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ekansekans's blog: "df"

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

DETROIT -- Shannon Eastin has made NFL history. Bernard Pollard Jersey . Eastin was the line judge in Sundays St. Louis Rams-Detroit Lions game, making her the first woman to be an official in a regular-season game. She is among the replacement officials hired by the league while the regular officials are locked out. Replacement officials are working games for the first time in 11 years. The only time her pony tail could be seen was during the national anthem, after which she tucked it under her cap and got ready to work. Eastin became the first female official to work an NFL preseason game last month as the line judge when Green Bay played at San Diego. The Pro Football Hall of Fame has the hat and whistle she used during that preseason game, and theyll be displayed in Canton, Ohio. The 42-year-old resident of Tempe, Ariz. has worked as a referee in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference -- college footballs second-highest level -- and has 16 years of officiating experience. MEAC officials declined comment on Eastin, as did the NFL in the days leading up to the groundbreaking assignment. "Commenting on individual officials is not something we do," league spokesman Greg Aiello wrote in an email. "Her place in league history speaks for itself." NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said having Eastin on the field is a great opportunity for her and the league. "Shes well prepared for it, and I think shell do terrific," Goodell said last month. "So were excited about that. "And there are more coming, by the way. Weve been working along this path to try to properly train and prepare a female official, and now we have the opportunity." The NFL declined to make Eastin available for interviews during the week leading up to the game and didnt plan to allow media to have access to her following the Rams-Lions game, but did set up a conference call with her in August. "I hope to show it really doesnt matter if you are male or female," Eastin said last month. Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Larry Foote believes it is good for the game to have female officials, even though he worries about her safety working alongside some of the worlds biggest, strongest and fastest athletes. "Women are more honest and fair than men and they know how to catch a man cheating," Foote said. "I hope shes just a line judge. Dont want her to get hurt." Eastin, who is originally from Worcester, Mass., was a multiple national judo champion as a child and started officiating high school games before moving up to colleges. She owns a company called SE Sports Officiating, which trains officials in football and basketball. "Ill be working even harder, to show I am capable and I am where I should be," Eastin has said. She is joining a small group of women to break into officiating ranks at the highest levels of sports. "Its a sign of the times," Lions centre Dominic Raiola said. "The NBA did it." Violet Palmer, one of Eastins inspirations, started officiating NBA games in 1997 and is still in the league. Bernice Gera became the first woman to work in baseballs minor leagues in 1972 as an umpire in a New York-Penn League game. Pam Postema umpired major league spring training games in 1989 and Triple-A baseball for six seasons. The locked-out NFL Referees Association has said Eastin shouldnt be allowed to work league games because she has been in the World Series of Poker. If Eastin is hired permanently, the NFLs gambling policy would bar her from participating in such events. Basketball Hall of Famer Nancy Lieberman, the first woman to play and coach against men in professional basketball, is glad the NFLs labour problems with its regular officials opened a door for Eastin. "She doesnt have to hit anybody, she just has to know the rules," Lieberman said. "She wont be defined by her gender if she does her job. And while this is not normal for the rest of the world to see, this is very normal for her because she works as an official for a living." Kathy Babiak, co-director of SHARP, a partnership between the Womens Sports Foundation and the University of Michigan, said Eastins accomplishment is encouraging. "It shows the strides women and girls in sports have been making since Title IX was passed 40 years ago," Babiak said. "Before Title IX, these kinds of opportunities for women and girls were not even imaginable. It shows that women and girls have a desire, interest and ability to work in sports at all levels -- even mens professional sports. "Some girl will be watching Sunday and say, Hey, I want to do the same thing!" Paul Kruger Jersey . - Quarterback Brock Osweiler was supposed to be the rookie from Arizona State to watch for Denver on Thursday. Tyrod Taylor Jersey . The Twins announced the move on Wednesday, a few hours before playing the Seattle Mariners. Parmelee has struggled in three stints with the Twins this season, hitting . http://www.theravensfootballstore.com/torrey-smith-super-bowl-jersey/ . Inter dropped into UEFAs second-tier competition this season after seven straight years in the Champions League, which it won in 2010. Liverpool, the 2005 Champions League winner, also featured in Fridays draw, and will travel first to face Renova of Macedonia or Gomel of Belarus. Terrell Suggs Elite Jersey . -- The best in golf returned to Indiana for the first time in more than 20 years, and based on the All-Star performance that broke out Saturday in the BMW Championship, this show might leave these golf-hungry fans even more mesmerized. Justin Tucker Womens Jersey . 1 Roger Federer has withdrawn from the Rogers Cup in Toronto. PITTSBURGH -- Unlike his electric preseason debut, Andrew Lucks first pass against the Pittsburgh Steelers didnt result in a touchdown. His eighth one did. Just not for the Indianapolis Colts. Standing on the sideline moments after Pittsburghs Ike Taylor cut in front of an underthrown pass and raced 50 yards for a score, Luck fumed. But only for a second. Showing the mental toughness the Colts wanted when they tasked him with helping rebuild a franchise on the fly, the rookie rebounded to help Indianapolis take the halftime lead before falling 26-24 on Sunday night. Pittsburgh rookie kicker Danny Hrapmann kicked four second-half field goals, including the 22-yard winner with 23 seconds remaining. By then the top overall pick was in a baseball cap after completing 16 of 25 passes for 175 yards. He added a 1-yard touchdown run and the Colts (1-1) held their own against a perennial Super Bowl contender. "You never want to throw any interceptions, even if they are tipped, bobbled, whatever," Luck said. "Ive got to cut down on those, but I think showing we can bounce back from those mistakes and kind of climb out of that hole was a good sign." Luck certainly won over the Steelers (1-1), who let Luck lead the Colts on three second-quarter scoring drives to turn a 14-0 deficit into a 17-14 lead. "Hes a tough kid," Pittsburgh defensive end Brett Keisel said. "Hes a good quarterback. I think hes going to play a long time. (Colts offensive co-ordinator) Bruce (Arians) is, Im sure, a happy man." Even if Luck wasnt particularly thrilled after Taylor sprinted into the end zone to put the Steelers up two touchdowns. Luck didnt expect things to go as easily against the Steelers (No. 7 in the AP Pro32) as they did in a romp over St. Louis last week. He didnt expect to throw a pair of interceptions either. "I knew after last week everything wasnt going to be smooth-sailing, you know?" Luck said. "But I think you can learn a lot from mistakes and hopefully not repeating mistakes." He didnt during a sublime quarter in which he refused to get rattled against the defence that finished No. 1 in the league last fall. Using his mobility to step away from pressure and his vision to find open receivers, Luck didnt look like a guy who wont start his first NFL regular- season game for another three weeks. "(Luck) was able to come back and put it behind him just like he always has," Indianapolis coach Chuck Pagano said. "We saw the same thing in college. Hes able to bring his team back from behind so it was nothing surprising to us to see him come back and put those kind of drives together." The Steelers arent undergoing the kind of drastic makeover the Colts (No. 32) are enduring. Still, they have issues of their own, namely getting used to new offensive co-ordinator Todd Haleys complex scheme. The results so far are mixed. Ben Roethlisberger completed 7 of 8 passses during his one drive of work in the opener against Philadelphia last week, all of them quick hitters. Lardarius Webb Jersey. His first pass Sunday night ended up in the hands of Indianapolis Antoine Bethea. Antonio Brown and Roethlisberger atoned the next time the Steelers had the ball, with Brown doing most of the work. He hauled in an 18-yard pass from Roethlisberger on third-and-11 to extend the drive then put together a highlight-reel 57 yard catch-and-run for a touchdown. The play was all Brown. He took a screen pass from Roethlisberger, cut to the middle and used some great downfield blocking by running back Baron Batch to get to the end zone. Brown -- who has become Roethlisbergers favourite target with Mike Wallace in the midst of a holdout -- added some style points by doing a flip as he crossed the goal line. "Itd give it an 8.5," Brown said about the somersault. "I didnt stick the landing." And the Steelers didnt stick with it. The play accounted for more than half of the 112 yards of offence Pittsburgh generated when Roethlisberger was in the huddle. Roethlisberger completed 5 of 9 passes for 81 yards and the touchdown to Brown. "Were making a little bit of progress," Roethlisberger said. "I still think were leaving a lot out there. Were not playing as good as we could or should, but were making progress." So are the Colts. On the verge of getting blown out, the Colts responded behind their new leader. Luck led a 10-play, 80-yard drive after Taylors pick and Donald Brown got Indianapolis on the board with a 1-yard plunge. Luck had it going on Indianapolis next possession before being undone by a little bad, well, luck. He found rookie wide receiver T.Y. Hilton in stride down the middle only to have the wide-open Hilton throw the ball up in the air. Pittsburghs Cortez Allen ran underneath it to thwart the drive, but it hardly slowed the Colts. Indianapolis tied it at 14 when Luck deftly slid into the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the 1, ending a drive in which Luck completed all five of his passes. Luck got one more chance just before the half, and he made it count. Working exclusively out of the shotgun, Luck led the Colts 31 yards in five plays, giving Adam Vinatieri just enough time -- and room -- to sneak a kick between the uprights at the halftime gun. NOTES: Colts DE Robert Mathis left the game in the first quarter with a shoulder strain and did not return. Indianapolis WR Austin Collie underwent a concussion test after taking a blow to the head from Pittsburgh linebacker Larry Foote. ... The Steelers travel to Buffalo on Saturday night while the Colts visit Washington. ... Harrison, Hampton, running backs Isaac Redman and Rashard Mendenhall and linebacker Jason Worilds did not dress for the Steelers. ... Indianapolis backup QB Drew Stanton completed 4 of 13 passes for 69 yards and a touchdown. ' ' '

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