News » defensive end Cory Redding argued the altitude effect is a

LOS ANGELES -- Steve Stricker is likely to miss the Match Play Championship next week because his older brother is awaiting a liver transplant at home in Wisconsin. Stricker said his 50-year-old brother, Scott Stricker, has been in the hospital since Jan. 6 and was transferred to the intensive care unit three weeks ago. Stricker said his brother has a history of health problems, but took a sudden turn for the worse after the holidays. "Hes walking a tightrope is what theyre telling me," Stricker said Tuesday after his daily visit to the hospital. "He needs a liver. Hes holding his own, but this cant last forever. Hopefully, we get one soon." He said the family thought his brother had a liver donor over the weekend, but the timing didnt work out. Stricker said his brother caddied for him when he qualified for the Canadian Tour in 1989, and soon after had colitis that turned into Crohns disease. Scott Stricker had emergency surgery last Thursday, and Stricker said he has been stable since then. If he were to miss the Match Play Championship that would mean four of the top 12 players in the world ranking are not in the 64-man field at Dove Mountain. Tiger Woods, Adam Scott and Phil Mickelson already have said they would not play. Stricker won the Match Play in 2001 in Australia, and he reached the quarterfinals a year ago. He has not officially withdrawn -- players have until Friday to commit -- but said it was not looking good for him to play. "I was going to leave today to go to Phoenix for a few days, but thats not going to happen," he said. "Its going to be a long shot if I come and play. Im practicing every day, but in the back of my mind, I feel like Im not going to be there -- unless something happens rather quickly, and they say it can. But if one comes available, I wanted to be around for the surgery." Stricker has competed only once since the Presidents Cup last October -- he played the unofficial World Challenge the first week in December -- though he said he played a few rounds in Naples, Fla., after the holidays. Last year he began a limited schedule to be at home more often. Stricker played only 13 times last year and finished No. 3 in the FedEx Cup. Jack Butler Jersey . -- Olympic medallist Jennifer Abel of Laval, Que. Mason Rudolph Jersey . - Rookie Kyle Larson will start from the pole position Saturday night in the NASCAR race at Richmond International Raceway after a thunderstorm arrived just in time to wash out qualifying. http://www.officialpittsburghsteelersfootball.com/authentic-coty-sensabaugh-jersey-womens . -- Craig Anderson has quite a record against his former team, the Florida Panthers. Lynn Swann Jersey . Two weeks after suffering a concussion, Foles will start in place of Michael Vick, who is out for the second time this season with a hamstring injury. Jesse James Jersey . Williams withdrawal came less than 24 hours after losing in the final Auckland WTA tournament final. "I dont believe she has an injury," Hobart tournament director Mark Handley said.DENVER - Along with great quarterbacks who all own Super Bowl rings, the four NFL teams hosting playoff games this weekend have a little something else on their side: an extraordinary home-field edge.Seattle has the racket of Century Link, Green Bay the mystique of icy Lambeau. Denvers mile-high altitude and NASCAR offence benefit the Broncos. And the Patriots appreciate the biting winds and bitter cold of foreboding Foxborough, where that hoodie sure comes in handy.The four host teams are a combined 30-2 at home this season; each is at least a touchdown favourite in the divisional round.In the last decade, only two other seasons, 2005 and 2011, featured collective records that good among the four hosts who sat out wild-card weekend, according to STATS.Interestingly, in neither of those postseasons did any of the four win it all. Sixth-seeded Pittsburgh won in 05 and the Giants won as a fourth seed to close out 2011.This years foursome includes the Broncos and Packers with perfect home records, but not the top seed, so the road to the Super Bowl might not even go through Denver or Green Bay.Seattles lone home loss was a 30-23 hiccup against Dallas during the champs early-season stumble. The other defeat was a giveaway: New Englands 19-7 loss to Buffalo in the season finale with the No. 1 seed already secured by the Patriots.Unnerving, is how Richard Sherman describes the sound in Seattle, which can get so loud that the Seahawks defence has to find creative ways to make checks and calls.Panthers tight end Greg Olsen played at Seattle with the Bears a few years ago and left with his ears ringing. He said he expects an even louder stadium Saturday night: Playoff game, coming off a Super Bowl, I can only imagine.Denver quit being such an intimidating place to play after John Elway retired with two rings. Its a big deal again since Mannings arrival in 2012.Our fans have been great ... I think they cause problems for other teams, Manning said, echoing sentiments in Massachusetts, Washington and Wisconsin. Players just feed off that energy when youre playing at home. I think it makes a big difference.Throw in the no-huddle and the lung-searing altitude and you can see why the Broncos are 24-3 at home with Manning, including 17-1 over the last two seasons.Playing up-tempo and then the altitude out here can really give a defence fits, said C.J. Anderson, who knows its working when defensive linemen interlock their knuckles behind their head, heaving between snaps.Indy defensive end Cory Redding argued the altitude effect is all in your head, adding: its a bunch of uh, stuff. But Colts coach Chuck Pagano knows better. He grew up in Boulder, Colorado, and played at Wyoming, which is about 2,000 feet higgher than Denver.dddddddddddd So he knows how the thin air can affect teams. Still, he decided against flying into Colorado a day early.Yeah, we mulled it over, but we figured sticking with the routine and having a normal week was better, he said.One of Denvers three home losses under Manning came in the playoffs two years ago when Joe Flacco heaved a tying 70-yard rainbow to Jacoby Jones in the final minute of regulation. Flaccos seven road playoff wins are the most in NFL history and includes two triumphs at Gillette Stadium, plus a 23-20 loss in which Billy Cundiff missed a short field goal at the end.Flacco doesnt get all the fuss over the home field.Its tough to tell people why youre not intimidated, Flacco said. I think its kind of funny that people would be intimidated at any point in any game against anybody. Its just not in our nature. Weve played in a lot of big football games and this is no (different).So the Ravens will, as usual, swagger into their opponents stadium Saturday.I look around all the time at the crowd when you first come out of the tunnel, Ravens receiver Torrey Smith said. I like the boos. I like to see all of whats going on, see what kind of tradition they have. ... You would love to be home. But playing away, just the challenge of trying to quiet down the crowd is something that you love as a competitor.The Cowboys take an 8-0 road record into Lambeau Field in their first playoff game at Green Bay since losing the Ice Bowl in 1967. Never has an 8-0 road team played an 8-0 host in the post-season.I would say its like a frozen mystique, if you could say that, just because its hard to play in the cold, Packers DB Jarrett Bush said. Its a different discomfort out there on the field, rather than being in Miami or Tampa, somewhere its really hot. The cold is totally different. Totally different ballgame.Of more concern for the Cowboys than the cold is Aaron Rodgers, who has thrown 418 times and 36 consecutive TD passes at home without an interception, both NFL records. He hasnt been picked off at Lambeau Field since Dec. 2, 2012.But the Cowboys might be better off away from AT&T Stadium, anyway. They were 4-4 there and needed a frenetic fourth-quarter rally to beat Detroit last week.On the road, they look like an entirely different team.If we can take that same mentality to Green Bay, safety Barry Church said, despite all the cold, despite all that, if we can just take that mentality, us against the world, then I feel like well have a good chance.___AP Sports Writers Michael Marot, Tim Booth, Genaro C. Armas, Schuyler Dixon, Howard Ulman, David Ginsburg, Steve Reed and Pat Graham contributed.___AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Cheap Barcelona Jerseys Authentic Cheap Real Madrid Jerseys China Cheap Bayern Munich Jerseys Authentic Wholesale Dortmund Jerseys Cheap USA Soccer Jerseys Cheap USWNT Jerseys China Cheap France Jerseys Cheap Mexico Jerseys Wholesale Germany Jerseys Cheap Belgium Jerseys Cheap Brazil Jerseys Colombia Jerseys From China Wholesale England Jerseys Wholesale France Jerseys Cheap Germany Jerseys Wholesale Italy Jerseys Cheap Mexico Jerseys Cheap Portugal Jerseys Cheap South Africa Jerseys Wholesale Spain Jerseys Wholesale France Jerseys Wholesale Germany Jerseys Wholesale Mexico Jerseys Wholesale Colombia Jerseys Cheap Belgium Jerseys Authentic Cheap Brazil Jerseys Cheap Argentina Jerseys Authentic Cheap Spain Jerseys Cheap Belgium Jerseys China Cheap Mexico Jerseys Authentic ' ' '