Tis the season to watch bowl games. So if anyone is dubbing the Panthers-Falcons matchup for the NFC South title the Garbage Bowl, well, let them — while also remembering the winner will make the playoffs.And host a wild-card round game.Yes, this years NFC South might be the worst division in league history, which will mean nothing to Carolina (6-8-1) or Atlanta (6-9), whichever advances.We never lost sight of the goal, said linebacker Thomas Davis, whose Panthers have won three in a row. And here we are in the last game of the season with a chance to do that. Throw out the record. Throw out what has happened this season. We have a chance to do something special, something that hasnt been done.The other two showdowns for division titles Sunday have a lot more cachet: the Lions and Packers at Lambeau Field for the NFC North, then the Bengals at Pittsburgh for the AFC North in the prime-time game to finish off the schedule.Carolina at AtlantaGiven that they already own a draw (against Cincinnati), the Panthers wouldnt mind another one; it will also give them the division. Only one team in a non-strike season has made the playoffs with a losing mark, Seattle in 2010.Carolina is trying to become the first repeat NFC South champion and under coach Ron Rivera, it has gone 14-3 in December games since 2011. Only New England (15-2) has a better record.Falcons receiver Julio Jones has 100 receptions, tops in the NFC, and also leads the conference with 1,535 yards receiving.We are treating it as a playoff game and thats what weve been doing these last couple of weeks, said Jones fellow wideout in Atlanta, Roddy White. We are treating every game with the utmost importance.Detroit (11-4) at Green Bay (11-4)Not only does a division crown come to the winner here, but a first-round playoff bye, perhaps even top seed in the NFC, depending on what Seattle and Arizona do.For Detroit to go into Lambeau Field and march off with a victory would be something different. The Lions have lost 23 straight in Wisconsin to the Packers, including a 1994 wild-card game. Detroit last beat Green Bay on the road on Dec. 15, 1991.The Packers are 7-0 in Green Bay, joining Denver and New England as the only unbeatens at home. Fast starts make all the difference: Green Bay is outscoring opponents 86-7 in the first quarter of the past six home games.Cincinnati (10-4-1) at Pittsburgh (10-5)Like the Lions and Packers, both of these teams are in.Pittsburgh might have an edge after scoring 25 fourth-quarter points at Cincinnati to win their first meeting. The Steelers have won three in a row.This could be a shootout considering how potent Pittsburghs offence has been behind Ben Roethlisberger, LeVeon Bell and Antonio Brown. Plus, the Bengals have unveiled a dynamic running game with rookie Jeremy Hill and Gio Bernard, and if A.J. Greens right arm is OK, he can be a game-buster. Green caught 11 passes for a career-high 224 yards in the first game against Pittsburgh.San Diego (9-6) at Kansas City (8-7)This is simple. And complex. Depends on who wins.If the Chargers do, they get the final AFC wild card. If Kansas City prevails, the Chiefs then need Baltimore and Houston to lose.San Diego is trying to replicate its strong finish of 2013, when it grabbed that wild-card slot by beating the Chiefs in the season finale.St. Louis (6-9) at Seattle (11-4)The Seahawks are looking every bit like defending Super Bowl champions, with a defence that is impenetrable and lots of big plays on offence by Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch.A victory earns Seattle home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs — and woe to the rest of the conference. But a loss could sink the Seahawks to a wild card.The Rams beat the Seahawks in October with the help of a punt return touchdown and a fourth-down conversion via a fake punt. But they also are headed for a losing record for the eighth straight season.Oakland (3-12) at Denver (11-4)Hardly dominant like they were in 2013, the Broncos could use a feel-good finish to the season. They have won six straight in the series and Peyton Manning has won his past eight meetings with Oakland. But hes had some struggles recently.A Denver win gives it a bye in the wild-card round.Oakland has gotten all of its wins under interim coach Tony Sparano after losing its first four under Dennis Allen.Arizona (11-4) at San Francisco (7-8)The end of Jim Harbaughs highly successful stint in San Francisco? Quite possibly.This is the first losing record for him after taking the 49ers to the NFC title game in all three previous seasons as coach. There was also the Super Bowl loss to the Ravens two seasons back.Arizona owns a playoff berth, wins the NFC West with a victory here and a loss by Seattle, but is starting rookie Logan Thomas at quarterback. Hes the fourth QB to start this year for the injury-ravaged Cardinals.Cleveland (7-8) at Baltimore (9-6)If San Diego loses and Baltimore wins, the Ravens make the post-season for the sixth time in John Harbaughs seven years as coach. But by blowing a lead to the Chargers on Nov. 30 in a one-point loss, the Ravens put themselves in this difficult spot.Cleveland concludes yet another non-playoff year with rookie Connor Shaw going at quarterback after injuries to Brian Hoyer and Johnny Manziel. The Browns bright outlook dimmed as they dropped their past four and five of six.Jacksonville (3-12) at Houston (8-7)The Texans are hanging in the AFC race, too, just one year after going 2-14. Doing so with an unstable QB situation and virtually no contributions from top overall draft pick Jadeveon Clowney pinpoints how important defensive end J.J. Watt has been in Houston.Houston must win and have Baltimore and San Diego lose to advance.Blake Bortles, the third overall pick in the draft, has thrown 17 picks, but he also has passed for 2,791 yards and needs 29 to pass Byron Leftwich for the franchise rookie record.Dallas (11-4) at Washington (4-11)The Cowboys probably are concentrating on playing next week, because they need a lot to happen to get a bye. Such as a victory and losses by Seattle and Arizona; a tie in Green Bay; or some other scenarios involving draws.Might be a good chance to get NFL rushing leader DeMarco Murray healed up from his hand injury.The Redskins actually beat Dallas earlier this year.Buffalo (8-7) at New England (12-3)Its not Bill Belichicks style to rest players even with nothing to gain. The AFC East champion Patriots own the conferences top spot and will have a first-round bye for the fifth consecutive year.The Bills can only imagine what one playoff berth, let alone a bye, feels like. They extended the leagues longest current post-season drought to 15 seasons, but have a shot at a winning record for the first time since 2004.Indianapolis (10-5) at Tennessee (2-13)Indy is locked in as the No. 4 seed in the AFC, but comes off a 42-7 whipping at the hands of Dallas and needs to show at least something in this one. The Colts have won six straight and 11 of 12 against the Titans. A loss Sunday would be very alarming considering Tennessee has dropped nine straight and is in the running for the top overall draft pick.New Orleans (6-9) at Tampa Bay (2-13)Tampa Bay is the other, uh, front-runner for selecting first in the draft and has lost five in a row.The Saints somehow flopped in their last five home games, so finishing off a distressing season on the road might be a good thing.Philadelphia (9-6) at New York Giants (6-9)After beating Dallas to take control of the NFC East on Thanksgiving Day, the Eagles lost three in a row to fall out of playoff contention. Meanwhile, the Giants have won their past three and the fervour for getting rid of Tom Coughlin as coach has pretty much subsided.Chicago (5-10) at Minnesota (6-9)The fervour for a new coach, GM and quarterback in Chicago has not died down. The Bears have not beaten a team with a winning record, and they go back to Jay Cutler at quarterback because Jimmy Clausen got concussed last week in his first start for them.Minnesota has showed progress, especially on defence, under first-year coach Mike Zimmer, although its also been a tumultuous season for the Vikings given the Adrian Peterson suspension.New York Jets (3-12) at Miami (8-7)Last season, these teams met in the finale and the Jets kept the Dolphins out of the playoffs while improving to .500. Now, it could be Rex Ryans final game as Jets coach.Miami coach Joe Philbin will be back; owner Stephen Ross said so last week.___AP NFL website:
www.pro32.ap.org and
www.twitter.com/AP_NFL . The German has taken the pole for three straight races -- winning the first two. Hes aiming for a third consecutive win at the Yeongam circuit and, most importantly, a fourth consecutive F1 championship. . On Saturday, the paths of Drew Tate and Kevin Glenn cross again as opposing quarterbacks.
http://www.officialcoyotesfanstore.com/ ... es-jersey/. Ozuna hit Reeds 2-2 pitch off the batters eye far above the 407-foot sign in straightaway centre. It was the fifth blown save in 25 tries for Reed (1-5) and the ninth home run the closer has allowed in 38 appearances. Nuno, acquired in the deal that sent Brandon McCarthy to the New York Yankees, gave up three hits, struck out a career-high seven and walked one in seven innings. .ca has you covered for whos in, whos out and what to expect from all 30 teams. . In fact, with a few improvements, this could very well be a decent team over the next few seasons. I will go into more detail when digging into the Canucks Off-Season Game Plan, which will be coming earlier this year since they are part of the non-playoff contingent, there are some reasons to think this is a favourable situation for President of Hockey Operations Trevor Linden and whomever he selects to be the new general manager. MIAMI -- Dwyane Wade has made his choice. Chris Bosh is still mulling his. Either way, free agency for the Miami Heat is shaping up as an absolute circus. Wade told the Heat on Saturday that he is opting out of the final two years and nearly $42 million in his contract, and will become a free agent on Tuesday -- the same decision that LeBron James revealed earlier in the week. Also Saturday, Udonis Haslem told the Heat that he will not pick up his $4.6 million option for next season. But Bosh is still weighing his options, agent Henry Thomas told The Associated Press, after a miscommunication earlier in the day suggested that the forward was already sold on the idea of opting out. "Chris has not decided yet," Thomas told AP early Saturday evening. Strange as it may sound, the decisions by James and now Wade and Haslem are considered good for the Heat, since those three moves alone free up about $45 million in what would have been salary Miami was committed to paying next season. If Bosh opts out, that figure goes to $66 million, and the idea of not having that locked into the books gives Miami tons of flexibility to lure their stars back into new deals -- plus have enough money left over to make additional roster upgrades. "Today we were notified of Dwyanes intention to opt-out of his contract and Udonis intention to not opt into his contract, making both players free agents," Heat President Pat Riley said. "Dwyane has been the cornerstone of our organization for over a decade, and we hope he remains a part of the Heat family for life. Udonis has been the heartbeat of this team for 11 years. He has sacrificed countless times to make this organization successful, and he is the epitome of what this organization stands for. "We look forward to meeting with Dwyane and Udonis and their agent in the coming days to discuss our future together." So now, all eyes turn to Bosh, who was part of the much-celebrated move Miami made four years ago to team up with James and Wade with the Heat. Theyve been together for four years, and have been to the NBA Finals in each, winning the title twice. "We want this to work out and I think well find a way to get it done," Bosh told The Associated Press shortly after the Heat fell in the NBA Finals earlier this month to the San Antonio Spurs. Haslem expressed the same sentiment.dddddddddddd "We all want the same thing around here," Haslem said at the end of the season. Regardless of what Bosh decides, midnight Tuesday -- the start of free agent frenzy -- will be busy for Miami. James and Wade could be wooed by plenty of suitors. James has already been mentioned as a target of the Los Angeles Clippers, the Chicago Bulls, the Houston Rockets -- and, of course, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the team for whom he spent his first seven seasons. But things are already looking good for Miami, which got the rights to former Connecticut guard Shabazz Napier on draft night -- and Napier just happened to be James favourite player in the draft. Wade, James and Bosh all had deals with an option to become free agents either this summer or next. Theres obviously no guarantee that all or any would return to the Heat now, but its also hard to envision all three going their separate ways after making four trips to the NBA Finals together and winning two championships. "Weve got a lot of room for flexibility," Riley said as the off-season was starting. "There is a tremendous amount of flexibility depending on what happens. Were ready. Now, do I feel any pressure? No, I dont. I dont feel any pressure at all. Im going to do the best job that I can do and we will all do the best job we can do. I dont think we have to recruit Chris and LeBron and Dwyane again. "Im not dropping championship rings on the table for those guys," Riley added, referring to his famous recruiting trick from 2010. "They can drop their own." Wade took a considerable amount of criticism this past season, first for missing 28 regular-season games -- largely because of what the Heat called a maintenance program for his long-problematic knees -- and then for struggling in the NBA Finals. Wade averaged 24.3 points in his first 11 seasons and is unquestionably the most accomplished player in Heat history, leading the franchises all-time lists in several categories. Riley calls Wade "an icon" and remains sold on his value to a championship team, though acknowledges that at 32 and with plenty of injuries in his past, some continued evolution to his game -- and perhaps his role -- could be needed. "He does have pain but he doesnt have the debilitating injury that could end his career," Riley said. ' ' '
