Öffentlicher Bereich » ven ties. Ibaka had three fouls and Thabo

(SportsNetwork.com) - After avoiding their first three-game losing streak in three years, the Seattle Seahawks will try to make up some ground in the NFC West on Sunday at CenturyLink Field. Theyll do so against a winless Oakland Raiders club that is off to its worst start in 52 years. The defending Super Bowl champion Seahawks dropped a two-point decision to the St. Louis Rams on Oct. 19, seven days after losing for just the second time in their last 19 at home with a setback to Dallas. Faced with the possibility of losing three in a row for the first time since Oct. 23-Nov. 6 -- and for the first time with quarterback Russell Wilson under center -- Seattle responded with a 13-9 victory over the Carolina Panthers. While it wasnt an emphatic end to their two-game skid, the Seahawks saw Wilson lead a late scoring drive. Carolina went up by three points on a field goal with 4:37 to play, but Wilson came back to lead a 9-play, 80-yard scoring drive, capped with his touchdown pass to tight end Luke Willson with 47 seconds to play. As an offense, I felt like we kept knocking and knocking. Thats kind of our attitude out there, Wilson said. Wilson shook off a rough start to finish 20-for-32 passing with 199 yards, a touchdown and an interception. Marshawn Lynch ran for 62 yards and Doug Baldwin had six catches for 61 yards. At 4-3, Seattle is tied with San Francisco for second place in the NFC West, with both teams trailing 6-1 Arizona. The playoffs are already a fading dream for 0-7 Oakland, which has lost 13 straight games dating back to last season. Their winless stretch through seven games to begin the season is the worst for the franchise since 1962, when it lost its first 13 games before winning its season finale. Oakland visited the Cleveland Browns last Sunday and lost a 23-13 game despite a career-high 328 passing yards by rookie quarterback David Carr. He completed 34 of his whooping 54 pass attempts as the Raiders fell to 2-17 on the road since 2012. We came up short again out here. I thought the players effort was really hard out there on the field today, said Tony Sparano, who is 0-3 since taking over as interim coach. We played with a lot of energy, a lot of passion and a lot of enthusiasm. We didnt play smart football, any time you come on the road and you turn the ball over three times. Carr had thrown for less than 200 yards in three of six games entering Sunday, but hooked up with tight end Mychal Rivera seven times for 83 yards while also completing a touchdown pass to wide receiver Andre Holmes. I thought Derek battled hard, he fought hard, even towards the end. He had a couple of drops and some other things that he is going to look back at, noted Sparano. The Raiders lead the all-time series with the Seahawks 28-23, but are 10-14 in Seattle. The teams have split their past seven meetings, with the Raiders winning 33-3 at home in the most recent encounter on Oct. 31, 2010. WHAT TO WATCH FOR The Seahawks ruled seven players out of Sundays matchup with the Panthers, but head coach Pete Carroll noted a few guys may be set to return. Pro Bowl center Max Unger, cornerback Byron Maxwell, defensive tackle Jordan Hill and returner Bryan Walters are candidates to come back from injury, though linebacker Bobby Wagner (toe) and tight end Zach Miller (ankle) are already ruled out. Unger would be a big boost as he has missed the last three games with a foot injury, while Maxwell has been sidelined for back-to-back contests due to a calf aliment. We have some guys on the verge (of coming back), said Carroll. Unger could help get Seattles traditional ground game back on track. The Seahawks rank second in the NFL with 148.4 yards per game on the ground, but Lynch has not posted a 100-yard rushing game since Week 1 and his 62 yards versus Carolina was his highest total in three weeks. The Pro Bowl back hasnt scored on the ground in four straight games. Wilson, though, has been able to make some plays with his feet this season to at least help move the ball on the ground. Oakland, meanwhile, has gotten little out of its run game, managing an NFL-worst 69.6 yards per game. That probably wont change this weekend as Seattle is ranked sixth against the run (89.6 yards allowed per game) and fifth in total defense (316.1). Oakland did manage to hold Cleveland to a mere 39 rushing yards a weekend ago and an average of 1.6 yards per carry. That marked the sixth time since 2012 that the Raiders allowed less than two years per carry. With the Raiders unable to move the ball, Carr has had to attempt 249 passes. He has completed 61 percent of those for 1,517 yards. Last week he had the first ever 300-yard passing game by a Raider rookie and he is 31 yards shy of setting the Raider rookie record for passing yards in a season. That is currently held by Matt McGloin, who posted 1,547 yards last year. With nine touchdown passes on the season, Carr is three shy of matching Andy Daltons NFL-rookie record of 12 TD passes through the first eight games of the 2012 campaign. Oakland is tied for second in the NFL with eight sacks allowed, but that doesnt mean Carr hasnt been pressured a lot on the year. In fact, Cleveland got to him three times as the club was forced to go pass-heavy. Hes got a great release, probably one of the best releases that Ive been involved with, so he gets the ball out and doesnt take a lot of sacks like that. Thats all part of it, its a big part of it, Sparano said of Carr. Hell be tested again as the Seahawks bounced back from getting zero sacks against the Rams to bringing down Carolinas mobile quarterback Cam Newton three times. Linebacker Bruce Irvin had two of the sacks and defensive tackle Brandon Mebane had the other. This was a better day of pressuring the quarterback across the board. We moved him early. (Newtons) numbers werent the kind that he sometimes puts up. I felt that the four-man stuff was good, the pressure stuff worked out well and it gave us a better rhythm in the game, said Carroll. OVERALL ANALYSIS A stop in Cleveland was obviously the best chance for Oakland to get its first win of the season on this quick two-game road trip. Seattle has already been stunned and surprised once at home this season and Carroll will have his team ready to avoid another let down. Seattle should be able to get its ground game going this weekend and Lynch is in line to break out in a big way. Oakland will come to town with low expectations, but it seems a longshot it will leave with a victory. Sports Network predicted outcome: Seahawks 31, Raiders 12 Harmon Killebrew Jersey . Blatter also told reporters Saturday after meeting with Qatars emir that the decision to award the tournament to the desert nation is "not reversible." There have been calls to move the tournament because of Qatars intense heat. Michael Pineda Jersey . Still, its a start. Josh Baileys goal with 1:40 left capped a furious third-period rally, and the Islanders edged the Penguins 4-3 on Friday night. http://www.twinsrookiestore.com/Twins-Max-Kepler-Kids-Jersey/ . - After three days of light, make that very light, workouts, Team Irvin and Team Carter are ready for tonights Pro Bowl. Ervin Santana Jersey . Salah, who scored against Chelsea in two Champions League group matches this season, is Jose Mourinhos third significant recruit in the January transfer window after Nemanja Matic and Bertrand Traore. Phil Hughes Jersey . Torres tells Spanish daily AS "in football you never know where you will be inside one month. Im going to work hard, thats all you can do with this last part of the season so important.LOS ANGELES -- Kevin Durant scored 36 points, Russell Westbrook added 23 and the Oklahoma City Thunder outplayed the Los Angeles Clippers in the fourth quarter for a 118-112 victory Friday night and a 2-1 lead in their Western Conference semifinal. Serge Ibaka added 20 points and Westbrook had 13 assists for the Thunder in a game that neither team ever led by double digits. Blake Griffin scored 34 points, and Chris Paul added 21 points and 16 assists for the Clippers, who saw their four-point lead disappear for good early in the fourth quarter. Sixth Man of the Year Jamal Crawford added 20 points. Oklahoma City led 113-107 on Durants turnaround jumper with 1:23 left. It followed Westbrooks 3-pointer after the Clippers had closed within 108-107 when Griffin muscled in for a layup. Game 4 is Sunday at Staples Center. The Thunder shot 56 per cent, and controlled the paint and fastbreak points against a Clippers team that never got into their favoured run-and-gun mode. J.J. Redick, who got off to a hot start in Game 2, was held to five points on 1-of-6 shooting. DeAndre Jordan was never a factor for the Clippers either, with 10 points and 11 rebounds. Matt Barnes gave them a lift with 14 points. The Thunder gradually pulled away in the fourth, scoring eight straight points, including Durants three-point play, to take the lead for good. Former Clipper Caron Butler hit three 3-pointers to give his team the lead and then extend it. Emotions boiled in the third, with double technicals called on Barnes and Kendrick Perkins, who stared hard at each other. Perkins took a step toward Barnes but got pushed away by Westbrook. By then, Griffin was already bloodied. He got hit in the faace by Ibaka, but the only call by the referees was 3 seconds on the Clippers.dddddddddddd Griffin held a towel to his gushing nose and changed his jersey during a timeout. The Clippers rallied at the end of the period, outscoring the Thunder 8-0 to take a 90-86 lead. They did it on free throws except for Griffins basket. Reggie Jackson was called for a foul and a technical, and then Durant fouled Crawford on a 3-point attempt with less than a second left. He made all three. Neither team led by more than seven points in the first half, when the lead changed hands 14 times and there were seven ties. Ibaka had three fouls and Thabo Sefolosha two for the Thunder. NOTES: Shelly Sterling, the estranged wife of banned Clippers owner Donald Sterling, attended the game. Her lawyer has said she wants to retain her financial interest in the team. ... Paul tied Elton Brands franchise record for most double-doubles in the playoffs with his sixth. ... Paul and Durant earned double technicals late in the first half after using expletives. ... Clippers F Hedo Turkoglu, out with a hairline fracture in his lower back, was able to pull on his gym shorts Friday, but coach Doc Rivers said its not looking good for him to return. ... Earlier Friday, the NBA hired Dick Parsons as the Clippers interim CEO. He is former chairman of Citigroup and Time Warner. Rivers said Parsons "is a very good hire." ... Rivers handed Crawford his Sixth Man of the Year trophy at centre court before the game. ... Among the famous faces were Rihanna, former Oklahoma football coach Barry Switzer, Billy Crystal, producer Jeffrey Katzenberg and Boston Marathon winner Meb Keflezighi, who pulled out his medal as the crowd cheered. ' ' '