Falcons still perfect…Steelers end Giants’ 4-game winning streak…Record game for Bucs rookie

UNDATED __There’s still one undefeated team in the NFL — the Atlanta Falcons at 8-0. The Falcons started slowly but rallied past Dallas 19-13 as Michael Turner scored the go-ahead TD on a 3-yard run early in the fourth quarter. Matt Ryan completed 23 of 34 for 342 yards. Roddy White became the Falcons’ all-time leading receiver with 577 career receptions. He caught seven passes for 118 yards. Matt Bryant kicked four field goals to drop Dallas to 3-5.

In the rest of the Week 9:

— The Pittsburgh Steelers overcame some uncharacteristic early sloppiness and escaped Superstorm Sandy-ravaged New Jersey with a 24-20 win that ended the New York Giants’ four-game winning streak. Isaac Redman ran for 147 yards and scored the go-ahead TD with 4:02 left. This was Mike Tomlin’s 60th win as Steelers coach.

—The Chicago Bears have won 7 of their first 8 games. The most recent win came at the expense of Tennessee as Jay Cutler passed for three scores and linebacker Brian Urlacher intercepted a pass for a score in their 51-20 win. It was a strong defensive showing for the Bears as cornerback Charles Tillman forced four fumbles and Chicago created five turnovers while winning its sixth in a row.

— The Houston Texans have also won 7 of their first 8 games. The Texans entertained Buffalo and walked off the field with a 21-9 win. Quarterback Matt Schaub threw two touchdown passes and Arian Foster ran for 111 yards.

— Peyton Manning overcame a pair of interceptions by throwing three touchdown passes in Denver’s 31-23 victory over the Bengals. Trindon Holliday also returned a kickoff a Broncos-record 105 yards for a score. In his career, Manning is now 8-0 against the Bengals, who have lost four straight.

— Manning’s replacement with the Colts, top-draft pick Andrew Luck, broke the NFL’s single-game rookie record by throwing for 433 yards in leading Indianapolis past Miami 23-20. The former Stanford star was 30 of 48 with two TDs and broke Cam Newton’s previous mark of 422 yards set last season. The game also marked the return of Colts coach Chuck Pagano (puh-GAH’-noh) to Lucas Oil Stadium since being diagnosed with leukemia.

__ Tampa Bay rookie Doug Martin is the Buccaneers’ new single-game rushing leader. The rookie out of Boise State ran for a Bucs-record 251 yards and four TDs in their 42-32 win over Oakland. Martin ran for TDs of 1, 45, 67 and 70 yards in the second half as the Bucs evened their record at 4-4.

— Marshawn Lynch ran for 124 yards and a touchdown, rookie QB Russell Wilson threw three first-half touchdowns, and the Seattle Seahawks overcame 182 yards rushing by Adrian Peterson in a 30-20 win over the Minnesota Vikings. Peterson had his best rushing game since 2008 in his personal matchup against Lynch in the matchup between the two top rushers in the NFL.

— Joe Flacco threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Torrey Smith with 4:26 left as the Ravens came back to beat the Browns in Cleveland, 25-15. The victory was Baltimore’s 11th straight against AFC North teams. The Ravens, who are now 6-2, have beaten the Browns 10 straight games.

— Mikel Leshoure ran for three touchdowns as the Lions beat Jacksonville 31-14. Leshoure, who finished with 70 yards rushing and touchdown runs of 7, 1 and 8 yards, become the first player in franchise history to run for three touchdowns in the first half of a game.

— Cam Newton got the better of Robert Griffin III as Carolina beat the Redskins, 21-13. Newton completed 13 of 23 passes for 201 yards with a touchdown. He also ran eight times for 37 yards and a score as the Panthers snapped a five-game losing streak. Griffin, who was 23 for 39 for 215 yards, ran 11 times for 53 yards.

— The Green Bay Packers enter their bye week with a four-game winning streak. The Pack handed Arizona its fifth straight loss, a 31-17 decision. Green Bay, which is 6-3, finished with a season-high 176 yards rushing on 39 carries.

Open mic catches ref swearing

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An NFL referee lost his temper and used an obscenity during the Dolphins-Colts game, and it was obvious to everyone inside Lucas Oil Stadium. It occurred when a member of Tony Corrente’s crew asked for a conference following a penalty with 5:22 left in the game. Indy’s defense had just been called for having 12 men on the field, and it appeared the question was about where to spot the ball.

As a second official called over to the referee, and with Corrente’s microphone on, Corrente shouted the obscenity.

That part was heard by the crowd of 66,479, but did not make it on the air.

Alabama remains No. 1

UNDATED (AP) — Alabama remained unbeaten Saturday night with a thrilling win over LSU, 21-17. The new AP poll has the Tide remaining No. 1, unanimously. In fact the top four picks remained the same as last week with Oregon No. 2, Kansas State No. 3 and Notre Dame No. 4.

The fifth spot in the poll is shared by Georgia and Ohio State. They replace LSU.

Rounding out the top-10 this week are Florida, Florida State, LSU and Clemson.

Lakers finally break through…Hawks use fourth-quarter surge to win at OKC

UNDATED (AP) –The new-look Los Angeles Lakers won their first game of the new NBA season in a big way, trouncing Detroit 108-79. New Lakers center Dwight Howard led the way with 28 points. Kobe Bryant added 15 points and eight assists.

Metta World Peace scored 18 points. Pau Gasol added 14 for the Lakers, who went 0-8 in the preseason and started the regular season 0-3 for just the fourth time in franchise history despite adding Howard and Steve Nash over the summer.

In other NBA action:

— Al Horford had 23 points and 12 rebounds, Lou Williams added 10 of his 19 points during Atlanta’s decisive fourth-quarter surge and the Hawks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder 104-95.

— Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan each scored 22 points, Alan Anderson had 18 and the Toronto Raptors earned their first victory of the season by beating the Minnesota Timberwolves 105-86.

— J.J. Redick scored 24 points, Arron Afflalo and Glen Davis each had 22 points, and Nikola Vucevic added 18 points and 13 rebounds as the Orlando Magic rallied to beat the Phoenix Suns 115-94.

__ Carmelo Anthony had 27 points, JR Smith had 20 and the New York Knicks beat the 76ers, 100-84. Jason Kidd added 12 points and six assists. Raymond Felton added 11 points for the Knicks, who’ve won their first two games. Jrue Holiday had 27 points and seven assists for the 76ers, who dropped to 1-1.

The North Platte Lady Knights opened their season with a 1-1 record at the NPCC Classic over the weekend. On Saturday the Lady Knights defeated the North Platte All-Stars 70-54. Sunday afternoon saw the Lady Knights lose a heartbreaker to the Hastings College JV, 71-69. The Knights men open their season on the hardwood tonight, welcoming the Hastings JV to McDonald-Belton Gymnasium. ESPN Radio 1410 has the play-by-play call, with pregame coverage at 6:45 and the tip-off at 7 PM.

After their third double-digit second-half comeback of the season, the Husker football team rose five spots to 16th in the USA Today Coaches Poll and three spots to 18th in the AP poll. The Huskers also are 16th in the BCS rankings, making them the highest ranking Big Ten team. Nebraska’s 28-24 victory over Michigan State on Saturday was their seventh win in seven games against the Spartans in the all-time series. The Huskers return to Memorial Stadium this Saturday for a clash with Penn State.

The longest play in Denver Broncos history highlighted the team’s third straight victory, a 31-23 road win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Trindon Holliday opened the second half with the record-setting play, a 105-yard kickoff return that gave the Broncos a 17-3 lead. But a pair of Peyton Manning interceptions helped the Bengals come back and take a 20-17 lead early in the fourth quarter. Manning would redeem himself in the final frame, connecting with Joel Dreessen and Eric Decker on touchdown strikes to complete the 48th fourth-quarter comeback of his illustrious career. He would finish 27 of 35 through the air with 291 passing yards and three touchdowns, two of them to Decker, who had 99 yards receiving. The Broncos are now 5-3 on the season. They visit the Carolina Panthers next Sunday afternoon.

Jordan Hooper scored 32 points as the Husker women’s basketball team defeated Nebraska-Kearney 68-38 in their final preseason game on Sunday afternoon at the Devaney Center. The Huskers led by just nine at the break, but they doubled up the Lopers 42-21 in the second half, with Hooper scoring 26 points in the final 20 minutes. Five Husker players were held out of the game by head coach Connie Yori for undisclosed disciplinary reasons. The Huskers open their regular season Friday night against North Carolina A&T.

The Nebraska wrestling team opened its regular season on Sunday as eight wrestlers won their weight classes at the Warren Williamson/Daktronics Open.

The Huskers took home the top three places at 165 pounds as Brandon Wilbourn won, Austin Wilson was runner up and Shaun’qae McMurtry earned a third-place finish. Wilbourn won a 4-2 decision over Wilson in the championship match. McMurtry pinned Augustana College’s Parker Swanson in the third-place match. Ross Grande went 4-3 to earn a sixth-place finish, while Michael Klinginsmith finished with a 1-2 mark.

At 174 pounds, the Huskers earned the top four spots with no contest in the championship and third place matches. Robert Kokesh and Tyler Koehn went 3-0, while Aaron Studebaker and Micah Barnes went 3-1. Freshman McCoy Newberg went 3-2.

Sophomores Jake Sueflohn (149) and James Green (157) as well as senior Josh Ihnen (184) won their respective weight classes at the Daktronics Open. Sueflohn won an11-6 decision over Augustana’s Nate Herda, while Green won a 7-4 decision over SDSU’s Cody Pack. Ihnen won by decision over Minnesota’s Brett Pfarr, 8-3.

Newcomer Tim Lambert went 4-0 as the lone Husker competing at 125 pounds. Following a first-round bye, the freshman pinned South Dakota State’s Chet Utesch in 1:34 before a 7-0 decision over NSU’s Anthony Bruno. In the semifinals, Lambert won a 5-0 decision over SDSU’s Aaron Pickrel to advance to the finals where he pinned Augustana’s TJ North in 3:28.

At 133 pounds, junior Shawn Nagel took home the title with Adam Joseph taking sixth place. Nagel went 4-0, capping the tournament with a 7-6 decision over North Dakota State’s Justin Scherkenbach.

Sophomore Skylar Galloway went 4-0 en route to the title at 141 pounds. Following a first-round bye, Galloway won a major decision over Midland’s Jacob Luning-Hoshino, 12-3. Then Galloway won a 3-2 decision over Angel Vega before a 5-3 decision over Iowa Central’s Stephen Mincey. In the championship match, Galloway won a 4-0 decision over SDSU’s Will James.

The Huskers return to action on Saturday when they travel to Greeley, Colo., to face Northern Colorado at 7 p.m. On Sunday Nebraska will wrestle Wyoming in Laramie, Wyo., at 2 p.m. The Huskers’ home opener is Nov. 16 against Minnesota at 7 p.m. Individual Husker records are shown below.

–Connor Stange, Nebraska Sports Information

Saturday
TOP 25 FOOTBALL

No. 1 Alabama at No. 5 LSU, 7 p.m.

No. 2 Oregon at No. 18 Southern Cal, 6 p.m.

No. 3 Kansas State vs. Oklahoma State, 7 p.m.

No. 4 Notre Dame vs. Pittsburgh, 2:30 p.m.

No. 6 Ohio State vs. Illinois, 2:30 p.m.

No. 7 Georgia vs. Mississippi, 2:30 p.m.

No. 8 Florida vs. Missouri, 11 a.m.

No. 10 Clemson at Duke, 6 p.m.

No. 12 Louisville vs. Temple, 11 a.m.

No. 13 Oregon State vs. Arizona State, 9:30 p.m.

No. 14 Oklahoma at Iowa State, 11 a.m.

No. 15 Stanford at Colorado, 1 p.m.

No. 16 Texas A&M at No. 17 Mississippi State, 11 a.m.

No. 19 Boise State vs. San Diego State, 9:30 p.m.

No. 20 Texas Tech vs. Texas, 2:30 p.m.

No. 21 Nebraska at Michigan State, 2:30 p.m.

No. 22 Louisiana Tech vs. UTSA, 3 p.m.

No. 23 West Virginia vs. TCU, 2 p.m.

No. 24 Arizona at No. 25 UCLA, 9:30 p.m.

NBA

Boston at Washington, 6 p.m.

Sacramento at Indiana, 6 p.m.

Toronto at Brooklyn, 6:30 p.m.

Denver at Miami, 6:30 p.m.

New Orleans at Chicago, 7 p.m.

Portland at Houston, 7 p.m.

Cleveland at Milwaukee, 7:30 p.m.

Charlotte at Dallas, 7:30 p.m.

Utah at San Antonio, 7:30 p.m.

Golden State at L.A. Clippers, 9:30 p.m.

MOTORSPORTS

Formula One, Abu Dhabi (UAE) Grand Prix Qualifying, 8 a.m.

NASCAR Nationwide, O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge Qualifying, Fort Worth, Texas, 3 p.m.

NASCAR Nationwide, O’Reilly Auto Parts Challenge, Fort Worth, Texas, 6:30 p.m.

 

Sunday
NFL

Arizona at Green Bay, noon

Chicago at Tennessee, noon

Buffalo at Houston, noon

Carolina at Washington, noon

Detroit at Jacksonville, noon

Denver at Cincinnati, noon (LISTEN LIVE on ESPN Radio 1410)

Baltimore at Cleveland, noon

Miami at Indianapolis, noon

Minnesota at Seattle, 3:05 p.m.

Tampa Bay at Oakland, 3:05 p.m.

Pittsburgh at N.Y. Giants, 3:25 p.m.

Dallas at Atlanta, 7:20 p.m.

NBA

Philadelphia at New York, 11 a.m.

Minnesota at Toronto, 5 p.m.

Phoenix at Orlando, 5 p.m.

Atlanta at Oklahoma City, 6 p.m.

Detroit at L.A. Lakers, 8:30 p.m.

MOTORSPORTS

Formula One, Abu Dhabi (UAE) Grand Prix, 7 a.m.

NASCAR Sprint Cup, AAA Texas 500, Fort Worth, Texas, 2 p.m.

UNDATED (AP) — There are 12 games on tap in the NBA this evening.

Defending league champion Miami is on the road for a game in New York against the Knicks. The game serves as the season opener for New York as the scheduled first game for the Knicks, against the Nets at the new Barclays Center in Brooklyn, was postponed because of damage from Hurricane Sandy. The last time these teams met was in the first round of the playoffs last season. The Heat eliminated the Knicks in five games.

The Chicago Bulls had the best regular season record in the East last season and tonight they face the Cavaliers in Cleveland. Each team won its opening game a few days ago.

The battle of L.A. is taking place tonight in, where else, Los Angeles. In this one the Lakers are serving as the home team and they are out to get their first win of the season. The Lakers are 0-2 and trying to avoid their first 0-3 start since 1978. The Clippers won their season opener against Memphis.

A year ago the Charlotte Bobcats were terrible. They finished the season with just 7 wins and 59 defeats. Tonight they start the new season with a game at home against the Indiana Pacers. The Pacers won their season opener two nights ago with a last second shot by George Hill.

In other games tonight, Orlando is home to Denver, the Bucks are facing the Celtics in Boston, the Hawks are home to Houston, Sacramento is playing at Minnesota, Utah is at New Orleans, the Thunder are playing host to Portland, Detroit is at Phoenix and Memphis plays at Golden State.

Qualifying on tap today

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) — The qualifying for Sunday’s Sprint Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway is taking place this afternoon.

Jimmie Johnson won at Martinsville last Sunday to take the points lead from Brad Keselowski. Johnson has four victories this season and 59 in his spectacular career. He enters this week’s race with 21 Chase victories.

The Texas 500 is the eighth of the 10 in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. Five-time series champion Johnson has a two-point lead over Keselowski.

Idaho St suspends receiver, said coach pushed him 

Chargers clobber Chiefs

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The San Diego Chargers may have entered Thursday night’s game on a three-game losing streak, but they weren’t about to become the first team to trail the Kansas City Chiefs in regulation this season.

Philip Rivers threw for two touchdowns and the Chargers’ defense scored twice just over two minutes apart in a 31-13 drubbing of the Chiefs. Rivers completed 18 of his 20 passes for 220 yards and an interception in helping San Diego improve to 4-4.

The Chargers put the game away by scoring three touchdowns in a five-minute span of the fourth quarter. After Rivers hit Malcom Floyd for a 13-yard score, Shaun Phillips recovered a fumble in the end zone before DeMorrio Williams brought back an interception 59 yards for a touchdown to make it 31-6.

The Chiefs committed four turnovers and fell to 1-7 with their fifth straight loss.

Pats pick up Talib from Bucs

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — New England has obtained cornerback Aqib Talib for their shaky secondary from Tampa Bay. He will be eligible to play in the Patriots’ next game on Nov. 11 after serving a four-game NFL suspension without pay for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.

The Patriots pick up the former first-round draft pick and a seventh-rounder next year for their fourth-round choice in 2013.

New England (5-3) has allowed the fifth most yards passing in the NFL as it enters its bye week.

Weatherspoon out for Falcons

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. (AP) — Atlanta outside linebacker Sean Weatherspoon will miss Sunday night’s game against the Dallas Cowboys with a right ankle injury.

He was injured in Sunday’s win at Philadelphia and has not practiced the past two days.

The loss of Weatherspoon is a significant blow to the NFL’s only undefeated team. He is second in tackles and sacks this season.

Surgery for Jennings

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings has had surgery to repair the torn abdominal muscle that has sidelined him for much of the season.

Jennings said on Twitter that “surgery went well” and posted a picture of himself in a hospital bed. No return date has been given, though Packers coach Mike McCarthy says it would probably be a minimum of a few weeks.

Jennings has missed the last four games with the injury, which occurred in the season opener. Green Bay’s No. 1 receiver has 12 receptions for 78 yards and a touchdown this season.

Spurs hold off Thunder

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Tony Parker and Tim Duncan are the primary reasons why the San Antonio Spurs are the NBA’s first 2-0 team of the season.

Parker drained a 21-footer at the buzzer to give the Spurs an 86-84 win over the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder. He scored 14 points and had 11 assists in helping San Antonio win a rematch of last season’s Western Conference finals.

Tim Duncan paced San Antonio with 20 points, one night after scoring a team-high 24 points. Parker had 23 points in the Spurs season-opening win, including the go-ahead three-pointer with 50 seconds remaining.

The Thunder dropped their season opener despite Kevin Durant’s game-high 23 points and 14 rebounds.