"Anytime a rookie quarterback is named a starter in th"

Super Bowl-winning quarterback Kurt Warner and linebacker Junior Seau are among 15 first-year eligible modern-era candidates nominated for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Also nominated for the class of 2015 in their first year of eligibility are receivers Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt, tackle Orlando Pace, and placekicker Jason Elam. A total of 99 players and 14 coaches comprise the 113 nominees. A modern-era player or coach must be retired at least five consecutive seasons to be eligible. The selection committee will choose 25 candidates as semifinalists in late November. That list will be reduced to 15 modern-era finalists in early January. The 2015 class will be voted on the day before the Super Bowl. One senior committee nominee, former Vikings centre Mick Tingelhoff, also will be on the ballot. Between four and eight new members will be selected. Inductions will be in August at Canton, Ohio, site of the Hall of Fame. Some other familiar names who have been nominated are running back Jerome Bettis, receivers Tim Brown and Marvin Harrison, guard Will Shields, defensive end/linebackers Charles Haley and Kevin Greene, safety John Lynch, and placekicker Morten Andersen. All were finalists in 2014. Coaches Tony Dungy, a finalist last January, Bill Cowher, Don Coryell and Mike Holmgren also are among the 2015 nominees. Sports Shoes Australia Cheap . The 18-time champions, who havent won the title since 1990, moved two points behind Arsenal after the leaders were stunned 6-3 at Manchester City on Saturday. Defending champion Manchester United trails Arsenal by 10 points after winning 3-0 at Aston Villa to avoid a third successive league loss. Cheap Running Shoes Australia .com) - Nicklas Backstrom scored a pair of goals and Alex Ovechkin notched a highlight-reel tally, leading the Washington Capitals to a 4-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday at the Prudential Center. http://www.runningshoesaustraliawholesale.com/ . Louis Cardinals, the team will be celebrating the 25th anniversary of the opening of the SkyDome. Jays legends Jimmy Key and Ernie Whitt, members of playoff and World Series-winning teams of the past, will be on hand for the festivities to look back at what was the beginning of the Jays halcyon years. Running Shoes Clearance Australia .com) - Bradley Beals 22 points and seven rebounds helped the Washington Wizards erase a halftime deficit and top the Utah Jazz, 93-84, on Sunday. Wholesale Sports Shoes Australia .Connor Graham, Alex Lintuniemi and Sam Studnicka also scored for Ottawa (11-8-2). Liam Herbst made 21 saves for the win.Brendan Lemieux had both of Barries (10-10-2) goals.HOUSTON - J.J. Watt had one of the best games of his stellar career in Houstons win over Washington in the season opener. With No. 1 overall pick Jadeveon Clowney out for 4-6 weeks after knee surgery, the Texans will need the defensive end to build on his great 2014 debut this week against the Raiders. Watt had two tackles for losses including a sack, blocked an extra point, recovered a fumble and swatted down a pass. He also was credited with five hurries of Robert Griffin III in a 17-6 win that snapped a 14-game skid by Houston. Of course, the overachieving Watt wasnt ready to pat himself on the back for his performance in his first game since signing a six-year, $100 million contract. "Theres still a lot of things I can do better," Watt said. "It was the first game of the season so Im still working through some things ... I had a lot of fun out there but theres still things to correct." That doesnt mean he wasnt delighted to fill in so many different categories on the stat sheet. "In that way I think it was one of the better games," he said. "Whether it was the extra point or the knockdown or the TFL and those types of things, thats pretty neat when you can contribute in more ways than one. Thats the type of game thats fun to play in." The expectations were high for this defence featuring Watt and with the addition of Clowney, who moved from defensive end to outside linebacker in defensive co-ordinator Romeo Crennels scheme. The loss of Clowey is a blow for the unit, but the team is confident that Whitney Mercilus will fill in nicely while he recovers. Mercilus was a late first-round pick in 2012 who started each game for the Texans last season and said that Watts work encourages the rest of the defence to play better. "Its great to have somebody on the defence like that who can make plays and it actually motivates the whole defence to go out there and try to keep doing that over and over," Mercilus said. Houstons defence got a boost in Week 1 with the return of middle linebacker Brian Cushing, who had 114 tackles in 2011, but has played justt 12 games combined in the past two seasons because of injuries.dddddddddddd Cushing had five tackles in his return and the Texans were also impressed by the work of Brooks Reed. Reed is Houstons other starting outside linebacker, who had five tackles and a sack on Sunday. Watt likes that the defence has so many guys who can make an impact. "You never know where the next hit is going to come from, you never know where the next big play is going to come from and thats when your defence is really successful," he said. "When you cant really prepare for one thing or another and every guy is doing their part and playing their role the defence as a whole really fits together." This week the Texans will face rookie quarterback Derek Carr, whose brother David was the first overall pick of the Texans in the franchises first season in 2002. Watt was very complimentary of Carr and knows that he and the Oakland offence will be a challenge. "Anytime a rookie quarterback is named a starter in the NFL it shows that his coaches and his teammates have confidence in him," Watt said. "And for you to be able to earn their confidence and trust in such a short amount of time says a lot about you." Sunday will also be a reunion of sorts for Watt now that former teammate Antonio Smith plays for the Raiders. Smith spent the last five seasons in Houston, starting on the line with Watt since his rookie season in 2011. "I learned a good deal. Hes a very good guy," Watt said of Smith. "He taught me some things and also taught me the ropes about the NFL." Watt was a first-round draft pick, but appreciated hearing about the ups and downs at the start of Smiths NFL career. Smith was released by the Cardinals twice and had a stint in NFL Europe before re-signing and becoming a starter in Arizona. "Even though my path was different I still learned from it and it was a great story," Watt said. "He found a way to persevere through it all ... so I learned from him that way, too." ___ Online: AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL ' ' '