Day: January 22, 2017

Prank against Steelers suspected in early hotel fire alarm (Sports Betting News)Prank against Steelers suspected in early hotel fire alarm (Sports Betting News)

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and teammates practice Friday, Jan. 20, 2017, in Pittsburgh. The Steelers meet the New England Patriots for the NFL football AFC championship Sunday in Foxborough, Mass. (Matt Freed/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP)

A man has been arrested and charged with setting off an early-morning fire alarm at a Boston hotel that roused the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers ahead of their playoff with the New England Patriots. Massachusetts State Police spokesman Dave Procopio says Pittsburgh’s team was staying at the Logan Airport Hilton hotel when a fire alarm went off at about 3:40 a.m. Sunday. Procopio says evidence suggests the pulled alarm was meant as a prank against the Steelers.

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Respect abounds as Patriots host Steelers in AFC title game (Sports Betting News)Respect abounds as Patriots host Steelers in AFC title game (Sports Betting News)

FILE- In this Oct. 23, 2016, file photo, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, left, heads to his locker room after shaking hands with Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin, right, following an NFL football game in Pittsburgh. The Steelers and Patriots meet in the AFC championship game on Sunday, Jan. 22. (AP Photo/Don Wright, File)

There are few things that Bill Belichick respects more than history in the NFL. Part of it is the reverence that Belichick holds for the way Steelers founder Art Rooney and his family has operated a franchise that’s remained among the league’s best, winning multiple Super Bowl titles more than 30 years apart. It is a model emulated when Robert Kraft bought the Patriots in 1994 and six years later hired Belichick, who has nurtured a ”Patriots Way” that has helped bring four Lombardi trophies to New England.

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NFC championship: Falcons look to rewrite history vs Packers (Sports Betting News)NFC championship: Falcons look to rewrite history vs Packers (Sports Betting News)

FILE - In this Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017 file photo, Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) warms up before the first half of an NFL football NFC divisional playoff game between the Atlanta Falcons and the Seattle Seahawks in Atlanta. The Green Bay Packers play the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC championship game, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

The NFC championship is quite a mismatch. The Atlanta Falcons are playing as well as they have all season. For much of their existence, the Falcons were burdened with cartoonish ownership, laughable draft picks and horrific personnel moves such as trading away a strong-armed young quarterback in the early 1990s.

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Britain’s Fleetwood wins Abu Dhabi Championship (Sports Betting News)Britain’s Fleetwood wins Abu Dhabi Championship (Sports Betting News)

Golf - Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship - Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - 22/1/17 - Tommy Fleetwood of Britain poses with the trophy after winning. REUTERS/Stringer

(Officialsportsbetting.com) – Britain’s Tommy Fleetwood kept his composure to come from behind and win his first European Tour title in more than three years at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on Sunday. The 26-year-old Englishman posted a five-under-par 67 in his final round to finish 17 under par — one shot ahead of U.S. Open champion Dustin Johnson, who hit an eagle on the last, and 2014 Abu Dhabi winner, Pablo Larrazabal of Spain. Fleetwood’s second tour win came after he began the final round one shot behind overnight leader Tyrrell Hatton.

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Spurs coach Popovich blasts President Trump (Sports Betting News)Spurs coach Popovich blasts President Trump (Sports Betting News)

San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich watches the game against Phoenix in the first half of their regular-season NBA basketball game in Mexico City, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2017. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Gregg Popovich would bench President Donald Trump. San Antonio’s longtime coach, who has been highly critical of Trump in the past, went on a lengthy rant about the new president on Saturday night, calling him a bully and saying he hopes he can change while in office. While meeting with reporters before the Spurs played the NBA champion Cavaliers, Popovich didn’t hold back in offering his disdain for Trump and members of his administration.

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Fleetwood holds off major champions to win in Abu Dhabi (Sports Betting News)Fleetwood holds off major champions to win in Abu Dhabi (Sports Betting News)

Tommy Fleetwood of England hugs Kiradech Aphibarnrat of Thailand after Fleetwood won the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Jan. 22, 2017. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

Tommy Fleetwood looked at the leaderboard and saw three of the biggest names in golf among the players hunting him down in the final holes of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on Sunday. Fleetwood produced his best stretch of golf all week when it mattered most, a back nine of 31 completing a 5-under 67 – the lowest score of the day – and a one-shot victory over the strongest field that the European Tour compiles. Dustin Johnson, Henrik Stenson and Martin Kaymer, all recent major winners, couldn’t keep up with Fleetwood, who ended his 3 1/2-year wait for a second European Tour title.

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