Washington’s proud, high-scoring offense was no match for Alabama.
In a way, Huskies coach Chris Peterson could see it coming. The more he studied the Crimson Tide defense, the more he understood the challenge awaiting Washington on Saturday in a 24-7 Peach Bowl semifinal loss to No. 1 Alabama.
« We’ve studied every snap that they’ve had this year and the tape doesn’t lie when you watch that much tape, » Peterson said. « I mean, that’s as good a defense as there is out there in college football, and they played like it.  »
Washington (12-2) was held to season-low totals in points and yards (194). It was only the second time this season, following a 26-13 loss to Southern California on Nov. 12, the Huskies were held below 31 points.
The Huskies averaged 44.5 points, the fourth-highest total in the nation, before being humbled by Alabama.
Washington’s offense opened strong, moving 64 yards on a touchdown drive capped by Jake Browning’s 16-yard pass to Dante Pettis .
Alabama (14-0) shut out the Huskies from there.
Despite its offensive struggles after the opening drive, Washington trailed only 10-7 late in the first half until Alabama’s Ryan Anderson 26-yard interception return for a touchdown.
Browning was trying to connect with Lavon Coleman when he had to force a pass before hit by blitzing linebacker Reuben Foster. Anderson moved in for the pick, and his touchdown return gave Alabama a 17-7 lead.
« My job is just to not make a bad play worse, » Browning said. « Just take a sack or launch it out of bounds.  »
Browning completed 20 of 38 passes for only 150 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. The touchdown pass was his 43rd of the season, tying the Pac-12 record set by Cal’s Jared Goff in 2015.
Browning acknowledged Alabama’s defense alters a normal game plan.
« It’s a good defense, » Browning said. « They can get in a quarterback’s head. I don’t think they did that necessarily but they make you get rid of the ball quickly. They have elite pass-rush guys. We did a pretty good job with that overall but you’ve got to make a couple more plays when you’re playing a good team like that.  »
Alabama shut down Washington’s leading receiver, John Ross, who had only 28 yards on five catches. The speedy receiver’s longest catch was for only 9 yards.
Meanwhile, Washington’s running game disappeared.
« We just couldn’t get our run game started, » Ross said. « … It’s pretty frustrating. We know they have a good run defense, but we still wanted to run the ball.  »
The Huskies managed only 44 yards rushing on 29 carries — an average of 1.5 yards.
« They kind of are what we thought they were, a really, really elite championship defense with real good players across the board, » Peterson said.
Peterson said his defense also played « really elite » — except for one play, a 68-yard scoring run by Alabama power back Bo Scarbrough.
« We didn’t tackle one time and their back made a great run and broke about five tackles, » Peterson said. « Other than that, I thought the kids played really good.  »
Scarbrough, selected the game’s MVP, ran for 180 yards with two touchdowns.
Washington’s opportunistic defense led the nation in takeaways. But Alabama also won the turnover battle, 3-0. Two turnovers led to 10 points.
« They beat us with our own game, » Peterson said. « … When you’re playing this type of game, when the margin for error is that small, those things are going to show up. « 

Similarity rank: 1.1

Sentiment rank: 1.5

© Source: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/article124021054.html
All rights are reserved and belongs to a source media.

A handful of WNBA players, including Essence Carson, Chelsea Gray and Jantel Lavender of the Los Angeles Sparks, were next door to a deadly shooting in a nightclub in Istanbul early Sunday morning.
The league later issued a statement that all WNBA players competing now in Istanbul « are accounted for and safe.  » About two dozen WNBA players are in Turkey during their offseason playing in a league there.
An assailant believed to have been dressed in a Santa Claus costume opened fire at a nightclub in Istanbul during New Year’s celebrations, killing at least 39 people and wounding 69 others in what the province’s governor described as a terror attack. Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said Sunday that of the victims identified so far, 16 were foreign nationals. He did not provide any information on their countries.
Carson had tweeted earlier in the evening that she was « stuck inside of the club because of ‘terror’ shooting in Istanbul. Praises to the most high.  »
The incident occurred a week after the WNBA started offering to its players a phone application to help assist them in trying to stay safe while traveling overseas.
The league has partnered with LiveSafe, a safety communications platform, to provide a mobile security app to its 60-plus players competing in Russia, Turkey, China and other countries this offseason.
ESPN’s Melanie Jackson and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Similarity rank: 2.4

Sentiment rank: -3.4

© Source: http://www.espn.com/wnba/story/_/id/18385974/essence-carson-chelsea-gray-los-angeles-sparks-wnba-players-site-istanbul-shooting
All rights are reserved and belongs to a source media.

After the excesses of the festive season, the thoughts of many turn to making resolutions to stop bad habits and take up healthier ones.
Unfortunately, quite a few fail.
But there are some psychological tactics which can be employed to increase the chances of success.
Psychologist Prof Richard Wiseman, from the University of Hertfordshire, has carried out research into the key to sticking to resolutions.
In a study of 5,000 people who made resolutions, it was those with a « fatalistic attitude » who were less likely to succeed.
He advises it’s more than likely old habits will creep back in sometimes, so see those occasions as temporary set-backs and not a reason to give up altogether.
« Failure is the main thing that stops people If, on day one of their diet, they raid the biscuit tin, they think ‘that’s it’ and give up. But persistence is the key. Start again the next day.  »
Support from friends and family can help people stick to their goals.
But Prof Wiseman says women might be more likely to benefit. « They are generally better at offering moral support. Men tend to try and encourage you to have more dessert.  »
This can be something public like a blog – or the fridge door – or more privately, in a spreadsheet or a journal.
It might help to note down each gym visit, or decision not to have cake.
Prof Wiseman also advises having a checklist to show how life will be better once your goals are achieved – and allow small rewards throughout the process to keep up motivation levels.
It has to be something specific that can be realistically achieved.
Running a marathon, say, would be too much for a non-runner to aim for, while a vague desire to ‘get fit’ is hard to measure.
« Maybe start by saying you’ll go to the gym once a week, then you can look at moving up to two, » advises Prof Wiseman.
And be realistic – it’s best to choose one thing to focus on rather than having a raft of goals to increase the chances of success.
This is important in terms of knowing what prompts behaviour you want to avoid – and to help encourage healthier habits.
« It could be as simple as not having biscuits in the house so you’re not tempted – or understanding the stress triggers that make you reach for a cigarette, » Prof Wiseman says.
And he says it’s possible to create new triggers to prompt you in your new, healthier habits.
« You can decide that when the news starts, that’s the time when you set off for the gym ».

Similarity rank: 0

Sentiment rank: 4.3

© Source: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-38470263
All rights are reserved and belongs to a source media.