Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger returns from suspension for his first appearance of the season, while two Super Bowl favorites will battle each other to avoid a dismal 1-4 start in NFL action this weekend.
The Steelers, who held together during Roethlisberger’s four-game suspension with solid defensive play, host a struggling Cleveland Browns team that is expected to give rookie quarterback Colt McCoy his first league start.
Roethlisberger, who was suspended following accusations of sexual assault, rejoined the Steelers on Oct. 4 ahead of their bye week and has reportedly been sharp in team practice.
Photo: AFP
Pittsburgh won their first three games of the season before suffering their only loss, a 17-14 defeat by the Baltimore Ravens after a last-minute touchdown.
Before the season began, the Dallas Cowboys and Minnesota Vikings were both considered among the favorites to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.
However, whichever team comes up short in Sunday’s matchup will slip to 1-4 and need a string of victories thereafter to get their season back on track.
The Vikings have listed starting quarterback Brett Favre as questionable for the game, jeopardizing his NFL record of 289 consecutive regular-season starts.
Dallas, bidding to become the first team to play in their home stadium in the Super Bowl, are coming off a 34-27 loss to the Tennessee Titans while the Vikings fell 29-20 to the New York Jets on Monday.
New York will put their much vaunted defense and rushing attack to the test when they bid to win a third successive game on the road against Kyle Orton and the Denver Broncos today.
The AFC East-leading Jets have not started a season 3-0 on the road since 2001 and they face a tough task in the rarefied heights of Denver against the NFL’s top-ranked passing attack.
A further question mark for New York hangs over the fitness of their All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis, who was listed as questionable for today with a lingering hamstring strain.
“He’s either healthy enough to play or he’s not,” Jets head coach Rex Ryan said on Friday. “We’ll have a light practice and then we’ll go from there. I’ve been impressed with the way he’s looked the past couple days. We’ll see what happens when we get out there.”
Revis strained his right hamstring on Sept. 19 and missed the next two games before returning for Monday’s victory over Minnesota.
He has since described his leg as “very sore” and was only able to practice on a limited basis this week.
However, Revis was the only fitness concern for a 4-1 Jets who, with running backs LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene setting the tone, lead the league in rushing yards per game.
“We’re built to run the football,” Ryan said. “We don’t care if you know it’s coming or not. That’s part of our philosophy and our mentality, that you can put [defenders] down there if you want, but we’re still going to run it, and we’re going to be successful at running it. That’s what we do.”
The Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints, who lie third in the NFC South after a shaky 3-2 start, face a daunting challenge when they visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers today.
While the struggling Saints were beaten 30-20 by the Arizona Cardinals last week, the upbeat Buccaneers came from behind to stun the Cincinnati Bengals 24-21 for their third win in four games.
Among the other games today are the Baltimore Ravens (4-1), who visit the New England Patriots (3-1) and the Philadelphia Eagles (3-2), who host the Atlanta Falcons (4-1).
The Kansas City Chiefs (3-1), who surrendered the NFL’s last unbeaten record with their 19-9 loss to the Indianapolis Colts last Sunday, visit the Houston Texans (3-2).
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and