GLENDALE, Ariz.
Andrew Luck Youth Jersey . - J.J. Watt danced, Jimmy Graham dunked, Odell Beckham Jr. dazzled.The Pro Bowl in the desert was all about having a good time.Few moved very fast, no one flattened a quarterback and there were no bone-jarring hits in the gentle, friendly version of football played Sunday.Even in a game dominated by offence, Watt was the star.The Texans defensive end intercepted pass, recovered a fumble and led the crowd in dances during commercial breaks.Team Irvin defeated 32-28 Watts Team Carter, but the score doesnt matter in the NFLs all-star game. Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, no one more so than Watt, moving to the music while the cheerleaders danced.I just tried to enjoy it, he said. Thats what the Pro Bowl is all about, giving the fans a good show. Everybody worked so hard to get here, you want to enjoy yourself and play some good ball. Guys are dancing around and having a good time, thats what its all about.In its one year out of Hawaii, the game drew a sellout crowd of 63,225.Memorable moments came from Graham, the Saints tight end who dunked over the crossbar twice after TD catches — this time with no penalty, and Giants rookie Beckham, who made a diving grab at midfield.Grahams second touchdown, on a 1-yard, fourth-down pass from Matt Ryan, was the winning TD with 3:10 to play.Greg Olsen and Emmanuel Sanders also caught a pair of touchdown passes apiece. Andrew Luck was nearly perfect in his short time on the field, completing 9 of 10 for 119 yards and two scores. Matthew Stafford threw for 316 yards and two TDs and was the offensive MVP.The Pro Bowl took a one-year hiatus from Hawaii to be played in the desert a week before the Super Bowl. The big crowd watched the teams moved up and down the field, often without much resistance.You dont have hardly any time to get timing down or anything else, New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees said. So much of what youre doing out there is street ball. If the players missed the beach, they wouldnt let on.Its been fantastic, Dallas quarterback Tony Romo said. The turnout here at the stadium is just like an NFL game.Romo knew this wasnt a real NFL game.The difference between Hawaii and Arizona?More fans, Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson said. I believe it gives the fans an opportunity — its a little bit more inexpensive trip versus going across the water. So I think its definitely getting more fans engaged in the game.Its a blast, Stafford said. To able to play with the best in the world is a whole lot of fun, and everybody is such good people, too. I am out here having a good time.The NFL scrapped the AFC vs. NFC format last year in favour of having two big-name former players draft players four days before the game. This year, the honour went to Michael Irvin and Cris Carter.There were teammates playing against teammates.When Green Bays Jordy Nelson made a pretty fingertip touchdown catch from Brees for Team Carter. He celebrated with his Packers teammate Clay Matthews, who was playing for the other team.Beckham dove to the ground and gathered in Staffords long pass just as the ball was about to hit the ground. When Graham caught a six-yard touchdown pass from Stafford, he soared to dunk the ball over crossbar. The New Orleans tight end was fined $30,000 when he did that twice, and was penalized both times, in a preseason game. There was no penalty on Sunday.I really wanted to catch one here because this is I guess the only place I can dunk without a flag, Graham said. But you know, the league called down and told me not to hang on it, so I didnt.The goal posts were narrowed to from 18.6 feet to 14 feet on all kicks, not just PATs as had been previously announced. The PATs also were moved back to make it a 33-yard kick.The skinny posts claimed an unlikely victim when Adam Vinatieri missed two PATs. The 42-year-old Colts kicker hasnt missed an extra point in real games in five years. He also missed a 38-yard field goal.Another rule was no blitzing. Denvers Von Miller violated that one and, on the next play after the unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, Luck threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to his Indianapolis teammate T.Y. Hilton.Its very special, the chemistry that we have, Hilton said.Winners got what amounts to pocket change for them — $55,000 apiece, losers $28,000.___AP NFL website:
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Marshall Faulk Colts Jersey . Toronto has lost six of its last eight games but is coming off Thursdays 7-3 victory at Kansas City. Juan Francisco and Colby Rasmus both went deep for the Blue Jays, who are second in the American League with 34 home runs on the season.Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - Theres still too much time left in the 2014-15 campaign to officially call the Minnesota Wilds season a disaster, but its certainly heading in that direction. On Wednesday, all the frustration over his teams lackluster play finally sent head coach Mike Yeo over the edge and its difficult to blame him. Yeo stopped practice and laid into his club for not showing up with the right attitude for a team that has lost eight of its last 10 games and is fading fast in the Western Conference playoff picture. In case you havent seen it, theres video of Yeos tirade here (with the numerous expletives bleeped out, of course):
http://tinyurl.com/obthdhn Clearly, Yeos actions are those of a man who knows hes fighting for his job, and its tearing him apart to see his players arent battling right along with him. Were not in a position where we can come in and be, let alone decent in practice, bad at practice. Im not going to accept that, Yeo offered in defense of his meltdown. Although the passion is real, there may have been a bit of calculation behind Yeos harangue because it comes at a time when it would be easy for Minnesota to feel sorry for itself. The coach knows if the Wild go down the road of self pity they are already lost and, in all likelihood, so is his job. But there may be an even more poignant (and less self-centered) reason for Yeos frustration, and it has to do with the off-ice tragedy that has beset his two best players. One couldnt blame Yeo for being pushed to the limit by watching what his star players Zach Parise and Ryan Suter have gone through this season on personal levels. Of all the Wild players, Parise and Suter are the guys who have real reasons to feel sorry for themselves, as both players lost their fathers over the last several months. Suters father, Bob, a member of the Miracle on Ice team, died suddenly of a heart attack shortly before the season. Parise, meanwhile, watched his father -- former NHLer and longtime Minnesota North Stars forward J.P. Parise -- battle lung cancer over the last several months before he passed away Wednesday night at the age of 73. Yeo and the Wild had been doing everythiing in their power to allow Parise to be with his family during this tragedy.
Ben Banogu Colts Jersey. He was allowed to skip practices when needed and Parise recently said Yeo had basically been telling him to just show up for games. Yet, through it all Parise showed more personal accountability for his teams struggles than anybody else. So, to see the rest of the team sleepwalk through practice Wednesday while Parise was spending the last few hours he would ever have with his father, could have added to Yeos frustration. To hear the coach explain it, hockey should serve as an escape for Parise and Suter but there has been little solace to be found at Xcel Energy Center. I have so much respect for the way hes coming to the rink and everything hes trying to put in to help our group, Yeo told the media Tuesday about Parise. Whats disappointing for me, right now theres more stress here. Hockey teams are supposed to be like families in that they support each other the most in times of great distress. To see his players not give maximum effort at practice during extremely difficult times for their teammates is nothing short of disrespectful. Its disrespectful not only to Parise and Suter, but also to their families and the memories of both Bob Suter and J.P. Parise. And if the Wild cant rally around two of their best players at times like these, its be easy to see how Yeo could reach the level of frustration he showed on Wednesday. But, the good news beneath it all is there is still plenty of time for redemption. Including Thursdays home game against Chicago, the Wild have 44 games left in the regular season to put the disappointment of the last several months behind them. The first step for the Wild should be playing like their hair is on fire tonight against the Blackhawks. After all, leaving it all out on the ice is a great way to show Parise they care and are thinking about him during such a difficult time for his family. Its a cliche, but sometimes its true that it only takes one game to turn things around. And if Yeos tirade and Parises tragedy arent enough to shake the Wild out of their slumber soon, it may already be too late to save their season. ' ' '
