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A look at the six head coaching vacancies around the league and the leading candidates, runners up, and other notes for each opening. Atlanta Falcons First Choice: Todd Bowles, Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator Bowles has been a hot candidate in this year’s coaching search with it being reported every team with a vacancy called the Cardinals to ask permission to interview him. It also appears both Bowles and Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians believe he’ll get a job with Bowles turning down an interview request from the Oakland Raiders and Arians already reportedly looking for a replacement. Bowles is one of two candidates the Falcons are reportedly bringing in for a second interview. Backup Plan: Teryl Austin, Detroit Lions defensive coordinator Austin lacks Bowles’ experience as a coordinator but led a quietly impressive Lions defence this season. While Austin has also interviewed with the Chicago Bears, he may need some more seasoning before serious head coaching consideration. Notes: According to reports, Bowles and Austin are the only two candidates the Falcons are bringing in for second interviews but the team has also talked to Seattle Seahawks DC Dan Quinn, Denver Broncos OC Adam Gase, former Buffalo Bills head coach Doug Marrone, and New England Patriots OC Josh McDaniels. McDaniels was at one point considered the favourite given his ties to Falcons to GM Thomas Dimitroff and assistant GM Scott Pioli, but according to SIs Peter King, he was no longer a candidate after his interview. Chicago Bears First Choice: John Fox, former Denver Broncos head coach It was hard to gauge the Bears’ coaching search until Fox was unexpectedly let go by the Broncos after their loss in the Divisional Round. The veteran head coach is a solid candidate and makes sense for the Bears’ veteran roster. Chicago wasted little time in setting up an interview with Fox but ESPN reports cautioned it’s not yet a done deal. Backup Plan: Dan Quinn, Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator The Bears were reportedly impressed with Quinn as well as Cardinals DC Todd Bowles, and Broncos OC Adam Gase. I’ll give Quinn the edge because if new GM Ryan Pace was that in to Austin or Bowles, he could have hired one of them already, and the Bears focused their attention first on Fox rather than Gase when both became available. Denver Broncos First Choice: Gary Kubiak, Baltimore Ravens offensive coordinator Kubiak has declined other interview requests, opting instead to stay with the Ravens, but a return to Denver to coach Peyton Manning may be too good to pass up. Kubiak both played and coached for the Broncos. He was offensive coordinator under Mike Shanahan before leaving to become head coach of the Houston Texans. The Broncos requested permission to interview Kubiak less than 24 hours after parting ways with Fox. Backup Plan: Mike Shanahan, former Washington Redskins head coach This one isn’t as farfetched as you might think. The regime that fired Shanahan is no longer in charge in Denver and Peyton Manning reportedly admires the veteran coach. With Adam Gase far from locked in at offensive coordinator, Shanahan could also bring his son Kyle in to run the offence. Notes: There isn’t much news on other Broncos candidates only a day after the team parted with Fox but it appears John Elway will hire out of house, opting against promoting either Gase or defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio, who could each land head coaching jobs elsewhere. New York Jets First Choice: Dan Quinn, Seattle Seahawks defensive coordinator Quinn has reportedly been one of the most impressive interviews this off-season. The only thing that could get in the way of a Quinn-Jets marriage is impatience. The Jets may not want to potentially wait three weeks for the Seahawks’ season to end, opting to go with Plan B instead to give him time to find solid coordinators. Backup Plan: Todd Bowles, Arizona Cardinals defensive coordinator The Jets are reportedly bringing Bowles in for a second interview this week, which lends credit to the notion the team doesn’t want to wait for Quinn. If Bowles impresses, the Jets could offer him a contract rather than run the risk of losing both him and Quinn in the end. Notes: Former Bills head coach Doug Marrone appeared to be the heavy frontrunner for the Jets job when he opted out of his contract in Buffalo before bombing his interview. It seemed like poetic justice until you remember Marrone is making $4 million from the Bills this year for nothing. The Jets added Carolina Panthers DC Sean McDermott to their coaching search early this week. Oakland Raiders First Choice: Jack Del Rio, Denver Broncos defensive coordinator Del Rio leapfrogged Tony Sparano as frontrunner for the job sometime last week when it became obvious the Raiders were waiting for someone, otherwise they would have just offered Sparano the job already. Those suspicions were confirmed when the Raiders set up a second interview with Del Rio not long after the Broncos were eliminated from the playoffs. Backup Plan: Tony Sparano, Oakland Raiders interim head coach Sparano was a legitimate candidate to stay on as head coach of the Raiders but unless something goes wrong during Del Rio’s interview on Tuesday, Sparano will likely finish as runner-up. Notes: Oakland’s first choice was of course Jim Harbaugh but lost out on the former San Francisco 49ers head coach to the University of Michigan early in the process. The most interesting interview conducted by Raiders owner Mark Davis was Mike Shanahan, the one-time Raiders coach who publicly feuded with Mark’s dad Al. San Francisco 49ers First Choice: Adam Gase, Denver Broncos offensive coordinator Minutes after the Broncos parted ways with Fox, the 49ers were looking to set up a second interview with Gase, fearing the offensive coordinator was in line for a promotion in Denver. San Fran can take their gas off the pedal a little as it appears Denver has no interest in promoting Gase – or even keeping him on as offensive coordinator – but the 49ers clearly tipped their hand in all the chaos. Backup Plan: Jim Tomsula, San Francisco 49ers defensive line coach Reports state Tomsula, who at one point appeared to be the favourite to succeed Harbaugh while the now Michigan head coach was still with the team, is still the in-house favourite, despite not even having a formal interview with team brass. Maybe the 49ers already know everything they need to know about Tomsula, perhaps including that he’s more a runner-up type candidate for head coaching positions. Notes: Despite a strong interview, 49ers DC Vic Fangio doesn’t appear to be one of the team’s top choices as head coach. And if that’s the case, San Francisco will reportedly run the risk of losing the solid defensive leader entirely. Dallas Cowboys First Choice: Jason Garrett, Dallas Cowboys head coach While it doesn’t seem like it, the Cowboys technically have an opening at head coach with Garrett’s contract expiring once Dallas was eliminated from the playoffs. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has publicly stated he wants Garrett back and the lack of interest in the solid head coach from around the league lends to the idea that Garrett isn’t going anywhere. C. J. Cron Jersey .com) - SirDominic Pointer posted career highs of 24 points and seven steals to lead No. Rod Carew Twins Jersey . The 7-foot-1 Hawes, who is in the final year of his contract, is averaging 13 points and 8.5 rebounds, both career highs, and shoots 40 per cent from 3-point range. The 25-year-old Hawes is in his seventh NBA season. http://www.twinssale.com/twins-michael-pineda-jersey/. Huntelaar also had a penalty saved by Wolfsburg goalkeeper Diego Benaglio. The two goals brought Huntelaars total for the season to 18, level with Bayern Munichs Mario Gomez for most in the league. Willians Astudillo Twins Jersey . However, the 38-year-old is in no hurry to sign with another team. "Im not in a rush. This will be my last contract, so I want to do it right," said Burris on Thursday. Blake Parker Twins Jersey .The Ottawa Senators winger was relegated to a corner seat in the locker-room to allow Daniel Alfredsson to return to his regular stall one last time. KITCHENER, Ont. -- Kelly Scott became the first curler to advance to the Page playoffs of the 2013 Capital One Road to the Roar Olympic pre-trial tournament with an 8-5 win over Renee Sonnenberg in the womens A-event final on Thursday. Scott and her teammates moved one step closer to locking down one of the final four spots at next months Tim Hortons Roar of the Rings Olympic trials, where eight mens and eight womens teams will be vying for the chance to represent Canada at the 2014 Sochi Games. The Kelowna, B.C., skip broke a close game open in the seventh end. Sonnenberg, from Grande Praire, Alta., had a chance for a double takeout with two Scott stones in the rings, but her rock barely ticked shot stone and sailed through the house, leaving Scott with a steal of two and a 6-3 lead. Scott used the hitting power of teammates Sasha Carter and Jeanna Schraeder to keep the house clean from then on, blanking the ninth and hitting out the 10th for the win. "Any time you can steal late in the game, especially a deuce, that does definitely give you an edge, and advantage," said Scott. "It was not an easy sheet to play finesse shots on, so we definitely got the easier shot selection after we jumped ahead three points. But they did a good job of hanging in there and making us execute those peels or they could have been right back in it." "Goal number one was to get through to that qualifying round," added Scott about clinching a playoff spot. "You want to be in that A versus B gamee, but that sometimes doesnt pan out.dddddddddddd. We couldnt have scripted a better start to this whole event for ourselves." Scott will face either Sonnenberg again or Cathy Auld of Mississauga, Ont., in the Page playoff. Sonnenberg recovered with a 7-6 win over Tracy Horgan in the evening draw. Shell next face Auld, who edged Val Sweeting 7-6. Elsewhere, both 2010 silver-medallist Calgarys Cheryl Bernard and Edmontons Laura Crocker both staved off elimination with crucial C-Event victories. Bernard got off to a fast start with three in the second end and a deuce in the fourth en route to an 11-5 triumph over Winnipegs Barb Spencer. Crocker, meanwhile, stole five in the seventh end to beat Krista McCarville 10-3. On the mens side, John Morriss rink from Kelowna and Vernon, B.C., earned a spot in the Page playoff with an 8-3 win over Brad Gushue of St. Johns, N.L., in the A-event final. It was battle of skips who have claimed the last two Olympic gold medals. Gushue won in 2006 at Turin, Italy, throwing last rocks for a team skipped by Russ Howard, while Morris won in 2010 at Vancouver throwing third rocks for Kevin Martin. Morris will play the B-event winner Saturday, with the winner advancing directly to the Roar of the Rings. The loser of that game will play the winner of a contest between the two C-Event winners on Sunday for the other Trials berth. Gushue will be back on the ice Friday against reigning Brier champion Brad Jacobs of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., in a B-event semifinal. ' ' '