key touchdown prior to halftime of 1 yard with no time left on the clock.

“[Coach] just told me to get the ball in the end zone, and I took great pride in that,” Baker said. “I just trusted my line and fullback and lowered my pads to get across the end zone. It was a really big touchdown, and a huge momentum boost for us going into the half.”

The Spartans are still in the Big Ten title race and have a shot at a BCS bowl. They are off next week and then are home Nov. 20 with Purdue before wrapping the regular season up Nov. 27 at Penn State.

“We need it,” Baker said of the bye week. “We have a lot of players with little nicks and bruises so this is definitely going to help us before our game against Purdue. We just have to work hard and treat our bodies right, get treatment if we need it and stay healthy.”

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Jets Coach Rex Ryan Elated To Take Overtime Victory Against Lions

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 04:00 PM PST

John Raffel – AHN Sports Correspondent

Detroit, MI, United States (AHN) – Rex Ryan didn’t care how his New York Jets won Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions.

He was just happy to come out of Ford Field with a 23-20 overtime victory.

Nick Folk booted three field goals including the game-winner of 30 yards in overtime to lift the Jets who trailed Detroit 20-10 late in the fourth quarter.

Folk had kicked a 36-yarder with no time left in regulation to force the overtime.

In the extra period, on the opening drive, quarterback Mark Sanchez had connected 52 yards on a pass to Santonio Holmes to set up the winning field goal.

“Unbelievable game,” Ryan said. “We talked to our team about that the games are fights. We knew this team was tough. They were going to get after it. They’re confident, that’s not the same old Lions. This is a tough football team.”

“Quite honestly, we prefer a first-round knockout but that didn’t happen. We got knocked down a few times today and we were bloodied and all that, but we won it in the championship rounds.”

Detroit, trying to win its second straight game for the first time since 2007, is 2-6 while the Jets improved to 6-2.

“When it’s under six minutes to go and you’re down 10 points and you find a way to battle back, get the job done and then drive it down in overtime to get the win, it’s a great effort by our team,” Ryan said. “Obviously we felt fortunate we got the win, but we don’t care. We got the win, we’ll take it. That’s what good teams do, find a way to win.”

“Obviously it’s a very difficult loss to take, particularly when we had a 10-point lead as the game rolled down to the fourth quarter,” said Detroit coach Jim Schwartz. “The end of the game, we failed to execute the way that we needed to and that’s the head coach’s fault. That’s my fault. I didn’t do a good job enough with the players in those situations not only on defense but on offense and on special teams.”"

Trailing 10-7 at halftime, the Lions drove 47 yards on eight plays to take a 13-10 lead with quarterback Matthew Stafford keeping the ball for a one-yard touchdown run. Detroit had taken advantage of a roughing the kicker penalty against the Jets to set up Stafford’s run.

But defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh attempted the extra point and the ball hit the upright, a factor that would prove critical with the scoring late in the game.

Detroit’s regular placekicker, Jason Hansen, was nursing a knee injury from the roughing the kicker incident although he returned later on to kick a PAT.

“We had a missed extra point and there’s no question Ndamukong is our backup field goal kicker. He’s done it in practice,” Schwartz said. “We have a lot of confidence that he could kick it. It put him in a difficult situation because he went out with out any warm-ups.”

In the fourth quarter, Stafford had a two-yard scoring pass to Nate Burleson. They had connected earlier on a 36-yard pass play to set up the score. Later in the quarter, Stafford was injured while running with the ball and was replaced by Drew Stanton for the rest of the game.

The Lions would not disclose the seriousness of Stafford’s right-shoulder injury after the game.

“He’s very sore,” said Schwartz. “You guys know how tough he is. It’s his right shoulder. We’ll see where he is.”

Late in the fourth quarter, the Jets got back in the game on a 56-yard scoring drive. Sanchez’s one-yard quarterback keeper cut the Detroit lead to 20-17.

The Jets got the ball on their own 22 with 1:40 left in regulation. A late-hit penalty on Detroit’s Julian Peterson put the Jets in scoring position and Polk booted his 36-yard field goal with no time left for a 20-20 tie, forcing overtime.

Sanchez threw a 74-yard touchdown pass to Braylon Edwards late in the first half to push the New Jets to a 10-7 halftime lead.

The Lions marched 80 yards on the game’s first series with Stafford passing 10 yards to Brandon Pettigrew for the 7-0 lead.

The Jets offense sputtered until midway in the second quarter when New York drove 74 yards on nine plays to set up a 31-yard field goal by Folk. The Jets got the ball on their own 25 with less than two minutes in the half when Sanchez connected with Edwards for the go-ahead touchdown.

“We just kept plugging,” said Jets linebacker Bart Scott.”Sometimes, you’ve got to fight adversity. “They’re a good football team but by far the dirtiest football team I’ve ever played against since I played the Tennessee Titans. Some of the stuff they do out there I understand, but I’ll just be happy with the victory.”

Sanchez passed for 323 yards while Stafford threw for 240.

Leading rushers were LaDamian Tomlinson for the Jets with 55 yards while Jahvid Best collected 48 yards for the Lions.

“Mistakes are going to come,” Burleson said. “Obviously the more of them the harder it is to swallow.”

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Hamlin Wins At Texas, Takes Cup Points Lead

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 04:00 PM PST

Edward Lewis – AHN Sports Reporter

Fort Worth, TX, United States (AHN) – Denny Hamlin regained the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series lead by winning Sunday’s race at Texas Motor Speedway.

Hamlin won at Texas for the second time this season and took over the lead in the closest three-way Chase the format has ever seen with two races remaining.

“I told everyone I’d wait for three to go and I felt like that’s the most aggressive as I’ve been on restarts all year. I did what I had to do,” said Hamlin. “This is a big deal for everyone in the Toyota camp. They spent a lot of money and a lot of effort to help this sport grow and be one of the top manufacturers and I’m proud to put them number one.”

Hamlin took the lead with 29 laps to go and got a push from Matt Kenseth on the final restart with three laps left to score his series-best eighth victory of the season.

Defending champion Jimmie Johnson surrendered the points lead to Hamlin with a ninth-place finish, but even more surprising was the way crew chief Chad Knaus replaced Johnson’s over-the-wall crew with Jeff Gordon’s after a series of poor stops.

“It’s something new, for sure. It’s nothing we’ve done in the past. But I just watched the World Series and when a pitcher is not doing his job, they make a change and get someone in who can. We know our guys are capable of doing it. We know it’s possible,” said Johnson. “We just had some things going on today that we couldn’t rebound from in and it really put us in a bad position on the race track and it kind of led to the bad result today.”

Repeated loss of track position saw Johnson’s 14-point lead over Hamlin diminish to a a 33-point deficit as the series heads to Phoenix next week.

With Hamlin scoring the win, Kenseth matched his best finish of the season with a second-place finish while Mark Martin ran third and was followed by Joey Logano and Greg Biffle, who led a race-best 224 laps but lost first and second gears in his No. 16 Ford.

Kevin Harvick finished sixth and sits third in the standings, 59 points behind Hamlin.

“It was actually a pretty mellow day. We had a good car. I didn’t think we’d be anywhere in the hunt to tell you the truth after practice, and they did a great job getting the car ready,” said Harvick. “When it got dark, we just got really loose and we got in the wall, twice actually. They fixed that and everything went as good as it could.”

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Allen, Pierce Help Celtics Top Durant-Led Thunder In Marquee Matchup

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 03:59 PM PST

Jojo Doria – AHN Sports Contributor

Oklahoma City, OK, United States (AHN) – Ray Allen finished with 19 points and five boards, while Paul Pierce added 17 points, as the Boston Celtics held off a late surge by the Oklahoma City Thunder 92-83 in a marquee matchup Sunday night at Ford Center.

Rajon Rondo, who dealt with a foot problem during a hard-fought win over the Chicago Bulls in Beantown Friday, ended with 10 points, 10 assists and five boards for the victors.

In the contest, the Celtics had seven players scoring at least eight points to finish with a high 47 shooting percentage (36-of-76) from the field.

The Thunder were paced by Kevin Durant, who poured in 34 points to go along with six rebounds and three assists, but it was not enough to help Oklahoma City’s cause.

Oklahoma City, coming off a thrilling overtime win over the Portland Trail Blazers, trailed 58-37 at halftime before regrouping in the third to outscore Boston 27-15 in the third stanza.

The Thunder drew within 73-67 early in the fourth, but failed to sustain the rest of the way, suffering their third loss in their last four contests.

The Celtics (6-1), winners of five straight and six of seven, will continue their current four-game road trip with stops at Dallas, Miami and Memphis.

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Ducks Escape Predators, Wrap Up Three-Game Homestand

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 03:59 PM PST

Jojo Doria – AHN Sports Contributor

Anaheim, CA, United States (AHN) – Paul Mara shattered the fourth deadlock in the contest by tallying the game winner late in the fourth period, as the Anaheim Ducks edged the Nashville Predators 5-4 Sunday at Honda Center.

Saku Koivu found the back of the net twice. Teemu Selanne, who came off his 1,200th career game in Friday’s win over Pittsburgh, finished with a goal and an assists for the Ducks, who concluded their three-game homestand at 3-0.

Jonas Hiller turned aside 20 of 24 shots in the victory.

Patric Hornqvist, Cody Franson and Cal O’Reilly each had a goal and a helper for the Predators, who have dropped five straight.

Losing netminder Anders Lindback finished with 32 stops.

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TCU Jumps Over Boise In BCS Rankings; Oregon Still No. 1

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 03:59 PM PST

Jojo Doria – AHN Sports Contributor

New York, NY, United States (AHN) – TCU, coming off a stunning win over previously undefeated Utah Saturday, past Boise State in the BCS rankings, while Oregon remained atop the poll standings.

The Horned Frogs, who hurdled a tough test Saturday against Utah in Salt Lake City, received a second first-place vote that enabled them to vault over Boise State for third spot in the USA TODAY coaches poll.

The Ducks and No. 2 Auburn, both coming off victories, held on their positions atop the said poll.

Oregon, which crushed Washington 53-16 Saturday, received 50 of 59 No. 1 votes, while the Tigers garnered four.

The Broncos slipped to fourth despite receiving three No. 1 votes.

Rounding out the top 5 is Wisconsin, which leads the pack of seven one-loss teams hoping to contend in November.

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Richardson Leads Way As Suns Hand Hawks First Loss Of Season

Posted: 08 Nov 2010 03:59 PM PST

Kareem Shaker – AHN Sports Reporter

Atlanta, GA, United States (AHN) – Jason Richardson scored 21 points and Steve Nash added 19 and 15 assists as the Phoenix Suns handed the Atlanta Hawks their first loss of the season, 118-114 Sunday.

Phoenix pulled away early, up 61-50 at the half, only to watch the Hawks accumulate a 38-point third quarter to pull within two.

Atlanta would tie the game four times in the final frame, but the Hawks could never take the lead against the fast-paced Suns.

Grant Hills scored 14 points and Hedo Turkoglu added 11 for Phoenix, which shot and impressive 56 percent from the floor.

Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 34 points and Al Horford had 30 to go along with 10 rebounds and two blocks.

Atlanta (6-1) heads to Orlando to face the Magic Monday.

Phoenix (3-3) faces the Grizzlies in Memphis.

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