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(12/04/06 5:16am)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Magic is in the air around the Tennessee Titans. Just ask Rob Bironas.\nBironas kicked a 60-yard field goal -- the franchise's longest ever -- with seven seconds left, and the Titans upset Indianapolis 20-17 Sunday for their first victory against the Colts since December 2002 and their second straight comeback.\nThe team that tied for the NFL's second-biggest comeback in the final 10 minutes last week against the New York Giants struck again Sunday against the Colts (10-2), who had lost only four of their previous 36 games.\nWith the wind at his back, Bironas needed every gust to lift the longest field goal in his short career over the crossbar for his second consecutive game-winning kick. He became the sixth kicker in NFL history to connect from 60 yards or better.\n"I needed that wind behind me today," Bironas said. "It was all at my back ... I let the wind take it the rest of the way."\nPeyton Manning said the wind was a big factor for the Titans in the fourth quarter and never bigger than on Bironas' field goal.\n"The guy made a heck of a kick," Manning said.\nThe Titans (5-8) didn't trail by 21 this time, but they were down 14-0 in the first half before starting this comeback with 10 points just before halftime. They intercepted Manning twice, and Vince Young threw for two touchdowns and used his legs to help keep the ball away from the two-time NFL MVP.\nIndianapolis needed a victory to clinch the division for a club-record fourth straight year and its seventh playoff berth in eight years. Seemingly easy enough for a franchise that had won 12 straight divisional games coming into Sunday.\nInstead, the Colts blew a 14-point lead for the first time coach Tony Dungy could remember and lost to the Titans for the first time in eight games.\n"They make a 60-yard field goal, and you take your hat off to them. We put ourselves in that position where a field goal beats you, and it did," Dungy said.\nAfter Bironas' kick -- he made a 49-yarder with six seconds left to beat the Giants -- Tennessee still had to kick the ball back to the Colts. Manning never got his hands on it again. Bryan Fletcher caught the kickoff, lateraled to Marvin Harrison, who tossed to Kelvin Hayden, who was tackled, running the last seconds off the clock.\nThe Titans then swarmed each other on the field, celebrating with the fans who didn't want to leave.\n"Last week was a big step for us," Titans receiver Drew Bennett said. "We think we can do anything."\nTennessee has improved on last year's 4-12 record by winning five of its last seven and building lots of confidence.\n"This team is crazy because we can come out and play the worst in the league, and we can come out and beat the best in the league," said Titans punter Craig Hentrich, who held for the winning kick. "At this point, I don't think there's anything but good coming out of this team the rest of the year."\nIndianapolis outgained Tennessee 451-382, but the Colts only had the ball for a little more than 12 minutes in the second half, gaining only 47 yards in the third quarter.\nThe big stop came late in the fourth quarter.\nThe Titans, allowing the most yards in the NFL, forced Indianapolis to settle for a tying field goal after facing first-and-goal at the Tennessee 1-yard line late in the fourth quarter. They stopped Joseph Addai for a 1-yard loss, then Manning tossed an apparent touchdown to Ben Utecht, only to see the tight end flagged for pass interference. That backed up the Colts to the 12, and Manning overthrew Reggie Wayne.\nAsked about the penalty, Manning asked the reporter to tell him what happened.\n"Can you get fined by the officials for saying something like that? ... I didn't see it. Obviously a shame was what that was. (We) still had a chance to score after that and didn't do it," Manning said.\nManning then scrambled for five yards and lateraled to Addai, who was stopped at the 2-yard line on third-and-goal. Adam Vinatieri kicked a 20-yard field goal and tied the game at 17 with 2:38 to go.\nYoung, who drove the Titans 95 yards in 11 plays, put them ahead 17-14 with a 9-yard pass to Brandon Jones in the fourth quarter. He then set up Bironas for the longest field goal since Al Del Greco's 56-yarder against San Francisco on Oct. 27, 1996, by moving 33 yards in nine plays.\nThe rookie quarterback finished 12-of-25 for 163 yards, and scrambled nine times for 78 yards, his biggest day rushing this year.\nManning finished 21-for-28 for 351 yards and threw a 68-yard touchdown pass to Harrison, who had seven receptions for 172 yards.
(10/03/05 4:59am)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison tied Steve Young and Jerry Rice for the NFL record of most touchdown passes between a quarterback and a receiver with their 85th connection Sunday.\nThe only question left now for the Indianapolis duo is what the final records will be when they quit playing.\n"It kind of hits me knowing the fact it's still early in both our careers," Harrison said after the Colts beat Tennessee 31-10.\n"You just never know when it's going to end or what it's going to be when it's done. But the main focus is that we stay together and win football games and put that under our belts as well as a lot of wins, and hopefully some championships."\nYoung and Rice combined for 85 touchdown passes between 1987 and 1999 with San Francisco.\nManning is in his eighth season with the Colts and has six years left on his $98 million contract. Harrison is in his 10th and signed a seven-year deal last December. Last week, they passed Buffalo's Jim Kelly and Andre Reed for most yards passing.\n"It's an honor and privilege to be able to call Marvin a teammate," Manning said. "He's an outstanding player. He and I have combined for a lot of touchdowns and a lot of wins, but it's because of a lot of hard work. He has a tremendous work ethic, and I feel privileged to call him teammate."\nIndianapolis coach Tony Dungy isn't going to answer the question of whether Manning and Harrison are the greatest combination ever.\n"I guess the numbers will speak for themselves. Those guys should get to play together for a lot more time. They may put up some numbers that will be hard to reach," Dungy said.\nManning and Harrison had been stuck on 83 touchdown passes with Manning not throwing a TD in the past two games.\nBut Manning found Harrison for an 11-yard score just before halftime for No. 84, throwing a short pass to Harrison on the right sideline. Harrison ran up the sideline 24 yards for the TD with 13:09 left for No. 85 and a 31-3 lead.\nHarrison also caught his 100th and 101st touchdown passes and notched the 48th 100-yard receiving game of his career.\n"You don't come into your career hoping it happens. When it happens, you look back and you have a great appreciation for getting it and for the guys that have done it," Harrison said.
(04/22/04 6:19am)
MEMPHIS, Tenn. -- Hubie Brown answered a question about Memphis' first pro basketball playoff game by detailing how his Kentucky Colonels won the ABA title in 1975.\nHe listed the St. Louis roster and pointing out that 72 of 79 players won NBA jobs after the leagues merged.\nJerry West listened, then said: "I can't remember yesterday. How do you remember that?"\n"When you're old, you just talk," Brown said. "I take advantage of the fact that you're being charitable."\nBrown -- at 70, the oldest coach in the league -- had plenty to talk about Wednesday after winning the NBA Coach of the Year award for leading the Memphis Grizzlies to a team-record 50 wins and their first playoff berth.\nHe beat Utah's Jerry Sloan in a close race with 466 points, including 62 of 122 first-place votes from a panel of sports writers and sportscasters.\nThe award marks a 26-year span between victories for Brown, who also was honored as the top coach in the 1977-78 season with Atlanta. Gene Shue won 13 years apart, with Baltimore (1969) and Washington (1982).\n"Here we are 26 years later, and he wins another one," said West, the Grizzlies' president of basketball operations.\nWest heard plenty of criticism when he hired Brown in November 2002. He couldn't stop smiling as he presented his coach with the award at a news conference after the Grizzlies' practice. He called Brown the best coach he has been around.\n"We don't even have close to a perfect team here, and he's been able to hide some of our weaknesses," West said.\nBrown said the award must be shared with owner Michael Heisley, the Grizzlies and especially West, whose call came after Brown was demoted by television executives who thought he was too old to connect with the NBA's younger viewers.\n"This guy, the guy holding the door, gave me the opportunity to have a little more bounce in my step," Brown said.\nSloan got 424 points, with 56 top votes. Milwaukee's Terry Porter and Miami's Stan Van Gundy, both rookie head coaches, tied for third with 54 points and one first-place vote each.\nBrown hadn't coached in the NBA since 1987 and was working in TV when he took over as Memphis' coach two weeks into last season, when the team won 28 games -- then a franchise record.\nThis season, the Grizzlies went 50-32 and are playing the San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the playoffs. They trail the Spurs 0-2 with Game 3 on Thursday night.\nBrown said he will always remember his team for the way it played this season.\n"You've got to want to come to work. That's why I love these guys, because when I come to work. They give me their hearts, and that's what coaching's all about," he said. "I'm hoping things will change in this series, but nobody's ever going to take away the playoffs and the 50 wins."\nCenter Lorenzen Wright, forward James Posey and guard Jason Williams were among the Grizzlies on hand to watch Brown receive the award. They clapped loudly and cheered, "Hubie! Hubie!"\nPosey said the players only notice an age gap when Brown starts telling stories about the teams and players he has coached.\n"He's been our leader, able to challenge and keep the intensity and keep us focused and headed in the direction we're headed -- to win 50 games and make the playoffs. The intensity he brings, not only in games but at practice, his ability to have a relationship with the players nowadays ... helps a lot," Posey said.\nForward Mike Miller said Brown not only teaches on the court but off as well.\n"A lot of coaches don't take the time to do that, and he does. He's so prepared, and his passion to win is as much as I've ever seen," he said.\nBrown listed the Grizzlies' successes this season, including a 35-2 mark when leading after the third quarter, winning 14 games when trailing by double-digits and losing only seven games by more than eight points.\n"They never stopped hustling, and they never stopped trying," he said of his Grizzlies. "Yeah, we had our nights, but you have to understand how hard it is to play as hard as they play"
(06/23/03 1:29am)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Roger Neilson, a Hall of Famer who was the head coach of eight NHL teams and established one of the longest resumes in league history, died Saturday. He was 69.\nHe had been battling skin and bone cancer. He died at his home in Peterborough, Ontario, the Ottawa Senators said.\nNeilson's death was announced by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman 90 minutes into the NHL draft.\n"We'll miss you, Roger," Bettman told the crowd, which stood for a moment of silence.\nNeilson was an NHL coach or scout each of the last 25 seasons but never won a Stanley Cup. This year, he completed his third season as an assistant with the Senators. He reached the Stanley Cup playoffs 11 times in his 15 seasons as a head coach.\n"There is no way to measure accurately the number of lives Roger Neilson touched, inside and outside the hockey world, during his lifetime of devotion to our game," Bettman said in a statement.\nOttawa was Neilson's 10th NHL team, and the Senators' inability to win the Cup this season was a source of considerable dismay for the players. Ottawa lost in the Eastern Conference finals to New Jersey in seven games. His illness forced him to miss some games during the deepest playoff run in Senators' history.\nThis season, as he became stooped and gaunt and wore a baseball cap to cover his bare head, Neilson was a motivational force. He spoke to the Senators before their Game 5 victory over the Devils. Defenseman Chris Phillips, in tears after the Senators were eventually eliminated, recalled what Neilson meant.\n"It wasn't something we talked about every day," Phillips said. "But every guy in this room knew it. I feel terrible. This was the team that was going to be able to do that, win one for Rog, and we let him down."\nSenators president and chief executive, Roy Mlakar, called Neilson a "great friend and a man who's touched many with his spirit across the world."\nNeilson was elected last year to the Hockey Hall of Fame in the builders' category.\n"It was so unexpected," he said at the time. "You just wonder why you were picked when there are so many others that may seem to have done more."\nScotty Bowman, with the most wins of any NHL coach, said Neilson never got the credit he deserved as a tactician and coach, in part, because he worked for so many teams.\nBowman said Neilson had been receiving 24-hour care the past few weeks but still sent a 20-second video for a coaching clinic.\n"Hockey life and Roger were intertwined, and that's probably what kept him going so long," Bowman said.\nFew did more in as many places as Neilson.\nAfter coaching Toronto from 1977-79, it was off to Buffalo for one season. From 1981-84, Neilson coached Vancouver, which reached the finals in 1982. He finished 1984 with Los Angeles, but only for 28 games.\nNeilson led the New York Rangers from 1989-93, Florida from 1993-95 and Philadelphia from 1997-00. His head coaching record was 460-381-159 in 1,000 games. He also was an assistant coach in Buffalo, Chicago and St. Louis.\nNeilson briefly filled in for Jacques Martin as Ottawa's head coach to reach No. 1,000. Only nine coaches have hit that plateau.\n"I've been really lucky to be able to be in hockey all my life doing the thing I love," he said.\nNeilson was labeled "Captain Video" for introducing videotape as a teaching tool. He was regarded as a player's coach, and his loud ties behind the bench became a fashion fixture. He often lived close to his team's practice site so he could bicycle to work.\nThe NHL "celebrates his legacy, the generations of players he counseled, the coaches he molded, the changes his imagination inspired and the millions of fans he entertained," Bettman said.\nNeilson was once asked which team he would select for his Hall of Fame plaque if there were such a requirement for members.\n"I didn't stay anywhere long enough," he said.
(02/13/03 5:39am)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Forget women's rights and gender equity. When Teresa Phillips decided to substitute for a suspended coach, the athletic director saw herself as Tennessee State's only option.\nShe will make history Thursday night as the first woman to coach a men's Division I basketball team. Phillips said she couldn't give the job to the only remaining assistant in just his second season as a coach.\n"No matter what the criticism may be, I felt they needed an authority figure on the bench," Phillips said Wednesday. "With all the circumstances that have happened, it's not like it's been a normal year."\nFar from it.\nPhillips will be the third coach this season for the Tigers (2-20). Nolan Richardson III quit Jan. 8 after admitting he brought a gun to a Christmas night argument with assistant coach Hosea Lewis.\nThe Tigers are mired in a 16-game losing skid. Lewis, the interim head coach, was suspended by the Ohio Valley Conference on Wednesday because of a benches-clearing fight Monday night against Eastern Kentucky. Chris Graves, who was the third assistant last season, was the only coach left.\nThat prompted Phillips' decision, which has been the talk of radio and television around the country.\nPlenty of men coach women's college basketball teams. Connecticut coach Geno Auriemma has won three NCAA titles and two out of the last three.\nBut only two women have ever served as coaches for a men's Division I team, and both were assistants: Bernadette Locke at Kentucky and Stephanie Ready at Coppin State.\n"I don't feel like I'm holding the banner up for anything," Phillips said. "I'm trying to be supportive of our program and our team. We have a lot of healing to be done."\nPhillips has the experience. Her career record is 212-189 as a coach at Fisk and Tennessee State, where she took the Tigers to two NCAA tournament berths. She also was an assistant at Vanderbilt.\nShe thought about just assisting Graves, but said she should take any flak from playing Austin Peay (15-6, 8-2), the OVC's second-best team and winners of seven straight games.\nThe Tigers will be without two players, suspended for their part in Monday's brawl. Josh Cooperwood is their second-leading scorer, and Cedric Bryson is their center.\n"I'm a realist, so I really just want to put these young men in a position to have a good outing, represent themselves really well and going out to play to win," she said.\nAustin Peay coach Dave Loos said his Governors are more concerned with winning a conference title than their opponent's coach.\nLoos said he respects Phillips as a coach and administrator. He said he thinks she will do well, but he declined to comment about her decision to step in as acting coach.
(12/09/02 3:36am)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- If sore ribs and turf toe can't stop Steve McNair, the Indianapolis Colts certainly didn't have much of a chance.\nMcNair missed practice for a second straight week because of pain in his ribs. But he looked healthy Sunday, throwing for 237 yards and a touchdown as the Titans beat the Colts 27-17 Sunday to take control of the AFC South.\n"His play speaks for itself," Titans coach Jeff Fisher said. "It is hard to describe what he is doing."\nMcNair completed 14 straight passes at one point, and he kept drives alive by scrambling for 49 yards despite turf toe on his right foot. Colts tackle Brad Scioli even had him by the jersey at one point, but McNair pulled away for a 16-yard gain.\nAs a result, the Titans (8-5) swept the season series from the Colts and won for the seventh time in their last eight games. Tennessee, which also got two rushing TDs from Eddie George, improved to 4-0 in the division.\n"To do what he did today and last week without the benefit of practice is really unbelievable," Colts coach Tony Dungy said. "I have a lot of respect for him."\nMcNair had plenty of help. Indianapolis (8-5) had won four straight games, but Peyton Manning threw three interceptions.\nThe Colts needed to score twice to tie the game in the final minute, and Manning got them to first-and-5 at the Tennessee 26. But Dungy chose to let Mike Vanderjagt try his second 44-yarder, and this time he was wide right. Dungy said he was trying to save some time.\n"We were going to have to get an onsides kick anyway and get a desperation play," Dungy said.\nThe Titans, who have now won six of their last seven in this series, ran out the remaining 17 seconds to set themselves up for what would be their first division title since 2000.\nIndianapolis now may need some help to reach the playoffs.\n"It has been tight all year long, and I don't think anyone has catapulted ahead yet," Colts end Chad Bratzke said. "This is the NFL. The races should be tight."\nThe Titans jumped out to an early lead -- just like they did on Nov. 3, when they beat the Colts 23-15.\nThis time they led 14-0 after 17 minutes and 21-10 at halftime, and the team that leads the NFL in time of possession held the ball for more than 32 minutes.\nIndianapolis outgained Tennessee on offense 389-348, but 202 of the Colts' yards came when they were trying to play catch-up.\nManning, who last week became the only quarterback in NFL history to begin his career with five straight 3,000 yard passing seasons, tried to rally the Colts. His third interception came in the end zone in the third quarter.\n"I'll take all the responsibility," Manning said. "Obviously, I would've liked to have done my job better."\nHe drove them 78 yards in the fourth, and James Mungro capped the drive with a 3-yard TD run with 6:36 left that cut the lead to 24-17.\nIt wasn't enough.\nMcNair had no problems with the NFL's second-best pass defense, which had been giving up an average of 163.1 yards. He was 12-of-14 for 160 yards in the first half alone, and he helped the Titans pad their fourth-quarter lead by scrambling to set up two Joe Nedney field goals, from 35 and 29 yards.\nMcNair finished 19-of-23, and he had a passer rating of 124.1. He said he can't explain why he plays so well despite the pain.\n"It goes back to high school when my coach told me that when you're in pain, you tend to stay more focused on what you have to do," McNair said. "I took that to heart, and I think that's how I play now. I can just concentrate better when I'm playing in pain."\nIndianapolis came in wanting revenge for last month's loss in which the Titans jumped to a 20-0 halftime lead. This time, they had Edgerrin James at running back, and he carried 18 times for 70 yards.\nTennessee jumped on the Colts early as McNair needed only seven plays to put the Titans up 7-0 with a 42-yard touchdown pass on their opening drive.\nNotes:@ Manning had some swelling in his right knee after the game. He said he will have it checked by the team doctor. ... His three interceptions tied his season high. He had been intercepted only twice in 133 attempts during the Colts' winning streak. ... The Titans now are 17-2 against teams making their first visit to The Coliseum. ... Titans FS Lance Schulters tied his career-high with his sixth interception this season. SS Tank Williams had the first interception of his career. ... Dungy now is 0-4 against the Titans as a head coach.