Tagebücher unser Lieblinge » Ramblers pulled within 11 with 5 1/2

SAN DIEGO -- John Fox sent text messages to several Denver Broncos on Sunday morning, wishing them good luck against the San Diego Chargers. The Broncos will reciprocate by giving a game ball to their coach, whos at his off-season home in Charlotte, N.C., recovering from heart surgery. With interim coach Jack Del Rio in charge, Peyton Manning threw for 330 yards and four touchdowns, three to Demaryius Thomas, as he efficiently led the Broncos to a 28-20 victory in their first game since Fox had his aortic valve replaced last Monday. Fox was released Friday and will continue his recovery at his off-season home. "We look forward to giving it to him in person," Manning said. Manning said he spoke with Fox by phone on Saturday before the Broncos flew to San Diego. "I told him not to be yelling at me during the game. Its not good for his blood pressure," Manning said. "Im not sure well see if he did or didnt. But he was in our thoughts. Coach Del Rio has done a good job all week keeping us updated on coach Fox." Fox planned to watch the game on TV there, a team spokesman said. If he watched, he probably didnt like seeing Manning hurting his right ankle when he was hit by Corey Liuget as the Broncos ran out the clock in the closing minutes. Manning stayed in the game. Manning wouldnt be specific about his injury, but said he was "pretty sore" and that he planned to have an MRI on Monday. Manning was hurt after completing a pass to Thomas with 1:44 left. "We were playing aggressively to win the game right there," Del Rio said. "He made a throw, D.T. made a catch and that was the ballgame. He got up and didnt want to come off -- very proud guy -- and closed out the game for us." Asked about playing in the Broncos showdown with AFC West leader Kansas City (9-0) next Sunday night, Manning said: "I totally plan on it." Manning kept the Broncos (8-1) rolling. He threw touchdown passes of 11, 7 and 34 yards to Thomas on consecutive drives spanning the second and third quarters, staking the Broncos to a 28-6 lead. Julius Thomas had a 74-yard catch-and-run on Denvers first drive, turning a short pass into the second-longest play by a tight end in team history. Liuget said it wasnt an intentional hit. "I was trying to get to him because I knew how critical it could be to us as a defence to get to him. I was just working it and trying to be the guy. Im not sure how I caught him but I hope he is OK. Its not anything that is going to stop him from being Peyton Manning." The Broncos scoring drives lasted 57 seconds; 2 minutes, 27 seconds, 1:25, and 3:26. "You knew it wasnt going to be many possessions and we had to be efficient when we had the ball," Manning said. Manning has thrown for 3,249 yards and 33 touchdowns in nine games. He completed 25 of 36 passes against the Chargers. The Chargers (4-5) closed the gap late in the second half but couldnt catch up. The Chargers were inside the Denver 23 three times in their first four possessions and had to settle for field goals of 26 and 40 yards by Nick Novak. Novak was wide left on a 37-yard attempt with 1:38 left before halftime. "Three opportunities, you get six points and they score 28," said Chargers rookie coach Mike McCoy, who was Denvers offensive co-ordinator the past four seasons. "As you go along that is critical. When you play Peyton you have to get touchdowns. Weve just got to do a better job." Mannings big afternoon was marred only when rookie linebacker Tourek Williams hit Manning from behind and knocked the ball loose, with Donald Butler recovering at the Denver 11 midway through the third quarter. Two plays later, Philip Rivers found Danny Woodhead for a 7-yard scoring pass. The Chargers pulled to 28-20 on Ryan Mathews 1-yard touchdown run on third down with 10:42 to play. A week earlier, the Chargers had the ball first-and-goal from the Washington 1 before Woodhead was stuffed and Rivers threw two incompletions before settling for a field goal to force overtime. The Redskins won 30-24. Novaks miss late in the second quarter gave Manning enough time to move the Broncos 73 yards in nine plays, all passes, capped by his 7-yard scoring throw to Demaryius Thomas for a 21-6 lead before halftime. Manning threw only one incompletion that drive. The Broncos got the opening kickoff of the second half and went 78 yards in eight plays, with Thomas 34-yard TD catch giving the Broncos a 28-6 lead. "So its a 14-point swing -- the difference in the ballgame," Manning said. The Chargers finished the game without left tackle King Dunlap, who sustained his third concussion this season, and centre Nick Hardwick, who had a stinger. Rookie right tackle D.J. Fluker moved to left tackle. Rivers completed 19 of 29 passes for 218 yards. NOTES: The Broncos have scored 371 points, the most through the first nine games of a season in NFL history. The previous high of 358 was by the 1950 Los Angeles Rams. ...Broncos LB Nate Irving injured a shoulder. ... The Chargers said LT King Dunlap had a concussion, his third this season. Other Chargers injured were C Nick Hardwick (stinger), LB Larry English (bicep) and fullback LeRon McClain (ankle). ... It was the 300th win under Broncos owner and CEO Pat Bowlen. Felix Potvin Jersey . The mood in Seattle was electrified as the parade featuring the NFL champions began near the Space Needle and made its way to CenturyLink Field, the home of the team. At a ceremony inside the stadium, the team thanked its loyal followers -- the 12th Man -- capping a day of boisterous celebration that drew an estimated 700,000 revelers to Seattle. Kris Versteeg Jersey . - The Denver Broncos kept rookie wide receiver Tavarres King from joining the Green Bay Packers by promoting him to their active roster Tuesday. http://www.officialmapleleafspro.com/Dave-keon-maple-leafs-jersey/ .C. -- After a listless first half, the Washington Wizards used a big third quarter run to beat the Charlotte Bobcats Bradley Beal scored 21 points and the Wizards used a 17-0 run in the third quarter to take control of what had been a close game and beat the Bobcats 97-83 on Tuesday night. Doug Gilmour Jersey . If Vettel wins at Suzuka on Sunday, and his nearest rival Fernando Alonso finishes worse than eighth, the German driver will join his compatriot Michael Schumacher and Argentine Juan-Manuel Fangio as the only men to win four consecutive titles. Tim Horton Jersey . Paul George and Darren Collison each scored 17 points and Roy Hibbert added 11 points and nine rebounds for the Pacers (9-3), who won their third straight. CHICAGO -- Fred VanVleet scored 22 points on perfect shooting and No. 3 Wichita State beat Loyola of Chicago 88-74 on Wednesday night to remain the only unbeaten team in major college basketball. Wichita State and top-ranked Syracuse began the day as the last Division I schools with perfect records. But the Orange lost 62-59 to Boston College in overtime, and the Shockers used an 11-2 run early in the second half to help close out the Ramblers. Cleanthony Early scored 18 points as Wichita State became the 19th school to begin a season with 28 straight victories. VanVleet was 6 for 6 from the field and made each of his 10 free throws. The Shockers (28-0, 15-0) can clinch the Missouri Valley Conference title with a victory at home against Drake on Saturday night. Milton Doyle scored 18 points and Jeff White had 14 for Loyola (9-18, 4-11), which has lost three straight and six of seven. Devon Turk finished with 13 points. Boosted by a capacity crowd at cozy Gentile Arena, the Ramblers battled back each time the Shockers tried to pull away in their first visit to Loyolas campus on the north side of Chicago since a 79-77 win on Feb. 9, 1976. It was just the third visit by a top-5 team to the Ramblers current home, joining No. 2 Michigan State in 2000 and No. 5 Kansas State in 2010. But every time Wichita State got a little push from Loyola, it just went back to its versatile grooup of athletic big men.dddddddddddd The Shockers had a 41-24 rebounding advantage and went 31 for 34 from the free throw line, compared to 11 of 14 for Loyola. Chadrack Lufile had consecutive three-point plays to help Wichita State open a 52-36 lead with 15:43 to go. When the Ramblers pulled within 11 with 5 1/2 minutes left, Early made two foul shots and a 3-pointer to reach 1,000 career points and run the advantage back out to 16. Darius Carter added 13 points for Wichita State, which can close out a perfect regular season with three more wins. After the visit by the Bulldogs, the Shockers travel to Bradley before returning home for a tricky little finale against Missouri State. Wichita State trailed the Bears by 18 at halftime on Jan. 11, then rallied for a 72-69 overtime win. Early made each of his first three shots and had eight points when he picked up his second foul with 8:24 left in the first half, sending the senior star to the bench. Wichita State extended its lead to 35-24 before the Ramblers began to take advantage of Earlys absence inside. White drove for a three-point play and Christian Thomas had a basket and free throw to help Loyola pull within five with 1:28 remaining. Carter responded with a strong layup on the other end and Matt OLeary missed two 3s for Loyola in the final 42 seconds, leaving the Shockers with a 39-32 lead at the break. ' ' '