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ekansekans's blog: "df"

created on 10/29/2012  |  http://fubar.com/df/b351055

BALTIMORE -- Because theres still some life in the 37-year-old arm of Charlie Batch, the Pittsburgh Steelers remain alive in the AFC North. Batch directed a 61-yard drive in the closing minutes and Shaun Suisham of Wallaceburg, Ont., kicked a 42-yard field goal as time expired to give the Steelers a 23-20 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. Playing without injured Ben Roethlisberger for a third straight week, the Steelers turned to Batch for the second game in a row. The 15-year veteran went 25 for 36 for 276 yards, threw a touchdown and rallied the Steelers in a must-win game against their hated division rivals. "This is big. It was another opportunity for me to come out here and start, which is rare right now," said Batch, who was elevated to the top of the depth chart after backup Byron Leftwich was injured against Baltimore two weeks ago "To be able to go on the road and do something that nobody outside of our locker room thought that we could do is big," Batch said. . Especially after Batch and the Steelers committed eight turnovers last week in a loss to Cleveland. "I knew going into it that I had to play better," Batch said. "I had to go out there and lead this offence the way that I know I can. I felt the receivers did a great job of getting open, the offensive line did a great job of protecting. I was really able to set my feet and just play ball and have fun." The result? "Big necessary win for us tonight in a hostile environment. We dont take that lightly," coach Mike Tomlin said. Pittsburgh (7-5) snapped a two-game losing streak and kept alive its slim hopes of overtaking Baltimore (9-3) in the AFC North. The teams have split their games this season, with each winning by three points. Seven of the last eight regular-season games between the teams have been decided by that same margin. "That was a typical Pittsburgh-Baltimore game," Ravens coach John Harbaugh said. "Its amazing how it works out that way. Pittsburgh trailed 13-3 in the first half and 20-13 in the fourth quarter before coming back. Batch missed a wide open Mike Wallace in the end zone near the end of the first half, but the cagey quarterback more than made up for it after halftime. The Ravens could have clinched a playoff berth with a victory. Instead, Baltimore had its 15-game home winning streak snapped and also lost for the first time in 13 games against division foes. Baltimores last defeat at home was against Pittsburgh in December 2010. "This game didnt determine the AFC North. We still can go ahead and win the division," said running back Ray Rice, who ran for 78 yards in only 12 carries. "Well go ahead and try to get over this loss." Batch outplayed Baltimore quarterback Joe Flacco, who went 16 for 34 for 188 yards and fueled Pittsburghs comeback by losing a fumble in the fourth quarter. "I think we missed a couple of opportunities early to really take a hold of this game even more," Flacco said. "I thought we could have put up 30 or 40 points today and we didnt. I think thats a reflection that we hurt ourselves." The Steelers gave the ball away three times. The Ravens converted two of the takeaways into touchdowns, and the third -- a leaping interception by Ed Reed in the end zone -- kept a 20-13 lead intact with 10:59 left. Pittsburgh got the ball back, however, when James Harrison forced a fumble by Flacco at the 27. "Guy came around hit my wrist and hit the ball and just got it out," Flacco said. "I wish I could have held on but wasnt able to." Batch threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Heath Miller to tie it with 7:24 to go. The next time Pittsburgh got the ball back, Batch showed his poise with a beat-the-clock march. The key play in the final drive was a 15-yard completion to Wallace on a third-and-7. After generating only 93 yards in offence in the first half, the Steelers opened the third quarter with a 78-yard touchdown drive to pull even at 13. Batch threw a 43-yard pass to Miller before Jonathan Dwyer scored on a 16-yard run. Later in the quarter, Batch connected with Emmanuel Sanders near midfield with no defender in sight. But Sanders inexplicably lost his grip on the football after taking two steps, and the Ravens recovered on the Baltimore 37. The Ravens turned the miscue into a 20-13 lead. Flacco completed a 19-yard pass to Dennis Pitta before Rice took a handoff, veered right, then broke left and outside for a 34-yard score. The bickering between these two familiar foes began with the opening kickoff, when several players had to be separated after Baltimores Jacoby Jones downed the ball for a touchback. With the Ravens up 6-3, Flacco threw an up-for-grabs floater that was intercepted by Ryan Clark near midfield. Pittsburgh gave it right back, though, when wide receiver Antonio Brown took a handoff and ran left before throwing a pass across the field that was picked off by Corey Graham. Baltimore didnt waste the gift. Flacco connected twice with Anquan Boldin during a four-play, 69-yard drive, including a 31-yard touchdown throw just beyond Allens reach to make it 13-3. NOTES: Pittsburgh CB Ike Taylor hurt his right ankle in the first quarter and did not return. ... Tomlin said FB Will Johnson "probably has a concussion." ... Brown has thrown two passes this season. The other one was incomplete. ... The crowd of 71,442 was the second-largest in Ravens history. ... Rices 32nd rushing touchdown broke a second-place tie with Willis McGahee on the teams career list. Cheap NFL Jerseys Paypal . The co-hosts will be without goalkeeper Oleksandr Bandura, defender Vitaliy Mandziuk and midfielder Taras Stepanenko, Blokhin announced on Tuesday. Neither of the three players played during a 4-0 thumping of Estonia in the teams first Euro 2012 warm-up game on Monday. Cheap Jerseys From China . When an ankle injury kept him out of Portugals first two European Championship qualifying games, the team drew at home against Cyprus and lost to Norway. http://www.bwjerseys.com/ .A. Dickeys best season yet ended with a no-decision and some surprising news: Hell have surgery Oct.MILWAUKEE -- Randy Wolf doesnt really know what has been wrong with him this season, and understands why the Milwaukee Brewers released him on Wednesday. And while the move wasnt an easy one to take, the veteran left-hander went out of his way to say that he doesnt harbour any bitterness toward the Brewers -- even though he got the bad news on his 36th birthday. "Its a really tough pill to swallow," Wolf said. "Luckily, Ive always been humble in this game, and realized what this game is like." Wolf was 3-10 with a 5.69 ERA in 24 starts for Milwaukee this year and had lost his last four decisions. The Brewers owe him about $3.7 million in remaining salary and a buyout. Wolf said things have been "brutal" this year but he doesnt know why. His velocity isnt down from what it usually is, although he has struggled with his command. "I just need to get better somehow, figure it out," Wolf said. "Obviously, Im leaving too many balls over the middle of the plate. And if I do a better job of not doing that, I think Ill be OK." Brewers general manager Doug Melvin and manager Ron Roenicke both said Wolf has something left to offer other teams. "I think he needs a new atmosphere to be in," Roenicke said. "Randy still is not done pitching. I think next year hes going to have a good year for somebody. But I think when you get to a point where things happen so negatively every time you go out and pitch, you cant just wipe it out." Melvin said he expects Wolf to catch on with another team this season. "Id be surprised if somebody didnt give him a chance," Melvin said. Milwaukee recalled infielder Jeff Bianchi from Triple-A Nashville. Wolfs release will make room in the rotation for starter Shaun Marcum, who is on a rehabilitation assignment and is scheduled to start Saturdays game at Pittsburgh. Marcum has been on the disabled list since June 23 with a right elbow iinjury.dddddddddddd The move also will allow the Brewers to take a look at some of their young pitchers -- a reality that likely would have forced Wolf to move to the bullpen if he stayed with the Brewers. "We have these young guys that we need to see, and unfortunately were in a position where we need to starting thinking about next year," Roenicke said. Still, the Brewers are likely to miss Wolfs veteran presence. "I really like Randy," Roenicke said. "I like him as a player, and I like him as a person. He prepares himself as well as anybody Ive ever been around. Hes a great teammate. He helps out the young guys. Things didnt go well for him this year, and he feels (as) bad about it as anybody -- worse about it than anybody. And he worked as hard as you could possibly work to get things turned around." Ryan Braun said Wolf will be missed, especially in the clubhouse. "With Randy, he always worked as hard as he could, he always put everything he had into this game," Braun said. "He was a great teammate, a lot of fun to be around every day. He did some great things for this organization, too." Wolf thanked the Brewers on the way out, saying he didnt harbour any bitterness about the way his time with the team came to an end. "The way that the organization has treated me through this has been outstanding," Wolf said. "They just wanted to give me a heads-up. I think how much respect they showed through this process has been amazing. I just want to thank them for everything. Its certainly unfortunate that this year was the way it was, and theres nobody more disappointed about that than I am." Milwaukee is responsible for the $2,232,240 remaining of Wolfs $9.5 million salary this year and also for a $1.5 million buyout of a $10 million club option. If Wolf signs a major league contract with another team, a prorated share of the $480,000 minimum would be offset. ' ' ' 

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