HEREIN SPAZIERT » ball run, and not even touch it until he kicked it in

HOUSTON -- Just when it looked as if things couldnt get any worse for the Houston Texans in this dreadful season, it has. The Texans sunk to a new low on Sunday with a 13-6 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars to extend their franchise-record skid to nine games. A playoff team the past two years, Houston (2-9) was expected to contend for a Super Bowl in the preseason and won its first two games. Soon poor play by quarterback Matt Schaub and a slew of injuries started the losing streak. A change at quarterback to Case Keenum gave the Texans some life, but the losses continued to pile up and they were soon dealing with an illness to coach Gary Kubiak. But as bad as things had gotten, most people assumed that facing the lowly Jaguars (2-9), who picked up their first win just two weeks ago, would be just what Houston needed to break out of its funk. Instead Maurice Jones-Drews touchdown on Jacksonvilles first drive put the Jaguars on top, and they never trailed against an inept and ineffective Texans offence. "I respect the Jaguars, but I just never thought ... that this is something that would happen. Especially in the way it happened," running back Ben Tate said. "I feel very embarrassed and bad for the city." Josh Scobee kicked field goals of 30 and 53 yards to help the Jaguars win for the second time in three games. Keenum had the worst performance in his five starts, throwing for just 169 yards with an interception. Kubiak wouldnt commit to sticking with Keenum, saying he never makes decisions right after games. "Obviously we didnt execute worth a darn offensively," Kubiak said. "Defensively we were on the field pretty much the whole football game." Houston (2-9) was driving late when rookie Ryan Davis grabbed a one-handed interception off a deflection by Keshawn Martin to seal the win. The Jaguars pushed their lead to 13-6 with Scobees 53-yard field goal with about seven minutes remaining. Houston got lucky on its next drive when Keenum threw a ball right into the hands of Jacksonville rookie Johnathan Cyprien, but he couldnt hold on to it. It didnt matter much though as the Texans ended up punting a few plays later anyway. Keenum shouldered the blame for the loss. "Im very frustrated right now," Keenum said. "We had guys open, we had the right play calls and I didnt see them I didnt hit them." Jacksonville entered the game averaging an NFL-worst 61.7 yards rushing a game, but finished with 118. Chad Henne was 23 of 32 for 239 yards and Cecil Shorts led the team with eight catches for 71 yards. Kubiak coached from the booth for the second straight week on the advice of his doctors after returning to work last week after recovering from a mini-stroke. After the game he was left to answer questions about his job security and why his team cant get things together. Henne was sacked and fumbled on third down late in the third quarter. The Jaguars recovered and attempted a 49-yard field goal, but J.J. Watt swatted it down and the Texans returned it 25 yards. It was the second time this season that Watt has blocked a field goal. Houston didnt take advantage of the opportunity, and Jacksonville got the ball at its 40 after Dennis Johnson was stuffed for no gain on fourth-and-1 early in the fourth quarter. Rookie Denard Robinson came in for one play on Jacksonvilles next drive, and launched a long and accurate pass on third-and-5 downfield to Shorts. But Johnathan Joseph was there to break it up and the Jaguars had to punt again. Jones-Drew gave the Jaguars an early lead when he scored on fourth-and-1 from the 1 on the first drive. Jones-Drew had a 41-yard catch and run and Ace Sanders grabbed a 51-yard pass to set up the score. Jones-Drew had a 44-yard run in the second quarter on a drive that ended with a 30-yard field goal by Scobee to make it 10-0. Houston hadnt made a first down on four straight possessions and had just 20 total yards before a 29-yard run by Johnson 4 1/2 minutes before halftime. But the offence soon stalled again after Keenum was sacked and the Texans settled for a 49-yard field goal to cut the lead to 10-3 at halftime. Keenum was terrible in the first half, going 5 for 12 with 32 yards. His tough day started early when he was sacked by Andre Branch for a loss of 19 yards on third down on Houstons first series. NOTES: Olympic gold medallist Mary Lou Retton attended the game and served as an honorary team captain. ... Houstons Andre Johnson, who had a career-high 273 yards receiving in his previous game against Jacksonville, managed just 36 yards receiving on Sunday. Cheap Air Max 97 Brown China .C. -- The Carolina Panthers announced Thursday theyve signed free agent wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery to a two-year contract, helping rebuild a depleted wide receiving corps. Cheap Air Max 97 Grey China .Kraft says Goodell realized before seeing a video showing Baltimore running back Ray Rice striking his then fiance that domestic violence was very serious for society in general. http://www.cheapairmax97fromchina.com/cheap-air-max-97-all-black-china/ . And once again, Team Homan emerged as the victor with the reigning national champions defeating Team Sweeting at the Pintys All-Star Curling Skins Game Friday night in the tournaments opening draw at The Fenlands Banff Recreation Centre in beautiful Banff National Park. Air Max 97 Sale Mens . On Thursday, they signed former Browns linebacker DQwell Jackson. Terms of the deal were not immediately available. Nike Air Max 97 For Sale .com) - Virginia is for loving Latrell Scott.They say a trip to play Celtic is a vital part of your footballing education. And, of course, when I say they, I mean some of the greatest to ever play the game. Barcelonas Xavi: "The atmosphere generated by the fans in Celtics stadium for our visit was the most impressive Ive ever witnessed. The grounds of Liverpool and Manchester United are good and the hostile feeling of playing against Real Madrid in the Bernabeu is also excellent, but the atmosphere against Celtic was the best." If the opinion of Xavi is not enough, how about someone equally as brilliant and smart. Someone like Paolo Maldini... "Every professional footballer should seek to play at least one game at Celtic Park. I have never felt anything like it," he said. The great thing about Maldini and Xavi is that they are all-time greats, not only for the way they played on the field but also for the way they carried themselves off it. They speak, you listen. They remain two of the smartest players I have ever watched and listened to. Throughout their long careers at the top of the game, they certainly never referred to themselves as one of the games best players. And then there is Mario Balotelli and the comments he made to the Scottish Sun newspaper this week: "I have heard all about the fans and the atmosphere they create - and my message to them is bring it on! "If fans want to try and make a stadium hostile for me - or boo me because I am one of the best players in the world - then I hope they do." One of the best players in the world, eh? Okay. The Italian touched down in Glasgow this week having played a total of 27 Champions League games in his career. For his three teams, Inter Milan, Manchester City and AC Milan, he was important enough to only have started just 11 of those, coming on 16 times as a substitute. He had scored just seven Champions League goals in 1,276 minutes played, averaging a goal every 182 minutes. For Inter, he was nothing more than an after-thought on their way to glory in 2010 while at City, he started just two of 12 matches, spread over two frustrating campaigns for both club and player. The third chapter in his Champions League career is back at the San Siro. For now. The thing with Mario is, you just never quite know what he is going to do next, and that includes choosing where to play. On Saturday, in a league game against Genoa, Balotelli missed a penalty in a frustrating 1-1 draw that sent the Italian giants down to 13th in Serie A. After the match he took to twitter to thicken the plot. This is the end. :-) - Mario Balotelli (@FinallyMario) November 24, 2013 Before the Genoa match, he had told the Italian press I am happy at Milan and I am happy to be here. Balotelli certainly played happy, despite making it eight straight games without a goal, and was a menace throughout the match and arguably Milans best performer. That didnt stop Milan fans from voicing their complaints after the game towards Balotelli and his teammates. It is hard to blame them. Their performances, just like their league position, have not been good enough. Yet, with the transfer window closed until January, this is not a club Balotelli can run away from. At Inter and Manchester City, Balotelli wass surrounded by a plethora of outstanding players who could easily demand a starting spot ahead of the Italian, who could happily move aside and away from having to perform on the field.dddddddddddd At Milan, things are very different. An out-of-form Balotelli, smiling or sulking, remains the clubs best option up front. There will be no sitting on the bench for Mario. And so with that presents the self-proclaimed one of the best players in the world an opportunity, a run of games to help carry Milan back towards the top three in Serie A and into the last 16 of the Champions League. "Great atmosphere always brings the best out of me," he had said in the run-up to the game and so it proved. The game was effectively over as a contest just after half-time, with Milans both goals coming from corners that Celtic failed to deal with, killing the usual atmosphere Celtic Park is famed for. Much will be made of Kakas easy header inside the box to open the scoring but it was Balotellis run from a deep position that led to a free kick that won the corner and placed Milan into scoring territory. It was to be that kind of day for Balotelli, a day where he would have to bide his time, show patience and a mature side to his game when waiting to receive the ball. It is these kind of games that people have wondered about the 23-year-old. He is built very much like a striker who can play up top on his own, but his overall attitude and tendency to drift out of games is one of the reasons he hasnt started as many Champions League games as he should have. At Celtic, he had an appetite to come deep to receive the ball, start quick counter-attacks with his midfielders and drift wide to provide key outlets and pull the central defenders into areas they dont want to go. Balotelli would get rewarded for his hard work when he scored his eighth career Champions League goal in the second half, coming deep, before timing a run superbly, sprinting into space to receive a great ball from Riccardo Montolivo and finishing it off at the near post. He also used his supreme strength to brush aside the defender, let the ball run, and not even touch it until he kicked it into the net. He wasnt the best player on the pitch for Milan but on this night, he didnt need to be. The fantastic Kaka, playing behind Balotelli, was, as the Brazilian rolled back the years with a sensational performance that included powerful runs from distance, incisive passes and an ease at finding space. Kaka, unfortunately, wont be given such space by many teams in Italy and so the responsibility of carrying Milan back towards respectability falls at the feet of Balotelli. In Glasgow, perhaps without even knowing or caring, he passed another test of his footballing education and finally showed signs that he does have an ability to lead the line for a team in Europes elite club competition. He is far from one of the worlds best players but if he wants to get anywhere near to the level once shown by Maldini, and still shown by Xavi, the European Champions League gives him the stage to perform. We know how much he likes a stage, now it is up to him to ensure what he does on it. Why Always Me? The truth is it hasnt been about you enough, Mario. ' ' '