By Steve Henson
It sounds as if punishment for steroids distribution and use might go beyond the playing field and into the front office.
For many years the San Francisco Giants' clubhouse was the private playpen of Greg Anderson, who was Barry Bonds' personal trainer. Yet when team trainer Stan Conte informed general manager Brian Sabean that Anderson might be providing steroids to players, Sabean did nothing about it.
Rep. Henry Waxman, the chairman of the committee, asked Selig whether Sabean or Giants owner Peter Magowan should have reported the allegations against Anderson to the commissioner's office.
"Of course," Selig responded. "I don't want to say anymore because it's a matter I have under review."
Waxman was unrelenting.
"It's possible the Balco scandal could have been averted had Brian Sabean and Peter Magowan acted in a responsible fashion,'' he said. "Instead they seemed more intent on protecting Barry Bonds.''
Will Sabean be punished?
"You've raised a very valid point," Selig said. "It's of great concern to me. Why anybody is in the clubhouse besides the official team trainer is beyond me."
Selig repeated what he said in the aftermath of the Mitchell Report, that he will consider discipline on a case-by-case basis.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
College Basketball Rankings as of Jan 15, 2008
AP Top 25
1.North Carolina (45)
2.Memphis (24)
3.Kansas (3)
4.UCLA
5.Georgetown
6.Tennessee
7.Duke
8.Washington St.
9.Indiana
10.Texas A&M
11.Michigan St.
12.Butler
13.Marquette
14.Dayton
15.Pittsburgh
16.Vanderbilt
17.Wisconsin
18.Mississippi
19.Texas
20.Xavier
21.Miami (FL)
22.Arizona St.
23.Rhode Island
24.Clemson
25.Villanova
For NCAA basketball tickets go to www.PlatinumTickets.com
1.North Carolina (45)
2.Memphis (24)
3.Kansas (3)
4.UCLA
5.Georgetown
6.Tennessee
7.Duke
8.Washington St.
9.Indiana
10.Texas A&M
11.Michigan St.
12.Butler
13.Marquette
14.Dayton
15.Pittsburgh
16.Vanderbilt
17.Wisconsin
18.Mississippi
19.Texas
20.Xavier
21.Miami (FL)
22.Arizona St.
23.Rhode Island
24.Clemson
25.Villanova
For NCAA basketball tickets go to www.PlatinumTickets.com
Brady defends Romo and pre-playoff vacation
Any criticism surrounding the Romo-Simpson bye week vaction is "absurd'' according to New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady. Speaking during his weekly appearance on WEEI, a sports radio station in Boston, Brady took up for Cowboys QB Tony Romo according to the Dallas Morning News.
"Everybody has lives," Brady said. "We work seven months, eight months, out of the year. You still have a life to live. On the weekends you do whatever you do to relax and rejuvenate. It's not like they can go to the local eatery in Dallas and hang out."
Brady stated what really made the difference: "If they caught the ball in the end zone at the end, nobody makes any mention (of the Mexico trip)," Brady said. "You alleviate a lot of criticism by winning. That's what I've realized for eight years."
Source: Dallas Morning News
For tickets to the NFL palyoffs or the Superbowl go to www.PlatinumTickets.com
"Everybody has lives," Brady said. "We work seven months, eight months, out of the year. You still have a life to live. On the weekends you do whatever you do to relax and rejuvenate. It's not like they can go to the local eatery in Dallas and hang out."
Brady stated what really made the difference: "If they caught the ball in the end zone at the end, nobody makes any mention (of the Mexico trip)," Brady said. "You alleviate a lot of criticism by winning. That's what I've realized for eight years."
Source: Dallas Morning News
For tickets to the NFL palyoffs or the Superbowl go to www.PlatinumTickets.com
Pageant of the Masters hopefuls audition for show
story by OC Register
Prospective Pageant of the Masters posers answered casting calls on Saturday, and on Jan. 5 and 6 at the Festival of Arts grounds, hoping to land a role in the show of real-life vignettes for 2008.
This year's theme, "All the World's a Stage," re-creates paintings and statues that look at theater life.
The 2008 Pageant of the Masters will be staged July 9 through August. 30, with the 10th gala benfit performance on August 23.
For tickets to the Pageant of the Masters go to www.Platinumtickets.com or call 888.633.6657
Prospective Pageant of the Masters posers answered casting calls on Saturday, and on Jan. 5 and 6 at the Festival of Arts grounds, hoping to land a role in the show of real-life vignettes for 2008.
This year's theme, "All the World's a Stage," re-creates paintings and statues that look at theater life.
The 2008 Pageant of the Masters will be staged July 9 through August. 30, with the 10th gala benfit performance on August 23.
For tickets to the Pageant of the Masters go to www.Platinumtickets.com or call 888.633.6657
Monday, January 14, 2008
Jag on Brady: 'He ain't all that'
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Perhaps you were impressed with Tom Brady's record-setting performance in beating Jacksonville on Saturday.
If so, you weren't Jaguars rookie safety Reggie Nelson.
"He ain't all that … He's all right," Nelson said.
Ah, Reggie, are you sure he ain't more than all that? Brady did, after all, set an NFL record by completing 92.9 percent of his passes (26 for 28 for 262 yards and three touchdowns) to lead New England to a 31-20 playoff victory.
It was the near-perfect game for the quarterback of the perfect team.
"It was a check down game," Nelson said, suggesting that most of Brady's completions were short and underneath the pass coverage. "Anybody can go 26-of-28 in a dump-down game."
Down the hall, "he ain't all that" dumbfounded Randy Moss.
"What?" Moss said. "It wasn't impressive? When you lose you're going to say things that (are) really inappropriate. You're talking about the MVP, that's Tom Brady.
"I'm not even going to respond to that."
Nelson's opinion might stem from the sheer frustration of having Brady carve up his Jags despite their almost perfect execution of the game plan.
Jacksonville focused on shutting down the deep threat – especially Moss (just one reception) – and, as Nelson noted, make Brady check down, or throw to short, underneath patterns.
It might have worked, too, if Brady hadn't completed nearly every throw.
"It was a little disappointing he missed two," smiled coach Bill Belichick.
And one of them was a drop by Wes Welker.
That's what makes Brady not just the MVP of the league this season, but the pure championship winner of this generation. He has the Patriots at 17-0 and barreling toward their fourth Super Bowl title not because he always makes the flashiest plays – although he does that, too – but because he almost always makes the right one.
"He doesn't force anything," said Jags safety Sammie Knight. "He's going to take what you give him. He's made a living throwing to backs and underneath."
If the Jaguars were going to stop the long ball, Brady had no problem nickel and diming them with short, smart passes.
"If you're taking two guys every play and putting them on Randy, then you leave a lot of guys one-on-one," Brady said.
Brady almost sounded like Nelson by calling it "easy." But that's his normal way of deflecting praise onto his teammates. He may be the supermodel-dating playboy, but he loves shrugging it all off and going with the aw-shucks routine.
"Those guys, when they are open like that, that's my job to hit them," Brady said. "They were open every time. It's easy when you have receivers that are open all the time and an offensive line that never lets anyone touch you."
None of his teammates would let him get away with that. Each told of Nelson's comments reacted with a bit of anger "I can't say what I want to say," said wide receiver Donte Stallworth.
Underneath passes or not, 26-of-28 is a record for a reason.
"This is the NFL. If this was high school, yeah (it might not be 'all that')," Stallworth said.
Brady had already conducted his postgame interview by the time Nelson spoke. His play said enough, though.
The Pats had five scoring drives (with a missed field goal on a sixth). The team's other two offensive possessions were a one-play kneel down to finish the first half and an attempt to wind down the clock late in the fourth.
Big play or not, they couldn't have operated much better with Brady serving as the game-plan buster, laying waste to Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio's defensive plot.
"Unfortunately, Tom didn't slip on the way to work today," Del Rio said.
Back in the Jags locker room, there wasn't much to say. The secondary that allowed a record performance had done exactly what they were told to do and still couldn't stop New England.
So all four starters stood in front of their lockers, conveniently lined up in a row, and all four just shrugged at what had happened, although the other three were more gracious than Nelson.
"He's good," Nelson finally conceded before packing his bag and heading for the offseason. "He's a good quarterback."
Yeah, for an unbeaten MVP, Tom Brady's not too bad.
If so, you weren't Jaguars rookie safety Reggie Nelson.
"He ain't all that … He's all right," Nelson said.
Ah, Reggie, are you sure he ain't more than all that? Brady did, after all, set an NFL record by completing 92.9 percent of his passes (26 for 28 for 262 yards and three touchdowns) to lead New England to a 31-20 playoff victory.
It was the near-perfect game for the quarterback of the perfect team.
"It was a check down game," Nelson said, suggesting that most of Brady's completions were short and underneath the pass coverage. "Anybody can go 26-of-28 in a dump-down game."
Down the hall, "he ain't all that" dumbfounded Randy Moss.
"What?" Moss said. "It wasn't impressive? When you lose you're going to say things that (are) really inappropriate. You're talking about the MVP, that's Tom Brady.
"I'm not even going to respond to that."
Nelson's opinion might stem from the sheer frustration of having Brady carve up his Jags despite their almost perfect execution of the game plan.
Jacksonville focused on shutting down the deep threat – especially Moss (just one reception) – and, as Nelson noted, make Brady check down, or throw to short, underneath patterns.
It might have worked, too, if Brady hadn't completed nearly every throw.
"It was a little disappointing he missed two," smiled coach Bill Belichick.
And one of them was a drop by Wes Welker.
That's what makes Brady not just the MVP of the league this season, but the pure championship winner of this generation. He has the Patriots at 17-0 and barreling toward their fourth Super Bowl title not because he always makes the flashiest plays – although he does that, too – but because he almost always makes the right one.
"He doesn't force anything," said Jags safety Sammie Knight. "He's going to take what you give him. He's made a living throwing to backs and underneath."
If the Jaguars were going to stop the long ball, Brady had no problem nickel and diming them with short, smart passes.
"If you're taking two guys every play and putting them on Randy, then you leave a lot of guys one-on-one," Brady said.
Brady almost sounded like Nelson by calling it "easy." But that's his normal way of deflecting praise onto his teammates. He may be the supermodel-dating playboy, but he loves shrugging it all off and going with the aw-shucks routine.
"Those guys, when they are open like that, that's my job to hit them," Brady said. "They were open every time. It's easy when you have receivers that are open all the time and an offensive line that never lets anyone touch you."
None of his teammates would let him get away with that. Each told of Nelson's comments reacted with a bit of anger "I can't say what I want to say," said wide receiver Donte Stallworth.
Underneath passes or not, 26-of-28 is a record for a reason.
"This is the NFL. If this was high school, yeah (it might not be 'all that')," Stallworth said.
Brady had already conducted his postgame interview by the time Nelson spoke. His play said enough, though.
The Pats had five scoring drives (with a missed field goal on a sixth). The team's other two offensive possessions were a one-play kneel down to finish the first half and an attempt to wind down the clock late in the fourth.
Big play or not, they couldn't have operated much better with Brady serving as the game-plan buster, laying waste to Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio's defensive plot.
"Unfortunately, Tom didn't slip on the way to work today," Del Rio said.
Back in the Jags locker room, there wasn't much to say. The secondary that allowed a record performance had done exactly what they were told to do and still couldn't stop New England.
So all four starters stood in front of their lockers, conveniently lined up in a row, and all four just shrugged at what had happened, although the other three were more gracious than Nelson.
"He's good," Nelson finally conceded before packing his bag and heading for the offseason. "He's a good quarterback."
Yeah, for an unbeaten MVP, Tom Brady's not too bad.
Chicago rookie Joakim Noah benched by Bulls teammates for Atlanta game
ATLANTA (AP) -- Chicago Bulls rookie Joakim Noah was benched for Sunday's game against the Atlanta Hawks -- by his teammates.
They delivered a unanimous vote after the rookie from Florida was involved in a confrontation with assistant coach Ron Adams in practice before Friday's game at Philadelphia.
Noah was inactive for the Philadelphia game for internal disciplinary reasons, but the players told interim coach Jim Boylan one game was not enough.
"We have a chance to salvage this season and we just need everybody on the page," said Bulls veteran guard Adrian Griffin. "It's one of those things that I believe is going to bring us closer.
"Everyone on this team knows what Joakim can do and we just look forward to getting him back on the court."
A subdued Noah, who is averaging 4.2 points and 3.1 rebounds in 12.3 minutes, sat at his locker before Sunday's game.
"They just told me what I did was unacceptable and I'm just going to move on from here," Noah said. "I've just got to accept it. What do you want me to say? I've just got to move on. There's nothing I can do about it."
When asked if he believes the two-game suspension is too severe, Noah said "Ask the players who made the decision. I don't know. ... Do I agree with it? It doesn't make a difference. I respect my teammates."
Boylan, promoted to head coach on Dec. 27 after Scott Skiles was fired, said the suspension resulted from more than one incident.
Boylan called Noah "a great kid," but noted he's been involved in "a couple of situations where he's been late or not doing what the Chicago Bulls do. So the cumulative aspect of this is definitely part of the reasoning for the players doing what they did."
"This isn't college anymore," Boylan said. "It's the NBA. This is professional sports."
He said the team felt Noah needed to sit another game.
"They felt it deserved more," Boylan said. "It was the entire team that felt that way, so I back my team and the decision that they made, and appreciate the leadership that they've shown."
Atlanta rookie Al Horford, who played with Noah at Florida, called the ninth pick in the draft "very emotional" and "very competitive."
"I just feel it's a learning experience for everyone in general," Horford said. "If you cross a line in something like that, there's consequences to it. ... He wants to win really bad. I think people will figure him out as time goes on."
They delivered a unanimous vote after the rookie from Florida was involved in a confrontation with assistant coach Ron Adams in practice before Friday's game at Philadelphia.
Noah was inactive for the Philadelphia game for internal disciplinary reasons, but the players told interim coach Jim Boylan one game was not enough.
"We have a chance to salvage this season and we just need everybody on the page," said Bulls veteran guard Adrian Griffin. "It's one of those things that I believe is going to bring us closer.
"Everyone on this team knows what Joakim can do and we just look forward to getting him back on the court."
A subdued Noah, who is averaging 4.2 points and 3.1 rebounds in 12.3 minutes, sat at his locker before Sunday's game.
"They just told me what I did was unacceptable and I'm just going to move on from here," Noah said. "I've just got to accept it. What do you want me to say? I've just got to move on. There's nothing I can do about it."
When asked if he believes the two-game suspension is too severe, Noah said "Ask the players who made the decision. I don't know. ... Do I agree with it? It doesn't make a difference. I respect my teammates."
Boylan, promoted to head coach on Dec. 27 after Scott Skiles was fired, said the suspension resulted from more than one incident.
Boylan called Noah "a great kid," but noted he's been involved in "a couple of situations where he's been late or not doing what the Chicago Bulls do. So the cumulative aspect of this is definitely part of the reasoning for the players doing what they did."
"This isn't college anymore," Boylan said. "It's the NBA. This is professional sports."
He said the team felt Noah needed to sit another game.
"They felt it deserved more," Boylan said. "It was the entire team that felt that way, so I back my team and the decision that they made, and appreciate the leadership that they've shown."
Atlanta rookie Al Horford, who played with Noah at Florida, called the ninth pick in the draft "very emotional" and "very competitive."
"I just feel it's a learning experience for everyone in general," Horford said. "If you cross a line in something like that, there's consequences to it. ... He wants to win really bad. I think people will figure him out as time goes on."
Sunday, January 13, 2008
New England 31, Jacksonville 20
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) -- Tom Brady set another record and thinks he deserves one more award.
The dimple-chinned quarterback with the winning smile took the snap -- after faking as if the ball had gone directly to running back Kevin Faulk -- and threw the go-ahead touchdown pass in the New England Patriots' 31-20 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday night.
It was just one of his 26 completions in 28 attempts, an NFL record 92.9 percent for regular-season and playoff games.
"I'm looking for my Academy Award on that play," said Brady, already named the MVP and offensive player of the year. "They bit on the run pretty good."
Brady caught the snap, jumped with his empty right hand raised high, then shifted the ball from his left hand and threw a 6-yard scoring pass to Wes Welker that gave the Patriots a 21-14 lead six minutes into the third quarter.
By the time it was over, they had advanced to the AFC championship game for the second straight year and remained perfect at 17-0, matching the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the only team to go unbeaten from the first game of the season through the Super Bowl.
The old NFL accuracy record was 91.3 percent (21-of-23) set by Vinny Testaverde with Cleveland in 1993. The old playoff record was 88 percent set by Phil Simms in the Super Bowl after the 1986 season. Simms watched Brady best his mark from the broadcast booth.
Add that to Brady's record of 50 touchdown passes, one more than Peyton Manning threw in 2004, and it's been a spectacular season for the two-time Super Bowl MVP.
Then, forget about it.
"The thing about it now is that none of it matters." Brady said. "For 17 games, it all comes down to this and we were here last year. I hope we perform better."
Last season, the Patriots lost to Indianapolis in the AFC title game, 38-34, after squandering an 18-point lead. They could meet again; New England will be host next Sunday at Gillette Stadium to the winner of Sunday's game between San Diego and Indianapolis.
The Patriots beat both this season and coach Bill Belichick said he has no preference.
AP - Jan 13, 12:11 am ESTMore Photos"We don't have any control over it," he said.
It seemed the Jaguars (12-6) had that same problem when it came to stopping Brady, who had just two completions longer than 14 yards.
"It was a dump-down game," Jaguars rookie safety Reggie Nelson sniffed. "Anybody can go 26-of-28 in a dump-down game."
Nobody ever has, and Brady did it mostly without Randy Moss, who had only one catch against double- and triple-coverage.
"They went back to the old way of covering me," Moss said. "We win as a team. I've never been a greedy guy. I'm not going to start now."
Brady hit all the other receivers -- throwing for three touchdowns and 262 yards.
"When they're open like that, it's my job to hit them," he said. "They were open every time, so it's easy to play quarterback."
And he was sacked just once, on the Patriots' first offensive play.
"You can't have a guy like Brady sitting back with time -- 5, 6 seconds -- to find a receiver because, believe me, he's going to find a receiver," Jaguars defensive end Paul Spicer said.
While Jacksonville's defense struggled to stop Brady and crew, New England's defense had no such problems against the Jaguars' one-two rushing punch of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew. The league's second-most productive duo during the regular season combined for just 66 yards.
AP - Jan 13, 12:10 am ESTMore PhotosIt was the Patriots who dominated on the ground as Laurence Maroney rushed for 122 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown.
Jacksonville became just another team that couldn't stop the Patriots, and they're not done yet.
"Brady's been great all year," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said. "He's as good as they come."
Brady completed his first 16 passes before the next one went off the hands of Benjamin Watson, who caught two others for touchdowns.
"You always think you should catch anything," Watson said. "Hey, my bad."
The next nine passes found their targets before one went right through Welker's hands with 6:46 left in the game.
One throw the Patriots didn't make may have helped the Jaguars take a 7-0 lead. David Garrard completed an 8-yard touchdown pass to Matt Jones on their first possession. He threw as he was going down while in the grasp of Mike Vrabel, and his knee might have touched the turf before he released the pass.
Belichick pulled the red challenge flag from his sock, but held on to it.
"It was just too late by the time we got a look at it," he said.
Brady tied it on the Patriots' first possession with a 3-yard scoring pass to Watson.
AP - Jan 13, 12:04 am ESTMore PhotosNew England capitalized on Garrard's fumble on Jacksonville's second possession when he was hit by Ty Warren and Vrabel recovered at the Jaguars 29. On the first play of the second quarter, Maroney ran in from the 1.
But Garrard, in just his second playoff game, kept matching the success of Brady, a two-time Super Bowl MVP. He completed 22 of 33 passes for 278 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
"They're explosive and they're efficient," Garrard said. "We felt we could fight fire with fire."
Garrard directed a 95-yard drive after Jones-Drew misplayed the kickoff and recovered at his own 5. With an excellent blend of passing and running, the Jaguars covered those 95 yards in 11 plays -- never even reaching a third down -- and tied it on Garrard's 6-yard pass to Ernest Wilford.
The Patriots then moved to the Jaguars 19, but a chop block against guard Stephen Neal set them back 15 yards and Stephen Gostkowski ended up missing a 35-yard field goal, leaving the score tied at 14 at halftime.
Then the Patriots went ahead on Brady's acting job and the Jaguars couldn't come back they way they did a week earlier when they beat Pittsburgh 31-29 on Josh Scobee's 25-yard field goal with 37 seconds left.
One of their last chances ended when Rodney Harrison intercepted Garrard's pass with 4:34 left. That gave Harrison four interceptions in his last four playoff games, tying Aenaes Williams' record for the NFL's longest playoff streak.
"Rodney's interception at the end sealed it," Brady said. "We really needed that play."
Notes
Gostkowski was 8-for-8 before missing his first field-goal attempt in his four playoff games. ... Welker, who tied for the NFL lead with 112 receptions, added a game-high nine for 54 yards. ... The Jaguars' streak of 11 games scoring at least 24 points ended.
(article by Yahoo)
The dimple-chinned quarterback with the winning smile took the snap -- after faking as if the ball had gone directly to running back Kevin Faulk -- and threw the go-ahead touchdown pass in the New England Patriots' 31-20 win over the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday night.
It was just one of his 26 completions in 28 attempts, an NFL record 92.9 percent for regular-season and playoff games.
"I'm looking for my Academy Award on that play," said Brady, already named the MVP and offensive player of the year. "They bit on the run pretty good."
Brady caught the snap, jumped with his empty right hand raised high, then shifted the ball from his left hand and threw a 6-yard scoring pass to Wes Welker that gave the Patriots a 21-14 lead six minutes into the third quarter.
By the time it was over, they had advanced to the AFC championship game for the second straight year and remained perfect at 17-0, matching the 1972 Miami Dolphins, the only team to go unbeaten from the first game of the season through the Super Bowl.
The old NFL accuracy record was 91.3 percent (21-of-23) set by Vinny Testaverde with Cleveland in 1993. The old playoff record was 88 percent set by Phil Simms in the Super Bowl after the 1986 season. Simms watched Brady best his mark from the broadcast booth.
Add that to Brady's record of 50 touchdown passes, one more than Peyton Manning threw in 2004, and it's been a spectacular season for the two-time Super Bowl MVP.
Then, forget about it.
"The thing about it now is that none of it matters." Brady said. "For 17 games, it all comes down to this and we were here last year. I hope we perform better."
Last season, the Patriots lost to Indianapolis in the AFC title game, 38-34, after squandering an 18-point lead. They could meet again; New England will be host next Sunday at Gillette Stadium to the winner of Sunday's game between San Diego and Indianapolis.
The Patriots beat both this season and coach Bill Belichick said he has no preference.
AP - Jan 13, 12:11 am ESTMore Photos"We don't have any control over it," he said.
It seemed the Jaguars (12-6) had that same problem when it came to stopping Brady, who had just two completions longer than 14 yards.
"It was a dump-down game," Jaguars rookie safety Reggie Nelson sniffed. "Anybody can go 26-of-28 in a dump-down game."
Nobody ever has, and Brady did it mostly without Randy Moss, who had only one catch against double- and triple-coverage.
"They went back to the old way of covering me," Moss said. "We win as a team. I've never been a greedy guy. I'm not going to start now."
Brady hit all the other receivers -- throwing for three touchdowns and 262 yards.
"When they're open like that, it's my job to hit them," he said. "They were open every time, so it's easy to play quarterback."
And he was sacked just once, on the Patriots' first offensive play.
"You can't have a guy like Brady sitting back with time -- 5, 6 seconds -- to find a receiver because, believe me, he's going to find a receiver," Jaguars defensive end Paul Spicer said.
While Jacksonville's defense struggled to stop Brady and crew, New England's defense had no such problems against the Jaguars' one-two rushing punch of Fred Taylor and Maurice Jones-Drew. The league's second-most productive duo during the regular season combined for just 66 yards.
AP - Jan 13, 12:10 am ESTMore PhotosIt was the Patriots who dominated on the ground as Laurence Maroney rushed for 122 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown.
Jacksonville became just another team that couldn't stop the Patriots, and they're not done yet.
"Brady's been great all year," Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio said. "He's as good as they come."
Brady completed his first 16 passes before the next one went off the hands of Benjamin Watson, who caught two others for touchdowns.
"You always think you should catch anything," Watson said. "Hey, my bad."
The next nine passes found their targets before one went right through Welker's hands with 6:46 left in the game.
One throw the Patriots didn't make may have helped the Jaguars take a 7-0 lead. David Garrard completed an 8-yard touchdown pass to Matt Jones on their first possession. He threw as he was going down while in the grasp of Mike Vrabel, and his knee might have touched the turf before he released the pass.
Belichick pulled the red challenge flag from his sock, but held on to it.
"It was just too late by the time we got a look at it," he said.
Brady tied it on the Patriots' first possession with a 3-yard scoring pass to Watson.
AP - Jan 13, 12:04 am ESTMore PhotosNew England capitalized on Garrard's fumble on Jacksonville's second possession when he was hit by Ty Warren and Vrabel recovered at the Jaguars 29. On the first play of the second quarter, Maroney ran in from the 1.
But Garrard, in just his second playoff game, kept matching the success of Brady, a two-time Super Bowl MVP. He completed 22 of 33 passes for 278 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
"They're explosive and they're efficient," Garrard said. "We felt we could fight fire with fire."
Garrard directed a 95-yard drive after Jones-Drew misplayed the kickoff and recovered at his own 5. With an excellent blend of passing and running, the Jaguars covered those 95 yards in 11 plays -- never even reaching a third down -- and tied it on Garrard's 6-yard pass to Ernest Wilford.
The Patriots then moved to the Jaguars 19, but a chop block against guard Stephen Neal set them back 15 yards and Stephen Gostkowski ended up missing a 35-yard field goal, leaving the score tied at 14 at halftime.
Then the Patriots went ahead on Brady's acting job and the Jaguars couldn't come back they way they did a week earlier when they beat Pittsburgh 31-29 on Josh Scobee's 25-yard field goal with 37 seconds left.
One of their last chances ended when Rodney Harrison intercepted Garrard's pass with 4:34 left. That gave Harrison four interceptions in his last four playoff games, tying Aenaes Williams' record for the NFL's longest playoff streak.
"Rodney's interception at the end sealed it," Brady said. "We really needed that play."
Notes
Gostkowski was 8-for-8 before missing his first field-goal attempt in his four playoff games. ... Welker, who tied for the NFL lead with 112 receptions, added a game-high nine for 54 yards. ... The Jaguars' streak of 11 games scoring at least 24 points ended.
(article by Yahoo)
Friday, January 4, 2008
Monthly Ticket Searches (December 2007)
The following are the top 5 ticket searches (PlatinumTickets.com) for the month of December 2007
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National Finals Rodeo Tickets
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Boston Red Sox Tickets
We provide tickets to all events throughout the country. We specialize in all major events.... NFR Tickets, NFL Tickets, Pacific Life Open Tennis Tickets and all concert tickets and theatre tickets
Weekly Ticket Searches (December 23-29)
The following are the top 5 ticket searches (PlatinumTickets.com) for the week of December 23-29, 2007
Pageant of the Masters Tickets
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We provide tickets to all events throughout the country. We specialize in all major events.... NFR Tickets, NFL Tickets, Pacific Life Open Tennis Tickets and all concert tickets and theatre tickets
Pageant of the Masters Tickets
New York Yankees Tickets
Boston Red Sox Tickets
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Aerosmith, Kid Rock to Rev Up Harley-Davidson Summer Event
Aerosmith and Kid Rock will headline the Harley Owners Group's (H.O.G.) 25th anniversary concert Aug. 28 at Miller Park, home of the Milwaukee Brewers. The concert caps the free, day-long Club H.O.G. 25th anniversary celebration that coincides with Harley-Davidson's 105th Anniversary events during Labor Day weekend in Milwaukee.
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