MINNEAPOLIS - The Washington Redskins were coming off of a surprising victory over Dallas and had franchise quarterback Robert Griffin III back in the huddle for the first time in seven games, momentum seemingly at their backs with a bye week looming. Craig Biggio Jersey .All that momentum came to a crashing halt before the team even reached the stadium to play the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, when two team busses collided on an exit ramp and left those involved shaken.Griffins solid return to the starting lineup was overshadowed by the pregame crash, a robust protest of the Redskins nickname and a resilient Teddy Bridgewater in the Vikings 29-26 victory.Guys fought really, really hard. But we know how bad we need wins right now and we didnt do it today, said Griffin, who completed 18 of 28 passes for 251 yards with a touchdown and an interception. I have to play better for that to happen, regardless of any box score, any stats. I know I can play better. I know we can play better. And were going to do that after this bye week.Bridgewater got off to a poor start, missing several wide open receivers deep down the field. But the rookie threw a touchdown pass in the final minute of the first half and made four first-down throws on the go-ahead drive in the fourth quarter to help deliver a much-needed win for the Vikings (4-5).Bridgewater completed 26 of 42 passes for 268 yards, Matt Asiata ran for three touchdowns and the Vikings sacked Griffin five times while rallying from deficits of 10-0, 20-14 and 26-21.Im extremely proud of our guys the way they fought, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. They handled an awful lot of adversity throughout the ball game. I felt like our team grew up today in a lot of different ways because they could have folded the tents early.Griffin, who had not played in more than six games because of a dislocated left ankle, was on an early bus to TCF Bank Stadium when it rear-ended a bus carrying Redskins coaches and staff. The collision shattered the second bus windshield and almost sent the first bus careening over a guard rail.We saw the bus hit the bus and we both thought we were going to fly out the (windshield), Griffin said. Everybody got a little bit of whiplash, I believe.Griffin shook it off and completed his first six passes of the game, helping the Redskins take a 10-0 lead. But a costly interception just before halftime set up Bridgewaters 20-yard touchdown pass to Chase Ford that got the Vikings offence going.Bridgewater engineered two touchdown drives over 70 yards in the fourth quarter, the last ending with a plunge from Asiata with 3:27 to go that dropped the Redskins to 3-6.NICKNAME PROTEST: Organizers estimated the crowd around 5,000. The event began with a march through the University of Minnesota campus to the stadium, where Native American leaders, local politicians, former sports stars and other speakers voiced their disdain for Redskins owner Dan Snyder and his refusal to change the nickname theyve derided as derogatory and racist.REDSKINS Defence: After sacking Tony Romo five times in the win over Dallas last week, the Redskins got to Bridgewater just twice. They also blew several coverages in the secondary, leading to wide open receivers running free. That was unacceptable football, coach Jay Gruden said.DIVIDED LOCKER ROOM?: A report by ESPN before the game cited anonymous sources in saying that Griffin alienated some teammates and also the decision to start him came from Snyder and not Gruden. The coach vehemently denied those reports, calling them amateurish and fiction.CHASING TDS: The Vikings offence had been without Adrian Peterson since the first game of the season while he addresses child abuse charges in Texas and took another huge hit when tight end Kyle Rudolph was lost for six to eight weeks with sports hernia surgery. But little-known Chase Ford has filled in admirably for Rudolph, and he had five catches for 66 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown against Washington.VINTAGE RG3: Some questioned Grudens decision to go back to Griffin after Colt McCoy helped the Redskins win two straight games. But on the first series, Griffin showed everyone why hes the franchise quarterback. On third-and-7, he spun out of a sack by Chad Greenway, eluded Everson Griffen, rolled to his left and hit Roy Helu Jr. for 24 yards and a first down.___AP NFL websites: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP_NFL Andy Pettitte Astros Jersey . The day began ominously for the Rangers when star pitcher Yu Darvish was scratched from his scheduled start with stiffness in his neck. Fill-in Scott Baker gave up three hits over six innings and Chris Gimenez hit a tiebreaking two-out RBI single in the sixth off Phil Hughes. Justin Verlander Astros Jersey . Malone will become an unrestricted free-agent and as per the collective bargaining agreement, the Lightning will be responsible for two-thirds of the remainder of his contract over twice the length of the rest of the deal. http://www.baseballastrosproshop.com/jeff-bagwell-astros-jersey/ . Wayne and Cindy Tuck of Ilderton, Ont., closed out round-robin play earlier in the day with a 7-3 win over Finland but needed a win over Austria to reach the final eight.MALMO, SWEDEN - Mathew Dumba has been rooming with 17-year-old Aaron Ekblad during the World Junior Hockey Championship and has noticed something about his younger teammate. "He has the body of like a 35, 40-year-old. The guy shaves his chest every week. I cant believe it. Hes a man-child. Hes like, I dont know, just a huge human being. I call him Shrek," said Dumba while a bemused Ekblad stood a few metres away shaking his head. Dumba isnt the first person to notice that Ekblad, along with Kootenay Ice forward Sam Reinhart - a top contender to be the No. 1 pick in the next NHL draft, seems to be growing at a ridiculously fast rate. "The Shrek thing actually started with Boone Jenner when we were playing against the Oshawa Generals back in the day," explained Ekblad, a 6-foot-4, 216-pound defenceman, who plays for the Barrie Colts in the Ontario Hockey League. "A couple of the guys, [including] Michael Dal Colle, picked it up and a guy on my team, Brendan Lemieux, picked it up and some other guys started calling me that and it kind of caught on a little bit. "Im not sure I like it too much, though." Wait a second. Is Ekblad not a fan of Shrek, a 2001 movie named for the main character, a large green ogre voiced by Mike Myers? "No, I like Shrek," Ekblad says not missing a beat. "Im just not sure I look like him." The quick-witted Ekblad, the second of now four players granted exceptional status in the OHL allowing them to be drafted at age 15, thinks just as fast on the ice. Despite being the second-youngest player on Team Canada, he has been among the top minute munchers while playing alongside Pittsburgh Penguins 2012 first-round pick (eighth overall) Derrick Pouliot. Ekblad has learned a lot from the Portland Winterhawks blueliner. "Wow, poise, hes got so much poise and patience with the puck," Ekblad said. "He can hold onto the puck and just wait for the other guy to move and pull it back, pull it back ... paying attention thats what Ive learned: just be more patient and poised with the puck and things will work out." Being paired with Pouliot allowed Ekblad a chance to ease into an event normally dominated by 19-year-olds. "Hes so good with the puck and so poised with it that it kind of lets me play more of a defensive game," he said. "I can kind of support him and let him do his thing and Ill be behind him if he makes a mistake or something like that." But Ekblad would not be able to maintain his prominent role on Team Canada without an ability to adapt quickly. Head coach Brent Sutter has already shown the leash will be short with players regardlesss of age as 16-year-old Connor McDavid found out on Saturday. Brad Peacock Jersey. . He was stapled to the bench after a pair of penalties in a loss to the Czech Republic and started the next game, Monday against Slovakia, as the 13th forward. "With young kids mistakes at this level are going to happen," said Sutter, "but Ekblad learns from it. Hes a sponge for the game. Thats what happens with an intelligent player: they pick things up quickly. You dont have to tell him twice. He gets it pretty quick." "If he does something a little off hell correct it right away," Pouliot said. "Thats what you have to do at this tournament and it shows how mature he is that hes able to make those switches on the fly." The latest tweak Ekblad has made has to do with the defensive side of his game. "I didnt block a shot in the Czech game, which was one of the things Ive been focusing on a lot since then," the Belle River, Ont. native said. "In the U.S. game I had quite a few blocks and tried to focus on making sure no pucks are getting through to the net." At Wednesdays practice, Ekblad and his teammates drew the ire of Sutter for a sloppy start to a drill. And Ekblad received the message loud and clear. "You can never be too precise. The takeaway was: lets get pucks on the stick. Lets do things right and things will work out for us." Ekblad has remained even-keeled even as Canada stumbled at times during the round robin. "Its been a roller-coaster of emotions throughout this entire tournament so far," he admits. Its also been a learning experience. "Ive just learned that at every level its going to get faster and faster and you have to be ready for it. You cant make the same mistakes twice. You have to just take in everything that happens out there and realize youre going to get better and learn things every day." Ekblad is relishing this opportunity, because he didnt think he was going to get it. Back in September he considered himself a longshot to make the squad after not being among the 35 players invited by Hockey Canada to a summer evaluation camp in Lake Placid, NY. And now here he is kibitzing with Dumba, who has been playing in the NHL this year with the Minnesota Wild. "Hes a good guy," said Ekblad. "Theres not much to say about him. He likes to just be a weird guy once in a while." "What?" Dumba, who was standing beside Ekblad in the interview area, exclaimed in mock horror. "What is this guy talking about? I cant even do these interviews." Both players laugh along with the assembled reporters. "Yeah," Ekblad says with a sigh, "we have a good time together." Cheap Canadiens Jerseys Cheap Predators Jerseys Cheap Devils Jerseys Cheap Islanders Jerseys Cheap Rangers Jerseys Cheap Senators Jerseys Cheap Flyers Jerseys Cheap Penguins Jerseys Cheap Sharks Jerseys Cheap Blues Jerseys Cheap Lightning Jerseys Cheap Maple Leafs Jerseys Cheap Canucks Jerseys Cheap Golden Knights Jerseys Cheap Capitals Jerseys Cheap Winnipeg Jets Jerseys ' ' '