Both Tootoo and Shaw were assessed

Baltimore, MD (SportsNetwork. Swingman Grant Hill Jersey .com) - Joe Flacco threw for 221 yards with a touchdown and the Baltimore defense kept Jacksonville out of the end zone, as the Ravens strengthened their playoff hopes with a 20-12 victory over the Jaguars on Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium. The Ravens (9-5) also scored on a blocked punt and picked up their second straight win to remain in contention for the AFC North title. Baltimore trails first-place Cincinnati by one-half game after the Bengals blanked the Browns on Sunday to reach 9-4-1. Pittsburgh also kept pace in the tight race and improved to 9-5 with a win over Atlanta on Sunday. Josh Scobee kicked four field goals to account for the entire offensive output for Jacksonville (2-12), which has lost two in a row. Blake Bortles threw for 210 yards with an interception for the Jaguars. He was also sacked eight times by a swarming Baltimore defense that limited Jacksonville to 248 total yards. The Ravens trailed 12-10 at the intermission and took the lead for good with their second possession of the second half, marching 80 yards on six plays. Flacco completed each of his five passes during the quick set, finishing it with a 3-yard strike to a wide open Owen Daniels in the back of the end zone. Jacksonville resorted to some trickery on its next possession, as a fake punt was successful and set up a first down just across midfield, but the Ravens stiffened and this time forced the Jaguars to punt it away. Justin Tucker hit the left upright a 54-yard field goal try with 8 1/2 minutes left in the fourth and the Jaguars were unable to mount a threat with their next two possessions. After punting the ball away with 6 1/2 minutes to play, the Jaguars got the ball back at midfield a little more than a minute later following a Baltimore punt. The Jaguars picked up 12 yards on the first play, but could not go much farther as Bortles 4th-and-9 pass was caught by Cecil Shorts out of bounds. A 10-yard run by Flacco on 3rd-and-5 allowed the Ravens to keep possession and drain more time off the clock. A 28-yard burst by Bernard Pierce on the next play helped set up a 33-yard Tucker field goal to make it 20-12 with 1:11 remaining. Bortles was intercepted by Jeromy Miles on a fourth-down heave with 16 seconds remaining to seal the contest. The Ravens took 7-0 lead with a special teams touchdown, as Darian Stewart burst through the middle of the line and blocked Bryan Angers punt after Jacksonvilles first series. Kamar Aiken picked up the ball at the 11-yard line and trotted into the end zone. Jacksonville came right back and answered with a 53-yard Scobee field goal, then marched inside the Baltimore 10 with its next series. However, a pair of sacks pushed the Jaguars back to the 27 and forced a 45-yard Scobee kick to make it 7-6 late in the first quarter. The Ravens turned it over early in the second when Kyle Juszczyk fumbled after a short reception. Jacksonville took over at the Baltimore 33, but went backward from there and had to settle for another 53-yard Scobee field goal to grab a 9-7 lead. A surprise onside kick was recovered by the Jaguars, who managed to pick up one first down before Scobee missed from 42 yards to keep it a two-point game. Baltimore then regained the lead on the next offensive series when Tucker kicked a 22-yard field goal with 3:45 left in the first half. Tucker was short with a 54-yard kick with 40 seconds remaining and Bortles completed a pair of passes to move the Jaguars into position for a 45-yard boot from Scobee to take a 12-10 lead into the break. Game Notes The Ravens blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown for the first time since Ed Reed accomplished the feat in 2003 ... Baltimores Steve Smith Sr. finished with five catches and recorded his 900th career reception early in the second half ... Baltimores Elvis Dumervil notched one sack and tied his career high with 17 in a season ... Baltimore safety Terrence Brooks left the game in the first quarter with a knee injury and cornerback Asa Jackson was helped off the field in the third quarter with a knee injury. Bill Laimbeer Jersey . Called on from the college ranks to replace Andy Reid, Kelly implemented a whole new atmosphere in the City of Brotherly Love and now has the Eagles in the playoffs for the first time since 2010. Ben Wallace Pistons Jersey . Dwyane Wade took over in the fourth quarter. http://www.officialpistonsonline.us/tracy-mcgrady-pistons-jersey/ . Goergl, the 2011 world champion, started 28th after the other top contenders had already gone down but had the fastest time at each interval. Goergl finished the demanding 3-kilometre Kaelberloch course in 1 minute, 47.Got a question on rule clarification, comments on rule enforcements or some memorable NHL stories? Kerry wants to answer your emails at cmonref@tsn.ca! Hey Kerry! Im wondering if you could give us some insight as to why Nazem Kadri got away with only a two for running Niklas Backstrom in Wednesdays game between the Wild and Leafs. Every replay showed an elbow to the head of Backstrom, clear as day. Is the fact that a new Ref was in the game? It seems to me that the weak call was at least partly responsible for the chippy atmosphere afterwards. Any insight would be great! Mike in St Paul, MN --- Hi Kerry, During the Toronto-Minnesota game, Nazem Kadri was given five and a game for a hit to the head. While Kadri got the game misconduct, Phil Kessel served the five-minute major penalty. How do they determine what player serves the five-minute major? Do the coaches pick a player to serve the penalty, and if so does that player have to be on the ice at the time the penalty was called? Kyle Moore Mike and Kyle: Nazem Kadri made two very irresponsible decisions with separate hits to the head of Wild goalkeeper Niklas Backstrom at 7:07 of the first period and then to Mikael Granlund at 8:41 of the third. Both of these illegal hits to the head were worthy of a five-minute match penalty! The match penalty, plus any additional penalties, shall be served by any player (excluding a goalkeeper) to be designated by the Coach through the Captain. The player designated, in this case Phil Kessel, must take his place in the penalty box immediately. Kadri got a two minute free-pass on the Backstrom hit by a rookie referee. Things happen much more quickly in the NHL than in the minor leagues. I am confident the young referee will learn from the experience he gained in his very first NHL game. We shall also see if Nazem Kadri is taught a lesson from both of these experiences? The responsibility is place squarely upon every player to avoid contact with a goalkeeper wherever possible. When contact is unavoidable through a collision the player must do everything within his power to minimize the force generated. Beyond zero attempt by Nazem Kadri to avoid contact with Niklas Backstrom he generated what appears to have been excessive force with his elbow/forearm directly to the facemask of Backstrom causing the goalie to crash the back of his head onto the ice. Following the two minute power-play the Wild enjoyed, Backstrom was forced to leave the gamee. Custom Pistons Jersey. There is a provision for the referee to assess a major penalty under rule 69 for goalkeeper interference as well as major and game misconduct for charging and elbowing. However, given the fact that Nazem Kadri made a decision to accelerate his elbow/forearm with force directly to the face/head (main point of contact) of Niklas Backstrom elevates the call to a match penalty under rule 48 in my judgment. I see this beyond just a player running out real estate and finding himself in an unavoidable collision with a goalkeeper. Nazem Kadri had other options and a much better decision to make; the very least of which was to plant and finish with an extended forceful elbow/forearm to the head of Niklas Backstrom. There is certainly some precedent set in the area of player contact with goalkeepers both inside and outside of the crease. Classic examples of excessive illegal contact with a goalkeeper were demonstrated when Milan Lucic ran over/....... checked Ryan Miller which resulted in a concussion to the Buffalo goalkeeper; then Jordan Tootoo crashed into Miller in the blue paint in the goalies very first game back after recovering from Lucic induced "concussion like symptoms"; in a play-off game Andrew Shaw of the Blackhawks caught Mike Smith with a shoulder cap to the facemask as the goalie played the puck behind the goal. The bar of justice was raised after Milan Lucic escaped with only a minor penalty for charging and no suspension. You may recall my reaction the following day in CMon Ref where I stated that a major penalty and game misconduct plus a three-game suspension was warranted whenever a goalkeeper was run over in that fashion. Both Tootoo and Shaw were assessed a 5 minute major, game misconduct and three game suspensions. The head contact Kadri delivered on Mikael Granlund was totally unnecessary, senseless, irresponsible, wreckless, and dangerous for starters. I could apply a host of other adjectives given the one goal lead the Leafs were protecting in addition to the separation between the two players and as Nazem Kadri approached to make what should have been a legal ....... check through Granlunds center mass. I must repeat; whenever a player elevates his posture prior to and through a check the head of his opponent is highly susceptible to becoming the main point of contact. The results of Nazem Kadris hearing scheduled this afternoon for hitting the head of Niklas Backstrom are pending. NFL Jerseys China cheap jerseys ' ' '