NEW YORK, N.Y. - The Patriots, Broncos and Colts can clinch their division titles this week.New England (10-3) hosts Miami (7-6) and will own the NFC East with a victory. The Patriots can earn an AFC first-round playoff bye if they win while Indianapolis, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati lose, or win and the Colts, Steelers and Broncos lose.Denver (10-3) gets the AFC West crown by beating San Diego. Indy (9-4) owns the AFC South by beating Houston this Sunday.New England can lose and get in as long as Buffalo, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Houston all lose, or Buffalo, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Kansas City and San Diego lose, or Buffalo, Houston, Kansas City, San Diego and Baltimore lose.The Broncos get a first-round playoff bye with a win and losses by the Colts and Steelers, or by the Colts and Bengals — provided Denver has a strength-of-victory tiebreaker over Pittsburgh.Denver also can get at least a wild card with a loss and defeats by Miami, Houston, Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, or Miami, Houston, Baltimore and Cleveland, or Miami, Houston and Baltimore, plus a Pittsburgh win.A Green Bay victory at Buffalo coupled with a loss by Dallas and the Packers (10-3) clinching strength-of-victory tiebreakers over the Cowboys earns the Pack a playoff spot.Finally, Arizona (10-3) cant clinch the NFC West, but it can get at least a wild card by winning and having Dallas-Philadelphia not end in a tie, or with a win and a Detroit loss plus the Cardinals earning the strength-of-victory tiebreaker, or a win, a Detroit loss and a Green Bay win.___AP NFL website:
www.pro32.ap.org and
www.twitter.com/AP_NFL . After missing 20 games as a rookie a year ago, Valanciunas - like the Raptors as a whole - has been fortunate to be in good health this season. As he spoke about it, the Raptors sophomore centre scanned the room for wood to knock on. "It is disappointing because we lost today so thats the worst part of the day," said Valanciunas, who left Tuesdays game with a lower-back sprain in the third quarter, missing the rest of Torontos 118-113 overtime defeat at the hands of the Hawks. . PAUL, Minn.
http://www.cheapnetsjerseysauthentic.com/. An unconventional night for Texas-El Paso nearly led to the Miners getting a huge upset. Down by 14 with 2:21 left, the Miners went on a frantic closing spurt that fell just short, and UTEP was beaten by No. . They actually finished with a better record in ‘07 than they did in ‘06 but only marginally, going from 61 victories to 66. . Marek Hamsik, who had earlier missed a penalty, headed Napoli in front in the 23rd minute and Pandev added a second goal five minutes from halftime. Alessandro Matri got Juventus back into the game just after the break but Pandev was on hand to score again in the 68th.CLEVELAND -- New Cleveland Browns coach Mike Pettine has his play caller. Kyle Shanahan was hired as offensive co-ordinator Monday after spending the previous four years in the same role with the Washington Redskins. Pettine, hired Jan. 23 to replace Rob Chudzinski, is in his first job as an NFL head coach. His experience is as a defensive assistant, so he will rely heavily on Shanahan, whos been a co-ordinator for the last six seasons and has 10 years as an NFL assistant. An experienced co-ordinator is crucial as Cleveland tries to turn around its fortunes. The Browns, who had four offensive players in the Pro Bowl, are expected to select a quarterback early in Mays draft and Shanahan will have a hand in his development. Shanahan, 34, got his first job as a co-ordinator in 2008 when he was hired by Houston at 28 years old. After two seasons there, he joined his father, Mike, head coach of the Washington Redskins. Both Shanahans spent four seasons with Washington before being fired Dec. 30 after a 3-13 season. They also clashed with quarterback Robert Griffin III. But Kyle Shanahan brings a strong resume to the Browns. His offences have ranked in the top 10 in the NFL in yardage four of his six seasons as a co-ordinator, includinng the last two in Washington.dddddddddddd Shanahan ran a version of the West Coast Offense, incorporating the pistol formation and read option, and the Redskins in 2012 became the first team in NFL history to pass for 3,400 yards and rush for 2,700. They led the league in yards per play (6.17), won the rushing title and Griffin set league rookie records for passer rating (102.4), interception percentage (1.27) and rushing yards by a quarterback (815). The record slipped in 2013, but the Redskins ranked ninth in total yards per game (369.7) and fifth in rushing (135.3). Receiver Pierre Garcon set a franchise record and led the NFL with 113 receptions. The Browns interviewed Raiders quarterbacks coach John DeFilippo on Thursday. Shanahan replaces veteran co-ordinator and three-time head coach Norv Turner. The Browns allowed him to explore other jobs after Chudzinski was fired, and Turner was hired as co-ordinator by new Vikings coach Mike Zimmer. The Cleveland offence ranked 27th in scoring (19.3 points per game), 18th in total yardage (338.9), 11th passing (252.5) and tied for 27th rushing (86.4). Last week, Pettine hired Jim ONeil as defensive co-ordinator and retained special teams co-ordinator Chris Tabor. ' ' '
