n this team and he showed a lot of character. He never hung his head, ne

San Diego, CA (SportsNetwork. Gary Matthews Braves Jersey .com) - The 2014 Holiday Bowl is the first postseason venture pitting a pair of ranked foes against each other, as No. 25 Nebraska takes on No. 24 USC on Saturday at Qualcomm Stadium. Nebraska comes in sporting a 9-3 record (5-3 Big Ten), which by many standards would be considered a success, but to the Cornhuskers and their faithful fans, it meant another season of failed expectations. As a result, and partly due to his somewhat abrasive personality, Bo Pelini was relieved of his duties as head coach after seven solid seasons. The school has hired a new coach in former Oregon State head man and USC assistant Mike Riley, and while the Huskers will play this game under the direction of interim coach Barney Cotton, Riley has already begun to lay the groundwork for his tenure. Cotton had a pretty simple message for the team moving forward, four basic things that the team should rely on as it prepares for this game. I am basically telling them four things -- honor God with your effort. Honor your teammates with your effort. Honor Coach Bo (Pelini) with your loyalty and love and support, along with your effort. Cotton said. And lets reveal our character one last time in the Holiday Bowl. Nebraska has a long history of performing well in bowl games, this being the teams 51st postseason appearance (25-25). The Cornhuskers will be seeking their second straight bowl win after beating Georgia in the Gator Bowl last January, 24-19. USC won twice as many games as it lost this season (8-4, 6-3 Pac-12), but the team too underachieved in the eyes of its supporters. Still, head coach Steve Sarkisian isnt going anywhere as he had been entrusted with ushering in the next phase of the Trojans championship-or-bust run. USC is making its 49th official bowl appearance (32-16), and it blasted Fresno State in last years Las Vegas Bowl, 45-20. The Trojans are playing in the city of San Diego for just the seventh time, and the first since 1992. We are excited to go play in the Holiday Bowl and be the first USC team to do so, said Sarkisian, who previously guided Washington to the 2010 Holiday Bowl, where his Huskies beat Nebraska, 19-7. We get to play close to home and our fans will show up in force. Theyll get to see a pair of Top-25 teams with storied football heritages. Having been to the Holiday Bowl when I was at Washington, I know this bowl experience will be a good one for our players and fans. The series between these two stories programs features four previous meeting, with USC leading 3-0-1. The most recent encounters occurred during a home-and- home series in 2006-07, with the Trojans winning both times. Nebraska was one of the top scoring offenses in the Big Ten this season, putting up 37.4 ppg behind typical outputs of 248.2 ypg rushing and 198.0 ypg passing. The Cornhuskers relied heavily on star RB Ameer Abdullah to carry much of the load, and he responded by totaling 1,523 yards and 18 TDs. Quarterback Tommy Armstrong, Jr. was next on the teams rushing list with 664 yards and five scores, while throwing for an additional 19 TDs and more than 2,300 yards, despite completing only 51.7 percent of his passes. Jordan Westerkamp and Kenny Bell were the guys Armstrong looked to most often, as they combined for 81 catches, 1,383 yards and nine scores. The Nebraska offensive line did a nice job in helping the backs average 5.5 ypc, while at the same time yielding only 19 sacks. The defense was middling unit compared to the other 13 teams in the Big Ten, the Huskers allowing 24.8 points and 372.8 yards per contest. Foes ran for more than 176 ypg against the Blackshirts, scoring 23 TDs on the ground to rank Nebraska fourth from the bottom in that category. The effort against the pass permitted fewer than 200 ypg, and the team recorded 27 sacks while ranking fourth in the league in opponents third-down conversion percentage (.307). The Cornhuskers were also among the league leaders in red zone defense (.805). Zaire Anderson has amassed 95 tackles to pace the unit, and that includes 12 TFL and two sacks, while Nate Gerry is second with 85 stops to go along with his club-best five interceptions. Randy Gregory has the most sacks of anyone on the roster with seven, and Josh Mitchell has been credited with a dozen PBU. Even though they averaged 35.1 points and 452.8 yards per outing, the Trojans were a middle-of-the-pack offensive team compared to the others calling the Pac-12 Conference home. Five teams churned out more yardage, although it wasnt for a lack of effort on the part of standout QB Cody Kessler, who hit the mark on an impressive 70.7 percent of his passes, doing so for more than 3,500 yards, 36 TDs and only four INTs. Also turning in sensation seasons were WR Nelson Agholor, who caught 97 balls for 1,223 yards and 11 scores, and RB Javorious Allen, who rumbled his way to 1,337 yards and nine TDs. Allowing 23.8 points and 400.2 yards per contest ranked the Trojans third and second, respectively in the conference, with their effort against the run (132.5 ypg) being the better of the two pursuits. USC ranked eighth in pass defense (267.7 ypg), but finished second in pass efficiency defense (118.5). Hayes Pullard logged a team-best 87 tackles during the 2014 campaign, while Sua Cravens had 16 of the squads 73 TFL. J.R. Tavai tallied seven of its 30 sacks. USC led the Pac-12 in opponents third-down conversion percentage (.352), while also pacing the league in interceptions with 13, although no player had more than two. Mike Soroka Jersey .com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins will try to complete a sweep of the Washington Capitals when the clubs cap a quick home-and-home series Tuesday night in the Steel City. John Smoltz Braves Jersey . Jamies number grades given are out of five, with five being the best mark. Jonathan Quick, Los Angeles Kings (3) - Early goal against was on the power play. https://www.cheapbraves.com/303o-ender-inciarte-jersey-braves.html . Grilli hasnt pitched since straining his left oblique in late April. Manager Clint Hurdle says the right-hander will make a couple of appearances in middle relief before the team determines whether to return Grilli to the back end of the bullpen.BROSSARD, Que. -- Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price said Saturday the "lower body" injury he suffered in the NHL Eastern Conference final wont need surgery. Prices playoffs ended in the second period of the series opener after New York Rangers forward Chris Krieder crashed into him while on a breakaway. He would only call it a lower body injury, although he was wearing a brace on his right knee in the days after the incident. "Over time its going to get back to normal," he said. "I actually got really lucky, it could have been a lot worse than it was." Price lay on the ice for a moment after the collision early in the second period of New Yorks 7-2 victory, but finished the period. He was substituted by back-up Peter Budaj for the third. No penalty was called on the play, although teammate Brandon Prust said Kreiders crash was "accidental on purpose." "I dont think he did it intentionally and I dont think he tried to miss me either," said Price. "He was coming in with a lot of speed and he lost his footing. "Theres not much really to be said. Im not going to go seeking revenge or anything like that. Hockey is a game of chance and unfortunately, I was unlucky in that situation." Budaj was beaten for three goals in his one period of action and coach Michel Therrien made the surprise decision to start third-stringer Dustin Tokarski for the rest of the series. Tokarski, who had only played 10 NHL regular season games in his career and had no playoff experience, was solid in goal, going 2-3-1 with a 2.60 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage. Price had been 8-4-1 with a 2.35 average and a .919 save percentage. "That was probably one of the hardest situations you could ever throw a guy into and he really excelled," Price said of Tokarski, a former rival in the junior Western Hockey League. Tom Glavine Jersey. "He showed why hes won at different levels. "Hes an awesome guy and Ive got to tip my hat to him. He did an awesome job." It left Budaj out to dry. The Slovak has a year remaining on his contract but looks to have been bumped to third-string status. Price feels for him. "Its definitely a tough spot," he said. "Peters one of the genuinely nicest human beings Ive ever met. "Hes an unbelievable backup. Hes one of the best friends I have on this team and he showed a lot of character. He never hung his head, never pouted and he showed the utmost support for everybody, including Dustin. It takes a special person to do that." Price was on an accelerated rehab program after the injury. Going from a five-minute skate to a half hour in pads and then practising with his teammates. He said he should have been able to play if the team reached the Stanley Cup final. "I would have been pushing my luck to come back real quick, but obviously the time of year I would be trying to come back real soon," he said. "Obviously, in the playoffs you play through things, and thats what I wanted to do. But theres also the reality that no matter how bad you want to play and how bad you want to get in there, theres also a question of how effective you are going to be. That was a decision that we had to make." He said the injury was not related to the one he suffered while backstopping Canada to gold at the Sochi Olympics in February. The 26-year-old plans to continue rehab in Montreal for a short spell and return home to British Columbia to heal and get ready for next season. ' ' '