Forumregeln » period. The Oilers play again tomorrow at home

CLEVELAND - Before he earned Pro Bowl trips, adulation and an enormous multimillion-dollar contract, Joe Thomas was just a talented rookie left tackle on a winning team. NHL Jerseys China .The Browns were 5-3 at the midway point in 2007, and Thomas figured it would be like that every season.It aint so, Joe.Seven years, several coaching changes and a carousel of starting quarterbacks later, Cleveland is 5-3 again.It feels pretty good, Thomas said after a 22-17 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday. Its been a long time. I like where we are.The Browns, beaten down for so long, are legit.Brian Hoyer threw a 34-yard TD pass to wide receiver Taylor Gabriel with 8:59 remaining, helping Cleveland complete a favourable three-game stretch with their fourth win in five games. The Browns are in the mix, and with a big game ahead on Thursday night in Cincinnati, they can make something special of this season.Cleveland was trailing 17-16 when Hoyer held on to the ball a little longer and completed his second TD pass, this one to Gabriel, an emerging undrafted free agent who has been making big plays all year.It wasnt always pretty with the way our offence was playing, said Hoyer, who ignored some boos and improved to 8-3 as Clevelands starter. But were 5-3 and weve just got to continue to improve.Hoyer finished 21 of 34 for a season-high 300 yards, two TDs and two interceptions.The Browns went 2-1 the past three weeks against Jacksonville, Oakland and Tampa Bay, who entered a combined 2-19. Cleveland may have struggled against teams it should have handled with ease, but past Browns teams would have likely lost these types of games.Things have changed quite a bit, Pro Bowl cornerback Joe Haden said. To be 5-3 is just amazing. Five games is the most Ive won since Ive been here.Tampa Bays Mike Glennon threw a pair of 24-yard TDs to rookie Mike Evans for the Buccaneers (1-7), who have lost four in a row and five this season by six points or less.Weve got to find a way to win a game now is what we have to do, said first-year coach Lovie Smith. Were running out of time.Billy Cundiff kicked three field goals for the improved Browns, who have the leagues attention under first-year coach Mike Pettine.Well celebrate a little bit tonight, but emphasis on a little, Pettine said. Were in a good spot and our guys are confident, but this is one here where we know we have to be all in this week.Tampa Bay had a chance in the final two minutes, but couldnt convert on a fourth-and-11 with 1:45 left. The Bucs appeared to pick up a first down on the previous play, but Evans was called for pass interference.Hoyers TD pass to Gabriel was set up by Cleveland linebacker Craig Robertson, who broke through and deflected a Tampa Bay punt to give the Browns the ball at the Bucs 35.Two plays later, Hoyer dropped back and was about to be hit by Tampa Bays Lavonte David on a blitz. But rookie running back Terrance West alertly stepped up and got a piece of the Buccaneers linebacker, giving Hoyer enough time to loft his scoring pass to Gabriel and giving the Browns a 22-17 lead.I had three good blocks today, West said. That was the best one, though.Glennon went 17 of 33 for 260 yards, and fell to 1-4 while filling in for injured starter Josh McCown.His second 24-yard scoring pass to Evans put the Bucs ahead 17-16.Glennon floated a pass to the back shoulder of Evans, who made a twisting catch and was able to get both feet in for the score. As he did after his first score, Evans looked at Clevelands sideline and rubbed his fingers together in the money-making gesture his former college teammate, Browns rookie quarterback Johnny Manziel, made famous at Texas A&M.It just came to my mind, Evans said of his celebration. Thats one of my best buds. I just wanted to give him a hard time.A costly penalty by Tampa Bay star defensive end Gerald McCoy helped the Browns take a 16-10 lead. The Browns were lining up for a go-ahead field goal when McCoy, who signed a six-year, $95.2 million in October, was whistled for a neutral-zone infraction. Cleveland converted on fourth-and-1 and two plays later, Hoyer hit a wide-open West.NOTES: Browns S Tashaun Gipson got his sixth interception. ... Browns DE Billy Winn set up Clevelands first score by blocking a 31-yard field-goal attempt by Tampa Bays Patrick Murray. ... The Buccaneers led at halftime for the first time this season. ... Hoyers 300 yards are his most since his first start last season at Minnesota (321).___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic . These days, just about anyone can get a taste of the friendship that has blossomed between All-Star Kevin Durant and Oklahoma City Thunder teammate James Harden, most famous in the past two weeks or so for the elbow to the head he took from the Los Angeles Lakers Metta World Peace. Wholesale NHL Jerseys . If Vettel wins at Suzuka on Sunday, and his nearest rival Fernando Alonso finishes worse than eighth, the German driver will join his compatriot Michael Schumacher and Argentine Juan-Manuel Fangio as the only men to win four consecutive titles.EDMONTON -- Jesse Joensuu was one of the least heralded free-agent signings the Edmonton Oilers made this summer, but he is starting to make a name for himself now. The 25-year-old Finnish forward scored his third goal of the pre-season and was named the games first star as the Edmonton Oilers won their third consecutive game, defeating the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 on Monday night. After bouncing back and forth between the New York Islanders and their American Hockey League affiliate in Bridgeport Sound over a four-year period, Joensuu went back to Europe and played in the Swedish Elite League during the 2011-2012 season and rediscovered his game. A sports hernia limited Joensuu to just seven games in his return to the Islanders last season before he opted to sign on with Edmonton. It has been a long road for the six-foot-four, 210-pound winger, but he feels he is finally poised to make his mark on a regular basis at the NHL level. "Im just really happy that I have been able to compete with everyone at the same level and that I am not hurt," said Joensuu, who has four points in four exhibition outings. "Compared to my previous training camps with the Islanders, this is like night and day. I feel like I belong and am competing at the same level as the guys I want to play with. Before I was just trying to survive and didnt feel comfortable at all." Oilers head coach Dallas Eakins said that Joensuu has made a very good case for himself to this point. "He has played nothing but well for me," said Eakins. "We need that size and he brings that. He protects the puck well and is strong on his stick. He made some big plays on the boards in our zone in this game and those are critical plays. Everybody likes the flash of a nice pass or a big hit, but you win the game along the wall just inside the blue-line. ... "The other thing I like is that he is vocal on the bench. You dont get that a lot sometimes from the European guys. He is vocal and into the game, which is another tthing we value here. Cheap Adidas NHL Jerseys. " Will Acton also scored for the Oilers (4-1-1), who did not dress many of their top offensive threats for the game. Chris Thorburn replied for the Jets (1-3-2), who have lost three straight in exhibition play. It took a while for either team to get on the board in a penalty-filled first period. The Jets finally started the scoring with just under a minute remaining as a Thorburn shot that appeared to be going wide hit the stick of Oilers starter Devan Dubnyk and deflected into the net. Edmonton tied the game just under three minutes into the second period when Tyler Pitlick put the puck in front of the net for a hard-charging Joensuu to direct past Jets goalie Edward Pasquale. It was Joensuus third goal of the pre-season. The Oilers went up 2-1 midway through the second period, when Acton deflected an Anton Belov point shot through Pasquales legs. Dubnyk made up for his gaffe earlier in the game with a five-alarm glove save on Olli Jokinen late in the second on a Winnipeg power play. There was no scoring in the third period. The Oilers play again tomorrow at home to the New York Rangers. The Jets are off until Thursday when they will welcome the Boston Bruins. Notes: It was the second pre-season meeting between the two teams. The Jets won the first match-up 3-2 on Sept. 18. ... The Jets were making their first visit to Rexall Place since March 1996. The Oilers and Jets will face off to start the regular season on Oct. 1 in Edmonton. ... After being roughed up in their last game against the Vancouver Canucks, resulting in a broken jaw and several missing teeth to centre Sam Gagner, the Oilers added some toughness in the form of Steve McIntyre on Monday. McIntyre, who will be joining the Oil for the third time in his career, was picked up off of waivers from Pittsburgh. ... Hulking 6-5 centre prospect Adam Lowry played in his first game of the pre-season for Winnipeg since hurting his neck in the first scrimmage of camp. ' ' '