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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (UGG Boots )—Until now, it was like one of those little family secrets that everybody knows about but no one brings up.

Might be embarrassing. People wouldn’t understand. Doesn’t matter anyway, so why say anything?

But then a disgruntled Kansas City running back got on Twitter and blindsided his boss squarely on the rawest of nerves, calling him out on a point he sort of hoped would be ignored.

The Chiefs’ Todd Haley, for reasons that were not entirely his fault, never actually played the sport that now employs him as a head coach in the National Football League.
An NFL head coach who did not play football? Who hasn’t run a route, made a tackle or thrown a block at any level?

At least Haley, 42, is unique. He is the only head coach in the league who never played at least in high school.

Many of the top coaches did not have distinguished careers as players. But only Haley’s playing resume is bare. Does it matter?

“Unfortunately, some NFL players will look at their coach and if he’s not in that fraternity of ex-players, sometimes they might let it affect the way they look at him,” said Tim Grunhard, a former Chiefs center who coaches at a large area high school. “I think that’s a big mistake. A lot of outstanding NFL coaches never played much at all. From UGG 5815 everything I’ve seen of Todd Haley, he’s going to be a great head coach.”

Running back Larry Johnson(notes), who has a troubled history, got the controversy started when he posted a Twitter feed, littered with misspellings, following last Sunday’s 37-7 loss to San Diego:

“My father played for the coach from “rememeber the titans. Our coach played golf. My father played for redskins briefley. Our coach. Nuthn. my father got more creditentials than most of these pro coaches…..google my father!!!!!!!”

He went on to make a gay slur, then got himself in even deeper trouble by repeating it the next day. An apologetic Johnson is now appealing a two-week suspension that could cost him more than $600,000.

But Haley was left standing in front of microphones and television cameras, forced to talk about something some fans find especially disturbing because the Chiefs, in his first year as a head coach, are 1-6 heading in their bye.

Of course, they were only 2-14 last year under Herm Edwards, a star cornerback for the Philadelphia Eagles in the Super Bowl.

Quietly and with a sense of dignity and humility, Haley defended himself.

“I’m very proud of what I’ve done to get to where I am,” UGG 5819 he said. “I’m very proud of my results as a position coach, as a coordinator. Right now, am I proud of my head coaching record? No. But I intend to do everything I can to change that.”

For Haley to be taking these hits seems profoundly ironic because he grew up a football gym rat, immersed in the sport like few kids ever were. His father, Dick Haley, has been renowned for decades as one of the NFL’s top personnel men. While Dick Haley was helping build the Pittsburgh dynasty of the 1970s, Todd would spend summers at Steelers training camp. He roomed next to Terry Bradshaw, ran errands for Franco Harris and Jack Lambert, and drank it all in.

In countless quiet hours with the lights in the house turned down, Todd sat there while his dad broke down film of college and pro players. The elder Haley would point out subtle nuances, things that only an expert eye would see, teaching his son, in the words of Chiefs general manager Scott Pioli, “the difference between good and great.”

When August would roll around and Todd’s buddies were starting high school football practice, Dick Haley would pack up everyone and turn three-week scouting trips into a family vacation. He was on the road so much during the school year, he wanted to grab all the quality family time he could.

“Todd was into football always. The way we lived, it was different, that’s all,” Dick Haley told The Associated Press. “I thought it was more important to come with me than to stay at home and go to high school football practice. And he would be in training camp with me before that. Whether that’s right or wrong, that’s what I thought. That was me dictating. When you’re 14 or 15 years old, you’re going to do what your folks tell you.”

Plus, the athletic youngster had fallen in love with golf, and was good enough to play at Miami and Florida in college.

“Todd was 6-2, about 210 pounds. Certainly, he could have played football,” said his father.

For a while, the younger Haley coached golf. But in 1995, when he was 27, he took an entry-level job with the New York Jets as a scouting assistant and offensive assistant, and four years later was wide receivers coach under Bill Parcells.

Thus began a rapid rise through the ranks, culminating in last year’s Super Bowl, where he served the Arizona Cardinals in his second season as offensive coordinator.

When Pioli was hired by the Chiefs, he chose Haley to be the head coach to help him repair a damaged franchise that hasn’t won a postseason game since the 1993 season and won only six times in Edwards’ final two years.

It may be tough for the talent-starved 2009 Chiefs to win more than a few games. But if the Chiefs do start winning, suggested one former NFL star, Haley’s background will mean nothing.

“Players tend to look for excuses when they mess up,” said former Pro Bowl lineman Conrad Dobler. “If they’re losing, they might say, `This guy can’t possibly know how we feel.’

“But if they’re winning, it won’t matter if he never played before. Hell, it won’t matter if he never coached before. I doubt that Todd Haley could have worked UGG 5825 for Bill Parcells if he didn’t know what he was doing.”

None of the Chiefs players asked about their coach’s background said it mattered a bit.

“There’s not a man in this locker room who questions his qualifications,” said wide receiver Bobby Wade(notes).

Nevertheless, until his team finds success, it will probably remain a sensitive subject for the only NFL head coach who never played.

“I’m very proud of the route that I took to get to where I am right now,” Haley said. “I’m very proud to have grown up around, in my opinion, one of the best football people there is, and to be around the teams and players that I was around on a daily basis.

“I think I’ve earned what I’ve done in the NFL through hard work and through execution and results. If playing is a prerequisite for being a great coach, you can eliminate some names.”
 

ASHBURN, Va. (UGG Boots )—Having failed to assemble a winning football team, the Washington Redskins now have a split in viewpoint between the front office and the locker room.

While executives accent the positive, many players won’t play along. They know what a 2-5 record means.

They also remember last year: Add this season’s start to last year’s finish, and the Redskins are a 4-11 team since last Halloween.

“We definitely look at that,” said team captain and middle linebacker London Fletcher(notes). “Because it’s the first seven games of this season, but then when you add in the last eight games of last year, it’s basically been a year of struggles around here. We’ve struggled to score points, struggled to win football games. And it’s very frustrating, week in and week out. It’s like, ‘Man, when will this nightmare end, in a sense, for us?”’
Fletcher and his drained teammates needed a vacation like nobody’s business, and this week’s bye has been as much a welcome mental respite as a physical one. But when they return to work on Monday, the very real practical problems that doomed the first half of the season will still be there. No amount of pixie dust — or sage advice from unretired bingo UGG 5815 caller/consultant Sherm Lewis—can suddenly transform an offense that can’t score, especially now that the line is in disarray because of injuries.

“We felt pretty good about our roster coming in,” Fletcher said. “Obviously depth at some areas was an issue before the season, and it’s come up on us to where we’re faced with the reality that our expectations have changed.”

Running back Clinton Portis(notes) was more direct, implicating the front office’s failure to adequately upgrade the line as a top reason for the offense’s struggles.

“We went into the season, and we didn’t address that issue,” Portis said. “And it came back to haunt us.”

Not long after Portis uttered those words, a public relations official tried to cut short Portis’ chat with reporters. Portis laughed out loud and smiled a smile of incredulity at the move, a standard practice in the Redskins locker room.

Even coach Jim Zorn gets the quick hook, to the point that he now has less general media availability time during a regular week than any Redskins coach in decades.

One Redskins official who spoke at length this week was David Donovan, the team’s chief operating officer. He spent a spirited 25 minutes on 106.7 The Fan UGG 5819 criticizing The Washington Post for what he found to be negative coverage of the team. Donovan also stated there was “hardly an Eagles fan to be found” at the Monday night home game against Philadelphia, although a pregame stroll through the parking lot and a quick glance into the stands indicated otherwise.

Donovan also revealed that fans are now prohibited from carrying any kind of sign into the stadium. He said the ban was put into effect for fan security and comfort, although it has coincided with a stark increase of banners and signs critical of owner Dan Snyder and executive vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato.

Still, getting rid of negative signs won’t cause fan anger to disappear. The players certainly know that.

“We go out there and play hard and nothing really happens. We don’t get a spark. The fans are losing interest,” defensive tackle Albert Haynesworth(notes) said. “The more games we play, the fewer the fans come. It’s getting bad.”

Attendance was indeed notably sparse in quite a few sections in a UGG 5825 recent game against Kansas City. The stadium was close to full during the loss to the Eagles, but Monday night games against division rivals are always good draws.

Also speaking this week, holding his first in-person session with reporters since the regular season began, was Cerrato. The front office chief defended the roster he assembled and said it was one that could get to the team to the playoffs, even with the dicey depth along the offensive line.

To his credit, Cerrato didn’t try to paint a rosy picture, calling the 2-5 record “frustrating and disappointing” and adding: “We need to regroup during this bye and come out those last nine games and improve.”

Improvement might not translate into wins. After starting the season with one of the easiest schedules, the Redskins now must face Atlanta (4-2), Denver (6-0), Dallas (4-2), Philadelphia (4-2) and New Orleans (6-0) in a row. At this point, the Dec. 13 visit to Oakland might be the only game in which Washington will be favored for the rest of the season.

“You look your schedule and you feel pretty good about your matchups—if somebody told me maybe you’d be 5-2 right now, I probably would have expected it. Maybe 6-1,” Fletcher said. “We’re 2-5, and not playing well at all.”

NEW YORK (UGG Boots)—A.J. Burnett(notes) hardly got any attention. He just got the win.

Almost an afterthought in his matchup with colorful star Pedro Martinez(notes), Burnett challenged Philadelphia right from the start Thursday night and gave the New York Yankees the confident pitching performance they desperately needed.

Throwing first-pitch strikes to his first 11 batters, Burnett overpowered a dangerous Phillies lineup and led New York to a 3-1 victory that tied the World Series at one game apiece.

No longer will Burnett be considered the weak link in the Yankees’ rotation between CC Sabathia(notes) and Andy Pettitte(notes). The right-hander has his first win in four postseason starts—and this one was huge.
After losing with their ace, Sabathia, on the mound in Game 1, the Yankees turned to Burnett in a crucial situation. That left plenty of fans nervous— Burnett can be erratic, and he lacks a playoff pedigree.

But boy, did he deliver.

The hard-throwing Burnett struck out nine—fanning slugger UGG 5815 Ryan Howard(notes) three times—and walked only two in seven stellar innings. Outpitching a wily Martinez, he allowed four hits, including Matt Stairs’(notes) run-scoring single with two outs in the second.

Burnett recovered quickly, striking out Pedro Feliz(notes), and was in charge the rest of the way. After Carlos Ruiz’s(notes) fifth-inning double, he retired his final eight batters and handed the lead directly to closer Mariano Rivera(notes) for a six-out save.

Exactly what the Yankees were looking for.

Burnett signed an $82.5 million, five-year contract with New York as a free agent last winter and went 13-9 with a 4.04 ERA during the regular season, UGG 5825 leading the AL with 97 walks. Normally quiet, he began a ritual of pasting teammates in the face with whipped cream pies after walk-off wins.

Fans fell in love with the playful tradition, but they were waiting for Burnett to come through on the mound in October.

Admittedly antsy before big games, Burnett had a chance to clinch the AL championship series in Game 5 last week, but he gave up four runs in the first inning to Los Angeles. When the Yankees rallied to take the lead, Burnett failed to put away the Angels in the seventh. Pettitte finally ended the series in Game 6.

This time, Burnett quieted the Phillies all night.

After saying on Wednesday that he looked forward to his matchup with Martinez, Burnett was in control the whole way. When he fanned Howard with a breaking ball UGG 5819 in the third, stranding two runners, the pitcher pumped his fist as he walked off the mound.

By JOHN MILLER Associated Press Writer

BOISE, Idaho(UGG Boots )—Kristin Armstrong remembers standing outside her University of Idaho sorority in 1994, watching triathletes race past in a local competition. She’d been a high school swimmer, but biking and running, too?

“I thought, ‘What are those people doing? They’re nuts,”’ Armstrong said.

Armstrong soon turned herself into one of those triathlon “nuts,” finishing the 1999 Ironman in Hawaii. When her joints broke down due to osteoarthritis in 2000, she quit running to become the world’s fastest female cyclist.

Now, the 2008 Beijing Olympics time-trial gold medalist has retired from professional cycling after winning a world championship title last month. Rather than relax, however, the 36-year-old Armstrong is discovering she must reinvent herself yet again, this time by finding something she’s still passionate about as she exits the competitive spotlight.
“My world has been crazy,” she said, citing offers following her 55-second world championship win in Mendrisio, Switzerland, on Sept. 23. “Somebody came up and asked, ‘Have you ever thought about politics?”’

Armstrong, who also won the 2006 world championship time trial in Austria, figures she has two years to take advantage of endorsements that have accompanied the fleeting fame of being the best at a relatively obscure event: women’s road cycling.

United Dairymen of Idaho billboards across her home state show UGG 5815 her riding with a chocolate milk flame in her wake. She’s also working with the Idaho Potato Commission and doing anti-drug events with school kids.

Armstrong has hired a speaking coach, for motivational talks like Idaho’s 2010 commencement address. She’s planning cycling clinics and is even toying with the idea of a broadcasting career, like Bob Roll, a former U.S. professional bicycle racer who covers the Tour de France on cable television.

“If a woman can commentate in the NFL, why can’t a woman commentate for the Tour de France?” she said. “I have the medals. Now, I have to make that happen.”

Some athletes happily retire and spend their days hunting, fishing and doing the occasional trade show. Armstrong - young, strong, still motivated - hardly seems a candidate for the bass boat or sports sentimentality circuit.

Armstrong’s friend, Eric Heiden, a U.S. Olympic speed skater who won five gold medals at the 1980 Winter Olympics, said moving beyond competition can be difficult even for those who made the transition look effortless.

Heiden followed skating with professional cycling, when he raced in UGG 5819 the 1986 Tour de France; he’s now a surgeon in Park City, Utah, a job he said gives him some of the same thrill as skating around the Olympic oval or pedaling the French Alps with Greg Lemond.

But Heiden didn’t touch his racing bicycle for two years after retiring. The memories were too good - and too painful.

“You get addicted to that stuff in your sports, and all of a sudden, you don’t get that runner’s high anymore,” he said. “When you get out in the real world, you don’t get that same immediate response.”

Armstrong said winning the world championship in Mendrisio, Switzerland, a month ago helped erase the sting of finishing fifth at the 2008 worlds, after which she felt compelled to race another year. Now, she’s not entertaining the idea of a comeback.

“Don’t even put it in my head,” she said. “Really. I’m at peace.”

This winter, Armstrong said she’ll be skate skiing in the Idaho mountains. Her husband, Joe Savola, bought her a new mountain bike that her coaches forbid her to ride before the world championships; Armstrong said she might do a race or two UGG 5825 on the dirt.

Still, nobody should expect to see her on her road bike in local competitions. The idea of racing at anything but her best doesn’t work for her.

“My expectations would be too high,” Armstrong said. “I’d rather not face that.”

DALLAS (UGG Boots)—James Neal’s(notes) net-crashing habit paid off for the Dallas Stars.

Neal’s rebound with 2:03 left in overtime gave the Stars a 4-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday night.

Toronto rookie Jonas Gustavsson(notes) stopped Stephane Robidas’(notes) shot from long range, but Neal skated hard to the net to knock in the rebound for his seventh goal of the season and first of his career in overtime.

“It’s a huge goal for him,” Stars coach Marc Crawford said. “We had talked all game long about playing a young goaltender that … there are rebounds that will spray out. It took us all that time to get one and James was the benefactor by having a good habit and being in the right spot. When you do that, good things happen.”
The Stars ended a four-game stretch of overtime futility this season. Dallas lost three shootouts and once in overtime before earning the extra point against Toronto.

“Any tight game, obviously it’s still early in the season, but that’s the type of hockey you want to play in the playoffs,” Robidas said.

Brad Richards(notes) scored twice, Mike Ribeiro(notes) UGG 5815 added a goal, and Marty Turco(notes) made 33 saves for the Stars. Nikolai Kulemin(notes) had two goals for Toronto, Lee Stempniak(notes) struck on the power play, and Jason Blake(notes) had three assists.

Ribeiro’s deflection of Jamie Benn’s(notes) shot with 2:45 left in regulation tied it at 3, and the Stars went on to control play in the extra session.

“I thought the overtime was our best period for whatever reason,” Crawford said. “It looked like we had good command in our own zone, good control of the puck, and it looked like we had some sustainable pressure. Tonight we were able to persevere.”

The Maple Leafs lost their first eight games before beating Anaheim 6-3 on the road Monday night, but Toronto was unable to string together a second straight win.

“With 5 minutes left in (regulation) and up a goal, you have to find ways to close those games out,” Blake said. “It’s a tough one to take, giving up a late goal, but you learn from that and move forward.”

With the game tied at 2, Turco failed to control the rebound of Blake’s shot, and Kulemin fired the loose puck under Turco at 13:11 of the third period before Ribeiro’s tip-in tied it.

The Stars took advantage of a 5-on-3 to grab a 2-1 lead when Richards blasted a one-timer from the left circle past Gustavsson at 1:52 of the final UGG 5819 period.

Toronto converted on the power play at 7:42 of the third period to tie it at 2 on Stempniak’s one-timer from the left circle.

The Stars broke up a scoreless game at 15:13 of the second period, capitalizing on a fortunate bounce when Richards banked in a sharp-angled shot off the skate of Maple Leafs defenseman Ian White(notes). Toronto tied it at 1 at 17:00 of the second when Kulemin stuffed the rebound of his own shot past Turco.

NOTES: Crawford will coach his 1,000th NHL game Friday night against Florida, becoming the 15th to do so in league history. Scotty Bowman is the leader with 2,141 games over 30 seasons for five teams. … The Stars were among the teams in the running to sign Gustavsson, a Swedish free agent, in the offseason. … Dallas is 8-2-2 in the last 11 meetings with Toronto. …Stars C Steve Ott(notes) served the first game of a two-game suspension for a low hit on St. Louis’ Carlo Colaiacovo(notes) on Saturday night. … Toronto UGG 5825 is without Ds Mike Van Ryn(notes) (knee) and Jamie Heward(notes) (concussion). … Dallas LW Brenden Morrow(notes) had an assist for his 400th career point.

PITTSBURGH (UGG Boots )—Superstitious Sindey Crosby didn’t want to jinx his shot at a hat trick after his first two goals. Perhaps for the same reason, he isn’t willing to acknowledge he’s morphing into a top pure goal-scorer.

Crosby had his third career hat trick and the Pittsburgh Penguins became the first NHL team to reach 10 victories this season, snapping the Montreal Canadiens’ four-game winning streak with a 6-1 victory Wednesday night. A few hours later, Colorado also reached 10 wins, beating Calgary 3-2.

Crosby, tied for fourth in the NHL with nine goals, had his third multiple-goal game in 12 starts this season for Pittsburgh (10-2-0).

“When you get three goals in a game, that kind of changes the look of your (season) numbers early on,” said Crosby, who has 36 goals in his past 55 games (including the playoffs). “I’m trying to shoot the puck when I get chances and trying to not pass up good shots, but it’s just been a matter of the puck going in early on.”
Chris Kunitz(notes) also scored and assisted on all three of Crosby’s goals. Mike Rupp and Alex Goligoski(notes) added goals, and Bill Guerin(notes) had three assists.

Marc-Andre Fleury(notes) made 23 saves, allowing only Tomas Plekanec’s(notes) power-play goal.

With the victory, the defending Stanley Cup champions rebounded from a loss to New Jersey on Saturday night that snapped their seven-game winning streak.

Montreal’s Jaroslav Halak(notes) stopped 19 of 23 shots before he was pulled after the second period.

Crosby extended his point streak to five games, completing a hat trick UGG 5815 during the first 36 minutes, giving him nine goals in October for the first time in his career. Last season, Crosby’s ninth goal came a full month later on Nov. 28.

Crosby has averaged roughly twice as many assists as goals over the course of his career but is on a pace for 62 this season.

“He can score,” said linemate Guerin, who has 411 career goals. “He usually has a pass-first mentality, but with the positions that he put himself in during the game, he can score a lot of goals.”

Crosby’s third hat trick came three years to the day after his first, and all three of his goals Wednesday came at even strength. He scored 8:33 into the contest when he one-timed a slap shot off a pass from Guerin between the glove and left pad of Halak, who was diving to his left.

“We made mistakes,” said Montreal defenseman Hal Gill(notes), who won the Cup with the Penguins in June. “We had some turnovers and (Crosby) feeds off that. He waits for it and that’s when he capitalizes.”

Crosby made it 2-0 5 minutes into the second when he corralled the rebound of Kunitz’s shot while in the slot and, with his back to the net, flipped a backhander high into the corner of the net.

“If you give him a chance, he’s going to score,” Halak said.

The goal that brought the deluge of hats onto the ice came with 4:27 left in the second when Kunitz fed him all alone in front of Halak, who stopped his initial shot but the rebound ricocheted off Crosby’s skate.

The play was reviewed but officials ruled he did not use a distinct kicking motion so the goal stood, giving the Penguins a 4-0 lead and Crosby his first three-goal game since Nov. 29, 2008.

“I felt good. I felt like I was getting chances, but I try to not to think about (hat tricks) too much,” Crosby said. “You don’t want to jinx it or think about it. I just wanted to make sure I kept generating chances. When Billy and Kuny are fore-checking like they were, creating loose pucks and stealing pucks, I just try to get ready for those opportunities.”

Rupp’s third goal came 12:58 into the second, and Plekanec scored his third 5:39 into the third during a 5-on-3 situation, ruining Fleury’s shot at his first shutout of the season.

Kunitz had a power play goal with 3:29 left—his second goal in his past 42 games (including playoffs).

“If you get points, it makes you feel good,” Kunitz said, “but the other aspects of my game—going in and being the first on the puck and trying to do all the UGG 5819 small things I pride myself in… I’m not going to go up and score 40 or 50 (in a season), but if I get some breaks, hopefully this is the start of some good things.”

NOTES: Halak, purportedly Carey Price’s(notes) backup, started his fifth straight game. … Guerin has 820 points, seventh among U.S.-born players. … Goligoski has a six-game points streak. … Plekanec has at least a point in four straight. … Penguins RW Tyler Kennedy(notes) missed the game due to an undisclosed injury. … Including playoffs, UGG 5825 Mellon Arena was sold out for the 125th consecutive game, dating to late in the 2006-07 season.

PORTLAND, Ore. (UGG Boots )—Reserve Travis Outlaw(notes) scored 23 points and the Portland Trail Blazers beat the Houston Rockets 96-87 in the season opener Tuesday night.

Brandon Roy(notes) added 20 points and five assists for the UGG 5815 Blazers. Portland hit 20 of 22 free throws and outrebounded Houston 51-33.

Aaron Brooks(notes) had 19 points for the Rockets, who defeated Portland in six games this past spring in the first round of the playoffs UGG 5819.

That was a much different Houston team, though. Rockets center Yao Ming(notes) is out for the season after offseason foot surgery, and Ron Artest(notes)—who pestered the Blazers—left for the Lakers as a free UGG 5825 agent.
 

DALLAS (UGG Boots)—Gilbert Arenas(notes) is a man of few words these days. He’s good for a bunch of points and assists, though, and the Washington Wizards will gladly take that.

Finally healthy after two seasons virtually lost to knee injuries, Arenas had 29 points and nine assists as the Wizards took an early lead over the revamped Dallas Mavericks and never let go on their way to a 102-91 victory Tuesday night.

“I felt fine,” said Arenas, who was practically forced to speak after he and the team were fined $25,000 each for his silence during the preseason. “I did fine.”

Fine?
Arenas shot 10 of 21 and made 8-of-9 free throws for more points than he had all of last season. Then again, he played only two games last season. He played just 13 the year before, and this was his most points since Nov. 14, 2007. Thanks to his leadership, the Wizards dug out of an early hole and never trailed over the last three quarters, making a winner out of Flip Saunders in his debut as Washington’s coach.

“He did his talking on the floor,” Saunders said. “Gil showed glimpses of why he’s got that unbelievable burst of speed and his ability to weave through people and score at the rim. I thought he ran our offense great as far as getting the ball to people. He had 29 points and nine assists so I think that anyone that had questions about where he’s at … He’s just going to continue to get better and better.”

Feeling so good he doesn’t even wear a brace, Arenas was as effective hitting long jumpers over tall defenders as he was driving the lane. His vintage baskets UGG 5815 included scooting around a guard, switching hands and scooping in a layup between two big guys, and another where he sped past three players and swirled the ball around to clear room for another layup.

The assists included several nifty passes that set up Brendan Haywood(notes) for dunks. He also helped set up reserves Andray Blatche(notes) for 20 points and Randy Foye(notes) for 19 in his first game with the Wizards. Caron Butler(notes) added 16 points, with injured forward Antawn Jamison(notes) watching from the bench. He’s likely to miss the first eight to 13 games because of a shoulder injury.

“It’s a win,” Arenas said. “If we want to be good, we’ve got to win on the road. It feels great, but it’s just one.”

The Mavs sure hope this is only one aberration, not a repeat of their 2-7 start that including losing their first four home games last season.

With the arrival of Shawn Marion(notes) and several others, Dallas is supposed to be deeper and more versatile, even while Josh Howard(notes) and Tim Thomas(notes) are getting over injuries.

But the Mavericks fell into the old habit of trying to ride a big night UGG 5819 by Dirk Nowitzki(notes). He scored 34 points, but was only 10 of 25. He was 12 of 13 from the foul line—all in the first half.

“He would be dead by Christmas if we’re going to let him be the offense,” said Jason Kidd(notes), who had four points, six rebounds and six assists. “Our team defense stunk. We didn’t rebound the ball well. Everything we’re supposed to do well was a no-show tonight.”

Marion made his first three shots, all in the first quarter, then didn’t score again until the opening basket of the fourth quarter. That got Dallas within a point, but Arenas and the Wizards pulled away.

“It seemed like one moment we had something going, the next moment we couldn’t get over the hump,” said Marion, who had 16 points, seven rebounds and three blocks. “It’s just a learning curve.”

J.J. Barea scored 13 points and Jason Terry(notes) was 4 of 15 for 12 points. Newcomer Drew Gooden(notes) made only 1 of 6 shots for two points.

Before tipoff of the 30th season in Dallas history, Marion told UGG 5825 the crowd: “We’re going to take you on a long journey. Enjoy the ride.”

Notes: This was the 318th straight sellout, the longest in the NBA. … Mavs owner Mark Cuban said Howard (ankle, wrist surgery) should return within two weeks. … Washington’s DeShawn Stevenson(notes) missed a pair of free throws in the final minute of the first half, but picked up a loose ball and nailed a 30-footer at the buzzer. It was called good, but erased after a replay. … The season began with a jazzy national anthem, courtesy of pianist Bruce Hornsby and a drummer. Hornsby is buddies with Mavs coach Rick Carlisle, who turned 50 Tuesday. Hornsby didn’t sing “Happy Birthday,” at least not from the piano at midcourt.

MONTREAL (AP)—Roman Hamrlik(UGG Boots ) had a uniquely patriotic way of describing fellow Czech Tomas Plekanec’s(notes) setup pass for his game-winning goal.

Hamrlik scored 1:32 into overtime and the Montreal Canadiens extended their winning streak to four games with a 3-2 victory over the New York Islanders on Monday night.

Hamrlik took Plekanec’s centering flip pass from the right side on a 2-on-1 and put a shot into the open left side.

“He made a nice Czech sausage, that’s what we call it,” Hamrlik said. “Sometimes in practice when you do a nice flip we call it a Czech sausage. He made a great pass. It was perfect, I couldn’t miss it.”
Jeff Tambellini(notes) drew New York even for the second time 15:24 into the third with his second power-play goal of the game.

Jaroslav Halak(notes) made 29 saves in his fourth straight start for the Canadiens (6-5-0), who finished a 4-2 homestand.

Travis Moen(notes), who assisted on Jaroslav Spacek’s(notes) UGG 5815 goal in the first, got his third goal 7:44 into the third period to put the Canadiens up 2-1.

Glen Metropolit(notes), who was ill earlier in the day and didn’t practice, assisted on both Montreal goals.

“He was at home and we asked him to rest,” Canadiens coach Jacques Martin said. “We touched base with him at 4 (p.m.) and he showed up at the rink and felt that he was better and he just thought that he’d try in the warmup, see if he had enough energy, and obviously he was all right to play.”

Mike Cammalleri, who scored his third career hat trick Saturday, extended his points streak to five games with an assist on Moen’s third goal of the season which restored Montreal’s one-goal lead.

Moen began the play that led to his goal behind the Islanders’ net when he passed the puck along to Cammalleri, who darted towards the left corner before turning back to fire a centering pass to Moen, who redirected the puck past Martin Biron(notes).

“It was just a good shift,” Moen said. “We were cycling in the corner and I saw (Cammalleri) get the puck with a little bit of room so I just parked myself in front and got a stick on it.”

Spacek scored 13:34 into the first as the Canadiens beat the Islanders at the Bell Centre for the second time in five days, including a 5-1 win on Thursday.

“It’s not too strange,” Cammalleri said. “It helps because your familiar in a way with the team. Your pregame meetings don’t have to be quite as long so the coaches get a little bit of a break that way.”

Biron stopped 28 shots for New York (1-4-5). Biron made 38 saves in Thursday’s loss, which began the Islanders’ current 0-1-2 skid.

“We’re playing some great games,” Biron said. “We’ve played one game that was really, really bad out of 10, and that was the game against Montreal here last week. We’ve gone to overtime six times so one bounce one way or the other and it could be a different thing and that’s the positive we’ve got to take out of it.”

John Tavares(notes), the top overall pick in the June draft at the Bell Centre, was held without a point for a fourth straight game. He recorded four goals and three assists in New York’s first six games.

Islanders captain Doug Weight(notes) did not make the trip. Weight, who is suffering flu-like symptoms, missed his third straight game.

Canadiens forward Maxim Lapierre’s(notes) face had a close call with Brendan Witt’s(notes) skate blade when he tripped the New York defenseman along the boards behind the Islanders’ net 6:05 in. Lapierre left the game briefly to go to the dressing room before returning.

Tambellini tied it at 1 with 1:42 left in the second when he cut hard to the net from the right side and beat Halak between the pads with a shot along the ice for his second goal.

“Jeff’s a guy who’s got a boatload of talent,” Islanders UGG 5819 defenseman Andy Sutton(notes) said. “He needs to get some confidence at this level and he can really score.”

NOTES: Weight, who began the season with a groin injury, has been limited to two assists in five games. … G Carey Price(notes) sat for a fourth straight game after starting six of Montreal’s first seven games. Price, whose next appearance will be his UGG 5825 100th career game, is 2-4 with a 3.36 goals-against-average and a .886 save percentage.

LANDOVER, Md. (UGG Boots )—DeSean Jackson(notes) scored on a 67-yard reverse and caught a 57-yard touchdown pass, and the Philadelphia Eagles converted three turnovers into points Monday night in a 27-17 win over the Washington Redskins.Nearly all the scoring came in the first half of an injury-filled game that got the Eagles UGG 5815 (4-2) back to form after last week’s jarring loss to the Oakland Raiders.

Philadelphia’s Brian Westbrook(notes) suffered a concussion, and Washington’s Chris Cooley(notes) left with a right ankle injury.

Donovan McNabb(notes) completed 15 of 25 passes for UGG 5819 156 yards. The defense sacked Jason Campbell(notes) six times, and newcomer Will Witherspoon(notes) ran back an interception for a touchdown and created another turnover.

The Redskins fell to 2-5 UGG 5825.
 

Florida running back UGG Boots Jeff Demps sprained his neck against Mississippi State, but coach Urban Meyer said he should be ready to play by Wednesday, according to the Gainesville Sun.

Also, defensive lineman Brandon Antwine re-injured his UGG 5815 shoulder and Meyer told The Sun that he didn't know if he would miss any time.
 
On a positive note, Meyer said he expected linebacker UGG 5819 Brandon Spikes as well as defensive linemen Lawrence Marsh and Jaye Howard back for next Saturday's game against Georgia.

More from Sporting UGG 5825 News: Cody's 2 blocked kicks lift Tide past Vols, 12-10

Coach Tom Cable pulled QB JaMarcus Russell(UGG Boots) from a game for the first time in two seasons. Cable made the move Sunday, he said, because Russell was "out of sorts." Russell had two passes intercepted and lost a fumble before he was replaced by Bruce Gradkowski(notes). Cable said there isn't a quarterback controversy, that Russell remains the unquestioned starter.

However, he also won't hesitate to replace Russell UGG 5815 again if he isn't pleased with Russell's performance. The Raiders can't afford to bench Russell because they need to have a solid idea of whether Russell is the long-term solution. … WR Chaz Schilens(notes) missed his seventh consecutive game Sunday because the broken bone he sustained UGG 5825 in camp hasn't healed. As a result, Cable was forced to start rookies Darrius Heyward-Bey(notes) and Louis Murphy(notes) again. The Raiders hope Schilens can make his ‘09 debut next week at San Diego UGG 5819.

BLACKSBURG, Va. (UGG Boots )—The steely, how-dare-you glare has been flashed time and again in recent seasons, every time a reporter asks Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer about offensive coordinator Bryan Stinespring and his fitness to continue calling the plays.

But Beamer’s unwillingness to entertain such talk wasn’t his only response last year; back in his office, he called Stinespring in for a little heart-to-heart conversation.

“He knew that I was grinding myself to a pulp,” Stinespring recalled. “He just has a way about it. (He said) ‘You’re a good football coach. You’ve been a good football coach. You’ll always be a good football coach. Keep focused on what we can do to get better. Don’t let outside interference take away from that.’ I learned a great deal from that conversation.”
Beamer practices what he preaches, especially when it comes to the Hokies.

“If the guy’s not right for us, we’re going to do what’s right for the program,” said the head coach in his 23rd season. “But I think all these guys are right for this program.”

Relationships help explain why loyalty goes both ways UGG 5815 in the Hokies football offices and why opportunities to become a head coach elsewhere have failed to lure many assistants away.

Bud Foster, in his 15th season as the defensive coordinator, is probably the one most frequently sought by other schools, but he has made it clear that he’s holding out for a BCS-level job.

“I make more money than I ever thought I was going to make coaching football,” Foster said. He played for Beamer at Murray State and has coached with him for the past 29 years.

“I like coaching at the highest level. I want to be on the highest stage and have an opportunity to win on the highest level, the largest stage. That’s what drives me.”

Foster is part of Beamer’s core—four coaches with him a combined 85 years. They are the ones, Beamer said, that have laid and maintained the foundation the program is built on.

Stinespring is in his 16th season, and his eighth in charge of the offense.

Recruiting coordinator Jim Cavanaugh and running backs UGG 5819 coach Billy Hite have both been with Beamer for all 23 years at Tech, and Hite was there nine years before that, too.

“There’s a lot of guys on our coaching staff that could have gone and been head coaches, but what’s more important to you is that lifestyle that you have,” Hite said. “We’re all making good money and you’re in your comfort zone when you’re with Frank Beamer.”

Stinespring’s comfort zone was more evident than ever earlier this season after the Hokies offense struggled against Nebraska and needed last-minute heroics to win, 16-15.

In his Monday meeting with the offense, Stinespring pointed out the plays where the team’s mistakes caused plays to fail. He also showed them where he’d made mistakes.

His surprising admission served to unify the players in the room.

“When he did that, I think it really made the whole offense more comfortable,” said Ryan Williams, the leading rusher in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a 119-yard average.

This week, the coaching staff is planning a big finish.

Coming off a 48-14 victory against Boston College two weeks ago, the Hokies seemed poised to force their way into the national championship discussion when they headed to Atlanta to play Georgia Tech. Instead, the Yellow Jackets dominated after halftime, running for nearly 300 yards on their way to a 28-23 victory that squashed the Hokies championship aspirations, dropping them from No. 4 in the AP Top 25 to No. 15.

But Foster, like Stinespring, found unwavering support from the man in charge.

“I try to look at it in real terms, and the real terms were offensively we had some young people and then we got behind on the offensive line a couple years ago and there were reasons why we weren’t as successful as we needed to be,” Beamer explained. “We had good experience on defense. This year, some plays have popped. Well, Bud and our defensive staff, they didn’t get unsmart. It’s a fact that you’ve got some inexperienced guys playing over there.”

Those guys, like Beamer, have the utmost confidence that Foster will get it fixed.

Earlier this season, linebacker Jake Johnson was among the players whose tendency to freelance was causing the assignment-based defense to get burned.

That prompted an animated conversation with Foster—and a new understanding.

“When that does happen, his intensity level goes through the roof. Spit will be flying, but that’s just because he knows we can do better,” said Johnson, only a sophomore.

“I work hard just to make him proud.”

For Beamer, it all goes together, with Foster and Stinespring UGG 5825 leading the way.

“They enjoy working, and I think they realize we can be successful at the highest level here, and consistently successful,” Beamer said. “And I think most people like that.”

By JOSEPH WHITE AP Sports Writer

LANDOVER, Md.(UGG Boots)—Surely there’s no way the Philadelphia Eagles will lose to one of the NFL’s most dysfunctional franchises, even if the game is on the road.

Oh, wait. They just did that.

A week after laying a 13-9 egg against the Oakland Raiders, the Eagles (3-2) have another potential letdown game against the Washington Redskins (2-4). The Monday nighter has prime-time slaughter written all over it, with the Redskins coming off a distraction-filled week following the front office’s decision to strip coach Jim Zorn of the play calling.
That is, unless the Eagles reproduce their lackadaisical, pass-too-much game plan from Oakland.

“I felt embarrassed,” quarterback Donovan McNabb(notes) said. “When you get embarrassed, you don’t want to get embarrassed again, so you are going to do whatever it takes to erase that and make sure that you turn a negative into a positive.”

The Eagles should be naturally more fired up to face the UGG 5815 Redskins, a familiar division rival. It’s a short road trip, and thousands of Philadelphia fans always find ways to get tickets. Plus, no one wants to look bad on Monday night, when the rest of the league is watching.

“You can go against the worst team in the league,” running back Brian Westbrook(notes) said. “But if you don’t go out there and execute your game plan, and if you have errors and sacks and turnovers and things like that, you can lose a game.”

A focused Eagles team would not be good news for the Redskins. All the week’s turmoil in Washington has been a mental drain, and coaches and players have to find a way to keep the blinders on.

“If we don’t do our job, it’ll get really ugly,” secondary coach Jerry Gray said. “We can’t focus on what else is happening.”

The front office alleviated much uncertainty Friday when executive vice president of football operations Vinny Cerrato announced that Zorn would remain the coach through at least the end of the season.

Of course, that doesn’t instantly make the Redskins a good team. Their only victories this season have come over the St. Louis Rams and Tampa UGG 5819 Bay Buccaneers, both now 0-6. The Eagles are the first team they’ve played that isn’t winless.

“‘Monday Night Football’ is going to be big for our guys,” said Gray, who had been one of the favorites to replace Zorn had there been a coaching change. “Because now you have to go out and everybody’s going to be looking: ‘OK, what are the Redskins really like?’ ‘What are they really about?’ ‘We’ve heard them, now let’s see what they can do.’

“And the thing you want to do is go out and show your best, and I think that may be good for us at this point.”

Both teams spent the week dealing with play-calling issues. The Eagles abandoned the run against the Raiders, throwing 46 passes and allowing six sacks. Westbrook ran for 50 yards, but he had only six carries. Philadelphia has always been pass-happy with coach Andy Reid and McNabb, but that ratio was a bit extreme, especially in a low-scoring game.

“I don’t think there’s really much new,” Westbrook said. “I think when I first came in Duce (Staley) was complaining about touching the ball and not carrying the ball. Probably a few years ago I was complaining, too. That’s just the way that we do it here. Then at some point during the season, the ratio kind of evens out a little bit more. Sometimes it takes games like this for that to happen.”

The Redskins went to greater extremes. With the UGG 5825 offense yet to score more than 17 points in game this season, Zorn was told to yield his treasured play-calling duties to newcomer Sherm Lewis, a consultant hired by the front office less than three weeks ago.

Players and coaches were taken aback by the news. Zorn, already on the hot seat, said it will feel “very awkward” strolling the sidelines not calling the plays.

But it’s not as if the offense was marching down the field under the old setup.

“We’ve embarrassed ourselves enough,” running back Clinton Portis(notes) said, “so we’ve got to find a way to win a game.”

EDMONTON, Alberta (UGG Boots)—Dustin Penner(notes) scored his sixth and seventh goals of the season and added three assists in the Edmonton Oilers’ 6-4 comeback victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night.

Ales Hemsky(notes) also had a five-point night, finishing with a goal and four assists to help the Oilers rebound from a 4-1 deficit. Sam Gagner(notes), Lubomir Visnovsky(notes) and Robert Nilsson(notes) added goals for Edmonton in its fifth UGG 5815 victory in six games.
Kristian Huselius(notes) had two goals, and Raffi Torres(notes) and Jason Chimera(notes) also scored for Columbus. The Blue Jackets opened their four-game trip Tuesday night with a loss in Calgary.

After Chimera gave Columbus a 4-1 lead at 11:52 of the second, Penner countered 17 seconds later and Hemsky made it 4-3 with a power-play goal with 1:05 left in the period.

Penner tied it on a power play at 6:04 of the third, UGG 5825 and Visnovsky—off assists from Penner and Hemsky—gave the Oilers the lead at 10:43. Nilsson had an empty-net goal with 17 seconds left UGG 5819.