Ariza helps Rockets overcome Roy’s 42
October 31, 2009
HOUSTON (AP)—No Yao Ming(notes). No Tracy McGrady(notes). No problem for the HoustonRockets.
Trevor Ariza(notes), making the move from the Lakers this season, scored a careerhigh 33 points, Aaron Brooks(notes) added 28 points and the Rockets held on to beat thePortland Trail Blazers at home for the fifth straight time in regular season,111-107 Saturday night.
“I know it was an important game for us,” Ariza said. “They (Portland)are one of the better teams in the West with a lot of talent, too. It was biggerfor us to win at home tonight.”
Yao is out for the season following foot surgery and McGrady is recoveringfrom knee surgery, leaving the Rockets to find ways to win games without theirbig guys.
Houston Rockets' Aaron Bro… AP – Nov 1, 12:22 am EDT Houston Rockets' Tracy McG… AP – Nov 1, 12:09 am EDT
Houston Rockets' Yao Ming(… AP – Nov 1, 12:08 am EDT
Houston Rockets' Joey Dors… AP – Nov 1, 12:08 am EDT
Houston Rockets' Trevor Ar… AP – Oct 31, 11:53 pm EDT
Portland Trail Blazers' Br… AP – Oct 31, 11:53 pm EDT
Portland Trail Blazers' Br… AP – Oct 31, 11:52 pm EDT
Houston Rockets' Carl Land… AP – Oct 31, 11:39 pm EDT
Houston Rockets' Trevor Ar… AP – Oct 31, 10:29 pm EDT
Portland Trailblazers' Tra… AP – Oct 31, 10:28 pm EDT
Houston Rockets' Carl Land… AP – Oct 31, 10:18 pm EDT
Houston Rockets' Trevor Ar… AP – Oct 31, 10:17 pm EDT
Houston Rockets' Carl Land… AP – Oct 31, 10:12 pm EDT
Portland Trailblazers' Gre… AP – Oct 31, 10:12 pm EDT
Portland Trailblazers' Bra… AP – Oct 31, 10:12 pm EDT
Houstons Rockets' Carl Lan… AP – Oct 31, 10:12 pm EDT
Portlands' Greg Oden(notes… AP – Oct 31, 10:09 pm EDT
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“We’ve got a pretty young team and we’ve got a bunch of new faces on thisteam so the scouting report is not that big,” Carl Landry(notes) said. “We’ve gotguys that are hungry who are going out there every night and fighting hard toget us in the ‘W’ column.”
Houston had to overcome a 42-point performance by Brandon Roy(notes) and adetermined Trail Blazers offense that kept the game close to the end.
“Ariza and Brooks did whatever they wanted,” Portland coach Nate McMillansaid. “They controlled the ball and made their shots.”
Ariza’s previous career high was 26 points last March 15 for the Los AngelesLakers against Dallas.
The Rockets hit 12 of 24 3-point baskets and shot 50.6 percent overall forthe game. Ariza was 5 for 8 from 3-point range.
Ariza started 20 games for the Lakers last season. He expects to see moreplaying time with the Rockets. He already likes the fast pace.
“If that’s what it takes for us to win then that is how we need to play,”Ariza said. “No matter how tired we are, no matter what the situation is orwhat the odds are. If we want to win, we have to play that way every night.”
Houston led 59-54 at the half and never lost the lead. Portland got to 87-84early in the fourth quarter but never could push ahead. LaMarcus Aldridge(notes) scored27 points for the Trail Blazers and Andre Miller(notes) had 15.
Brooks’ 28 points missed his career high of 30 last March 6 against Phoenix.
The Rockets led by 11 early in the second quarter and they were up 54-44with 2:20 remaining in the first half. Roy had eight second quarter points,including a pair of 3-pointers down the stretch to keep it close at the halfwith the Rockets leading 59-54.
“Right from the start, we were in trouble giving up 33 points in the firstquarter,” McMillan said. “Our transition game is important and we nevercontrolled the ball. Houston got to the basket and made their shots.”
Ariza broke loose with 16 first quarter points to get the Rockets started.He was 6 for 6 from 2-point range and hit both 3-pointers, and the Rockets easedto a 33-28 first quarter lead.
Aldridge hit his first five shots, and the Trail Blazers took the earlylead, hitting 12 of their first 14 points in the paint.
The Rockets knocked the Trail Blazers out of the playoffs last year with a4-2 series win in the first round.
“Our defense was not very good, right now we’re not giving much effort onthe defensive end and that’s where it starts,” Roy said. “It doesn’t seem likeour effort is there. I see a team that’s stinking too much right now.”
NOTES: Rockets coach Rick Adelman still ranks as the second winningest coachin Trail Blazers history (291-154) behind Jack Ramsay. Portland’s loss to Denveron Thursday came despite a 43-42 halftime Trail Blazer lead. Portland wasunbeaten (26-0) last season when leading at halftime at the Rose Garden.Portland plays 19 back-to-backs this season. They were 23-4 last year in thesecond game of back-to-backs.
Down 13, No. 18 Miami rallies past Wake
October 31, 2009
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP)—Jacory Harris threw a 13-yard touchdown pass toTravis Benjamin with 1:08 left, and No. 18 Miami rallied to beat Wake Forest28-27 on Saturday.
Harris threw for 330 yards and three touchdowns for the Hurricanes (6-2, 3-2ACC), who trailed 27-14 going into the fourth quarter. Miami took advantage of amuffed punt to score a touchdown, then took its first lead when Harris directedan 82-yard scoring drive in the final minutes that ended with Benjamin’s divingcatch near the left pylon.
Riley Skinner threw for 349 yards and two touchdowns for the Demon Deacons(4-5, 2-3), but may have sustained a concussion when he took a hard hit on akeeper that ripped off his helmet with about 6 1/2 minutes left. The four-yearstarter sat out the rest of the game, watching backup Ryan McManus direct WakeForest’s desperate final drive.
McManus got the Demon Deacons across midfield to set up a 60-yard field goalattempt from Jimmy Newman, but the kick fell well short on the game’s finalplay.
It was a frustrating finish for the Demon Deacons, who scored the first 17points and looked to be in control until Harris directed the decisive finaldrive.
Wake Forest made several costly mistakes, including a 45-yard missed fieldgoal by Newman and a couple of dropped interceptions in the fourth quarter. Butnone were bigger than when punt returner Devon Brown fumbled the catch on one ofMatt Bosher’s numerous booming kicks and Miami recovered at the 2-yard line. Onthe next play, Harris connected on a short pass to Tervaris Johnson that made it27-21 with 11:47 to play.
Skinner directed the Demon Deacons to 555 total yards, while the defensefrustrated Harris and the Hurricanes much of the afternoon. Miami, which wascoming off an overtime home loss to Clemson, managed 356 total yards—a bigchunk of it coming late in the game.
Chris Givens and Tommy Bohanon each had touchdown catches for the DemonDeacons, who have lost three straight games.
Florida continues dominance of Georgia
October 31, 2009
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP)—Black pants, black helmets and another team-widecelebration.
No matter what Georgia does to change its luck against Florida, the resultusually stays the same. The Gators own this series.
Tim Tebow accounted for four touchdowns, A.J. Jones had two hugeinterceptions and top-ranked Florida beat the Bulldogs 41-17 Saturday for its17th win in the last 20 meetings between the Southeastern Conference rivals.
The Gators (8-0, 6-0) extended the nation’s longest winning streak to 18games and clinched at least a share of the SEC East title. Florida can secure aspot in the conference title game if Tennessee beats South Carolina laterSaturday.
The Bulldogs (4-4, 3-3) lost for the third time in four games.
This one hurt more than the others. Georgia spent the last 12 months stewingabout last year’s 49-10 loss, a game in which Florida coach Urban Meyer calledtwo timeouts in the final 44 seconds to prolong their misery.
The Dawgs placed pictures of Meyer signaling timeout all around theirfacility for motivation. Players seemed to get a little extra oomph earlySaturday when they came out of the locker room in black pants and black helmets,a different look for a team that usually wears white jerseys, silver pants andred helmets on the road. The Bulldogs had never worn black helmets.
The extra juice didn’t last long.
Florida scored touchdowns on its first two possessions, led 24-10 athalftime and essentially put the game out of reach on the opening possession ofthe second half.
The thing the Bulldogs might remember most was Tebow breaking HerschelWalker’s SEC record for rushing touchdowns.
Tebow slipped up the middle and ran mostly untouched for a 23-yard scorewith 1:32 remaining in the first half. He dropped the ball briefly, and thefield judge picked it up. But Tebow ran back, grabbed it out of his hand andcarried it to the sideline.
Tebow broke the mark in his hometown, and maybe more fittingly, againstWalker’s Bulldogs.
It got worse for Georgia, too.
The Bulldogs turned the ball on its opening possession of the second half,the third time in four years they have done that in this series.
Jones was the culprit this time. He deflected Joe Cox’s pass at the line ofscrimmage, then made a diving catch for an interception and put Florida in thered zone for the first time Saturday.
The Gators have struggled inside the 20-yard line in conference play, andMeyer vowed his team would make changes and improve. The result? Tebow lined upunder center for three consecutive downs, scoring on an option play from 5 yardsout on the last one.
Tebow finished with 18 carries for 85 yards and two scores. He completed 15of 21 passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns, both to Riley Cooper. Cooperhauled in a 22-yard score to open the game and made an impressive one-handedcatch for a 29-yarder on the next drive.
For Tebow, it was his first game in a while when he played like a HeismanTrophy contender.
Cox was 11 of 20 for 165 yards, with two touchdowns and three interceptions.
Logan Gray replaced him late in the game, but Brandon Spikes interceptedGray’s pass and returned it 5 yards for a score and the exclamation mark.
Meyer could have called two timeouts to rub it in, but refrained from makingit any worse.
The game already had plenty of chippy behavior, with pushing, shoving,several personal fouls and more smack-talking than any in-state rivalry.
The Bulldogs even had another full-team celebration, much like the one in2007 that helped propel them to a rare victory in the series. This one happenedon the sideline just after Cox’s 26-yard TD pass to Aron White made it 14-10 inthe second quarter.
Florida responded with one of its own after Jones’ second interception.
No. 8 TCU gets first shutout of season
October 31, 2009
FORT WORTH, Texas (AP)—Andy Dalton threw three touchdown passes, Ed Wesleyscored running and catching the ball and the TCU defense smothered UNLV to getits first shutout of the season, 41-0 on Saturday.
It was another dominating performance for the eighth-ranked Horned Frogs(8-0, 4-0 Mountain West), who for now are in position to be this season’s BCSbuster.
TCU won its 10th consecutive game overall, and 12th in a row at home—aspan at Amon Carter Stadium in which the Frogs have outscored their opponents byan average margin of 43-9 since a loss to Utah two years ago. The 19th-rankedUtes will be in Fort Worth in two weeks.
UNLV (3-6, 1-4) never challenged the Horned Frogs, a week after a 38-7victory at BYU boosted them to sixth in the Bowl Championship Series standingsand past Boise State, the only other undefeated team from a non-BCS conference.
Boise State (8-0) beat San Jose State 45-7 on Saturday, the Broncos’ eighthconsecutive victory since losing to TCU in the Poinsettia Bowl last December.
UNLV managed only 160 yards, 40 of it coming on a run by backup quarterbackMike Clausen, and was shut out for the first time in 69 games—since losing 7-0to San Diego State on Nov. 8, 2003. A week ago, the Rebels ended a 20-gameMountain West road losing streak that dated to 2005 with a 34-17 win at NewMexico.
It was TCU’s sixth shutout victory at home since 2003.
Despite two lost fumbles, TCU led 17-0 early in the second quarter whenWesley took a handoff to the left, ran into a defender and reversed all the wayto the other side of the field, where he found an open lane and sprinted for a59-yard touchdown.
Wesley caught a 21-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, that comingfive plays after Ryan Wolfe muffed a punt, to make it 34-0.
Wolfe, the NCAA’s active career leading receiver, was held to a season-lowfive catches for 25 yards.
Ross Evans kicked the first of his two field goals, a 29-yarder, on TCU’sopening drive.
It was 10-0 when Dalton hit Antoine Hicks for a 75-yard TD late in the firstquarter. It was the seventh TD (four receiving, three rushing) in 17 touchesthis season for Hicks, who caught the ball near the UNLV 45 and broke a tackle.
Jeremy Kerley, who returned punts for touchdowns in the previous two homegames, caught a 14-yard TD pass to cap the opening drive of the second halfafter he had a 43-yard kickoff return.
That made up for Kerley’s fumble in the first quarter, when he initially wasruled down before UNLV coach Mike Sanford challenged the call. Officialsoverturned it after a review.
Dalton lost the ball when he was stripped trying to pick up more yards aftera 17-yard pickup later in the first quarter. But UNLV went three-and-out.
Dalton finished 12-of-21 passing for 178 yards, and ran eight times for 53yards. That made him the team’s fourth-leading rusher, behind Wesley (sevencarries, 86 yards), Joseph Turner (10-64) and Matthew Tucker (9-59)
The Rebels punted 11 times, including their first nine possessions, beforean interception ended a drive.
Moore’s 4 TDs lifts No. 6 Boise in rout
October 31, 2009
BOISE, Idaho (AP)—Kellen Moore threw for 278 yards and three touchdowns andran for another as No. 6 Boise State coasted by San Jose State Saturday, theBroncos eighth straight victory.
Boise State (8-0, 3-0 Western Athletic Conference) also got plenty of helpfrom its defense, which held the Spartans (1-6, 0-3) to 223 total yards andforced two turnovers that led to touchdowns.
In the last minute of the first half, the Broncos recovered a fumble deep inSpartans territory and scored four plays later on a 1-yard dive by Moore to goup 24-7 at the half. Early in the third quarter, cornerback Kyle Wilson pickedoff a pass and returned it 27 yards to put Boise State up 38-7.
Moore, the nation’s most efficient passer coming into the game, was 21 of 33before heading to the sidelines at the start of the fourth quarter. His three TDpasses gave him 24 this season. His first TD pass was a 61-yarder to youngerbrother Kirby Moore that put the Broncos up 7-0 in the first quarter.
The Broncos rolled up 430 total yards, but struggled most of the game to runthe ball against a defense that was giving up 259 yards per game on the ground.
The Broncos, averaging 190 yards per game, were held to 140 yards, but thebulk of those came late with the game out of reach. Doug Martin led the Broncoswith 63 yards, and he scored the game’s final touchdown on a 36-yard dash latein the fourth quarter.
The Spartan run defense was a lone bright spot for a team that has lost 10straight to the Broncos.
Jordan LaSecla was 10 of 20 for just 79 yards and one touchdown, a 39-yarderto Marquis Avery that tied the game 7-7 in the first quarter.
LaSecla was ineffective the rest of the way and ultimately replaced in thesecond half by Kyle Reed, last season’s starter. Reed was 6 of 12 for 52 yards,and he rushed six times for 28 yards.
The turning point came in the final minute of the first half.
With 1:35 left in the half, Moore led the Broncos on a six play, 45-yardscoring drive, capped with an 18-yard TD to Mitch Burroughs in the left cornerof the end zone.
One play after the ensuing kick, Spartan running back LaMon Muldrow fumbledafter being hit by safety Jason Robinson, who recovered the ball on the Spartan22 with 23 seconds left. After two misfires, Moore hit Tyler Shoemaker on a21-yard pass, then scored on a dive on the next play.
Austin Pettis led the Broncos with five catches for 63 yards and atouchdown, while Kirby Moore had four catches for 80 yards.
Wizards’ Butler out with bruised kneecap
October 31, 2009
WASHINGTON (AP)—Washington Wizards coach Flip Saunders expects forward CaronButler(notes) to return Tuesday night against Cleveland.
The two-time All-Star sat out Saturday night’s game against New Jerseybecause of a bruised left kneecap.
Butler was hurt when he dived to the floor for a rebound in the secondquarter of Friday’s loss to Atlanta.
Butler had an X-ray and an MRI, with no structural damage found. Saunderssays the injury is “nothing to be overly concerned with” and that there’s a“pretty good chance” Butler will play in Washington’s next game.
Butler missed 58 games over the last three seasons due to a variety ofinjuries. The Wizards are already without forward Antawn Jamison(notes), who isexpected to miss at least two more weeks with a shoulder injury.
Rockets overcome Roy’s 42, beat Blazers
October 31, 2009
HOUSTON (AP)—Trevor Ariza(notes) scored a career-high 33 points, Aaron Brooks(notes) added28 points and the Houston Rockets held on to beat the Portland Trail Blazers athome for the fifth straight time in the regular season, 111-107 on Saturdaynight.
Houston Rockets' Trevor Ar… AP – Oct 31, 10:29 pm EDT Portland Trailblazers' Tra… AP – Oct 31, 10:28 pm EDT
Houston Rockets' Carl Land… AP – Oct 31, 10:18 pm EDT
Houston Rockets' Trevor Ar… AP – Oct 31, 10:17 pm EDT
Houston Rockets' Carl Land… AP – Oct 31, 10:12 pm EDT
Portland Trailblazers' Gre… AP – Oct 31, 10:12 pm EDT
Portland Trailblazers' Bra… AP – Oct 31, 10:12 pm EDT
Houstons Rockets' Carl Lan… AP – Oct 31, 10:12 pm EDT
Portlands' Greg Oden(notes… AP – Oct 31, 10:09 pm EDT
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Houston had to overcome a 42-point performance by Brandon Roy(notes) and adetermined Trail Blazers offense that kept the game close to the end. Ariza’sprevious career high was 26 points, last accomplished March 15 for the LosAngeles Lakers against Dallas.
The Rockets hit 12 of 24 3-point baskets and shot 50.6 percent overall forthe game. Ariza was 5 for 8 from 3-point range.
Houston led 59-54 at the half and never lost the lead. Portland got to 87-84early in the fourth quarter but never could push ahead. LaMarcus Aldridge(notes) scored27 points for the Trail Blazers and Andre Miller(notes) had 15.
Brooks’ 28 points missed his career high of 30 last March 6 against Phoenix.
The Rockets led by 11 early in the second quarter and they were up 54-44with 2:20 remaining in the first half. Roy had eight second quarter points,including a pair of 3-pointers down the stretch to keep it close at the halfwith the Rockets leading 59-54.
Ariza broke loose with 16 points in the first quarter to help the Rocketstake a 33-28 lead.
Aldridge hit his first five shots and the Trail Blazers took the early lead,hitting 12 of their first 14 points in the paint.
The Rockets knocked the Trail Blazers out of the playoffs last year with a4-2 series win in the first round.
NOTES: Rockets coach Rick Adelman still ranks as the second winningest coachin Trail Blazers history (291-154) behind Jack Ramsay. Portland?s loss to Denveron Thursday came despite holding a 43-42 halftime lead. Portland was unbeaten(26-0) last season when leading at halftime at the Rose Garden. Portland plays19 back-to-backs this season. They were 23-4 last year in the second game ofback-to-backs.
Poulter slips into tie at Singapore Open
October 31, 2009
SINGAPORE (AP)—Ian Poulter was 4 over through six holes Saturday in the thirdround of the Singapore Open, dropping the Englishman into a tie for theSingapore Open lead with France’s Thomas Levet and Japan’s Kodai Ichihara.
Poulter, five strokes ahead after completing a second-round 64 in themorning, faltered in the afternoon to fall to 8 under before thunderstormsstopped play.
Lam Chih-Bing of Singapore pla… AP – Oct 31, 12:14 am EDT Lam Chih-Bing of Singapore che… AP – Oct 31, 12:14 am EDT
Ian Poulter of Britain putts o… AP – Oct 31, 12:09 am EDT
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Levet and Ichihara were both 2 under for the round. Levet completed eightholes, and Ichihara finished seven.
“There are so many guys close the top of the leaderboard, within a fewshots, so this tournament is nowhere near finished,” Levet said. “I’m lookingforward to tomorrow because I love the battle.”
Australia’s Andrew Dodt and China’s Liang Wen-Chong were a stroke back, withboth finishing nine holes.
Ernie Els was in a group at 5 under. He had 10 holes left. Phil Mickelsonwas 2 under after 15 holes, and Padraig Harrington was 2 over through eight.
The second round was completed Saturday because of rain delays the previoustwo days. The third round was scheduled to finish Sunday morning.
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Cavs beat Bobcats in West’s season debut
October 31, 2009
CLEVELAND (AP)—Delonte West(notes) scored 13 points in his delayed season debut, MoWilliams(notes) added 24 and LeBron James(notes) 14 as the Cleveland Cavaliers, back at fullstrength, rolled to a 90-79 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday night.
Williams scored 12 in the fourth quarter—all on 3-pointers—and Jamesadded nine assists and seven rebounds for the Cavs, now 2-2 after an 0-2 start.
West’s turbulent offseason finally brought him back to the floor. Aftermissing all eight preseason games and Cleveland’s first three of the regularseason to deal with personal issues, the troubled and valuable West was clearedby team doctors, ending more than a month of drama.
Cleveland Cavaliers' LeBro… AP – Oct 31, 10:11 pm EDT Cleveland Cavaliers' Zydru… AP – Oct 31, 9:12 pm EDT
Cleveland Cavaliers' Delon… AP – Oct 31, 9:09 pm EDT
Charlotte Bobcats' Gerald … AP – Oct 31, 9:04 pm EDT
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He went 5 of 7 from the field in 24 minutes.
Vladimir Radmanovic(notes) scored 12 and D.J. Augustin(notes) 11 to lead Charlotte, whichhas never won in Cleveland.
The Cavaliers trailed 46-45 early in the third before going on a 21-8 run—much of it with center Shaquille O’Neal(notes) on the bench—to open a 14-point leadentering the fourth. West was a factor in helping the Cavs distance themselvesfrom the Bobcats, who were understandably exhausted after playing two overtimeson Friday night in a win over New York.
James scored six straight points as Cleveland opened a 57-51 lead and Westfollowed with his first basket of the season. Getting the ball on the rightside, he gave a shoulder fake to Gerald Henderson(notes) and dropped a step-back jumperfor his first basket this season.
Before the third quarter closed, West made two free throws and a 3-pointeras the Cavs pushed their lead to 66-54.
The Cavs are still getting used to playing with the 14-time All-Star O’Neal,who made his first free throws of the season after 10 consecutive misses. He hadeight points and five rebounds in 26 minutes. Zydrunas Ilgauskas(notes), now coming offthe bench with O’Neal around, went 5 for 5 from the floor.
The Bobcats clawed back within 10 in the fourth, but Williams madeconsecutive 3-pointers to make it 80-64 and the Cavs coasted.
Coach Mike Brown subbed for West with 1:33 left and the likable guard got ahuge cheer and was welcomed back to the bench by his teammates who know betterthan anyone what he means to the Cavs and their chances at winning an NBA titlethis season.
West entered the game with 4:22 left in the first quarter and received astanding ovation from the Quicken Loans Arena crowd.
He made an almost immediate contribution, hustling to save a ball that wasgoing out of bounce and flipping it to James, who then fed Anderson Varejao(notes) fora dunk. West started the second quarter and came out with 6:25 left beforehalftime.
Cavs general manager Danny Ferry has been working closely with team doctorsand a support team around West. He said the decision to play West on Saturdaywas a consensus among all parties.
“Steps were followed and this is the next step of his process,” Ferrysaid. “We’re taking it one day at a time, but he’s doing well.”
The 26-year-old West, who has been treated in the past for bipolar disorder,was arrested in September for carrying three concealed weapons when he waspulled over by Maryland police near his home. He reported to training camp ontime but missed the Cavs’ first four practices without an excuse. He returnedbut then left the team for a week to deal with his personal matters.
Last week, West’s wife filed a domestic violence report against him.
But that was all in the past—for at least one night.
James went nearly the entire first half without a field goal. He didn’tscore his first basket—a 20-foot jumper—until there was only 1:21 leftbefore halftime. More troubling than James’ slow start was that the Cavs shot 63percent (20 of 32) from the field in the first half and only led 45-41 at thebreak.
NOTES: Charlotte is 0-10 in Cleveland and the Bobcats have lost sevenstraight overall to the Cavs. … The Bobcats remain without Gs Raja Bell(notes)(sprained wrist) and Flip Murray(notes) (shin), who have yet to play this season. CoachLarry Brown said Murray may play Monday at home against New Jersey and Murraycould return Friday against Atlanta.
Redskins LT Samuels done for season
October 31, 2009
ASHBURN, Va. (AP)—Washington Redskins left tackle Chris Samuels(notes) is out for theseason, and linebacker H.B. Blades(notes) and cornerback Byron Westbrook(notes) are recoveringfrom knee surgery.
The Redskins made the expected move of placing six-time Pro Bowl linemanSamuels on injured reserve Saturday. Samuels has a chronic spinal condition andwill decide in a few months whether to return next season or retire.
Spokesman Zack Bolno also confirmed that Blades and Westbrook had kneeoperations this week. Both were injured in the Monday night loss to Philadelphiaand will miss next week’s game at Atlanta at least. Coach Jim Zorn is expectedto update the status of both players Monday.
The Redskins have a bye this weekend.