Die Liste » ons, with two returned for TDs (by Briggs and Char

CHARLOTTE, N.C. - Panthers coach Ron Rivera said hes awaiting final clearance from team physicians before officially naming Cam Newton the starter for Sundays game against the Cleveland Browns.That clearance is expected to come Saturday.Right now, everything is pointing in the right direction, Rivera said Friday. The reason I havent said anything (definitive) is because of that one big thing — waiting for doctors to tell me they feel good about it.Newton practiced Friday for the third straight day and Rivera said he feels very confident and comfortable that the fourth-year quarterback will start Sunday, 12 days after a two-vehicle wreck left him with two lower back fractures.Rivera said he expects Newton to start as long as he keeps going. Good things have happened and weve done a lot of positive things.He said the only way Newton wouldnt play is if he suffers an unforeseen setback this weekend, but added the quarterback has had no ill effects waking up every morning this week.The 25-year-old Newton said Thursday he feels pain-free.The Panthers have increased Newtons workload every day this week to make sure hes ready to play. That includes having him run the football, which will be a part of the game plan.He did a lot of turning and twisting today, Rivera said. We put a lot of pressure on it. We had to do some things on purpose just so we could see. He seems to be right on track.Newton enters the weekend 3-8-1 as the teams starter this season.Derek Anderson filled in last week for Newton and threw for 277 yards and one touchdown, leading the Panthers to 19-17 win over Tampa Bay. Anderson is 2-0 as the teams starter with both wins coming against the Buccaneers (2-11).Newton had one of his best games of the season on Dec. 7, two days before he flipped his 1998 Dodge truck one block from the teams stadium on the way in to watch film. He completed 21 of 33 passes for 226 yards and three touchdowns lead the Panthers to a 41-10 victory at New Orleans. He also ran 12 times for 83 yards and a touchdown, the majority of those rushes on designed running plays.It adds another dimension, Rivera said. He and (Anderson) are similar, but they are different. Cam obviously is a better runner. They both bring a lot to the table. What Cam does is he adds that extra dimension, the ability to run.That was big for us against New Orleans. He had a really good rhythm. Were hoping to recapture some of that. As long as we can continue to do those things and he can do them well, hell stay out there.Rivera said if there is one concern about Newton it is making sure he is protected in the pocket, particularly on blindside hits. Newton has been sacked 36 times in 12 games.NOTES: Rivera said running back DeAngelo Williams will likely miss his third straight start with a broken bone in his hand. Jonathan Stewart is expected to start against Cleveland.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL Nathan MacKinnon Jersey . Down 2-1 after Rick Nash scored on a penalty shot, the Oilers ran off four unanswered goals in the remainder of the second period on the way to a 6-3 victory on Sunday. Semyon Varlamov Jersey . The Raptors (15-15) posted six road victories last month and have won seven of their last nine games overall. Toronto visits the Washington Wizards on Friday night. http://www.authenticavalanchepro.com/Sve...che-jersey/.com) - Jimmy Butler made four key free throws down the stretch to lift the Chicago Bulls over the Boston Celtics, 109-102, on Friday. Alexander Kerfoot Jersey . Chris Heisey connected for his first grand slam and Devin Mesoraco homered and drove in a career high-tying four runs as Cincinnati took advantage of Tampa Bays depleted pitching staff for a 12-4 victory on Sunday. Adam Foote Jersey . The hard-serving 22-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., became the first Canadian to be ranked in the Top 10 on the ATP World Tour thanks to his runner-up performance at Rogers Cup in Montreal.December looms for the Dallas Cowboys. The Boys are in the top spot in the NFC East as the calendar turns toward Christmas and now all they have to do is finish things, starting tonight in Chicago where Dallas faces off with a Bears team minus its leaders on both offense and defense, quarterback Jay Cutler and linebacker Lance Briggs. Watch the action unfold live on TSN, with coverage beginning with Monday Night Countdown at 6:30pm et/3:30pm pt. Heres the problem, though. Dallas is just 13-17 in the month of December since Tony Romo took over as the teams starting quarterback in 2006, and Romo himself is 11-15 as a starter with some high-profile missteps. "Weve always known that what they remember is what you do in December," Cowboys owner and GM Jerry Jones said this week when talking about his teams troubles in December. "We need to change that. That was our goal this year. And weve got a chance to do something about it this year." A 3-1 November has the Cowboys tied with Philadelphia in the NFC East but the Cowboys currently hold the tie breaker thanks to a 17-3 win in Philadelphia back on Oct. 20 and a perfect 4-0 division mark. A Week 17 matchup with the Eagles in Dallas still remains on the schedule, however. The Cowboys have had extra time to prepare for Chicago after coming back to win their annual Thanksgiving Day affair. Romo threw for 225 yards and a score on Turkey Day this year, while DeMarco Murray joined elite company with his career-best three-touchdown performance, as Dallas took down Oakland, 31-24. Murray joined Emmitt Smith as the only Cowboys running backs to accumulate three rushing touchdowns on Thanksgiving Day, totaling 63 yards on 17 carries. Romo completed 23-of-32 passes, including a third-quarter TD pass to Dez Bryant, who racked up 61 yards on seven receptions. Lance Dunbar totaled 82 yards on 12 attempts before leaving the game late with a left knee injury. "We did start slow, but its getting to that point where there is no panic anymore," said Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr. The Bears werent so lucky in Week 13, losing a tough 23-20 overtime decision to NFC North-rival Minnesota when Blair Walsh hit a 34-yard field goal with 1:43 left in the extra frame. Alshon Jeffery broke his own team record with 249 receiving yards on 12 catches -- two of which went for touchdowns -- for the Bears, who have dropped their past two games and are a full game behind the Detroit Lions for the top spot in the division, a predicament made even worse by the fact that the Lions have already swept the Bears this season. "Weve got to put up a win in the win column," quarterback Josh McCown said. "The standings dont matter if you dont win football games." McCown was 23-for-36 for 355 yards and two touchdowns against the Vikings, while Matt Forte carried the ball 23 times for 120 yards for Chicago. "I was really proud of the effort in all three phases of the game," said Chicago head coach Marc Trestman. "But as hard as we played, we didnt play hard enough to win. We just didnt get it done." Trestman took plenty of heat for a strange decision in overtime, deciding to let the ever-reliable Robbie Gould attempt a potential game-winning 47-yard field goal attempt on second down. Gould missed his chance wide right and the Vikings went the other way for the win. "I didnt do it from an analytics standpoint. I did it from having been around Robbie the entire year and knowing how he kicks the ball," Trestman said of Gould, whose field goal percentage of 85.8 ranks third-highest in NFL history dating back to 1938. Dallas leads its all-time series with the Bears by a slim 11-10 margin but the Bears have won the last two meetings, including a 34-18 win in Dallas back on Oct. 1, 2012 when the defense recorded five interceptions, with two returned for TDs (by Briggs and Charles&nbbsp;Tillman, two players who wont be available in this one for Chicago.dddddddddddd) The teams havent met in the Second City since a Sept. 23, 2007 affair won by the Cowboys 34-10. WHAT TO WATCH FOR McCowns solid play has masked any desire to push Cutler back too quickly from his latest problem, a balky left ankle. McCown has been rock solid in six games (four starts,) completing 65.2 percent of his passes for 1,462 yards with nine touchdowns against one interception while compiling a 103.6 rating, far better than Cutlers 88.4. All that said though the Bears clearly miss Cutlers ability to extend plays and make something out of nothing, a trait McCown really does not possess. Still McCown has been able to get the football to the Bears dynamic receiving duo of Brandon Marshall and Jeffery, whose 2,099 combined receiving yards are the most of any duo in the NFL entering Week 14. Those two, along with tight end Martellus Bennett, who has 48 catches for 545 yards and five TDs, could be an untenable matchup for a Dallas secondary allowing 294.9 yards a game through the air, second-worst in the NFL. Marshall, though, has been impressed by Carr, Dallas best defensive back. "I dont like playing against Brandon Carr," Marshall said. "He presents a lot of tough challenges throughout a game. Youll notice he changes up his game when he plays against bigger receivers. Hes strong. Hes physical. He plays that way against guys like myself. I absolutely hate the matchup. Its like playing chess out there with him. Every single play is a battle. He just makes you work so hard." The Cowboys defense also figures to get a boost from the return of middle linebacker Sean Lee, perhaps the units best all-around player, who has missed the last two weeks with a strained hamstring. The Bears defense has remained opportunistic with 15 interceptions, but the teams run-stopping ability is virtually non-existent. Chicago is giving up 205.2 rushing yards a contest and nearly six yards a clip on every run over its past six games. That poor play basically coincides with the loss of Briggs to a shoulder injury and veteran middle linebacker DJ Williams to a season-ending pectoral problem. Dallas, though, has an offense heavily tilted toward the pass to begin with and will be without Dunbar, who is expected to miss the rest of the season after being diagnosed with a torn posterior lateral corner in his knee. "Theres a whole lot of football to be played," Trestman said. "Weve got to start on Monday night and do that. That was the message: Lets worry about what we can control and thats being at our best on Monday night against the Cowboys." This game will also mark the first time Bears defensive tackle Jeremiah Ratliff, who was signed Nov. 6, will face his former team. Ratliff, a four-time Pro Bowler in Dallas when he called himself Jay, left North Texas on bad terms. He never played a down for the Cowboys after signing a $40 million extension, with $18 million of that guaranteed, due to a groin injury. "To me its just another game," Ratliff said Thursday after practice. "As they say, theyre moving on, so have I, and thats the end of it." OVERALL ANALYSIS A trend is a trend until it stops being a trend and the Cowboys December struggles arent going away until Dallas makes them go away. This is a perfect opportunity to start that process on the road in a hostile environment with potential weather issues. A Bears team with Cutler, Briggs and Tillman beats the Cowboys in this spot but one without its key playmakers simply cant be allowed. "You hear me say this all the time, but were focused on winning one game," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. "We want to play one good ballgame. Thats really what were focused on. Well let everyone else figure out what the history of the world is." 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