e mic and thanked the Wolves fans for voting him as a sta | Forum

ALAMEDA, Calif. Mikael Backlund Flames Jersey . -- Matt McGloin has made a career out of exceeding other peoples expectations. The player who had no scholarship offers coming out of high school walked on at Penn State and became the schools career leader in touchdown passes. The player who sent a letter and video to NFL teams pleading for a chance after getting passed over for the combine went undrafted before finally getting a chance as a camp arm with the Oakland Raiders. The player who entered training camp as a fourth-stringer managed to beat out fourth-round pick Tyler Wilson for a roster spot and moved up to second string when Matt Flynn was released last month. As surprising as all of those accomplishments may have been, it was his performance in his first NFL start last week in Houston that really opened up eyes. McGloin became the fourth quarterback since the 1970 NFL merger to throw three touchdown passes and no interceptions in his first career start in place of the injured Terrelle Pryor to earn himself a longer-term look as the starter in Oakland. "I never took a backseat to anybody," McGloin said. "I didnt put myself in a position that Im buried behind all these guys. I really dont look at who is ahead of me on the depth chart or whos behind me on the depth chart. Each day is a better way to get better, improve as a leader, improve as a person." McGloin will make his second start on Sunday against Tennessee (4-6) as Pryor still is dealing with a right knee injury and the Raiders (4-6) want to see if he can repeat that performance. "This is a production business," coach Dennis Allen said. "If you go out and you perform and you make plays, you get opportunities to continue to go out and perform and make plays. Matt did that last week. Hes going to get another opportunity this week. Well see how it goes." McGloins ascension from undrafted quarterback to starter is not unique as players such as Kurt Warner, Tony Romo and Jeff Garcia also took that route. But those players came from much lower-profile colleges than Penn State, where scouts had ample opportunity to watch McGloin play against NFL-caliber opposition, and took longer to reach their NFL success. They all spent time either in the Arena Football League, NFL Europe, Canada or an NFL bench before getting a chance to start in the NFL. "I think some guys werent born or blessed with great athleticism, size or speed or strength, all those things you can measure," Allen said. "You cant measure whats in their head or their heart. This guy has overcome a lot of challenges." It started when he got no scholarship offers coming out of high school in Scranton, Pa., and decided to walk on at Penn State. One reason McGloin didnt get a scholarship was because Penn State was waiting to see if Pryor would come to State College. But even being at the same school as the top quarterback recruit in the country couldnt scare the confident McGloin. "I remember asking him, What happens if Terrelle goes to Penn State," McGloins father, Paul, said. "He said, Dad, I dont care. Ill go there and beat whoever is there." Pryor went to Ohio State and McGloin spent much of his time in college fighting off more heralded recruits like Rob Bolden, Paul Jones and Kevin Newsome before earning his chance. He became the starter midway through his sophomore season in 2010 before throwing five interceptions in a loss to Florida at the Outback Bowl. McGloin began the 2011 season as the backup to Bolden before becoming the starter just weeks before the Jerry Sandusky scandal went public at Penn State, throwing the program in disarray. That eventually led to the firing of longtime coach Joe Paterno and crippling sanctions but McGloin decided to stick it out for his senior season under new coach Bill OBrien, who had previously been offensive co-ordinator for Tom Brady in New England. "Not too many kids go through something like that," he said. "Ive seen it all. Ive overcome many different types of adversity. In a way it has helped me at this level."McGloin had his best year under OBrien, throwing for 3,266 yards and 24 touchdowns with only five interceptions in leading the Nittany Lions to an 8-4 record. "Hes a smart guy," OBrien said. "Smart guys that work hard, that have some talent, they really thrive in that league. They really do. I think hell thrive in that league." But few NFL teams believed the same thing as McGloin was not invited to the scouting combine, leading him to send out a video to all 32 NFL teams which began with him saying, "My entire life has been defined by the words Youll never make it. So hard work is not new to me." McGloin cited his upbringing in Scranton and experience at Penn State as reasons why he should get a chance in the NFL. That came to fruition in May when he worked out for the Raiders and earned a contract. "It shows the type of person he is, the character and determination that hes not going to let someone tell him what he cant do," said Titans coach Mike Munchak, a Scranton and Penn State product who has followed McGloins career. "Im sure when he went to Penn State a lot of people said he should have done something else. Obviously, he worked his way through it." Dennis Wideman Flames Jersey .C. Lions has come to an end. Banks told TSN on Jan 2 that he had no interest in playing out the option year of his contract with the Lions in 2014, and he again made that clear in a conversation with Lions GM Wally Buono last week. Sam Bennett Jersey . Louis. To which I would say two things: 1. Where there is smoke, there is or perhaps has been a little fire. Or, in other words, the two teams would appear to have at least spoken. And spoken is defined as one calling the other to inquire, no more, no less. http://www.hockeyflamesfanshop.com/Theoren-Fleury-Jersey/ .Y. -- Sabres forward Drew Stafford has witnessed plenty of turmoil during his eight seasons in Buffalo. MINNEAPOLIS -- Kevin Love had just finished carrying his Minnesota Timberwolves over .500 for the first time since Nov. 23, playing the entire second half and over 43 minutes to make it happen. So naturally, he hit the weight room after the game. Without his Bruise Brother Nikola Pekovic by his side for at least another week, Love knows hes going to be tested like he rarely has before. Love had 30 points and 14 rebounds to help the Timberwolves grind out an 88-77 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday night. "I was a little upset with myself with some of the shots I took that I felt like I couldve made," said Love was of 11 of 26 and 1 for 6 on 3-pointers. "The ball didnt feel great tonight. Thats the way it goes sometimes. If I can do that and we can win without Pek, thats a good sign." Kevin Martin added 18 points on 7-of-18 shooting and six boards for the Timberwolves (23-22) in their first game without Pekovic, who is expected to miss at least a week with bursitis in his right ankle. They still managed to get over .500 after failing in their previous 10 chances to do so. Al-Farouq Aminu had 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Pelicans, who were missing star forward Anthony Davis with a dislocated left index finger. They shot 35 per cent and managed a season-low 35 points in the first half to snap a three-game winning streak. Davis was injured in the victory over the Cavaliers on Tuesday night, but coach Monty Williams said he was playing it safe with his franchise player and expected him to return on Saturday against Chicago. "He can knock down the mid-range shot down so a lot of their bigs were in the paint just helping and we had to go up against a big every time," said Pelicans guard Tyreke Evans, who had 11 points on 4-for-15 shooting. "So it was pretty tough." In an ugly game for both teams, the Pelicans managed to hang around and trailed by five heading into the fourth. But Love, who played the entire second half, scored six straight points during an 8-0 burst to oopen the quarter and help the Wolves win for the fifth time in six games. Gary Roberts Jersey. "With Pek out, we really have to find a way to relieve the pressure off (Love), move him around and stuff," Wolves coach Rick Adelman said. "We know teams are going to come at him. ... So we have to find ways to figure it out." Both teams looked lost without their lynch pins in the paint in the first half. The Pelicans, who also are missing Jrue Holiday and Ryan Anderson, hovered around 25 per cent shooting for most of the first quarter and were still at 30 per cent late into the third quarter against a Wolves defence that has been among the worst in the league from a field goal percentage basis. Without Pekovic commanding double teams and bulling his way to the basket, the Wolves have had to focus more on the defensive end. That left Love to go to work on the offensive end, and he was more aggressive looking for his shot than he has been with the big fella next to him in the frontcourt. In his first game at home since he was voted in as an All-Star starter for the Western Conference, Love came out firing, taking nine shots and attacking the glass. And when point guard Ricky Rubio went to the bench early in the third quarter with four fouls, Love started distributing more, picking up five assists to help the Wolves push back against the plucky Pelicans. "I know some of our guys are a bit overwhelmed with trying to play at a high level, but we had our chances," New Orleans coach Monty Williams said. "This is when you have to step up and we just didnt do it tonight. That happens." NOTES: Eric Gordon scored 14 on 5 for 17 shooting for New Orleans. ... Before the game started, Love grabbed the mic and thanked the Wolves fans for voting him as a starter in the All-Star game. He posted his NBA-leading 27th game with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. ... Greg Stiemsma started in place of Davis and finished with three points and 12 rebounds and has grabbed at least 10 boards in two straight games. Wholesale Jerseys China' ' '