Saints rout Colts 62-7 to set club marks (AP)
NEW ORLEANS (AP)—Drew Brees(notes) completed 31 of 35 passes for 325 yards and five touchdowns, and the New Orleans Saints set a franchise record for points and victory margin in a 62-7 demolition of the hapless Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night. For the first time as a head coach, Sean Payton spent the game up in the coaches’ booth, where he could sit comfortably with his broken left leg propped up. He called the plays from there and he had to like what he saw from his new vantage point. Brees had two touchdown passes to Marques Colston(notes) and one to Darren Sproles(notes) in the first quarter. His fourth and fifth touchdown tosses went to second-year tight end Jimmy Graham(notes) in the third quarter. It seemed the Saints could do whatever they wanted, also rushing for 236 yards. When the large video board in the Superdome showed Payton peering out from the booth, the crowd erupted. By the time the third quarter ended, there wasn’t much of a crowd left. Colston had seven catches for 98 yards. Brees wasn’t intercepted before he was replaced by Chase Daniel(notes) late in the third quarter, a move that prevented New Orleans’ starting quarterback from extending his NFL record of four straight games with at least 350 yards passing. Mark Ingram(notes) rushed for 91 yards on 18 carries but limped to the locker room early in the fourth quarter with an undisclosed injury. Sproles carried 12 times for 88 yards, including a 16-yard touchdown. The Saints had 557 yards and a team-record 36 first downs. Colts quarterback Curtis Painter(notes) was only 9 of 17 for 67 yards and had an interception returned 42 yards for a touchdown by Leigh Torrence(notes). For the seventh game this season, Colts star quarterback Peyton Manning(notes) was forced to watch because of a neck injury that has sidelined him all season. As hard as it had to be for Manning to be a spectator in his return to his native New Orleans, it had to be even harder to see his team’s mistake-prone performance. These Colts looked more like the bumbling Saints of old that his father, Archie, starred for three decades ago. Indianapolis fumbled twice in the opening quarter, giving the Saints a relatively short field both times. The first came on the opening drive on a botched snap that linebacker Jonathan Vilma(notes) recovered on the Colts 41-yard line. Brees then completed his first three passes, the last a 14-yard scoring strike to Colston, who made a leaping catch in front of defensive back Jerraud Powers(notes) to make it 7-0. The Saints then went 81 yards in six plays, including Pierre Thomas’s(notes) 57-yard gain on a screen pass, and took a 14-0 lead when Brees hit Colston again with a quick 4-yard throw over the middle. The Saints then took over on their 48 when defensive tackle Tom Johnson(notes) stripped rookie running back Delone Carter(notes), and Cam Jordan recovered. Sproles started the drive with a 16-yard run and finished it with a 6-yard touchdown catch. Brees’ 26-yard completion to Lance Moore(notes) ignited yet another touchdown drive, this one covering 69 yards in seven plays and ending with fullback Jed Collins’(notes) 1-yard score on a second-effort plunge through a pile of players. John Kasay(notes) added field goals of 23 and 47 yards. The second came as time expired in the half and was set up by Colston’s 39-yard reception. Indianapolis trailed 31-0 before scoring on Carter’s 2-yard run, capping a seven-play, 80-yard drive that was highlighted by Carter’s 42-yard scamper on the opening play.
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Bruins sign Peverley to 3-year extension (AP)
BOSTON (AP)—The Boston Bruins have signed center Rich Peverley(notes), a key member of last season’s Stanley Cup championship team, to a three-year contract extension. The team announced the deal on Tuesday that will keep Peverley under contract through the 2014-15 season. The 29-year-old forward was acquired by the Bruins from the former Atlanta Thrashers on Feb. 18. Peverley had four goals and three assists in 23 regular-season games, and added four goals and eight assists in the playoffs last season. Overall, he had 18 goals and 23 assists in 82 regular-season games with Atlanta and Boston. He has played in 276 career NHL regular-season games with Boston, Atlanta and Nashville and has 60 goals and 91 assists. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed.
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Howard’s HR rallies Phils past Cardinals (AP)
PHILADELPHIA (AP)—Ryan Howard(notes) took a mighty cut, dropped his bat and admired the shot. The big slugger didn’t go down looking in a clutch spot this time, and Roy Halladay(notes) overcame a shaky start to help the Philadelphia Phillies beat the St. Louis Cardinals 11-6 Saturday night in the opener of their NL division series. Howard shook off his season-ending strikeout last October to hit a go-ahead, three-run homer in a five-run sixth inning, sending Citizens Bank Park into a frenzy. Halladay retired his last 21 batters, and the NL East champions began their all-or-nothing postseason run with a comeback win. Halladay allowed three runs and three hits, striking out eight in eight innings. He didn’t allow a runner after Skip Schumaker(notes) led off the second with a single. Game 2 is Sunday night, with Cliff Lee(notes) pitching for Philadelphia against Chris Carpenter, who is starting on three days’ rest. Raul Ibanez(notes) hit a two-run shot off Kyle Lohse(notes) to cap the Phillies’ burst in the sixth, and Shane Victorino(notes) had three hits and two RBIs. Last year, in his first career playoff start, Halladay threw the second no-hitter in postseason history in Philadelphia’s 4-0 victory over Cincinnati. His bid for an encore didn’t last one batter, and Lance Berkman(notes) hit the first three-run homer off Halladay in three years to put the wild-card Cardinals up 3-0 in the first. But the offense bailed out Doc. Lohse retired the first 10 batters before Chase Utley(notes) hit a double off the right-field fence in the fourth. The righty, who was 14-8 this season, ran out of gas in the sixth. Down 3-1, Jimmy Rollins(notes) singled to start the inning. After Utley struck out, Hunter Pence(notes) grounded a single up the middle. That brought up Howard, who heard a lot of criticism last year for taking a called third strike with the tying run on second base to end the Phillies’ season against San Francisco in the NL championship series. Howard worked a full count before launching a towering drive into the second deck in right-center to give the Phillies a 4-3 lead. The towel-waving crowd went wild, and Howard came out for a curtain call. Victorino followed with a single. Ibanez then lined a two-run homer to right to end Lohse’s night. Lohse allowed six runs—five earned—and seven hits in 5 1-3 innings. The Cardinals scored three times in the ninth off relievers Michael Stutes(notes) and Ryan Madson(notes), highlighted by Schumaker’s two-run double. The two teams took different roads to get here. The Phillies cruised to their fifth straight division title, winning a franchise-record and major league-best 102 games. Anything less than a second World Series title in four years will be considered a failure by players, management and fans. The Cardinals needed an incredible collapse by Atlanta and help from Philadelphia to earn the wild card. St. Louis trailed the Braves by 10 1/2 games on Aug. 25, but went 23-8 the rest of the way and got in after Game 162 when the Phillies completed a three-game sweep in Atlanta. For a while, it seemed the Phillies might regret helping the Cardinals reach the playoffs. A day after borrowing a line from William Shakespeare, saying he “came here to bury Caesar, not praise him,” Halladay didn’t back up his words right away. Rafael Furcal(notes) led off the game with a single and stole second. One out later, Halladay walked Albert Pujols(notes) on four pitches. Berkman drove the next pitch off the mini-scoreboard hanging on the facing off the second deck in right field. The switch-hitting Berkman hit all 31 of his homers in the regular season from the left side. No. 32 was the first three-run homer Halladay allowed since Aug. 21, 2008, when Hideki Matsui(notes) connected for the Yankees in a 14-3 loss to Toronto. The Phillies will turn Berkman around the next two games with lefties Lee and Cole Hamels(notes) on the mound. Howard hit a sacrifice fly in the seventh, and Victorino and Ibanez each had RBI singles in the inning to pad Philadelphia’s lead. An unearned run got Philadelphia within 3-1 in the fourth. After Utley’s one-out double, Pence struck out and Howard walked. Victorino hit a foul pop down the left-field line that should’ve ended the inning. But third baseman David Freese(notes) tried to make an over-the-shoulder catch and the ball fell out of his glove for an error. Victorino hit an opposite-field single to left to score Utley. Halladay, a two-time Cy Young Award winner who won it last year in his first season in the NL, was 19-6 with a career-best 2.35 ERA and eight complete games this season. He made certain the relievers stayed in the bullpen until this game was out of reach. A crowd of 46,480 was the 218th straight sellout at Citizens Bank Park, including postseason play. The stadium resembled an apple orchard with all the red-clad fans. NOTES: Cardinals RHP Kyle McClellan(notes) was disappointed that he was left off the roster because of a tired arm. “McClellan is a real weapon,” manager Tony La Russa said. “That was a very tough call, and I know he’s very upset with it, and he should be. Made totally on his best interest.”… Only the New York Yankees (27) have won more World Series titles than the Cardinals (10). … The Cardinals were 6-3 vs. the Phillies in the regular season. … The Phillies are 15-7 in Game 1s, while the Cardinals fell to 16-19. … The Cardinals didn’t have five-time All-Star, LF Matt Holliday(notes) because of a hand injury. … Howard is 9 for 18 with three homers off Lohse. … The Phillies, who acquired Pence from Houston on July 29, are now 8-0 with all of their regulars in the lineup. … Pence was 2 for 5 with two RBIs and two runs in his first postseason game.
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AFC Conference Betting – Vikings at Saints
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