Sonstiges » 3. They only could face each other in the final

Dak Prescott is 11-2 as a starting quarterback. Hes thrown for 20 touchdowns with only four interceptions and his team has the best record in the NFC and is tied with the New England Patriots for the NFLs top mark.The season has gone better than anyones wildest expectations.So, should Prescott be looking over his shoulder?Such is life with the Dallas Cowboys.The Cowboys didnt invent quarterback controversies, but the argument could be that the franchise perfected the art of pitting signal-callers against each other in the press and among the fandom.To be fair, the Cowboys arent publicly talking about benching Prescott in favor of veteran and longtime starter Tony Romo. Such chatter also doesnt appear to be taking place behind the scenes.Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett reiterated as much going into Sunday nights game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Tex.You can make it as simple or as complex as you want to make it, Garrett told reporters at his weekly press conference. Its pretty simple for us: Daks going to play quarterback as we go forward.Prescott is coming off a series of subpar performances, at least by his standards, culminating in Sundays 10-7 loss at the New York Giants. Dallas offense has sputtered, and Prescott is finally playing like a rookie.The fourth-round pick from Mississippi State completed just 17 of 37 passes for 165 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions against the Giants. It was the first time this season hes thrown multiple picks in the same game.Prescott has failed to reach 200 yards passing in each of his last three games. The Cowboys have been successful on just 2 of 24 third-down conversions in the last two contests. Dallas has scored just 24 points in those two games.Still, Garrett appears to have no interest in turning to Romo.Were just focused on Dak playing quarterback for us, Garrett said. And well continue to do that in our preparation this week and as we go forward.Hes done a really good job for us up to this point, won 11 of 13 games that hes started, and hes handled really every situation as well as you can handle it, so well just continue that way. Tony will be in a backup role for us and hell be ready to go if hes called upon to play.Cowboys owner/general manager Jerry Jones has helped stoke the controversy fires with comments in recent weeks suggesting that Romo will play a significant role before the season ends.Jones admitted on his radio show this week that Romo getting into a game is a possibility due to injury or poor play by Prescott.I understand the question, but I dont want to get into the scenario, Jones said. It goes too far into talking about what we dont want to talk about. But given the need for (Romo), we want him ready on the spur of the moment.The Cowboys have a playoff spot secured and their magic number to clinch the No. 1 seed in the NFC is two with three games to play.The Buccaneers (8-5) are tied with Atlanta atop the NFC South and are riding a five-game winning streak.Tampa Bays longest unbeaten run since 2002 is turning heads, but the Bucs arent getting caught up in the hype.Thats for the media and you guys to say, defensive end Robert Ayers told reporters this week. All I know is that were 8-5 right now, were trying to get to 9-5. Were taking it one game at a time and were trying to keep hunting. We let you guys give labels and stuff like that, but I know were hungry.As head coach Dirk Koetter said, Were an 8-5 football team, but weve got bigger goals than that.In addition to the division race, the Buccaneers control their postseason destiny by sitting in the second wild-card slot in the NFC. The playoffs are in view.Its in my mind, but going 1-0 (each week) is very important to us as a team, quarterback Jameis Winston said. Were not really trying to look forward. (Offensive coordinator Todd Monken) says all the time, Be where your feet are. Weve got to keep winning. As long as we keep getting Ws, the playoffs are going to be in there.Defense has carried Tampa Bay during its streak. The Bucs have given up a league-low 12.8 points per game since Week 10. The six total touchdowns scored by opponents are tied for the fewest during that span.The offense has struggled some under Winston, scoring just six touchdowns in the last four games. The reasons for the sputtering attack are varied.Sometimes it might be the play call, it might be execution, it might be a penalty, a combination of all those things, Koetter said. I know how these guys can play on offense and I know when we get there.Dallas leads the series 13-4 against Tampa Bay, but the Bucs won 10-6 last season. Nike Shoes China . Following a lopsided 5-2 loss against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night, Paul MacLean told reporters that "theres a lack of focus, theres a lack of leadership and theres a lack of preparation" with his struggling team. That came on the heels of Bryan Murray taking the unusual step of going into the locker room at the Prudential Center and addressing the players himself. Nike Shoes Outlet China . Down by seven with 90 seconds left in regulation, thats where they looked comfortable. http://www.chinashoesnike.com/ . -- Stanfords Kevin Danser knelt on one knee and hardly moved on the sideline as Michigan State celebrated its Rose Bowl victory and his Cardinal teammates made their way to the locker room. Discount Nike Shoes China . Kiriasis and brakeman Franziska Fritz finished two runs in one minute 55.41 seconds -- a mere 0.01 seconds ahead of Meyers and Lolo Jones, who likely bolstered her Olympic hopes by helping give USA-1 a huge push in the second heat. Cheap Nike Shoes China Free Shipping . Jay Feely kicked a 41-yard field goal in overtime, and the Cardinals edged the Tennessee Titans 37-34 in overtime after blowing a 17-point lead late in the fourth quarter. LONDON -- Maria Sharapova took quite a shot at Serena Williams -- and it was nowhere near a tennis court. At her pre-Wimbledon news conference Saturday, Sharapova was asked about a recent Rolling Stone article where the author surmised that critical comments directed at an unnamed player by Williams were referring to Sharapova. "At the end of the day, we have a tremendous amount of respect for what we do on the court. I just think she should be talking about her accomplishments, her achievements, rather than everything else thats just getting attention and controversy," Sharapova said. "If she wants to talk about something personal, maybe she should talk about her relationship and her boyfriend that was married and is getting a divorce and has kids," Sharapova continued. "Talk about other things, but not draw attention to other things. She has so much in her life, many positives, and I think thats what it should be about." Williams has been linked to coach Patrick Mouratoglou, but neither has confirmed their relationship extends beyond the court. When Mouratoglou was asked about the topic at the French Open this month, he smiled and replied: "Sorry. I dont understand the question." According to the Rolling Stone story, posted online Tuesday, Williams spoke about what the reporter described as "a top-five player who is now in love." Williams is quoted as saying: "She begins every interview with Im so happy. Im so lucky -- its so boring. Shes still not going to be invited to the cool parties. And, hey, if she wants to be with the guy with a black heart, go for it." That is followed by these words in parentheses from the author of the piece, Stephen Rodrick: "An educated guess is shes talking about Sharapova, who is now dating Grigor Dimitrov, one of Serenas rumoured exes.dddddddddddd" Sharapova beat Williams in the 2004 Wimbledon final. But Williams has won their past 13 matches in a row, including in the French Open final two weeks ago. At Wimbledon, where play begins Monday, Williams is the defending champion and seeded No. 1. Sharapova is seeded No. 3. They only could face each other in the final. Williams is scheduled to hold a pre-tournament news conference at Wimbledon on Sunday. The Rolling Stone article, which was about 4,000 words, drew widespread attention mostly for a one-paragraph reference to the Steubenville rape case. Williams is quoted as saying the teenage victim "shouldnt have put herself in that position." Two players from the Steubenville, Ohio, high school football team were convicted in March of raping a drunken 16-year-old girl; one of the boys was ordered to serve an additional year for photographing the girl naked. The case gained widespread attention in part because of the callousness with which other students used social media to gossip about it. A day after the story was posted, Williams issued a statement in which she said she was "reaching out to the girls family to let her know that I am deeply sorry for what was written." Williams statement continued: "What was written -- what I supposedly said -- is insensitive and hurtful, and I by no means would say or insinuate that she was at all to blame." Said Sharapova on Saturday: "I was definitely sad to hear what she had to say about the whole case." ' ' '