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EAST RUTHERFORD, N. John Elway Jersey .J. -- David Carr is perfectly content being Eli Mannings backup and knows his chances of playing arent the best in the world. As for the other team that plays in MetLife Stadium and its developing situation at quarterback? Different story. But as for the New York Giants, Carr -- who officially re-signed Thursday despite not throwing a pass in either the regular season or the playoffs of their championship season -- is just fine with everything, thank you. "Ive said it before, these guys, you play ball in high school, you play ball in college and theres really not a better locker room that Ive been in, and thats including those times," Carr said. "Its a great environment. Guys keep you humble. They keep it loose. No one takes themselves too seriously, and with all the egos and all the good football players, youd think that would be a problem. But theres really not that issue in this locker room. "Thats why I like to be a part of it. It makes it very easy to come back." Carr and the Giants tentatively reached their agreement last week but needed time before announcing it. It is for one year, and $925,000. Carr was Mannings backup quarterback in 2008 and 09. He played in three games the first season and in six games in 2009 and in those two seasons, he completed 33 of 42 passes (78.6 per cent) for 340 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. He played in San Francisco in 2010 before rejoining the Giants last summer. He and incumbent Sage Rosenfels competed for the backup job until Rosenfels went on the injured reserve list because of back problems. "Its just natural for me," Carr said of the Giants offence. "I feel really comfortable in it. Ive run this for the majority of my career, partly with Chris Palmer who was here before, and now with (Kevin Gilbride and Manning) for my fourth year. So its very familiar to me. I feel really comfortable here. I know that if given the opportunity and put in the position to play on this team, I would do well. "Thats also a comforting feeling knowing that if you get into the game, youre in there, first of all, with the world champions, so how can you go wrong? And secondly, to know that youre going to go out there and succeed is also a positive." Carr was selected by the expansion Houston Texans with the first choice in the 2002 NFL Draft. He played five seasons in Houston and one with the Carolina Panthers before joining the Giants. In his 10-year career, Carr has completed 1,351 of 2,264 passes (59.7 per cent) for 14,433 yards, 65 touchdowns and 71 interceptions. He has been sacked 266 times, including a record 76 as a rookie in 2002. Carr said last season was special, especially with the Giants posting wins over the Jets and Dallas in the final two weeks of the regular season to win the NFC East with a 9-7 record. "Honestly, when we got in the playoffs, I didnt think we were going to lose just because of the talent level that we have in this locker room," Carr said. "If we could get on the same page ever at some point during the season, I knew wed be all right because honestly, I havent been around a team like this before -- physically, mentally. Its a mentally tough football team." The Giants charge, indeed, started with the 29-14 win over the Jets on Christmas Eve. It helped propel the Giants into the post-season, and helped push the Jets out. On Tuesday, the latter acquired quarterback Tim Tebow from Denver, though incumbent Mark Sanchez just also received a new deal. So, while confusion reigns for the Jets under centre, its status quo with the Giants. "There are so many times we came from behind in the fourth quarter and pulled them out. Its just a pleasure to be around," Carr said. "I think its one of the reasons I came back." While he didnt play last season, Carr contributed by helping prepare the Giants defence each week as the scout team quarterback. Carr is well suited for that role, because he can impersonate both dropback and running quarterbacks with equal efficiency. Steve Atwater Jersey . -- Marcus Thornton made four 3-pointers and scored 11 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Sacramento Kings past the Portland Trail Blazers 117-100 on Monday night. Champ Bailey Womens Jersey . The Nationals had exhausted their bullpen and had a starting pitcher warming up. http://www.fansbroncosroom.com/eric-decker-jersey . Valdes hasnt played since a 2-2 draw with Chelsea kept Barcelona from reaching the Champions League final. Coach Pep Guardiola has preferred to give Pinto playing time as he is expected to start the Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao on May 25. Demaryius Thomas Jersey . Both players sat out practice all week and the Browns downgraded them on their final injury report Saturday before facing the defending Super Bowl champions. Greg Little and rookie Josh Gordon will likely start Sunday, with Jordan Norwood working as the slot receiver. Derek Wolfe Jersey . Now that qualifies as fear mongering, but considering how entrenched both the league and the players association are with less than 10 days until the expiration of the existing collective bargaining agreement, sources on both sides are accepting the loss of another season as a possibility.Ultimately the New Jersey Devils were done in by a slow, somewhat unlucky start. And a key penalty call at the end. Losing two 2-1 overtime games at home to open the Stanley Cup final proved to be too big an obstacle to recover from. A 4-0 defeat in Los Angeles in Game 3 then pushed the Devils to the edge of the playoff precipice. Coach Peter DeBoers team gave it a yeoman effort, winning Games 4 and 5 -- 3-1 in Los Angeles and 2-1 in Newark -- before crashing 6-1 Monday night in Game 6 at the Staples Center. The Devils became the first team since 1945 -- and only the third ever -- to come back from an 0-3 deficit in the final and force Game 6. "I think the hockey world pretty much wrote us off," DeBoer said before Game 6, "and I think we feel weve played with no pressure because of that." But they could not match the 1942 Maple Leafs, the only team to come back from an 0-3 start and win the final (over Detroit). After Game 5, DeBoer was asked if he thought bad bounces even out over a series. "I think thats pretty fair," he replied. The Devils coach may be rethinking that. He was livid Monday when Steve Bernier was ejected and given a major for driving Rob Scuderi into the boards and bloodying the Kings defender. Seconds earlier Jarret Stoll went unpunished for a hit from behind on Devils forward Stephen Gionta. The Kings scored three times on the ensuing power play. "You know what, tonight is about L.A. and letting them celebrate," DeBoer said of the call after the game. "If you want to ask me about that in about a week, Ill give you my honest opinion on it." He said he felt for Bernier. "You know, its a bad spot for him to be in. Everybody knows Bernies hearts in the right place. Hes not at fault." Things went from bad to worse in the second period when Devils defenceman Anton Volchenkov got tangled with linesman Pierre Racicot seconds before the Kings made it 4-0. New Jersey will be due a few breaks when it next plays the Kings. Still the Devils showed remarkable resilience in the face of imminent Cup defeat. They were 4-0 in playoff elimination games prior to Monday. "Its a difficult thing to get yourself ready for games like that," 40-year-old goalie Martin Brodeur said after Game 5. "Now its been two in a row (in the final). It drains you a lot. It takes a lot out of you. But its worth it." Throughout the playoffs, the resilient Devils got better as the series progressed. New Jersey was 10-2 in Games 4 through 7 through the playoffs. But in a series where little things turned into big ones, they dug themselves too deep a hole after coming out at the wrong end of the opening overtime games. Even then, DeBoer believed. And his players proved him right with their comeback in Games 4 and 5 with Brodeur leading the way. "Ive been singing the same tune since Game 1," DeBoer said after Game 5. "I said even when we were down 3-0 (in the series) that I didnt feel that the series was that lopsided. "Our best players were our best players tonight. Brodeur and Parise and Kovalchuk. Thats the key this time of year." The fact that not all of the big guns were firinng at the same time was part of the Devils problems. Champ Bailey Jersey. Captain Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk were up and down with speculation that injuries, particularly to Kovalchuk, were taking a toll. An 0-for-15 power play finally came to life in Game 5, but it took a Jonathan Quick handling error to end the drought. The Devils beat Quick just seven times in six games (there was also an empty-net goal). Two of those goals bounced in off Kings defenceman Slava Voynov, another was a deflection and then there was the handling gaffe that gifted Parise a goal. New Jersey had more success as the series wore on, using its speed and passing to force the L.A. goalie to move side to side, opening up angles at net. They also looked to get physical around Quick. Brodeurs influence, meanwhile, increased as the series wore on, helping partially negate the Quick factor at the other end. Brodeurs composure on and off the ice helped keep the Devils together when other teams might have folded. "Hes played very well the last two nights," Kings coach Darryl Sutter said of Brodeur after Game 5. "We hit a couple (of posts). "Were probably saying what they said Games 1 and 2 where we got breaks and now they did. Thats how even it is." DeBoer made changes throughout the series, shuffling his forward lines and tweaking his defensive pairings. He also inserted veterans Petr Sykora and Henrik Tallinder as of Game 4. While New Jersey downplayed the cross-country commute, saying the Kings were doing it too, the final marked the first time the Devils had played out of their time zone since mid-January. Los Angeles also had a week to prepare for the final, compared to four days for New Jersey. New Jersey, seeded sixth in the East, finished ninth in the league at 48-28-6. After surviving Game 7 in overtime against third-seeded Florida, the Devils took out the No. 5 Flyers in five games and then the top-ranked Rangers in six. Playoff pluses include 22-year-old rookie forward Adam Henrique, whose overtime heroics and composure belied his inexperience. Three of Henriques five playoffs goals were game winners and two of them were series-clinchers -- against the Panthers and Rangers. Tallinders seamless return to the blue-line after an absence of 58 games and nearly five months due to a blood clot in the leg was remarkable. And another veteran defenceman, Bryce Salvador, showed an unlikely playoff scoring touch with four goals -- including the winner in Game 5 -- and 10 assists. The 36-year-old Salvador had no goals and nine assists in 82 regular-season games. The Devils were chasing their fourth Cup after wins in 1995, 2000 and 2003. They lost in seven games to Colorado in 2001. A first-rate organization from top to bottom, the Devils won points for their classy approach during the final despite the lopsided, chippy finale. DeBoer typified that, showing the same kind of character his team did during difficult times. Still, New Jersey faces a challenging off-season on and off the ice. The search for investment to help pay for the teams debt continues while Parise is a free agent this summer. The out-of-contract Brodeur says he will be back next season. ' ' '
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