than $250 million per season to the ones having fi...
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than $250 million per season to the ones having financial struggles
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2014/07/04 04:01AM
Latest post: 2014/07/04 04:01AM, Views: 430, Posts: 1
Latest post: 2014/07/04 04:01AM, Views: 430, Posts: 1
wff0605
CLEVELAND -- They didnt look like themselves at all. Not with the turnovers, penalties and blown chances. These werent the Pittsburgh Steelers of old. And it had little to do with their 37-year-old quarterback. "That was an ugly performance," coach Mike Tomlin said. With their playoff lives in peril, the Steelers committed eight turnovers and third-string QB Charlie Batch didnt do enough to overcome the miscues as Pittsburgh lost 20-14 to Cleveland on Sunday, giving the Browns a rare win over their hated rivals. "When you turn the ball over the way we did, youre not going to beat anybody," Tomlin said. "We were highly penalized. When you do those things, youre going to lose I dont care who is playing quarterback." Batch, forced to start because of injuries to Ben Roethlisberger and Byron Leftwich, threw three interceptions and the Steelers (6-5) lost five fumbles, the last on a desperation final-play lateral as they fell to the Browns (3-8) for just the second time in 18 games. Batch finished 20 of 34 for 199 yards, but couldnt rally the stumbling Steelers the way Big Ben can. "I have to put it on my shoulders," Batch said. "We had a chance to win, actually two, and I turned it over. Cant do that. I made some bad throws. We had all the fumbles, and yet we still had a chance to win, thats the crazy part." Browns rookie quarterback Brandon Weeden sustained a concussion in the final minutes, allowing backup Colt McCoy to come in and finish off a victory Cleveland fans will savour long after this season ends. Coach Pat Shurmur said the 29-year-old Weeden was being treated for the head injury, which happened when he hit his head while throwing an incompletion. Browns rookie Trent Richardson rushed for 85 yards, scoring the go-ahead TD on a 15-yard run in the third. For one of the few times in recent years, Cleveland finally won a close game. And this one pleased new owner Jimmy Haslam, who had a minority share of the Steelers before buying the Browns for $1.05 billion in August. Haslam enjoyed not seeing "Terrible Towels" waving after the game. "Ive seen it the other way around," Haslam said. "Its good to see their fans leaving and our fans staying and cheering. It was a great win for us. Its nice for me, but its bigger for our coaches and our players." It also sent president Mike Holmgren out on a winning note. After the game, the Browns announced that it was the final game for Holmgren, who has been replaced by new CEO Joe Banner. One of Haslams goals was to revive one of the NFLs fiercest rivalries, which has been shaded in yellow and black for most of the past decade. Even with the loss, Pittsburgh is 23-5 against Cleveland since 1999, but in each of the seasons they lost one game to the Browns, the Steelers missed the playoffs. That could happen again. Pittsburgh is tied with Cincinnati for second place in the AFC North behind Baltimore, and will visit the Ravens next week. Tomlin has a lot to work on before then. All four Pittsburgh running backs fumbled and Batch was understandably rusty. The Steelers were also called for several holding penalties that slowed drives. Wide receiver Plaxico Burress, re-signed during the week, did not have a reception but did draw an interference penalty in the end zone. "We arent going to have any team meetings, not going to sit in a circle and sing Kumbaya or anything like that," safety Ryan Clark said. "We are going to do what we do after we win a game -- go back to work and figure out a way to play better." Pittsburgh lost linebacker LaMarr Woodley in the first half with a left ankle injury, and offensive lineman Mike Adams went down with an ankle injury in the second half. Phil Dawson kicked field goals of 28 and 32 yards for the Browns, and has made 27 in a row since last season, tying his team record. Clevelands fourth takeaway set up Richardsons TD run. Browns cornerback Sheldon Brown, picked on during the Steelers late scoring drive in the first half, intercepted Batch at Pittsburghs 31. Two completions by Weeden got it to the 10, and after a false-start penalty, Richardson burst up the middle, ran through some arm tackles and scored to make it 20-14 with 5:25 left in the third -- the games final points. "To finish a close game like that is big for us," Richardson said. "Thats the best defence Ive played against since Ive been in the NFL, hands down. I took a few shots and that was the hardest-hitting game Ive played in so far." The Steelers led 14-13 at halftime despite losing three fumbles, converting just one third down and keeping Batch under wraps. One play after Brown was called for pushing Burress in the end zone, Chris Rainey, on the field only because the three backs ahead of him fumbled, scored on a 1-yard TD run after being stopped for no gain. He was stuffed on a carry over centre by several Browns, who knocked him backward. Rainey, though, kept his legs moving and ran untouched into the end zone with 1 second left before halftime. It was one of the few highlights for the Steelers, who needed just 71 seconds to take a 7-0 lead. On Clevelands third play, Weedens pass to Greg Little was tipped at the line by Steelers end Brett Keisel and caught on the fly by Lawrence Timmons, who took it back 53 yards. "We started fast," Clark said. "Lawrence made an impact play and we felt good. Overall, we did a lot of good things. With everything that went wrong, we were one play away." Now, the Steelers have no room for error. "We have to get ourselves together in a hurry and figure out a way to get some wins," said tight end Heath Miller. NOTES: The last time an NFL team forced eight turnovers was New Orleans against St. Louis on Oct. 28, 2001. The Browns hadnt gotten eight turnovers since 1989. ... The teams combined for 18 penalties -- 9 apiece. ... The Steelers gained just 49 rushing yards and were 1 of 9 on third downs. .... Tomlin dropped to 9-2 against Browns. . Mount a furious comeback. Lose by six. [url=http://www.ussoccerteamshopjersey.com/julian-green-world-cup-jersey.html]Ju... Green Soccer Jersey . The star slugger landed on the 15-day disabled list Tuesday but was relieved to learn theres no structural damage in his ailing left wrist. h... . Schwartzel led from the first round and never slowed down, finishing with a 25-under total of 263 at the Amata Spring Country Club for the South Africans first victory since last years Masters. [url=http://www.ussoccerteamshopjersey.com/clint-dempsey-world-cup-jersey.html]C... Dempsey World Cup Jersey . -- For every step forward in the preseason, there is always something that needs fine-tuning. ... Donovan Jersey . How is this, Coach? Holliday returned a punt 87 yards for a touchdown, a week after scoring on a 90-yard kickoff return, and Matt Schaub threw a touchdown pass to Lestar Jean in the Texans 20-9 win over the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday night.NHLPA head Donald Fehr said Friday the players are prepared for the eventuality of an owners lockout if a new collective bargaining agreement cant be reached. Fehr wrapped up a meeting held over parts of two days with about 40 players at a hotel outside of OHare International Airport. The union will hold similar informational meetings next week in Kelowna, B.C. and Toronto. Fehr said its no surprise for players to hear about the possibility of a lockout, especially since both the NFL and NBA have recently weathered shutdowns. Players are not surprised and fully understand what the ramifications of a work stoppage would mean, since most of them either lived through or have teammates who were playing when the NHL shut down in 2004, he said. "It was interested. It was focused. It was sobered," Fehr said, describing the tone of the meetings. "Players understand what is going on, understand what the issues are and understand how the owners proposal will affect them, understand how this compares to what happened seven years ago. ... understand that this will affect their lives if we cant find a way through this in the immediate future." The league wants the players to give up a significant amount of salary to stabilize the industry while the union maintains that goal would be best accomplished with the wealthy teams doing more to help their struggling counterparts. Fehr is scheduled to resume formal discussions with the league Aug. 22. When that starts, the league and the union will have just 24 days left to reach a new agreement and avoid a lockout. The current CBA runs out on Sept. 15 -- by which time Commissioner Gary Bettman wants a deal in place. The regular season is set to start Oct. 11. The entire 2004-05 season was lost to a lockout and then the players eventually accepted a 24 per cent rollback on salaries and a cap. Despite the wide philosophical gap between the two sides, Fehr said there is still time to reach an agreement. "If there is a mutual will to get this done, if we can find a common platform around which to construct an agreement, then obviously there is plenty of time in which to do that," he said, adding hes out of the prediction business. "Unfortunately, what you saw in the last two negotiations in football and basketball, and can be argued what happened in hockey iin 2004, is that the lockout was the strategy of first choice, not the strategy of last resort," Fehr continued.dddddddddddd "I hope thats not true this time, but time will tell. Having said that, when Gary says its much more preferable to get a deal done before Sept. 15, we agree with him." Phoenix Coyotes right-wing David Moss said the players are prepared and have discussed all eventualities. "The league are the ones saying that if we dont come to a decision. ... The players are still very optimistic and hopeful that things will get done on time, and were working in that fashion," said Moss, who played last season with the Calgary Flames. "The players are preparing theres going to be a season; they do all the things leading up to that until were told otherwise." Under the owners proposal, the players share in revenue would be cut from 57 per cent to 43 per cent and would include a change to the way the salary cap is calculated. Instead of being set at US$8 million above the midpoint, the upper limit would be reduced to $4 million above. As a result, the salary cap would drop to $50.8 million next season, which is below where the floor currently rests. The league also called for the elimination of salary arbitration, contract limits of five years (with equal money paid each year, essentially eliminating signing bonuses) and 10 years of service before unrestricted free agency kicks in. The NHLPA estimated the leagues proposal would cost players approximately $450 million per season. Fehr designed his own system, including an expanded revenue-sharing plan that would see the wealthy teams distribute more than $250 million per season to the ones having financial struggles. "One of the things the players asked me," Fehr said, "is, Why did we give them what we did the last time if this was going to be the result this time? "One of the things which appears to happen in the capped sports, is no matter what the economic circumstances are claimed to be, whether they are claimed to be losses as we had in basketball this last time, or whether theres an acknowledgment there are no financial problems, as we had in the NFL this last time, it doesnt matter. The position is, we have a cap and the cap has to be lowered. "That seems to be the case." ' ' '
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