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INDIANAPOLIS - Robert Mathis still remembers the first time he wandered into the Colts no-hit zone. As the fifth-round draft pick went through a routine practice in 2003, he wound up getting a little too close to Peyton Manning on a pass rush. No, he didnt hit the franchise quarterback, but Indy coaches immediately scolded the rookie and reminded him of the potentially dire consequences if he made the same mistake again. "If you come within two yards of him, you might get cut," Mathis said with a smile this week. "Thats just the truth." Mathis wised up fast, which is why he is still hanging around Indianapolis (4-2) and wreaking havoc in opposing backfields. Since making that blunder, Mathis has seen and done just about everything in 11 NFL seasons. Hes won a Super Bowl, two AFC titles, been to five consecutive Pro Bowls, topped 100 career sacks and is now chasing the Colts franchise record for sacks, held by his old pal Dwight Freeney. At age 32, he shares the NFL lead with 9 1/2 sacks, and he has proven to be every bit as effective as a standup linebacker as he was playing defensive end. This weekend, Mathis will finally get a chance to add one missing line to his resume — sacking Manning. Though 14 players on Indys roster remain from the Manning era, only five went up against him in practice — linebackers Pat Angerer and Kavell Conner, safety Antoine Bethea, defensive linemen Ricardo Matthews, Fili Moala and Mathis. But through the years, the protective blanket around Manning always existed. "If you did hit him, you might as well pack your bags and leave town," Angerer said. On Sunday night, when Manning returns to Indianapolis for the first time as the opponent, the Colts defence can finally line him up. Mathis and others have made it clear all week that they are not making this game personal. But when the Broncos (6-0) and Colts (4-2) meet in the NFLs most anticipated homecoming since Brett Favre showed up in Green Bay with the Vikings, Mathis plans to get down to the business of putting Manning on the ground. It wont be easy, and with Manning it never is. In 230 career games, Manning has been sacked just 257 times, an average of 17.9 per season. This year, Manning leads the league with 22 TD passes, a 128.8 passer rating, an offence that is on pace to shatter the NFLs single-season scoring record. Hes been sacked just five times despite playing behind an offensive line that includes a backup left tackle, a first-year centre and a right tackle who finished last weeks 35-19 victory at right guard. The biggest challenge this week might be avoiding Mathis. "If this was a scenario where all I had to do maybe was come back and wave and smile and kiss a few babies and sign a few autographs, itd be different," Manning said. "But somehow Ive got to figure out a way to stay away from Mathis and try to complete a few passes on (Vontae) Davis and Bethea and thats going to be tough because I think its a tough defence." Indys defence looks nothing like the one Manning left behind. The Colts have ditched their trademark 4-3 look for the trendy hybrid 3-4, cut ties with defensive captain Gary Brackett and let Freeney walk away in free agency. Over the past two seasons, Indy has added five new starters in the front seven, moved Mathis and replaced three of the four starters in the secondary. Manning has spent most of the week working overtime to get familiar with all the new faces and philosophies. But the ex-teammates know what to expect from their former quarterback. "Its going to be a chess match, of course. He looks for his mismatches just like any other quarterback does," Bethea said. "Its going to be tough. He might get us a few times, we might get him a few times, but for the most part, like I continue to say, we got to go out there and play ball. When we get chances to make plays, we got to make our plays." Especially Mathis, who has the ability to change games with big, turnover-causing sacks. Manning has seen it before, hes just never been the target since that practice in 2003. Until now. "Somebody asked me earlier, is it the same as playing against Eli, and I said I guarantee Robert Mathis hits a heck of a lot harder than Eli does," Manning said. "From that standpoint, its definitely different. All I know is kind of what I have to do right now is great ready for a good defence. Boy, theyre impressive to watch on film. Mathis, Robert is having a great year. Its really a factor." Nicolas Batum Jersey .Y. -- Kristen Gillman rallied to win the U. Frank Kaminsky Jersey . Ben Street scored twice for the Heat (17-5-1), who won their fourth game in a row and 13th in their last 14 outings. Brett Bulmer scored the lone goal for the Wild (6-11-0), who dropped their sixth straight contest. http://www.cheaphornetsjerseys.com/?tag=...monk-jersey.com) - Generally you want to be the guy who replaces the guy who replaced the legend. Cheap Swingman Hornets Jerseys .com) - P.K. Subbans power-play goal 4:08 into overtime sent the Montreal Canadiens into the All-Star break with a 2-1 win over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday. Cheap Charlotte Hornets Jerseys . -- The Chicago Bears agreed Tuesday to a one-year contract with defensive lineman Israel Idonije and are bringing him back for a second stint.NEW ORLEANS -- When DeMarcus Cousins drilled a 16-foot jump shot on the Sacramento Kings first possession of the second half, he had the look of a player who was ready to take over a game. Next came a layup, then a follow shot as he was fouled for a three-point play, then a layup as he was fouled for another three-point play. Cousins made all seven of his shots in the third quarter on his way to a 35-point, 14-rebound performance, and the Kings snapped a three-game skid with a 102-97 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans on Monday night. "I just had to come out and set the tempo for the second half and try to get my teammates involved," Cousins said. "So that was my main thing." He did it on both ends, helping his team outrebound New Orleans 47-30. Sacramento pulled down 15 offensive rebounds, a big reason for the Kings 22-4 advantage in second-chance points. "We dominated," Cousins said, referring to the Kings rebounding. "That was one of our key points going into the game tonight." Ray McCallum, starting at point guard because of Isaiah Thomas right thigh injury, had 22 points and 10 assists. He also committed only one turnover in nearly 44 minutes. "I have a great opportunity to go out there and play, and Im trying to make the most of it," McCallum said. "Being a rookie playing against great players, you cant be out there turning the ball over." Rudy Gay also scored 22, including a momentum-swinging 3-pointer after the Pelicans had pulled within a point in the fourth quarter. Reggie Evans grabbed 12 rebounds before his ejection for an elbow to Anthony Davis face on a collision that occurred as Evans went up for a close-range shot. Davis, returning from left ankle injury that forced him to miss a start on Saturday, had 22 points. Anthony Morrow scored 23 points and Tyreke Evans 15 for the Pelicans, who have dropped two straight on the heels of their season-high, five-game winning streak. "We just did not have a great level of sustained effort," Pelicans coach Monty Williams said, adding that Cousins was a "tough cover." "A number of times we had double-teams down there and he just bulled through the double team and ggot to the basket," Williams said.dddddddddddd Kings coach Mike Malone, who built a reputation for coaching defence as an assistant with Cleveland and later for New Orleans under Williams, was dismayed by the 55 points the Kings allowed in the first half, but was pleased by his teams response thereafter. "We bludgeoned them on the glass," Malone said. "Its a very good win for us on the road against a team thats playing well." Sacramento used a 14-6 third-quarter run to lead by as many as 12 points. The surge started with Cousins saving the ball along the baseline and slinging a pass to McCallum, who in turn found Ben McLemore sneaking in behind the defence for an alley-oop dunk. There were two more dunks during the spurt. Cousins powered up through a crowd of players under the basket for a two-handed jam which gave him 26 points at that point -- and 5,000 for his four-year career. McLemore, who had 14 points, ended the spurt with a breakaway dunk set up by Travis Outlaws steal from Darius Miller. But New Orleans closed the period on an 8-0 run during which Evans was ejected. Officials conferred while watching a replay before calling the flagrant-2 foul on the Kings forward, who responded to the crowds applause of his dismissal by smiling and raising his arms as he walked to the tunnel. Davis, who remained face-down on the court for several seconds after the foul, got up and hit both free throws. Then Morrow added a 3 to make it 80-76. Morrow got the Pelicans as close as 84-83 with a jumper in the middle of the fourth quarter, but Gay responded immediately with a 3 from the corner, and McCallum added two jumpers to make it an eight-point game. New Orleans never got closer than four points again, and McCallum finished with 10 points in the period. "Hes definitely going to be a big part of this team," Cousins said. "With each game hes growing, his confidence is growing. So hopefully he continues down that path." Notes: In his first season as a head coach, Malone went 3-1 against Williams team. ... Jared Cunningham played 4:17 in his first game since being signed by Sacramento. He had two points and a rebound. ... Pelicans C Jeff Withey had a career-high five blocks. ' ' '