Yes, the streakbusters struck again.

Robinson scored 27 points, Jimmy Butler added 21 points and a career-high-tying 14 rebounds, and the Bulls beat Miami 93-86 on Monday night in Game 1 of the teams’ Eastern Conference semifinal series. The team that snapped Miami’s 27-game winning streak in the regular season — the second-longest in NBA history — found a way to topple the champs again, this time ending a run of 12 straight Heat victories overall.

“I’ve played on some tough teams,” Robinson said. “But this one, there’s something a little different, something special about this group.”

A seven-point deficit midway through the fourth wasn’t enough to doom the Bulls, who finished the game on a 10-0 run in the final 1:59. And to think, the Bulls weren’t anywhere near full strength. Kirk Hinrich was out again with a calf injury. Luol Deng isn’t even expected to rejoin the team until Tuesday, after dealing with an illness apparently so severe that a spinal tap — and other tests since — were needed to rule out things like meningitis.

“So proud of my team man, this bed might be good luck after all,” Deng wrote on Twitter after the game, with a photo of him in a hospital bed.

Oh, and Derrick Rose remains sidelined, as he’s been since April 2012.

No problem. The Heat are 41-3 in their last 44 games — with two of those losses to the Bulls, who are now 3-2 against Miami this season.

“I think when you’re facing adversity, you have to be mentally tough,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “But this is just one game. We have to play a lot better in our next one.”

LeBron James got his MVP trophy from Commissioner David Stern before the game, then struggled to a two-point first half before finishing with 24 points, eight rebounds and seven assists for Miami. Dwyane Wade added 14 for the Heat, who had no one else in double figures, finished shooting 40 percent from the floor and were outrebounded 46-32.

“I’m not stunned,” James said. “This is what the playoffs is all about. We’re going against a really good team.”

Miami was outscored 35-24 in the fourth, something that drew the ire of Heat coach Erik Spoelstra afterward.

“There’s no excuses,” said Spoelstra, whose team had not played in more than a week. “We’re not making any excuses for time off or anything else.”

If anyone could have made excuses, it was Robinson. He needed 10 stitches, five in his lip and five more inside his mouth, to close a nasty cut that came when he dove for a loose ball with James and struck his head on the court late in the first half.

And then not only did he play the whole second half, he scored 24 points in those 24 minutes, including the last seven points that finished the job for Chicago.

“He was born a scorer,” Miami guard Mario Chalmers said.

Joakim Noah scored 13 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for the Bulls, who got 12 from Taj Gibson and 10 from Marco Belinelli. Game 2 is Wednesday night in Miami.

“We’re not really a flashy team,” Gibson said. “We like to go out and do our job.”

A pair of three-point plays by James — one of them coming when he just broke through a tackle attempt by Butler and muscled the ball to the rim anyway — gave Miami a 76-69 lead midway through the fourth quarter, the biggest deficit Chicago faced all night.

The Bulls were undeterred.

Coming off a Game 7 road win in Brooklyn two nights earlier just to get into a series with Miami, the Bulls just kept grinding. When Ray Allen made a 3-pointer to give Miami an 80-78 lead, Butler came back with one of his own to put the Bulls back on top. When the Heat went up by three after James made a free throw with 2:22 left, Belinelli connected for 3 — on a second-effort possession — to knot the game.

Then when Robinson connected on a 20-footer with 1:18 left, the Bulls had the lead and plenty of swagger.

Wade missed a 3-pointer on the next possession, Robinson drove the lane and scored with 45.5 seconds left, and suddenly the Bulls were up 90-86. James drove against Butler and tried a 12-footer that missed everything, the Bulls got the rebound, Robinson made a free throw to stretch the lead to five and the stunner was complete.

Game 1 to the Bulls.

“It’s all about being tough,” said Butler, who played all 48 minutes for the third straight game. “We’re always going to be the underdogs and we take pride in that. Everybody can overlook us, but we feel like we’re good enough to hang with a lot of these teams.”

It was a night that started with a celebration, James getting his MVP award from the commissioner.

“Thank you so much,” James said. “And let’s get ready to go.”

And with that, the game started.

Problem was, no one was ready to go.

The Heat missed their first seven shots — maybe rust really was a factor. It was 37-all at the half and James wore twice as many pairs of sneakers in the opening two quarters (two) as he had field goals (one). He had two points at the break, the lowest of his 120-game postseason career, on just 1 for 6 shooting.

He opened the second half with a 3-pointer, so the shoes were a quick fix.

But the Bulls were in for the long haul, and after James made the consecutive three-point plays to open a seven-point lead, Chicago answered with seven straight points, knotting the game at 76-all when Belinelli made a 3-pointer with just under 5 minutes left.

Momentum belonged to Chicago, and soon, so did the game.

“It’s just one game,” Belinelli said.
Game notes
James has played 885 regular-season and playoff games. He’s scored less than two points in a first half only twice, being shut out by Dallas on Oct. 31, 2007 and Dec. 20, 2010. He scored exactly two points on five other occasions before Monday. … Wade dove into the second row of seats to save an errant ball, and grimaced after appearing to hit his sore right knee. “I wish somebody would have grabbed me. That would have been kind of nice, especially at home,” Wade said. … The Bulls had 17 second-chance points on only nine offensive rebounds.

The post Bulls close game with 10-0 run to stun Heat in Game 1 appeared first on IdealCapper.

Former teammates Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano exchanged words after the race — in person and on Twitter — because Hamlin spun Logano as Logano was racing for the lead.

A flat tire knocked Jeff Gordon and Matt Kenseth out of the race while they were running 1-2.

Typical Bristol, right?

It looked that way as Kahne and Keselowski staged a spectacular battle for the lead, only for a caution to put them side-by-side for a restart with 39 laps to go.

Keselowski had an issue, he either spun his tires or the Hamlin-Logano feud disrupted his start, and Kahne sailed away for his first career victory at Bristol.

“Feels really good to win at this place,” Kahne said. “Such a tough track over the years. This is a big race for me. When you race in the Sprint Cup Series, Bristol is a race you want to win.”

Tempers flared after the race when Logano leaned inside Hamlin’s window to complain about Hamlin spinning him as he tried to pass Gordon for the lead.

Logano was pulled away from Hamlin’s car by crew members for both drivers in a classic post-Bristol clash that delighted the crowd. “They’re fighting! It’s Bristol!” yelled Clint Bowyer, who saw the action on the infield big screen.

Logano wouldn’t discuss what he told Hamlin, but indicated there’s no love lost between the former Joe Gibbs Racing teammates.

“That’s a freaking genius behind the wheel of the 11 car — probably the worst teammate I’ve ever had,” Logano said. “I have a scorecard and I’m not putting up with that. What goes around, comes around. I had to put up with him for years, so whatever.”

Hamlin shrugged it all off.

“He said he was coming for me,” Hamlin said. “I usually don’t see him, so it’s usually not a factor.”

The two sparred briefly on Twitter after the season-opening Daytona 500, when Hamlin complained Logano ruined the closing laps of the race. But he said Sunday’s flap was not a carryover.

“It didn’t have anything to do with that,” Hamlin said. “You’ve really got to control your car and he slipped up into me. Really, he would have been in the garage with no radiator in it if I had not checked up twice. I meant to run in to him. I didn’t mean to spin him out, but his day was fine. We finished bad and he finished bad. It’s even.”

But they continued sniping at each other after the race on Twitter, overshadowing what was undoubtedly the best race to date for NASCAR’s new Gen-6 race car.

And, their feuding may have played a role in the outcome of the race, too.

Keselowski was the leader on the final restart as he lined up next to Kahne. Hamlin was lined up behind Keselowski, with Logano lined up behind Hamlin. When the flag waved, Keselowski didn’t go and Kahne rocketed to the lead and never looked back.

Although it appeared Keselowski spun his tires, he was adamant after the race about what happened — “I got ran over!” — and that prevented him from breaking away on the restart.

Hamlin backed up Keselowski’s account.

“The 22 (Logano) ran into me and shoved me into (Keselowski),” Hamlin said. “Sorry to the 2, but I was the pinball in the sandwich. Once he throttled up, the 22 lifted me up and just flat out pinned me up against the 2.”

Logano seemed to think Keselowski spun his tires and that created the bottleneck, but Keselowski believed he had help from behind.

“I haven’t seen the replay, I just know my rear tires were off the ground before I got to the restart zone,” he said. “Eventually I got hit so hard it pushed my foot in the gas pedal, made myself look like a (fool). That was the deal. Never had another chance.”

Nobody came close to Kahne, who drove his Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet to the win by 1.7-seconds. Hendrick drivers have now won two of the first four races this season.

Kyle Busch snagged second from Keselowski, who took over the Sprint Cup Series points lead as the only driver to open the season with four top-five finishes. Kurt Busch finished fourth and was followed by Bowyer and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Ryan Newman was seventh, Brian Vickers was eighth and Paul Menard and Jamie McMurray rounded out the top 10.

The race changed dramatically with 110 laps to go in a bizarre crash between leaders Gordon and Matt Kenseth. Gordon was out front when he suddenly lost a tire and his car darted up the track into the wall.

Kenseth had nowhere to go to avoid him and drove directly into the back of Gordon, causing heavy damage to both cars.

“You all right?” crew chief Alan Gustafson radioed Gordon.

“Yeah, I’m OK. Did we take out Matt, too?” Gordon asked.

With the top two cars in the garage, the rest of the field headed to pit road to reset for the final 100 laps.

“I hate that for Matt Kenseth,” Gordon said. “He was coming, and it was just a matter of time before he caught us. We needed points. This definitely isn’t going to get us many.”

Kenseth, winner of last week’s race at Las Vegas, said the crash was unavoidable.

“There’s not a lot either one of us can do about that,” he said. “There was nowhere to go.”

Before the Gordon-Kenseth crash, Gordon and Logano were dueling for the lead. Gordon used a two-tire stop with about 175 laps to go to gain eight spots on pit road and take the lead. Logano chased Gordon around the 0.533-mile bullring, pulling even with the four-time champion as he exited the corners only to lose ground on the straights.

Lurking behind in third was Hamlin, who apparently got tired of waiting for Logano to get past Gordon and showed how restless he was with slight contact on Logano’s bumper as they exited Turn 2.

The tap caused Logano to back his car into the wall and took him out of contention, leading to the post-race drama Bristol is known to create.

The post Kasey Kahne gets Cup win at Bristol appeared first on IdealCapper.

“Ultimately, I’m not OK with it,” Hamlin told ESPN “NASCAR Now” reporter Jamie Little and other media outlets during the Gen-6 test at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. “This is the most upset and angry I’ve been in a really, really long time about anything … anything that relates to NASCAR.

“The truth is what the truth is. I don’t believe in this. I’m never going to believe in it. As far as I’m concerned, I’m not going to pay the fine. If they suspend me, they suspend me. I don’t care at this point.”

According to the NASCAR rulebook, failure to pay a fine may result in suspension. The rulebook also says unpaid fines may be collected by deducting money earned from a race weekend.

Hamlin issued a statement on Twitter on Thursday night, saying he will appeal the fine.

“The short of the long of it is I believe I was severely disrespected by NASCAR by getting fined,” he tweeted. “I believe that the simple fact of us not even having a conversation about this issue before I was hit with a fine has something to say about our relationship. What I said was 1 sentence taken completely out of context. Most drivers will tell you that we constantly have our AND nascars best interest in mind when speaking.

“On the other hand I am a person that worked very hard from the BOTTOM to get where I am today and someone telling me that I can give my 100 percent honest opinion really bothers me. Since being fined in 2010 I have been a lot more careful about what I say to media and I felt this past weekend felt completely in my rights to give a assessment of the question asked. I feel as if today NASCAR lost one of its biggest supporters vocally of where our sport is headed.

“So in the end there are no winners. I said today I would not pay the fine. I stand by that and will go through the process of appealing. Trust me, this is not about the money.. It’s much deeper. I will now shift my focus on giving FedEx and my team what they deserve this weekend, a win.”

Hamlin tweeted earlier in the evening that the statement came with no assistance from his public relations department or that of Joe Gibbs Racing .

“We have spoken with NASCAR and will continue to keep an open dialogue with them on this matter, but we will keep those discussions between the parties involved,” Joe Gibbs Racing said in a statement released Friday. “We will fully support Denny in his appeal process.”

NASCAR announced the fine on Thursday, saying Hamlin’s comments violated Section 12-1 of the NASCAR rulebook that includes all actions detrimental to stock car racing.

Spokesman Kerry Tharp said the governing body draws the line on criticizing the new car that NASCAR has spent the past few months promoting.

“Following the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series event last Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway, Denny Hamlin made some disparaging remarks about the on-track racing that had taken place that afternoon,” NASCAR said in a statement. “While NASCAR gives its competitors ample leeway in voicing their opinions when it comes to a wide range of aspects about the sport, the sanctioning body will not tolerate publicly made comments by its drivers that denigrate the racing product.”

NASCAR vice president for competition Robin Pemberton said Hamlin can appeal the fine.

“It’s like every other appeal,” he said. “Over the course of time, you remember mechanics and crew chiefs, whatever, if they appeal, then they can continue to carry on business as usual until the appeal has been heard and ruled on.”

Pemberton said there was no warning given to drivers about criticizing the car during preseason competition meetings.

“Those were some of the conversations we may have had a few years ago,” he said. “But it’s more of a matter of fact that you can’t criticize your core product, what you’re trying to do.

“Constructive criticism is one thing, but there’s different statements that people made that are damaging. That’s where we won’t tolerate those types of things.”

Hamlin was critical of the Gen-6 car and single-file racing at Phoenix a week after fans complained about the single-file racing in the Daytona 500.

“I don’t want to be the pessimist, but it did not race as good as our Gen-5 cars,” Hamlin told reporters after the race won by Carl Edwards. “This is more like what the Generation 5 was at the beginning. The teams hadn’t figured out how to get the aero balance right.

“Right now, you just run single-file and you cannot get around the guy in front of you. You would have placed me in 20th place with 30 [laps] to go, I would have stayed there — I wouldn’t have moved up. It’s just one of those things where track position is everything.”

Pemberton, while not addressing the performance of the car of which Hamlin was critical, said NASCAR and Goodyear are looking at building tires that could improve performance.

“It comes in many different ways, shapes and forms,” he said. “It comes in tire sizes, tire widths, heights, staggers. It comes in whether the tire is a softer left and a harder right that may perform better or vice versa.

“As many of you know, Goodyear continues to test every year to try to improve tire wear or tire grip. So that is ongoing.”

This isn’t the first time Hamlin has been fined for voicing his opinion. He was docked $50,000 in 2010 for comments on phantom debris cautions made on Twitter following the Nationwide Series race at Chicagoland Speedway.

It is the second time a NASCAR driver has been penalized for comments this season. Nationwide Series driver Jeremy Clements was suspended indefinitely after the season opener at Daytona International Speedway for using a racial slur in the presence of an MTV reporter.

“I’ll be honest, I’m not going to say anything the rest of the year … as long as it relates to competition,” Hamlin said. “You can ask me how my daughter is, and talk to me after wins about what have you. But as long as it relates to competition, I’m out from here on out.

“The bad part is I feel I’ve been a pretty good spokesman for [NASCAR] in being positive when things aren’t always positive. They lost one small spokesman today, that’s all.”

Michael Waltrip Racing’s Clint Bowyer, who also drives a Toyota, said that what happened to Hamlin would not impact what he says in the future.

“You know, I’m going to shoot you straight,” he said. “At the end of the day, we’re all in this together. You guys included. We’ve got to — this is an important time for us. We’ve got a great thing going with this Gen-6 car.

“Our manufacturers have spent millions of dollars on this race car and we’re all proud of it — NASCAR included. Anything is going to take time. Anytime you make something — completely start over from scratch — and do things to make your program better, your sport, or whatever you want to call it, it’s going to take time. It’s a work in progress. You’re not just going to start the very first race out with something new.”

Hamlin is fourth in points after his third-place finish at Phoenix. A suspension ultimately could lead to his missing the Chase for the first time in his Cup career.

“It’s an opinion,” Hamlin explained of what he said. “It’s not even a bad one. I have to be careful. I don’t want to make things worse than they already are. And this is something that was absolutely nothing, and it got blown into something.

“It’s just going to be worse for them. Let them deal with it.”

The post Denny Hamlin to appeal $25K fine appeared first on IdealCapper.

The announcement was made on the team’s Twitter account and confirmed by Sabres spokesman Michael Gilbert on Wednesday. Ruff was relieved of his duties shortly after the team held a 90-minute practice, and a day after the Sabres were booed several times by their home fans during a 2-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets.

The Sabres (6-10-1) have gone 4-10-1 since opening the season with two wins.

With a 571-432-162 record, Ruff was the team’s winningest coach. In his 16th season, he was also the active leader among NHL coaches with the same team.

The Sabres, who play at Toronto on Thursday, have not yet named a replacement. General manager Darcy Regier was scheduled to address reporters later Wednesday.

The news came as a surprise only because Sabres management, including team president Ted Black, had spent much of the past week voicing its support of Ruff. Team owner Terry Pegula was also regarded as a big fan of Ruff.

Pegula, however, was running out of options in his bid to turn the Sabres into a Stanley Cup contender, an objective he made clear upon purchasing the team two years ago. Ruff’s firing comes nearly two years to the day Pegula formally took over as the Sabres owner on Feb. 22, 2011.

Ruff was becoming increasingly aware that his job was on the line. Last week, he described the Sabres’ struggles as being “his mess,” while adding he wasn’t done trying to clean them up.

On Wednesday, he abruptly cut short his availability with reporters by hinting that changes were coming because “it isn’t working the way we’re going.” He didn’t specify what those changes might be.

Under Ruff, the Sabres made the playoffs in each of his first four seasons and eight times overall. That included a surprising run to the Stanley Cup finals in 1999, when Buffalo was eliminated by Dallas in six games.

The Sabres, however, haven’t been the same since they reached the Eastern Conference finals — losing both times — in both 2006 and ’07. Buffalo has missed the playoffs in three of the past five seasons.

The post Sabres fire coach Lindy Ruff appeared first on IdealCapper.

The 25-year-old former Leeds midfielder, who left the League One side Stevenage last month, wrote on his blog that he had been afraid of revealing his sexuality, but that he is now leaving football.

Rogers, who made 18 appearances for the United States, wrote on his blog: “Secrets can cause so much internal damage. People love to preach about honesty, how honesty is so plain and simple. Try explaining to your loved ones after 25 years you are gay.

“Try convincing yourself that your creator has the most wonderful purpose for you even though you were taught differently.”

Rogers also tweeted the message to his 78,000-plus Twitter followers on Friday, and several of his United States teammates expressed their support.

Bolton midfielder Stuart Holden wrote: “Much love and respect to my boy@robbierogers ! Proud to be your friend bro,” while DaMarcus Beasley wrote: “I have a lot of respect for my boy @robbierogers. good luck in your next adventure man!!”

Eddie Pope, who played in three World Cups for the United States and is now the director of player relations for the MLS Players Union, tweeted: “@robbierogers Brave men like you will make it so that one day there’s no need for an announcement.That day can’t arrive soon enough.#Support”

Chris Basiurski, chairman of the Gay Football Supporters Network, said he hoped that Rogers could have played on if he wanted to after coming out.

“I’d be disappointed if (he’s retired) because he felt as though he couldn’t still have a career,” he told Press Association. “What we want to do within our organization is create an atmosphere where a player could come out if they wanted to without fear. If he feels he has to retire after this it shows there is still some way to go to create that atmosphere.”

No British-based professional player has come out since ex-Norwich and Nottingham Forest striker Justin Fashanu in 1990. He committed suicide eight years later at 37.

Last month, West Ham winger Matt Jarvis became the third footballer to be featured on the cover of the UK’s best-selling gay magazine, “Attitude”, after David Beckham and Freddie Ljungberg.

Although not gay himself, Jarvis insisted gay footballers should feel comfortable enough to come out.

Gordon Taylor, chairman of the Professional Footballers’ Association, told Press Association that the PFA knows of more active players who are not comfortable coming out.

“I’m pleased that he’s come out for his own sake,” Taylor said. “… We know of players who are playing who are gay who’ve not had that confidence as yet. But, as the rest of the world becomes more civilised, hopefully that will come.”

The Chicago Fire acquired Rogers’ rights last week in the event that he planned to return to the MLS. He last played for the U.S. team in 2011 and played on the under-23 squad at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The post Robbie Rogers says he’s gay in blog appeared first on IdealCapper.

Sina Weibo has verified that the NBA superstar has set up an individual account on its hugely popular site. Bryant’s followers numbered more than 100,000 within hours on Thursday.

Bryant is widely known and extremely popular in China. The Los Angeles Lakers star has several fan pages on Sina Weibo.

One of them — “Home of Kobe” — has more than 200,000 followers. Along with other sites, it posted a welcome message for Bryant and encouraged fans to leave comments for him by promising to help translate some of the remarks.

The post Kobe Bryant tweets in China appeared first on IdealCapper.

While New England was in the process of defeating the Houston Texans on Sunday to set up an AFC Championship Game rematch with Baltimore, Ravens linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo ripped the Patriots on Twitter, particularly criticizing their no-huddle offense.

“New England does some suspect stuff on offense. Can’t really respect it. Comparable to a cheap shot b4 a fight,” Ayanbadejo tweeted.

Ayanbadejo will get an opportunity to see New England’s offense in person next Sunday when the Ravens visit the Patriots in the AFC Championship Game for the second consecutive season. New England won last year’s meeting, 23-20, thanks to a missed field goal by Baltimore’s Billy Cundiff as time expired.

The Patriots gained 457 yards of total offense in Sunday’s 41-28 victory over the Texans, as Tom Brady passed for 344 yards while orchestrating a hurry-up offense that confounded Houston throughout the contest.

But Ayanbadejo was unimpressed, referring to the Patriots’ approach as “a gimmick.”

“Are you watching the game pats vs texans?” Ayanbadejo tweeted. “If so you see the hurry snap offense catch em b4 they set up. It’s a gimmick.”

He later tweeted: “Their offense is good enough to be successful with out that.”

Ayanbadejo proceeded to make a critical reference to the Spygate scandal and Patriots coach Bill Belichick’s decision to cut wide receiver Tiquan Underwood one day before Super Bowl XLVI.

SN: AFC Championship Game

SportsNation For the second straight year, the Patriots and Ravens meet with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line. Which team is headed to New Orleans? Cast your vote!

“You know the same organization that did spygate and cut a guy the day b4 the Super Bowl,” he tweeted.

Ayanbadejo also referred to the Patriots’ 2007 season, when they completed the only 16-0 regular season in NFL history but lost to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLII.

“18-1,” he tweeted.

The Ravens rallied past the Patriots for a 31-30 victory in Week 3 this season. Ayanbadejo, who did not record a tackle in that contest, posted several tweets stating that he “Can’t Wait!” for the latest rematch between the rivals.

The post Brendon Ayanbadejo rips Patriots appeared first on IdealCapper.

Past everyone except Eric Dickerson.

Peterson became the seventh player to rush for 2,000 yards in a season, plowing through the Green Bay Packers for a 20-yard gain that put him over the top in the third quarter Sunday. He finished with 199 yards and a touchdown in the 37-34 victory, leaving him nine yards shy of breaking Dickerson’s single-season record.

“Ultimately we got the ‘W’,” Peterson said after carrying the ball a career-high 34 times. “We said during the week, if it happens, it happens. Don’t focus on it.”

Peterson needed 208 yards when the day began to break Dickerson’s record of 2,105 yards set in 1984. His 26-yard run late in the fourth quarter set up Blair Walsh’s winning field goal, a kick that clinched a playoff berth for the Vikings. He’ll have to settle for the second-best total — 2,097 yards — and a trip to Lambeau Field for a playoff rematch next Saturday night.

“I know Eric Dickerson is feeling so good right now,” Peterson said with a chuckle, referencing public comments from Dickerson a few weeks back saying he hoped Peterson didn’t break his record. “But God willing, I’ll get it next year.”

Dickerson exalted in keeping the record but also congratulated Peterson on Twitter.

“AdrianPeterson Just want to say that you are a Great player & if my record had to fall, I would like it to go to a player like you AP. ED,” Dickerson tweeted.

The New Orleans Saints also rewrote the NFL record books Sunday, as Drew Brees became the first player to pass for 5,000 yards in a single season three times. His four TD passes gave him 43 in 2012, and he’s the first player with 40 TD passes in consecutive seasons.

The Saints defense gave up 530 yards, raising their season total to 7,042 to break the old record of 6,793 allowed by the 1981 Baltimore Colts.

It also was a record-setting day for Seattle’s Russell Wilson, who tied Peyton Manning’s NFL record for most touchdown passes by a rookie with 26 after a third-quarter score in a 20-13 win over St. Louis.

Detroit’s Matthew Stafford finished the season with an NFL-record 727 pass attempts, topping Drew Bledsoe’s mark of 691 from 1994. But he fell short of a second consecutive 5,000-yard season, finishing at 4,967.

Houston’s J.J. Watt failed to eclipse Michael Strahan’s NFL sacks record (22 1/2). Watt finished with 20 1/2, while 49ers linebacker Aldon Smith went without a sack for the third straight game, winding up with 19 1/2.

Even without the rushing record, Peterson’s remarkable comeback season now has a magic number to punctuate it.

Peterson came in 102 yards shy of joining O.J. Simpson, Dickerson, Barry Sanders, Terrell Davis, Jamal Lewis and Chris Johnson in the 2,000-yard club. Peterson is the only one to do it after reconstructive knee surgery, and he did it on the one-year anniversary of his knee surgery.

“He is without question the best running back in our game and truly, in my mind, the MVP of our league,” Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said. “We don’t win this game without Adrian Peterson.”

Sanders also praised Peterson on Twitter.

“I’d like to congratulate @AdrianPeterson on an amazing season, comeback, and career thus far,” Sanders tweeted. “Its nice to welcome you to the 2K club.”

The Vikings punted a few plays after Peterson’s big run, and the crowd gave him a standing ovation when the achievement was announced. Peterson took it all in stride, waving politely, but otherwise not making anything special out of it in a game the Vikings needed to win to make the playoffs. He simply didn’t have time to reflect on the long, arduous path it took for him to get there after tearing the ACL in his left knee.

It was only last December when Peterson crumpled to the turf in Washington, two ligaments torn, leaving many to wonder if his career would ever be the same.

Well, it hasn’t been.

Peterson vowed from the very beginning to return better than ever from an injury that has ended the careers of so many before him. There weren’t many believers, including in his own locker room.

But a combination of uncommon genetics, unshakable determination and a smart rehabilitation plan from Vikings athletic trainer Eric Sugarman had Peterson back in the starting lineup on opening day.

Peterson scored two touchdowns in the opener but didn’t top 100 yards in a game until Week 4 when he went for 102 against the Lions. As the season went on, the scar tissue in his knee started to break up and Peterson took off like a purple rocket.

His cuts are sharper, his vision better and his patience is making the difference between a 4-yard plunge through the line and a 40-yard dash down the sideline.

He went on a breathtaking eight-game run, amassing 1,313 yards and topping 200 yards twice in four games to vault into the MVP discussion and make 2,000 yards a possibility.

When asked this week to describe his running style in one word, Peterson replied: “Vicious.”

That certainly sums it up.

He got off to a fast start with 61 yards and a touchdown on the first two drives, hearing chants of “MVP! MVP!” just before he surged into the end zone for a 7-yard score and a 10-0 Vikings lead. He also had runs of 12 and 21 yards early to get the Vikings going in this win-and-they’re-in game.

“I don’t let awards identify me,” Peterson said. “I don’t do it. I go out and define myself by what I do on the field. Whether I win it or not, and I’m not saying I don’t want to, just like I wanted to break the record, either way, in my heart I’m the MVP. That’s all that matters.”

The Vikings have followed Peterson’s lead in what most observers expected to be a rebuilding year. Peterson has carried the offense on his broad shoulders, turning the Vikings into a throwback attack that relies almost exclusively on the run for its big plays.

“Congrats to (Adrian) Peterson on becoming the 7th member of the 2K club,” Johnson tweeted, “now let’s see who can run down ED.”

With second-year quarterback Christian Ponder going through some highs and lows, and the Vikings missing top receiver Percy Harvin with an ankle injury, the passing offense has ranked last in the league. Peterson is averaging more yards per rush than Ponder does per pass and his seven rushes of 50 yards tied him with Sanders in 1997 for the NFL record.

All the while, Peterson has said he’d take the first postseason berth in three years over 2,000 yards any day. But it was no secret that the individual achievement was important to him.

Unlike baseball, the NFL has few numbers that immediately grab the public’s attention. One of those is 2,000 yards, especially in this new pass-happy league. Peterson entered the game with 1,898 yards, more than 400 better than Seattle’s Marshawn Lynch, who was in second place.

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