***INSTANT CLASSIC IN AUBURN***

No. 7 Auburn survives No. 25 Georgia, 43-38

By JOHN ZENOR (AP Sports Writer)44 minutes agoAP - Sports

.

View gallery

• 
  .
• 
  .
• 
  .
• 
  .

AUBURN, Ala. (AP) -- With Auburn's title hopes hanging in the balance, the ball deflected into the air and into Ricardo Louis' hands.

Related Stories

• Auburn 43, Georgia 38 The SportsXchange
• No. 7 Auburn hosts No. 25 Georgia in SEC matchup The Associated Press
• Auburn miracle sets up Iron Bowl showdown The Associated Press
• No. 7 Auburn controls its destiny in SEC West race The Associated Press
• Georgia vs. Auburn 2013 final score: Tigers ruin Georgia comeback with impossible play, win 44-38SB Nation

The result was a stunningly improbable touchdown that rescued the seventh-ranked Tigers' equally unlikely championship chances.

Louis scored on a deflected 73-yard pass from Nick Marshallon fourth and 18 with 25 seconds left to give Auburn a 43-38 victory over No. 25 Georgia on Saturday night.

''I couldn't believe it,'' Louis said. ''It just landed right into my hands. I saw it once it got over my shoulder. It got tipped, I lost track of it ... but when I looked over my shoulders, it was right there.''

The Tigers (10-1, 6-1 Southeastern Conference) had blown a 27-7 lead but pulled out one more huge play to continue the biggest turnaround in major college football. From 3-9 last year, they can win the SEC West with a victory in two weeks against No. 1 Alabama.

Marshall heaved the ball downfield with two defenders around Louis. It bounced off safety Josh Harvey-Clemons' hand and Louis reached out his left hand to corral it. Marshall said he stiff armed a defender before letting the ball fly.

Sat, Nov 16, 2013

25 Georgia	38	Final
7 Auburn	43

All he could do then was watch and hope.

''When I saw it get tipped around, I knew we still had a chance,'' Marshall said. ''It was a live ball. I saw that Ricardo still had his eyes on the ball. That's something we work on at practice: keep your eyes on the ball.''

Aaron Murray, who had engineered the comeback with three fourth-quarter touchdowns, could only stare helplessly from the bench. A win could have kept the Bulldogs alive in the SEC East.

''That's a freak play,'' Murray said. ''It's like a nightmare. You try to wake up, and we are celebrating victory. It's tough. This is going to be a tough one to get over.''

Murray led Georgia (6-4, 4-3) all the way to Auburn's 20 but his final two passes fell incomplete as time ran out. Dee Ford hit him on the last pass as Murray ran toward the line before trying to throw.

Game Leaders

• 
  Aaron Murray
  #11, Georgia

  Comp:	33
  Att:	49
  Yds:	414
  TD:	2
  Int:	1
  Rush:	9
  Yds:	37
  TD:	2

• 
  Nick Marshall
  #14, Auburn

  Comp:	15
  Att:	26
  Yds:	230
  TD:	1
  Rush:	19
  Yds:	88
  TD:	2

Bulldogs coach Mark Richt said he couldn't remember being on the sidelines for a similar loss since his Florida State days.

''When you lose, you tend to think about the things you should have done,'' Richt said. ''When you win, you just think about how great it is.

''Let's face it, as good as Auburn is and has been playing, they've got all the momentum going.''

Some Auburn players climbed into the stands to celebrate with students, and most fans stayed put to celebrate the victory.

It only came after Murray gave the Tigers a big scare. He had plowed into Ryan Smith at the goal line for a 5-yard touchdown with 1:49 left.

View gallery."

Georgia head coach Mark Richt yells instructions to his team during the first half of an NCAA colleg …

Auburn challenged the final TD, but replay officials upheld the call on the field.

That left the Tigers starting at their own 22 with 1:45 left. They managed one first down but Jordan Jenkins sacked Marshall to set up fourth and 18.

Marshall then produced the biggest play of his career against the Bulldogs, where he played as a freshman defensive back. He was dismissed from the team in February 2012 for violating team rules and returned to the SEC after a season in junior college.

He finished 15-of-26 passing for 229 yards after attempting only 15 passes combined in the past two games thanks to a steamrolling running game. Marshall also ran 19 times for 89 yards.

He also threw a game-winning TD pass with 10 seconds left against Mississippi State, but there was much more on the line this time. The 2010 national champions are potential contenders again.

View gallery."

Auburn running back Tre Mason (21) dances into the end zone after a touchdown run against Georgia du …

''They find a way to win,'' said Gus Malzahn, Auburn's first-year coach. ''This team has the 'it' factor. That's just the bottom line.''

He had simple plans for celebration.

''This is definitely a Waffle House night,'' Malzahn said.

Tre Mason ran 27 times for 115 yards, and Louis had his career game.

He caught four passes for 131 yards - nearly doubling the 160 yards he had entering the game - and gained 66 yards on five rushes.

View gallery."

Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall (14) celebrates after scoring against Georgia during the first half …

Louis had said he wanted the ball during the timeout before the fourth-down play.

''I told them to get me the ball, and that I was going to make a play,'' he said, ''but I didn't expect that.''

It was just enough to survive Murray's furious onslaught.

The prolific Georgia passer completed 33 of 49 passes for 415 yards and two touchdowns in the final 9:35, with an earlier interception.

Murray also ran for two scores and had 160 yards passing in the fourth quarter.

View gallery."

Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray (11) reacts on the bench after throwing an interception against Aub …

***THIS KID IS A LOAD TO BRING DOWN***

400-pound Washington running back Tony Picard is an unstoppable force

 

By Cameron Smith4 hours agoPrep Rally

When thinking of large running backs, William "Refrigerator" Perry and Jerome Bettis probably come to mind. Perhaps David Fangupo, a prep star Prep Rally helped introduce in February, might earn a thought. None of them can come close to Tony "Big Tone" Picard, a Washington teen who is toting the ball at 400 pounds.

The video you see above was brought to Prep Rally's attention by USA Today, and it is absolutely spectacular. Throughout a series of highlights, the 6-foot-5, 400-pound Picard runs over defensive linemen like a tractor. It's not that the White Swan High (Yakima) senior is particularly fast, he's just completely impossible to bring down, and has some agility to boot.

No wonder. When was the last time you saw a 400-pound player running with the football?

"It's so much fun to have him go out [on the field] as a captain and see him shaking hands before the game," White Swan coach Andrew Bush told Indian Country Today Media Network. "They're just kind of staring, like ‘Oh my gosh, you've got to be kidding me!'"

By comparison, Fangupo starred at Kealakehe High (Kailua-Kona, Hi.) weighing in at 350 pounds and 6-foot-2.Perry was famously 6-2 and 335 pounds. Picard has them both topped by at least 50 pounds and 2 inches.

He's athletic, too. The first time Bush thought about using Picard as a running back was on the basketball court, where the nose tackle was holding his own against his much smaller teammates.

Picard is Native American — he is part Umatilla-Nez Perce Indian and part Sioux — and has played a major role in White Swan's success, starting as both a nose tackle (no surprise there) and running back (big surprise).MaxPreps' official records show the Cougars at 9-1 entering the playoffs, and Busted Coverage credits him with 576 yards and 8 touchdowns citing statistics aggregated from game coverage provided by the Yakima Herald. Another site claims the giant running back has more than 700 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Based on the highlights, either set of statistics seems believable. According to Picard's coach, Andrew Bush, it usually takes five defenders to stop him.

"Most teams will sacrifice five guys to stop him: four linemen and a middle linebacker. That leaves three guys on each side to stop the rest of our team," Bush told Indian Country Today Media Network. "Everything else opens up: our outside running, our play action, and our entire passing game. We average about 450 yards as a team offensively."

***WHATS IN YOUR WALLET?***

MSNBC Suspends Alec Baldwin's Show After Actor's Outburst

 

By Natalie AbramsNovember 15, 2013 5:10 PM

.

View gallery

Alec Baldwin | Photo Credits: MSNBC

MSNBC has pulled Alec Baldwin's talk show Up Late off the air for at least the next two weeks following the actor's public outburst that included an anti-gay slur, according to a statement on the Up Late website.

"I would like to address the comments I made this past week," Baldwin wrote. "I did not intend to hurt or offend anyone with my choice of words, but clearly I have — and for that I am deeply sorry. Words are important. I understand that, and will choose mine with great care going forward. What I said and did this week, as I was trying to protect my family, was offensive and unacceptable. Behavior like this undermines hard-fought rights that I vigorously support. I understand Up Late will be taken off the schedule for tonight and next week. I want to apologize to my loyal fans and to my colleagues at MSNBC — both for my actions and for distracting from their good work. Again, please accept my apology."

Alec Baldwin denies yelling (another) homophobic slur at photographer

Several hours after winning his court case against his accused stalker, Baldwin lashed out at a paparazzo, allegedly calling him a "c---sucking f--." TMZ posted footage of the incident, which Baldwin refuted, saying that it was clear he called the pap a "fathead." Still, after GLAAD rep Rich Ferraro noted that "c---sucker" also falls under the category of an anti-gay slur, Baldwin  apologized and promised to retire that word from his vocabulary.

This is not the first time Baldwin has used homophobic language. The actor has used anti-gay epithets in incidents in 1992, 2011, 2012 and again in June, when he unleashed a series of tweets against a Daily Mail writer that included such phrases as "you toxic little queen."

What do you think of MSNBC's decision to suspend Baldwin's show?

***PREPARE FOR LIFTOFF**

FAA ruling on personal devices in flight leaves troubling safety questions

By William J. McGee6 hours ago

.

Electronics now allowed gate to gate on US Airways flights

• 
  Headlines: FAA requiring more training for commercial …Play video.
 
• 
  JetBlue, Delta adopt new FAA gadget rulesPlay video.
 
• 
  FAA relaxes regulations on use of electronic devices …Play video.
 
• 
  FAA relaxes restrictions on electronic device usePlay video.
 
• 

Related Stories

• Flight Attendant Union Contributes to FAA Panel - Recommends Safe, Managed Expansion of PED Use PR Newswire

Though a recent FAA committee ruling scored a victory for air travelers, with potential to clear the skies for portable electronic device use from gate to gate, prominent aviation experts and groups question whether the agency panel was steamrolled by industry interests at the possible expense of safety.

At issue are not just the murky specifics of whether iPads, Kindles and other electronic gizmos do cause potentially dangerous interference in flight. Dozens of pilots say they can, one reason why a ban on using cell phones for voice communication in flight will continue. The ruling also places some of the busiest airline employees charged with passenger safety--flight attendants--in the role of arbiter as to what device may or may not be safe, and when.

The new rules on PEDs are a tangle of details, whether or not devils are embedded within. Each airline will have to consult the FAA on tolerance testing, so eventually, regulations may vary not only by airline but by airplane type. Some devices will be allowed, but cell phones and other PEDs will not; some at certain phases of flight, but not at others; some modes may not be acceptable at all. Confused yet?

The committee’s key recommendation—allowing PED use at all phases of flight at all altitudes—was opposed by five members out of 27, citing the recommendation “does not adequately satisfy this requirement [to be safe].” Among those dissenting were members of the Association of Flight Attendants and the Air Line Pilots Association. As ALPA said: “While we applaud the FAA’s view that PED use must be shown to be safe before being allowed, we remain concerned that relying on passengers to selectively turn off their devices in areas of extremely poor weather is not a practical solution.”

For many, the new regulations couldn’t have come faster. The same morning the committee released its findings, Delta and JetBlue vied to be first to ease restrictions. JetBlue officially won—the follow-up press release said approval came at “4:15 p.m. ET” on Oct. 31—though it’s also worth noting JetBlue had an employee on the committee.

The war among experts on this topic makes climate change look as certain as the law of gravity by comparison, inside and outside Washington. Sen. Clarie McCaskill (D-Mo.) called the FAA ruling “a win for common sense,” but Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) warned, “having access to e-mail or a movie is not worth compromising the safety of any flight.”

Airlines and tech companies have dogs in this race, but why did so many media reports celebrate these new freedoms without questioning if safety threats remain? One columnist for Reason.com cited the “annoying” and “seemingly arbitrary ban” and added, “as far as I can tell no one has ever cited an actual mishap related to such infractions.” Questionable research aside, that depends on the definition of “mishap,” since chilling reports come in continually from airline crew members.

It all comes down to risk—or more accurately, what aviation safety experts term “appropriate risk.” Incidents of PEDs possibly affecting aircraft navigation and communications systems have been logged for years, but haven’t statistically accumulated into a tipping point. Unless, of course, you were on an airplane that experienced life-threatening navigational failures during “critical phases” of flight. According to Boeing, only 9% of fatal accidents occur during cruise, so there’s no overestimating how grave PED interference could be during take-off or landing. And if you are a responsible traveler and PED user, there's no guarantee the guy seated three rows back is going to turn off his device when told to.

In 2011 a noted expert, Boeing engineer Dave Carson, explained all devices with batteries have “some level of emission that has the potential to interfere with cockpit instruments or navigational equipment.” What’s more, in 2011, a leaked document from the International Air Transport Association detailed 75 separate airline PED incidents worldwide between 2003 and 2009, including interference with flight controls, autopilots, communications, and landing gear.

Last week even the FAA acknowledged the dangers: “There are reports of suspected interference to communication and navigations systems in both the NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System and the FAA’s Service Difficulty Reporting system.” As for NASA, that database is sobering reading.

In January, NASA updated the 50 most recent events involving passenger PEDs and aircraft malfunctions. Reports of smoke and even fire in aircraft cabins allegedly caused by malfunctioning PEDs are frequent, as are cabin crews arguing with passengers refusing to turn off devices.

The scariest reports detail three separate traffic collision avoidance systems automatically responding to “false target” signals and a 767 that experienced multiple malfunctions including loss of engine, flight instruments, and auto flight systems. Among other highlights are misaligned headings, radio static, and the following:

• A portable Garmin GPS allegedly interfered with a 737’s navigation update functionality.
• An A320 reported VHF interference from a cell phone.
• A 757’s fuel gauge “blanked” due to possible PED interference.
• An MD80’s flight management system experienced a misaligned heading.
• A 737 crew experienced erratic localizer signals while approaching a runway and suspected a PalmPilot.

Has public opinion trumped safety here? Christine Negroni, a veteran aviation writer who served on an FAA safety advisory committee, points to what she sees as faulty reasoning. “It’s so weird because it doesn’t matter if you say there are unanswered questions,” she said. “As for the FAA, what could they do? So they’ve yielded to the industry and the public.”

Several aviation experts, moreover, have said the FAA's committee was a stacked deck. The Washington Post publicly questioned why Paul Misener, Amazon’s Vice President of Global Public Policy, chaired the technical subcommittee, noting, “it’s still eyebrow-raising that a company with the most commercial interest in the outcome of a panel’s report would directly oversee the scientific content of that report, as opposed to, say, some independent technical expert, or even someone on the FAA’s staff who might know about such things.”

Negroni notes the larger safety issue may be non-compliance with federal aviation regulations, as countless passengers have violated these FAA directives for years. But fighting invisible electromagnetic demons is wearying—recently both Alec Baldwin and New York’s Sen. Chuck Schumer cursed out flight attendants for enforcing the ban (ironically enough, Reason.com chided the Democratic senator for his behavior.)

So besides being bouncers, security screeners, and human baggage sizers, flight attendants now will be asked to police a complex set of rules for different devices on different aircraft types on different airlines during different phases of flight. An industry insider characterizes the situation bluntly: “The flight attendants have given up on this.” One can imagine a legion of Alec Baldwins freshly affronted that they had, in fact, 10 more minutes left of playing time on a hand-Scrabble game.

Meanwhile, one safety expert worries about securing PEDs during take-off and landing, and how they could distract us during an emergency or evacuation. Hopefully it won't be a crisis caused by a PED in the first place.