DETROIT - Matthew Stafford and the Detroit Lions are taking advantage of the softer portion of their schedule. LaTroy Hawkins Jersey Cubs .Stafford threw for 311 yards and three touchdowns — including one off a fluky deflection late in the game — and the Detroit Lions kept the pressure on in the NFC North race with a 34-17 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday.The Lions (9-4) trail first-place Green Bay by a half-game, with the Packers hosting Atlanta on Monday night. Detroit has won two in a row by the same 34-17 score.The Lions beat Chicago on Thanksgiving, and they end this three-game home stretch next weekend against Minnesota.Tampa Bay (2-11) was finally eliminated from playoff contention — the NFC Souths mediocrity could only keep the Bucs in it for so long. They turned the ball over three times in the second quarter against Detroit and never led.Calvin Johnson had eight catches for 158 yards and a touchdown for Detroit, which snapped a nine-game losing streak in December.Mike Evans caught two touchdown passes for the Bucs, but quarterback Josh McCown was under pressure all day, and Tampa Bay managed only 26 yards rushing against Detroits stout defensive front.Stafford went 26 of 34 without an interception, and he and Johnson seem to be clicking again at the right time. The Detroit quarterback was also a bit fortunate on his fourth-quarter scoring pass to Joique Bell.Stafford had a pass bounce off someone at the line of scrimmage — Tampa Bays Gerald McCoy was in the area — and it bounced back toward Bell, who alertly grabbed it out of midair and ran into the end zone for the games final score.Detroit opened the scoring on Staffords 6-yard touchdown pass to Johnson, and Patrick Murray answered with a 54-yard field goal for the Bucs.The Bucs first turnover came when McCowns pass deflected off Evans and was picked off by a sliding Glover Quin, who reached out with his left hand to secure the ball at the Tampa Bay 34. Bells 1-yard scoring run made it 14-3.A fumble on a snap gave the Lions the ball at the Tampa Bay 32 moments later, and Detroit managed a field goal off that turnover.Late in the half, the Bucs caught a break after McCowns pass was intercepted in the end zone by James Ihedigbo. The Detroit safety tried to run the ball out, but he ended up fumbling it back to Tampa Bay.The Bucs took over at the Detroit 10 and scored a touchdown with 5 seconds left on McCowns 5-yard pass to Evans.Stafford threw a 53-yard pass to Johnson to set up a third-quarter field goal, and his 10-yard touchdown pass to Joseph Fauria made it 27-10.Evans caught a 26-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth, using one arm to secure the ball in the back of the end zone.Bell broke free for a 57-yard run in the final minutes. That helped set up his 5-yard touchdown catch off the bizarre deflection.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL David Phelps Jersey Cubs . Gerald Green and Miles Plumlee? Green had bounced around the NBA when he wasnt playing overseas. The Pacers gave up on Plumlee after just one season. Now Green and Plumlee are key cogs in the Suns surprising breakout season. J. D. Martinez Jersey Red Sox .Y. - Through three quarters, the Brooklyn Nets could not shake the NBAs worst team. https://www.discountjerseysonline.com/joe-pepitone-jersey-cubs-243 . TSN platforms will broadcast 75+ live games per season – tripling the networks current slate of MLB games. With the new deal TSN retains rights to ESPNs SUNDAY NIGHT BASEBALL and, for the first time, acquires rights to ESPNs MONDAY NIGHT BASEBALL and WEDNESDAY NIGHT BASEBALL.I think there’s a reasonable argument to be made that Gerard Gallant’s Florida Panthers are the ultimate X-Factor as it pertains to the Eastern Conference playoff race, primarily due to the fact that most prognosticators had this team suffering through another tough year as their young team develops. The fact that Florida has suddenly developed into a quality playoff hockey team has to be particularly disheartening to the couple of Eastern Conference teams who are hanging on for dear life right now. In particular, Toronto. One of the biggest – and really, only – endorsements one can give Randy Carlyle’s team right now is that there isn’t a whole lot of competition outside of the top eight with the ability to throw them from a potential playoff berth. Beyond that, the Maple Leafs once again stand on shaky ground. What makes Florida particularly fascinating as a contender is that it seems as though everything’s come together at the right time. Obviously, competition isn’t ripe right now in the East. But, they’ve benefited greatly from a combination of faster-than-expected player development and the venerable Roberto Luongo in net, who is able to bail the team out of trouble when things get dicey. As to this Panthers team as a whole – let’s first look at the team historically. It’s important to remember that this isn’t a team that’s really ever been ‘above average’ for a lengthy period of time, especially in the analytics era (2007-Present). The red vertical dotted line signifies the beginning of the 2014-2015 season. Notice two things – one, Florida has been able to control possession this season consistently above break-even, and two, it’s verging towards becoming the highest point of success for this team in the last eight years. The laundry list of young talent keying this run is something to behold: Aleksander Barkov, Nick Bjugstad, Jonathan Huberdeau, Vincent Trocheck, and Aaron Ekblad are something of a ‘big five’, all at or under the age of 22. The amazing thing? Every one of these players is in the black as it pertains to Corsi%. In a league where being successful at an extremely young age is quite difficult, the Panthers are making it look relatively easy. The play of these youngsters is one of the big reasons why they’ve picked up 40 points in 33 games, and the team’s collective underlying numbers continue to spike. Koji Uehara Jersey Cubs. To illustrate that climb, let’s look at the Eastern Conference by Score-Adjusted Corsi% over the last twenty games, to see how the Panthers stack up recently against other playoff hopefuls. Over the last twenty games, only three Eastern Conference teams – Tampa Bay, Detroit, and the New York Islanders, all of whom feel like playoff locks – control play better at 5-on-5 than Florida. And, perhaps more importantly, they sit significantly ahead of other teams fighting for those final playoff berths. But, as we know all too well, simply controlling play at 5-on-5 does not guarantee victory. Goaltending is a crucial part of hockey, and even quality possession teams – like, say, this year’s Minnesota Wild! – have extreme difficulty winning with ugly save percentages. Here’s where the acquisition of Roberto Luongo comes into play. We know, based on years and years of performance, that Roberto Luongo is a great goaltender. So, whereas a .927 EVSV% for one team may be a bit suspicious, it’s not for Florida – a team with a goaltender as established as any in the National Hockey League. Luongo, over the past few years, is just about as good as it gets in the crease. A quick comparison of his performance against other regular goaltenders in the Eastern Conference highlights just how awesome he has been. (Note: bubble size indicates ice-time; the larger the bubble, the more the goalie has played). Henrik Lundqvist is universally accepted as one of the league’s three best goaltenders. His performance since 2010 is virtually indiscernible from that of Roberto Luongo. So, here’s what we have in Florida: a team that generally out-shoots the competition, backstopped by one of the league’s better goaltenders. In a league where sixteen of thirty teams reach the post-season, and barring something drastically changing, that’s generally going to be enough to get beyond game eighty-two. Oh, and one more thing. The Cats currently have over $10-million in cap space, which makes them a team to watch both on and off of the ice over the next few months. ' ' '