A brace fromJavier Hernandez helped Manchester United to come from two goals down to beat Braga 3-2 in their Champions League Group H clash at Old Trafford.

Braga had stunned the home crowd in the first 20 minute after Brazilian Alan headed home inside 90 seconds and the Portuguese side crafted a second as Alan again slotted past David De Gea after fine work by Eder.

United's Mexico striker Hernandez quickly replied from Shinji Kagawa's cross, Jonny Evans equalised from close range in the 62nd and Hernandez headed the winner 15 minutes from time.

United boss Alex Ferguson again went for Carrick as  Nike Air Max 95Jonny Evans' partner in defence, presumably on the basis Braga would not offer much of a physical threat.

Carrick lacks defensive nous though, and having shepherded Eder to the by-line, his failure to trap the Portugal international there was suicidal.

After turning sharply, Eder scampered towards the goal before cutting a cross back to provide Alan with an easy finish to put the visitors ahead.

This would have been bad enough. The fact Braga were already in front raised serious concerns about United's ability to pull through.

Barely a minute had elapsed when Alan pulled to the far post and climbed above Alex Buttner, replacing Patrice Evra for the first European game of his entire career, and steered it past David de Gea.

It was the eighth time they had fallen behind this season, and the fourth occasion in the last five games, a quite shocking statistic that cannot continue if United are going to be serious challengers for silverware this term.

Predictably, a team skippered by Wayne Rooney and including Robin van Persie and a host of other stellar attacking talents, the hosts were a force at the other end.

A wise advantage by Serbian referee Milorad Mazic allowed Shinji Kagawa to profit from a foul on Van Persie, crossing for Hernandez, who nodded home.

The pair would have combined to haul United level had an offside flag not been raised against Kagawa as he darted on to Van Persie's through ball before rolling another cross into Hernandez's path.

Ferguson noted that mistake, and a few others, in his half-time assessment of proceedings.

However, in hauling off Kagawa and introducing Nani at the break, the Scot was also signalling the diamond he feels could revolutionise United needs a bit more polishing before it is ready for public display.

The transformation was immediate as United sped down the flanks, pinning their opponents back.

As the crosses fizzed across Braga's goal, the visitors' defending became increasingly desperate.

When Evans took a fresh air swipe at Van Persie's corner, the attempted clearance cannoned back off Elderson, allowing the Northern Ireland defender a second chance, which he duly prodded in.

It was Evans' second goal in three games, not a bad return considering he had only scored once in his previous 131 appearances for the Red Devils.

From that moment it was only a matter of time before United got their winner.

Tom Cleverley provided it with a superb, deep cross from the right touchline.

Hernandez, whose movement was akin to that he showed during his debut season, peeled away and headed home.

White Sox right-hander Andre Rienzo, a skinny Brazilian who was suspended for PED use in the spring, has been as impressive as any pitcher at the start of the Arizona Fall League. He has combined a mid-90s fastball and a high-80s cutter to strike out 10 in seven innings without allowing an earned run. He could jump from Double A to the big leagues next spring. …

Hitting coach Scott Coolbaugh is the fall guy for the Rangers' slide. They have hired the Red Sox's Dave Magadan, who had been rumored as a candidate with the Cubs. …

A lot of baseball people believe that a trade of the Rangers' Elvis Andrus for the Diamondbacks' Justin Upton makes sense. But Rangers manager Ron  Nike Air Max ShoesWashington didn't play shortstop Jurickson Profar much once he joined the roster. …

The Mariners could be another option for Upton. They are willing to trade one of their intriguing pitching prospects --

Taijuan Walker, Danny Hultzen or James Paxton — for hitting. …

Two top pitchers expected to be shopped this winter are closers Joel Hanrahan of the Pirates and Chris Perez of the Indians. The Indians view Vinnie Pestano as a closer in waiting, and GM Neal Huntington worries that Hanrahan's salary is outgrowing a closer's value. …

Don't be surprised if the Cubs find a way to add left-hander John Lannan this winter, either in a trade with the Nationals or as a free agent after he's nontendered. …

Orioles GM Dan Duquette is facing an interesting offseason. He has 15 arbitration-eligible players and a really tough decision with Mark Reynolds, who is the most prominent possible nontender. …

The Rockies are seriously considering Jason Giambi for their manager's job. He has the personality for it, that's for sure. …

The Rangers are working to re-sign catcher Geovany Soto but are unlikely to offer him salary arbitration.

Everett Golson isn't quite all the way back to being Notre Dame's starting quarterback after all.

The sophomore is expected to complete the journey Monday, but not before he undergoes a "full physical exertion" test to determine how his body reacts, post-concussion, to some strenuous cardiovascular work.

"As I said earlier, he was cleared (to practice) because he had passed all those (concussion) tests – they want to just make sure we run him hard (Monday and elevate his blood pressure and make sure," Irish coach Brian Kelly said on his Sunday teleconference.

"That's the last piece The rest is, let's go play. (Monday) will be the last real test."

Golson didn't start against BYU on Saturday and Kelly Air Max 95 had elected not to play him at all after he suffered a concussion against Stanford the previous weekend and only returned to practice on Wednesday.

While he obviously did some work in the ramp-up to BYU and made his case to Kelly to play, Golson did not apparently stress his body totally -- or at least not enough to remove all doubt that he could play.

"He took reps, but the reps he took were really more of 7-on-7 and some team reps," Kelly said. "We really haven't run him physically like he would in a game situation after a big run and maybe he comes back back and runs an option play. I just want to make sure we cover everything. We expect that go well. If it goes well, now it's just full steam ahead to Oklahoma."

Golson has started five of seven games for the Irish, throwing for 968 yards and four touchdowns with a 124.1 pass efficiency rating. Backup Tommy Rees has played in six games, thrown 41 passes and has a 138.4 efficiency rating in his stints.

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MINNEAPOLIS - Minnesota had just defeated Arizona 21-14 at the Metrodome Sunday when Vikings quarterback Christian Ponder took to the podium and, essentially, apologized.

"It's a good thing to be disappointed when you're 5-2," he began. "Obviously the offense, especially me, didn't perform as we should have."

Winning will ease the pain, but consider the following:

The Vikings were outgained 356 yards to 209. Besides two long first-half scoring drives, the Vikings netted 49 yards.

And then there was Ponder. He completed eight of 17 air max 2012 passes for just 58 yards. He threw two interceptions for the third straight week. He led a Minnesota offense that gained a total of 58 yards and managed two first downs in the second half.

But it was enough.

That's because Vikings running back Adrian Peterson had his 29th career 100-yard gain, gaining 153 yards on 23 carries with his first touchdown since opening day. Percy Harvin caught four more passes, including one for a touchdown.

But, the credit for this one mainly goes to the defense. The Vikings sacked Arizona quarterback John Skelton seven times, and rookie safety Harrison Smith returned his first interception 31 yards for a touchdown early in the second half and give the Vikings a 21-7 lead.

"We just had too many mistakes," Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt said. "Turnover to start the second half was tough. Offensively we did some good things, but we've got to quit making mistakes."

Arizona's offense was just as shaky as Minnesota's. Skelton made Ponder pay for his first interception by leading a short drive that ended with LaRod Stephens-Howling's three-yard TD run. But Skelton was on his back or off the mark for most of the game. Even Stephens-Howling's 149 total yards from scrimmage wasn't enough offset that.

Defensive ends Brian Robison (three) and Jared Allen (two) each had multiple sacks of Skelton, who was starting in place of the injured Kevin Kolb.

"We knew we were going to have to outplay their defense," Robison said. "They have a great defense over there. We had to get after their quarterback, not let him sit there and make plays. We wish we would have tackled better on the run, but bottom line is we got a win."

Indeed. The 5-2 Vikings are set to host Tampa Bay Thursday for a chance to finish the first half of the season with six wins. After starting the season 4-0, the Cardinals have now lost three straight overall and have lost their last eight games played at the Metrodome.

"It was one thing - the inability to capitalize on opportunities - that is extremely frustrating," Cardinals receiver Larry Fitzgerald said.

The Vikings offense moved the ball early, using 12 plays to take a 7-0 lead on Peterson's 13-yard run. After the Cardinals turned Ponder's first pick into a TD to tie the score, the Vikings moved 69 yards in 10 plays to score on Ponder's three-yard TD pass to Harvin.

That was pretty much it for the Vikings offense, which had three-and-outs on four of six second-half possessions.

Smith made it 21-7 early in the third when he stepped in front of Skelton's pass intended for Early Doucet and returned it for a score. After that, neither offense could execute. In all, Arizona had five drives of six plays or longer but could not close the deal, losing the ball twice on downs, once by fumble and once by interception.

The bottom line was a victory for Minnesota.

"It's hard to get wins in the National Football League," Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said. "That was a tough team we played today, one that I'm sure this December will be battling for a spot in the playoffs. There were things we didn't do well. We could have done a lot better and we'll try to make those corrections.''

NOTES: Rashad Johnson started ahead of Kerry Rhodes at free safety for the Cardinals. The other lineup change was Reagan Maui'a starting at fullback in place of the injured Anthony Sherman. ... As expected, Vikings receiver Jerome Simpson - who was inactive last week with problems the team said were related to his back - was active. ... Peterson's 29th 100 yard game tied him with Robert Smith for most in franchise history. ... Jared Allen had his first multiple-sack game since Week 17 of the 2011 season.

DEFINING THE ‘FLOP' The NBA defines flopping as “any physical act that appears to have been intended to cause the referees to call a foul on another player. The primary factor in determining whether a player committed a flop is whether his physical reaction to contact with another player is inconsistent with what would reasonably be expected given the force or direction of the contact.” Multimedia Photoview all photos Article Gallery: Breaking down the flop in the NBA NewsOK Related Articles NBA means business with flopping crackdown 10/20/2012 Thunder forward Nick Collison says referees can stop the flops by calling the game accordingly. The league determined it would be too difficult for refs to make the call on the floor, preferring instead to leave it to league office reviews. ‘FLOP' FINES The NBPA said it will file a grievance with the league office and an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board, arguing the players' association should have been consulted first before the NBA implemented fines for flopping. The NBA has said it is within its rights to levy fines. “Although we haven't seen any filing from the Players Association, our adoption of an anti-flopping rule is fully consistent with our rights and obligations under the collective bargaining agreement and the law,” league spokesman Tim Frank said. Nike Air Max 95Here are the league's proposed fines: Violation 1: Warning Violation 2: $5,000 fine Violation 3: $10,000 fine Violation 4: $15,000 fine Violation 5: $30,000 fine Note: The league said it will announce a separate set of flopping penalties for the playoffs. ‘FLOP' FINDINGS At the beginning of the 2010-11 season, Sports Illustrated asked 152 NBA players who they thought was the league's biggest flopper. Here are the results, with the players who received the most votes (and his team at the time): 1. C Anderson Varejao (Cleveland) 2. G Manu Ginobili (San Antonio) 3. F Luis Scola (Houston) 4. G Derek Fisher (LA Lakers) 5. G Kevin Martin (Houston) 6. F Shane Battier (Memphis) 7. F Jarron Collins (Utah) 8. F Raja Bell (Utah) 9. G Jose Barea (Dallas) 10. F Andres Nocioni (Philadelphia) FLIP-FLOPPING Thunder coach Scott Brooks: “I don't think there is a place for it. I think you should play straight up and if the guy makes a better play on you, you should live with that and try to do better the next time. You should not try to flop. It's nothing I thought about as a player, and it's nothing that I teach as a coach.” Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra: “It's not good for the game. Nobody likes the flop. A majority of coaches don't like the flop, particularly if you're trying to build a solid defense.” Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant: “I like the rule. Shameless flopping, that's a chump move. We're familiar with it. (Former teammate) Vlade (Divac) kind of pioneered it in that playoff series against Shaq (O'Neal), and it kind of worked for him.” New York Knicks forward Rasheed Wallace: “Hey, you all thought I was crazy for saying it over the last so-and-so years. I ain't even gonna get into it, but yes. They needed to bend on that.” Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau: “The game is in a very good place right now. You're always trying to improve it. I think it will be better. The flopping has gotten a little out of hand.” Chicago Bulls forward Carlos Boozer: “(Lakers center) Dwight (Howard) is going to love that rule. Most of the big men are pretty finesse, but for us powerful guys like myself, Dwight, Zach Randolph, Blake Griffin, guys flop on us. To me, I think it helps our game. It's almost like a bailout. They flop and the possession is over as opposed to playing defense.” San Antonio Spurs forward Matt Bonner (a vice president of the players' union): “Obviously, flopping isn't a good thing for the game. The question is, how do you police it? Fining seems a bit extreme, to say the least. I don't think it will hold up. If it does, I'm curious what the collateral damage will be. It's too extreme in my opinion.” San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili: “It's going to be very hard to determine. Many times, it's an exaggeration of contact. That's not a flop. A flop is when there is not contact and not a foul. So we'll see how they explain it and how it works.” Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban: “Other teams flop, we don't. That's just it in a nutshell. That's because we never played any (defense) before. But now we do.”

Steer roper Chet Herren of Pawhuska claimed the average championship Friday at the Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo in Duncan. Herren roped and tied down three steers in 39.8 seconds Friday morning at the Stephens County Fair and Expo Center to win the title. Advertisement He earns a berth in the National Circuit Finals Steer Roping next spring in Torrington, Wyo. He also will be competing Nov. 2-3 at the Lazy E Arena in Guthrie in the National Finals Steer Roping. Two-time world champion Rocky Patterson of Pratt, Kan., finished second in the average in a cumulative time of 41.3 seconds and also won the year-end championship. The Prairie Circuit Finals Rodeo continues through Saturday.cheap Air Max 95 OCU OPENS WITH THREE WINS The defending national champion Oklahoma City University women's wrestling team opened its season Friday with three routs at the Cliff Keen OCU Duals in Abe Lemons Arena. The Stars whipped Lindenwood (Mo.) 41-0; Waldorf (Iowa) 43-3; and Jamestown (N.D.) 33-10. Oklahoma City, which opened the season ranked No. 2, has won 60 consecutive duals. The Stars had two falls each from Emily Webster (101 pounds), Joey Miller (116) and Brieanna Delgado (136). The tournament continues at 9 a.m. Saturday.

Three weeks ago, it looked like the final Edlam game of the season would be a clunker. Edmond Santa Fe was rolling and Edmond Memorial was reeling. Southmoore's Peirce Spead gts by Edmond Memorial's Charlie Dutton during the high school football game between Edmond Memorial and Southmoore at Wantland Stadium in Edmond, Okla., Friday, Oct. 19, 2012. Photo by Sarah Phipps, The Oklahoman Multimedia Photoview all 17 photos Article Gallery: Plenty on the line in final Edlam showdown NewsOK Related Articles High school notebook: Wellston snaps losing streak 10/20/2012 The Tigers broke a 21-game losing streak by defeating Holdenville, 21-14, in a game where Wellston rallied from a 14-0 first quarter deficit. Week 8 high school football rankings: Deer Creek falls to No. 4 in 5A; Jones enters 3A rankings at No. 10 10/20/2012 After losing to Guthrie in overtime Thursday, Deer Creek dropped to No. 4 in the Class 5A rankings. In Class 3A, Jones is No. 10 after crushing Tuttle on... Memorial seemed destined for a second consecutive season outside the playoffs after an 0-5 start, while Santa Fe was playing like it was expected to before the season — as one of the top teams in Class 6A. Three weeks later, Air Max 95Santa Fe continues to roll after Friday's big win against Norman that pushed the Wolves to the brink of a district championship. Memorial, though, has turned things around in a big way. The Bulldogs have won three consecutive games, beating Mustang, Choctaw and Southmoore to get to the brink of a playoff berth. With two games left — including Friday's Edlam matchup against Santa Fe at Wantland Stadium — Memorial is in a three-way fight with Southmoore and Lawton for two playoff spots. “Finally in the Mustang game, we had some momentum and we were able to get rolling,” Memorial coach Justin Meredith said. “We were able to keep that going, and once we won that game, we got on a roll.” Meredith expected his young team to have some growing pains early in the season, especially with a schedule that included Edmond North, Deer Creek, Lawton and Norman in the first half of the season. “They're really playing well right now,” Santa Fe coach Lance Manning said. “They've been on a huge roll lately.” Manning doesn't expect a letdown from his team, though, even if Memorial's recent success hadn't heightened their awareness of the Bulldogs' explosiveness. “I understand why it would be easy to think that, but I don't think that would be a problem with this team,” Manning said. “They didn't have a letdown last year in games like this, and Memorial is a big game no matter what is at stake.” There is plenty at stake in this one, though, on both sides. For Santa Fe, it's a district championship. The Wolves need one win over the last two weeks — they finish the season at Choctaw — to claim a second consecutive district title. For Memorial, it's a chance at its first playoff berth since 2010. The Bulldogs can clinch a playoff spot with a win against Santa Fe and one to close the season against a one-win Putnam City West team, although winning one of the two gives the Bulldogs a solid chance to get in on a tiebreaker. “It's my goal to keep them calm, keep it in perspective and keep doing what we've been doing so we can give ourselves a chance to win this game,” Meredith said. “Of course, it's a huge game to our kids. Edmond is such a competitive city and school district.”

TEMPE, Ariz. – The Arizona Cardinals have switched quarterbacks. Their sieve of an offensive line shows no sign of improving. They have scored a combined 19 points in the last two games. They rank 31st out of 32 NFL teams in offense.

Clearly, the Cardinals must lean on their defense more than ever.

As they head to Minnesota to face the surprising Vikings, air max 2012the Cardinals are the only team in the NFL not to give up more than 21 points in a game this season.

No defensive player will say it, but any success depends on those who will be trying to chase down the likes of Percy Harvin, Adrian Peterson and Christian Ponder on Sunday.

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Kansas City, KS – Kasey Kahne won the pole for Sunday's Hollywood Casino 400 after he easily shattered the track qualifying record on the newly repaved Kansas Speedway.

Kahne, who is in this year's Chase for the Sprint Cup championship, topped Michael Waltrip Racing drivers Mark Martin and Clint Bowyer in Friday's qualifying session at Kansas with a lap at 191.360 mph. The Hendrick Motorsports driver notched his fourth pole of the season and the 26th of his Sprint Cup Series career.

All 46 drivers who participated in qualifying posted a lap faster than the previous track record of 180.856 mph, set by Matt Kenseth in Oct. 2005.

Sprint Cup teams have spent the past two days testing at Kansas to familiarize themselves with the new pavement and reconfiguration. nike air max shoesThe 1.5-mile racetrack now has variable banking from 17 degrees to 20 in the turns. The previous banking in the corners here was 15 degrees.

"I'm really happy, and our team has done a nice job this week," Kahne said. "We've been here for a few days, and it's been cold. The track is great. I think they did a really nice job here at Kansas Speedway, with the repavement and making the track what it is. It's going to be tough this weekend, but from here on out, it's going to be one of the best racetracks we go to."

Martin, who is driving a limited Sprint Cup schedule for MWR this year, earned the outside pole with a lap at 191.238 mph. His teammate, Clint Bowyer, who hails from nearby Emporia, Kan., qualified third at 191.130 mph. Bowyer, who is a title contender, won last weekend's race at Charlotte.

Kyle Busch took the fourth spot, followed by Aric Almirola and Ryan Newman.

Jimmie Johnson, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick completed the top-10. Johnson, Hamlin and Harvick are in the Chase as well.

During Thursday morning's test session, Hamlin crashed hard into the turn one wall. He complained of dizziness shortly after the incident. Medical officials at the track evaluated him throughout the day and eventually cleared him to race.

"I feel 100 percent today," Hamlin said prior to the start of Friday's lone practice session. "Thought I was good yesterday, and then obviously, I got better with every hour, but today after waking up, I'm 100 percent and good to go. Really, it's just business as usual for the weekend."

Points leader Brad Keselowski qualified 25th. Keselowski currently holds a seven-point lead over Johnson and a 15-point advantage over Hamlin. Bowyer is 28 markers out of the lead.

Josh Wise, Cole Whitt and David Stremme are those drivers who failed to qualify for the 400-mile race at Kansas, which is scheduled to start just after 2 p.m. (ET).

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – When the fourth quarter starts, the New England Patriots stop.

From last season's Super Bowl to last Sunday's loss, they've been outscored 47-21 in the final period in six of their seven games. They've lost their touch for finishing strong.

"The end of the game is the most critical part of the game," offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said, "and we need to do better."

The Patriots led the New York Giants 17-15 going into the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl but lost 21-17. This season, two of their three losses came when they led after the third quarter. The only game in which they were clearly superior in the fourth was a 52-28 win cheap Air Max 95 over Buffalo when they outscored the Bills 31-7 in that period.

In that fourth quarter alone, they scored four touchdowns and one field goal.

In their other five games, they have just one touchdown and four field goals in the final 15 minutes.

They hope to change that Sunday against the New York Jets in a meeting of two of the four AFC East teams tied for first place at 3-3.

"There's no magic formula or plays to call," quarterback Tom Brady said. "It's just a matter of doing it and doing it well. Football requires 53 players to all be on the same page and that's why we practice and talk about things and that's why we meet all day. I think we've been presented with some situations where we haven't done that."

Like last Sunday in Seattle.

They led the Seahawks 20-10 after three quarters but lost 24-23 with the offense, defense and special teams all failing in critical fourth-quarter situations. Brady threw an interception in the end zone and later was penalized for intentional grounding, the secondary allowed two touchdown passes and Zoltan Mesko's line-drive punt allowed Leon Washington's 25-yard punt return that helped set up the deciding touchdown and extra point.

"When you get down to the end of the fourth quarter, then the whole game really now hinges on just a handful of plays or sometimes just one play," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "Then it really becomes an awareness thing and certainly an execution thing.

"Mental toughness, I think, is part of it, awareness is part of it, basic execution is part of it, conditioning is part of it, scheming and actual technique of the play, the way the play is set up, all those things are part of it."

The Patriots have thrived in the fourth quarter during Brady's career. Entering this season, he led them to wins 34 times after trailing or being tied in the fourth quarter.

He just hasn't been the same this year.

In his last possession against the Seahawks, he got the ball at his 20-yard line with 1:14 left and a one-point deficit and couldn't get a first down. On the two series before that, the Patriots punted after advancing only to their 46 and 43.

They weren't much better in the fourth quarter of a 31-30 loss to Baltimore that they led 27-21 after the third. They had to punt on their last two possessions and the Ravens won on a 27-yard field goal by Justin Tucker on the final play.

"We've just got to keep working," running back Stevan Ridley said. "It's a 60-minute football game. You can't play 40 minutes. You can't play 45. You can't play 50. You've got to play it all the way out to the end.

"So, for us, whether it's finishing games, starting off fast, whatever, it has to be a complete football game and that's what coach (Belichick) has been stressing to us. ... If we don't play all four quarters, all 60 minutes, the chances of us finishing with a win in the way that we want to do it is not high."

In three of their last four games, the Patriots didn't score a fourth-quarter touchdown despite reaching their opponent's territory on eight of their 12 possessions. They did kick a field goal in two of those fourth quarters, but that left them short and they lost each game by one point.

"We just haven't done a good enough job," left guard Logan Mankins said. "It would be nice to get out there in the fourth quarter this week and have a really strong finish to the game and score some points in the fourth."

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