Allgemein Infos » base safely in his 45th straight game as a third baseman

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- With his team desperate to win, Tom Coughlin lightened the mood for the New York Giants during the week. There was music -- certainly not from the 68-year-old coachs era -- at practice. A punt catching competition was held and there were some laughs. It turned to smiles and a W on Sunday against the Houston Texans with some old-fashioned football. Rashad Jennings ran for a career-high 176 yards and a touchdown and Eli Manning threw two TD passes as the Giants overcame some early mistakes and beat the suddenly error-prone Texans 30-17. The victory not only put some life back into the Giants (1-2), it also ended any chance of a second straight 0-6 start for Coughlins team, which has missed the playoffs the past two seasons. "Its good to get that first win," said Manning, who was 21 of 28 for 234 yards and no interceptions. "We didnt want to go through (0-6) again. The coaches and everybody didnt get too uptight. With coach keeping his cool, bringing a little excitement to practice, it helped the players just relax. We said: Its Sunday. Just go play football. Dont worry about being perfect or doing everything exactly. Just play the game you love." Manning joked about the music played on Friday. "We just stole it off Coach Coughlins iPad," he said. "You know, early 90s rap." The Giants got a lot of contributions. Victor Cruz made a 26-yard touchdown catch, his first since Game 4 of last season, and danced the salsa. The defence intercepted three of Ryan Fitzpatricks passes, and the special teams unit blocked a punt, setting up Mannings second TD. "This was huge for us, knowing we had to get this game and get this one under our belts with a short week and not wanting to look ahead," said Cruz, who quipped that he had to remember how to salsa after his score. "We had to take care of this one and get ready for Washington (Thursday night)." Fitzpatrick, who had not thrown an interception this season, threw a 44-yard scoring pass to Damaris Johnson and ran for another score for the Texans (2-1), who played without halfback Arian Foster (hamstring). Houston came in tied for the league lead with a plus-5 turnover differential. The Giants were at the other end of the spectrum at minus-6 with no takeaways. "Were not going to win any games when I play like that, especially in the first half with the turnovers," said Fitzpatrick, who was 20 of 34 for 289 yards. "Sometimes interceptions happen, but it was just poor play by me." On Sunday, the Giants won the turnover battle, got pressure from their front four and dominated the Texans defensive front in rushing for 193 yards in a much-needed win. New York outgained Houston 262-83 in the first half in taking a 14-0 lead on the touchdown pass to Cruz and a 1-yard run by Jennings, which was set up by Antrel Rolles 25-yard interception return to the Texans 2. The lead should have been a larger. Tight end Larry Donnell fumbled at the Texans 4 in the first quarter after a reception, and Pro Bowl long snapper Zak DeOssie rolled one past holder Steve Weatherford on a short field-goal attempt in the second. Houston added to its woes early in the third quarter, going for a first down on a fourth-and-1 from its own 46 and failing. Brown hit a 39-yard field goal to make it 17-0 before Houston rallied behind Fitzpatrick. Three passes to DeAndre Hopkins set up a field goal, and Johnsons TD closed the gap to 17-10 with 2:13 left in the quarter. Jennings, who carried 34 times, had three rushes for 28 yards as the Giants drove for a field goal to extend the lead to 20-10 early in the fourth. Damontre Moore blocked Shane Lechlers punt to give New York the ball at the Houston 29, and Manning and Fells hooked up for touchdown for the second straight week. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie intercepted Fitzpatrick on the next series, setting up Browns final field goal. NOTES: Jennings previous career high was 150 yards vs. Houston last season while playing for Oakland. ... The Texans had not allowed a sack in their first two games. The Giants got two and had five quarterback hurries. ... Jameel McClain, who replaced Jon Beason at middle linebacker had a team-high 11 tackles and half a sack. ... New Jersey native Brian Cushing had a game-high 17 tackles. ... J.J. Watt had a sack and two tackles for losses. ... Alfred Blue had 78 yards on 13 carries, starting for Foster. ... Prince Amukamara also had an interception for New York. ... Johnathan Joseph had a fumble recovery for the Texans. Bradley Chubb Jersey . - The infectious smile was missing from Nam Nguyen last week. Phillip Lindsay Broncos Jersey . Toronto announced the deal with the restricted free agent on Saturday. The terms were not disclosed. http://www.thebroncosstoreonline.com/Youth-Gary-Zimmerman-Broncos-Jerseys/ . The Calgary skip fell 10-8 to Swedens Oskar Eriksson in semifinal action Saturday and will face Switzerlands Peter de Cruz for the bronze medal (Saturday at 10pm et/7pm pt on TSN2). Peyton Manning Womens Jersey . - Carter Verhaeghe scored the winner with 41 seconds to go as the Niagara IceDogs edged the North Bay Battalion 3-2 to even their first-round series at a game apiece in Ontario Hockey League playoff action on Sunday. Joe Flacco Jersey . Lawrie was hit on the hand by Cincinnati pitcher Johnny Cueto in the second inning of Sundays 4-3 loss to the Reds.OAKLAND, Calif. -- Brandon Moss had grand slam on his mind. It felt as good as he thought it might. Moss hit a grand slam in the first inning, Josh Donaldson had two home runs and four RBIs, and the Oakland Athletics beat the Los Angeles Angels 9-5 on Friday night. "Ive never come close to one," Moss said after his first career slam. "I came close-ish once last year when I flied out to the wall. It was on my mind, not that I was trying to hit one. I just thought it would be cool to do it. And it felt good, for sure." Coco Crisp had two hits and drove in a run for the As, who have won three of five since a four-game losing streak. Moss, who left the game later with right calf tightness, came to the plate ready to swing. "He had just thrown six balls in a row and I was looking for one pitch in one spot," he said. "He needed to throw a strike. He has good stuff and you never know if the first pitch will be the best one you see. He missed twice and then threw a pitch in a good spot." Howie Kendrick hit a two-run homer and Mike Trout added a solo shot for the Angels, who lost for only the seventh time in 21 games. C.J. Cron also drove in a pair of runs. Drew Pomeranz (5-2) pitched a season-high 5 1-3 innings, allowing five runs and four hits. He walked three and struck out five. Pomeranz had not allowed a run at home in 17 innings before the Angels struck in the fourth. Garrett Richards (4-2) had not allowed more than two runs or five hits in his first six starts on the road before giving up five runs on five hits in the first inning. "That was embarrassing," he said. "I didnt show up for us tonight. I put us in a hole early. I couldnt find a feel for the two-seamer and couldnt make the adjustment." He did get an out prior to Moss slam and loaded the bases again before getting his second (and final) outt.dddddddddddd Richards walked Crisp to force in a run and was replaced by Wade LeBlanc. "When you know a fastball is coming, its easier to hit," Richards said. "Wade threw a heck of a game to keep us in it. Im disappointed, but I cant let one outing ruin my progress." Donaldson homered in the second and singled home a run in the third before the Angels answered with three runs in the fourth on the homers by Kendrick and Trout. Donaldson added a two-run shot in the fifth to put the As up 9-3. Cron responded with a two-run double in the sixth. "Ive been seeing good pitches for a while now," Donaldson said. "Its a matter of squaring them up or not. I was preparing for Richards and then its completely different with LeBlanc. He left a couple of mistakes over the plate and I was able to take advantage." Moss got his 19th extra-base hit of the month, setting an Oakland record for May. Donaldson reached base safely in his 45th straight game as a third baseman, the longest such streak in franchise history since at least 1914. LeBlanc pitched 6 1-3 innings in relief. He gave up four runs and six hits, striking out four. NOTES: The As sent 10 batters or more to the plate in an inning for the sixth time this season, which leads the majors. ... Angels OF Josh Hamilton was 2 for 4 with a run scored and a strikeout in his first game of a rehab assignment with Triple-A Salt Lake. ... Oakland LHP Eric OFlaherty threw 20 pitches in a simulated game at Triple-A Sacramento on Thursday. ... LHP Tyler Skaggs (4-2, 3.97 ERA) is the Angels scheduled starter Saturday. He set a season high with eight strikeouts in his last start. LHP Tommy Milone (3-3, 3.50) goes for the As. He is 3-0 with a 1.03 ERA over his last four starts. ... Trout extended his hitting streak to 11 games. ... The As improved to 21-3 when scoring first, best in the majors. ' ' '