Vikings Reach NFL Playoffs: Adrian Peterson Powers Minnesota Past Packers

MINNEAPOLIS ? Adrian Peterson picked up the Minnesota Vikings and gave them a thrilling ride to the playoffs, where the next stop on this improbable journey is, yes, Green Bay.

This game was so full of action, intrigue and tension they're going to stage it again next weekend.

Peterson finished 9 yards shy of breaking Eric Dickerson's single-season rushing record, but he still powered the Vikings past the Packers 37-34 Sunday with 199 yards to set up a rematch at Lambeau Field in a first-round playoff game.

"I told myself to come into this game focused on one thing, and that's winning," Peterson said.

Peterson rumbled around the left side of the line for a 27-yard gain in the closing seconds, his career-high 34th carry exactly one year after reconstructive surgery on his left knee. That set up Blair Walsh's 29-yard field goal as time expired and put the Vikings (10-6) in the postseason after consecutive last-place finishes.

"For our guys to be as resilient as they were, it has you swelling with pride," coach Leslie Frazier said.

The division champion Packers (11-5) dropped to the NFC's No. 3 seed. Their five-game winning streak against the Vikings ended.

"I had a feeling that we had the game in the bag the whole game," Vikings cornerback Chris Cook said. "It was just a vibe that I had on the sideline, in how we were carrying ourselves."

Aaron Rodgers completed 28 of 40 passes for 365 yards and four touchdowns and no interceptions, connecting with Jordy Nelson from 2 yards to tie the game with 2:54 remaining. But Christian Ponder threw for three scores, including one to Peterson.

Ponder went 16 for 28 for 234 yards, including a 65-yard zinger in stride to Jarius Wright midway through the fourth quarter that set up Ponder's third touchdown toss.

"It's disappointing. A lot of us wanted that extra week," Rodgers said.

Peterson finished with 2,097 yards, becoming the seventh player in NFL history to reach the 2,000 mark. He had to work for it, pulling out all the cutbacks, stutter-steps and spins he could find in his exceptional skill set. His longest run was only 28 yards against a defense geared to slow him down, and the first contact often came at, near or behind the line of scrimmage.

"It wasn't meant to happen, or it would've happened. Not to say it doesn't hurt, because it does," Peterson said of Dickerson's 28-year-old record. "But we came in here tonight and accomplished the ultimate goal, and that was getting a win and punching our ticket to the playoffs."

The Packers cut the lead to 27-24 late in the third quarter on a touchdown reception by James Jones. The on-field ruling was a fumble at the goal line, triggering an automatic review. Because the Packers threw the challenge flag after the replay process began, however, they were only penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct, not prevented from benefiting from the overturned call. That's what happened to Detroit infamously on Thanksgiving, when a disputed score by Houston was prevented from review.

After posting a 9-23 record over the last two years, the Vikings made so many strides in 2012 that the season was already a success. But no NFL team would ever be satisfied by finishing in defeat against a division rival, and the emotion and energy behind the quest was palpable all afternoon.

"It took us a little while to adjust to the crowd noise, and we didn't get going," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "That usually happens up here. This is a tough place to play, no doubt. We anticipated this being the loudest environment of the year. They pumped it in here pretty good today."

The NFC North was sewn up by the Packers two weeks earlier. Even though the bye remained in the balance the top seed didn't do the Packers any good last season. They went 15-1 and lost their opener at home to the eventual champion Giants.

Rodgers played without injured leading receiver Randall Cobb, so Greg Jennings was the main guy, grabbing eight passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns. But the Vikings sacked Rodgers five times, recovering a fumble on one of them at midfield to set up a third-quarter touchdown.

Rodgers has 24 touchdowns, only four interceptions and a 70 percent completion rate over 10 career starts against the Vikings. His poise, arm strength and savvy came through clear against them as much as any other team. Plus, cornerback Antoine Winfield's aggravated hand injury kept him on the sideline for most of the game.

Just as Ponder capably complemented Peterson, DuJuan Harris came out of nowhere to provide Rodgers some help. Green Bay has been proving lately it's not a one-sided offense, either, and Harris rushed 14 times for 70 yards

But this was Peterson's show. Second-and-27? He surged off right tackle and bounced outside for 28 yards on a drive that ended with his second touchdown, a 2-yard reception that pushed the lead to 27-17 in the third quarter. The "MVP" chants from the crowd rang out in earnest after that.

NOTES: Cobb's absence meant the Packers went without a 1,000-yard receiver for the first time since 2003. Cobb finished with 954 yards. ... Vikings WR Jerome Simpson was woozy after an end-zone collision in the third quarter, falling back down after trying to get up the first time. He passed concussion tests and returned to the game.

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Follow Dave Campbell on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/DaveCampbellAP

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/30/vikings-playoffs-packers-adrian-peterson_n_2385971.html

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Council on Foreign Relations Hacked by Chinese Hackers

In a report?published?by?right-wing?Washington Free Beacon,??an advanced malware attack against one of America?s most powerful decision making ?foreign policy groups was conducted last week, in which the website of ?Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) and its servers were infected.

The cyber experts are now investigating the attack have reveled that?the attack is one of its kind and relatively new?ploy called a ?drive-by? website cyber attack, detected around 2:00 p.m. on 26th December.

The experts added that they suspects the Chinese hackers behind the attack in which the servers operating the CFR?s website were infected, then via infected servers the CFR members and others who visited or ?drove by? the site were infected.

However, the malware was removed on Thursday, the experts believe that the attackers removed the malware themselves to prevent further tracing or the IT experts at CFR got rid of it.

?The malware was apparently pushed onto the systems of visitors via a vulnerability in Internet Explorer,? writes?Softpedia?s Eduard Kovacs. ?The malicious software planted on the server used Mandarin Chinese language, experts from a private security firm told the Free Beacon. Also, it appears that the attack targeted only people or intelligence related to China because the malware was configured to infect only visitors who had set their browsers to support Chinese language characters.?

EsecurityPlanet?s Jeff Goldman,?writes that in an email conversation, the member of CFR?David Mikhail?confirmed the attack.

According to the email confirmation:

?The Council on Foreign Relations? Web site security team is aware of the issue and is currently investigating the situation,? he wrote. ?We are also working to mitigate the possibility for future events of this sort.??

Council on Foreign Relations is a powerful group that consist of elite class of the country and commonly known as the?? Shadow Government of the United States?.

Source: http://hackread.com/council-on-foreign-relations-hacked-by-chinese-hackers/

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Wagner College men's team knocks off Penn in overtime, 68-63 (photo gallery)

Point guard Kenny Ortiz was explaining why his Wagner team continues playing ? and winning ? overtime games at Spiro Center, Saturday?s 68-63 victory over Penn being the Wagner?s third in three home games this season.
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?We just like to give the home crowd some entertainment,? the junior declared with a broad smile after scoring a career-high 23 points in the Seahawks? fourth win in their last five games.
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?We refuse to lose,? the 5-foot-11 Southern Mississippi ?transfer went on after scoring Wagner?s final eight points as the team improved to 6-5. ?In the overtime, I saw they were having trouble keeping me out of the lane and I just went for it.?
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Wagner has also defeated Princeton and Coppin State so far this season in overtime.
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?Sometimes we make things harder than we have to,? coach Bashir Mason said after Ortiz made six consecutive free throws over the final 19 seconds to ice the game. ?But we have a gritty group of guys, and going to overtime doesn?t worry me.?
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Latif Rivers, last year?s team high scorer, returned from an eight-game injury absence to score 15 points including three 3-point baskets in regulation and a clutch running bank shot with 2:40 left in overtime.
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Senior star Jonathon Williams did not suit up. The 6-5 senior, who leads the Seahawks this year in scoring (15.7 ppg) and rebounding (7.7 rpg), has been hampered by what has been diagnosed as a hip flexor by the Wagner medical staff.
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Missing Williams, made Rivers? return all the more important.
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?Having him back makes everyone more comfortable,? said Mason. ?When Latif is out there, I feel like I have a guy who can make a perimeter shot when we need one.?
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Rivers, who was 3 of 5 from 3-point range, missed a corner jumper with 40 seconds left in regulation, but an Orlando Parker rebound and the forward?s converting of 1 of 2 free throws tied the score at 54-54.
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Overtime came after Penn?s Miles Cartwright (19 points) missed a buzzer jump shot for the win.
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Wagner, which opens its Northeast Conference schedule at home on Thursday against Monmouth, won the overtime tap and scored on a Mario Moody jam off a pretty drive-and-kick from Ortiz, who finished with six assists.
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Then Ortiz, last season?s NEC defensive player of the year, stole the ball in the paint at the other end and found Josh Thompson for a run-out fast-break basket and a 58-54 lead.
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?That was critical,? said Mason. ?To open overtime with a basket, a stop, and another basket, is a huge edge. It?s only four points, but it?s a big four points.?
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Rivers? key basket on a fade-away bank shot came moments later.
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And Ortiz, who led the Seahawks with 10 rebounds, scored on a huge put-back in traffic for a 62-58 Wagner lead with 1:13 to go.
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?Kenny managed the game in the second half the way I?ve seen him do it in the past,? Mason said of his point guard?s 16 points post-first half performance. ?He didn?t start off the game great, and I pulled him just to try and hit the reset button a little. But he and the rest of the guys really stepped up when they had to.?
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Wagner trailed 31-29 at halftime.
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According to Ortiz, some of his big day was attributable to the return of his backcourt mate Rivers.
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?It?s an easier game for me when he?s out there,? Ortiz said. ?I know if I drive and find Latif for a kick-out it?s like an automatic basket waiting to happen.?
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Penn was without the services of team high scorer Fran Dougherty. The 6-8 Dougherty, who is averaging 15.7 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, both team highs, was diagnosed with mononucleosis earlier this week.
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Wagner trailed 22-13 in the opening minutes, before a pair of Rivers 3-pointers ignited a 12-4 Seahawk run. The junior had been out since Nov. 18, when he played in Wagner?s 88-57 loss at Syracuse.
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He played 28 minutes Saturday.
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?The knee didn?t bother me,? he insisted. ?I feel like I?m making progress, coming back. But you have to play in live games, you can?t simulate that.?
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Rivers will sit out the Monmouth game due to a one-game NEC-imposed suspension for a scrap at the end of Wagner?s final game last year, a 71-64 loss to Robert Morris in the semis of the conference tournament. ?

NOTES: Sophomore Moody (6 points, 6 rebounds) got his first career start ... Rivers has already amassed 898 points in his career ... The Seahawks turned the ball over 19 times. ?

Source: http://www.silive.com/colleges/index.ssf/2012/12/wagner_college_mens_team_knock.html

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'Do something!' Americans fed up with D.C. over 'cliff'

Americans from across the country express their frustration with lawmakers in Washington who have yet to reach an agreement on averting looming tax increases.

By Tracy Connor, NBC News

Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker said Friday that ?the American people should be disgusted? the nation?s leaders haven?t been able to avert the fiscal cliff.

Well, mission accomplished.

John Makely / NBC News

Abigail Holt, 17, (right), of Hartford, Conn., says Washington's inability to avert the fiscal cliff is "annoying."

Across the country, people are shaking their heads about negotiations that go nowhere and fingers that point everywhere while the nation hurtles toward the precipice of a new economic crisis.

?They should make a plan, make up their minds and do something!? Abigail Holt of Hartford, Conn., told NBC News.

She?s 17 years old and admits she?s just learning about the federal government and the fiscal cliff. But she knows this much: ?It?s annoying.?

And that's being polite.

Writing in the Daily Beast, Howard Kurtz called the nation's capital "the country?s biggest day-care center." The famous sex therapist Dr. Ruth Westheimer hit below the belt, noting on Twitter that "Members of Congress who can't compromise probably aren't good lovers."

Californian Pat Marshall said the politicians "appear to be very self-centered on making sure that they?re taken care of and the American public comes second."

After an hourlong meeting Friday with congressional leaders that he described as "constructive," President Obama acknowledged that people outside Washington were bewildered by D.C. "dysfunction" and that time -- and patience -- were running out.

Lawmakers have 'lost touch'
Indeed, with higher taxes and deep spending cuts looming without a deal, Americans? faith in Washington is dissipating by the day.

A Dec. 9 Gallup poll found that 59 percent thought it was likely the White House and Congress could hammer out a deal to avoid a slide down the cliff; by this week, that had sunk to 50 percent.

Skeptics were gaining ground, meanwhile: 48 percent think an agreement before the year-end deadline is unlikely, up 10 points from two weeks earlier.

John Makely / NBC News

Rich Dodds, 49, of Houston, Texas, says the elected officials in Washington have "lost touch" with Americans who will be affected by the fiscal cliff.

?It doesn?t feel like they?re doing much,? said Rich Dodds, 49, an energy product manager from Houston, Texas. ?I think they?ve lost touch with who the American people are. It?s a pretty elite group in Washington.?

The fact that both houses of Congress went into recess -- the Senate took a nearly week-long break, and the House is still on vacation until Sunday -- bothered some.

?This is one of the most important issues and they are not even working,? said Bill Prosser, 49, a telecommunications salesman from Clifton, Va. ?I?m very disappointed in them.?

Nicole Hayward, 28, of Brooklyn, N.Y., was so angered by the congressional recess that she posted a petition on Change.org demanding lawmakers get back to business.

?I turn on the news every day while I?m getting ready for work and I saw coverage about how Congress was going to break for the holidays and we might not have a resolution,? the marketing director said. ?I thought, who cares about their holiday vacation? It really got me going.?

Hayward got only 101 signatures on her petition. She attributed the lack of interest to cynicism.

?The reason why the average American doesn?t pay attention to this issue and the details is they think Congress will come together and pass something that just kicks the can down the road and things won?t change in [their] life,? she said.

John Makely / NBC News

Bill Prosser, 49, of Clifton, Va., says members of Congress should be locked in a room until they can make a deal.

Bipartisan blame
Inside the Beltway, Democrats are condemning Republicans and vice versa for the stalemate. But the nation?s voters are more bipartisan in their blame, with neither Republicans nor Democrats obtaining majority support.

?Essentially, right now, 25 percent of the public approves of the job the GOP congressional leaders are doing and 40 percent approves of the job the Democratic leaders are doing,? said Jocelyn Kiley, a senior researcher for the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press.

Prosser thinks there?s a time-tested way to bring the two sides together before Jan. 1 -- something akin to the old papal conclaves in which cardinals were locked in a room until they chose a new pontiff.

?Just say you?re not going to leave until you have a deal,? Prosser said.? ?Get in a room -- and get it done!?

{"contentId":"16216300","totalVotes":"97654"}

Who do you blame for the nation teetering on the edge of the fiscal cliff?

?

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/29/16216300-do-something-americans-fed-up-with-washington-as-fiscal-cliff-deadline-looms?lite

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Education & Reference 2016: Petal the Owl Colours - alyeuokbu& ...

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Source: http://jonopriaiona.blogspot.com/2012/12/education-reference-2016-petal-owl.html

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Pending home sales hit 2-1/2 year high

15 hrs.

Reuters

Contracts to buy previously owned U.S. homes rose in November to their highest level in 2-1/2 years, an industry group said on Friday, further evidence of a strengthening housing market recovery.?

The National Association of Realtors said its Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed last month, increased 1.7 percent to 106.4 - the highest level since April 2010 when the home-buyer tax credit expired.?

Economists polled by Reuters had expected signed contracts, which become sales after a month or two, to rise 1.0 percent after a revised 5.0 percent increase in October. It was the third straight month of gains.?

"Home sales are recovering now based solely on fundamental demand and favorable affordability conditions," said NAR chief economist Lawrence Yun.?

Pending home sales were up 9.8 percent in the 12 months through November.?

The housing market has turned the corner after a dramatic collapse, which dragged the economy through its worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s.?

Home sales and prices are rising, encouraging builders to undertake new construction projects.?

Home resale contracts were up in three of the country's four regions. They were unchanged in the South.?

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economywatch/pending-home-sales-hit-2-1-2-year-high-1C7752997

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Michigan State edges TCU 17-16 in BWW Bowl

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) ? Michigan State labored on offense throughout the first half, unable to get anything going on the ground, in the air, anywhere.

For a team that had lost five games by a combined 13 points during the regular season, it was starting to feel familiar.

The Spartans changed their luck by turning to brutally effective running back Le'Veon Bell in the second half, setting up Dan Conroy for another game-winning kick in a bowl game.

Bell ran for 145 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown, Conroy kicked a 47-yard field goal with 1:01 left and Michigan State rallied to beat Texas Christian 17-16 in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl on Saturday night.

"With so many close games and losing like we did during the season, to have one go our way was definitely sweet," Conroy said.

It wasn't always pretty for the Spartans.

Michigan State (7-6) managed 76 yards of offense during the first two quarters as TCU bottled up Bell.

The 237-pound junior started to wear down the Horned Frogs in the second half, grinding out 107 of his yards on a 32-carry night.

Behind Bell, the Spartans went on the longest drive in their bowl history in the third quarter, marching 90 yards to set up freshman Connor Cook's 15-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Burbridge.

Michigan State then recovered a muffed punt by TCU's Skye Dawson at the 4-yard line midway through the fourth and Bell scored two plays later by racing around left end for a 14-13 lead.

TCU (7-6) still had a little life after blowing a 13-point halftime lead, moving just far enough to set up Jaden Oberkrom for the longest field goal in the bowl's history, a 53-yarder that put the Horned Frogs up 16-14 with 2:42 left.

They just left Michigan State too much time.

Starting at their own 25-yard line, the Spartans moved 45 yards in eight plays, setting up Conroy for his second game-winner in a bowl after beating Georgia with a 28-yarder in the third overtime of the 2012 Outback Bowl.

Michigan State's defense held after that, sending the Spartans to their second straight bowl win after three consecutive losses.

"There was no doubt in my mind that after so many losses in similar fashion that we were going to come out on top in this one," Spartans linebacker Max Bullough said.

The Horned Frogs shut down Michigan State's offense in the first half and did just enough when they had the ball to put together three scoring drives.

In the second half, TCU couldn't get anything going against the Spartans' defense ? 84 total yards ? and its defense gave up the long scoring drive in the third quarter, along with the game-winner in the fourth.

Trevone Boykin threw for 201 yards and an interception on 13-of-29 passing for the Horned Frogs.

"A little bit empty feeling inside because we felt like we left a lot on the field," TCU coach Gary Patterson said.

TCU and Michigan State came to the desert with an awful lot of similarities.

The Horned Frogs opened their first season in the Big 12 with four straight wins before losing four of their final six games. Michigan State started 4-2, then lost four of six down the stretch.

Michigan State had the nation's fourth-best defense and was 10th in scoring defense during the regular season. TCU was 18th in total defense and 10th against the run.

Michigan State quarterback Andrew Maxwell was up-and-down in his first season as Kirk Cousins' replacement, throwing 13 touchdown passes and nine interceptions. Boykin took over after four games for Casey Pachall, who was suspended and later left the team, and threw for 15 touchdowns and nine interceptions.

The biggest difference between the teams was Bell.

He ranked third nationally with 137.3 yards rushing per game and had 1,648 on the season, second-most in Michigan State history and 242 fewer than TCU had as a team.

Early on, the Horned Frogs gave him nowhere to go.

Filling holes inside and stringing plays out toward the sidelines, TCU stuffed the bruising Bell on nearly every touch, holding him to 38 yards on 11 carries in the first half.

Of course, it didn't seem to matter what Michigan State did. The Spartans had 29 yards on 12 plays in the first quarter and weren't a whole lot better in the second, with Maxwell throwing two near-interceptions on consecutive passes and an ill-advised trick play that probably should have resulted in a turnover, too.

The Spartans still seemed to be stuck in the ruts in the third quarter before grinding out a 14-play scoring drive led by Cook, who replaced Maxwell for the second time in the game. They had their biggest play on a floating pass from Bell to fullback TyQuan Hammock (29 yards), then Cook threw his first career touchdown pass, a 15-yarder to Burbridge on a crossing route that cut TCU's lead to 13-7.

"I thought Connor did a good job on the 90-yard drive, gave us a little momentum," Spartans coach Mark Dantonio said.

TCU didn't exactly have its way with Michigan State's defense in the first half and missed some chances to build a bigger lead.

The Frogs started gashing the Spartans for decent-sized chunks with their option midway through the first quarter, setting up Matthew Tucker's 4-yard touchdown on an end-around.

Boykin had an impressive off-the-back-foot throw to freshman Kolby Listenbee for 59 yards on the last play of the first quarter and nearly had a 19-yard touchdown pass to open the second, but LaDarius Brown was bumped and dropped the ball in the end zone. Oberkrom followed with a 47-yard field goal and added another from 31 yards after Boykin hit Josh Boyce on a 61-yard pass to put TCU up 13-0 at halftime.

The Frogs couldn't keep it up in the second half.

With Michigan State clogging the running lanes and chasing Boykin around, TCU had 30 yards of offense in the third quarter and continued to struggle in the fourth. The Horned Frogs did manage the short scoring drive to set up Oberkrom's late field goal, but ended up going backward on their final drive after Conroy's kick.

"What I thought happened in the third quarter was Michigan State dialed up the heat and we didn't have an answer," Patterson said.

Michigan State did ? for one of the few times this season.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/michigan-state-edges-tcu-17-16-bww-bowl-065431343--spt.html

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