The Dallas Cowboys will open their new US$1.1 billion stadium against the New York Giants on Sept. 20. The match was revealed with the release of this year’s NFL schedule on Tuesday.
The reigning Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers meet their division rival Baltimore Ravens twice in five weeks late in the season after they faced off in the AFC title game. They play on Nov. 29 and Dec. 27.
PRIME-TIME GAMES
The NFC champion Arizona Cardinals, who were edged by the Steelers in the Super Bowl, are scheduled for three nationally televised prime-time games: Sept. 27 at home against Indianapolis; Oct. 25 at home versus the Giants; and Dec. 14 at San Francisco.
On Oct. 11, the New England Patriots take on Denver and former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, now the Broncos’ coach. New England renews its rivalry with the Indianapolis Colts on Nov. 15.
The NFL had already announced the opening weekend’s main games.
STEELERS DEFENSE
The Steelers begin their title defense on Sept. 10 against the Tennessee Titans, who had the league’s best record last year and beat the Steelers 31-14 in the regular season.
The first Monday game features the Patriots — in what they hope is quarterback Tom Brady’s return — against the Buffalo Bills, in receiver Terrell Owens’ debut. Also that night, the San Diego Chargers visit the Oakland Raiders as the league pays tribute to the American Football League, which would have been 50 years old next year. All four of those teams are original AFL franchises.
New England also plays Tampa Bay in London on Oct. 25, with the Buccaneers as the host team.
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Taiwanese badminton superstar Lee Yang broke down in tears after publicly retiring from the sport on Sunday. The two-time Olympic gold medalist held a retirement ceremony at the Taipei Arena after the final matches of the Taipei Open. Accompanied by friends, family and former badminton partners, Lee burst into tears while watching a video celebrating key moments in his professional sporting career that also featured messages from international players such as Malaysia’s Teo Ee Yi, Hong Kong’s Tang Chun-man, and Indonesia’s Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan. “I hope that in the future when the world thinks about me, they will
GOING GLOBAL: The regular season fixture is part of the football league’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the sport to international destinations The US National Football League (NFL) breaks new ground in its global expansion strategy tomorrow when the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers face off in the first-ever grid-iron game staged in Brazil. For one night only, the land of Pele and ‘The Beautiful Game’ will get a rare glimpse into the bone-crunching world of American football as the Packers and Eagles collide at Sao Paulo’s Neo Quimica Arena, the 46,000-seat home of soccer club Corinthians. The regular season fixture is part of the NFL’s increasingly ambitious plans to spread the US’ most popular sport to new territories following previous international fixtures
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