CHARLOTTE, N. Yeezy Boost 350 Pink .C. -- As "Sweet Caroline" pumped through the stadium and playoff-starved Panthers fans dressed all in black celebrated a big victory, Tom Brady ran after an official in search of an explanation. Thrilling game, bizarre ending. Brady and the Patriots were miffed after a penalty flag that was thrown in the end zone on the final play was suddenly picked up and waved off Monday night, giving the Carolina Panthers a 24-20 victory over New England for their sixth straight win. Cam Newton led the Panthers 83 yards on 13 plays and threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Ted Ginn Jr. with 59 seconds left to give the Panthers the lead. The Patriots had a chance at an improbable comeback when Brady moved New England to the Carolina 18 with 3 seconds left and fired into the end zone as time expired. Rookie safety Robert Lester intercepted the pass, but an official at the back of the end zone threw a flag for pass interference on linebacker Luke Kuechly, who had both arms wrapped around tight end Rob Gronkowski. The officials then gathered, however, and referee Clete Blakeman announced there was no foul on the play and the game was over. "There was no explanation given to me. Officials ran off the field. I didnt see anything," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "There was a flag thrown and then the game was over." Blakeman said after the game that back judge Terrence Miles saw there was contact and Kuechly was not playing the ball, and that initially led Miles to call defensive pass interference. But Blakeman said the officials met and decided the ball was "underthrown" and it came down to a matter of "uncatchability." A pass-interference call would have put the ball on the 1-yard line and given the Patriots one more shot at a game-winning touchdown with no time on the clock. "You never like to end the game like that on a call but Im pleased that our officiating crew got together and communicated and discussed it and ultimately we believe we got it right," Blakeman said. An angry Brady ran down two officials to argue the call as they walked off the field, but later said he didnt get a good look at the play. "I dont make the calls or the rules," Brady said. "I wish it wouldnt have come down to that. I think there were plenty of plays we couldve made. But it did, and theyre going to make the call or theyre not going to make the call. But we can play better than that." Brady conceded he was cautious on the throw. "(Gronkowski) was kind of weaving in and out of there. I didnt really want to throw it over his head and out of bounds, so I was a little indecisive," he said. "It wasnt a great throw. No excuses. Should have been a better throw." Kuechly, who had a critical pass-interference call in a Week 2 loss to Buffalo, was a little nervous when he saw the flag on the ground. "I was like, Oh, jeez. I dont know what this is going to be," Kuechly said. "My back was to Brady. I was just playing his eyes, playing his hands, waiting for his eyes to get big and his hands to go up and I was going to try to break it down. I didnt really see where the ball went. I think Robert had a hand on it or something. There were guys around that ball and thats what helps you out." Given a reprieve, the Panthers (7-3) celebrated. Brady finished 29 of 40 for 296 yards and one touchdown. Newton completed 19 of 28 passes for 209 yards and three touchdowns. He also ran seven times for 62 yards in what will go down as one of his best games a pro. After the game, Carolina coach Ron Rivera called it a "gutsy effort." Newtons winning touchdown drive in the waning minutes of a game was the type of leadership performance the Panthers have been waiting for from the third-year pro. Newton said "people want to keep making it about me and the plays that I made, but its not a one-man show, by far." It just seemed that way. He was 5 of 8 for 57 yards and ran twice for 18 yards on the go-ahead drive. Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith, who had 62 yards on four catches, said Newton came of age Monday night. "Its just fantastic, just watching Cam grow, watching him lead this team, watching him go 85 yards," Smith said. "You hear all about statistics, about other guys having game-winning drives. Now Cam has his game-winning drive against a big team, against a worthy opponent. Just watching the young man grow -- I just saw that young, 24-year old Cam Newton just chipping away and just a little hint of greatness is starting to shine through a little bit." Carolina moved within a game of first-place New Orleans in the NFC South. The win came eight days after a 10-9 victory over reigning NFC champion San Francisco. The Panthers entered the fourth quarter with a 17-10 lead, but Stevan Ridley made up for an earlier fumble with a 1-yard touchdown run and the Patriots (7-3) took a 20-17 lead with 6:32 left when Stephen Gostkowski slipped a 26-yard field goal just inside the left upright. Carolina came right back down the field and Newton hit the speedy Ginn on a hitch route. Ginn escaped Kyle Arrington along the left sideline and outraced Logan Ryan to the left pylon for his third touchdown of the season. Newton gave Carolina a 17-10 lead in the third quarter on an 81-yard touchdown drive that took more than 8 minutes off the clock and featured a scramble in which the third-year quarterback avoided four tacklers and turned a potential 20-yard sack into a 14-yard gain and a first down. Newton completed all seven passes on the drive for 77 yards, finding Greg Olsen at the right pylon with 2:10 left to put the Panthers back in front. "Cam did the things he needed to do to put us in position to win the football game," Rivera said. "It has a lot to do with his maturity that we have talked about." Carolina entered the night as the NFLs No. 1 defence and didnt disappoint early, sacking Brady twice and holding Gronkowski to one catch for 14 yards in the opening half. The Panthers hadnt given up a touchdown in eight straight quarters before Gronkowskis short TD catch tied the score at 10 on the first drive of the second half. Newton got Carolina the early lead by zipping a third-down throw to Brandon LaFell near the goal line with 2:44 left in the first quarter, capping a 90-yard drive that took more than 5 minutes off the clock. The drive included a 42-yard catch by Smith against cornerback Aqib Talib, who drew a personal foul penalty when he refused to let go of Smiths right foot after the receivers second catch, setting off a brief scuffle. Panthers defensive end Charles Johnson left early in the third quarter with a right knee injury but returned on New Englands final drive. NOTES: The Panthers have outscored their opponents 45-8 in the first quarter. ... The Panthers held a moment of silence before the game for former team President Mike McCormack, who died last week. ... Brady fell to 13-5 on Monday night. ... Patriots tight end Michael Hoomanawanui injured his knee in the first half and didnt return. ... The Panthers got only 41 yards rushing on 16 carries from their three running backs. ... Shane Vereen had 65 yards on eight receptions in his first game since returning from a broken left wrist in the season opener. Adidas Ultra Boost Nz . He was 45. Vilanova, who has battled a recurring tumour in a saliva gland, was admitted to a local hospital in Barcelona last week. He reportedly had emergency surgery on Thursday. "It is with sadness that Barcelona must announce that Francesc Tito Vilanova has died today at the age of 45," Barcelona said in a statement on its website. Adidas Ultra Boost Yeezy Hybrid.com) - Brent Burns scored with 38 seconds remaining in overtime, lifting the San Jose Sharks to a dramatic 3-2 victory over the St.LONG ISLAND, NY – Like his head coach, Roman Polak didnt want say too much about the early success of Torontos penalty kill, fearful that the hockey gods might strike quickly. Basically, [if] youre always talking about it, all of sudden it just goes [to] [expletive], said Polak with a hearty laugh. Things are going well. I want to keep it this way. Polak is one of the many new members of the Maple Leafs revamped penalty killing unit, which is off to an encouraging start this fall, following another disastrous campaign a year ago. Last year in fact marked the sixth time in seven seasons that Torontos penalty kill finished 28th or lower – the lockout-shortened 2013 being the only exception – just a stunning run of ineffectiveness thats contributed to many springs without the postseason in these parts. YEAR RANK 2013-14 28th 2013 2nd 2011-12 28th 2010-11 28th 2009-10 30th 2008-09 30th 2007-08 29th Personnel has changed considerably from the group that killed penalties last year. Only three of the eight Leafs who broke 100 minutes shorthanded last season still remain with the team today, Jay McClement being the most prominently absent of that group. Gone are mainstays like McClement, Carl Gunnarsson, Nik Kulemin and the assistant coach leading the unit previously – Greg Cronin – replaced by the likes of Polak, Daniel Winnik, Leo Komarov, Stephane Robidas and Peter Horachek – all of whom boast a history of some regard in such duty. PLAYER SHORT-HANDED ICE TIME Jay McClement * 277:22 Carl Gunnarsson * 235:05 Dion Phaneuf 226:22 Nikolai Kulemin * 181:29 Cody Franson 129:39 James van Riemsdyk 116:37 Mason Raymond * 111:48 Paul Ranger * 101:03 * No longer with the team Drafted and developed in St. Louis, Polak was a regular member of the Blues penalty kill, consistently amongst the leagues best, including a second-ranked finish last season. The key to effectiveness, he says, is how well the finer points are executed. The Blues, who suppressed shots almost better than anyone, placed high value on stick positioning, body positioning and holding teams to the perimeter as effectively as possible. Just the little things, you know, said Polak. Then theres the willingness to fill up shooting lanes, an obvious example coming in the Leafs most recent 1-0 overtime loss to Detroit. Gustav Nyquist had an open cage to shoot at on the Wings fifth and final power-play and though he didnt end up blocking it, Polak cut off the angle and forced Nyquist to shoot wide. Adidas Ultra Boost Mens/Womens Plum/Violet Running Shoes. I thought our PK was a big part of our game, said Jonathan Bernier, who stopped 31 shots in defeat that night. So far, the Leafs have killed off all but three of 22 power-plays, perfect in every game but one. There wasnt a whole lot of that effectiveness last year. The Leafs, instead, forced their goaltenders into incredible action on power-play after power-play. Only three teams gave up more shots per 60 minutes in four-on-five situations than did Toronto. That meant that only brilliance from the tandem of Bernier and James Reimer would suffice most nights. Even a league-average unit would have saved the team 10 goals, potentially the difference in a win or two and perhaps a playoff berth. One of two new coaches on the Leafs coaching staff, Horachek is directing the revamped unit this season. Unwilling to provide much in the way of details, players nonetheless conceded to some structural changes under his direction. The teams captain insisted though that system was only part of the formula. When youre out killing penalties its not only structure its outworking the guy that youre up against and their five-man unit, Dion Phaneuf said with the Leafs heading to Long Island for a Tuesday matchup with the Islanders. The bottom line is its not just system, it takes hard work, it takes sacrifice by blocking shots and weve done that so far. Key to the early success has been the forward combination of Winnik and Komarov. Winnik, whom Komarov calls the boss in this PK, has yet to be on the ice for a power-play goal against, his size (6-foot-2, 210 pounds), skating ability and smarts proving quite effective - particularly up ice and in shooting lanes. The Leafs are disrupting power-plays as a result, leading to less time in-zone, fewer shots for the goaltenders (about 14 less per 60 minutes) and thus fewer opportunities. Its still far too early – just six games – to gauge whether the early success will translate into a full season of effectiveness, but the results thus far have been positive. That being said, things can change quickly, which explains Polaks reluctance to talk about it and a similar tone from head coach, Randy Carlyle. Toronto started 17-18 in the opening five games last year (with worrisome underlying trends) before devolving into another mess. I dont like to make comments that are too flattering, said Carlyle after a perfect 5-5 night in Detroit, because it can come back and bite you in one game. Time will tell. Cheap Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys Cheap Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys ' ' '
