Eagles: Titans beat Sea Eagles 28-14

Gold Coast Titans are up to fourth on the NRL ladder after overcoming the Manly Sea Eagles 28-14 at Skilled Park
The Gold Coast Titans have halted their three match losing run in the NRL with a 28-14 win over Manly at Skilled Park.
The Titans led 14-6 at halftime and 22-6 with 20 minutes remaining before Manly scored a controversial eight point try after Mark Minichello was penalised for his attempt to stop Manly scoring.
The Titans outscored Manly five tries and two.
Titans coach John Cartwright is relieved to have avoided a fourth straight loss, and describes the competition as unbelievably close, saying that all the players have to be at the top of their game to avoid a loss.
Cartwright says their defence was the difference. He says they switched on defensively and they had to because they made a number of errors.
Titans captain Scott Prince says it was crucial they stopped their slide. He says it has been a tough couple of weeks but hopefully now they have got their season back on track.

Eagles flying in for Donald

Five days after taking seven on the penultimate hole of the BMW PGA Championship and losing by one, Donald fired a seven-under-par 65 at Real Sociedad to end the day alongside Welsh pair Rhys Davies and Jamie Donaldson.

And, as if to hit back as well at all the headlines last week calling him "Plod" – his brother started that – the Ryder Cup player made two superb eagles.

"I can't remember the last time I had two in a round. I don't think I've had one on the PGA Tour all year," said Donald, who almost holed his 275-yard approach to the monster 653-yard ninth and then hit another rescue club 253 yards to seven feet on the 16th.

"I'm never going to overpower a course and some people think I am a short hitter, but I hit it far enough to compete.

"I would love to have that drive [at the 17th on Sunday] again, but I don't see the value in stewing over it.

"If I had planned a week off it might have been tougher, but you learn and you take the positives. You obviously gain confidence from being at the top of the leaderboard most of the week."

Nelson Band tributes to 'EAGLES'

A Nelson tribute band to the rock legends The Eagles is playing in Picton next Thursday, bringing to life classic hits like Hotel California, Tequila Sunrise, Long Run, and New Kid In Town.

The Eagles were formed in Los Angeles in 1971 by Glenn Frey, Don Henley, Bernie Leadon and Randy Meisner. Producing five No1 singles and six No1 albums, they were recognised as being among the most successful recording artists of the 1970s.

The Eagles broke up in 1980, then reunited in 1994 to release the album Hell Freezes Over, which features a mix of live and new studio tracks. The band has toured intermittently since then.

In 2007, The Eagles released Long Road out of Eden, the band's first full studio album in 28 years. Tours to promote it continued into 2009 and further concerts in North America are set for later this year.

Stephen A. Smith: Don't expect gold watch from Eagles

No matter how much things may change, leave it to the Eagles to remain the same. Produce, and they'll keep you. At least until you're 30 years old. Then a meeting with the press ensues, of course, followed by gratuitous praise for years of service. Right before Andy Reid gets back to the business of being competitive, while Joe Banner maintains salary-cap space - and both are assured that Donovan McNabb is still around to receive the brunt of the blame.
Don't you love it?
Brian Westbrook sure doesn't, and who can blame him? After eight years of relatively exemplary service, tainted by an injury-plagued 2009 season, the same running back who led the NFL in yards from scrimmage in 2007 is suddenly looking for a job. Mainly because he was due $7.25 million in a 2010 season that is expected to be uncapped.
Of course, Reid didn't hesitate to state the obvious when alluding to Westbrook's departure: "This is absolutely the worst part of the job. But if you're fortunate enough to stick around long enough, you're going to see these things happen."
Oh, I see. Westbrook, drafted 91st in 2002, who set Eagles records for touches (1,734) and yards from scrimmage (9,785), was clearly the team's best player for at least two, possibly three, seasons. But Reid was "fortunate enough" to see him lose his job? But Reid, Banner and all the others in charge who repeatedly fall short of Super Bowl glory year after every stinking year get to keep their paychecks coming, huh?
Where's Don "Only in America" King when you need him most?

Okocha advises Eagles, Concentrate on Nairobi battle

Eagles captain Former Super, Austin Jay Jay Okocha has reiterated the stance of the coach of the Black Mambas of Mozambique, Mart Nooij that they should think more of the encounter against Kenya than what Tunisia will play in Maputo.
Okocha who is a member of the Presidential Task Force set up by the Federal Government to help the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, salvage the slipping 2010 World Cup ticket said that what matters most to the Eagles was the Nairobi tie.
According to a report on cafoniline.com, Okocha told them to “Concentrate on your match before counting on any eventual defeat of Tunisia in Mozambique”, because even if Tunisia lose the Maputo tie, it makes no sense to the Eagles if they fall in Nairobi.
The Eagles are two points behind Tunisia who play in Maputo today at the same time that Nwankwo Kanu and his team mates battle it out with the Harambee Stars of Kenya.
“The team have to do everything to secure victory in Nairobi where our opponent would be battling to pick a ticket for the Orange Africa Cup of Nations. For the Super Eagles, there is no other option than victory”.
Okocha who was granted a linksman role for the players in the Task Force relates the Eagles present situation to the one of 2002 preparatory to the Korea/Japan World Cup.
Barely two days to the end of that year’s qualifier, Liberia and Sudan were topping their group with 12 points each, Nigeria was third with 10 points while Ghana that had six points was yet to say its final word. The Ghanaian side went and picked a victory in Monrovia while Nigeria won in Khartoum, “but we concentrated on our game in Khartoum,” he recalls.
“We had a difficult training in Kano for us to acclimatise against the harsh heat we were to meet there. We won by four goals to zero while Ghana did us a favour by winning in Monrovia. We did not bother about any other match other than ours”.

At Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas Cowboys Preview (Nov. 8)

Can it get much more exciting than this? It's Week 9, Sunday Night Football, and the Philadelphia Eagles are hosting their hated rivals, the Dallas Cowboys, for sole possession of first place in the NFC East.
Both teams are 5-2 and coming off blowout victories. Who has the edge? Let's take a look at some of the matchups.

When the Eagles have the ball
Eagles Pass Offense vs. Cowboys' Pass Defense
This is probably the most important matchup. When Eagles' quarterbacks have had time this year, they have been pretty close to unstoppable.
However, as we saw against the Oakland Raiders and Washington Redskins, the offensive line has had lapses, and this has caused the offense to become stagnant.
The player to watch for the Cowboys is outside linebacker Demarcus Ware. Along with Jared Allen and Julius Peppers, Ware is one of the most dangerous pass rushers in the NFL.
A freakish combination of size and speed, Ware has been a problem in the past and will need to be accounted for on every play.
The onus will be on the Eagles' prized offseason acquisition, left tackle Jason Peters, to get out and keep Ware out of the pocket.
On the occasions that Ware does get around, the interior line will need to provide McNabb with room to step up on the pocket.
Up front, the Cowboys are solid, led by Ware and Pro Bowl tackle Jay Ratliff and have been getting great pressure. The Eagles' offensive line is still jelling and will face their biggest test so far on Sunday.
In the secondary, the Cowboys are young. Terrence Newman is solid at corner, but elsewhere, the Cowboys have had problems.
Mike Jenkins, a former first round pick, starts at the other cornerback position but has not lived up to his draft status yet. On the other side, the Eagles' receivers are as good as any team's.
Desean Jackson, one of the fastest receivers in the NFL, has had a breakout year so far. The Cowboys will likely use Newman on him; it will be interesting to see if they leave Newman in one-on-one situations with Jackson.
Last year, Newman had a lot of trouble with Jackson, most notably being burned for 60 yards in the first meeting.
Most likely, they will shade a safety toward that side, and leave Jenkins one-on-one with rookie Jeremy Maclin.
This is a matchup the Eagles can exploit. Maclin beat Corey Webster last week for a touchdown, and has the speed, size and body control to make plays consistently downfield against man-to-man coverage.
The double coverage on Jackson will also lead to opportunities for Brent Celek, Jason Avant, and the Eagles' running backs in the middle of the field.
Quarterback Donovan McNabb is coming off a near flawless performance. If given time, he should be able to pick apart the Dallas secondary.
Edge: Eagles

Eagles' rushing offense vs. Cowboys' rush defense
The Cowboys come into the game ranked sixth against the run, and their front seven is big. The Eagles have not been particularly successful running the ball, relying mostly on occasional big plays.
However, Brian Westbrook had moderate success against the Redskins before leaving with an injury. And the Giants' front four gave up two big runs against the Eagles.
Again, the Eagles' offensive line is still jelling. However, a couple of big runs may be all they need to make the Cowboys think twice about blitzing, setting up the pass.
The Eagles are not going to run as the bulk of their offense; but establishing some semblance of a rushing attack will help the passing attack.
Edge: Cowboys

When the Cowboys have the ball
Cowboys' passing offense vs. Eagles' passing defense
Tony Romo has been playing like a man possessed. He has not thrown an interception in four games, and has been making big plays with his newfound star at receiver, Miles Austin.
Austin is a big, physical receiver: the kind who has given the Eagles' smaller defensive backs trouble in the past, and he will most likely make a couple of catches.
However, Asante Samuel and Sheldon Brown will keep him from taking over the game the way he has the past few weeks. The Eagles' cornerbacks dominated the Cowboys' wide receivers last year.
The Eagles' problem, of course, is the tight end. From Fred Davis to Kevin Boss to Zach Miller, opposing tight ends have had some field days against this Eagles' defense. And the Eagles have not faced anyone like the Cowboys' Jason Witten, arguably one of the three or four best tight ends in the NFL.

At half Eagles in control 30-7

when it looked like just the Giants would limp off the field and into the locker room, cornerback Asante Samuels jumped a route and picked off Manning, Eli's second interception of the day. McNabb & company capitalized when wide receiver Jeremy Maclin found daylight and hauled in a 23 yard touchdown pass to push the score to 30-7 at the half.

So much for momentum: allowing New York on the bird with under two minutes remaining in the second quarter, Philly's Ellis Hobbs broke off a 40-yard kickoff return, setting up a short field for the always dangerous wideout DeSean Jackson. Lightning struck quick in the form of a 54-yard strike to bloat the lead to 23-7.
With time winding down in the first half, the Giants finally showed a little life, as Manning found his tight end Kevin Boss in the red zone for an 18-yard score.
Manning continued his struggles and the Philly offense kept on clicking, albeit falling short of the end zone during a 15-play, 72-yard drive capped off by a 30-yard David Akers field goal to make it 16-0.
Things went from bad to worse for the Giants when quarterback Eli Manning threw a pick and safety Quintin Mikell set up the offense by bringing the ball to within the Eagles 20-yard line. After a holding penalty negated a touchdown, quarterback Donovan McNabb went back to the well and found tight end Brent Celek on a 17-yard strike to make it 14-0.
With starting running back Brian Westbrook sidelined and inactive, the offense nonetheless looked on point early. Backup Leonard Weaver filled in admirably and busted a huge 42-yard run to pay dirt to put Philly ahead 7-0.
The Eagles faced off in a heavyweight fight and division rivalry with the Giants at Lincoln Financial Field.