Rookie G Shane Larkin

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DENVER -- Stronger, healthier, feistier than ever. Peyton Manning capped a spunky week by getting the first disciplinary penalty of his storied career Saturday night when he was whistled for taunting in the Denver Broncos 18-17 preseason loss to the Houston Texans. Manning was mad after D.J. Swearinger hit slot receiver Wes Welker in the face on a tackle. So, after throwing a 29-yard touchdown pass to Emmanuel Sanders on the next play, Manning ran up to the Texans swaggering second-year safety and gave him a piece of his mind. "He didnt invite me to dinner," Swearinger said. Welker, who has a history of head injuries, sustained a concussion, coach John Fox said afterward. "Obviously, Im concerned about Wes," Manning said. "I didnt like seeing him come out of the game with a blow to the head. He had one of those last year that kept him out for a while." Besides, Manning said, 15 yards with 5 seconds left in the half, why not? "I think if youre going to get one, thats a good time to get one," said Manning, who has never had a personal foul among his 60 career infractions in the regular season and playoffs. Manning declined to reveal what he said to Swearinger, who was also at the centre of several skirmishes during the teams three days of intense joint practices during the week. As for what Swearinger replied, "he said, Thanks, appreciate it. Good luck to you as well," Manning cracked. Swearinger swore that he didnt cross the line with a cheap shot on Welker. "I led with my shoulder. Thats the only thing I could do. Hes a short guy," Swearinger said. "There are some fine lines with hits. I could have tried to go low, but he ducked his head. ... What am I supposed to do? I made a Hall of Famer mad." Out of respect for Manning, however, Swearinger declined to reveal what the five-time MVP said other than to confirm foul language was exchanged. "That is a Hall of Fame quarterback. I respect him," Swearinger said. "But he shouldnt have done what he did." Mannings teammates wholeheartedly disagreed. "I loved it," Marvin Austin said. "Its a beautiful thing. Peytons not really a trash-talking guy." Manning, who called out his offence earlier in the week for a sloppy practice, and Sanders found their rhythm after an early miscue. They connected for two long touchdowns in the final 67 seconds of the first half to give Denver a 17-7 lead. Sanders, who practiced only sparingly this month because of a nagging thigh injury, was targeted eight times by Manning and caught five passes for 128 yards. Manning texted Sanders on Wednesday night telling him hed better get back in the lineup so they could work on their timing. It was evident their rhythm was off when backup cornerback A.J. Bouye intercepted a pass to Sanders early in the second quarter that led to Jonathan Grimes 1-yard run that gave Houston a 7-3 lead. Sanders took the blame, but Manning called it "a poor throw and decision by me." Sanders made up for his blunder when he zipped past Bouye and strong safety Eddie Pleasant to haul in Mannings 67-yard touchdown pass with 1:07 left in the first half. Then, he zigzagged between the same defensive backs for the 29-yard score with :05 left. "It was good to get Emmanuel out there. I had not completed a pass to Emmanuel in a game yet," Manning said. "I wanted to get some completions to him. I think you want to complete some passes to a first-year receiver in this offence going into the season opener." With all the work the teams put in together during the week, both head coaches dialed back the work they gave their starters. Texans DE J.J. Watt played just part of the first series and Denver LB Von Miller played a single series in his first game since tearing his right ACL on Dec. 22. And that was more than fans got to see of top overall draft pick Jadeveon Clowney, who sat this one out. Running back Montee Ball started for Denver 19 days after his appendectomy and had four runs and four receptions on Denvers opening drive. That series ended with Matt Praters 32-yard field goal. Houston won it when third QB Tom Savage drove the Texans 74 yards, hitting Ryan Griffin for a 31-yard TD with 59 seconds left and finding Travis Labhart for the 2-point conversion. Notes: Manning finished 21 of 27 for 243 yards. Texans quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick was 10 of 17 for 80 yards. ... Broncos CB Tony Carter (neck) came out in the second half. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . The Sochi organizing committee said in Fridays statement that the torch relay reached the North Pole on Oct. 19. Russian Polar explorer Artur Chilingarov, who led the mission, lit a special bowl at the North Pole sign. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . -- Chad Labelle scored the winner 17:36 into the third period to give Medicine Hat a 2-1 victory over the Swift Current Broncos on Sunday and lift the Tigers into the second round of the Western Hockey League playoffs. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку!. He was signed to help with depth to the receiving corps because of the loss of Shamawd Chambers to the 6-game injured list. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . The striker headed Spurs into a 35th-minute lead and tapped in their third in the 71st after Chico Flores own goal. Wilfried Bony hit the bar and had a good penalty appeal for a push by Tottenham captain Michael Dawson turned down in the first half, before getting Swanseas consolation late on. Зарегистрируйтесь, чтобы увидеть ссылку! . For Bergevin, the best pick is the 30th — which traditionally goes to the Stanley Cup winner. "Thats our goal.DALLAS -- Dirk Nowitzki was watching when the Dallas Mavericks took a double-digit lead for good against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The steady progress of Devin Harris had a lot to do with the surge. Nowitzki scored 23 points, Harris had a season-high 16 and the Mavericks pulled away from Cleveland 124-107 Monday night, handing the Cavaliers their fifth straight loss. Nowitzki was on the bench for most of a key third-quarter stretch led by Jose Calderon, Brandan Wright and Harris, who was playing his eighth game after missing the first 41 following off-season toe surgery. "Just trying to get comfortable out there," Harris said. "I am trying to make the most of my minutes." Harris had seven points on a 9-2 run that gave the Mavericks their first 15-point lead, and Wright scored nine of his 14 points in the third. Jose Calderon had four of his game-high 10 assists in the quarter and hit a pair of 3-pointers. "Were just passing the ball and trying to get a really nice pace," said Calderon, who scored 11 points. "I think it was good for us." Kyrie Irving had 27 to lead the Cavaliers, who have dropped seven of their last eight. Anthony Bennett, Clevelands rookie No. 1 pick averaging just 2.8 points per game coming in, had eight in the second quarter and finished with 11. "There were a few instances in this game where we gave ourselves a legit chance to get into the game, but we just couldnt get over the hump," said Irving, who scored at least 20 for the ninth time in 10 games. Dallas Monta Ellis started fast after going most of the first half without scoring Friday against Sacramento and finished with 22 points and seven assists. Harris had his previous season high of 14 points in three straight games before getting seven in Fridays win over Sacramento. He finally broke the 14-point mark with two free throws, and then assisted on a dunk by Samuel Dalembert that gave Dallas its biggest lead at 106-87. Dalembert had 18 points -- two off his season high -- and two blocks after not even attempting a shot and getting three rebounds when the Mavericks held on to beat the Cavaliers last month in Cleveland, despite a combined 37 poiints and 31 rebounds from Tristan Thompson and Anderson Varejao.dddddddddddd "I cant guarantee you the offence because some days the ball is coming to me and some days I only take one field goal," Dalembert said. "What Im trying to do is make sure the guys are crashing the boards." Five days after Cleveland general manager Chris Grant questioned his teams will, the Cavaliers didnt quit. They scored eight quick points and had a chance to make it nine when Jarrett Jack got fouled after making a 3-pointer. Jack missed the free throw, and the Cavaliers couldnt get the deficit under 10 after that. Luol Deng scored 18 points, Thompson had 17 and both had eight rebounds for the Cavaliers, who had seven players in double figures. "I thought offensively we did some nice things out there," Cleveland coach Mike Brown said. "Weve got to keep grinding until we get out of it. The only thing we can do is work, keep our head up and keep looking forward." Nowitzki, who was averaging 33 points in his previous three games, had 16 in the first half and matched Dalembert with eight rebounds for the game. Nowitzki scored the last eight points on a 13-2 run that put the Mavericks up 52-39, but he missed his last three shots of the first half as the Cavaliers got back within seven at halftime. Ellis followed up an 11-point fourth quarter that boosted a rally to beat Sacramento with 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting in the first half against Cleveland. NOTES: Mavericks F Shawn Marion missed his second straight game with lingering issues from shoulder and rib injuries. Hes missed six games since getting hurt Jan. 7 against the Lakers. ... Varejao started after being questionable with a left knee injury. He recorded both the 4,000th point and 4,000th rebound of his career. ... Rookie G Shane Larkin was back with the Mavericks after a one-game stint with their D-League affiliate in suburban Dallas. His playing time has dipped significantly since Harris return. ... Ellis had six of Dallas 13 turnovers after ending a 114-game streak with at least one turnover by going without one against Sacramento. The Mavericks had a season-low four as a team against the Kings. ' ' '