[sdduuuude]

[quote=sdduuuude]MIAMI, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Annika Sorenstam’s LPGA Tour farewell came to a shuddering halt when she missed the cut at the season-ending ADT Championship on Friday.

A four-times winner of the elite event, the Swede slid to a three-over-par 75 in the second round at Trump International Golf Club, West Palm Beach for a five-over tally of 149.

Only 16 players in the 32-strong field advanced to Saturday’s third round and Sorenstam missed out by two shots after finishing in a seven-way tie for 18th.

“It’s been an emotional week,” the world number two told reporters. “You go back and forth from happy to being sad, and you always think: ‘Have I made the right decision?’

“All of a sudden the time is here,” added Sorenstam, who announced in May she would be quitting golf at the end of the year.

“It was always at the end of the year, in another month or so. And then all of a sudden you’re standing on the 18th fairway and it’s the last approach shot in an LPGA event.

“A lot of thoughts go through your head and you’re trying to win a golf tournament and you’re trying to enjoy it.”

Taken aback by the huge galleries following what proved to be her final round on the LPGA Tour, Sorenstam said she was looking forward to her life away from the game.

She wants to start a family and plans to pursue business interests, including her golf academy in Florida, her charitable foundation and course design projects.

“I’m very content and another win or so is not going to change that,” said the 38-year-old, who has triumphed three times on the LPGA Tour this season.

LEARNING EXPERIENCE

“Sometimes it’s more about the experience and what you go through, how you learn about life and yourself than just numbers. I’m going to miss a lot of these things. The good thing is I have a lot of fun things ahead of me.”

Sorenstam has been the dominant figure in women’s golf for the past decade and has piled up 72 LPGA Tour victories including 10 major titles.

She earned a record eight Player of the Year awards on the LPGA Tour after making her debut in 1994, won six Vare trophies for the lowest scoring average and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003.

After ending the first round at Trump International six off the pace, Sorenstam needed to make up ground on the leaders but double-bogeyed the second and bogeyed the ninth to reach the turn in three over.

Although she birdied the par-four 10th, she dropped another shot at the 16th to end the day a distant 10 strokes behind the pacesetting Katherine Hull of Australia.

Hull carded a bogey-free 71 to hold a one-shot lead over American Angela Stanford (67).

Sorenstam will play in the Lexus Cup in Singapore later this month before bringing down the curtain on her competitive career at the Dec. 11-14 Dubai Ladies Masters.

“It’s been a wonderful career,” the Swede said. “I’ve enjoyed it immensely. I don’t think just a few words would summarise how I feel or what I’ve achieved or what I’ve gone through in experiences.” (Writing by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Tony Jimenez and Peter Rutherford)

[/quote]

NEW ORLEANS (AP)—After heading out on the road for more than a month, the New Orleans Saints were unstoppable at home.

The Saints spent 43 days away from the Louisiana Superdome for a trip to London, a bye and three road games, then returned to New Orleans and put on one of the more memorable performances in franchise history.

Drew Brees threw for four scores, Deuce McAllister set a Saints record with his 54th career touchdown and New Orleans rolled to a 51-29 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Monday night.

“I mean, 40-something days on the road. It was great to get back in the dome,” Brees said. “You look at this game, so many things. Deuce getting the record, us just really feeling like we had our stride going the whole game.

“We’re kind of in the middle of pack, just like a lot of other teams,” Brees continued. “This is the time where a few of those teams start to separate themselves and we want to be one of those teams.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Brees dismantled a Packers secondary that came in ranked third in the NFL with 176.3 yards passing allowed per game. He was 20-of-26 for 323 yards as New Orleans tied a club record for points scored and touchdowns (seven) in a game. Two of Brees’ touchdowns went to Lance Moore, one for 70 yards.

“It’s a dream come true playing with him,” said Moore, who had 115 yards. “All we have to do is run our routes. We don’t have to worry about doing anything extraordinary.”

Brees remained on pace to break Dan Marino’s 1984 record of 5,084 yards passing in a season. He has 3,574 yards with five games remaining. He also has the Saints (6-5) feeling better about their hopes of rallying for a playoff spot now that they’ve won two games in a row for the first time all season.

“There’s an old saying, ‘10 and you’re in,”’ Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma said. “We’ve got to find a way to get to 10 wins and get into the playoffs.”

The Packers (5-6) dropped a game behind Minnesota and Chicago in the race for first in the NFC North.

“We didn’t slow them down at all tonight,” Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy said. “Give credit to the Saints and the play of their quarterback. He was on fire coming into the game and we didn’t cool him off any.”

Aaron Rodgers’ attempt to keep up with Brees’ torrid passing resulted in three interceptions, two by Jason David and one by Kevin Kaesviharn. David returned his first pick to the 3, setting up McAllister’s scoring run, which broke Dalton Hilliard’s club record set in 1993.

The sellout crowd erupted after McAllister’s score. The Saints’ career rushing leader kept the ball as he trotted to the sideline, where he was hugged by Payton.

“I didn’t want it to be anything out of the context of the game because I respect the game so much,” McAllister said. “I wanted it to come in the natural flow.”

It might have been McAllister’s final game in the Superdome this season. He has appealed a four-game suspension levied after he tested positive for a diuretic banned by the NFL because it could be used as a masking agent for steroids. It is not clear when the league will rule on McAllister’s case.

Rodgers was 23-of-41 for 248 yards and touchdown passes of 7 yards to Greg Jennings and 4 yards to Ruvell Martin. Rodgers also ran for a 10-yard score. Ryan Grant rushed for 64 yards in the first half, but the Packers were forced to throw more as their deficit grew and Grant finished with only 67 yards.

New Orleans Saints running bac…

AP – Nov 25, 12:46 am EST
“After the first half we knew we had to throw,” Rodgers said. “We tried to answer but we didn’t. We let this one get away from us.”

Leading 24-21 at the half, the Saints began to seize control with a long touchdown drive that ended with Brees’ 16-yard strike to tight end Billy Miller. McAllister then went in from the 3 and Brees hit Marques Colston in stride down the sideline for his second 70-yard TD pass of the game. It was Colston’s first score of the season after battling back from a thumb injury on opening day.

Pierre Thomas rushed for 87 yards and two touchdown runs, a 4-yarder in the first half and a 31-yard scamper in the fourth quarter that gave New Orleans a 51-29 lead. The Saints had scored 51 points twice before in their four-decade history and easily could have reached 52 if Payton had elected to kick the extra point. However, Payton called for a 2-point conversion that failed in an attempt to go up by 24 points.

The Packers scored first on a 1-yard touchdown leap by fullback John Kuhn. It was the first rushing touchdown for Kuhn in his three-year career and only his eighth carry.

But that would be Green Bay’s last lead. Moore’s 70-yard score came on the Saints’ next play, and New Orleans took the lead on Thomas’ first TD run. Green Bay tied it at 14 and again at 21 before New Orleans took the lead for good shortly before halftime on Garrett Hartley’s 30-yard field goal, set up by Courtney Roby’s 62-yard kickoff return.

Notes

Jeremy Shockey had one of his better games for the Saints with five catches for 57 yards. … Moore has a touchdown catch in four straight games. … Green Bay had won 10 of its last 15 road games coming in. … Reggie Bush was a scratch, missing his fourth game. The Saints are 3-1 without him.

[sdduuuude]

[quote=sdduuuude]MIAMI, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Annika Sorenstam’s LPGA Tour farewell came to a shuddering halt when she missed the cut at the season-ending ADT Championship on Friday.

A four-times winner of the elite event, the Swede slid to a three-over-par 75 in the second round at Trump International Golf Club, West Palm Beach for a five-over tally of 149.

Only 16 players in the 32-strong field advanced to Saturday’s third round and Sorenstam missed out by two shots after finishing in a seven-way tie for 18th.

“It’s been an emotional week,” the world number two told reporters. “You go back and forth from happy to being sad, and you always think: ‘Have I made the right decision?’

“All of a sudden the time is here,” added Sorenstam, who announced in May she would be quitting golf at the end of the year.

“It was always at the end of the year, in another month or so. And then all of a sudden you’re standing on the 18th fairway and it’s the last approach shot in an LPGA event.

“A lot of thoughts go through your head and you’re trying to win a golf tournament and you’re trying to enjoy it.”

Taken aback by the huge galleries following what proved to be her final round on the LPGA Tour, Sorenstam said she was looking forward to her life away from the game.

She wants to start a family and plans to pursue business interests, including her golf academy in Florida, her charitable foundation and course design projects.

“I’m very content and another win or so is not going to change that,” said the 38-year-old, who has triumphed three times on the LPGA Tour this season.

LEARNING EXPERIENCE

“Sometimes it’s more about the experience and what you go through, how you learn about life and yourself than just numbers. I’m going to miss a lot of these things. The good thing is I have a lot of fun things ahead of me.”

Sorenstam has been the dominant figure in women’s golf for the past decade and has piled up 72 LPGA Tour victories including 10 major titles.

She earned a record eight Player of the Year awards on the LPGA Tour after making her debut in 1994, won six Vare trophies for the lowest scoring average and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003.

After ending the first round at Trump International six off the pace, Sorenstam needed to make up ground on the leaders but double-bogeyed the second and bogeyed the ninth to reach the turn in three over.

Although she birdied the par-four 10th, she dropped another shot at the 16th to end the day a distant 10 strokes behind the pacesetting Katherine Hull of Australia.

Hull carded a bogey-free 71 to hold a one-shot lead over American Angela Stanford (67).

Sorenstam will play in the Lexus Cup in Singapore later this month before bringing down the curtain on her competitive career at the Dec. 11-14 Dubai Ladies Masters.

“It’s been a wonderful career,” the Swede said. “I’ve enjoyed it immensely. I don’t think just a few words would summarise how I feel or what I’ve achieved or what I’ve gone through in experiences.” (Writing by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Tony Jimenez and Peter Rutherford)

[/quote]

NEW ORLEANS (AP)—After heading out on the road for more than a month, the New Orleans Saints were unstoppable at home.

The Saints spent 43 days away from the Louisiana Superdome for a trip to London, a bye and three road games, then returned to New Orleans and put on one of the more memorable performances in franchise history.

Drew Brees threw for four scores, Deuce McAllister set a Saints record with his 54th career touchdown and New Orleans rolled to a 51-29 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Monday night.

“I mean, 40-something days on the road. It was great to get back in the dome,” Brees said. “You look at this game, so many things. Deuce getting the record, us just really feeling like we had our stride going the whole game.

“We’re kind of in the middle of pack, just like a lot of other teams,” Brees continued. “This is the time where a few of those teams start to separate themselves and we want to be one of those teams.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Brees dismantled a Packers secondary that came in ranked third in the NFL with 176.3 yards passing allowed per game. He was 20-of-26 for 323 yards as New Orleans tied a club record for points scored and touchdowns (seven) in a game. Two of Brees’ touchdowns went to Lance Moore, one for 70 yards.

“It’s a dream come true playing with him,” said Moore, who had 115 yards. “All we have to do is run our routes. We don’t have to worry about doing anything extraordinary.”

Brees remained on pace to break Dan Marino’s 1984 record of 5,084 yards passing in a season. He has 3,574 yards with five games remaining. He also has the Saints (6-5) feeling better about their hopes of rallying for a playoff spot now that they’ve won two games in a row for the first time all season.

“There’s an old saying, ‘10 and you’re in,”’ Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma said. “We’ve got to find a way to get to 10 wins and get into the playoffs.”

The Packers (5-6) dropped a game behind Minnesota and Chicago in the race for first in the NFC North.

“We didn’t slow them down at all tonight,” Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy said. “Give credit to the Saints and the play of their quarterback. He was on fire coming into the game and we didn’t cool him off any.”

Aaron Rodgers’ attempt to keep up with Brees’ torrid passing resulted in three interceptions, two by Jason David and one by Kevin Kaesviharn. David returned his first pick to the 3, setting up McAllister’s scoring run, which broke Dalton Hilliard’s club record set in 1993.

The sellout crowd erupted after McAllister’s score. The Saints’ career rushing leader kept the ball as he trotted to the sideline, where he was hugged by Payton.

“I didn’t want it to be anything out of the context of the game because I respect the game so much,” McAllister said. “I wanted it to come in the natural flow.”

It might have been McAllister’s final game in the Superdome this season. He has appealed a four-game suspension levied after he tested positive for a diuretic banned by the NFL because it could be used as a masking agent for steroids. It is not clear when the league will rule on McAllister’s case.

Rodgers was 23-of-41 for 248 yards and touchdown passes of 7 yards to Greg Jennings and 4 yards to Ruvell Martin. Rodgers also ran for a 10-yard score. Ryan Grant rushed for 64 yards in the first half, but the Packers were forced to throw more as their deficit grew and Grant finished with only 67 yards.

New Orleans Saints running bac…

AP – Nov 25, 12:46 am EST
“After the first half we knew we had to throw,” Rodgers said. “We tried to answer but we didn’t. We let this one get away from us.”

Leading 24-21 at the half, the Saints began to seize control with a long touchdown drive that ended with Brees’ 16-yard strike to tight end Billy Miller. McAllister then went in from the 3 and Brees hit Marques Colston in stride down the sideline for his second 70-yard TD pass of the game. It was Colston’s first score of the season after battling back from a thumb injury on opening day.

Pierre Thomas rushed for 87 yards and two touchdown runs, a 4-yarder in the first half and a 31-yard scamper in the fourth quarter that gave New Orleans a 51-29 lead. The Saints had scored 51 points twice before in their four-decade history and easily could have reached 52 if Payton had elected to kick the extra point. However, Payton called for a 2-point conversion that failed in an attempt to go up by 24 points.

The Packers scored first on a 1-yard touchdown leap by fullback John Kuhn. It was the first rushing touchdown for Kuhn in his three-year career and only his eighth carry.

But that would be Green Bay’s last lead. Moore’s 70-yard score came on the Saints’ next play, and New Orleans took the lead on Thomas’ first TD run. Green Bay tied it at 14 and again at 21 before New Orleans took the lead for good shortly before halftime on Garrett Hartley’s 30-yard field goal, set up by Courtney Roby’s 62-yard kickoff return.

Notes

Jeremy Shockey had one of his better games for the Saints with five catches for 57 yards. … Moore has a touchdown catch in four straight games. … Green Bay had won 10 of its last 15 road games coming in. … Reggie Bush was a scratch, missing his fourth game. The Saints are 3-1 without him.

[sdduuuude]

[quote=sdduuuude]MIAMI, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Annika Sorenstam’s LPGA Tour farewell came to a shuddering halt when she missed the cut at the season-ending ADT Championship on Friday.

A four-times winner of the elite event, the Swede slid to a three-over-par 75 in the second round at Trump International Golf Club, West Palm Beach for a five-over tally of 149.

Only 16 players in the 32-strong field advanced to Saturday’s third round and Sorenstam missed out by two shots after finishing in a seven-way tie for 18th.

“It’s been an emotional week,” the world number two told reporters. “You go back and forth from happy to being sad, and you always think: ‘Have I made the right decision?’

“All of a sudden the time is here,” added Sorenstam, who announced in May she would be quitting golf at the end of the year.

“It was always at the end of the year, in another month or so. And then all of a sudden you’re standing on the 18th fairway and it’s the last approach shot in an LPGA event.

“A lot of thoughts go through your head and you’re trying to win a golf tournament and you’re trying to enjoy it.”

Taken aback by the huge galleries following what proved to be her final round on the LPGA Tour, Sorenstam said she was looking forward to her life away from the game.

She wants to start a family and plans to pursue business interests, including her golf academy in Florida, her charitable foundation and course design projects.

“I’m very content and another win or so is not going to change that,” said the 38-year-old, who has triumphed three times on the LPGA Tour this season.

LEARNING EXPERIENCE

“Sometimes it’s more about the experience and what you go through, how you learn about life and yourself than just numbers. I’m going to miss a lot of these things. The good thing is I have a lot of fun things ahead of me.”

Sorenstam has been the dominant figure in women’s golf for the past decade and has piled up 72 LPGA Tour victories including 10 major titles.

She earned a record eight Player of the Year awards on the LPGA Tour after making her debut in 1994, won six Vare trophies for the lowest scoring average and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003.

After ending the first round at Trump International six off the pace, Sorenstam needed to make up ground on the leaders but double-bogeyed the second and bogeyed the ninth to reach the turn in three over.

Although she birdied the par-four 10th, she dropped another shot at the 16th to end the day a distant 10 strokes behind the pacesetting Katherine Hull of Australia.

Hull carded a bogey-free 71 to hold a one-shot lead over American Angela Stanford (67).

Sorenstam will play in the Lexus Cup in Singapore later this month before bringing down the curtain on her competitive career at the Dec. 11-14 Dubai Ladies Masters.

“It’s been a wonderful career,” the Swede said. “I’ve enjoyed it immensely. I don’t think just a few words would summarise how I feel or what I’ve achieved or what I’ve gone through in experiences.” (Writing by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Tony Jimenez and Peter Rutherford)

[/quote]

NEW ORLEANS (AP)—After heading out on the road for more than a month, the New Orleans Saints were unstoppable at home.

The Saints spent 43 days away from the Louisiana Superdome for a trip to London, a bye and three road games, then returned to New Orleans and put on one of the more memorable performances in franchise history.

Drew Brees threw for four scores, Deuce McAllister set a Saints record with his 54th career touchdown and New Orleans rolled to a 51-29 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Monday night.

“I mean, 40-something days on the road. It was great to get back in the dome,” Brees said. “You look at this game, so many things. Deuce getting the record, us just really feeling like we had our stride going the whole game.

“We’re kind of in the middle of pack, just like a lot of other teams,” Brees continued. “This is the time where a few of those teams start to separate themselves and we want to be one of those teams.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Brees dismantled a Packers secondary that came in ranked third in the NFL with 176.3 yards passing allowed per game. He was 20-of-26 for 323 yards as New Orleans tied a club record for points scored and touchdowns (seven) in a game. Two of Brees’ touchdowns went to Lance Moore, one for 70 yards.

“It’s a dream come true playing with him,” said Moore, who had 115 yards. “All we have to do is run our routes. We don’t have to worry about doing anything extraordinary.”

Brees remained on pace to break Dan Marino’s 1984 record of 5,084 yards passing in a season. He has 3,574 yards with five games remaining. He also has the Saints (6-5) feeling better about their hopes of rallying for a playoff spot now that they’ve won two games in a row for the first time all season.

“There’s an old saying, ‘10 and you’re in,”’ Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma said. “We’ve got to find a way to get to 10 wins and get into the playoffs.”

The Packers (5-6) dropped a game behind Minnesota and Chicago in the race for first in the NFC North.

“We didn’t slow them down at all tonight,” Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy said. “Give credit to the Saints and the play of their quarterback. He was on fire coming into the game and we didn’t cool him off any.”

Aaron Rodgers’ attempt to keep up with Brees’ torrid passing resulted in three interceptions, two by Jason David and one by Kevin Kaesviharn. David returned his first pick to the 3, setting up McAllister’s scoring run, which broke Dalton Hilliard’s club record set in 1993.

The sellout crowd erupted after McAllister’s score. The Saints’ career rushing leader kept the ball as he trotted to the sideline, where he was hugged by Payton.

“I didn’t want it to be anything out of the context of the game because I respect the game so much,” McAllister said. “I wanted it to come in the natural flow.”

It might have been McAllister’s final game in the Superdome this season. He has appealed a four-game suspension levied after he tested positive for a diuretic banned by the NFL because it could be used as a masking agent for steroids. It is not clear when the league will rule on McAllister’s case.

Rodgers was 23-of-41 for 248 yards and touchdown passes of 7 yards to Greg Jennings and 4 yards to Ruvell Martin. Rodgers also ran for a 10-yard score. Ryan Grant rushed for 64 yards in the first half, but the Packers were forced to throw more as their deficit grew and Grant finished with only 67 yards.

New Orleans Saints running bac…

AP – Nov 25, 12:46 am EST
“After the first half we knew we had to throw,” Rodgers said. “We tried to answer but we didn’t. We let this one get away from us.”

Leading 24-21 at the half, the Saints began to seize control with a long touchdown drive that ended with Brees’ 16-yard strike to tight end Billy Miller. McAllister then went in from the 3 and Brees hit Marques Colston in stride down the sideline for his second 70-yard TD pass of the game. It was Colston’s first score of the season after battling back from a thumb injury on opening day.

Pierre Thomas rushed for 87 yards and two touchdown runs, a 4-yarder in the first half and a 31-yard scamper in the fourth quarter that gave New Orleans a 51-29 lead. The Saints had scored 51 points twice before in their four-decade history and easily could have reached 52 if Payton had elected to kick the extra point. However, Payton called for a 2-point conversion that failed in an attempt to go up by 24 points.

The Packers scored first on a 1-yard touchdown leap by fullback John Kuhn. It was the first rushing touchdown for Kuhn in his three-year career and only his eighth carry.

But that would be Green Bay’s last lead. Moore’s 70-yard score came on the Saints’ next play, and New Orleans took the lead on Thomas’ first TD run. Green Bay tied it at 14 and again at 21 before New Orleans took the lead for good shortly before halftime on Garrett Hartley’s 30-yard field goal, set up by Courtney Roby’s 62-yard kickoff return.

Notes

Jeremy Shockey had one of his better games for the Saints with five catches for 57 yards. … Moore has a touchdown catch in four straight games. … Green Bay had won 10 of its last 15 road games coming in. … Reggie Bush was a scratch, missing his fourth game. The Saints are 3-1 without him.

[sdduuuude]

[quote=sdduuuude]MIAMI, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Annika Sorenstam’s LPGA Tour farewell came to a shuddering halt when she missed the cut at the season-ending ADT Championship on Friday.

A four-times winner of the elite event, the Swede slid to a three-over-par 75 in the second round at Trump International Golf Club, West Palm Beach for a five-over tally of 149.

Only 16 players in the 32-strong field advanced to Saturday’s third round and Sorenstam missed out by two shots after finishing in a seven-way tie for 18th.

“It’s been an emotional week,” the world number two told reporters. “You go back and forth from happy to being sad, and you always think: ‘Have I made the right decision?’

“All of a sudden the time is here,” added Sorenstam, who announced in May she would be quitting golf at the end of the year.

“It was always at the end of the year, in another month or so. And then all of a sudden you’re standing on the 18th fairway and it’s the last approach shot in an LPGA event.

“A lot of thoughts go through your head and you’re trying to win a golf tournament and you’re trying to enjoy it.”

Taken aback by the huge galleries following what proved to be her final round on the LPGA Tour, Sorenstam said she was looking forward to her life away from the game.

She wants to start a family and plans to pursue business interests, including her golf academy in Florida, her charitable foundation and course design projects.

“I’m very content and another win or so is not going to change that,” said the 38-year-old, who has triumphed three times on the LPGA Tour this season.

LEARNING EXPERIENCE

“Sometimes it’s more about the experience and what you go through, how you learn about life and yourself than just numbers. I’m going to miss a lot of these things. The good thing is I have a lot of fun things ahead of me.”

Sorenstam has been the dominant figure in women’s golf for the past decade and has piled up 72 LPGA Tour victories including 10 major titles.

She earned a record eight Player of the Year awards on the LPGA Tour after making her debut in 1994, won six Vare trophies for the lowest scoring average and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003.

After ending the first round at Trump International six off the pace, Sorenstam needed to make up ground on the leaders but double-bogeyed the second and bogeyed the ninth to reach the turn in three over.

Although she birdied the par-four 10th, she dropped another shot at the 16th to end the day a distant 10 strokes behind the pacesetting Katherine Hull of Australia.

Hull carded a bogey-free 71 to hold a one-shot lead over American Angela Stanford (67).

Sorenstam will play in the Lexus Cup in Singapore later this month before bringing down the curtain on her competitive career at the Dec. 11-14 Dubai Ladies Masters.

“It’s been a wonderful career,” the Swede said. “I’ve enjoyed it immensely. I don’t think just a few words would summarise how I feel or what I’ve achieved or what I’ve gone through in experiences.” (Writing by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Tony Jimenez and Peter Rutherford)

[/quote]

NEW ORLEANS (AP)—After heading out on the road for more than a month, the New Orleans Saints were unstoppable at home.

The Saints spent 43 days away from the Louisiana Superdome for a trip to London, a bye and three road games, then returned to New Orleans and put on one of the more memorable performances in franchise history.

Drew Brees threw for four scores, Deuce McAllister set a Saints record with his 54th career touchdown and New Orleans rolled to a 51-29 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Monday night.

“I mean, 40-something days on the road. It was great to get back in the dome,” Brees said. “You look at this game, so many things. Deuce getting the record, us just really feeling like we had our stride going the whole game.

“We’re kind of in the middle of pack, just like a lot of other teams,” Brees continued. “This is the time where a few of those teams start to separate themselves and we want to be one of those teams.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Brees dismantled a Packers secondary that came in ranked third in the NFL with 176.3 yards passing allowed per game. He was 20-of-26 for 323 yards as New Orleans tied a club record for points scored and touchdowns (seven) in a game. Two of Brees’ touchdowns went to Lance Moore, one for 70 yards.

“It’s a dream come true playing with him,” said Moore, who had 115 yards. “All we have to do is run our routes. We don’t have to worry about doing anything extraordinary.”

Brees remained on pace to break Dan Marino’s 1984 record of 5,084 yards passing in a season. He has 3,574 yards with five games remaining. He also has the Saints (6-5) feeling better about their hopes of rallying for a playoff spot now that they’ve won two games in a row for the first time all season.

“There’s an old saying, ‘10 and you’re in,”’ Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma said. “We’ve got to find a way to get to 10 wins and get into the playoffs.”

The Packers (5-6) dropped a game behind Minnesota and Chicago in the race for first in the NFC North.

“We didn’t slow them down at all tonight,” Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy said. “Give credit to the Saints and the play of their quarterback. He was on fire coming into the game and we didn’t cool him off any.”

Aaron Rodgers’ attempt to keep up with Brees’ torrid passing resulted in three interceptions, two by Jason David and one by Kevin Kaesviharn. David returned his first pick to the 3, setting up McAllister’s scoring run, which broke Dalton Hilliard’s club record set in 1993.

The sellout crowd erupted after McAllister’s score. The Saints’ career rushing leader kept the ball as he trotted to the sideline, where he was hugged by Payton.

“I didn’t want it to be anything out of the context of the game because I respect the game so much,” McAllister said. “I wanted it to come in the natural flow.”

It might have been McAllister’s final game in the Superdome this season. He has appealed a four-game suspension levied after he tested positive for a diuretic banned by the NFL because it could be used as a masking agent for steroids. It is not clear when the league will rule on McAllister’s case.

Rodgers was 23-of-41 for 248 yards and touchdown passes of 7 yards to Greg Jennings and 4 yards to Ruvell Martin. Rodgers also ran for a 10-yard score. Ryan Grant rushed for 64 yards in the first half, but the Packers were forced to throw more as their deficit grew and Grant finished with only 67 yards.

New Orleans Saints running bac…

AP – Nov 25, 12:46 am EST
“After the first half we knew we had to throw,” Rodgers said. “We tried to answer but we didn’t. We let this one get away from us.”

Leading 24-21 at the half, the Saints began to seize control with a long touchdown drive that ended with Brees’ 16-yard strike to tight end Billy Miller. McAllister then went in from the 3 and Brees hit Marques Colston in stride down the sideline for his second 70-yard TD pass of the game. It was Colston’s first score of the season after battling back from a thumb injury on opening day.

Pierre Thomas rushed for 87 yards and two touchdown runs, a 4-yarder in the first half and a 31-yard scamper in the fourth quarter that gave New Orleans a 51-29 lead. The Saints had scored 51 points twice before in their four-decade history and easily could have reached 52 if Payton had elected to kick the extra point. However, Payton called for a 2-point conversion that failed in an attempt to go up by 24 points.

The Packers scored first on a 1-yard touchdown leap by fullback John Kuhn. It was the first rushing touchdown for Kuhn in his three-year career and only his eighth carry.

But that would be Green Bay’s last lead. Moore’s 70-yard score came on the Saints’ next play, and New Orleans took the lead on Thomas’ first TD run. Green Bay tied it at 14 and again at 21 before New Orleans took the lead for good shortly before halftime on Garrett Hartley’s 30-yard field goal, set up by Courtney Roby’s 62-yard kickoff return.

Notes

Jeremy Shockey had one of his better games for the Saints with five catches for 57 yards. … Moore has a touchdown catch in four straight games. … Green Bay had won 10 of its last 15 road games coming in. … Reggie Bush was a scratch, missing his fourth game. The Saints are 3-1 without him.

[sdduuuude]

MIAMI, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Annika Sorenstam’s LPGA Tour farewell came to a shuddering halt when she missed the cut at the season-ending ADT Championship on Friday.

A four-times winner of the elite event, the Swede slid to a three-over-par 75 in the second round at Trump International Golf Club, West Palm Beach for a five-over tally of 149.

Only 16 players in the 32-strong field advanced to Saturday’s third round and Sorenstam missed out by two shots after finishing in a seven-way tie for 18th.

“It’s been an emotional week,” the world number two told reporters. “You go back and forth from happy to being sad, and you always think: ‘Have I made the right decision?’

“All of a sudden the time is here,” added Sorenstam, who announced in May she would be quitting golf at the end of the year.

“It was always at the end of the year, in another month or so. And then all of a sudden you’re standing on the 18th fairway and it’s the last approach shot in an LPGA event.

“A lot of thoughts go through your head and you’re trying to win a golf tournament and you’re trying to enjoy it.”

Taken aback by the huge galleries following what proved to be her final round on the LPGA Tour, Sorenstam said she was looking forward to her life away from the game.

She wants to start a family and plans to pursue business interests, including her golf academy in Florida, her charitable foundation and course design projects.

“I’m very content and another win or so is not going to change that,” said the 38-year-old, who has triumphed three times on the LPGA Tour this season.

LEARNING EXPERIENCE

“Sometimes it’s more about the experience and what you go through, how you learn about life and yourself than just numbers. I’m going to miss a lot of these things. The good thing is I have a lot of fun things ahead of me.”

Sorenstam has been the dominant figure in women’s golf for the past decade and has piled up 72 LPGA Tour victories including 10 major titles.

She earned a record eight Player of the Year awards on the LPGA Tour after making her debut in 1994, won six Vare trophies for the lowest scoring average and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003.

After ending the first round at Trump International six off the pace, Sorenstam needed to make up ground on the leaders but double-bogeyed the second and bogeyed the ninth to reach the turn in three over.

Although she birdied the par-four 10th, she dropped another shot at the 16th to end the day a distant 10 strokes behind the pacesetting Katherine Hull of Australia.

Hull carded a bogey-free 71 to hold a one-shot lead over American Angela Stanford (67).

Sorenstam will play in the Lexus Cup in Singapore later this month before bringing down the curtain on her competitive career at the Dec. 11-14 Dubai Ladies Masters.

“It’s been a wonderful career,” the Swede said. “I’ve enjoyed it immensely. I don’t think just a few words would summarise how I feel or what I’ve achieved or what I’ve gone through in experiences.” (Writing by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Tony Jimenez and Peter Rutherford)

[sdduuuude]

MIAMI, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Annika Sorenstam’s LPGA Tour farewell came to a shuddering halt when she missed the cut at the season-ending ADT Championship on Friday.

A four-times winner of the elite event, the Swede slid to a three-over-par 75 in the second round at Trump International Golf Club, West Palm Beach for a five-over tally of 149.

Only 16 players in the 32-strong field advanced to Saturday’s third round and Sorenstam missed out by two shots after finishing in a seven-way tie for 18th.

“It’s been an emotional week,” the world number two told reporters. “You go back and forth from happy to being sad, and you always think: ‘Have I made the right decision?’

“All of a sudden the time is here,” added Sorenstam, who announced in May she would be quitting golf at the end of the year.

“It was always at the end of the year, in another month or so. And then all of a sudden you’re standing on the 18th fairway and it’s the last approach shot in an LPGA event.

“A lot of thoughts go through your head and you’re trying to win a golf tournament and you’re trying to enjoy it.”

Taken aback by the huge galleries following what proved to be her final round on the LPGA Tour, Sorenstam said she was looking forward to her life away from the game.

She wants to start a family and plans to pursue business interests, including her golf academy in Florida, her charitable foundation and course design projects.

“I’m very content and another win or so is not going to change that,” said the 38-year-old, who has triumphed three times on the LPGA Tour this season.

LEARNING EXPERIENCE

“Sometimes it’s more about the experience and what you go through, how you learn about life and yourself than just numbers. I’m going to miss a lot of these things. The good thing is I have a lot of fun things ahead of me.”

Sorenstam has been the dominant figure in women’s golf for the past decade and has piled up 72 LPGA Tour victories including 10 major titles.

She earned a record eight Player of the Year awards on the LPGA Tour after making her debut in 1994, won six Vare trophies for the lowest scoring average and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003.

After ending the first round at Trump International six off the pace, Sorenstam needed to make up ground on the leaders but double-bogeyed the second and bogeyed the ninth to reach the turn in three over.

Although she birdied the par-four 10th, she dropped another shot at the 16th to end the day a distant 10 strokes behind the pacesetting Katherine Hull of Australia.

Hull carded a bogey-free 71 to hold a one-shot lead over American Angela Stanford (67).

Sorenstam will play in the Lexus Cup in Singapore later this month before bringing down the curtain on her competitive career at the Dec. 11-14 Dubai Ladies Masters.

“It’s been a wonderful career,” the Swede said. “I’ve enjoyed it immensely. I don’t think just a few words would summarise how I feel or what I’ve achieved or what I’ve gone through in experiences.” (Writing by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Tony Jimenez and Peter Rutherford)

[sdduuuude]

MIAMI, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Annika Sorenstam’s LPGA Tour farewell came to a shuddering halt when she missed the cut at the season-ending ADT Championship on Friday.

A four-times winner of the elite event, the Swede slid to a three-over-par 75 in the second round at Trump International Golf Club, West Palm Beach for a five-over tally of 149.

Only 16 players in the 32-strong field advanced to Saturday’s third round and Sorenstam missed out by two shots after finishing in a seven-way tie for 18th.

“It’s been an emotional week,” the world number two told reporters. “You go back and forth from happy to being sad, and you always think: ‘Have I made the right decision?’

“All of a sudden the time is here,” added Sorenstam, who announced in May she would be quitting golf at the end of the year.

“It was always at the end of the year, in another month or so. And then all of a sudden you’re standing on the 18th fairway and it’s the last approach shot in an LPGA event.

“A lot of thoughts go through your head and you’re trying to win a golf tournament and you’re trying to enjoy it.”

Taken aback by the huge galleries following what proved to be her final round on the LPGA Tour, Sorenstam said she was looking forward to her life away from the game.

She wants to start a family and plans to pursue business interests, including her golf academy in Florida, her charitable foundation and course design projects.

“I’m very content and another win or so is not going to change that,” said the 38-year-old, who has triumphed three times on the LPGA Tour this season.

LEARNING EXPERIENCE

“Sometimes it’s more about the experience and what you go through, how you learn about life and yourself than just numbers. I’m going to miss a lot of these things. The good thing is I have a lot of fun things ahead of me.”

Sorenstam has been the dominant figure in women’s golf for the past decade and has piled up 72 LPGA Tour victories including 10 major titles.

She earned a record eight Player of the Year awards on the LPGA Tour after making her debut in 1994, won six Vare trophies for the lowest scoring average and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003.

After ending the first round at Trump International six off the pace, Sorenstam needed to make up ground on the leaders but double-bogeyed the second and bogeyed the ninth to reach the turn in three over.

Although she birdied the par-four 10th, she dropped another shot at the 16th to end the day a distant 10 strokes behind the pacesetting Katherine Hull of Australia.

Hull carded a bogey-free 71 to hold a one-shot lead over American Angela Stanford (67).

Sorenstam will play in the Lexus Cup in Singapore later this month before bringing down the curtain on her competitive career at the Dec. 11-14 Dubai Ladies Masters.

“It’s been a wonderful career,” the Swede said. “I’ve enjoyed it immensely. I don’t think just a few words would summarise how I feel or what I’ve achieved or what I’ve gone through in experiences.” (Writing by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Tony Jimenez and Peter Rutherford)

[sdduuuude]

MIAMI, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Annika Sorenstam’s LPGA Tour farewell came to a shuddering halt when she missed the cut at the season-ending ADT Championship on Friday.

A four-times winner of the elite event, the Swede slid to a three-over-par 75 in the second round at Trump International Golf Club, West Palm Beach for a five-over tally of 149.

Only 16 players in the 32-strong field advanced to Saturday’s third round and Sorenstam missed out by two shots after finishing in a seven-way tie for 18th.

“It’s been an emotional week,” the world number two told reporters. “You go back and forth from happy to being sad, and you always think: ‘Have I made the right decision?’

“All of a sudden the time is here,” added Sorenstam, who announced in May she would be quitting golf at the end of the year.

“It was always at the end of the year, in another month or so. And then all of a sudden you’re standing on the 18th fairway and it’s the last approach shot in an LPGA event.

“A lot of thoughts go through your head and you’re trying to win a golf tournament and you’re trying to enjoy it.”

Taken aback by the huge galleries following what proved to be her final round on the LPGA Tour, Sorenstam said she was looking forward to her life away from the game.

She wants to start a family and plans to pursue business interests, including her golf academy in Florida, her charitable foundation and course design projects.

“I’m very content and another win or so is not going to change that,” said the 38-year-old, who has triumphed three times on the LPGA Tour this season.

LEARNING EXPERIENCE

“Sometimes it’s more about the experience and what you go through, how you learn about life and yourself than just numbers. I’m going to miss a lot of these things. The good thing is I have a lot of fun things ahead of me.”

Sorenstam has been the dominant figure in women’s golf for the past decade and has piled up 72 LPGA Tour victories including 10 major titles.

She earned a record eight Player of the Year awards on the LPGA Tour after making her debut in 1994, won six Vare trophies for the lowest scoring average and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003.

After ending the first round at Trump International six off the pace, Sorenstam needed to make up ground on the leaders but double-bogeyed the second and bogeyed the ninth to reach the turn in three over.

Although she birdied the par-four 10th, she dropped another shot at the 16th to end the day a distant 10 strokes behind the pacesetting Katherine Hull of Australia.

Hull carded a bogey-free 71 to hold a one-shot lead over American Angela Stanford (67).

Sorenstam will play in the Lexus Cup in Singapore later this month before bringing down the curtain on her competitive career at the Dec. 11-14 Dubai Ladies Masters.

“It’s been a wonderful career,” the Swede said. “I’ve enjoyed it immensely. I don’t think just a few words would summarise how I feel or what I’ve achieved or what I’ve gone through in experiences.” (Writing by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Tony Jimenez and Peter Rutherford)

[sdduuuude]

MIAMI, Nov 21 (Reuters) – Annika Sorenstam’s LPGA Tour farewell came to a shuddering halt when she missed the cut at the season-ending ADT Championship on Friday.

A four-times winner of the elite event, the Swede slid to a three-over-par 75 in the second round at Trump International Golf Club, West Palm Beach for a five-over tally of 149.

Only 16 players in the 32-strong field advanced to Saturday’s third round and Sorenstam missed out by two shots after finishing in a seven-way tie for 18th.

“It’s been an emotional week,” the world number two told reporters. “You go back and forth from happy to being sad, and you always think: ‘Have I made the right decision?’

“All of a sudden the time is here,” added Sorenstam, who announced in May she would be quitting golf at the end of the year.

“It was always at the end of the year, in another month or so. And then all of a sudden you’re standing on the 18th fairway and it’s the last approach shot in an LPGA event.

“A lot of thoughts go through your head and you’re trying to win a golf tournament and you’re trying to enjoy it.”

Taken aback by the huge galleries following what proved to be her final round on the LPGA Tour, Sorenstam said she was looking forward to her life away from the game.

She wants to start a family and plans to pursue business interests, including her golf academy in Florida, her charitable foundation and course design projects.

“I’m very content and another win or so is not going to change that,” said the 38-year-old, who has triumphed three times on the LPGA Tour this season.

LEARNING EXPERIENCE

“Sometimes it’s more about the experience and what you go through, how you learn about life and yourself than just numbers. I’m going to miss a lot of these things. The good thing is I have a lot of fun things ahead of me.”

Sorenstam has been the dominant figure in women’s golf for the past decade and has piled up 72 LPGA Tour victories including 10 major titles.

She earned a record eight Player of the Year awards on the LPGA Tour after making her debut in 1994, won six Vare trophies for the lowest scoring average and was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2003.

After ending the first round at Trump International six off the pace, Sorenstam needed to make up ground on the leaders but double-bogeyed the second and bogeyed the ninth to reach the turn in three over.

Although she birdied the par-four 10th, she dropped another shot at the 16th to end the day a distant 10 strokes behind the pacesetting Katherine Hull of Australia.

Hull carded a bogey-free 71 to hold a one-shot lead over American Angela Stanford (67).

Sorenstam will play in the Lexus Cup in Singapore later this month before bringing down the curtain on her competitive career at the Dec. 11-14 Dubai Ladies Masters.

“It’s been a wonderful career,” the Swede said. “I’ve enjoyed it immensely. I don’t think just a few words would summarise how I feel or what I’ve achieved or what I’ve gone through in experiences.” (Writing by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Tony Jimenez and Peter Rutherford)

[sdduuuude]

LAHAINA, Hawaii – First came the standing ovation, then the requests for autographs and pictures as he walked toward the team bus.

“I’ll be here again tomorrow,” a fan told Tom Crean as the Indiana coach signed his T-shirt. “And I’ll be cheering the whole time.”

A 10th-year head coach who’s advanced to the Final Four, Crean had felt this kind of warmth before – just never after a 38-point loss.

But that was the case Monday at the Lahaina Civic Center, where Crean and the Hoosiers were the story of the afternoon thanks to a gutsy performance in the opening round of the Maui Invitational.

No one was surprised that Indiana’s 88-50 loss to eighth-ranked Notre Dame came in such lopsided fashion. With the exception of two seldom-used reserves, the Hoosiers are an entirely new team following an offseason riddled with player dismissals and transfers in the wake of the NCAA infractions committed by former coach Kelvin Sampson.

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Even with Crean taking over the program, the joke over the summer was that tradition-rich Indiana would be lucky to finish anywhere other than last in the Big Ten.

After Monday, people might begin to have second thoughts.

Indiana might have been blown out by the Fighting Irish, but they hardly looked lost or incompetent in defeat. Inexperienced and lacking talent and depth? Definitely. But scared, soft or confused? Not even close.

That’s a credit to Crean, who averaged 21 wins in nine years at Marquette before taking over at Indiana last spring. Five years after leading Dwyane Wade and the Golden Eagles to the Final Four, Crean is coaching a team that on Monday started four freshmen, including point guard Daniel Moore, and a walk-on whose only significant scholarship offer came from Boston University.

As overmatched as the Hoosiers were against Notre Dame, they didn’t seem to know it. Forward Tom Pritchard didn’t shoot fallaways against 255-pound All-American candidate Luke Harangody. He attacked the basket.

Guards Malik Story and Devan Dumes dove for loose balls while Moore and Verdell Jones sliced into the lane before firing a pass that led to an open three-pointer.

The problem was that Indiana missed 11 of those 12 shots. But the point is that they got them. The point is that, three games into their college careers, against a Fighting Irish squad that might be ranked too low at No. 8, they didn’t back down.

“Indiana has a heck of a coach,” said Notre Dame’s Mike Brey, whose teams had some classic battles with Crean’s Marquette squads. “I thank [Indiana] for getting him out of my league. It’s good he’s gone.”

Indiana’s moxie didn’t go unnoticed by the hundreds of fans who made the trip to Maui for this week’s tournament.

The section of Crimson and Cream-clad supporters behind the Hoosiers’ bench was animated from start to finish, giving standing ovations when their players came in and out of the game and cheering wildly for hustle plays and made baskets – even when their team was down by 30.

“Their fans were so good that they fooled the scorekeeper into giving them a three-pointer that was actually an air ball,” Brey joked.

Among the most vocal were brothers David and Joe Meisenhelder, who traveled from Indianapolis and Minneapolis, respectively.

“The pride is back, baby,” Joe said after scoring an autograph from Crean. “We’re putting the pieces back together. We know it’s going to be a long season, but the way [Crean] is going about things is why people are cheering.”

David explained.

“You can just watch how he handles himself and tell that this program is back on track,” he said. “I’ve been to Indiana basketball games for years and years, and there was some coaching going on today – some teaching – instead of just yelling and screaming the whole game.”

Indeed, during the past two weeks, Crean might have been as animated as he’s ever been during his head coaching career. Not because he’s yelling at the referees, but because he’s explaining things and situations to a group of players who are learning on the go.

During the last two minutes of Monday’s game, Indiana had four walk-ons on the court.

“It’s not going to do me any good to go in and [yell] and raise all kinds of noise,” Crean said. “We have to learn. We need to keep playing, we need to keep experiencing. We need to keep practicing. Guys are going to get it at different times.

“When you know you’re walking into a program and it’s at zero, I mean … that’s where it’s at. We’ve got to keep taking steps. Every team has a certain amount of steps they take. You can’t to skip any of them.”

Crean’s wife, Joani, said her husband is usually in good spirits when he comes home after practice each night.

“He’s energized,” she said. “They’re all listening to him, they’re all practicing hard and going to class. They’re doing what they should be doing. He can’t help but be encouraged.”

Not that there aren’t downtimes. After Monday’s game Crean stared at a stat sheet that showed his team had just 13 defensive deflections against Notre Dame. The Hoosiers (2-1) averaged 43 in victories over Northwestern State and IUPUI.

“We won’t sniff a win when we have a number that low,” Crean said.

Crean also admonished the Hoosiers for failing to communicate on the court, which caused them to commit turnovers or miss bunny shots. Indiana’s players also had Captain Hook hands at times, often getting the ball slapped away from them as they came down with a rebound or when they were looking to pass.

“I don’t think we’re soft,” Crean said. “I just think our lack of experience is glaring. It is what it is. We’re a brand new program again. It’s unprecedented in Indiana history. I don’t think there will be anyone younger than us in the country.

“We’re obviously in a learning process, and we learned a lot today.”

So did everyone else.

[sdduuuude]

LAHAINA, Hawaii – First came the standing ovation, then the requests for autographs and pictures as he walked toward the team bus.

“I’ll be here again tomorrow,” a fan told Tom Crean as the Indiana coach signed his T-shirt. “And I’ll be cheering the whole time.”

A 10th-year head coach who’s advanced to the Final Four, Crean had felt this kind of warmth before – just never after a 38-point loss.

But that was the case Monday at the Lahaina Civic Center, where Crean and the Hoosiers were the story of the afternoon thanks to a gutsy performance in the opening round of the Maui Invitational.

No one was surprised that Indiana’s 88-50 loss to eighth-ranked Notre Dame came in such lopsided fashion. With the exception of two seldom-used reserves, the Hoosiers are an entirely new team following an offseason riddled with player dismissals and transfers in the wake of the NCAA infractions committed by former coach Kelvin Sampson.

ADVERTISEMENT

Even with Crean taking over the program, the joke over the summer was that tradition-rich Indiana would be lucky to finish anywhere other than last in the Big Ten.

After Monday, people might begin to have second thoughts.

Indiana might have been blown out by the Fighting Irish, but they hardly looked lost or incompetent in defeat. Inexperienced and lacking talent and depth? Definitely. But scared, soft or confused? Not even close.

That’s a credit to Crean, who averaged 21 wins in nine years at Marquette before taking over at Indiana last spring. Five years after leading Dwyane Wade and the Golden Eagles to the Final Four, Crean is coaching a team that on Monday started four freshmen, including point guard Daniel Moore, and a walk-on whose only significant scholarship offer came from Boston University.

As overmatched as the Hoosiers were against Notre Dame, they didn’t seem to know it. Forward Tom Pritchard didn’t shoot fallaways against 255-pound All-American candidate Luke Harangody. He attacked the basket.

Guards Malik Story and Devan Dumes dove for loose balls while Moore and Verdell Jones sliced into the lane before firing a pass that led to an open three-pointer.

The problem was that Indiana missed 11 of those 12 shots. But the point is that they got them. The point is that, three games into their college careers, against a Fighting Irish squad that might be ranked too low at No. 8, they didn’t back down.

“Indiana has a heck of a coach,” said Notre Dame’s Mike Brey, whose teams had some classic battles with Crean’s Marquette squads. “I thank [Indiana] for getting him out of my league. It’s good he’s gone.”

Indiana’s moxie didn’t go unnoticed by the hundreds of fans who made the trip to Maui for this week’s tournament.

The section of Crimson and Cream-clad supporters behind the Hoosiers’ bench was animated from start to finish, giving standing ovations when their players came in and out of the game and cheering wildly for hustle plays and made baskets – even when their team was down by 30.

“Their fans were so good that they fooled the scorekeeper into giving them a three-pointer that was actually an air ball,” Brey joked.

Among the most vocal were brothers David and Joe Meisenhelder, who traveled from Indianapolis and Minneapolis, respectively.

“The pride is back, baby,” Joe said after scoring an autograph from Crean. “We’re putting the pieces back together. We know it’s going to be a long season, but the way [Crean] is going about things is why people are cheering.”

David explained.

“You can just watch how he handles himself and tell that this program is back on track,” he said. “I’ve been to Indiana basketball games for years and years, and there was some coaching going on today – some teaching – instead of just yelling and screaming the whole game.”

Indeed, during the past two weeks, Crean might have been as animated as he’s ever been during his head coaching career. Not because he’s yelling at the referees, but because he’s explaining things and situations to a group of players who are learning on the go.

During the last two minutes of Monday’s game, Indiana had four walk-ons on the court.

“It’s not going to do me any good to go in and [yell] and raise all kinds of noise,” Crean said. “We have to learn. We need to keep playing, we need to keep experiencing. We need to keep practicing. Guys are going to get it at different times.

“When you know you’re walking into a program and it’s at zero, I mean … that’s where it’s at. We’ve got to keep taking steps. Every team has a certain amount of steps they take. You can’t to skip any of them.”

Crean’s wife, Joani, said her husband is usually in good spirits when he comes home after practice each night.

“He’s energized,” she said. “They’re all listening to him, they’re all practicing hard and going to class. They’re doing what they should be doing. He can’t help but be encouraged.”

Not that there aren’t downtimes. After Monday’s game Crean stared at a stat sheet that showed his team had just 13 defensive deflections against Notre Dame. The Hoosiers (2-1) averaged 43 in victories over Northwestern State and IUPUI.

“We won’t sniff a win when we have a number that low,” Crean said.

Crean also admonished the Hoosiers for failing to communicate on the court, which caused them to commit turnovers or miss bunny shots. Indiana’s players also had Captain Hook hands at times, often getting the ball slapped away from them as they came down with a rebound or when they were looking to pass.

“I don’t think we’re soft,” Crean said. “I just think our lack of experience is glaring. It is what it is. We’re a brand new program again. It’s unprecedented in Indiana history. I don’t think there will be anyone younger than us in the country.

“We’re obviously in a learning process, and we learned a lot today.”

So did everyone else.

[sdduuuude]

LAHAINA, Hawaii – First came the standing ovation, then the requests for autographs and pictures as he walked toward the team bus.

“I’ll be here again tomorrow,” a fan told Tom Crean as the Indiana coach signed his T-shirt. “And I’ll be cheering the whole time.”

A 10th-year head coach who’s advanced to the Final Four, Crean had felt this kind of warmth before – just never after a 38-point loss.

But that was the case Monday at the Lahaina Civic Center, where Crean and the Hoosiers were the story of the afternoon thanks to a gutsy performance in the opening round of the Maui Invitational.

No one was surprised that Indiana’s 88-50 loss to eighth-ranked Notre Dame came in such lopsided fashion. With the exception of two seldom-used reserves, the Hoosiers are an entirely new team following an offseason riddled with player dismissals and transfers in the wake of the NCAA infractions committed by former coach Kelvin Sampson.

ADVERTISEMENT

Even with Crean taking over the program, the joke over the summer was that tradition-rich Indiana would be lucky to finish anywhere other than last in the Big Ten.

After Monday, people might begin to have second thoughts.

Indiana might have been blown out by the Fighting Irish, but they hardly looked lost or incompetent in defeat. Inexperienced and lacking talent and depth? Definitely. But scared, soft or confused? Not even close.

That’s a credit to Crean, who averaged 21 wins in nine years at Marquette before taking over at Indiana last spring. Five years after leading Dwyane Wade and the Golden Eagles to the Final Four, Crean is coaching a team that on Monday started four freshmen, including point guard Daniel Moore, and a walk-on whose only significant scholarship offer came from Boston University.

As overmatched as the Hoosiers were against Notre Dame, they didn’t seem to know it. Forward Tom Pritchard didn’t shoot fallaways against 255-pound All-American candidate Luke Harangody. He attacked the basket.

Guards Malik Story and Devan Dumes dove for loose balls while Moore and Verdell Jones sliced into the lane before firing a pass that led to an open three-pointer.

The problem was that Indiana missed 11 of those 12 shots. But the point is that they got them. The point is that, three games into their college careers, against a Fighting Irish squad that might be ranked too low at No. 8, they didn’t back down.

“Indiana has a heck of a coach,” said Notre Dame’s Mike Brey, whose teams had some classic battles with Crean’s Marquette squads. “I thank [Indiana] for getting him out of my league. It’s good he’s gone.”

Indiana’s moxie didn’t go unnoticed by the hundreds of fans who made the trip to Maui for this week’s tournament.

The section of Crimson and Cream-clad supporters behind the Hoosiers’ bench was animated from start to finish, giving standing ovations when their players came in and out of the game and cheering wildly for hustle plays and made baskets – even when their team was down by 30.

“Their fans were so good that they fooled the scorekeeper into giving them a three-pointer that was actually an air ball,” Brey joked.

Among the most vocal were brothers David and Joe Meisenhelder, who traveled from Indianapolis and Minneapolis, respectively.

“The pride is back, baby,” Joe said after scoring an autograph from Crean. “We’re putting the pieces back together. We know it’s going to be a long season, but the way [Crean] is going about things is why people are cheering.”

David explained.

“You can just watch how he handles himself and tell that this program is back on track,” he said. “I’ve been to Indiana basketball games for years and years, and there was some coaching going on today – some teaching – instead of just yelling and screaming the whole game.”

Indeed, during the past two weeks, Crean might have been as animated as he’s ever been during his head coaching career. Not because he’s yelling at the referees, but because he’s explaining things and situations to a group of players who are learning on the go.

During the last two minutes of Monday’s game, Indiana had four walk-ons on the court.

“It’s not going to do me any good to go in and [yell] and raise all kinds of noise,” Crean said. “We have to learn. We need to keep playing, we need to keep experiencing. We need to keep practicing. Guys are going to get it at different times.

“When you know you’re walking into a program and it’s at zero, I mean … that’s where it’s at. We’ve got to keep taking steps. Every team has a certain amount of steps they take. You can’t to skip any of them.”

Crean’s wife, Joani, said her husband is usually in good spirits when he comes home after practice each night.

“He’s energized,” she said. “They’re all listening to him, they’re all practicing hard and going to class. They’re doing what they should be doing. He can’t help but be encouraged.”

Not that there aren’t downtimes. After Monday’s game Crean stared at a stat sheet that showed his team had just 13 defensive deflections against Notre Dame. The Hoosiers (2-1) averaged 43 in victories over Northwestern State and IUPUI.

“We won’t sniff a win when we have a number that low,” Crean said.

Crean also admonished the Hoosiers for failing to communicate on the court, which caused them to commit turnovers or miss bunny shots. Indiana’s players also had Captain Hook hands at times, often getting the ball slapped away from them as they came down with a rebound or when they were looking to pass.

“I don’t think we’re soft,” Crean said. “I just think our lack of experience is glaring. It is what it is. We’re a brand new program again. It’s unprecedented in Indiana history. I don’t think there will be anyone younger than us in the country.

“We’re obviously in a learning process, and we learned a lot today.”

So did everyone else.

[sdduuuude]

LAHAINA, Hawaii – First came the standing ovation, then the requests for autographs and pictures as he walked toward the team bus.

“I’ll be here again tomorrow,” a fan told Tom Crean as the Indiana coach signed his T-shirt. “And I’ll be cheering the whole time.”

A 10th-year head coach who’s advanced to the Final Four, Crean had felt this kind of warmth before – just never after a 38-point loss.

But that was the case Monday at the Lahaina Civic Center, where Crean and the Hoosiers were the story of the afternoon thanks to a gutsy performance in the opening round of the Maui Invitational.

No one was surprised that Indiana’s 88-50 loss to eighth-ranked Notre Dame came in such lopsided fashion. With the exception of two seldom-used reserves, the Hoosiers are an entirely new team following an offseason riddled with player dismissals and transfers in the wake of the NCAA infractions committed by former coach Kelvin Sampson.

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Even with Crean taking over the program, the joke over the summer was that tradition-rich Indiana would be lucky to finish anywhere other than last in the Big Ten.

After Monday, people might begin to have second thoughts.

Indiana might have been blown out by the Fighting Irish, but they hardly looked lost or incompetent in defeat. Inexperienced and lacking talent and depth? Definitely. But scared, soft or confused? Not even close.

That’s a credit to Crean, who averaged 21 wins in nine years at Marquette before taking over at Indiana last spring. Five years after leading Dwyane Wade and the Golden Eagles to the Final Four, Crean is coaching a team that on Monday started four freshmen, including point guard Daniel Moore, and a walk-on whose only significant scholarship offer came from Boston University.

As overmatched as the Hoosiers were against Notre Dame, they didn’t seem to know it. Forward Tom Pritchard didn’t shoot fallaways against 255-pound All-American candidate Luke Harangody. He attacked the basket.

Guards Malik Story and Devan Dumes dove for loose balls while Moore and Verdell Jones sliced into the lane before firing a pass that led to an open three-pointer.

The problem was that Indiana missed 11 of those 12 shots. But the point is that they got them. The point is that, three games into their college careers, against a Fighting Irish squad that might be ranked too low at No. 8, they didn’t back down.

“Indiana has a heck of a coach,” said Notre Dame’s Mike Brey, whose teams had some classic battles with Crean’s Marquette squads. “I thank [Indiana] for getting him out of my league. It’s good he’s gone.”

Indiana’s moxie didn’t go unnoticed by the hundreds of fans who made the trip to Maui for this week’s tournament.

The section of Crimson and Cream-clad supporters behind the Hoosiers’ bench was animated from start to finish, giving standing ovations when their players came in and out of the game and cheering wildly for hustle plays and made baskets – even when their team was down by 30.

“Their fans were so good that they fooled the scorekeeper into giving them a three-pointer that was actually an air ball,” Brey joked.

Among the most vocal were brothers David and Joe Meisenhelder, who traveled from Indianapolis and Minneapolis, respectively.

“The pride is back, baby,” Joe said after scoring an autograph from Crean. “We’re putting the pieces back together. We know it’s going to be a long season, but the way [Crean] is going about things is why people are cheering.”

David explained.

“You can just watch how he handles himself and tell that this program is back on track,” he said. “I’ve been to Indiana basketball games for years and years, and there was some coaching going on today – some teaching – instead of just yelling and screaming the whole game.”

Indeed, during the past two weeks, Crean might have been as animated as he’s ever been during his head coaching career. Not because he’s yelling at the referees, but because he’s explaining things and situations to a group of players who are learning on the go.

During the last two minutes of Monday’s game, Indiana had four walk-ons on the court.

“It’s not going to do me any good to go in and [yell] and raise all kinds of noise,” Crean said. “We have to learn. We need to keep playing, we need to keep experiencing. We need to keep practicing. Guys are going to get it at different times.

“When you know you’re walking into a program and it’s at zero, I mean … that’s where it’s at. We’ve got to keep taking steps. Every team has a certain amount of steps they take. You can’t to skip any of them.”

Crean’s wife, Joani, said her husband is usually in good spirits when he comes home after practice each night.

“He’s energized,” she said. “They’re all listening to him, they’re all practicing hard and going to class. They’re doing what they should be doing. He can’t help but be encouraged.”

Not that there aren’t downtimes. After Monday’s game Crean stared at a stat sheet that showed his team had just 13 defensive deflections against Notre Dame. The Hoosiers (2-1) averaged 43 in victories over Northwestern State and IUPUI.

“We won’t sniff a win when we have a number that low,” Crean said.

Crean also admonished the Hoosiers for failing to communicate on the court, which caused them to commit turnovers or miss bunny shots. Indiana’s players also had Captain Hook hands at times, often getting the ball slapped away from them as they came down with a rebound or when they were looking to pass.

“I don’t think we’re soft,” Crean said. “I just think our lack of experience is glaring. It is what it is. We’re a brand new program again. It’s unprecedented in Indiana history. I don’t think there will be anyone younger than us in the country.

“We’re obviously in a learning process, and we learned a lot today.”

So did everyone else.

[sdduuuude]

LAHAINA, Hawaii – First came the standing ovation, then the requests for autographs and pictures as he walked toward the team bus.

“I’ll be here again tomorrow,” a fan told Tom Crean as the Indiana coach signed his T-shirt. “And I’ll be cheering the whole time.”

A 10th-year head coach who’s advanced to the Final Four, Crean had felt this kind of warmth before – just never after a 38-point loss.

But that was the case Monday at the Lahaina Civic Center, where Crean and the Hoosiers were the story of the afternoon thanks to a gutsy performance in the opening round of the Maui Invitational.

No one was surprised that Indiana’s 88-50 loss to eighth-ranked Notre Dame came in such lopsided fashion. With the exception of two seldom-used reserves, the Hoosiers are an entirely new team following an offseason riddled with player dismissals and transfers in the wake of the NCAA infractions committed by former coach Kelvin Sampson.

ADVERTISEMENT

Even with Crean taking over the program, the joke over the summer was that tradition-rich Indiana would be lucky to finish anywhere other than last in the Big Ten.

After Monday, people might begin to have second thoughts.

Indiana might have been blown out by the Fighting Irish, but they hardly looked lost or incompetent in defeat. Inexperienced and lacking talent and depth? Definitely. But scared, soft or confused? Not even close.

That’s a credit to Crean, who averaged 21 wins in nine years at Marquette before taking over at Indiana last spring. Five years after leading Dwyane Wade and the Golden Eagles to the Final Four, Crean is coaching a team that on Monday started four freshmen, including point guard Daniel Moore, and a walk-on whose only significant scholarship offer came from Boston University.

As overmatched as the Hoosiers were against Notre Dame, they didn’t seem to know it. Forward Tom Pritchard didn’t shoot fallaways against 255-pound All-American candidate Luke Harangody. He attacked the basket.

Guards Malik Story and Devan Dumes dove for loose balls while Moore and Verdell Jones sliced into the lane before firing a pass that led to an open three-pointer.

The problem was that Indiana missed 11 of those 12 shots. But the point is that they got them. The point is that, three games into their college careers, against a Fighting Irish squad that might be ranked too low at No. 8, they didn’t back down.

“Indiana has a heck of a coach,” said Notre Dame’s Mike Brey, whose teams had some classic battles with Crean’s Marquette squads. “I thank [Indiana] for getting him out of my league. It’s good he’s gone.”

Indiana’s moxie didn’t go unnoticed by the hundreds of fans who made the trip to Maui for this week’s tournament.

The section of Crimson and Cream-clad supporters behind the Hoosiers’ bench was animated from start to finish, giving standing ovations when their players came in and out of the game and cheering wildly for hustle plays and made baskets – even when their team was down by 30.

“Their fans were so good that they fooled the scorekeeper into giving them a three-pointer that was actually an air ball,” Brey joked.

Among the most vocal were brothers David and Joe Meisenhelder, who traveled from Indianapolis and Minneapolis, respectively.

“The pride is back, baby,” Joe said after scoring an autograph from Crean. “We’re putting the pieces back together. We know it’s going to be a long season, but the way [Crean] is going about things is why people are cheering.”

David explained.

“You can just watch how he handles himself and tell that this program is back on track,” he said. “I’ve been to Indiana basketball games for years and years, and there was some coaching going on today – some teaching – instead of just yelling and screaming the whole game.”

Indeed, during the past two weeks, Crean might have been as animated as he’s ever been during his head coaching career. Not because he’s yelling at the referees, but because he’s explaining things and situations to a group of players who are learning on the go.

During the last two minutes of Monday’s game, Indiana had four walk-ons on the court.

“It’s not going to do me any good to go in and [yell] and raise all kinds of noise,” Crean said. “We have to learn. We need to keep playing, we need to keep experiencing. We need to keep practicing. Guys are going to get it at different times.

“When you know you’re walking into a program and it’s at zero, I mean … that’s where it’s at. We’ve got to keep taking steps. Every team has a certain amount of steps they take. You can’t to skip any of them.”

Crean’s wife, Joani, said her husband is usually in good spirits when he comes home after practice each night.

“He’s energized,” she said. “They’re all listening to him, they’re all practicing hard and going to class. They’re doing what they should be doing. He can’t help but be encouraged.”

Not that there aren’t downtimes. After Monday’s game Crean stared at a stat sheet that showed his team had just 13 defensive deflections against Notre Dame. The Hoosiers (2-1) averaged 43 in victories over Northwestern State and IUPUI.

“We won’t sniff a win when we have a number that low,” Crean said.

Crean also admonished the Hoosiers for failing to communicate on the court, which caused them to commit turnovers or miss bunny shots. Indiana’s players also had Captain Hook hands at times, often getting the ball slapped away from them as they came down with a rebound or when they were looking to pass.

“I don’t think we’re soft,” Crean said. “I just think our lack of experience is glaring. It is what it is. We’re a brand new program again. It’s unprecedented in Indiana history. I don’t think there will be anyone younger than us in the country.

“We’re obviously in a learning process, and we learned a lot today.”

So did everyone else.

[sdduuuude]

Vinatieri’s field goal lifts Colts past Chargers
By BERNIE WILSON
AP Sports Writer

AP Photo
Indianapolis Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri, right, kicks a 51-yard game-winning field goal as Hunter Smith, left, holds during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the San Diego Chargers on Sunday, Nov. 23, 2008, in San Diego. The field goal gave the Colts a 23-20 win.

SAN DIEGO This time, Adam Vinatieri was right on from a lot farther out. Vinatieri, one of the most clutch kickers in NFL history, made a 51-yard field goal as time expired to lift Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts to a heart-stopping 23-20 win over the San Diego Chargers on Sunday night.

He was kicking toward the same goal posts where just more than a year ago he pushed a 29-yard field-goal attempt wide right with 1:31 left, allowing the Chargers to hold on for a 23-21 win.

Manning threw two touchdown passes for the Colts (7-4), who won their fourth straight game to remain in wild-card contention.

The Chargers (4-7) remain desperate. The two-time defending AFC West champions have lost four of five and remain two games behind division leader Denver, which was upset 31-10 by the Oakland Raiders.

Manning kept the winning drive alive with a 14-yard pass to Marvin Harrison on fourth-and-inches from the Chargers’ 48-yard line following a long officials’ review over the spot of the ball following the previous play.

It was Vinatieri’s 22nd career game-winning field goal in the final minute of the fourth quarter or overtime. Included on that list are two last-second kicks that won Super Bowls for the New England Patriots.

It was Manning’s 35th career game-winning drive in the fourth quarter or overtime.

Manning seemed determined not to take a fourth straight loss to the Chargers. It was the Chargers who ended the Colts’ 2007 season with a 28-24 upset in a divisional-round playoff game.

It wasn’t easy, though.

The Colts went ahead 20-10 on Vinatieri’s 38-yard field goal with 11:48 left. That kick capped a drive kept alive by pass interference calls against defensive backs Antonio Cromartie and Clinton Hart, both on third downs.

The Chargers scored 10 straight to tie it.

Philip Rivers threw a 1-yard scoring pass to rookie running back Jacob Hester and Nate Kaeding kicked a 47-yard field goal with 1:30 left.

Manning turned a turnover by Philip Rivers into a 17-10 lead, throwing a 1-yard touchdown pass to Dominic Rhodes on fourth-and-goal with 38 seconds left in the third quarter.

Rhodes burned linebacker Stephen Cooper for the TD catch after he was stopped on three straight runs after the Colts had a first-and-goal at the 1.

The drive was set up by Rivers’ fumble.

Rivers was scrambling when Robert Mathis came in from behind and batted the ball out of his hand. Raheem Brock scooped it up and returned it to the Colts’ 34.

Earlier, Manning rebounded from his own costly interception to throw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Gonzalez with 38 seconds left before halftime to pull the Colts into a 10-10 tie.

On Indianapolis’ previous possession, Manning was intercepted by Quentin Jammer at the Chargers 11.

The Chargers turned it into a 10-3 lead when Rivers hit Vincent Jackson on a 39-yard touchdown pass to cap the 89-yard, nine-play drive. Jackson made the catch behind two defenders before falling into the end zone. It was just the third TD pass allowed by the Colts this year.

The Colts had gone three games without a turnover and the Chargers had gone four games without a takeaway.

Vinatieri kicked a 23-yard field goal and San Diego’s Nate Kaeding kicked a 35-yarder, both in the first half.

Manning completed 32 of 44 passes for 255 yards. Rivers was 24-of-31 for 288 yards.

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