Infos » Horse of the Year.

HOUSTON - The Houston Texans took care of business against two bad teams.Now they are moving on to face much tougher competition, starting with Sundays trip to Indianapolis, a place where theyve never won.Coach Bill OBrien doesnt have to say anything to his team about its history in IndianapolisWere well aware that we have not won there, OBrien said.The Colts are in first place in the AFC South, two games ahead of second-place Houston with three games left in the regular season. The Texans have already won five more games than they did in last years 2-14 season, but are still aiming higher.OBrien and the Texans dont talk about their possibilities for the post-season because they know theres no way theyll get there if they dont focus on each opponent.This game right here is a playoff game, OBrien said. As far as thats concerned, as far as our team, this is a big game.Houston lost to the Colts 33-28 in the first meeting this season after falling behind 24-0 in a disastrous first quarter. The Texans were forced to punt on their first three possessions in that game and the Colts recovered an onside kick to build the big lead.OBrien doesnt like to talk about the past, but he is reminding his team about its struggles in that one.The thing that happened in the last Indianapolis game cannot happen, OBrien said. If it does, we have no chance ... we cant get down like that to a really good football team and expect to win, especially on the road.The Texans have won two games in a row for the first time since the first two weeks of the season and OBrien believes his team has grown since the last game against the Colts. Houston trailed 13-10 at halftime on Sunday before rallying for a 27-13 victory over Jacksonville.I thought our guys came in at halftime and really had a resolve about them that they were going to go out and win the game and that they were going to play better over the last half of the game, OBrien said. I think that has improved over the year.The Texans could have to face Indianapolis without Andre Johnson after the receiver suffered a concussion on a helmet-to-helmet hit on Sunday. OBrien said Johnson will have to go through the concussion protocol and that hell be listed day to day this week.If he cant go the Texans could rely more heavily on slot receiver Damaris Johnson, who has 250 yards receiving and a touchdown in limited action this season.That slot position is a very important position for us, OBrien said. We certainly want it to be more involved probably than it has been this year.Houstons defence was bolstered by the return of cornerback Kareem Jackson, who had missed three games with a knee injury. Its a unit that has been led all season by defensive end J.J. Watt, who had another big game on Sunday.He had three sacks against the Jaguars to give him 14 1/2 this season, which is third in the NFL. He returned a fumble by Andrew Luck for a touchdown and had two sacks the last time Houston played the Colts.OBrien knows that theyll have to try and slow down Luck if they hope to be successful on Sunday.Theyre a very, very good team, OBrien said. They have a great quarterback, great coaching staff. Its a big challenge for us. Our guys know that theyre going to have to put a lot into this week in order to go up there and meet that challenge.___AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Air Max 97 Mens Clearance . And all things considered, the first 40 games have offered a little bit of everything from a hockey club that faced many questions in its first year under new management, with a new head coach and with a number of new faces in the lineup. However, with a recent dip in scoring, it seems some of the same old questions persist and several new ones have been raised after a somewhat troubling homestand. Wholesale Air Max 97 . The Mavericks were not going to let San Antonio beat them with 3-pointers, and they did not want Tony Parker using the lane as his personal playground. http://www.outletairmax97.com/. -- Arizona pitcher Bronson Arroyo is expected to miss a week to 10 days because of a back injury. Air Max 97 Womens Clearance . So it was understandable if he was a little shaky early in his return to the Texas Rangers rotation. He spent most of the outing searching for his best stuff, but still managed to shut down the struggling Minnesota Twins offence. Cheap Womens Air Max 97 . Catch the game on TSN starting at 7pm et/4pm pt. Tampa Bay currently holds the last of the Atlantics three automatic bids to the playoffs, but the Maple Leafs are just one point behind.Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) - The voting for 2014 Horse of the Year and champion male 3-year-old was expected to be among the closest in recent history. Heading into Saturdays Eclipse Awards ceremony, there was heated debate as to which thoroughbred among California Chrome, Bayern and Main Sequence would be Horse of the Year and California Chrome, Bayern and Shared Belief for top 3-year-old colt and gelding. Personally, I thought there would be much closer voting than was revealed. California Chrome received substantially more votes as Horse of the Year and 3-year-old than I could possibly have expected. The chestnut colt, owned by Steve Coburn and Perry Martin, and trained by Art Sherman, won Horse of the Year by 90 votes over Main Sequences 53 and clobbered Breeders Cup Classic Bayern by 137 votes for the 3-year-old honor. There were no surprises (in the Eclipse results), said Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, who conditions Bayern. It was entertaining to watch. The social media last year really followed California Chrome. Bayern never really had that following ,,, but at the end of the day, they gave it to the right horse. He deserved it. I dont have any problem with it. The unfortunate outcome was Bayerns lack of an award at the end of the evening. Main Sequence, winner of the Breeders Cup Turf, was voted champion Older Male Horse over Palace Malice, 127 votes to 103. He easily garnered the Eclipse Award as champion Male Turf Horse with 243 votes from the 265 cast. Jockey Victor Espinoza had to watch the Eclipse Awards announceement on television at Santa Anita.dddddddddddd Hes the regular rider of California Chrome but was not a finalist for champion jockey of 2014. In fact, he finished sixth in the voting, receiving just four first-place votes and 102 points. However, Espinoza watched as three of his mounts picked up four honors, California Chrome, Take Charge Brandi and American Pharaoh. I was watching the show on HRTV last night, Espinoza said Sunday morning at Santa Anita. First they announced the filly had won, then later American Pharoah, then California Chrome as 3-year-old. I was more excited than I was after winning all the big races last year. I was thrilled that those young horses were champions. Then at the end it was California Chrome, Horse of the Year. Wow! I was very proud, and really proud of myself to be able to say that I rode those three champions. I never thought in a million years that would happen, in one year to have three great horses and be able to say I rode all three. We all hope everyone stays healthy for the new year. Thats the main thing. So far, it looks like all three are going to run in 2015. As a jockey, its amazing to say I rode all three. For me, its an honor to say that. Immediately after the Breeders Cup last November, I stated I thought Untapable should be 2014 Horse of the Year. She was the lone unanimous selection in the Eclipse Award voting receiving all 265 first-place votes as champion 3-year-old filly. However, in the Horse of the Year balloting Untapable was fourth with 11 top votes and 269 points. ' ' '