Begrüssungsthread » Westhead has reported in countries

PHOENIX - On some point Sunday it will happen. At least everyone hopes it happens.The biggest, most athletic tight end in football will be running downfield and be met in a full-speed collision with the hardest-hitting strong safety in the game today.What will happen when the NFLs version of Thunderdome comes to the Super Bowl, featuring Rob Gronkowski in one corner and Kam Chancellor in the other?I dont know. Ill be sitting there with popcorn, Seattles Richard Sherman said. Itll be good football.There are a bevy of important individual matchups when New England and Seattle meet on Sunday. Will Tom Brady throw at Sherman? Can the Patriots defensive front slow down Marshawn Lynch? What about LeGarrette Blount trying to run against the best defence in the NFL?All those factors could matter in the final outcome. Trumping them all might be whether Chancellor and the Seahawks are able to keep Gronkowski under control.Even the NFL anticipated the potential matchup: Both Gronkowski and Chancellor sat at the same podium on media day.I guess it was destiny. It was destiny for us to have the same seat, Chancellor said.While Seattle nickel cornerback Jeremy Lane said last week that he didnt think Gronkowski was that good, most of the Seahawks have been respectful of his skill.Rightfully so.Gronkowski might have been better in 2011, but considering the injuries hes overcome, 2014 could be his most impressive season. He had 51 receptions and eight touchdowns in the final eight games of the regular season and another 10 receptions and two scores already in the playoffs. Only once this season did Gronkowski have fewer than three catches in a game.Aw man, Beast Mode. Hes an animal, man, New England wide receiver Brandon LaFell said stealing a phrase normally used to describe Lynch. When you put a corner on him, hes too small. When you put a safety on him, hes too slow, man. You know, when Gronk is out there doing his thing he is demanding a double team and if hes not being double teamed, hes out there making plays for us.The difference with Seattle is they have Chancellor — a safety with a linebacker build and cornerback speed — who can match up with Gronkowski. Many felt it was Chancellor and not Malcolm Smith that should have been Super Bowl MVP a year ago. It was Chancellors hit on Demaryius Thomas on Denvers second possession that set the tone for Seattles rout.That hit alone could have gotten him Super Bowl MVP, Sherman said.Seattle struggled earlier in the season defending tight ends, breaking from a trend of being able to shut down elite players at that position in the past. San Diegos Antonio Gates caught three touchdowns in Week 2 against Seattle and Oaklands Mychal Rivera had eight catches and two TDs in early November.Those performances were outliers. Against most elite tight ends, Seattle has been at its best. In two games last season against New Orleans, Jimmy Graham had a combined four catches for 50 yards against the Seahawks. Vernon Davis hasnt caught more than three passes against Seattle in five games over the past two seasons. Julius Thomas was limited four catches for all of 27 yards in last years Super Bowl romp.They definitely have an image of being physical. Theyve got an image of coming out and being ready to dominate, Gronkowski said.Why is Seattle so good at defending tight ends? A lot of credit falls to Chancellor. His size, speed and strength can counter the matchup problems many tight ends create.But the rest of Seattles defensive scheme was formulated so Chancellor is not alone. Especially when Seattle is playing zone defence, responsibility is placed on linebackers K.J. Wright and Bobby Wagner to cover those hook areas as defensive co-ordinator Dan Quinn calls it, where tight ends often roam.You have to have the speed to play when the quarterback throws it how fast can you close and make the tackle. I think the speed and the length of K.J. in specific, allows him to do that and Bobby, his instincts to know after the ball is thrown, weve all seen the speed that he has to close, Quinn said. And then when we play man-to-man, both of those guys are able to match up, whether it be on tight ends or backs, again due to their speed and cover ability. I think its a combination of the way we play zone, their speed to do it, their quarterback keys and the ability for them to play in man-to-man.___Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/AP_NFL Austin Adams Mariners Jersey . 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Matt Magill Mariners Jersey . -- With Tony Allen back, the Memphis Grizzlies were able to turn up their defence pressure and hold off the Los Angeles Clippers down the stretch.TSN announced Thursday that award-winning journalist Rick Westhead (@rwesthead) will join as the network as its Senior Correspondent. Known for his investigative reporting, Westhead will create original content that will be featured across TSNs platforms - TSN, TSN Radio, TSN.ca and TSN GO. "Rick is a distinguished journalist and bolsters our team of reporters and Insiders," said Ken Volden, Vice President and Executive Producer, Studio Production and News and Information, TSN. "As our Senior Correspondent, well continue to let him uncover compelling stories from the sports world. Were very proud to showcase his respected work across all of our platforms." "Ive been watching TSN programming for nearly three decades. Its a privilege to join a broadcast team that is so clearly established as the industry leader," said Westhead. "I plan to tackle issues nobody else wants to take on and offer up new perspectives on stories making headlines and the ones that are not on anyones radar." Westhead joins TSN from The Toronto Star, where he served as one of the newspapers foreign affairs writers in addition to covering sports business. Throughout his 20-year career, Westhead has reported on a vvariety of sports issues – including exposing the inner-workings of the KHL, and most recently, the renewed unionization attempts in the CHL – for a slate of leading publications, among them the Toronto Star, Bloomberg News, Canadian Press, Globe and Mail, New York Times, and Saturday Night Magazine.dddddddddddd His extensive resume also includes contributing reports to Hockey Night in Canada, The Business of Sports TV, and sports radio, as well as covering major sporting events such as The Masters, the Olympic Games, the Stanley Cup, and the World Cup of Hockey. Westhead has earned accolades for his foreign affairs work. Earlier this year, Westhead was part of a team that won the prestigious Project of the Year at the National Newspaper Awards. He was also honoured with the Toronto Stars Reporter of the Year Award in 2007. Westhead has reported in countries from around the world – from Afghanistan and Australia to Jordan and Japan – and lived in India from 2008-2011 as the Toronto Stars South Asia Bureau Chief. Throughout this career, he has interviewed key figures from the sports, entertainment, business, and political worlds, among them the Dalai Lama, Alicia Keys, and Malala Yousafzai. ' ' '