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During the chaotic celebration just moments after the United States clinched victory against Europe at the Ryder Cup last month, Zach Johnson was looking for somebody to hug. He was walking down the 18th hole at Hazeltine when he saw Tiger Woods -- make that vice captain Tiger Woods -- barreling toward him. T sees me out of the corner of his eye and starts running at me, Johnson recalled. We had a big old hug. I was emotional; he was emotional.Then, Woods took off.He was the assistant responsible for a quartet of team members that included Matt Kuchar, who was still playing in the last match on the course. As Woods quickly explained to Johnson following that tearful embrace, even though the overall result was decided, he still needed to oversee his mans match to fruition.Thats just one story about Woods first venture in a captaincy role, but there are plenty of others. Like the one about him calling captain Davis Love III with some ideas about potential Saturday pairings -- before the roster was even finalized. Or the one about him teaming up with Jack Nicklaus during the week to poke fun at Love for a poor shot from years earlier. Or the one about Woods good-naturedly getting ribbed by team members in the aftermath for failing to play in each of the two U.S. victories this century.I told him, All I know is that the last two Ryder Cups we won, you werent a part of, man, Brandt Snedeker recalled with a laugh. Maybe weve got a trend going on.All of these stories about Woods time as an assistant are preceded and followed by connective tissue that tells more about his dedication to the role than any anecdote. He worked at it. He strategized. He formulated plans. And most importantly, despite what so many have often insisted in regard to his attitude toward this biennial competition, he cared -- a lot.He doesnt do anything halfway -- lift weights, ride bikes, whatever. He jumps in, Love explained. He was so focused and driven. I can just flip through his text messages and show you pictures of pairings, plan A, plan B, cold weather pairings versus hot weather, wet versus dry. No wonder the guy is so successful.If Love was the teams general manager, then Woods was like the head coach calling the plays. Or maybe if Love was the head coach, then Woods was the offensive coordinator figuring out the Xs and Os. There might not be a perfect analogy, but its clear that Woods role with the team was hardly ceremonial or lackadaisical.Tiger as an assistant, I think that raised a few eyebrows. I think folks were concerned about his level of involvement, but it was just the opposite. He was really a part of it, said fellow vice captain Jim Furyk. He was on top of pairings and ideas and lineups and orders, way, way, way ahead of time. He fully bought in.He had situational options already on paper -- practice rounds, formats, weather, Friday through Sunday, Johnson added. He was all-in. He was all-in with this team from Day 1.Woods impact extended beyond the details, too.Its no coincidence that he was assigned to the pod that included Patrick Reed -- and perhaps no coincidence that Reed turned in one of the most impressive performances in Ryder Cup history with his childhood idol watching. It was a big part of what Patrick Reed did that Tiger Woods was his guy, Love explained. Everybody had their role .... That was for a reason.You look at some of those young guys on the team, Furyk said. They grew up idolizing Tiger Woods. He was the most dominant player in the history of golf at one time. Now hes a captain. One of them said, Wow, hes actually our captain and hes talking to us. They just looked up to him so much. They had him on this pedestal. They got to see him in the team room and be one of the guys pumping them up.For everything Woods meant to the team, the team -- from all accounts -- meant just as much to him. He wasnt involved in the last U.S. victory in 2008, which means it had been 17 years since hed been part of a winning Ryder Cup side.I think it really meant a lot to Tiger to be a part of something like that, Furyk said. All of us have done stuff on our own and accomplished different feats individually, but its special to do something as a group and I think it meant a lot to every one of us to win, and I think it meant a lot to Tiger to have those guys embrace him like they did.All of which leads to one more story about Woods from that week. It was hours after the team had clinched the win, after the champagne spraying and the closing ceremonies and the media interviews. In the midst of the afterparty, Woods pulled a few players together and recalled an old memory. This one was from 1999, when the U.S. had won at Brookline in come-from-behind fashion. Woods went to sleep before most of his teammates that night, only to be awoken by Payne Stewart, who implored him to return to the party.Stewart told him to remember that night, because it was so special. Woods recalled this story as he huddled with those players Sunday night after the win. He echoed those words that Stewart had told him so many years ago.Remember this night, he told them. This is a special night. Custom Nike Minnesota Twins Jerseys . Defencemen Drew Doughty, Shea Weber and forward Ryan Getzlaf also scored for the Canadians, who started their gold-medal defence 2-0. Goalie Roberto Luongo, getting the call in place of Game 1 starter Carey Price, was solid when needed in making 23 saves for the shutout. Custom Nike St. Louis Cardinals Jerseys .Y. -- Buffalo Bills coach Doug Marrone has drawn on his Syracuse connections once again by hiring Rob Moore to take over as receivers coach. https://www.customnikebaseballjerseys.com/ . Vettel was 0.168 seconds faster than Red Bull teammate Mark Webber around the Suzuka circuit. Mercedes driver Nico Rosberg was two tenths of a second off Vettel. "The car balance is decent, but I think we can still improve," Vettel said. Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys China .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Custom Nike Houston Astros Jerseys . -- Playing time has been limited for Maxim Tissot this season, so the Montreal Impact defender made the most of his first scoring opportunity on Saturday. NEW ORLEANS -- The fortunes of the Denver Broncos and New Orleans Saints have changed considerably in little more than a month, making their midseason meeting in the Superdome on Sunday all the more compelling.The defending champion Broncos (6-3) have dropped three of five and fallen out of first place in the AFC West since breaking out to a 4-0 start. The New Orleans Saints (4-4) have won four of five and climbed into second place in the NFC South since starting 0-3.I do not care what our record is. I do not care what their record is, Saints quarterback Drew Brees said. There is a reason that they are defending Super Bowl champs. ... This will be the best team that we have played thus far.The 37-year-old Brees , energized by a thriving, young receiver corps, has New Orleans atop the NFL in passing, averaging 324.6 yards per game. Denver boasts the leagues best pass defense, allowing a mere 183.3 yards per game. Those rankings make this matchup intriguing, but what makes the Saints a credible threat to Denver is the way theyve run the ball lately -- and the fact Denvers run defense ranks among the NFLs worst, at 29th.Last week, New Orleans racked up a whopping 248 yards rushing, with Mark Ingram gaining 158 yards and Tim Hightower 87.For Denvers coaching staff, trying to anticipate how Brees and the Saints offense might choose to attack this week is a tall order.Right now, when you watch them play, from a receivers standpoint, everybodys making plays. They have two tight ends going and the last two weeks the running games been going with two different backs, Broncos coach Gary Kubiak said. When youre getting ready to play people and looking at where the balls going and those types of things, its hard to zero in on anything because theyre so consistent and so unified throughout, because of everybody contributing and knowing whats going on.Some other things to know about the Broncos visit to New Orleans:MILLERS RUSHING: Denvers secondary has been banged-up recently, putting more pressure on Broncos pass rushers to make opposing quarterbacks uncomfortable. Thats where outside linebacker Von Miller comes in. Nine games into the season, Miller is averaging slightly better than a sack per game with 9+. Saints coach Sean Payton said Miller clearly is the best pass rusher in the NFL.He wins with speed. He wins with power. His get-off is outstanding, Payton said. He plays with leverage so he can convert speed and all of a sudden be underneeath and pushing you back into the pocket.dddddddddddd He plays the run well, hes a fantastic player.AIR TIME: Miller is feeling as much urgency to pressure Brees as any quarterback he has, or will, play against all season. He knows that giving the Saints record-setting QB too much time to throw is a sure recipe for a miserable afternoon. Brees has already passed for more than 300 yards in a game five times this season, and more than 400 yards twice.Drews the best passer in the league right now, Miller said. I mean, hes leading the league in passing yards and its not the first time he has done it, either.LEARNING CURVE: Denver rookie QB Trevor Siemian has hit a rough patch lately, completing fewer than half of his passes in last weeks loss to Oakland. But Denvers struggles on the ground havent helped, either. The Broncos have rushed for fewer than 100 yards in six of seven games, and just 33 yards last week .Were all a little frustrated, Siemian said. Guys are working hard and were not seeing it pay off on Sundays like we want it to, but we all have the right mentality and were going about things the right way.LIMITED LIABILITY: Currently, the Saints rank 30th in yards allowed per game (408.5) and points allowed per game (29.8). Theyre also last in yards passing allowed per game (300). However, the Saints defense has not allowed more than 23 points in any of New Orleans past three games. Two of New Orleans opponents in that stretch, Kansas City and Seattle, each scored defensive touchdowns. The unit is also getting healthier. Top cornerback Delvin Breaux and defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins, the clubs top draft choice last spring, returned from injuries last week.FAMILIAR SURROUNDINGS: Denvers defensive backfield includes two players, cornerbacks Lorenzo Doss and Taurean Nixon, from south Louisiana who played college football for Tulane in New Orleans. Kubiak called the pair, two good young players that this organizations counting on in the future.Obviously theyve been a big part of what weve been doing lately because weve had some secondary issues with Aqib (Talib) and Kayvon (Webster) being out, Kubiak noted. So, theyre two good kids who work their tails off, both very bright and just working hard for their opportunity.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '