Lob & Kritik » goal, which gave the Broncos a 10-0 lead.Late in th

Forty. Its a good average but not a good score. An innings of 40 occupies that hinterland between success and failure, a liminal score, a score for the flaky talent or the not yet good enough. Forty is as likely to annoy the selectors as excite them. When he remembered the golden run that saw him average more than 100 for two full first-class seasons in 2006 and 2007, Mark Ramprakash said: If I gutsed out 40 or 50 on a difficult wicket, I thought, Yeah well done. But it also meant if conditions were in my favour, I was absolutely ruthless.A score of 40 does not represent ruthlessness in the mind of Ramprakash, or of any serious batsman. The reactions of the fielders if they dismissed a Lara or a Ponting or a Kallis for 40 said it all: it was a win, a bullet dodged, a cause for celebration. And take a look at the face of Brian or Ricky or Jacques - were they happy with 40? They were not. In a strange way, theyd rather get out early than fight through all of that and then chuck it away. Its like putting Led Zeppelin IV on the stereo and turning it off again before Stairway to Heaven.Most batsmen fail to make their average in two-thirds of their innings. This rule applied even to Don Bradman, the most ruthless of all, who was as vulnerable to early dismissal as everyone else (Jack Hobbs apparently had more chance, statistically, of reaching 10). But of his 80 Test match innings, Bradman made just four scores between 40 and 50. He passed fifty 42 times, and turned 29 of those into a hundred or more. Thirty-six per cent of his innings were centuries, and 25% were scores of fewer than 20. He was the ultimate converter of starts.The second innings of Englands defeat to Pakistan at Lords contained three scores in the 40s. They demonstrated how the light refracts differently depending how the runs were made, and by whom. James Vince scored 42, Gary Ballance 43, and Jonny Bairstow 48.They were very different knocks by players in very different places. Vince is four Tests and six innings into the apparent seven-game run that every new gun is afforded under Andrew Strauss. He cover-drives as though the ghosts of Dexter, Vaughan and Bell are at his back, the rifle-crack of the ball leaving his bat at stark odds with the languorous fluidity of his strokeplay. Of his 112 Test runs, 76 have come in boundaries. At Lords before lunch he seemed to ride the wave, the ball scudding across the green as a herald to his talent, and yet it was suddenly quelled by the kind of shot that so often extinguishes other batsmen touched by aesthetic beauty. Forty-two for him, and more murmuring. Ballance had bet the house on his unaltered technique, still crabbed and crease-bound. Stubbornness, though, is a quality prized by pros and selectors. His 43 was as ugly and hard-won as Vinces was apparently casually knocked off. Most of those 43 runs seemed to go through slip and left him white-faced with effort. It was a score that seemed somehow more virtuous for being difficult.Bairstows grim countenance had little to do with his immediate future in the England team. He was a man who knew he could do it when it mattered, and it mattered now. Yasir Shah had bowled pure kryptonite at him in the UAE, and then in the first innings, Bairstow had tried to cut one off middle stump, a shot full of doubt and fear. Now he played with a vertical bat and a clenched jaw, looking for all the world like a young redbeard King Hal.He and Chris Woakes, another player with the sun shining down on him at last, were deeply aware that they were the last, thin chance England had. Yasir tired, and Bairstow pulled a long hop for four to move within six of 50. Then came another, but this time with an extra zap from wrist or fingers, met by a waft that was neither punch nor pull, and he was done. The fiery demeanour gave way to shattered realisation.Three men, three innings, three forties, one defeat. Bairstow drew plaudits for his. Ballance, it was generally acknowledged, should get another game. For Vince, a stereotype was reinforced. Perhaps he can ask Bairstow about how he might reinvent himself if - and probably when - the axe comes.For all of them, and for all of their reasons, 40 was, as ever, far from enough. Dick Butkus Womens Jersey . -- An ugly goal by Nick Bonino helped the Anaheim Ducks overcome the defensive-minded Phoenix Coyotes on a night when their ragged power play continued to struggle. Tarik Cohen Jersey . Meanwhile, there were huge victories for Sunderland and West Ham over fellow relegation rivals, leaving the battle to avoid the drop up for grabs with the bottom 11 teams separated by just six points. Eden Hazard and Fernando Torres scored second-half goals to seal a fourth straight victory for Chelsea, which climbed above Arsenal and Manchester City in the standings ahead of their games on Monday and Sunday respectively. http://www.bearsfootballpro.com/Authentic_Anthony_Miller_Bears_Jersey/ . 8 Iowa State on Saturday, sending the Cyclones to their third consecutive loss. The Longhorns (14-4, 3-2) got their biggest win of the season with their third in the row in the Big 12. Dick Butkus Youth Jersey .C. - The Carolina Hurricanes have placed backup goalie Anton Khudobin on injured reserve with an unspecified lower-body injury. Chicago Bears Jerseys . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. NEW ORLEANS -- Denvers Justin Simmons used a perfectly timed leap over the offensive line to block an extra-point kick that would have given New Orleans a late lead, Will Parks ran it back 84 yards for a defensive 2-point conversion, and the Broncos pulled out a wild 25-23 victory over the Saints on Sunday.The decisive play came while the Superdome crowd was still celebrating Brandin Cooks twisting, 32-yard touchdown catch between two defenders. That put New Orleans in position to take the lead with 1:28 left. Simmons block of Wil Lutzs kick was scooped up by Parks, who nearly stepped out of bounds as he raced down the left sideline.It was the first such play to provide the winning points in an NFL game.The Broncos then recovered an onside kick and ran out the clock.Safety Darian Stewart intercepted Drew Brees twice and recovered a fumble for the Broncos (7-3), while Trevor Siemian overcame two interceptions by passing for touchdowns to Jordan Taylor and Demaryius Thomas. Siemian finished with 258 yards passing and completed other clutch throws as Denver converted 11 of 19 third downs.The Broncos league-leading pass defense got the best of its matchup with New Orleans top-rated passing offense, thanks in large part to turnovers -- three of which came on passes intended for Saints rookie sensation Michael Thomas. Thomas fumbled twice after catches, and one of Stewarts interceptions came on a pass Bradley Roby deflected out of Thomas grasp.Still, Brees managed to complete 21 of 29 passes for 303 yards and three touchdowns, with the first two scoring passes going to Willie Snead.Brees final TD pass capped a six-play, 755-yard drive that began with 2:50 left and no timeouts.dddddddddddd. It put the Saints (4-5), who won four of their previous five games, in position to climb above .500 for the first time this season following an 0-3 start. It was not to be.MOMENTUM SHIFT: The Broncos controlled the first 29 minutes. Stewart intercepted Brees twice -- joining the currently injured Aqib Talib as the only Broncos with multiple interceptions in one game. The second turnover set up Brandon McManus 50-yard field goal, which gave the Broncos a 10-0 lead.Late in the second quarter, Denver was across midfield and looking for one more score when Sterling Moore anticipated Siemians short throw toward the left flat and intercepted it. Brees marched New Orleans 50 yards in less than 29 seconds, setting up Lutzs short field goal to make it 10-3 at halftime. It was the beginning of 17 straight Saints points.AGGRESSIVE FRONT: The Saints defense entered the game with 11 sacks through their first eight games, or 1 1/2 more than Broncos outside linebacker Von Miller had by himself. But New Orleans created more pressure up front and sacked Siemian six times. Rookie defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, DT Nick Fairley, end Cameron Jordan, safety Kenny Vaccaro and linebackers Dannell Ellerbe and Craig Robertson all had sacks. Meanwhile, Denvers defense sacked Brees once to increase its season total to 29. Linebacker Shaq Barrett got the lone sack.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '