DENVER - The best part of Peyton Mannings big day was getting to share the spotlight with some of his best friends.
[b]Matt Wieters Cardinals Jersey[/b] .Manning joined Brett Favre in the NFLs most exclusive of clubs with his 500th touchdown toss Sunday when the Denver Broncos handed the Arizona Cardinals their first loss, 41-20.Football is the ultimate team game, and so I guess one man has to accept it and I really accept it on behalf of a lot of coaches and teammates, Manning said.Manning threw for 479 yards and four TDs, moving him within five of Favres record 508.After getting his touchstone touchdown a€” a 7-yard dart to tight end Julius Thomas a€” out of the way early, Manning helped Demaryius Thomas and Wes Welker make history, too.Demaryius Thomas set a franchise record with 226 yards on eight catches, beating Shannon Sharpes mark of 214 yards set against Kansas City in 2002.Welkers seven receptions moved him past Rod Smith for the most catches in NFL history by an undrafted player. He has 854, five more than Smith caught for Denver between 1995-2006.I still cant believe he was undrafted because that man can play some ball, Demaryius Thomas said.Welkers record-breaker came on the last play on the first half, something Manning called kind of a ha-ha moment for scouting, for not drafting him. So, whoever was a general manager in 2004, those guys ought to send him an apology letter.Demaryius Thomas caught touchdown passes of 31 and 86 yards, and his 77-yard TD was nullified on a chop block by Julius Thomas that sent defensive end Calais Campbell from the game with a right knee injury.Left tackle Ryan Clady was engaged with Campbell and was whistled for the flag. But it was the Pro Bowl tight end who crashed low into Campbell and drew the wrath of Arizona coach Bruce Arians.Ive been coaching for 37 years, its the dirtiest play Ive seen, Arians fumed. It was a flat chop block and put him out of the game. I know John Fox, great coach and great guy. Somebody has got to answer to that. A fine isnt going to do it, when hes going to miss three or four weeks, on a blatant chop block.Campbells strained MCL added to a miserable afternoon in which the Cardinals (3-1) surrendered 568 yards, the most theyve allowed since 1973, and saw fill-in quarterback Drew Stanton leave with a concussion.The Broncos offensive output was their best in franchise history. They had 567 yards against Atlanta in 2004.Mannings 500th TD throw came in his 244th career regular season game, 49 fewer games than it took Favre. It came against two of his mentors: Arians, who was his first QB coach in 1998, and Cardinals assistant head coach Tom Moore, who was his offensive co-ordinator during his 13 seasons in Indy.I give both of those men a lot of credit for helping me improve as a quarterback, Manning said.Footballs from Mannings milestone TDs usually end up in his receivers trophy cases, but he kept this one. Ill probably keep it in a bag somewhere, said Manning, adding that hes sure his 3-year-old boy will get to it soon and play with it in the mud.Among Mannings two interceptions was one by Campbell, the 300-pound defensive end who snatched his screen pass to a wide-open Montee Ball and rumbled to the 5 before Manning tripped him up.Dont give me a full tackle for that, Manning said. Give me like a half. I barely grazed his leg.Ellington took it in from there to pull Arizona to 14-13.Manning saw cornerback Antonio Cromartie lined up 1 on 1 on Demaryius Thomas and hit his big receiver in stride at the 40. Cromartie crumpled to the grass and Thomas sped into the end zone with an 86-yard score that gave Denver a 21-13 halftime lead.Although only six of the 14 passes Manning threw at Cromartie were completed, those half dozen grabs covered 199 yards.Its by far the worst game of my career, Cromartie said. But its one game out of the season. Weve got 12 more games.Stanton was 11 for 26 for 118 yards before being knocked from the game on a hard hit by Von Miller in the third quarter.On his third series, Logan Thomas threaded a pass through linebacker Nate Irvings grasp and into the arms of running back Andre Ellington for a stunning 81-yard score that made it 24-20.That ended up being Thomas only completion in eight attempts.Brandon McManus, whose solid start convinced the Broncos they should release the suspended Matt Prater, made it 27-20 when his 41-yard field goal bounced off the left post and through the uprights.NOTES: Mannings 86-yard TD toss tied a career best, matching one he threw to Marcus Pollard on Nov. 18, 2001, for the Colts against the Saints. ... Cardinals CB Patrick Peterson sprained his left ankle. ... With Ball (groin) out, Juwan Thompson capped the scoring with his first NFL TD, an 8-yard run.___AP NFL website:
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www.twitter.com/AP_NFL [b]Ryan Helsley Cardinals Jersey[/b] . No such luck. Wiggins owned the end of Parkers impressive homecoming. The Kansas star scored 16 of his 22 points in the second half, outplaying Parker down the stretch and helping the fifth-ranked Jayhawks knock off No.
[b]Mike Matheny Jersey[/b] . But defending champion Elena Vesnina of Russia held off a strong challenge to beat Shuai Peng of China 6-3, 6-4, and there was another hard-fought victory for 2012 runner-up Angelique Kerber of Germany, who defeated Alison Riske of the United States 7-6
, 6-4.ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - It took the Tampa Bay Rays 11 innings into the third game of the series to come through with a big hit against the Oakland Athletics. Sean Rodriguez hit a three-run home run with two out in the 11th Thursday to lift the Rays to a 5-2 victory that ended their four-game losing streak — and Oaklands five-game winning streak. "I wouldnt say it would have been the end of the world if wed have lost that one, but the morale would have been a little lower," said Alex Cobb, who pitched 6 2-3 shutout innings in his first start since April 12. "It was a huge win for us. For Roddy to go off in that fashion and deliver that to us is a big boost that is very welcome." Rodriguezs team-leading fifth homer came off Luke Gregerson after Desmond Jennings two-out single had tied it against Dan Otero (4-1). "It was obviously good to get a win after the fact that we were able to go that many innings with the pitchers throwing as well as they did," Rodriguez said. Yeonis Cespedes sacrifice fly had given the As a 2-1 lead in the top of the 11th. Cespedes also drove in the first Oakland run with an RBI double in the ninth off Rays closer Grant Balfour. Josh Lueke (1-2) got the win after one inning of relief for the Rays, who had scored only four runs during their four-game losing streak. "It was great for our guys to do that," said manager Joe Maddon. "We needed some kind of a boost all night and we were foiled in our attempts." The Athletics lost for only the second time in 13 games. "Its always nice to win a series, but when youve won two and youre ahead, not being able to close it out is a little disappointing," said As manager Bob Melvin. &"But you pick up and go on to tomorrow.
[b]Jose Martinez Cardinals Jersey[/b]. " Yunel Escobar drove in the Rays first run with a single in the seventh off Oakland starter Sonny Gray, who pitches eight innings and reduced his league-leading earned run average to 1.99. Cobb gave up three hits and two walks while striking out six after spending 35 days on the disabled list with a strained left oblique. The right-hander tied a franchise record with his third straight scoreless start. "It felt like for a while there might not be any runs scored," Melvin said. "Youve just got to wait out the starting pitcher and try to get to the bullpen." The Rays final out in the ninth came when Jennings was caught stealing. The original call of safe was overturned by a replay challenge that took two minutes and 13 seconds. NOTES: Rays manager Joe Maddon had struggling slugger Evan Longoria hit second for the second straight game, saying he wanted the third baseman to have a "try-and-get-on-base" attitude. Longoria hit just .196 over his previous 29 games. ... OF Coco Crisp and SS Jed Lowrie returned to the As lineup simultaneously after missing games with sore necks. . . . Tampa Bay 2B Ben Zobrist said he still has some inflammation in his dislocated left thumb but hopes to return around May 30. ... Rays RHP Jeremy Hellickson (arthroscopic right elbow surgery) threw 34 pitches during his first batting practice session and expects to return before the All-Star break. ... Oakland LHP Scott Kazmir (5-1) will face Blue Jays knuckleballer R.A. Dickey (4-4) Friday night in Toronto. ... Tampa Bay RHP Chris Archer (3-2) and Boston RHP John Lackey (5-3) are Friday nights scheduled starters. ' ' '