NBA or Europe, regular referees or replacements, the rules are the same: Two technical fouls is an automatic ejection, and anyone ejected must leave the floor. Maccabi Tel Aviv wanted a pass on that rule Sunday. The New York Knicks' 106-91 victory over the Euroleague team featured a bizarre delay in the third quarter when the visiting coach refused to leave after he was ejected.
Mark Clayton got open and waited for the fourth-down pass that could keep the Ravens' chances alive. Joe Flacco reached his target inside the Patriots 10-yard line and beyond the first-down marker, but Clayton didn't hold on with 28 seconds left. New England did — eking out a 27-21 win over Baltimore on Sunday.
The end was as good as the Vikings could have imagined: Brett Favre zipped a pass to a little-used reserve wide receiver in the back of the end zone in the final seconds for a classic Favre finish. Greg Lewis leaped for a 32-yard touchdown catch with 2 seconds left while a flattened Favre watched from his stomach, and the Vikings stunned the San Francisco 49ers 27-24 on Sunday to stay unbeaten.
Hounded in the opener and harassed in the early going again Sunday, Jay Cutler simply wanted a shot at redemption. He got it and finally lived up to his lofty billing. Cutler made a big pass to Devin Hester, and Robbie Gould booted a 44-yard field goal with 15 seconds left to lift the Chicago Bears to a 17-14 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Tom Brady zipped passes from 10 yards, lofted softer ones from 25 and showed no sign that his shoulder hurt. It certainly was much better at Tuesday's practice than it was four days earlier when 350-pound Albert Haynesworth of the Washington Redskins landed on him, forcing his throwing shoulder into the ground on an incomplete pass.