so maybe we can surprise you." Spurs expensive new recruits were f

Discussing his Green Bay Packers victory over the Atlanta Falcons on a snowy night at Lambeau Field this week, coach Mike McCarthy uttered the sort of platitude that certainly sounds true.Winning in December is important, McCarthy said, and winning in December is difficult.Actually, a look at recent history shows the first part is not necessarily the case — especially if the ultimate goal is the Super Bowl. The idea that a strong regular-season finish is a prerequisite for an NFL championship turns out to be one of the myths and misconceptions about the last month of the year.Only once in the last nine years has a team with a better post-Dec. 1 regular-season record than its Super Bowl opponent won the title. And three times in that span, a team with a losing record down the stretch wound up taking home the trophy: Baltimore was 1-4 after Dec. 1, 2012; New Orleans was 2-3 heading into the playoffs three years earlier; Indianapolis was 2-3 three years before that. Each of those champs beat a Super Bowl foe that had a winning record over its final five regular-season games.Theres also a deep assumption that cold-weather teams dominate in the late season and playoffs.The weather definitely plays a part in football games late in the year, Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon said. I dont think theres a player alive that loves to play in cold weather, but you can get used to it.The Vikings chose the north sideline at TFC Bank Stadium — their temporary home while a dome is being built — because they thought it would help during colder games. With the angle of the sun on December afternoons, the south sideline where the visitors stand is usually completely shaded; if the sun is out, the Vikings sideline gets all of it.Coach Mike Zimmer said on-field readings from Minnesotas home game against Carolina on Nov. 30 showed a 20-degree difference between the sunny and the shaded sideline.The players thanked me for being on that side a couple of times, Zimmer said.While players — or their fans — in spots such as Buffalo or Pittsburgh might hope for an edge down the stretch in this seasons tight AFC playoff race, data compiled by STATS also shows that not all teams based in cold-weather cities thrive this time of year.Sure, over the past 10 seasons, New England is a league-best 42-7 in December, and 14-4 when its 32 degrees or colder at kickoff (oddly enough, only Houston, at 3-0, has a higher winning percentage).But Denver is only 8-9 at 32-or-below at kickoff, a .471 winning percentage thats a significant drop from its .609 in all other games over the decade. Another example: The Cleveland Browns havent been particularly good in any weather the past 10 years, but their winning percentage drops from .349 at 33 degrees or above to .238 when the mercury drops.Sometimes if you take a cold-weather team into warm weather late in the year, that can affect them just as much as it does when you take a warm-weather team and put them in cold weather. Now youve been practicing in colder weather and you have to go out and play in warmer weather — and youre not used to that, either, said Moon, who played for the CFLs Edmonton Eskimos before moving to the NFL. Fatigue sets in. Guys can get a little more tired or dehydrated.At the other end of the spectrum, there are teams from warm-weather sites that do just fine in the cold, such as the Miami Dolphins, who in admittedly small sample size have gone 4-3 at 32-or-below since 2004, a .571 winning percentage that dwarfs their 33-and-above mark of .416.If guys excel in cold weather, it has to be something theyve been coached on or theyve been taught to block it out and say, Were going to play better, Redskins receiver Santana Moss said. When coach (Joe) Gibbs was here, he always taught us that Redskins weather was bad weather — wet, soggy, gloomy, cold. And we actually won games that time of year. We had the same team that didnt even go to the playoffs, but we won games in December.___AP Pro Football Writer Dave Campbell in Eden Prairie, Minnesota, contributed to this report.___Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich Celtics Jerseys Outlet . That time around, the cage is as much a part of baseballs daily routine as a beer and a hotdog is to a fan in the stands. Coaches, scouts, broadcasters and other media hover, tossing verbal barbs, telling stories and sharing laughs. Occasionally, especially in spring when the atmosphere is relatively laid back, the list of invited guests expands and on this day, Gibbons welcomed two men strongly influential in his life. Womens Celtics Jerseys . Henrik Samuelsson and Luke Bertolucci also scored for the Oil Kings, who are now 9-0 on home ice in the playoffs to cut Portlands series lead to 2-1. Chase De Leo and Mathew Dumba responded for the Winterhawks, who suffered just their fourth loss in their last 46 games, a string of success running all the way back to Jan. http://www.cheapcelticsjerseyschina.com/bill-russell-jersey/ . Pikul Khueanpet scored early in the second half and Kanjana Sungngoen made it 2-0 in the 65th minute of the playoff. Tuyet Dong narrowed the margin with goal four minutes from time. The win gave Thailand fifth place at the Asian Cup and the last of the continents qualifying spots for the 2015 Womens World Cup in Canada. Celtics Jerseys From China . PETERSBURG, Fla. Youth Celtics Jerseys . Viewers in the Canadiens region can watch the game on TSN Canadiens at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The game can also be heard on TSN Radio Montreal 690. The Calgary Flames will see if they can take their recent hot streak on the road when they shoot for a sixth consecutive win Monday night in Montreal.LONDON -- Olivier Giroud settled the first north London derby of the season on Sunday as Arsenal asserted its supremacy over Tottenham on the pitch with a 1-0 victory despite months of lavish spending by its neighbour. Giroud turned the ball into the net from Theo Walcotts cross in the 23rd minute, showing that goals are the only currency that counts in the Premier League. "We didnt give up and showed real togetherness," Giroud said. While Arsenal has only signed two free agents in the summer transfer window, which closes Monday, Tottenham has spent around 100 million pounds ($155 million) strengthening the squad -- money recouped when Gareth Bale joined Real Madrid on Sunday for 100 million euros ($132 million). "I am not against spending -- I am ready to pay what we can afford, even if it is a bit over the market (value) and as long as it is not crazy," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. "I want to add super quality to our squad -- or not (buy). Tottenham got a lot of money for Bale, they have to invest it -- I understand that. The need is different for us, we need one or two super players and we will try to add that. We have 24 more hours, so maybe we can surprise you." Spurs expensive new recruits were frustrated in their route to the net, although goalkeeper Hugo Lloris restricted Arsenal to a single goal after 5-2 losses on the last two visits to the Emirates Stadium. Tottenham, though, hasnt managed to score from open play in three league matches so far, with the opening pair of victories gained through Roberto Soldados penalties. "The fairest result would be a draw bearing in mind what we did in the second half," Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas said. "We put pressure on their goal, but there were not enough clear-cut chances." But Arsenals players, who faced intense criticism after opening the season with a shock home loss, have quickly recovered from collapsing to Aston Villa. The relief was clear on Sunday, with players celebrating on the pitch as if a trophy had been won, and some throwing their shirts into the crowd. Not only have they now won back-to-back Premier League matches, but a place in the lucrative Champions League group stage was secured via thhe playoffs last week.dddddddddddd It was Arsenal which edged out Tottenham to the fourth and final Champions League place on the last day of last season, prompting Spurs extravagant overhaul of its squad and the recruitment of a technical director at White Hart Lane. Yet, the new faces have had to adapt quickly to playing alongside each other, and they still need more time to gel. Such cohesion was missing in the first half in particular at Arsenal. Two free kicks were conceded on the edge of the penalty area alone in the opening five minutes, although Santi Cazorla saw one pushed clear and another was curled wide through the wall. An Arsenal surge down the right flank produced the opener, with Tomas Rosicky releasing Walcott, whose cross was turned in by Giroud past defender Michael Dawson. It was the first time Tottenham had conceded in its five games this season, including a pair of Europa League fixtures. Lloris prevented Arsenal from extending its lead after another dangerous moment down the right saw Aaron Ramsey feed Walcott, only for the England winger to be denied at a tight angle. This was the Gunners at their incisive best, sharper and slicker and enjoying more time on the ball. When Spurs did encroach on the Arsenal goal, the resulting shots were too tame, with Andros Townsend striking low straight at goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. The resolute hosts avoided being unsettled by a blow just before half time when midfielder Jack Wilshere went off with a stomach bug and was replaced by Mathieu Flamini, who made his first appearance for Arsenal since April 2008 after returning last week. It was a livelier second half from Tottenham, which applied more pressure on the Arsenal defence but Szczesny was never seriously tested. Tottenham experienced its only injury setback when midfielder Etienne Capoue, who joined from Toulouse last month, was carried off on a stretcher after twisting his left fibula. Tottenham was short of luck in front of goal, too. Soldado couldnt find the net for a third successive game and when another new striker, Erik Lamela, came off the bench, he only managed to send a tame strike straight at Szczesny. And Lloris spared Tottenham from a heavier loss by saving from Walcott. 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