nse sporting rivalries The atmospheres are amazing and when you run out for the game, its a feeling that you cant get anywhere else in your life.You train pretty intensely

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- When Luke Kuechly was carted off the field with a concussion, the tears streaming down his face as he left, it appeared the Carolina Panthers might be ready for another collapse.Their defensive leader was gone and another big fourth-quarter lead was crumbling.Instead, the Panthers did just enough to hold on and beat the New Orleans Saints 23-20 on Thursday night in a game marred by injuries to key players.When Kuechly went down the lead was at 10, and players gathered around him as he was put on a cart near midfield. Carolina would give up another score, but hold on for itsr third win in four games.We rally behind that guy, defensive end Charles Johnson said about Kuechly. Hes our leader. When you see a leader go down like that, we just rally behind him. Im keeping Luke in my prayers.The Panthers, who surrendered a 17-point lead and lost to the Kansas City Chiefs last week, entered the fourth quarter with a 23-3 lead before injuries began to take their toll. Along with Kuechly, the Panthers lost two-time All-Pro center Ryan Kalil (shoulder), top pass rusher Mario Addison (foot) and cornerback Leonard Johnson (chest) to injuries. The Saints lost running back Mark Ingram to a head injury in the third quarter.It was the Grim Reaper walking around out there, Panthers quarterback Cam Newton said.Saints quarterback Drew Brees seemed to seize the momentum.Brees, who had been held to 171 yards and no touchdowns in the first three quarters, rallied the Saints back to 23-20 with touchdown passes to Brandon Coleman and Coby Fleener.But an 18-yard reception by Kelvin Benjamin on a third-and-10 with 2:39 left in the game proved pivotal, taking enough time off the clock where Brees only had 14 seconds to work with on his final drive. He couldnt manage to get his team into field goal range.Newton finished 14 of 33 for 192 yards, including a 40-yard touchdown pass to Ted Ginn Jr. as the Panthers (4-6) pulled even with the Saints for third place in the NFC South.Our mantra is to Keep Pounding and it speaks volumes in situations like this, Newton said. I will take an ugly win over a pretty loss.Jonathan Stewart also ran for a touchdown and Graham Gano had three field goals.Carolinas next two games are on the West Coast -- at Oakland and Seattle.Hopefully, the time off will give us enough time to heal up for this long road trip, safety Kurt Coleman said. And also you wonder if it wasnt a Thursday game and it was a Sunday game, would there be these type of injuries? You never know. ... Im just going to pray for everybody. Not only our team but their team.BETTER DEFENSEBrees finished with 285 yards passing.That was a dramatic difference from the last time the two teams met on Oct. 16 when Brees threw for 465 yards and four touchdowns in a 41-38 win over the Panthers.They did exactly what we hoped and that was keep the ball it in front of them, Rivera said of his young secondary. You cant ask for the guys to do a better job.KICKING WOESSaints coach Sean Payton was upset after the game about the teams continuing struggles on special teams, including a blocked field goal that was returned 73 yards by Kuechly before the half to set up Ginns touchdown catch.Last week the Saints lost to Denver when a potential game-tying extra point was blocked and returned for a 2-point defensive conversion.Fundamentally weve got to be able to kick an extra point. ... Weve got to be able to, you know, kick a field goal thats a makeable one, Payton said. Weve just struggled in that area. It cost us at New York, it cost us last weekend (against) Denver and it cost us again tonight. And weve got to be smart enough in the game early to understand that the turnovers arent good.LOSE SOME, WIN SOMEMaybe Ginn is just too fast for officials.In the first quarter Ginn appeared to score on a 14-yard run, but officials reviewed the play and ruled his knee was down at the 1-yard line taking away a touchdown. Then, in the closing seconds of the second quarter, officials ruled Ginn was out of bounds on a pass from Cam Newton. But after instant replay officials overturned the ruling and gave Ginn a 40-yard touchdown catch.UNDER PRESSURENewton was under heavy pressure for most of the first half, taking a sack on third down that took his team out of field goal range -- the second time he has done that in as many weeks.A COOL BREESBrees eclipsed 3,000 yards passing for the 13th consecutive season, tying Peyton Manning for the second-longest streak in NFL history.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Cheap Air Jordan 1 China .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Balenciaga Shoes Discount . Catch all the action on TSN2 at 11pm et/8pm pt. The nine-time Big 12 champion Jayhawks are positioning themselves for another title, as they have run out to a flawless 6-0 mark in conference play thus far. http://www.brandshoescheaponline.com/wholesale-balenciaga-shoes-china.html . Robinson finished with 17 points, all but two in the second half, and Lawson had 14 after halftime and finished with a game-high 11 assists as the Nuggets handed Dallas its first home loss in eight games this season. J.J. Hickson led Denver with 22, and Kenneth Faried added 10 points and 10 rebounds. Cheap Fake Air Max 90 . -- There were a lot of firsts for the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night. Yeezy Store China Website .C. -- After a listless first half, the Washington Wizards used a big third quarter run to beat the Charlotte Bobcats Bradley Beal scored 21 points and the Wizards used a 17-0 run in the third quarter to take control of what had been a close game and beat the Bobcats 97-83 on Tuesday night.Kurt Gidley says the State of Origin games are the toughest that any player can be involved in. Gidley, who has quickly settled in at Warrington Wolves, is well placed to discuss the State of Origin series, having made 12 appearances for New South Wales, including captaining the region. With the opening match of the 2016 series on the horizon, the 33-year-old was open about just how gruelling taking part in one of Australias most intense sporting rivalries is. Id describe it as the pinnacle in Rugby League, he told Sky Sports. Theyre the toughest games that any player can be involved in, as far as physical and mental toughness goes. Gidley fending off close Queensland attention in State of Origin action Ive represented my country and theyre really tough and physical games as well, but I think that the Origin games that Ive played in have been the most physical and toughest that Ive ever played in.Theres so much at stake, its the highest-rated programme on Australian television every year and people who dont watch rugby league throughout the year watch State of Origin because it is such a big occasion. Aidan Guerra celebrates scoring Queenslands eighth try in State of Origin III last year Sydneys ANZ Stadium will host the opening Test and Gidleys New South Wales will know the importance of starting positively.The 2015 series ended in despair for the Blues as Queensland inflicted a brutal 52-6 hammering of their rivals. However, Gidley doesnt believe that will impact on Wednesdays opener.As a player, theres nothing that you can do the change the past, he said. For me, Im always looking towards my next game, whether Ive lost, drawn or won my previous game.So its almost 12 months between the last game of Origin 2015 and this one, its irrelevant what happened last year now. Gidleys Knights career in the NRL spannedd over 15 years With the State of Origin stage being so large and the scrutiny that comes with that, the 33-year-old commented how it takes some time to learn how to handle the external pressures.dddddddddddd#160;Queenslands media and New South Wales media are both driving different agendas and trying to find different stories on opposing teams, players and coaches so its a crazy time, explained Gidley.As a young guy, it takes a bit of time to learn just to focus on training and your job in the game, because you dont want to play the game in your head before you do play it. So, that comes with a bit of experience.Once game day arrives and the build-up has come to an end, Gidley knows that every member taking to the field during the 2016 series, and in the years to come, will experience something extremely special and something that theyll never forget.The atmosphere is the biggest thing that most players remember, he said. Whether its in Queensland with 90 per cent of the crowd booing you, or whether youre in New South Wales and there are close to 90,000 people supporting you. State of Origin is one of Australias most intense sporting rivalries The atmospheres are amazing and when you run out for the game, its a feeling that you cant get anywhere else in your life.You train pretty intensely for 10 days in the lead up to it, and every day that you get closer to the game you get more excited. By the time that you run out of the tunnel and you hear the crowd, it is a pretty unrealistic feeling to describe unless youve experienced it.For the Australian, his focus is firmly on Warringtons trip to St Helens on Friday night, as the Wolves have the opportunity to build upon their nine-try victory over Leeds.But, like most, hell have one eye on the 2016 State of Origin opener to see if New South Wales can turn around a difficult 2015 finale and start the 2016 series on a winning note.St Helens v Warrington is live on Sky Sports 3 HD from 7.30pm on Friday night. Also See: State Of Origin 2016 Preview Saints v Wolves: Key battles Rugby League Set of Six Top Super League tries ' ' '