Plauderecke » Tigers ready for the grueling Southeastern

BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Buffalo Bills failed to reach a long-term deal with free-agent safety Jairus Byrd, and its unclear whether hell sign his one-year franchise tag offer from the team. Byrd was given the "franchise" label in March, and the two sides faced a Monday deadline to work out a long-term deal. He is the only remaining NFL player who has not signed his franchise tender and can only play under a one-year contract as a result of missing the deadline. Bills general manager Doug Whaley, in his first year, issued a statement after the deadline. "We worked very hard to come to a long-term agreement with Jairus, but unfortunately, were unable to reach one before todays deadline," Whaley said. "Our attention will now be focused on a one-year agreement with him and on training camp with our continued efforts to prepare our team for the upcoming season." Byrd very well could hold out in training camp and sign for 2013 closer to the season. Byrd has played in 62 games since the Bills selected him in the 2009 second round, recording 18 interceptions and forcing 10 fumbles while defending 27 passes. The two-time Pro Bowler tied for the NFL lead with nine interceptions in 2009 as a rookie. A person familiar with the details of the negotiations said there were no talks Monday. The source spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of contract discussions. ___ AP Sports Writer John Wawrow contributed to this report. Leonardo Spinazzola Jersey . The winner Saturday will remain in the elite 10-team field next year. "We talked about wanting to be disciplined and stick with our game plan and good things will come," Draisaitl said, who had two goals for the victors. Sami Khedira Jersey . Ronaldo produced a spectacular individual performance on Tuesday, scoring all three goals and guiding Portugal into the next years World Cup in Brazil with a 3-2 victory in Sweden. 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MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Skyler Howard played through a rib injury and Rushel Shell missed most of the second half with leg cramps, yet West Virginia overcame setbacks to their top two offensive threats to break a five-game losing streak to Southeastern Conference teams.Backup running back Justin Crawford rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown filling in for Shell, and Howard stayed in the game to lead the Mountaineers to a 26-11 win over Missouri on Saturday.Well take it, said West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen. Weve got a lot of work to do.So does Missouri, which lost in the debut for coach Barry Odom and fell in an opener for the first time since 2001, which was the first season under previous coach Gary Pinkel.Howard was hurt when he was tackled by Missouris Donavin Newsom while sliding during a run near halftime. Trainers worked on his ribs before the second-half kickoff and he returned to the game.Holgorsen said Howard is sore but no ribs were broken.He knew we needed him, Holgorsen said. The kid is a competitor and is going to do anything ... to help the team win.Howard didnt attempt a carry the rest of the game. He finished 23 of 35 for 235 yards with no touchdowns and an interception.In the brief time Howard sat out, backup quarterback William Crest lost a fumble and Chris Chugunov threw an interception.When guys go down, (other) guys need to go in and play at a high level, Holgorsen said. Some did. Some didnt.Crawford did. The junior college transfer got most of the carries after Shell walked off the field gingerly early in the third quarter and didnt return. Holgorsen said Shell had leg cramps and hes fine.Crawford had a 1-yard scoring run in the third quarter.From a teammate perspective, its good to know when you come off the field theyre putting someone in that is just as good as you, Shell said.ddddddddddddShell finished with 90 yards, including a 23-yard TD in the first quarter. He said he didnt want to return to the game after leaving and mess up the flow and the tempo of the offense.Missouri struggled most of the game under sophomore quarterback Drew Lock, who threw an 8-yard scoring pass to Chris Black with under two minutes left.I dont feel like I did a very good job on this, Odom said. Im obviously very thankful and honored to be the head coach. But Ive got a job to do and I didnt get it done today.THE TAKEAWAYMISSOURI: New offensive coordinator Josh Heupel has two weeks to get the Tigers ready for the grueling Southeastern Conference schedule. The Tigers were lethargic against a West Virginia defense that had nine new starters. Lock finished 23 of 51 for 280 yards.Odom said there was some good and some bad about Locks performance.Hes going to continue to get better, Odom said.WEST VIRGINIA: Like many games last season, the Mountaineers had trouble reaching the end zone following long drives. Four stalled inside the Missouri 10, all leading to short field goals by Mike Molina.Thats not good, Holgorsen said. Theres going to be times where those field goals need to be touchdowns. We have to do a better job of finishing drives.UP NEXTMISSOURI: Tigers fans get to see how Odom does for themselves in the home opener against Eastern Michigan -- a 61-14 winner over Mississippi Valley State -- before Missouris SEC home opener with Georgia a week later.WEST VIRGINIA: The Mountaineers welcome ex-Nebraska coach Bo Pelini in their first-ever meeting with Youngstown State, which gave Pittsburgh a scare on the road a year ago. ' ' '