PITTSBURGH, Pa. - Ramon Foster never stopped believing. Not after the embarrassing meltdown against Tampa Bay. Not after the debacle in Cleveland. Not after the New York Jets pushed the Pittsburgh Steelers around six weeks ago.The Steelers were a playoff team. Foster was sure of it. The self-assured guard figured it would simply take a little time for things to come together, particularly on a roster thats undergone a sizable makeover since its last post-season appearance in 2011.Ive said it since the beginning of camp, we have the tools capable of doing it, Foster said. It starts up front with the O-line and D-line. We have a quarterback. We have a running back. We have receivers. We have a defence that is getting hot.So hot that Foster sees no problem with taking the feeling he had since camp opened in July a step further.A lot of press look at me weird when I say it, but I think were a team thats capable of playing in Arizona, Foster said.Thats Arizona as in the host of the Super Bowl.Foster wasnt bragging or making a prediction, necessarily, but giving voice to a confidence that has slowly been building throughout the fall. Pittsburghs momentum crested in Sundays 20-12 win over Kansas City that secured a playoff spot and set up a showdown with Cincinnati this weekend for the AFC North title and the home playoff game that goes along with it.While quarterback Ben Roethlisberger stresses the Steelers (10-5) remain a work in progress, they also look less uneven than the group that slouched through a 3-3 start. Pittsburgh is 7-2 since getting crushed by the Browns on Oct. 12. Roethlisberger is in the midst of the finest season of his career. Antonio Brown is obliterating every significant team single-season receiving record and LeVeon Bell is entering the conversation as the most versatile running back in the league.Heck, even the defence has shown up. That really was 36-year-old James Harrison spending a good portion of Sunday afternoon in the Kansas City backfield. The team that gave up big plays with alarming regularity earlier in the year kept the Chiefs out of the end zone. Pittsburgh is no longer just jumping to the lead, the Steelers are keeping it.Pittsburgh has trailed for only 5 minutes since a 25-point fourth quarter outburst against Cincinnati on Dec. 7. The finishing instinct the Steelers lacked during treadmill-spinning 8-8 seasons in 2012 and 2013 has suddenly reappeared. In each of the last two weeks, the Steelers have held the ball early in the fourth quarter nursing a one-score lead. Twice they responded with lengthy scoring drives that sealed the outcome.We knew we had the talent, and that it was just a case of us being consistent and putting it together, Bell said. It might not have looked like we were making progress, but we knew that if we kept doing what we were supposed to be doing, wed be alright.The Steelers certainly look like it. The impact plays against the Chiefs were made by franchise fixtures who multiple Super Bowl rings at home like Roethlisberger and Harrison to newcomers like Bell and rookie defensive tackle Stephon Tuitt who are in the midst of a playoff push for the first time.Pittsburgh doesnt have the swagger that accompanied the franchise during its dominant run from 2005-10 where it won two Vince Lombardi trophies and played for a third. Thats fine by coach Mike Tomlin, who would prefer his team get by on its play, not its reputation. The Steelers have spent the last four months bucking tradition, riding one of the NFLs most potent offences back to prominence and sticking with a youthful core that is growing up in front of its coachs eyes.Same guys, but theyve matured through the process, Tomlin said. That maturation process is sometimes not easy.But its effective. The growing pains of September and October — and 2012 and 2013 for that matter — are now firmly in the rearview mirror. Following a two-year absence, the Steelers are back in the playoffs and have no plans on going home anytime soon.We had some up and downs but we just kept pounding the pavement and its been paying off for us, linebacker Lawrence Timmons said. Weve seen that if we believe, we can win. Weve just got to go do it.___AP NFL website:
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http://twitter.com/AP_NFL . Patrik Bartosak turned away 50-of-52 shots for the Rebels (28-26-4), who halted their losing streak at seven games. Trailing 2-1 after 40 minutes of play, Feser forced overtime with his second goal of the game at 5:35 of the third period. . - Maxence Parrot of Bromont, Que.
http://www.cheapgoldenknightsjerseysaut ... ula-jersey. According the CSNBayArea.com, the 31-year-old suffered an ACL injury in his right knee on Friday when he collided with Anaheims Emerson Etem during a pre-season game. . James Harden wasnt worried and told his coach as much. "He was fired up but I told him: Its OK. Were going to be all right," Harden said. And they were. Houston scored 17 straight points after that timeout, led by 10 from Harden, to take the lead and roll to an easy 129-106 win. . Louis Cardinals continued their offensive tear with a 9-5 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers in the opener of a four-game series.SASKATOON -- Kootenay Ice forward Tim Bozon was in critical condition Wednesday at the Royal University Hospital in Saskatoon with Neisseria meningitis. The Western Hockey League said public health officials were trying to ensure that anyone Bozon, 19, had contact with receives appropriate treatment. The Saskatoon Blades said players and team personnel were given antibiotics as a precaution. "(Public health) said the risk is minimal but were taking precautionary measures," Blades president Steve Hogel said. Meningitis, an inflammation of membranes around the brain and spinal cord, can be fatal if not treated quickly. Bozon, who was selected in the third round, 64 overall, by Montreal in the 2012 NHL draft, was admitted tto hospital March 1.dddddddddddd Kootenay beat Saskatoon 4-2 the night before. Bozon had a goal in the victory. His parents, Phillippe and Helen, have been at his bedside since they arrived in Saskatoon Sunday from their home in Switzerland. While there are several varieties of meningitis, the particular type Bozon has, Neisseria meningitis, is bacterial and more contagious. "The way bacterial meningitis spreads is through spit. You need to have very close contact or direct contact with the nose and throat secretions of the individual who became ill," said Dr. Shovita Padhi, deputy medical health officer for the Saskatoon Health Region. Bozon has 30 goals and 32 assists in 50 games this season with the Ice. ' ' '
