Gäste Forum » Chiefs would be good but would struggle to be gr

MINNEAPOLIS -- Everything went right for Canadian Andrew Albers when he started his major league career with the Minnesota Twins by not allowing a run in his first two starts. The breaks went the other way in his third outing. Minnesota misplayed two fly balls by losing them in the sky and Albers scoreless streak to start his career was snapped at 17 1-3 innings as the Chicago White Sox beat the Twins 8-5 Saturday. Dayan Viciedo hit a three-run homer off the North Battleford, Sask., native and Alejandro De Aza added a two-run shot in the ninth after the Twins had climbed back within a run. "I was able to catch the breaks those first two nights, and tonight didnt quite catch as many," Albers said. "Things change, and then you make one bad pitch, and you pay for it. Its a fine line in this game, and sometimes, thats how things go." Chris Sale (9-11) won his third straight start for the White Sox, giving up three runs and nine hits in seven innings with eight strikeouts and Addison Reed earned his career-high 30th save in 35 chances. Albers (2-1) was dazzling in his first two starts, making use of a mid-80s fastball, changeup and slow curve to get ahead of hitters. But he struggled to get strike one against Chicago early Saturday and allowed five runs and eight hits in seven innings. Chicago snapped Albers scoreless streak -- a record for a Twins starter to begin a career -- with a run in the first after Alexei Ramirezs fly ball to centre field was lost in the sun. De Aza, who opened with a single, went to third on the play and scored on Paul Konerkos RBI groundout. "The sky played a little havoc with us today and cost us a couple of runs, and there you have it," Minnesota manager Ron Gardenhire said. Albers had two outs in the fourth before allowing four straight runners to reach base, concluding with Viciedos homer to left. But he retired nine of the last 10 batters he faced to reach the seventh inning for the third time in three starts. "The streak was great while it was going on," Albers said. "It was awesome to have those two nights. Theyre pretty special, and who knows if that will ever happen again. You see today how quickly things can change, and its one of those things where youve got to get some breaks for it to happen like that." Adam Dunn had three hits for the White Sox after left fielder Josh Willingham lost another high pop-up in the eighth, giving Chicago a 6-3 lead. "Just didnt see it," Willingham said. "Some unfortunate stuff," Gardenhire said. "What are you going to do? You lose the ball. You cant see it, its hard to catch. Thats the way it is this time of night and both teams have to deal with it, and we end up losing." Ryan Doumit hit a two-run homer in the Twins eighth off Nate Jones. Minnesota homered for the 10th straight game, its longest streak since 11 consecutive in August 2007. Joe Mauer doubled and drove in two runs for the Twins, who lost for the fourth time in five games. Willingham, Brian Dozier and Pedro Florimon all finished with two hits and scored a run. Florimon had just one hit in his previous 26 at-bats. NOTES: Twins 1B Justin Morneau pinch-hit in the ninth, but didnt start for the first time since July 11 with Sale on the mound. ... Minnesota agreed to terms with INF Brad Boyer of the St. Paul Saints independent league team on Saturday. Boyer, 29, is hitting .337 with seven home runs and 50 RBIs in 78 games. The former draft pick of the Seattle Mariners (2005, 14th round) and San Francisco Giants (2006, 13th round) will report to Double-A New Britain. The Twins have had success with independent league signees, including Albers, LHP Caleb Thielbar also from the Saints and recently demoted Chris Colabello. ... Hector Santiago (3-7, 3.37 ERA) will try to win for the first time since June 21 as he takes the mound for the White Sox on Sunday. The lefty is 0-2 in his last nine starts. The Twins will counter with Samuel Deduno (7-6, 3.54 ERA). O. J. Simpson Womens Jersey . The Americans, skipped by John Shuster, seized the advantage in the eighth end by scoring five points for a 7-3 lead. The Czechs pulled two back in the ninth, but Shusters team of third Jeff Isaacson, second Jared Zezel and lead John Landsteiner ended with another point to secure the last Olympic berth on offer. Doug Flutie Youth Jersey . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. 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If one thing in this life is certain, if history has taught us anything, its that you can kill anyone. -- Michael CorleoneJeff Fisher was supposed to have more job security than any coach in the league. No one could ever figure out why, but Fisher proved resistant to strings of losing seasons long enough to do in far more successful coaches. Tom Coughlin got fired from the Giants after three straight losing seasons. Fisher on Sunday ensured his fifth straight losing season as Rams coach, and a little more than a week ago it was revealed that he had received a contract extension.And then, Monday, the Rams fired Fisher with three games left in the season. And everything you thought you knew about NFL coaching job security disappeared into a Southern California rush-hour traffic jam. If Fisher cant survive a losing season anymore, who can?The coaching seats in places such as Jacksonville, Buffalo, San Diego and Cincinnati cant feel any cooler than they did 24 hours ago. Fishers surprise in-season firing was a reminder that the ugly January coaching-change season is just a few weeks away now. Speculation about who and where is risky business at this point -- heck, 19 percent of the season remains to be played. But there are always changes, and theres no way Los Angeles will be the only one. Here are two nuggets of info Ive gathered from making calls the past couple of weeks:Los Angeles will be an attractive job to the top candidates. Big market, clean slate, patient ownership, a quarterback who was the No. 1 overall pick, a star-caliber running back, playmakers on defense. Whats going to come open that looks better? Maybe Jacksonville, if you like Blake Bortles and not having to pay state income tax. The Rams arent on the cusp of greatness or anything, but few of the teams that hire coaches ever are. And they have a few things going for them.Josh McDaniels, Kyle Shanahan, Teryl Austin, Jim Bob Cooter, Sean McDermott ... these are the candidate names youve heard and will hear again. Jim Schwartz can get back into the cycle if Philadelphias defense finishes strong. Rising young stars such as Washington offensive coordinator Sean McVay and Miami defensive coordinator Vance Joseph could get calls. Dallas offensive coordinator Scott Linehan could potentially parlay the success of his rookie-driven offense into a return to the interview circuit. But a surprise name to watch is Mike Smith, the former Falcons coach whos now running a Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense thats keying a potential playoff run. Smith was 56-24 and made the playoffs four times in his first five seasons as Falcons head coach, then flamed out to the tune of 10-22 in the final two. He got some attention last year -- the Giants and Dolphins interviewed him for their head-coaching jobs before turning elsewhere -- and hes well-regarded around the league.So yeah, it may feel early to be talking about this. But a month from now, the non-playoff NFL world will be consumed by it. And Mondays news let everyone know that it has already begun.What else did we learn in Week 14?The New York Giants killed it in free agencyWe hear all the time that free agency isnt an instant fix. But for the Giants defense, the 2016 free-agent class is an all-time winner. The Giants identified the players they wanted in free agency and then made sure to spend literally whatever they needed to spend to sign them. All three of the guys they brought in from other teams have performed up to their contracts so far. Janoris Jenkins has been a lockdown cornerback. Damon Harrison remains, as he was with the Jets, the best run-stopping defensive tackle in the league. And Olivier Vernon has rejuvenated the pass rush with his relentless motor and versatility.Add in Jason Pierre-Paul, a free-agent re-sign who was playing very well before groin surgery sidelined him last week, and the breakout of second-year safety Landon Collins, and the Giants have a defense capable of winning a game by itself. They made every play but one against the Cowboys on Sunday night, and so when their offense finally made its one pllay -- an electrifying 61-yard Odell Beckham Jr.dddddddddddd catch-and-run touchdown -- it was enough to end Dallas 11-game winning streak.The Cowboys are 11-2, and the Giants have beaten them twice. That defense has a chance to be the Cowboys biggest January roadblock. Its the only thing Dallas hasnt been able to overcome.The Denver Broncos are in real troubleThe loss to Tennessee was, on paper, the defending Super Bowl champions best chance to win a game the rest of the season. That doesnt mean theyre going to lose the rest of their games and finish 8-8, but they absolutely could lose at home to the Patriots, at Kansas City and at home to the Raiders to close out the season. Denver is running an increasingly distant third in the AFC West and playing around on the fringes of the wild-card race. And while, yes, the Broncos did finish strong last season when it looked as if they might not get in, the schedule is not in their favor this season.If Tom Brady is in the MVP conversation, LeVeon Bell should be tooMy feelings on Brady as an MVP candidate should be well known by now. He may be the best player in the league, playing the most important position on the best team. But the fact that he missed one-quarter of the season means his performance needs to be clearly better than those of the other candidates if hes to win the award. So, same thing with Steelers running back Bell. But if you disagree with me, and you think that missing a chunk of the season shouldnt be a disqualifying factor, then you have to consider Bell, who right now is the Steelers offense. He had 298 of the Steelers 460 yards and all three of their touchdowns Sunday. In Pittsburghs past four games -- all wins -- Bell has 53.9 percent of the teams total yardage and five of its 11 touchdowns. The Steelers are working him hard, in the running game and in the passing game, and making up for time lost to the three-game drug suspension with which he began the year. What remains to be seen is whether they sign him to a long-term deal after this season or keep him around on the franchise tag and keep working him this way.Matt Barkley may not be just some placeholder jokeMuch was made last week of the Browns running Robert Griffin III out there the final four games to see if he can be part of their quarterback solution next season. So far, it looks drastically otherwise. But over in Chicago, Barkley has looked remarkably competent the past two weeks starting for the Bears in place of the injured Jay Cutler and Brian Hoyer. And with Cutler likely on his way out and no obvious instant-helper solutions in the draft, Barkley may have a chance to position himself to compete for the job next summer. Barkley will get a boost from the return of top receiver Alshon Jeffery?from suspension this week, and if he finishes with three strong games, dont be surprised if hes in the mix. There arent any Peyton Manning-level solutions kicking around on the market.The Kansas City Chiefs have players who can elevate them above very good come JanuaryKansas City has won 21 of its past 25 games. But there long has been a sense, since Andy Reid got there in 2013, that the Chiefs would be good but would struggle to be great. Alex Smith is a steady quarterback, but not the kind of downfield dazzler you need to elevate past the other top teams in the playoffs. But the return of pass-rusher Justin Houston from injury has made it clear that Kansas City has a Von Miller/Khalil Mack-type difference-maker on defense. (Can the Steelers or Patriots, for example, say the same?) And the breakout of rookie receiver Tyreek Hill gives the Chiefs an offensive difference-maker the likes of which Reid hasnt had since he coached DeSean Jackson in Philadelphia. If the Chiefs keep winning, theyll get a good seed in the AFC playoffs -- maybe even the best one. And they have the kinds of difference-makers on either side of the ball that you need to have if you want to win those games. ' ' '