Vorstellungen » . The native of Canada had 29 MLS ap

(SportsNetwork.com) - The Baltimore Ravens hope to clinch their sixth playoff berth in seven years on Sunday when they visit a Houston Texans club that is reaching deep into the quarterback well to keep its postseason chances alive. The Ravens have won two straight and four of their past five to stay in the mix of an ultra-competitive AFC North. However, at 9-5 they have a chance to secure a playoff spot with a victory and losses by division rivals Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. Baltimore is tied with Pittsburgh for second in the division, just behind 9-4-1 Cincinnati. The Ravens, who host the Cleveland Browns to close out the regular-season next Sunday, picked up their second win in a row with a less-than-impressive 20-12 decision over the Jacksonville Jaguars this past weekend. Joe Flacco threw for just 221 yards, including a three-yard strike to tight end Owen Daniels, but defense and special teams also chipped in. Baltimore recorded a season-high eight sacks -- 2 1/2 by linebacker Terrell Suggs and another two from rookie defensive tackle Timmy Jernigan -- while Darian Stewart blocked a punt that Kamar Aiken returned 11 yards for an early score. We didnt play smart all the time. We had too many mistakes, too many errors that kept us off the field or put our defense back on the field, those kind of things, said Ravens coach John Harbaugh. But Jacksonville did a good job. Thats a good young football team, especially on defense. That defense is salty and they get after you. Houstons defense can also get after teams as it proved in Sundays 17-10 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. The Texans held the Colts to season lows of 17 points and 278 yards, but still failed to win a third straight game while falling to 7-7 on the year. Already without wide receiver Andre Johnson (concussion) and tight end Garrett Graham (ankle), Texans starting quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick left in the second quarter with a leg injury that forced rookie Tom Savage into duty. I felt for him because he knew right away that it was injured, his leg was injured, and I felt bad for him, said Texans coach Bill OBrien of Fitzpatrick. Savage completed 10-of-19 passes for 127 yards with two fumbles -- one lost -- and an interception in his NFL debut. Fitzpatrick had season-ending surgery on his leg Monday, while Savage will also be out this weekend due to an undisclosed injury. With Ryan Mallett having been lost earlier to a season-ending pectoral injury, Houston will start a fourth different quarterback this season. That will be either Thad Lewis or Case Keenum, who was signed off the St. Louis Rams practice squad this week. Keenum played with Houston last season and was with the club in training camp before getting released on Aug. 31. OBrien, though, has yet to announce a starter, but whoever goes could also be under center for the Week 17 finale against visiting Jacksonville. Im going to keep that one close to the vest, OBrien said on Wednesday. Both these guys, Case and Thad, are out there working hard. Right up until game time, thats going to be the way it is. The Texans have beaten the Ravens only once in seven prior meetings, including a 2011 playoff victory for Baltimore. This game will also mark a return to Houston for Baltimore offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak and Owns, who played with the Texans from 2006-13. Kubiak, meanwhile, was Houstons head coach from 2006-13, helping the club win back-to-back AFC South crowns in 2011-12. I think it will mean everything, Owens said of Kubiak getting a win this Sunday. Thats all we want. Obviously, for this team to go in there and take care of business -- to keep our playoff hopes on track -- thats the biggest thing. And then its just a little icing on top for (Kubiak) probably to go back into a place (where he was the head coach). WHAT TO WATCH FOR Both quarterbacks figure to be under heavy pressure this Sunday as some of the top pass rushers will be on the field. For the Ravens, they rank third in the NFL with 45 sacks and no other duo in the league has more combined sacks than Suggs and Elvis Dumervil, who have 28 between the two of them. Suggs 11 give him his sixth-career double-digit sack season. Dumervil, meanwhile, has joined Texans defensive end J.J. Watt in the Defensive Player of the Year discussions. His 17 sacks are tied with Kansas Citys Justin Houston for the most in the NFL and match is previous career high of 17 set in 2009. The Ravens limited the Jaguars to 248 total yards, including just 68 in the second half, and Dumervil also picked up a sack. Itll be a good challenge for both offensive lines, said Dumervil of this matchup. We have guys who get after the quarterback, and (Watt) is a guy who can get after the quarterback. So, Im sure whoevers defense plays the best wins the game, for sure. Watt, who has multiple sacks in a career-high three straight games, with seven over that time, agreed that the Ravens have depth at pass rushing. (Dumervils) playing very well. Hes playing very good football right now, and their whole defensive line is playing good football, said Watt. You have him, Suggs and (Pernell) McPhee and Jernigan -- all those guys are playing some good football up there. So, as a defensive lineman, you enjoy watching good football being played, and theyre definitely doing a good job of it. Watt has done a great job of playing football himself. He has 16 1/2 sacks on the year, 10 passes defensed, a pick-six and three forced fumbles, one he returned for a score. The playmaker also has caught three touchdown passes. Where do you start? He does everything well. He catches passes for touchdowns, so what doesnt he do? Hes just a great player, noted Harbaugh of Watt. Houstons Watt-led defense will try to slow down Flacco, who has posted a 107.2 passer rating over the Ravens past four games. He also is three touchdown passes shy of passing the career-high 25 he threw in 2010, while Baltimore is 23 points short of setting a new single-season record for points score. The 2012 squad scored 398. Helping Flacco is the fact that under Kubiak, the club has allowed only 16 sacks, second-fewest in the NFL. Watt figures to challenge that, while Houston running back Arian Foster will attempt to snap Baltimores string of 24 straight games without allowing a 100-yard rusher. Foster just missed the mark versus the Colts, rushing for 99 yards on 26 attempts, and is averaging 102.5 yards per game on the ground this season. Foster has 11 touchdowns, eight of those rushing, over his last eight games. Johnson also expects to return this weekend from his concussion and is four receptions shy of 1,000 for his career. Hitting the mark this weekend would make him the second-fastest player to do so, coming in Johnsons 168th career game. His return should help either Keenum or Lewis. Keenum passed for 1,760 yards with nine touchdowns and six interceptions in eight games for the Texans last season, while Lewis has passed for 1,296 yards with five touchdowns and four picks in seven all-time appearances, including five starts. OVERALL ANALYSIS In trying to deal with Watt, Flacco should have some room for error as the Ravens defense is likely to make it a long day for either Keenum or Lewis. Not helping either quarterback is the fact that Houston may not be able to lean heavily on Foster given Baltimores success versus the run. The Ravens rank third in that department, yielding a mere 84.3 yards per game, while the Texans are fourth in the NFL with 136.8 yards per game on the ground. Getting Foster some room to run will be key, but also easier said than done and the Ravens catch a break with the Texans issues under center. Sports Network predicted outcome: Ravens 24, Texans 13 Andre Reed Jersey . Joel Embiid was nearly unstoppable in the paint in the second half, and Naadir Tharpe seemingly couldnt miss. Thurman Thomas Jersey . "Its amazing to do this coming from such a small island, where tennis isnt necessarily recognized as one of the main sports," Puig said. "Im just happy Im able to be here playing tennis not only for myself, but for my country too. http://www.shoptheofficialbills.com/Elite-Bruce-Smith-Bills-Jersey/ .The Los Angeles Lakers star passed Michael Jordan for third on the NBAs career scoring list Sunday night in a 100-94 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves. Custom Buffalo Bills Jerseys .Bekker was added Wednesday in exchange for allocation money after two seasons with Toronto. The native of Canada had 29 MLS appearances, including 16 starts. Hes also played in 13 games for the Canadian national team. Jim Kelly Jersey . Mats Zuccarello and Derek Stepan scored shootout goals, and backup goalie Cam Talbot earned his second win in two nights as the Rangers shook off a late tying tally and beat the Maple Leafs 2-1 Monday night.TORONTO - By Monday morning - hours after an increasingly perilous skid hit five - more than a few members of the wobbling Maple Leafs were on the third floor of the Air Canada Centre, playing some basketball on the practice court of the neighbouring Toronto Raptors. "I think some guys just wanted to go shoot some hoops and loosen up," said captain Dion Phaneuf on a rest day for most of his teammates. The Leafs are doing what they can to loosen up and shake the ills of a losing streak that has them tumbling closer and closer to another late season collapse and early spring exit. In fine position as recently as two weeks ago - second in the Atlantic following a statement win in L.A. - they are now simply clinging to the final wild card position in the East with a grueling test against St. Louis ahead on Tuesday night. "No ones happy with whats gone on," said Phaneuf, "but its reality. We have got to come [Tuesday] prepared and ready to go." Just as the highs of a win streak are exaggerated so too are the lows of a losing slide. Toronto has lost five straight, all close games and all with a series of consistent and untimely trends. First has been the sluggish starts and inability to score the games first goal. The Leafs have a .714 winning percentage this season when they score first, a .289 mark when they dont. Theyve given up that valued first goal in seven straight games, falling behind by two or more in five of the seven (six losses). And while theyve improbably rallied to tie or pull within one in each of the five losses - even leading briefly against Tampa - the uphill climb has ultimately proven too steep to overcome. "The one issue for us, more than anything, is that we seem to have been putting ourselves in the position of clawing back into games," head coach Randy Carlyle observed. "And you wont have success if you continually have to do that." "Weve played from behind too often," Phaneuf concurred. "When we have been coming from behind thats when weve been attacking more than from the start. When you do get down you play with more desperation. We have to find a way to play with that desperation right from the get-go." Not helping matters, though certainly not the singular point of blame, has been the goaltending. His confidence simply sunk at this point, James Reimer has not provided anywhere near the top-tier caliber of goaltending that Jonathan Bernier delivered before his injury, the kind of elite nightly theatrics the defensively-inept Leafs require to win. Consider Berniers 8-2-2 record and .947 save percentage this season when facing 40 shots as reminders of that ability to perform under heavy strain. Reimer, meanwhile, has a disastrous .871 save percentage in five starts in place of Bernier. Nursing the first groin injury of his career, Bernier was on the ice again Monday afternoon, but wasnt sure if hed be available to return against the Blues. "It hurts to see your team lose," he said, "but at the same time its one of those injuries [wwhere] youve got to take time.dddddddddddd Dont want to rush and then youre out for another four or five games after." Bernier said his readiness would be determined by the teams medical staff, but said hed know for himself when he was able to make "a split save or that I can make that stretch save and not think about it I guess." Update: Bernier was the projected starter on Tuesday morning. Without him, Carlyle would be faced with difficult question in goal for a tough tilt against the best team in the West. Start Reimer for the sixth consecutive game despite his struggles or hand the net to Drew MacIntyre, the 30-year-old who has yet to start an NHL game. While perhaps difficult to envision Carlyle turning back to Reimer yet again, consider that under similarly challenging circumstance - two sets of back-to-backs in the past week - he went with the struggling former no. 1 each and every time. The tried and tested product, however unstable at the moment, may be more appealing than the unknown. Reimer was pulled for MacIntyre in the teams fifth straight loss on Sunday night. "What happened last game, surely you take that into consideration, but the most important thing is that the individual we choose to represent us at that position tomorrow night we feel confident he can get the job done," said Carlyle. Beyond goaltending are the series of game-changing mistakes and breakdowns that have often left Reimer on an island all his own, left to sink or swim in an unforgiving crease. Bernier bailed out those mistakes more often than not. Reimer has not. There was Troy Brouwer left all by his lonesome in the slot during the first loss in Washington. There were two Gustav Nyquist breakaway goals in Detroit. It was three times open for Steven Stamkos in Toronto. There was the Phil Kessel neutral zone giveaway which sprung Max Pacioretty against Montreal, a Rene Bourque breakaway coming shortly after. And most recently, a bad line change and pinch that sparked an odd-man rush goal from Damien Brunner and then later another breakaway, this time from Patrik Elias. "What we have to do is we have to limit our mistakes," said Carlyle. "Were making too many of them that are costing us in the hockey games." Additionally, the Leafs have been unable to find much offence beyond their top line. Without the likes of Phil Kessel, James van Riemsdyk, and Tyler Bozak scoring two or three a night, theyve simply not produced enough to overshadow other faults as was often the case in victories earlier this season. "Theres still lots of hockey to be played," Phaneuf said. "Theres lots of points that are available for us. We obviously are not happy about what has happened, but whats happened has happened. Theres no going back to yesterday or three days ago or a week ago. Right now our focus is on St. Louis and coming out and playing the way that we can. "Weve slid far enough. Weve got to grab some traction here and regroup with a big win." Blackhawks Jerseys Store Cheap Wild Jerseys Cheap Red Wings Jerseys Cheap Maple Leafs Jerseys Penguins Jerseys Store Capitals Jerseys For Sale Blues Jerseys Store Cheap Kings Jerseys Adidas Lightning Jerseys Stars Jerseys For Sale Cheap Predators Jerseys Ducks Store Sharks Jerseys For Sale Cheap Sabres Jerseys Rangers Jerseys For Sale ' ' '