Peter King: Bucs ignore skeptics; Raiders get shot on big stage

Josh Freeman has thrown for 1,533 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions in seven games this season.

Two things I never thought I'd see in Week 9 of the 2010 NFL season:

• The Raiders playing a game that matters.

• The Bucs, with a half-game lead on the Saints, playing for the NFC South lead.

One of the great things we've seen in the first half of this season is the maturation of a 22-year-old quarterback, Josh Freeman, before our very eyes. Consider that Freeman has led the Buccaneers to three fourth-quarter comebacks on the road in the last four weeks -- against Cincinnati, St. Louis and Arizona. Not exactly murderer's row. But three wins, two in the final minutes, in hostile environments is a heck of an accomplishment for a young kid in the NFL.

"Our offense has a calm confidence,'' he told me Thursday. "We're not shaken up when we're down late. Last week in Arizona, we went out there [trailing 35-31 late] just knowing, 'We've got a job to do.' No big speeches. It's just succeeding at situational football. If we do it every day at practice, why can't we do it on Sunday?''

On Sunday in Atlanta, Freeman's big task will be identifying the stunting, moving Falcons front. Atlanta defensive coordinator Brian Van Gorder likes to throw changeups at quarterbacks, and Freeman can expect ends John Abraham and Kroy Biermann to stunt and sprint from different rush points much of the day.

Tampa Bay is 5-2, and geniuses like me are still skeptical, because the two good foes the Bucs have played, Pittsburgh and New Orleans, have beaten them by 25 points apiece. I asked Freeman what he'd say to those who don't yet buy the Bucs.

"People don't have to buy it,'' he said. "We couldn't care less. Our coach believes in us, and we believe in us. What anyone thinks outside this building ... who cares?''

We'll all be closer to believers with a win Sunday at 5-2 Atlanta.

***

With all respect to Bucs-Falcons, Oakland-Kansas City is the game of the week. That's something else that's hard to fathom, especially for the Raiders players who've never seen what it's like to play a big game in November.

"A couple TV people came around this week, and I saw 'em, and I said, 'Hey, I've seen them on TV.' But they've never been here before,'' defensive Tommy Kelly told me, laughing. "You know how it's been for us. We go home and watch the shows Sunday night, and our game always get one highlight.''

Pretty big game, Tommy.

"Biggest I've played here in seven years,'' he said. "No doubt about it. There's a lot riding on this one.''

Relevancy in the AFC pennant race, for one thing. The Chiefs looked like they might run away with the division until 12 days ago. That's when the Raiders began a two-game run that made them look like the '70s Steelers. (Shhhhhh. Don't mention the '70s Steelers around the Raiders.) Let's make that the '70s Raiders. Kelly's playing like Otis Sistrunk and linemate Richard Seymour like John Matuszak, making the formerly one-sided trade with New England look better for the Raiders. Oakland destroyed Denver 59-14 and Seattle 33-3. For the first time in their 51-season history, Oakland rolled up two straight 500-yard offensive games. Never have the Raiders won two straight by a margin of 75 points or more.

Oakland (4-4) can climb to within a half-game of the Chiefs (5-2) with a win. But these aren't papier mache Chiefs. Other than a freaky 35-31 loss to Houston, the Kansas City defense hasn't allowed more than 20 points on any Sunday. The Chiefs have allowed 30 points in the past nine quarters (they played five to beat Buffalo last week) and come into this game with the kind of respectable run defense they'll need to create long-yardage situations for Jason Campbell. Last year, Kansas City allowed 4.7 yards per rush; this year it's 3.8. But last week, Oakland riddled Seattle's at-the-time second-rated run defense, Darren McFadden rushing for 111 yards on 21 carries. So it's on this week.

You'd think the Raiders would be susceptible to the run, with their generous 4.7-yards per rush defensive average. Maybe not. In the past two weeks, they've held the Broncos and Seahawks to 122 rushing yards on 36 carries. "Our attitude is, 'You cannot run the ball on us right now,'' defensive end Trevor Scott said last night.

The Raiders have the look of marauders right now. Some of that has to be that Denver and Seattle aren't very good. But defensively, Oakland looks like it's playing 14-on-11 football. Against Seattle, here were the Seahawks' first five offensive plays: sack, rush for one yard, sack, run for minus-two, run for minus-four. The Seahawks didn't have a first down for the first 27 minutes.

"I really think the difference is we've been executing in the run game, and we've been able to force teams into some long-yardage situations,'' Kelly said. "As our coaches say, you earn the right to rush the passer in this league, and we've done that by playing the run better.''

Kelly said he sees Al Davis, who has been ill, most afternoons, and he watches the tape of practice and "is up on everything.'' I told Kelly that I can imagine what it's been like around the facility for the past few years, with Davis agonizing over the poor play of the Raiders, who haven't won more than five games since 2002. I told him I've gotten a few withering looks from Davis at league meetings for things I've written or said, and he laughed.

"You ain't the only one who's gotten those looks,'' Kelly said. laughing. "I've felt that -- lots of times.''

On Sunday, Kelly and his mates have the chance to make the boss very happy. It'll be a fun day in the Black Hole, and not just because the costumes will be vintage.

Rushing rules in Bucs-Falcons Source: SI

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Demonstrators block nuclear shipment in France

Protesters block train carrying nuclear waste by chaining themselves to the trackDozens of demonstrators gathered in protest of nuclear waste shipmentsFuel rods from nuclear power plants are transferred each year between Germany and France

Paris, France (CNN) -- Anti-nuclear protesters blocked a train carrying nuclear waste in northwestern France Friday, chaining themselves to the railroad tracks on which the train was travelling, according to local police.

Four French protesters and one German halted the shipment near a train station in Caen. Other demonstrators gathered near the protesters on the track and at the train station, city police Capt. Maurice Bonnefond told CNN.

The train stopped well before the site where the protesters were chained, he said. The demonstrators were forcibly removed from the tracks by police, Bonnefond added.

The anti-nuclear organization and Greenpeace ally GANVA, or the Non-Violent Anti-Nuclear Action Group, in English, claimed responsibility for the protest.

On its website, GANVA said its members took the action because "nuclear waste exposes the population to unmeasurable risks."

"It's a short-term risk in the case of an accident, but also a long-term risk for their health," a statement on the group's website said.

Fuel rods from nuclear power plants are transferred each year between Germany and France, commonly drawing protests.

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Murray keeps Washington Senate seat

Sen. Patty Murray wins in WashingtonRepublican challenger Dino Rossi concedesAlaska is the only Senate race without a winnerMurray has 2 point lead with 82 percent of the vote counted Thursday

(CNN) -- Washington Democratic Sen. Patty Murray will serve a fourth term in the Senate after challenger Dino Rossi conceded Thursday, two days after Election Day.

Murray held a 2 point lead with 82 percent of the vote counted Thursday night.

"This evening, I called Sen. Murray to offer my congratulations on her re-election to the U.S. Senate," Rossi said in a statement.

Murray thanked Rossi for his "gracious" concession in front of a cheering crowd Thursday night in a cramped Seattle pizzeria -- one of many small businesses Murray vowed to represent in the nation's capitol.

"I want to make sure Washington state has what it needs to get back on its feet," she said.

Murray said she would focus on creating jobs and making sure middle-class families get the tax cuts they need.

When asked about health care, she said she would see what Republicans had to offer, but that protecting middle-class families would be her priority.

"I have to really make sure that our families who are suffering so much ... families who were dropped from health insurance companies are not put back in same risk," she said.

Murray's victory gives Democrats 51 seats in the Senate and leaves Republicans with 47. Two independent senators also caucus with Democrats.

No winner has yet been declared in Alaska, the only Senate race still undecided, but CNN has projected that Democrat Scott McAdams will finish third place behind Joe Miller, the Republican candidate, and Lisa Murkowski, the incumbent Republican who is running a write-in campaign.

Washington state votes via mail-in ballots, which makes a close race difficult to call on Election Day.

Rossi, a former state senator, previously ran for governor unsuccessfully in 2004 and 2008. His challenge to Murray remained close until the end, according to recent polls and nonpartisan political handicappers, something that was largely attributed to the anti-incumbent and anti-Washington wave across the country.

Murray is a member of the Democratic leadership in the Senate.

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President of ND: School failed to protect Sullivan

Notre Dame wore helmet stickers against Tulsa in honor of Declan Sullivan.

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- The University of Notre Dame president has sent an e-mail to students, faculty, staff and alumni that says the school failed to protect a student videographer who was killed.

Declan (DEK-lin) Sullivan died Oct. 27 when a hydraulic lift he was on toppled over while he was filming practice on a day when winds gusted to more than 50 miles per hour.

The Rev. John Jenkins sent an e-mail Friday afternoon saying that the school and he as president are responsible. He also wrote that words cannot express the school's sorrow to the Sullivan family and to all involved.

He said the investigation into Sullivan's death is continuing.

Copyright 2010 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Food magazine gets roasted online over copyright claim

Spoof Facebook pages like this one popped up in reference to a magazine alleged to have stolen a blogger's article.NEW: Apparent Cooks Source FB page says site will continue, critics don't understand
Cooks Source, a food magazine, has the internet in an uproar over copyright claims
Blogger says food mag Cooks Source used her article without permission and didn't pay
Internet outrage cropped up after a reportedly dismissive response from magazine's editor

(CNN) -- Roasted. Burned. Cooked.

Pick your favorite cooking pun to describe the treatment Cooks Source, a heretofore little-known food magazine, is getting after reports it lifted a blogger's article and then gave a peevish response when she complained.

It was hard Friday to find a corner of the internet where talk about Monica Gaudio and her run-in with the magazine's editor wasn't cropping up.

On Wednesday, Gaudio wrote about her discovery on her blog.

She said she learned about it when a friend congratulated her for being published on the site. Gaudio responded that she had never heard of it and that the article in question -- which detailed medieval pie recipes -- had been written for her own site.

She hunted Cooks Source down and proposed a solution: Donate $130, the equivalent of 10 cents per word, to the Columbia School of Journalism as payment.

What really set the internet aflame, however, was the response she said she got from editor Judith Griggs.

Gaudio said Griggs wrote her an e-mail that read: "[H]onestly Monica, the Web is considered 'public domain' and you should be happy we just didn't 'lift' your whole article and put someone else's name on it!"

"It happens a lot, clearly more than you are aware of, especially on college campuses, and the workplace.

"If you took offense and are unhappy, I am sorry, but you as a professional should know that the article we used written by you was in very bad need of editing, and is much better now than was originally."

Gaudio said the language that was edited was the medieval-style English used in the recipes. She wrote that Griggs went on to tell her the article is now fit to be used in her portfolio and said, perhaps joking, that because the magazine "put some time into rewrites, you should compensate me!"

That's where the internet jumped in. A friend and fellow blogger first wrote about the incident.

The story spread further after such influential Twitter users as fantasy writer Neil Gaiman and science-fiction/geek icon Wil Wheaton (combined, the two have a Twitter audience of 3.2 million) shared it with their followers.

"PROPOSAL: Mendacity will now be measured on the Cook's Source scale, with individual units known as Cheneys," Wheaton wrote Thursday.

The story was "voted up" to the main page of popular news-sharing site Reddit. Another blogger weighed in under the headline, "World's Dumbest Editor Incurs The Wrath Of The Internet."

At mid-morning Friday, "Cook's Source" remained one of the most-search topics on Google's "Trends" list.

As with virtually every internet phenomenon, Facebook users were chiming in, too.

Cooks Source's Facebook page, which had about 3,300 users who "Like" it as of Friday, was covered in story-stealing jokes and insults.

"Cooks Source got roasted toasted and burnt to a crisp," one user wrote on the page's wall.

"8. Thou Shalt Not Steal - Judith Griggs (there would have been 15 commandments, but Cooks Source took them)," wrote another.

A quick-developing meme in the comments saw users blaming Cooks Source for everything from the death of Laura Palmer on "Twin Peaks" to the Kennedy assassination to the inability to get an iPhone on any U.S. network other than AT&T.

At least several fake Cooks Source pages had also cropped up to mock the magazine.

On Friday, the magazine appeared to have created a new Facebook page.

"A new page as the previous one was hacked," read the "Info" section for "Cooks Source Mag."

A post cryptically said, "The previous regime has been removed," but did not reference Griggs directly.

Later posts seemed to echo Griggs' arguments as quoted by Gaudio.

"There's lots of people here that do not seem to understand a few basics yet they seem to all be experts in the print business," read one.

Read a later post: "For those that have asked POLITELY, no we will not be stopping the magazine, and yes we will be taking further action against anyone caught hacking."

Online foodies were all over the story.

A photo on Food Network star and Southern-cooking champion Paula Deen's Facebook page showed what the poster said was one of Deen's recipes used on the site.

"Thank you, this has been forwarded to our legal department," replied Deen or, perhaps more likely, a staffer running the account. Deen was one of several high-profile cooks whose articles appear to have been used on the magazine's site.

It wasn't the only place that online foodies were sounding off.

Some in the culinary community, while not exactly defending Cooks Source, sounded off about the ensuing Web pile-on.

"Not saying the Cook's Source editor isn't cretinous, but it's creepy when we get all lynch-mobby over stupid people with limited influence," Michele Humes, a New York food writer, said on her Twitter feed.

Griggs has not publicly addressed the controversy, either in interviews or on the magazine's website. Gaudio said Thursday she has heard nothing more from them.

The site did not appear to have an active e-mail link or other contact information Friday.

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FBI: Shots at recruiting center linked to other incidents

FBI officials investigate a shooting at a Coast Guard recruiting station in Woodbridge, Virginia.Tests link the Coast Guard shooting to others in Washington area, FBI says No one was injured in Tuesday's incidentShots have also been fired at Marine Corps museum, recruiting stationBullets hit Pentagon early October 19

Washington (CNN) -- Ballistic tests have linked a shooting at a Coast Guard recruiting office in Virginia to four other shootings at military facilities last month, the FBI said Wednesday.

FBI spokesman Andrew Ames provided no other immediate details.

The latest incident was reported Tuesday morning after a bullet struck the recruiting office, housed in a Woodbridge strip mall.

The description was "relatively similar" to October cases in which shots were fired at the Pentagon, the National Museum of the Marine Corps and a vacant Marine recruiting station, said 1st Sgt. Kim Chinn, spokeswoman for Prince William County police.

"Employees of the Coast Guard recruiting station called to tell us there was some damage to the glass, and police arrived and determined it was probably done by a bullet," Chinn said.

No one has been injured in any of the incidents, including when six shots were fired at the Pentagon early on October 19.

Ballistics tests connected the Pentagon gunfire to shots aimed at the Marine museum on October 17 and 29, as well as to an October 25 case in which shots were fired at a Marine Corps recruiting station in Chantilly, near Washington Dulles International Airport.

Chinn would not say how many bullets were found at the scene Tuesday. The Coast Guard referred questions to the FBI, saying it is taking the lead in the investigation.

The Pentagon Force Protection Agency declined comment on the shooting.

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Lee Jenkins: Before landing new deal, Conley sought help in offseason makeover

LOS ANGELES -- Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley picked up the phone in a Columbus, Ohio, hotel room last summer, called Marc Gasol and put him on speaker. "I told him how much I believed I was going to improve," Conley said, "how much more assertive I was going to be and what I was going to do to keep our team together." They talked for nearly 20 minutes. Then Conley hung up, dialed Rudy Gay and told him the same thing. After that it was O.J. Mayo and finally coach Lionel Hollins. Conley asked Hollins: "What do you expect from me? What can I do better?"

What Conley did not tell his coach or his teammates is that the conversations were part of an exercise designed to test his communication and leadership skills. The whole time he was on the phone, a sports psychologist was sitting across from him jotting notes.

Psychologists are becoming as fashionable in the NBA as personal chefs. The Lakers' Ron Artest thanked one for helping him to the championship last season. The Blazers' Brandon Roy saw one regularly over the summer. Conley, on a recommendation from Hollins, asked one to visit him during the offseason in Columbus. He did not know that the psychologist would spend four straight days with him.

"I would wake up and he'd work out with me, eat lunch with me, eat dinner with me, and then be back first thing the next day," Conley said. "It felt like I was being debriefed in a long investigation."

Conley was searching for an old self, the fearless attacker who raced to rims and led Ohio State to the 2007 NCAA title game, only to disappear behind NBA three-point lines.

"I became a player who was like, 'You guys do this, you guys do that, I'll just wait my turn,'" Conley said. "If you read scouting reports, they said I would pass every time. I had to get my killer instinct back."

Conley and the psychologist watched tapes from Ohio State, then tapes from the NBA, identifying when he was penetrating the defense and when he was simply shuttling the ball around the perimeter. Conley zeroed in on one tape in particular, of a game late last season against Denver.

"I was getting into the lane, going to the rim and finishing," Conley said of a 22-point performance. "That's the kind of basketball I used to play. It's the feeling I wanted to take into this season."

Coaches often harp on their point guards to pass first, score later, but Conley is selfless by nature. He played in high school and college with Greg Oden, so his primary responsibility was feeding the post. The Grizzlies asked him to find his inner ball hog.

"I know everyone wants point guards who pass, but in this league, you've got to score," said Grizzlies assistant coach Damon Stoudamire, who works with Conley. "He'd been looked at as a fifth starter, a guy you can leave open. He had to become a threat."

Conley reported to training camp intent on replicating that game against Denver. He led the Grizzlies in scoring during the preseason and averaged 15 points through their first three regular-season games. His scoring was up, as were his assists, and he was coming away with more than twice as many steals and rebounds per game than he did last season. Of course, three games is not much of a sample size, but it was enough for the Grizzlies, who rewarded Conley with a five-year, $40 million contract extension.

Much of the NBA community was shocked, Conley no exception. Only four other members of the '07 draft class signed extensions and three are franchise cornerstones -- Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant, Chicago's Joakim Noah and Atlanta's Al Horford (Jared Dudley, a valuable reserve for Phoenix, was the fourth). Besides, the Grizzlies just handed Gay more than $80 million last summer and they have Zach Randolph and Gasol set to become free agents after the season. They theoretically had to hoard money and cap space.

As recently as last week, Conley did not believe the team had any interest in extending him. Then his father and agent, Mike Conley Sr., called him in his Los Angeles hotel room Monday night and relayed the terms of the deal. "Thanks a lot, old man," Conley said. "You did it."

Zach Lowe: Assessing the Conley deal

Conley insists that the contract alleviates pressure, but the burden is on him to prove that these first few games are a true indicator of his progress. As his psychologist told him Monday night, "You can't stop now." The Grizzlies fell hard to the Lakers on Tuesday, but Conley scored 16 points with eight assists, five rebounds and three steals, prompting a scout to say: "I know there's been a lot of talk about his deal -- and they definitely could have waited a little longer to do it -- but I like what I'm seeing from him. He is much more decisive than he's ever been."

Conley also looks different. A 20-year-old wisp when he came out of Ohio State, he devoted the 2009 offseason to developing his upper body and last summer to strengthening his legs, which he believes will help him stay in front of opposing point guards and gamble for steals.

"I've flipped the way I think," Conley said. "I'm telling myself, 'Get a steal or get a rebound, push the ball, get inside and get to the rim.' In my mind, I've become a scorer."

The Grizzlies do not need Conley to go overboard. They had the highest-scoring starting five in the NBA last season and now their bench is improved with the addition of Tony Allen and the emergence of Darrell Arthur. They went 8-0 in the preseason, and while those records can be deceiving, 16 of the last 17 teams to win seven or more preseason games made the playoffs. The Grizzlies showed they were no fluke with an opening-week win in Dallas, their first in nine trips.

"We are right there, right around the corner," Conley said.

Owner Michael Heisley has guaranteed a playoff berth, but when it comes to long-term contention, Heisley is under just as much scrutiny as Conley. He must demonstrate that the money spent on Conley and Gay will not preclude the Grizzlies from extending Gasol, a true back-to-the-basket center who is arguably the most valuable player on the team. Gasol was encouraged by Conley's contract -- "It means we're serious," he said -- but the real test of that is to come.

The goal for the Grizzlies this season, beyond making the playoffs, is making the case that their nucleus is worth keeping intact. In a recent game, Conley gathered the team seven times, each huddle dutifully noted by his psychologist. When the game was over, the psychologist called him and said: "You should have made it 10. You're the one who has to keep these guys together." Conley thought back to the moments he missed.

His contract may continue to be a source of debate. His leadership, the Grizzlies are gambling, will not.

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