Zigeunerzelt » 2009-2010 season,

MINNEAPOLIS - The Washington Redskins were coming off of a surprising victory over Dallas and had franchise quarterback Robert Griffin III back in the huddle for the first time in seven games, momentum seemingly at their backs with a bye week looming.All that momentum came to a crashing halt before the team even reached the stadium to play the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, when two team busses collided on an exit ramp and left those involved shaken.Griffins solid return to the starting lineup was overshadowed by the pregame crash, a robust protest of the Redskins nickname and a resilient Teddy Bridgewater in the Vikings 29-26 victory.Guys fought really, really hard. But we know how bad we need wins right now and we didnt do it today, said Griffin, who completed 18 of 28 passes for 251 yards with a touchdown and an interception. I have to play better for that to happen, regardless of any box score, any stats. I know I can play better. I know we can play better. And were going to do that after this bye week.Bridgewater got off to a poor start, missing several wide open receivers deep down the field. But the rookie threw a touchdown pass in the final minute of the first half and made four first-down throws on the go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter to help deliver a much-needed win for the Vikings (4-5).Bridgewater completed 26 of 42 passes for 268 yards, Matt Asiata ran for three touchdowns and the Vikings sacked Griffin five times while rallying from deficits of 10-0, 20-14 and 26-21.Im extremely proud of our guys the way they fought, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. They handled an awful lot of adversity throughout the ball game. I felt like our team grew up today in a lot of different ways because they could have folded the tents early.Griffin, who had not played in more than six games because of a dislocated left ankle, was on an early bus to TCF Bank Stadium when it rear-ended a bus carrying Redskins coaches and staff. The collision shattered the second bus windshield and almost sent the first bus careening over a guard rail.We saw the bus hit the bus and we both thought we were going to fly out the (windshield), Griffin said. Everybody got a little bit of whiplash, I believe.Griffin shook it off and completed his first six passes of the game, helping the Redskins take a 10-0 lead. But a costly interception just before halftime set up Bridgewaters 20-yard touchdown pass to Chase Ford that got the Vikings offence going.Bridgewater engineered two touchdown drives over 70 yards in the fourth quarter, the last ending with a plunge from Asiata with 3:27 to go that dropped the Redskins to 3-6.NICKNAME PROTEST: Organizers estimated the crowd around 5,000. The event began with a march through the University of Minnesota campus to the stadium, where Native American leaders, local politicians, former sports stars and other speakers voiced their disdain for Redskins owner Dan Snyder and his refusal to change the nickname theyve derided as derogatory and racist.REDSKINS Defence: After sacking Tony Romo five times in the win over Dallas last week, the Redskins got to Bridgewater just twice. They also blew several coverages in the secondary, leading to wide open receivers running free. That was unacceptable football, coach Jay Gruden said.DIVIDED LOCKER ROOM?: A report by ESPN before the game cited anonymous sources in saying that Griffin alienated some teammates and also the decision to start him came from Snyder and not Gruden. The coach vehemently denied those reports, calling them amateurish and fiction.CHASING TDS: The Vikings offence had been without Adrian Peterson since the first game of the season while he addresses child abuse charges in Texas and took another huge hit when tight end Kyle Rudolph was lost for six to eight weeks with sports hernia surgery. But little-known Chase Ford has filled in admirably for Rudolph, and he had five catches for 66 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown against Washington.VINTAGE RG3: Some questioned Grudens decision to go back to Griffin after Colt McCoy helped the Redskins win two straight games. But on the first series, Griffin showed everyone why hes the franchise quarterback. On third-and-7, he spun out of a sack by Chad Greenway, eluded Everson Griffen, rolled to his left and hit Roy Helu Jr. for 24 yards and a first down.___AP NFL websites: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Authentic Joe Dumars Jersey . After deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league would consider pulling out of Sochi if something "significant" happens before players arrive, those set to participate are trying not to worry about that scenario. Authentic Khyri Thomas Jersey . -- Jonathan Diaz is easy to spot in the Blue Jays clubhouse. http://www.cheappistonsjerseysauthentic.com/ . -- Louisville backup quarterback Reggie Bonnafon ran for two touchdowns and passed for another and the No. Authentic Allen Iverson Jersey .Impact president Joey Saputo confirmed Thursday that he is part of a group of investors whose offer to buy the 105-year-old Italian club was accepted by the teams board of directors. Authentic Zaza Pachulia Jersey .com) - Carmelo Anthony scored 31 points with eight rebounds to lead the New York Knicks to a 92-80 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.Just past the midway portion of the 2013-2014 NHL schedule, Scott Cullen has his picks for first half award winners. There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. While there is much room for movement over the second half of the year, the Calder Trophy race might be the most volatile because no one has run away from the pack and when there are so many candidates close together, it gets easy to see big changes. Anyway, here are my picks for awards through first first half of this season: HART TROPHY Winner: Sidney Crosby, C, Pittsburgh Runners-up: Ryan Getzlaf, C, Anaheim; Patrick Kane, Chicago Comment: After what counted as a slump for him knocked Crosby to runner-up status through the first quarter, hes pulled away from the pack, leading the scoring race by nine points over Kane and 15 points ahead of Getzlaf who fit second and third, respectively. Scoring isnt everything, but all three have been on a roll through the first half of the season. Getzlafs shooting percentage (17.9%) and on-ice shooting percentage (12.0%) are a tad higher than his norm, but hes also shooting more than he has in the past and the results are there -- his 20 goals already counts as his most since 2008-2009 and has him in easy range of surpassing his career-best of 25 goals. Kane has a strong supporting cast, of course, but hes on pace for a career-high in points and shots per game. Hes slumped in his last four games, but Kane has done enough to deserve consideration. If not Kane, Capitals RW Alex Ovechkin is worthy of consideration. His 31 goals is six more than anyone else, and while Ovechkin has an unsightly minus-17, his possession stats are solid and basically has bad puck luck when it comes to percentages. NORRIS TROPHY Winner: Duncan Keith, Chicago Runners-up: Erik Karlsson, Ottawa; P.K. Subban, Montreal Comment: Keith is having a season very similar to his 2009-2010 season, when he won the Norris Trophy, putting up dominant possession stats, but also contributing more offensively -- his 42 points in 45 games (0.93 per game) represents the best per-game scoring rate of his career. Karlsson continues to be a game-changer offensively, and his possession numbers are more favourable than his minus-12 rating would suggest, but the percentages have not been playing in his favour through the first half of the season. Subban had a fantastic start to the year, but his play dipped some in December. Not enough to knock him from contention, but enough that hes closer to other contenders, like Nashvilles Shea Weber and St. Louis Alex Pietrangelo, than he is to Keith at this point. VEZINA TROPHY Winner: Ben Bishop, Tampa Bay Runners-up: Josh Harding, Minnesota; Tuukka Rask, Boston Comment: The 32 games that Bishop has played this season already counts as a career-high, so who knows where this is going (especially considering his injury on the weekend), but he leads in even-strength save percentage (.945) and has been an anchor for a team that has been playing without their top offensive threat for more than a quarter of the season. Harding was the early front-runner, but has only played two games in the past three weeks as he took time to adjust MS medication. That hes usurped Niklas Backstrom in net for the Wild is a story in itself, but Hardings numbers still have him right there with Bishop through the first half of the year. Rask is the more predictable option, the one goaltender that would have been considered a contender in the preseason because Rask is always turning in excellent wwork -- his worst save percentage in the last five seasons was .dddddddddddd918 and this years .934 currently ranks as a career-high. There is plenty of time for other goaltenders to make their move. Montreals Carey Price, Torontos Jonathan Bernier and Colorados Semyon Varlamov are among those closest to the contenders. CALDER TROPHY Winner: Torey Krug, D, Boston Runners-up: Tomas Hertl, LW, San Jose; Seth Jones, D, Nashville Comment: With 23 points in 42 games, defenceman Krug is only three points behind Colorados Nathan MacKinnon, who leads the rookie scoring race. More than half of Krugs points have come on the power play, where hes running the point on the Bruins number one unit, but without any breakout forwards, Krug is the pick at the midpoint of the season. Hertl was the leading candidate, even if he slowed down from his tremendous start, but hes already missed more than two weeks since taking a knee-on-knee hit from the Kings Dustin Brown and hes still going to be on the shelf for the forseeable future. Jones had a strong case early in the year, then his game fell off and his ice time was reduced dramatically. Hes working his way back up lately, enough to get a runner-up nod, though not far ahead of the competition. MacKinnon is starting to pick up offensively, and injuries in Colorado are opening up more opportunities. Others of note include Rangers LW Chris Kreider, Jets D Jacob Trouba, Kings RW Tyler Toffoli, Panthers C Aleksander Barkov and Stars RW Valeri Nichushkin, who could be in the best position of all if he can stick on the wing with Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin on the Stars number one line. SELKE AWARD Winner: Jonathan Toews, Chicago Runners-up: Patrice Bergeron, Boston; David Backes, St. Louis Comment: Its a familiar group, with Toews and Bergeron the last two winners. They simply excel as two-way players, typically dominating possession even when they face elite competition. Backes isnt far behind, either. Hes a beast to play against, handles tough assignments like Bergeron and Backes is probably getting a little more notice this season because hes been running alongside Alexander Steen for most of the year. Steen would be a candidate too, but thats because hes always a sound two-way player, not because of his goal-scoring explosion, and Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog has such a strong two-way game that he has a chance to work his way into consideration, which isnt easy for a winger. JACK ADAMS AWARD Winner: Bruce Boudreau, Anaheim Runners-up: Ken Hitchcock, St. Louis; Todd McLellan, San Jose Comment: Its always difficult to narrow down the best coaching jobs, but the Ducks have been so good that some credit should go to Boudreau, who is not only getting the most out of his superstars, but also the supporting cast. The St. Louis Blues play such a grind-it-out style of game that its a testament to the coaching of Ken Hitchcock that they stick with it, and they have one of the leagues best records despite what has been merely decent goaltending. Same goes for San Jose and coach Todd McLellan, who is succeeding without great numbers from his tenders and has done some line juggling to incorporate younger options. A couple of other viable candidates -- Colorados Patrick Roy and Tampa Bays Jon Cooper -- have had such strong goaltending that I have a hard time separating that from the team success. Theyre worthy, but would they be worthy if their goalies werent great? Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. 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