ssage: Youre nothin! I speak too soon. Thwap-

Of all the head-scratching calls in Week 9, the biggest might have been the one answered by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell before the weekends games began.Cam Newton complained loudly after no flag was thrown when Calais Campbell crashed into him below the knees in Week 8. Dean Blandino, the NFLs senior vice president of officiating, agreed Arizonas pass rusher should have been flagged for roughing the passer.Newton again took his share of big hits Sunday in Carolinas 13-10 win over the Rams after his complaints about the leagues commitment to player safety dominated headlines last week.Not worried about that, Newton said when asked if the officials had done a good job keeping quarterbacks safe. Just trying to find ways to win football games.It wont be that easy to dismiss the events of last week, however. This end-around isnt necessarily over.Newton said he didnt feel protected in the pocket. He said he wasnt seeking special treatment, just equal treatment. And he vowed to take his case directly to the commissioner, which he did last Tuesday when he spoke with Goodell by phone.Cam should not have to be the one saying this, NBC analyst Tony Dungy suggested. You go on public record like this, and it puts thoughts in defenders minds that you are a little gun shy. His head coach, his owner, and everybody in the organization should be saying this. He should not have to say this.While Newton has a point that defenders are often getting away with illegal hits on him, what he did in talking to Goodell was an end-around that could have unintended consequences.What happens when a player whos not a superstar or reigning MVP wants to skip the usual protocol and take his grievance directly to the commissioner? Will Goodell take his call, too? If not, Newtons getting the preferential treatment he swore he wasnt after.FLAG FOOTBALL: Week 9 also provided us with a player who did an imitation of an official and quickly paid a steep price. Tight end Travis Kelce gave new meaning to throwing in the towel , and his protest of a non-call escalated into the worst decision of the weekend.Kelce was furious when the officials didnt penalize Prince Amukamara for pass interference after the Jaguars cornerback hooked him in the end zone in the fourth quarter of Kansas Citys 19-14 victory.Kelce took his towel and chucked it toward one of the officials as if it were a penalty flag. Kelce was ejected for his display, then petulantly high-fived fans as he was escorted to the locker room.As soon as the ref took off his hat (to throw), I knew I was out. Felt like an idiot, Kelce said. It was a terrible decision ... I cant throw my flag at the ref. He can throw his all day long.SHOWDOWN MELTDOWN: There were several curious calls by the Broncos in their showdown at Oakland that resulted in them tumbling to third place in the AFC West with a 30-20 loss to the Raiders:-After insisting anew the need to establish the run, the Broncos opened the game with three pass plays, all incomplete. Trevor Siemian misfired on his first six throws and Denver went three-and-out on its first four drives, never establishing the run and getting outgained 218 yards to 33 on the ground.-Broncos coach Gary Kubiak didnt challenge a ruling that a punt was downed at the 2 even though Taiwan Jones stepped on the goal line and didnt re-establish himself with both feet on the field of play before punching the ball.-And on a crucial third-and-8 blitz with 3:37 left, Denver cornerback Bradley Roby gave Amari Cooper more than a 10-yard cushion. It was, to borrow a phrase from baseball, defensive indifference, and Coopers first-down catch pretty much sealed it.PREVENT (THE WIN) DEFENSE: The Vikings had to feel good when they went ahead of Detroit 16-13 with 23 seconds left and the Lions had burned all their timeouts. But on second down from the Detroit 33 with 17 seconds remaining, the Vikings rushed two men and Matt Stafford found Andre Roberts at the Minnesota 40-yard line for a 27-yard gain. That set up Matt Praters tying 58-yard field goal and led to Golden Tates TD in overtime for the Lions.---AP Sports Writers Dave Skretta and Steve Reed contributed.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton Jack Lambert Womens Jersey .500 on the season. The Jets are now 0-5-1 in the second game of back-to-backs. The game started the same way the Vancouver game started the night before, with the Jets taking the first two penalties of the game and killing off the first, but the Oilers getting on the board first, scoring on the second man-advantage. Kevin Greene Steelers Jersey . DAmigo scored twice in regulation and added the shootout winner as the Toronto Marlies edged the San Antonio Rampage 5-4 in American Hockey League action. http://www.steelerspronfl.com/Youth-Kevin-Greene-Elite-Jersey/ . Aaron Harrison scored a 22 points for Kentucky (6-1), which has won four in a row following a Nov. 12 loss to current No. 1 Michigan State. Julius Randle overcame a scoreless first half and added his sixth double-double in as many games with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Rocky Bleier Youth Jersey .com) - The Calgary Flames aim to bounce back from their first regulation home loss of the campaign on Friday night when they host a Detroit Red Wings club that they swept in three meetings a season ago. Mel Blount Steelers Jersey . -- Jaye Marie Green shot a 4-under 68 on Thursday to increase her lead to five strokes after the second round of the LPGA Tours qualifying tournament. This story appears in ESPN The Magazines November 14 Playing Through Pain Issue. Subscribe today!Jordan Clarksons brow furrows. Lets get after it, he says. You hear me? Yup, its over, DAngelo Russell replies, his eyes narrowing. Im gonna light his ass up. The it theyre getting after? Uh, thats me.Its a balmy evening at a paintball course in Bellflower, California, and the heirs of a Lakers backcourt relinquished by Kobe Bryant are armed to the teeth and feeling good. Theyve fine-tuned their craft over the past 12 months in regular games with teammates at Hollywood Sports Park, this world-class paintball facility 18 miles south of Staples Center. Its like a team-building exercise with high-velocity projectiles. And theyre about to inflict their team-building all over me.I owe all of this to former Laker Roy Hibbert, who introduced paintball outings to the team when he signed with LA in the summer of 2015. Now its Russell and Clarkson, 20 and 24, respectively, who serve as torchbearers of the teams top pastime, which they believe will play a role in building chemistry on a remodeled roster of recent draft picks and league transients, among them free agent signees Luol Deng and Timofey Mozgov.It gets us talking, trying to get to the same goal of beating the other team, so it all transfers over, Clarkson says. But mostly its us bonding, something where we can get away from the basketball stuff and have fun.FUN HAS BEEN at a premium for the once-mighty Lakers, now division doormats coming off a franchise-worst 17-65 season. Further jangling their nerves last season: former head coach Byron Scotts tough-love brand of tutelage, which often led to pine time for a young core that included 2014 lottery pick Julius Randle.But its a new dawn in LA, and with it comes hope in the form of two offseason acquisitions: No. 2 pick Brandon Ingram, the gifted Duke swingman whom Kevin Durant has likened to himself, and new head coach Luke Walton. The former Lakers forward and Warriors assistant returns to LA toting a modern offense predicated on pace of play and ball movement-not to mention a reputation as something of a millennial whisperer.Coachs style of play is run-and-gun and try to make the right play, Russell says. He wants us to learn from each other, play off each other, and hes always encouraging us in practice, whether its to shoot the ball or to get a stop so we can have fun on the other end. Hearing that from your coach is the best feeling in the world.Perhaps Waltons most pressing task will be to develop floor leader Russell, the No. 2 pick in the 2015 draft, who has shown flashes of stardom (see his eight-game run of 18.3 points and 4.8 assists per game after the All-Star break) as well as questionable maturity (see his entanglement in teammate Nick Youngs infidelity saga). Only a teenager last season, Russell appears to be a new man after strong performances in both summer league and preseason action, and his passing, penetration and shot from both outside and the midrange give the Lakers hope that they might have found their point guard of the future.Meanwhile, a new team philosophy-and a Kobe-sized hole in the game plan-has Clarkson, at least, envisioning a Warriors South in LA.dddddddddddd Were all about playing together now, he says. Its not about one guy anymore. Its about sacrificing for the team. Adds Russell, Kobe deserved every bit of attention he got in his last year, but theres freedom in Kobe not being around. Theres also a leadership vacuum that they plan to fill as a unit. Theres no one leader, no face of the Lakers, Russell says, citing the Spurs as the template. When we traveled to San Antonio last season, I noticed that its about everybody-they had all those household names, but the 15th guy got the same amount of attention as Tim Duncan, whos a legend. I feel like were all buying into that concept. Were a team now. And thats exciting.Interestingly enough, the Spurs had a favorite pastime of their own during their title run. That pastime? Paintball.WE ARRIVE AT Cajun Terror, one of the facilitys 11 courses, a dystopian hellscape of graves and Creole cottages. The contest: a free-for-all elimination game. The wager: First man out takes two shots to the backside with water-soluble missiles that travel at the alarming rate of 175 mph.Anything else I should know? Usually, you say All right, Im out once you get hit, Russell says. That doesnt exist. Come again? We dont play no outs, Clarkson explains. So youll have to run out the park.Before I can file for a rule change, the players scatter. Wait, dont shoot! I yelp. Too late. Russell, in full backpedal, drills me. I hit you in the head! Russell bellows. He did, and it hurt. But I insist it doesnt count, and Russell relents.Game on-for real this time-and I waddle through the course like a short, fat, terrified duck, scanning the field for my opponents as yellow paint drips from my aching head. I was expecting a high-volume offensive. What Im facing instead is a disciplined game plan that is maddening to counter. Whats worse, I can hear their chatter.D-Lo, Im trailing! D-Lo! Finish him! Russell barks back, in a tip of the cap to either Mortal Kombats fatalities or Cobra Kais John Kreese. In either case? Super unnerving.Spotting Clarkson 20 yards away standing in plain sight, I gather my breath and aim over a headstone. Pop-pop. I miss, but Im feeling good enough to send a message: Youre nothin! I speak too soon. Thwap-thwap-thwap ...Pellets to the posterior! The scene was a setup, an ambush, Clarkson revealing himself only to draw me out as his fleet-footed friend sneaked around behind. Thwap-thwap-thwap ... and still they come like a hailstorm of thumbtacks across my back and neck.Im out, Im out! I shout repeatedly, though its possible that Russell cant hear me over his laughter. Plan B: scream like a baby and literally beg for a cease-fire. No more, no more!Reminder: The Lakers dont do cease-fires.New plan: run like hell. And so I do, dropping my gun and fleeing toward shelter. Clarkson shouts from ahead: Run him out this way! Engulfed in hellfire, I reverse course, sprinting through an exit door toward the parking lot. Game over.As Russell will tell me afterward while I lick my wounds, Thats our chemistry right there. ' ' '