s biggest honor came this week when he | Forum

HOUSTON -- Tom Savage will start at quarterback for the Houston Texans on Saturday against the Cincinnati Bengals. Air Force 1 High Australia .Coach Bill OBrien announced the decision on Monday, a day after Savage took over in the second quarter when Brock Osweiler was benched against the Jacksonville Jaguars.We make decisions on what we think is the best way to help the team, what helps the team win, OBrien said.And I think that yesterday and this week I feel like Tom Savage gives us the best chance to win. Im going to give him a week to prepare as a starter and see what he can do for us on Saturday night against the Bengals.Savage threw for 260 yards to help Houston rally from a 13-point deficit for a 21-20 win in his first regular-season action since 2014.He threw the ball very accurately, OBrien said. I thought he made the right reads. It wasnt perfect. There were some things he needs to improve on, but I thought he made some good throws, made some big throws, a couple on third down, a couple down the field.Some were caught, some werent caught, but I thought they were in the right spot.OBrien wouldnt say if he planned to start Savage for the rest of the season, saying the team is focused on the Bengals.Osweiler has struggled in his first season in Houston after signing a $72 million contract to join the Texans from Denver.He threw two interceptions before he was benched on Sunday to give him 16 interceptions and just 14 touchdowns this season.OBrien praised Osweiler for his work this season and how he handled the benching and talked about the difficulty of making the change.Its a hard thing to do as a coach, OBrien said. Thats what they pay me to do is to make decisions like this in the best interest of the team and thats what Im trying to do. I think that it will help our team.OBrien recounted his conversation with Osweiler when he gave him the news.He didnt say much, OBrien said. Im sure he didnt agree with the decision, but hes a pro. Thats what he is. Hes a pro football player and he understands that hes got to continue to compete, and he needs to be ready to play ... now hes in a similar situation that Tom (was) in. Hes one play away. Got to be ready to go.Savage was a fourth-round pick in the 2014 draft and appeared in just two games that season.In the first one he did not attempt a pass and in the second one he was 10 of 19 for 127 yards with an interception after taking over midgame when Ryan Fitzpatrick broke his leg on Dec 14.But Savage injured his knee in that game and missed the last two games before suffering a shoulder injury the next preseason and missing all of the 2015 season.Hes a very consistent person, OBrien said. Hes been the same guy as far as his personality and how he approaches his day to day workload since he arrived here.Hes a hardworking guy. Hes done a lot to work in the weight room to change his body. Hes worked to get in better shape over the years. Hes always trying to do something to prepare.When Savage starts on Saturday he will be the sixth quarterback that has started for Houston in the past two seasons after injuries and ineffective play forced the Texans to start four quarterbacks last season.The Texans believed they had found the answer to their longtime woes at the position when they snagged Osweiler from Denver.Now theyre left with the leagues most expensive backup and must figure out how theyll deal with him moving forward with three years left on his huge contract.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL . Air Force 1 Low White Australia . Mitch Holmberg added a goal and three assists. Connor Chartier also scored for the Chiefs (3-0-0). Luke Harrison spoiled Garrett Hughsons shutout bid with a power-play goal at 13:17 of the third period. The Spokane goaltender finished with 28 saves, including a Brandon Fushimi penalty shot in the second period that would have tied the game 1-1. Air Force 1 High Cheap . Robredo, ranked No. 16, bounced back from an upset loss to Leonardo Mayer in the second round of the Royal Guard Open in Chile last week to down Carreno Busta in 1 hour, 25 minutes. On a day filled mostly with qualifying matches, fifth-seeded Marcel Granollers of Spain also entered the second with a 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 win over Aljaz Bedene of Slovenia, while Guido Pella of Argentina defeated Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 7-6 (6), 6-4 to advance. http:///...ia/react-presto.html .Y. - Rob Manfred was promoted Monday to Major League Baseballs chief operating officer, which may make him a candidate to succeed Bud Selig as commissioner. NEW YORK -- When 55-year-old banking executive Vijay Parimoo told his friends he would be a rookie ball boy at this years U.S. Open, he expected, and got, a little teasing.They were like, `Isnt there an age limit? Shouldnt there be? he said.But the U.S. Open has indeed never put an upper limit on the age of its ball chasers, which tournament officials say sets Flushing Meadows apart from the other Grand Slams. Of the 275 ball people this year -- all of whom had to make it through grueling tryouts -- about 75 are 18 or older and more than 20 of those are over 30. Several are in their 50s. One who gave it up a couple of years ago was 63.Top players who make it their habit to thank the ball boys and ball girls in their victory speeches on tour have been seen giving double-takes when handed a ball or towel by grownups.I see many adults, says No. 1-ranked defending champion Novak Djokovic. I dont know if all of them are adults, but theyre doing their job very well.While the very idea of ball men and ball women has been lampooned over the years -- most notably on TVs Seinfeld when Kramer finds a way to bungle the great ball man experiment -- its a point of pride for the hardy few who have actually done one of the most coveted minimum-wage jobs in sports. And U.S. Open officials say there are plenty of wrinkles, so to speak, at this particular Grand Slam that make older ball people a sensible choice.For one, the two-week U.S. Open normally straddles the Labor Day weekend, when the school year kicks in and labor laws prevent kids from working extended hours, especially at night.The older ballpersons are gold in the night matches, says Cathie Delaney, a U.S. Tennis Association pro who manages the day-to-day court assignments for ball people who can be as young as 14. Some of these matches go until 2 a.m. We cant have a 14-year-old on the subway at 2 a.m.And then theres the U.S. Opens distinction of being the only major in which the ball persons move the balls around the court by throwing them rather than rolling them, which on changeovers can mean 80-foot, baseball-like guns from one end of the court to the other. Over the three weeks of work -- through the qualifying rounds, the main draws, junior, college and wheelchair events -- all that throwing can take a toll on young arms.Former college baseball player Yitz Liberman answered the call several years ago, not out of a particular devotion to tennis but because he knew he had a rocket arm. Now, the 34-year-old adjunct professor of Judaic studies at Yeshiva University has worked his way up to the position of crew chief in some of the top matches in Arthur Ashe Stadium.Theres a lot going on around you. Air Force 1 Just Do It Australia. Its my job to keep everyone focused and everyone in line, says Liberman, who high-fived his mostly teenage crew when they were assigned Venus Williams match in front of more than 23,000 fans.Dressed in identical blue uniforms, the six-person crew marches on and off the court like soldiers. In a choreographed flourish, they fan out onto the court to their assigned spots, the runners at the net who scamper for loose balls, and the throwers at the end who bounce the balls to the players and handle their sweaty towels.Tina Taps, who has been in charge of the ball persons since 1989, says she doesnt care about age, only a love of the tennis and the ability to make it through tryouts, which involve sprints, agility drills and throwing competitions. Each summer, about 400 people try out for just 80 rookie spots.Its a hard job, she said. More mature ball persons can deal with the heat and the various things that occur on the court and can teach the younger ones to persevere.One of those vets is Laray Fowler, a 32-year-old sales associate from Great Neck who has worked every U.S. Open since she was 14. She specializes in knowing and anticipating the on-court likes, dislikes and nuances of some of the games biggest stars, including Serena Williams.Its kind of like I know what she wants without her even having to ask, says Fowler, who, for reasons that have never been explained to her, ends up getting assigned to just about every Serena match.So will there ever come a day Fowler will give up being a ball person? No way, she says. Im going to do this until I cant walk anymore.For Parimoo, the 55-year-old rookie from Warren, New Jersey, taking his place on court is the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. It began in his native India when he watched Jimmy Connors, Chris Evert and Bjorn Borg at the Open on television and noticed the youngsters chasing the balls across the court. What do these kids have to do to be in this tournament? he wondered. They must be super smart or special.When his 15-year-old son, Shray, tried out this summer, he took his dad with him. Amazingly, they both made it.In one of his first assignments, Parimoo handled the towel in a doubles match for one of his idols, Martina Hingis. But his biggest honor came this week when he was assigned to work as part of the same crew with his son.It reminded him once again of the biggest advantage he has over younger ball people: perspective.This is a privilege, he says. I enjoy every minute I am here. I may not be able to do it tomorrow. ' ' '