Sunday 9 September 2012

Denver Broncos Defeat Pittsburgh Steelers, 31-19

CLICK HERE Denver Broncos vs Pittsburgh Steelers, 31-19



CLICK HERE Denver Broncos vs Pittsburgh Steelers, 31-19

The four-time MVP coming off four neck surgeries completed 19 of 26 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns.

He got a big assist from another free agent, cornerback Tracy Porter, whose 43-yard interception return of Ben Roethlisberger's pass with 2 minutes left sealed the win.

Manning, jettisoned by the Indianapolis Colts in March after missing all of last season with a nerve injury that weakened his throwing arm, hit Demaryius Thomas with a 71-yard touchdown toss for his first score as a Bronco. It was his 400th career TD toss.

49ers' defense stuffs Green Bay, 30-22





Minutes after the 49ers made a season-opening statement with a 30-22 win over the Packers on Sunday, San Francisco defensive coordinator Vic Fangio resembled a man whose team had lost.
After coaching from upstairs, the grim-faced 53-year-old sat slumped on the back of a golf cart, which was ferrying him, general manager Trent Baalke and offensive coordinator Greg Roman under the stands at Lambeau Field to a celebratory locker room. So why, exactly, did Fangio appear so deflated after his defense had capped a virtuoso performance by stopping Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers on a last-minute, potentially game-tying drive?
"At the end there when you're going through that, it's like you're being drowned and someone just pulled you out of the water," Fangio said. "You're just laying there. It's like, 'Thank God you're alive.' "
With that, Fangio offered a big smile. He clearly felt very much alive after the 49ers, thanks to a dominating defensive effort, had killed a series of streaks: San Francisco ended an eight-game losing skid at Lambeau Field that dated to 1990, snapped Green Bay's 13-game home winning streak and held high-powered Green Bay under 24 points at Lambeau for the first time since 2010.
After last year's 13-3 season ended in the NFC Championship Game, the 49ers were viewed by many as Super Bowl contenders. And Sunday's road win, over a team that went 15-1 last year, should win over remaining skeptics.
"I think we have a team to be reckoned with," cornerback Tarell Brown said. "I think we have a team that's on the borderline of being a great team."
Jim Harbaugh's mantra is, "The team, the team and the team," and Sunday's victory was an all-around effort.
The defense? The 49ers dropped extra defenders into coverage against the pass-happy Packers, who ranked fifth in NFL history with 540 points last year. The tradeoff was that San Francisco was outnumbered up front and routinely took one of their best defensive players, inside linebacker Patrick Willis, out when they used six defensive backs.
Regardless, the 49ers still stuffed the run - Green Bay running back Cedric Benson had 18 yards on nine carries - and harassed Rodgers. They collected three sacks and five hits on the reigning NFL MVP, who scrambled five times for 27 yards under duress. After three quarters, the Packers, who scored two offensive touchdowns, trailed 23-7.
"That was big time," safety Dashon Goldson said of the defensive game plan. "Being able to keep box light and still stop the run? There's a lot of things you can do on back end which will help defend against the passing game. And our front did its job very well."
Meanwhile, as the Packers ended five of their first six drives with punts, the 49ers' offense scored on five straight possessions (three field goals and two touchdowns) after a game-opening three-and-out.


Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/49ers/article/49ers-defense-stuffs-Green-Bay-30-22-3851872.php#ixzz263NCUbBY

Friday 7 September 2012

Bryan brothers win US Open, set Grand Slam record

NEW YORK — At age 34, the Bryan brothers posed with the trophy with Bob's infant daughter and chatted about Mike's upcoming wedding.

They've now set the Open-era Grand Slam title record, but the pair doesn't plan to stop adding to that total anytime soon.

The American twins won the U.S. Open men's doubles final in straight sets Friday for a 12th Grand Slam championship. They had been tied with Australian greats Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde for the most in the Open era, which started in 1968.

"We looked up to the Woodies, and to steal all their records is unbelievable because we idolize those guys," Mike said. "They're one of the reasons we play doubles."

The Bryans, seeded No. 2, beat Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-4 without facing a break point.

In the third round, they were two points from losing the match in a second-set tiebreaker when Bob pulled off a between-the-legs trick shot — and they went on to win in three sets. After needing two tiebreakers in the quarterfinals to move on, the Bryans won their last two matches with little hassle.

Last month, they achieved their biggest goal of 2012 by winning their first Olympic gold medals at the London Games.

"It did take pressure off," Mike said. "We talked about it before each match. We're like, 'Let's swing free. We have the gold.' We came into this probably a little fatigued and just running on adrenaline from the Olympics. We could see the finish line."

Bob was passing around his medal after Friday's match, convinced it's a good luck charm. Golfer Sergio Garcia wore it during the tennis tournament in Cincinnati last month, then promptly posted his first PGA Tour victory in four years.

The brothers plan to stick around long enough to defend their title in Rio in 2016. That leaves plenty of opportunities to pad their Grand Slam record.

"Hopefully we can snag a couple a year, one or two," Mike said. "We got one this year. You do the math."

They had been stuck on 11 since 2011 Wimbledon, losing to Paes and Stepanek in this year's Australian Open final.

"We had a rough 12 months," Bob said. "We took a lot of lumps, but now that's all forgotten. It's sweeter than ever."

The Bryans also tied the Open-era record with their fourth U.S. Open championship, matching Bob Lutz and Stan Smith. They had been in danger of finishing a year without a major title for the first time since '04.

"Still would have been a good year because we have the Olympics," Mike said. "But we wanted to keep the streak alive of eight years with a Slam."

Next on the list of goals: the Davis Cup match against Spain.

Paes, from India, and Stepanek, from the Czech Republic, were seeded fifth. They were under pressure on their serves the entire match and saved 10 of 12 break points, but one break in each set was plenty for the Bryans. The brothers combined to get in 79 percent of their first serves, and even when they didn't, they won 73 percent of points on their second serves.

Mike isn't the sentimental type, insisting he hasn't cried since high school — he thought the Olympic medal ceremony might bring the tears but even that failed to work. So he and Bob weren't going to offer too many deep thoughts about this latest milestone.

At least one member of the family is relishing it, though.

"My dad gets a real kick out of the records," Bob said. "He has a spreadsheet on his computer. I'm sure he's updating it right now."

Thursday 6 September 2012

2012 MTV VMA Performances Highlights




Drake is up for Video of the Year ("Take Care"), Best Male Video, Best Hip-Hop Video, Best Art Direction and Best Cinematography (this is a serious award show!). He's up against Chris Brown for Best Male Video, which is only interesting because members of the duo's respective entourages threw bottles of liquor at each other in a much ballyhooed New York nightclub brawl.

Other artists vying for Video of the Year: Katy Perry ("Wide Awake"), Rihanna (solo, for "We Found Love"), M.I.A. ("Bad Girls") and the meme-ready Gotye ("Somebody That I Used To Know"). Best New Artist is another hot category, and Frank Ocean (for "Swim Good"), Fun ("We Are Young," with Janelle Monae), Carly Rae Jepsen ("Call Me Maybe"), One Direction ("What Makes You Beautiful") and The Wanted ("Glad You Came"). Why songs are associated with the Best New Artist category? We're not sure either.

Among the performers expected at the event: Rihanna, who debuted a short new 'do hours at rehearsals, Nicki Minaj, Green Day (Billie Joe Armstrong hospitalization notwithstanding), Lil Wayne, Alicia Keys, Pink, Frank Ocean, One Direction and Taylor Swift. Should be a pop-tastic night.

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Much more!

Katy Perry Niall Horan

Kevin Winter, Getty Images

One Direction

Kevin Winter, Getty Images

Pink

Kevin Winter, Getty Images

Chris Brown

Kevin Winter, Getty Images

Frank Ocean

Kevin Winter, Getty Images

Calvin Harris

Kevin Winter, Getty Images

Demi Lovato Rita Ora Miley Cyrus Mac Miller

Kevin Winter (2), Getty Images

Drake

Kevin Winter, Getty Images

One Direction

Kevin Winter, Getty Images

The Wanted

Kevin Winter, Getty Images

Billie Joe Armstrong

Christopher Polk, Getty Images

Alicia Keys 2 Chainz Lil Wayne

Kevin Winter (2), Getty Images

Nicki Minaj

Christopher Polk, Getty Images

Rihanna Kevin Hart

Kevin Winter, Getty Images

Rihanna Taylor Swift

Kevin Winter / Christopher Polk, Getty Images

Taylor Swift

Sunday 2 September 2012

Iowa Air Show Crash Kills Pilot


Glenn Smith left a lucrative job at a Dallas-area technology firm for an early retirement of restoring Soviet fighter jets and flying to exhibitions across the country.

He died Saturday when his nearly 30-year-old training plane nosedived during an air show in eastern Iowa and crashed into a field, authorities said. Spectators watched the 59-year-old Smith's plane erupt into flames, followed by a cloud of gray smoke. Nobody on the ground was hurt.

Smith had been flying in formation with other members of the HopperFlight team at the Quad-City Air Show in Davenport.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash. Senior air safety investigator Aaron Sauer said Sunday that a preliminary report on the crash is expected within a week, but a final report will likely take several months.

He said inspectors would examine the few remaining pieces of the plane, as well as Smith's autopsy and toxicology reports.

Smith did not make a mayday call or suggest any sign of distress before the crash, according to Sauer and Randy Ball, a good friend of Smith's.

Ball said Smith was a meticulous flier who would map every step of a flight plan beforehand.

"They practiced the day before and everything went fine," Ball said.

Smith was a longtime technology entrepreneur whose company was acquired by Tyler Technologies, a Dallas-based company that develops software for local schools and government clients, in 1998. He remained an executive at Tyler until 2006, the company said in a statement.

Wednesday 29 August 2012

So You Think You Can Dance,' Top 8 Perform, 2 Eliminated: TV Recap



Tonight, two dancers will be booted. Tiffany, Will, Lindsay, Chehon, Witney, Cole, Eliana, and Cyrus. Because the show is still two hours long, they have to fluff it out with little personal montages.

Each dancer is dancing twice, but not every dance gets commentary from the judges.

Tiffany is from Florida and she likes water. Then she does a contemporary solo to a Glee song. It’s fine, adept, but I don’t feel a terrific connection.

Witney is dancing with tWitch to a hip-hop routine. Witney’s hair is distracting me. Nigel says it has urban attitude, which is a surprise from an 18-year-old from Utah. Mary said it was fantastic and she was everything. Jesse said it was brilliant, even in horrendous diaper pant costumes.

Will says he was the class clown and dance helped him find purpose. Then he does a short solo without commentary.

Cole and Alison are paired together and Cole is a sadistic man and Alison wants his heart. Didn’t he play a cruel guy a couple weeks ago. Is this his thing? Jesse sends more love to choreographer Sonya and says Cole was insane. Mary loved the lifts and says it was stunning but a little creepy. Nigel says Cole brings the power and is really unique.

Lindsay used to dance at her mom’s studio with her sisters. Lindsay then does a flamenco-style solo that is my favorite so far tonight.

Eliana is paired with Brian for a quick-step, where she feels she’s being ignored as part of the routine. Mary said she thought the quick step would throw Eliana a curve ball, but she excelled and did a great job in the rotations. Jesse says it’s been amazing to watch her transformation.

Chehon says it was amazing that his parents let him to go to the Royal School of Ballet and it’s hard for his parents. His soaring solo brings everyone to their feet. Awwh, he’s all emotional because his mom is watching. It’s nice.

Lindsay and all-star Alex do a jazz routine. Nigel says he didn’t feel the sexual tension and tells them they need layers. Mary says she agrees – the dancing was good but the chemistry wasn’t there.

Will is with all-star Lauren in a hip-hop routine where Will is in a lot of pain and Lauren is helping him out. A lot of jumping on a couch is involved. Mary loved the routine and says it was perfectly precise. Jesse says he’s a super adorable puppy and it was nice to see him more serious.

Cole says he started martial arts because he was socially awkward and found a way to incorporate that into dance. And then he does a pretty cool solo.

Witney said her dad doesn’t like to see her in her skimpy ballroom costumes. She does a nice solo too. No one is completely falling down tonight.

Last year’s winner, Melanie Moore, is paired with one of this year’s favorites, Cyrus for a jazz routine. Jesse says Cyrus held his own against Melanie. Nigel said the personality of the couple grabs everyone. Mary says she’s constantly in awe that Cyrus does so well when he hasn’t been trained.

Chehon gets paired with all-star Anya for a tango and feels lost. The walks, in particular, are challenging, he said. Mary said there was something really special about the dance and it was her favorite number tonight. Nigel said all his strengths came into play here.

Cyrus talks about how his dad died when he was 10 and his mom was his big support before his solo.

Tiffany does the last solo to “The Power of Love” by Celine Dion which already annoys me because Laura Branigan sang it better. Jesse says the partner work was insane. Mary says Tiffany was extraordinary and it was her best performance of the season. Nigel said it was fantastic and she’s a great performer while being humble.

Judging: Eliana and Tiffany are safe. Witney and Lindsay are at the bottom.

Cyrus and Chehon are safe. Will and Cole are at the bottom.

Final picks: The judges pick Witney and Cole to stay and Lindsay and Will to go.

Next week: Oh get on with it already. And isn’t it weird to keep comparing Will to various dogs?