were talking about it, trying to improve, trying to

HOUSTON -- Bill OBrien got a bit antsy as his introductory press conference with the Houston Texans started to drag on and a question was posed about how much he knows about his new team. "Ive got a lot of work to do on this team and the sooner that I can get back to my office and start that work, itll be better," he said straight-faced as the rest of the room erupted in laughter. Less than two years after replacing Joe Paterno as coach at Penn State, the 44-year-old OBrien has returned to the NFL as coach of the Houston Texans. He was an offensive assistant under Bill Belichick at New England from 2007-12, but the Penn State job was his first as a head coach. Now he gets the Texans, who spiraled to an NFL-worst 2-14 record last season. "He showed that he has the ability to step into difficult situations and turn them around," Houston owner Bob McNair said. "He did that at Penn State under very difficult circumstances and did an outstanding job there. We expect to see good things happen immediately." OBrien was 15-9 at Penn State, hit hard by NCAA sanctions levied for the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal that cost the late Paterno his job. He takes over for Gary Kubiak, who was fired with three games left in the Texans dismal season. Despite Houstons collapse, many believe it is a plum position because the Texans have many talented pieces in place and could make a quick turnaround. Houston won consecutive AFC South titles before this years disaster. OBrien said he planned to meet with Houstons assistant coaches on Friday and begin making decisions on who will make up his staff. After his first season at Penn State, OBrien interviewed with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Cleveland Browns, among others, only to stay in State College. This time the lure of the NFL was too strong to resist. "I do regret not being able to continue with the great kids on that team," OBrien said. "While I tried never to mislead anyone, I understand that some people feel let down. But again, it was a decision that was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me." He said an attractive aspect of this job was Houstons world-class medical centre. OBriens 11-year-old son Jack cant walk or talk because of a rare neurological disorder that also causes seizures. Almost exactly two years ago, OBrien fidgeted with a water bottle while taking questions from reporters at his introductory news conference at Penn State. He said then that he couldnt wait to get going, and he feels that way in Houston, too. The first-time NFL head coach was relaxed and confident throughout most of his first press conference in Houston. He did squirm a little when asked about his lack of ties to Texas in following Houston native Kubiak, and stammered some when asked about his infamous sideline blowout with Tom Brady in New England. He escaped the first question by saying he was going to buy his first pair of cowboy boots after the press conference. As for the second issue -- he downplayed the screaming match that ended with other coaches pulling OBrien away. "These things happen," he said. "There was a camera on it which I feel bad about, but what people dont understand about that was 30 seconds after that was over, we were sitting together looking at the pictures ... that quickly passed." OBrien follows Dom Capers, who led the team from its expansion season in 2002, and Kubiak as the only coaches in Texans history. Like Kubiak, OBrien is known as a quarterback guru, which will be important for a team searching for a solution after veteran Matt Schaub had a terrible season and lost his job to Case Keenum, who also struggled. OBrien has almost exclusively coached offence with a focus on quarterbacks, though he was a defensive end and linebacker while at Brown. "Its a job thats never-ending," he said of coaching quarterbacks. "Its a job that you can always improve if you like coaching quarterbacks and its a lot of fun to do." Houston has the top overall draft pick and could use it on a one of a trio of talented signal-callers who could be available. Louisvilles Teddy Bridgewater, 2012 Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M and Fresno States Derek Carr, younger brother of Houstons first-ever draft pick, David Carr, are the top-rated quarterbacks expected to be in the draft. "If we wound up with a young quarterback, wed probably bring in a veteran so we dont have to depend on that rookie," McNair said. "Thats tough putting a rookie in there and expecting them to be able play right off the bat. Thereve been a couple of them that have done it but a number of them didnt do so well. I think having that veteran presence is important." Houston has had the first pick in the draft two other times, choosing Carr in 2002 and defensive end Mario Williams in 2006. "The defensive player worked out better than the offensive player," McNair said with a laugh. "But that wont lock us into anything. Theres always a possibility. (General manager) Rick (Smith) and the coaches will trade around. Maybe well trade down and still get a quarterback that can do the job and get an outstanding defensive player." Cheap Balenciaga Sneakers Uk .com) - Bradley Beal deposited a season-high 33 points and John Wall posted another double-double as the Washington Wizards went on the road and beat the Houston Rockets, 104-103. Balenciaga Shoes Outlet Uk . Kelli Stack and Alex Carpenter also scored for the Americans, who avoided a repeat of Finlands upset at the Four Nations Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y., in November. Finnish goalie Noora Raty made 58 saves in that one, but the three-time Olympian could stop just 40 of 43 U. http://www.balenciagaoutletuk.com/ . He had spent 16 days on the disabled list before being activated Thursday. He was batting just .203 when he came to bat in the 11th inning on Sunday. Balenciaga Sneakers Sale Uk .com) - Matt Duchene picked up the deciding goal early in the third period and added an assist, as Colorado escaped with a 4-3 victory over Dallas at Pepsi Center. Balenciaga Outlet Online Uk .Commissioner Adam Silver said Wednesday it is inevitable that the league will one day take after European sports and have sponsor names on team jerseys.LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Nobody wants Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final to come quicker than Dan Girardi. The Rangers defenceman was victimized by a bouncing puck that led to the Kings overtime goal in Game 1 on Wednesday. After the Kings flubbed a three-on-two, the puck found its way to Girardi who had time and space to play it. The other Rangers headed up the ice to start an attack only to have the puck bounce over Girardis stick. The 30-year-old from Welland, Ont., fell to his knees, taking a swipe at the puck in a bid to clear it. It went straight to Kings forward Mike Richards, who fed Justin Williams for the winning overtime goal. "It was gone until this morning, until right now," Girardi said dryly Friday when reporters asked him about the gaffe. "As a player, theres really no worse feeling than that. Obviously in the Stanley Cup finals you dont want to make a play that costs your team. "Obviously (I was) stewing about it a little bit (on the Rangers off-day Thursday) but youve got to move on. Weve got a huge opportunity to get it 1-1 going back to our building." Game 2 is Saturday at Staples Center. Girardi, who plays with Ryan McDonagh on the Rangers top defensive pairing, got plenty of support from his teammates in the wake of the overtime mistake. "Danny was down for a few minutes," said forward Brad Richards. "Everybody kind of picked him up. "Thats a tough bounce. It just happened that that was the overtime goal that the bounce happened. We got a bounce on tthe second goal that went off their D-man (Slava Voynov) in the net.dddddddddddd" McDonagh sits next to Girardi in the locker room and wasted little time going over the play. "Thats how we work through things as a group," said McDonagh. "Me and him are a pretty talkative pairing. No matter what happens, bad play, good play, were talking about it, trying to improve, trying to make sure were on the same page as much as possible. "If it was flip-flopped and it was me, he would have came to me and asked me, What could we have done differently, what could we have done better? Thats the beauty of our pairing and the beauty of him, too. He doesnt soak in the wounds, so to speak, think about the what-ifs. He just tries to correct it, see what he can do better, and were there supporting him." It was clearly appreciated. "Its great to hear the guys rally around you," said Girardi. "That could happen to anyone and everyone would have reacted the same way, doesnt matter who it is. Thats the type of team we are. Everyones got each others back." Several assistant coaches also spoke to Girardi afterwards. Rangers coach Alain Vigneault, meanwhile, kept the incident in perspective "Everybody understands the dynamic of that play," he said. "You know, Dans got to turn the page and move on. "Hes been one of our real solid defencemen, not only in the playoffs and the regular season, but hes a real hard worker, and Im sure that hes focused on the next game now." ' ' '