1. Chelsea Two second half goals pushed Chelsea to a 2-0 victory over Hull City. Chelsea earned a victory over Liverpool and a road draw against Arsenal during the holiday period. 2. Manchester City Goals by Edin Dzeko and Alvaro Negredo were enough to lead Manchester City to a 2-0 victory over Newcastle. City continues to be perfect at home and have won six straight in the league overall, starting with their 6-3 triumph over Arsenal on December 14th. 3. Arsenal Arsenal held on for a hard fought, 2-1 victory over Aston Villa. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain made his return to strengthen the ranks of the team that has won four straight league contests. 4. Liverpool Daniel Sturridge returned and Luis Suarez stayed in form as Liverpool out lasted Stoke 5-3. Two tough losses to City and Chelsea knocked Liverpool from their brief spell at the top of the table. 5. Everton Everton remain in hot pursuit of a place in Europe with a 2-0 victory over Norwich. Everton is unbeaten in three matches since a Boxing Day loss to Sunderland. 6. Tottenham Tottenham earned a 2-0, home victory over Crystal Palace thanks to goals from Christian Eriksen and the departing Jermain Defoe. 7. Manchester United Manchester United got back on the winning side with a 2-0 victory over Swansea City. Antonio Valencia and Danny Welbeck were both on target for United. 8. Newcastle United Aggrieved by a Cheick Tiote goal that was ruled out due to an offside, Newcastle fell 2-0 to Manchester City. 9. Southampton Adam Lallanas goal was enough to give Southampton a 1-0 victory over West Brom. 10. Hull City Hull City were thoroughly defeated at home 2-0 by a superior Chelsea side. 11. Swansea City Swansea City fell 2-0 to Manchester United despite holding a 61% possession advantage throughout the match. 12. West Bromwich Albion West Brom saw a four-match winning streak come to an end at the hands of a 1-0 loss to Southampton. 13. Aston Villa A late rally fell short as Aston Villa were defeated 2-1 by Arsenal. Villa defender Nathan Baker was stretchered off the field in the first half after being struck in the face with a shot. 14. Stoke City Stoke overturned a 2-0 deficit but fell in the end 5-3 at the hands of Liverpool. 15. Norwich City Norwich City slumped to a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Everton. 16. West Ham United Down a man, West Ham added an insurance marker to knock off Cardiff City 2-0. 17. Cardiff City Even a man advantage was not enough for Cardiff City to earn a result as they fell 2-0 at home to West Ham. 18. Sunderland Adam Johnson scored a hat-trick to lead Sunderland to a crucial 4-1 road victory over Fulham. 19. Fulham Fulham suffered a 4-1 home defeat at the hands of Sunderland despite controlling a majority of the play during the game. 20. Crystal Palace Crystal Palace fell 2-0 to Tottenham thanks in part to a wild penalty miss from Jason Puncheon that could have provided them the lead on eight minutes. . -- Southern Illinois coach Barry Hinson couldnt hear himself amid the roar in Koch Arena, so he kept stomping on the floor in a fruitless attempt to get his teams attention. . First-half goals by Will Bruin and Oscar Boniek Garcia sucked the life out of the Impact as the Houston Dynamo bounced them from Major League Soccers post-season with a 3-0 victory on Thursday.
http://www.authenticcheapjerseys.us/. The defending champions’ roller coaster season included trading offensive star Percy Harvin in the midst of the team’s 3-3 start. That move that reportedly irked several Seahawk players, but one management saw necessary to save the team’s chemistry. .One day after winning her record 63rd World Cup race, Vonn posted to her Facebook account Tuesday that she was happy Woods surprised her by coming to the race, and that she felt terrible that his tooth got knocked out. . -- Washington Redskins linebacker Brian Orakpo is going to the Pro Bowl as a replacement for San Francisco 49ers linebacker Ahmad Brooks.HOUSTON - Alfred Blue didnt spend any time feeling sorry for himself when he didnt hear his name called until the sixth round of this years NFL draft.Houstons rookie running back had long heard a familiar refrain from coaches that helped him navigate what would have been a disappointing time for many players.Coaches always told me, its not where you begin, its how it ends, Blue said.And in Houston he found a perfect example of that sentiment when he joined a backfield starring Arian Foster. Foster went undrafted out of Tennessee before signing as a free agent with the Texans and eventually developing into one of the NFLs best running backs.On Sunday when Foster was out with a groin injury, it was Blues chance to shine. The former LSU back took advantage of the opportunity, carrying a franchise-record 36 times and tying Houstons single-game rookie rushing record with 156 yards.He didnt allow himself to soak in the moment during the win over the Browns. He was too busy worrying about the next carry.I never during the game sat down and relaxed like: Wow, Im doing good, he said. Just keep your foot on the pedal. I knew I was running the ball hard and (I said) just keep doing what youre doing and running the ball hard.It was a culmination of years of hard work for Blue, who was likely headed for a higher draft position before tearing his ACL in the third week of the 2012 season. He spent months recovering and said he didnt really feel like himself again until midway through his senior season.It was very difficult. There are a lot of obstacles to overcome, Blue said. Youve got to get your confidence back. Youve got to train harder. Youre behind everybody, so really youre coming from the back of the line to get back to where you were.ddddddddddddWhen he was drafted by the Texans, Blue was determined to crack the 53-man roster and decided hed worry about everything else after that. He developed an immediate bond with Foster, watching him intently on the practice field and asking him for pointers off of it.He said the No. 1 thing Foster tried to drill into his head was the importance of being patient.When you do get carries you want to try to impress people so youre not really running with patience, Blue said. Youre just trying to get it done and make that big run to wow the coaches.It took a while, but Blue finally understood why Foster harped on that singular point.As the season went on, I kind of started to understand what Arian was saying, he said. You cant force it. Just be patient and that long ones going to come.Foster is listed as day to day this week, but even if he returns on Sunday, coach Bill OBrien said theyll use Blue, too. OBrien was asked if Blues performance on Sunday gave him confidence in the young running back. He insisted that he didnt need that game to feel that way about him.I have a lot of confidence in Alfred. I really do, OBrien said. If I didnt have confidence in Alfred, I wouldnt have played him against Cleveland. I would have played (Jonathan) Grimes more.And it isnt just OBrien who has noticed Blues work this season. Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis raved about him as the Bengals prepare to meet Houston on Sunday.He really did a great job of making a lot of yardage after contact last week, Lewis said. Hes an impressive player. Obviously going through the draft process ... we had evaluations of guys and thought he was a talented player.___Online:AP NFL website:
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