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SCOREBOARDMonday, Oct. 24Houston at Denver, 8:30 p.m. EDT. Brock Osweiler returns to Denver for the first time since leaving the Super Bowl champs for a four-year, $72 million offer from Houston in the offseason. Osweiler went 5-2 as the starter last season in replacing Peyton Manning. And Osweilers coming off his best game as a Texan, leading Houston back from a 14-point deficit for a 26-23 overtime victory over the Colts last week.---STARSPassing-Andrew Luck, Colts, finished 27 for 39 for 353 yards and three touchdown passes in Indianapolis 34-26 win over Tennessee.-Drew Brees, Saints, was 37 for 48 for 367 yards and three touchdown passes and an interception in New Orleans 27-21 loss to Kansas City. Brees is the first player in NFL history with 100 300-yard passing games.-Andy Dalton, Bengals, finished 19 for 28 for 308 yards and two touchdown passes in Cincinnatis 31-17 win over Cleveland.-Jameis Winston, Buccaneers, finished 21 for 30 for 269 yards with three touchdown passes and an interception in Tampa Bays 34-17 win over San Francisco.-Philip Rivers, Chargers, was 27 for 44 for 371 yards with a touchdown and an interception in San Diegos 33-30 overtime win over Atlanta.---Rushing-Jay Ajayi, Dolphins, finished with 29 carries for 214 yards and a touchdown in Miamis 28-25 win over Buffalo. Ajayi totaled 204 yards a week earlier in a win over Pittsburgh and tied the NFL record for consecutive 200-yard games held by O.J. Simpson, Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams.- Jeremy Hill, Bengals, had nine carries for a career-high 168 yards, including a 74-yard touchdown, in Cincinnatis 31-17 win over Cleveland. It was also the best by a Bengals running back in seven years.-Jacquizz Rodgers, Buccaneers, had 26 carries for 154 yards in Tampa Bays 34-17 win over San Francisco.-LeGarrette Blount, Patriots, had 24 carries for 127 yards and two touchdowns in New Englands 27-16 win over Pittsburgh.-DeMarco Murray, Titans, had 25 carries for 107 yards and a touchdown in Tennessees 34-26 loss to Indianapolis.-Kevin Hogan, Browns, replaced the injured Cody Kessler at quarterback and had seven carries for 104 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown in Clevelands 31-17 loss to Cincinnati. It was the longest TD run by a quarterback in Browns history.-Matt Forte, Jets, had 30 carries for 100 yards and a touchdown in New Yorks 24-16 win over Baltimore. He also joined Marshall Faulk, Marcus Allen, Thurman Thomas and Herschel Walker as the only players with 8,000 yards rushing, 4,000 yards receiving and 20 TD receptions.-Melvin Gordon, Chargers, had 22 carries for 68 yards and two touchdowns, and added six receptions for 53 yards and another touchdown in San Diegos 33-30 win over Atlanta.---Receiving- A.J. Green, Bengals, had eight catches for 169 yards, including a 48-yard touchdown on a desperation pass on the last play of the first half, in Cincinnatis 31-17 win over Cleveland. Green has nine games with at least 150 receiving yards and a touchdown catch, the fourth-most among players in their first six seasons. Only Hall of Famers Lance Alworth (13) and Jerry Rice (11), and Randy Moss (10) had more such games in their first six NFL seasons.-Julio Jones, Falcons, had nine catches for 174 yards in Atlantas 33-30 loss to San Diego.-T.Y. Hilton, Colts, had seven catches for 133 yards and a touchdown in Indianapolis 34-26 win over Tennessee.-Tyrell Williams, Chargers, had seven receptions for 140 yards in San Diegos 33-30 win over Atlanta.-Michael Thomas, Saints, had 10 catches for 130 yards in New Orleans 27-21 loss to Kansas City.-Mike Wallace, Ravens, had 10 catches for 120 yards in Baltimores 24-16 loss to the New York Jets.---Special Teams-Josh Huff, Eagles, returned a kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown in Philadelphias 21-10 win over Minnesota. It was the first time the Eagles have returned kickoffs for touchdowns in consecutive games.-Sebastian Janikowski, Raiders, was 4 for 4 on field goals in Oaklands 33-16 win over Jacksonville.---Defense-Landon Collins and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Giants. Collins and Rodgers-Cromartie each had two interceptions in New Yorks 17-10 win over Los Angeles in London. Collins returned one 44 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. They are the first pair of teammates with multiple interceptions each in a game since 2013 (Seattles Byron Maxwell and Richard Sherman) and the first Giants duo to accomplish the feat since Kenny Hill and Terry Kinard on Sept. 14, 1986, against San Diego.-Chris Moore and Matt Judon, Ravens. Moore recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown and Judon had two sacks in Baltimores 24-16 loss to the New York Jets.-Daniel Sorensen, Chiefs, returned an interception 48 yards for a touchdown in Kansas Citys 27-21 win over New Orleans.-Robert Mathis, Colts, returned a fumble 14 yards for a touchdown in Indianapolis 34-26 victory over Tennessee.-Adrian Clayborn, Falcons, returned a fumble 5 yards for a touchdown in Atlantas 33-30 loss to San Diego.-Emmanuel Ogbah, Browns, had two sacks in Clevelands 31-17 loss to Cincinnati.---STREAKS & STATSAfter failing to score more than 23 points in any of the first six games, the Bengals got their act together against one of the leagues worst defenses, piling up 559 yards -- their most since 1990 in a 31-17 win over the Browns. The Bengals have won the past four in the series by scores of 30-0, 31-10, 37-3 and 31-17. ... After giving up 171 yards rushing, including 111 to David Johnson, last Monday night at Arizona, the Jets held Baltimore to a franchise-low 6 yards on the ground. ... The Dolphins outgained Buffalo 454 yards to 267 and had a 14-minute edge in time of possession, but were hurt by 13 penalties for 116 yards. Miami overcame an 11-point deficit with 16 minutes left to end a four-game winning streak by the Bills and beat them for only the second time in their past seven meetings. ... The Raiders pounded the Jaguars 33-16 and improved to 4-0 on the road and moved to 5-2 for the first time since 2001. ... The Chiefs won their ninth consecutive home game with a 27-21 victory over the Saints. ... The Colts rallied to beat the Titans 34-26 for their 10th straight win against their AFC South rival. ... The 49ers 34-17 loss to Tampa Bay was their sixth straight loss and their longest losing streak since 2008.---MILESTONESThe Colts Adam Vinatieri kicked a pair of field goals, and the second, a 33-yarder with 3:46 left in the third quarter, gave him an NFL-record 43 consecutive field goals made. His first tied him with former Colts kicker Mike Vanderjagt, who made 42 straight between 2002 and 2004. ... The Chiefs Andy Reid coached his 300th game Sunday. Most of those were over his 14 seasons in Philadelphia, where he was 140-102-1. He is 36-21 in his fourth season in Kansas City. Playing in his 100th game, Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford has 27,890 passing yards, the most by any player in his first 100 games to begin a career.---BYRD HONOREDThe Jets honored the late Dennis Byrd with a pregame video tribute after he was killed last weekend in a car accident in Oklahoma.Byrd was an inspiration to many after he overcame brief paralysis and walked again just a few months after injuring his neck during a play in 1992. The defensive lineman, who played for the Jets for four seasons, died in a two-vehicle collision last Saturday. He was 50.---SIDELINEDGeno Smiths return to the starting lineup came to a premature end on Sunday, with the New York Jets quarterback exiting a 24-16 win over Baltimore with a right knee injury in the second quarter. Smith was hurt while taking a sack from Baltimores Matthew Judon. He was taken to the locker room and later returned to the field in street clothes, and hell have an MRI this week. ... Clevelands quarterback woes continued with Cody Kessler suffering a concussion. Kessler was hit hard while throwing a shovel pass on a scramble, and he was replaced by rookie Kevin Hogan. ... In Buffalo, LeSean McCoys nagging left hamstring issue flared up, with the NFLs second-leading rusher being forced to leave the Bills game at Miami in the third quarter. Bills safety Aaron Williams suffered a head and neck injury when Dolphins receiver Jarvis Landry was flagged for unnecessary roughness for a block in the second quarter. ... Washington cornerback Josh Norman was forced to leave the Redskins game against Detroit, suffering a concussion and appearing to injure his left shoulder while defending a catch by the Lions Marvin Jones. ... In Philadelphia, Eagles cornerback Ron Brooks was carted off the field after suffering a right knee injury late while making a tackle in the first quarter.---SPEAKINGWith (Matthew) Stafford, its never in the bag if its close. I call him (Brett) Farve Jr. because those are the kind of attributes and intangibles he has. -- Redskins safety Will Blackmon on quarterback Matthew Stafford after the Lions quarterback threw a last-minute TD pass in Detroits 20-17 win over Washington.---We got outplayed, we got outcoached, we got out-everythinged. They were the more physical team today, theres no doubt about that. They controlled the game. Buffalo coach Rex Ryan -- on his teams performance in a 28-25 loss to Miami.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFLRay Allen Jersey . McCarthy, a player who played some games in the second tier for Wigan at the start of this season, would go on to shine inside Evertons midfield, outplaying the man he was brought in to replace, on one of the grandest stages in English football. On Saturday, it was fitting that Manchester Uniteds most recent dagger into the chest was delivered by Frenchman Yohan Cabaye, a wonderfully gifted central midfielder who put on an outstanding effort for Newcastle at Old Trafford. Andre Roberson Thunder Jersey . Already owning gold from competition in Vancouver in 2010, Loch posted a combined four-run time of 3:27.526. That included a track-record third run of 51. https://www.thunderrookiesshop.com/Ray-Allen-City-Edition-Jersey/ . -- Kyrie Irvings last-minute 3-pointer helped seal another victory for Cleveland -- and the Cavaliers longest winning streak since LeBron James left. Shawn Kemp Jersey . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. Kevin Durant Jersey .com) - Christian Ponder will get another chance to prove himself for the Minnesota Vikings, with head coach Leslie Frazier announcing Wednesday that the struggling quarterback will start this weekends game against the Green Bay Packers.Youre scared about this, arent you?My first inkling that the Australian selectors had my name in mind for England 2013 came via Victorias coach Greg Shipperd, a few days before I was due to leave for another winter with Middlesex. We met for a coffee in March, around the time the Test team were being beaten badly in India and the team was being riven by Homeworkgate - four players suspended for not completing a written assignment.Amid conversation about those dramas, Shippy stopped me with these words: Mate, I think you should take your baggy green with you this time. Via the talent management system that linked the state selection panels to Cricket Australia, the coaches were speaking a lot more to the national selectors, and so this felt a lot more significant than it might have been in the past.I wasnt taking anything for granted. I knew that Shippy had always been a passionate advocate for Victorian players being promoted to the national side, and his encouragement had not always led to selection. But on the strength of that advice, I took the cap out of a cupboard at home and took it to my parents house, thinking that if the call did come, they would be on their way over to see it all happen.After travelling back to London and reconnecting with Middlesex and Lords, I became aware that there seemed a lot more media buzz than usual about my chances of being chosen. That was when I started to think ok, Im more than likely going to be in here. Late April rolled around and the announcement of the team was coming up. One morning I was doing a fitness session at the Finchley indoor centre, and was a little puffed after a beep test. Looking at my phone, I noticed a missed call. The voicemail was from John Inverarity, asking me to call back.Within a few minutes I was outside and on the phone, hearing John say the words, Yes Chris youre in, weve chosen you for your skills over there and youll be a really good chance to play. Keep doing what youre doing. He assured me I didnt have to do much different, simply to keep playing with Middlesex and warming into the domestic season. Then he added a warning to keep it out of the press before the announcement was made. I made a quick call to Dad, to tell him it was all happening, and walked back inside with a smile on my face. Someone else had noticed the name John Inverarity on my phone, so by the time I came back the rest of the squad were crowded round saying, Tell us, tell us! I might have voiced the words oh Im not allowed to say what that was about, but everyone knew. The grin was the big giveaway.What followed was a mental journey Id never been on before. My last brief experience of Test cricket had been sudden and fleeting, all over before Id realised it was happening. This time there was an initial high about being picked for Australia, but with all the extra time for it to sink in there came a much more sobering realisation - I was fearful about how this might turn out. The negative thoughts built up from Under 19s, Australia A, my one Test match and the lack of follow-up chances all compounded. My head became clouded with questions. Am I going to be good enough? Am I going to find out that Im actually not good enough and never was? How am I going to fit into this team?Most of these thoughts were kept to myself, and with Middlesex I kept playing well enough. But there must have been enough evidence of my nerves to others. As a club we went to take part in a festival match at Wormsley, and I got a call from the Middlesex psychologist Steve Sylvester about catching up for a chat during the day. At the time everyone was saying the same things to me, along the lines of you must be so happy to be in the side, and to all this I was responding with a typical yeah I feel so good about it. But underneath, mixed in with the excitement was a serious case of nerves and fear. I was so nervous and so scared about what lay ahead. My mind was churning it over most hours of each day - as was my stomach.My meeting with Steve was about three weeks after the squad was announced. Hes an exceptionally enthusiastic character, full of life and energy that cant help but rub off on you. Hed say watching you bat is better than sex, just the way you do it, putting the ball in gaps and managing your game! and Id reply well you cant be doing it right... In that way he was different from just about any psychologist Id worked with, as most were more taciturn, listening types. Since hed joined Middlesex in 2010 hed had a good effect on the squad, although I probably still retained a bit of reserve, as I did with most guys brought in to manage my state of mind.This day at Wormsley was horrendously cold in the way only an early English spring day can be, to the point that we were playing in beanies. But Steve in his bouncy way said lets go for a lap of the ground! and coaxed me out of the change room. We walked around past the marquee, out of earshot of anyone else, and he said go on mate, how do you feel about being selected? As Id done with everyone else I gave him the standard response about feeling excited and really good about it all. At this point the only person Id really spoken to about my anxieties was Dad.To my surprise, Steve retorted, Thats just bullshit. Youre scared arent you? I stared back at him, wide-eyed, and almost instantly a burden lifted, because I knew I could speak to him about it. I laughed and said, What do you mean?Mate, dont give me that shit that youre all excited and stuff like that. Youre scared about how this is going to go, arent you?I cant believe you just said that. Thats exactly what I said to Dad a few hours ago.Thats ok. Everyone would be scared. Thats the right reaction.So how are we going to deal with this?Youve got to go into this series thinking youre going to get a duck every innings.What?It doesnt matter. Whats the worst that can happen? You make a duck every innings. So be it. Anything above that is a bonus.This might not sound like it makes a heap of sense, but that was exactly what I needed to hear at that moment. I desperately needed to take the pressure off myself - and setting a low standard for what I expected served the purpose of doing that. We ended up doing about three laps of this freezing oval as I tried to soak up this new attitude from Steve.What he helped me realise was that because Id played County cricket in England and Sheffield Shield in Australia for so many years, Id got myself into a position where I knew I was good enough. If you have that sense it doesnt necessarily matter if you fail in one or two innings, because you know it will come around. Added to that I hadnt faced a run of outs for a long time, and I wasnt really getting nervous at the crease. But all of a sudden all these new feelings had emerged to shake me out of that comfort zone. To hear that was how I was meant to feel was a great help.From there on with Middlesex I tried to get myself keyed up for my innings, revving myself up to feel edgier at the batting crease. For one thing, Id learnt early in my career not to drink coffee before I batted, as it lifted my heart rate, which caused me to play rash, instinctive shots rather thhan in the calm, methodical manner I preferred to bat (Dean Jones avoided sugar apparently for the same reason).dddddddddddd But here I was sculling coffee as I tried to get the adrenaline going before I batted. That was my mindset when the Australian players arrived in England, in three groups, as there was an Australia A tour going on in addition to the ODI Champions Trophy going on at the same time.So six or seven of us had training sessions at Hampstead Cricket Club, coincidentally about 200 metres from my Middlesex home. The group included Michael Clarke, Shane Watson, Davey Warner, Mitchell Starc, Phillip Hughes and James Faulkner. A lot of these guys didnt know me particularly well, and so it was a bit of an exercise in getting a little more familiar. A little like my first Test in Perth, I was still staying at home rather than in the team hotel at Kensington, and so I still felt somewhat on the outer.At one session I batted next to Davey and could sense him struggling with the conditions. On my side I was much more comfortable, dealing well with a challenging practice wicket. When I emerged from the nets Mickey Arthur came up to me and said, Do you know your back swing goes down towards fine leg? I was a bit puzzled at this and so asked him, Where is it when the bowler is in delivery stride? to which he replied it had straightened up by then. The impression I got was that he wasnt overly familiar with how I batted, which was intriguing given he was a selector.However from there we developed quite a good rapport, to the extent that a few days later he told me I would be opening in the first Test. Mickey went on to say that when the team got down to Taunton, in Somerset, for the first tour game, Ill take you out to dinner and pick your brains about England, really enjoy talking to you. That felt good to hear from the coach. Mickey had said it a few days before the team was due to assemble in Bristol before heading to Somerset. So imagine my surprise when I started to hear rumours that he was about to be sacked. The rumours turned out to be accurate.Just my luck, I thought. Finally in an Australian squad, getting along well with the coach and theyve fired him. For a while I thought I was back to square one. Mickeys replacement was Darren Lehmann, and I had no real sense of how he viewed me. For all I knew, he would think I was surplus to requirements and keep me on the fringes once more.These were strange hours and days, as the team and Cricket Australia seemed extremely tense about what lay ahead. On the bus from London to Bristol, a senior Cricket Australia figure delivered a speech I couldnt make much sense of. In explaining Mickeys sacking he said CA felt they had to move forward. He then offered this: To be honest, we dont expect you guys to win this series. If we could keep it to a draw that would be fantastic, and then well get them in Australia. It felt strange that a CA representative was basically giving up the series before it had even been played.These words were still ringing in my ears when the group got together in Bristol, so for the first time I found myself speaking up in an Australian team meeting. I dont want to be going into this series, I said, with an attitude that we cant win this, because we can. I got a sense of a few eye-rolls and blokes thinking who does he think he is, but it was an important moment for me because I felt I couldnt just be a junior member of the side. So in amongst a team that I could tell was still feeling uneasy and split into a couple of camps, here I was trying to assert myself. We had an awful long way to go. Next we were told that Mickey was still at the hotel, in a room, waiting to say goodbye to us. Not all the players went to see him, which said a lot about where the group was at. I followed the guys who did, shook Mickeys hand and offered him my best wishes. It was quite a raw meeting, as some members of the team were clearly very shaken by what had happened, and there was a tear or two shed. That was the last time we saw Mickey before jumping on the bus to Somerset with the new man, Darren Boof Lehmann.Our hotel in Somerset was The Castle, and I had been assigned a room on the top floor. Out of habit I opened up my bags and threw a bunch of gear on the bed in preparation for hanging it up. That moment I got a knock on the door: it was Boof. Preparing myself for the worst, I welcomed him in amid my partly unpacked bags. For whatever reason we had never really spoken much in Shield or County cricket. That distance led me to think that he didnt have much time for me as a cricketer or a bloke, and his first words didnt help.So youre messy are you?Sometimes, not usually.Ok, I just want to speak to you for a bit.At this point my heart sank - he was about to tell me that Mickeys assurance about opening the batting no longer applied. He continued: Youre not going to play in the first tour game at Taunton... That only enhanced my feelings of dread. For a few seconds. ...but youre going to open at Trent Bridge.Gobsmacked doesnt do my feelings justice. I was in! Through all that drama, all the change at the top and the turmoil around the team, I was going to be in the Test side. The look on my face must have been something else, because even now Darren still talks about it. Recently he sent me a card that read: To Bucky, still one of my best moments Ive had in coaching was in that room in Taunton to say you werent playing in the tour game but you were playing in the Test. Your face was priceless!An hour or so later we had another team meeting, Darrens first as coach. The first thing he said to us was, No meeting of mine will ever go for more than half an hour, and if it does you can walk out. He then laid out in fairly basic terms what he wanted and expected from us, before asking how much time was left. At a reply of three minutes, he looked straight at Davey and said, This is your last chance. Dont f*** up again. Everyone looked at Davey - who had got himself into trouble via a bar-room altercation with Englands Joe Root - and he replied with a simple ok, and that was that. There had been a lot of talk about lines in the sand in India, but this was the one for us and Darren. There was no bullshit, no complexity, just a simple instruction. Everyone took that on board, because it was just so clear.With that, Darren said, Alright boys, were going over the road to the pub, and its the captains buy. We walked to the pub directly opposite the hotel in some kind of a daze. Ill never forget it. I had come from so many cricket environments where having a drink together was second nature. But these guys were having a beer and looking suspiciously at each other like they didnt know how to behave. Their faces seemed to say: Whats going on here, is this a test? At the same time I was looking at them thinking how bizarre this all was, how far removed from regular cricket reality the team culture had become.Bucking the Trend by Chris Rogers and Daniel Brettig is published by Hardie Grant Books and out now ' ' '