Wir suchen Dich! » place finish last year but was just short o

ALLEN PARK, Mich. -- Until the final half-minute of their season opener, the Detroit Lions seemed to be following last years script. Theyd let a sizeable lead slip away and were on the verge of a tough loss on the road.Matthew Staffords final drive changed the outlook entirely.Detroit came away with a 39-35 win at Indianapolis on Sunday, so instead of bemoaning a defensive collapse that let the Colts back in the game, the Lions can rejoice over a close win. In their first game since Calvin Johnsons retirement, they had 28 first downs and 448 yards of offense.We have an abundance of mistakes to correct, but building upon a platform after youve won a game is a bit easier, coach Jim Caldwell said Monday. I do think that our guys did a lot of things right. There were a lot of things they did extremely well.The Lions will have a chance to build on their win when they play their home opener Sunday against a Tennessee team that won only three games a season ago and lost to Minnesota on Sunday.In last seasons opener, Detroit blew a 21-3 lead and lost 33-28 at San Diego. The Lions went on to lose seven of their first eight games.They were up 21-3 on Sunday as well, but the Colts rallied and took a 35-34 lead with 37 seconds to play. Then Stafford directed a quick 50-yard drive to set up Matt Praters 43-yard field goal . A safety on the ensuing kickoff pushed Detroits final margin to four.Stafford faced plenty of questions about his consistency even when he had Johnson to throw to. So with Megatron no longer in the picture, Detroits quarterback has a lot to prove this season. Lions fans have to be encouraged by the opener, when he went 31 of 39 for 340 yards and three touchdowns.Golden Tate had seven catches, newly acquired receiver Marvin Jones had four, and tight end Eric Ebron caught a touchdown pass near the end of the first half.Stafford was sacked only once, and Detroits offensive line looked like an improved group.I felt like for the most part, (the offensive line) played just as a unit, more than we had been, guard Larry Warford said. Not much freelancing by too many people. There were instances where people were off doing their own thing sometimes, myself included, but I feel that we did play just as a unit better.The running game, a source of disillusionment in Detroit recently, looked sharp. Ameer Abdullah and Theo Riddick combined for 108 yards on 19 carries. Riddick ran for a 21-yard touchdown to open the scoring, and added a 13-yard TD reception in the fourth quarter. Abdullah caught an 11-yard touchdown pass in the third.For what we were asking them to do, they did a nice job, Caldwell said. You want to be about four yards a carry, overall. I think we were just a hair higher than that. Pretty good for us at this point.Detroit won six of its final eight games last season. Lions fans were hopeful that the midseason promotion of Jim Bob Cooter to offensive coordinator was a big reason, but there always seems to be a healthy amount of skepticism toward this franchise, so the 39-point showing right off the bat was a significant step.I dont care what anybody says about anything, in this league its difficult to win a game anywhere, home or away, Caldwell said. Our guys were able to hang in there in a very tough contest and finish it off.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Custom Islanders Jersey China . White came in fourth place in the event. He was the two-time defending gold medallist. The gold medal went to Swiss snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov. Custom Denis Potvin Jersey . After taking two big hits this week -- losing at home and dropping back-to-back games for the first time all season -- Indiana struck back by playing its most complete game of the year. http://www.customislandersjersey.com/ . Louis Cardinals. Victorino is batting sixth and playing right field after missing two games because of back tightness. Islanders Jerseys China . A forerunning sled crashed into the worker Thursday at the Sanki Sliding Center. The unidentified worker broke both legs and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. Custom Islanders Jerseys .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. For Super Smash Bros. Melee players, the word offseason is a bit of a misnomer. The once seemingly brief Summer of Smash didnt end this year after Juan Hungrybox DeBiedma collected his Evolution Championship Series trophy at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. Recent events like Clutch City Clash, Super Smash Con and Shine gave players who felt like they didnt live up to their potential in June and July more opportunities to showcase their talents. Some even congregated at Dairly Beloved, an event that featured not just a Zachary SFAT Cordoni victory, but also a wedding.While players have a longer and longer list of events they can choose to attend, there is no question that certain events are currently venerated for various reasons; however, they rarely start that way. Five years ago, it seemed like the Midwest was a barren spot for Melee players, but an event in the shadow of Michigan Stadium did more than attract top players from outside the region to Ann Arbor. The Big House showed the world that the Midwest had talent -- they just needed the right opportunity.When I started ... it was a dark time for Michigan Melee, James Duck Ma explained. This was during 2009 when Brawl was taking over everything and most of the Michigan Melee players had quit or switched over. It took a pretty long time for us to get more than 20 to 30 entrants.The Melee scene hadnt had a major event held in the region since FC Diamond in 2007. The following four years would see a dearth of high-level competition in the heartland. Players would have to travel east for the Pound or Revival of Melee series or west for Genesis to get a taste of what other regions had to offer and witness the rise of some of the most esteemed players today.Things would change Oct. 22, 2011.When The Big House rolled around, our whole region was extremely excited, simply because we never got to see how our good players would do against some top out-of-region talent, Abhishek Prince Abu Prabhu said. People traveled much less back then, and there were far less big tournaments, so it was really cool to see SFAT, [Johnny S2J Kim] and [Oscar Lovage Nilsson] come to the Midwest.Lovage would eventually defeat S2J to take that initial event. Despite the fact that the last remaining players were California natives, the newfound interest in Michigan would innervate the entire region, helping a new generation of players rise to the occasion with each passing year.I first started playing in Michigan in summer 2012, Kalindi KJH Henderson recounted. My first Big House was The Big House 2; this was also my first national ever. Despite not making it out of Round 1 pools, I did beat [Weston Westballz Dennis], who was like a hero to me at the time, so that was cool. I was still unfamiliar with the community at the time and didnt know anyone really, so after Day 1, I just went home and watched the rest on stream, which was a big mistake.The Big House 3 was different; I felt like I had improved a ton, made more friends and was ready to compete. I played Hungrybox, [Aziz Hax Al-Yami], [Kevin PewPewU Toy] and finally had made it to the last day. The Big House 4 was huge, [Joseph Mango Marquez], [Jason Mew2King Zimmerman], Hungrybox were in attendance, and it was so cool to see [Adam Armada Lindgren] and [William Leffen Hjelte] playing in Michigan.Last year, some would say the event was overshadowed by Leffens absence and what it might portend; this year, the Michigan scene wants to become the star of the show. The players want to show that they, and the Midwest as a whole, have grown and evolved as a region and cant be overlooked any longer.It is the only major tournament where the whole crowd goes wild for Midwest players, and playing in front of a home crowd like that is a huge motivation boost, Prabhu continued. Ill never forget how crazy the crowd went at The Big House 4, where [Kyle Kalamazhu Zhu] beat [Joe Lucky Aldama], [David Kirbykaze MacDonald], [McCain MacD LaVelle], and almost beat Hax to finish at ninth, and [Kelly Kels Smith] made an insane losers run to place fifth. Or last year, where Duck beat [James Swedish Delight Liu] to place ninth, and [Stephen Abate Abate] beat S2J and [Jeffrey Axe Williamson] to make top eight. That kind of atmosphere is something that makes Big House really special as a Midwest player, and I have no doubt that The Big House 6 is going to be equally hype, especially if one of the top Midwest players breaks into top eight.The series is known for its no-nonsense attitude, as organizer Robin Juggleguy Harn is noted for being especially stringent with how the event is run. When talent in the region wasnt a draww, the efficiency of the event had people planning their trips to Ann Arbor months ahead of time.dddddddddddd. Out of his own pocket, Juggleguy helped bring S2J and Lovage to the event and made one of the best investments for the Midwest as a whole.Its probably the only tournament series where you can guarantee everything will run smoothly and on time, Ma added. Juggleguy has instilled the fear in everyone, shown that he doesnt tolerate lateness, and hes willing to disqualify anyone. Beyond that, the tournament boasts 63 of the top 100 players this year, in addition to legends like Lovage, [Tony Taj Jackson] and [Charles Fuzzyness Kimmelman]. People are willing to go out to a tournament they know is going to be amazing.Discipline is a must for potential entrants, as you cant prove how good you are if you are disqualified for breaking tournament rules. That philosophy has spread beyond tenets of event organization and into how the region is managing its own growth and shaping its future.I play friendlies at locals nonstop now, and play with Duck maybe once or twice a week, Henderson remarked. A key for me to close the gap is to use my time wisely, meaning if I cant play as much, then I should study my sets more, theorycraft with other players and overall just think about the game more in my spare time.Free time to play is extremely limited, but I have been making efforts to play a little every day to keep my execution and movement smooth, Prabhu expounded. More importantly, I theorycraft with Duck, KJH, and Kalamazhu, as well as regularly think about the game and analyze my play as well as Hungryboxs. When I study myself, I try to look for and fix specific scenarios I regularly get outplayed in, or spots where I could optimize my punish more. When I study Hungrybox, I really try to look at his neutral game in every matchup and figure out what makes it so much tighter and better than mine. I look for positioning, SDI and little tricks he uses to trap his opponent in positions where he can open them up and kill them.Moving forward, I need to continue to improve my neutral and my knowledge of every single matchup, and in addition, I think I need to start learning how to better play the player as opposed to just the matchup ... I need to learn how to take advantage of specific player habits -- habits that separate [DaJuan Shroomed McDaniel] from Swedish Delight or Lucky from [Aaron Professor Pro Thomas] from [Mustafa Ice Akcakaya] and so on. Every player plays differently, and theres no magical formula to beat every option for most matchups involving two good characters. Mastering the art of adapting and countering specific strategies and habits is a huge skill I need to work on. Although this level of preparation is generally needed for top players, the stakes are higher when some are looking to you to carry a region on your back.The Big House 6 is the second or third most important event to me, Prabhu explained. Overall, Id say making top eight at Evo would mean more to me, and making top eight at Genesis would mean slightly more to me. Because of the size and stacked nature of The Big House 6, as well as the home-field factor, it is extremely important to me, and I cant wait to go out and compete.The Big House has definitely been a roller coaster for me, Ma confessed. The first one [was] where people from the coasts learned who I was, so it holds a special place for me. My placements actually dropped almost every year as the competition got harder and harder. I was finally able to make it to a ninth place finish last year but was just short of top eight. My goal this year is definitely to make that top-eight spot and represent the Midwest. Making top eight would be the culmination of all the hard work Ive put in since last year. It would be my first top eight on American soil, and it would mean a chance for the Midwest to play in another top eight at a national. Doing it at The Big House 6 on home soil would just be icing on the cake.There has been no offseason for Melee in Michigan. Every second theyre not working to improve is a second that someone else is working to catch up to them; every minute they take off lets those that are ahead of them push further. The region has come so far in the last decade. Last year showed that they were on the cusp of brilliance, and this year they intend to show that they have broken through. There will be plenty of other opportunities to do so as the tournament scene grows, but of course, theres no place like home. ' ' '