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Houston quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick finally shaved the bushy and overgrown beard hed been sporting the entire season this week.And on the day he debuted his closely trimmed facial hair, he scolded reporters for not telling him how terrible his old look was.Im kind of mad you guys didnt tell me I looked like that, he said. I finally had time to look in the mirror and thought it was disgusting and decided to trim it down a little bit.He said getting rid of the wild look was not an easy task.We had to chop it down piece by piece, he said. It was definitely a significant amount of time to take it off.He said a bonus of the change is that his young daughters arent scared of him anymore. One of his sons remarked that he had the longest neck in the world.Fitzpatrick, who was benched two games ago, will return to the starting lineup Sunday at Tennessee with Ryan Mallett out with a season-ending chest injury. Some wondered if he decided to get a new look to go with his fresh start on the field?It was more just me getting tired with having to pick corn out of it, Fitzpatrick joked. When I eat pancakes in the morning with the syrup and stuff, it would be there for days. My wife asks me, Did you have pancakes this morning? (I say) No, it was four days ago. No more of those questions, which will be good.I KNOW THAT GUY: Zach Mettenberger had an up-close view of Odell Beckham Jr. and his great hands at LSU. For the record, the Titans quarterback wasnt surprised by that three-fingered grab Beckham made Sunday night for the Giants.Him and Jarvis (Landry) used to have some pretty cool ones at practice, Mettenberger said of his former teammates. I knew he could do that.That was a loaded offence at LSU with Beckham, Landry, Mettenberger and Alfred Blue, who has been filling in for Arian Foster with the Texans. Mettenberger said its cool to see them all having success now knowing they were all together a year ago.But for all the great catches Beckham made at LSU, Mettenberger said he hadnt seen anything like what the wide receiver did for Eli Manning.Hes a really special athlete, Mettenberger said. Once in a generation really.Another Manning was very impressed, too.Peyton Manning studies film like hes cramming for the bar exam. He has a mental rolodex of all the plays and calls and games hes ever experienced or witnessed. And hes as big a student of the game as anybody in the NFL.He said of all the receptions etched in his memory bank, none beats Beckhams.Thats as fine a catch as Ive seen, Manning said, before deadpanning: I was watching it on TV and its just what Newman graduates do. Its what happens.The Mannings and Beckham all attended Isidore Newman High School in New Orleans.MORE BECKHAM: Dallas cornerback Brandon Carr isnt the type to shy away from anything reporters want to ask him. But he hasnt taken kindly to questions about Beckhams spectacular catch, even if the Cowboys got a 31-28 win over the Giants last weekend.Carr was on the wrong side of history on the play, captured in the many images and the viral video stumbling to the ground as Beckham holds the ball in the fingertips of his fully outstretched right hand.I dont really get into the hoopla with the media and whatever yall be talking about, Carr said. We won the game. In this league, you play long enough, youre on both sides of the fence. Youre making plays, you get plays made on you.By the third question two days after the catch, Carr was on edge.I wont address it anymore, he said. If you all ask me, Ill just go lift weights in like three seconds.Coach Jason Garrett believes Carr will have the same short memory for Beckhams catch that hes had throughout a seven-year career.Hes a good football player, Garrett said. The guys who are mentally strong enough to keep coming back and handle success themselves, but also handle the adversities that happen, are the ones that are the best players.RUNNING RUSSELL: Before the big NFC West showdown on Thanksgiving night won easily by Seattle, 49ers defensive co-ordinator Vic Fangio was comparing mobile, running Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson to Barry Sanders.Thats just how hard Wilson can be to stop when he keeps the ball himself.When Wilson has the ball in his hand, hes like defending Barry Sanders with his quickness and speed and elusiveness, Fangio said. Hes a tough assignment. Hes got more rushing yards than most of the running backs in the league.Vic coached against Barry, too, back in the day, Carroll said. I dont know if theres been a player that made a defensive coach or co-ordinator cringe more and tense up more. Because he could score from anywhere on the field. I think hes one of the great open-field guys that ever played this game.I dont know if Russells ready for that right now. Every now and then he gets out and makes a few yards and tries to get out of bounds without getting hit. Thats not at all like Barry Sanders.Wilson ran for a team-high 73 yards on 10 carries in last weeks 19-3 win against Arizona, averaging 7.3 yards per carry. Marshawn Lynch managed just 39 yards on 15 carries.___AP Pro Football Writers Barry Wilner and Arnie Stapleton and Sports Writers Janie McCauley, Schuyler Dixon and Teresa M. Walker contributed to this notebook.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Luke Stocker Titans Jersey . -- Kenneth Faried made a turnaround hook shot over Draymond Green with a half-second remaining, and the Denver Nuggets made Golden State wait at least one more game to secure a playoff berth with a stunning 100-99 win over the Warriors on Thursday night. Rashaan Evans Jersey . Cleary also had two assists and Patrick Eaves added two goals for the Red Wings, who also ousted Phoenix in seven games during the first round of the 2010 postseason. Todd Bertuzzi had a goal and an assist for Detroit, which got a goal apiece from Tomas Holmstrom and Niklas Kronwall and suffered no shortage of offense despite the absences of Henrik Zetterberg and Johan Franzen. http://www.authenticfootballshoptitans.com/authentic-blaine-gabbert-titans-jersey/ . She still remembers the massive roar of the home crowd when the Canadians walked out on the pitch before 47,784 fans at Commonwealth Stadium in 2002. Lang expects a similar reception for the Canadian team as the host nation at this years tournament, which begins Tuesday. Dion Lewis Titans Jersey . 5 Trade Deadline is drawing closer and teams will be deciding on whether to buy or sell. Tennessee Titans Jerseys . He will play 10th-seeded Feliciano Lopez in Sundays final, after the Spanish left-hander defeated Radek Stepanek of the Czech Republic 7-6 (7), 6-4.DURHAM, N.C. -- Rodney Hood connected from all over the court while freshman Jabari Parker was busy swatting shots and scoring in transition. And sixth-ranked Duke needed every bit of that production to hold off East Carolina. Hood scored a career-high 30 points Tuesday night to help the Blue Devils beat the Pirates 83-74 in the NIT Season Tipoff. Parker had 21 points, nine rebounds and six blocks for the Blue Devils (4-1), who survived a tougher-than-expected fight from the underdog Pirates to improve to 24-2 all-time in the early season tournament. It was also the second game in as many nights for both teams, who were playing in a four-team pod at Dukes Cameron Indoor Stadium. "The last two nights, weve played our butts off," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "This is not about Duke not playing (well). ... Dont undersell what they did. We were ready and we played hard. I thought we brought great energy but so did they. This was a really good basketball game." Duke led by a point with about 7 minutes left but stayed in front and did enough in the final 2 1/2 minutes to turn away East Carolina (4-1), earning a trip to next weeks NIT semifinals for a matchup with Alabama in New Yorks Madison Square Garden. Hood, a 6-foot-8 sophomore transfer from Mississippi State, finished 8 for 10 from the field and hit all 12 of his free throws while playing nearly the entire 40 minutes. Parker made his biggest impact with a couple of key second-half plays, from taking a rebound all the way for a team-rousing dunk to blocking consecutive shots with his team protecting a 75-70 lead. "We couldnt scout them like we normally do and we tried not to stay in the gym last night and watch them play because we had a quick turnaround," Hood said. "But theyre a great team. Theyve got a lot of talent, especially for a mid-major. They played hard. They wasnt scared of us." The Blue Devils, who beat UNC Asheville 91-55 on Monday night, cooled off significantly after a hot start and shot 47 per cent, failing to reach at least 50 per cent for the first time this year. The Pirates had a much tougher time in their Tipofff opener, needing to rally from 17 down after halftime to beat Norfolk State 76-74.dddddddddddd That game at Cameron marked a return to unfriendly surroundings for Pirates coach Jeff Lebo, who played for Dean Smith at hated rival North Carolina in the 1980s. Lebos team turned in a strong fight less than 24 hours later, but couldnt pull off a huge upset. "We can draw a lot from this -- our kids playing in this stage, this environment," Lebo said. "We dont get a chance to do that too often. We draw a lot of positives, and when we watch the tape, I think well get some confidence from that. "And then weve got to be able to build up on it. We cant say, Hey, we played well and were done for the year." Prince Williams scored 15 for the Pirates, who shot 40 per cent and helped themselves by hitting the offensive glass for a 16-3 edge in second-chance points. East Carolina fell to 0-21 all-time against Duke, though the Pirates flirted with earning their first win against a ranked opponent in nearly 11 years. Duke led by 18 points late in the first half after an 11-for-11 shooting start, but the Pirates didnt let the Blue Devils put together a knockout run. Instead, the Pirates closed the gap to 11 by halftime, and then kept inching closer and closer from there. East Carolina twice got within a point, the last coming on Williams free throws with 6:58 left, but never could push in front. Duke helped itself by playing with composure down the stretch, hitting all eight of its free throws in the final 2:34 to stay in control. Parker also came through with a big defensive sequence after his coast-to-coast dunk, swatting a leaner from Williams out of bounds and then stuffing a driving shot from Antonio Robinson with about 2 minutes left. Hood hit two free throws to make it 77-70, and East Carolina didnt get closer than five again. Duke finished 24 for 31 from the foul line, including 19 for 24 after halftime. The Blue Devils, who beat Florida Atlantic on Friday night, are off until Sunday, when they host Vermont. "Now weve got to rest," Krzyzewski said. "I mean, our guys are dead." Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '