BOSTON -- Dwight Howard did enough at the foul line to help Houston hold on Monday night. Howard had 32 points and 10 rebounds, and the Rockets beat Boston 104-92 to send the skidding Celtics to their ninth consecutive defeat. The Celtics hacked Howard, a poor free throw shooter, over and over again in the fourth quarter and sent him to the line 14 times. The big man made six and finished 10 of 18 in all. "Weve got confidence in Dwight to make those free throws when they start doing that, so I thought it was a real good win for us," teammate Chandler Parsons said. "But it wasnt perfect." As they fouled Howard repeatedly, the Celtics trimmed a 19-point deficit to seven in the fourth period before going dry in the final minutes. "I said (on TV) just now, I would probably support a change in that, that wouldnt allow that, would call it intentional or whatever you want to call it, call it like it would be called in the last 2 minutes," Boston coach Brad Stevens said. "To his credit, he made one almost -- maybe every time up to the foul line." Jeremy Lin added 16 points and nine assists for Houston. James Harden scored 16 and Parsons added 14 after missing three games with a knee injury. Parsons is having a breakout season, averaging 17.5 points (on 51.7 per cent shooting) and 5.4 rebounds. He said his knee "was really good tonight. I thought it was going to be a lot more sore." Avery Bradley had 24 points for the Celtics, on their longest losing streak since dropping a franchise-record 18 straight games in 2007 -- the season before they traded for Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to join Paul Pierce as the Big Three. "Its hard to go through," Stevens said. "Its unenjoyable to go through. But that doesnt mean theres no growth." Houston outscored Boston 65-38 in the second and third quarters. Howard had 12 third-quarter points as the Rockets expanded a 52-43 halftime lead to 84-65 by the end of the period. Jerryd Bayless scored 15 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter and Brandon Bass finished with 14 for Boston. "(Bayless) gave us a chance, just as that whole second unit did," Stevens said. "Some of those guys havent played that much." But the Celtics were unable to complete the comeback and Houston held on. "We are getting a lot of experience on that, getting a lead and then giving it up," Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. "So we are getting better at that." Houston blew a 25-point lead against the Wizards before rallying to win Saturday. "It seemed we played with more poise in the fourth quarter than we did against Washington," Lin said. Bradley had 14 first-quarter points, including two 3-pointers, as the Celtics opened a 27-19 lead and held the Rockets to 29 per cent shooting. Houstons second unit made some quick inroads against Bostons reserves in the second quarter, led by forwards Omri Casspi (12 points) and Parsons. The Rockets starters re-entered with the score tied at 35 and took off on a 17-8 run to build a 52-43 halftime lead. Jordan Crawford had 13 points for Boston. NOTES: Stevens said there is "nothing concrete" on a return date for rehabbing All-Star guard Rajon Rondo, but allowed that it would be "sooner rather than later." Speculation has ranged from Friday against the Lakers to after the All-Star break. ... The Rockets welcomed Parsons back but are still missing centre Omer Asik (bruised thigh) and guard Patrick Beverley (broken hand). ... The Rockets lost their two previous visits to Boston. ... Bass was scratched from the starting lineup in favour of Jared Sullinger. . -- Downcast before the final game of what had been a difficult road trip, the Ottawa Senators found a way to dig out a little momentum in the desert before heading home. . Hollis-Jefferson went 5-for-6 from the field and added six rebounds, while Stanley Jefferson contributed 14 points for the Wildcats, who used their trademark tough defense to dominate the games final 24 minutes and advance to Tuesdays winners bracket matchup with Kansas State.
http://www.officialknicksfanstore.com/k ... ks-jersey/. He was with the New York Jets in 2011 when the NFL locked out their players after they failed to agree on a new contract. Willy went undrafted but was given a look by four NFL teams before heading north. . At times during a solid but not spectacular season, they looked all three. Still the defending AFC champions persevered, riding their top-ranked defence and key contributions from younger players to a 12-4 record and their eighth playoff appearance since 2000, remarkable consistency in a league where change is the only constant. . The NFL announced Friday that the Texans sixth-year veteran offensive lineman will replace Philadelphia Eagles tackle Jason Peters in the Jan.It is the early 90s and a winter night in Chicago. Michael Jordan is at the free throw line. He is in the prime of his career yet with no one in front of him the greatest shooter in the history of man misses. Bounce, bounce, clank. He would go on to miss 1,444 other free throws throughout his magnificent NBA career. No one is perfect. Not even his Airness. It is now the final month of 2014. Soccer’s governing body have informed us that three men have been nominated for their illustrious individual honour, the Ballon d’Or. Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Manuel Neuer. Messi and Ronaldo are on the three-man ballot for a fourth successive year. That is no surprise. The third name, however, certainly raises eyebrows. Not because he is German, after all it was clear many wanted a World Cup winner on the ballot, particularly after all the moaning and campaigning coming out of the mouth of UEFA President Michel Platini in recent weeks. The surprise comes from the fact Neuer is a goalkeeper. There is little doubt that the Bayern Munich stopper is the greatest at his position in the world and during the summer spectacle in Brazil his name got more press when he in particular performed brilliantly in the game against Algeria, allowing his backline to play higher up the pitch and effectively played as a sweeper at the edge of his box. It was the kind of performance that a whole chapter of a book on the position needed and the 28-year-old is certainly the poster child for a whole new crop of goalkeepers who are technically superior to most of those who played the previous generation. Neuer is the best goalkeeper on the best national team and arguably the best club team in the world. There are plenty of reasons to explain why he is great at what he does and how he deserves the credit. Giving him the Ballon d’Or is not one of them. Platini will have slept soundly in his bed after finding out who the nominees were but the inclusion of Neuer on the ballot just puts a massive exclamation mark on the argument against a German coming in the top three, no matter which position. Germany was a marvelous team in Brazil. They peaked at the right time, overcame obstacles that came their way, had a proven international goalscorer up front, a star man out wide (when not asked to play up front) who continued to score goals at the World Cup, a brilliant trio of central midfielders and some legitimate world class defenders. None of which were good enough to be classed as a top three player in the game in 2014 and that is fine; the sport is defined by collective balance, relationships on the field and combinations that tick, a true team game. The inclusion of Neuer will certainly satisfy Platini and his cronies while ensuring FIFA’s grandest stage of all does indeed get some kind of recognition but that should be all it does. Don’t bet on it. This is FIFA after all. They have opened up a window of opportunity for the contrarian and in a world where people are trying to stand out and be different expect the Neuer campaign to pick up significant steam. Votes, of course, have already been counted and the top three nominees are simply just the top three vote getters but it was no coincidence that Platini’s mouth was wide open throughout the voting process. Now the votes have been cast more people will speak out. It hasn’t even been a day since the announcement and the Internet is flooded with journalists claiming the goalkeeper should win the award. In an incredibly flawed voting process it is easy to point fingers at the national team captains’ picks and many over the years have been hilarious. I am still convinced Xavi got robbed of the award in 2010 because many people wrote Xabi Alonso by mistake. Coaches are not much better. Lastt year the Laos head coach didn’t bother putting Messi on his ballot (he wasn’t the only one) and instead picked Gareth Bale as the number one player in the world.dddddddddddd Last season, though, we should not forget that professional writers who are paid to cover this sport handed more first place votes to Franck Ribery than Ronaldo or Messi. And it wasn’t even close with the Frenchman getting 80 first place votes compared to Ronaldo’s 48 and Messi’s 31. Why? Many said it was because he was the best player on the best team who won the biggest prize of the year, the Champions League. Sound familiar? It is easy to push this entire debate aside and act like it doesn’t matter. I for one have written that in the past and continue to feel that way but it is not my opinion that matters and it is clear that clubs and players very much care about this individual award in a team sport. The more Platini talked last week the angrier Real Madrid got and in the end they were forced to issue a statement, one they will hope influenced some late voters. Firstly, we are surprised at the repeated comments regarding his [Platini’s] personal preferences over the choice of winner of the Ballon dOr, particularly given that he is the head of European footballs principal body, where our understanding is that the strictest impartiality should prevail. Secondly, the Ballon dOr is an individual rather than collective prize which is awarded annually to the best player in the world, and we believe that, in order to maintain its prestige, those who participate in the vote should take into account exclusively the individual professional achievements of the players. Finally, we believe that Cristiano Ronaldo has without doubt had his best ever professional year individually and he is deserving of the Ballon dOr. Without doubt. Two words placed inside a 120-word statement that are so poignant. Ronaldo has had some incredible years as a professional but it is this year that his club believes has been his best by some margin. It is easy to say they would say that, but it is far harder to argue against their case. We are in an era where we are all so fortunate to be able to watch closely two of the greatest players in the history of the game. Messi has won this award four times now but it is the two-time winner Ronaldo who has been marginally the better player for the best part of three years. He should have won it in 2012, he did win it in 2013 and he should win it again in 2014. He and Messi are once in a lifetime talents, only this generation has been gifted with two of them at the same time. Golf waited years for a Tiger Woods and may never fill the void once he has gone, and the NBA will never see anyone come close to another Michael Jordan. In a sport played by millions there is a pantheon of current players gathered in the penthouse and only two men should be allowed in. The fact that one is slightly better than the other for a certain year speaks to just how incredible their performances are every single week. If the FIFA Ballon d’Or really needs to be significant amongst those in the game the very least we need to ensure it does is tell the story to those who will follow us on this earth about just how good these two footballers were. What are we doing if we pass the story on to the future that someone else, who played as a goalkeeper, was the best footballer on the planet in 2014? It shouldn’t be that difficult. Those who have been given a vote by FIFA stand on the free throw line and it should be as easy as bounce, bounce, swish. But don’t count on it. Even the greatest missed sometimes. And if these guys miss on this, they’ll never fully appreciate true greatness delivered to us every week by two very special footballers. ' ' '
