going down. Smith had circled behind the goal to play Jason

ASHBURN, Va. -- Mike Shanahan gave Robert Griffin III a rest, and may have turned up the pressure on himself, too. The Redskins coach announced Wednesday that he was benching the star quarterback for the rest of the season. Kirk Cousins will start, and Griffin will be the inactive No. 3 quarterback behind Rex Grossman. Shanahan said he is benching Griffin to keep the quarterback healthy for the off-season, pointing out the 24 sacks and other hits Griffin has taken over the last five games. He said he ran the idea by owner Dan Snyder and general manager Bruce Allen, and that both offered their support. "Youve got to take a look at the risk and reward," Shanahan said. "And with Robert I thought that his hits were piling up on him, giving him his toll, and I was afraid that we would set him back." Shanahan cited the need for Griffin to have a full off-season of development after missing this years workouts while rehabbing from knee surgery. But theres no certainty that Shanahan will be around to coach in the off-season: The Redskins have lost five straight and are 3-10, their third losing season in Shanahans four years in Washington. "I think anytime you have a year left on your contract and you have three wins, thats going to be out there," Shanahan said Griffin was clearly unhappy with Shanahans move. "I expressed my desire to play," Griffin said. "Of course I want to be out there and finish the season with my guys, see it through. He explained to me his reasoning, and at the end of the day Coachs decision is what we go with it." Cousins took the first-team snaps as the team worked out in the indoor practice bubble to prepare for Sundays game against the Atlanta Falcons. Players say Griffin ran the scout team. The benching is the latest twist in a Shanahan-Griffin relationship that has been bordering on contentious since a playoff loss to Seattle last season, when Griffin remained in the game even though he was clearly injured. Shanahan conceded for the first time Wednesday that continuing to play Griffin "cost us the game." Griffin had reconstructive knee surgery a few days later and missed vital months of developmental work before returning for Week 1 in September, but he hasnt been the same player that won the leagues Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2012. With defences taking away the read-option, he has struggled as a drop-back passer, ranking 26th in the NFL in passer rating with 16 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. However, while Griffin hasnt had the same explosiveness, both he and Shanahan have insisted that the quarterback is medically healthy. Until this week, Shanahan publicly quashed any suggestions about a possible switch, saying Griffin needs as much game experience as possible. Shanahan said Wednesday that he first brought up the idea of benching Griffin last week in a conversation with Snyder, having decided that risk of injury outweighed the reward of experience. Both Griffin and Cousins are second-year players. Cousins played in all or part of four games, including the playoff loss, last season because of various Griffin injuries. Grossman hasnt taken a regular season snap since 2011. In recent days, the open question has been whether Shanahan might resign -- and thus forfeit a years salary -- or wait to be fired at the end of the season. Theres also the possibility he and Snyder could negotiate a settlement, and that the benching of a healthy franchise player could in some way be Shanahans way of getting some leverage in those talks. "Somebody said, Hey, the reason why youre going with Kirk is youre trying to get fired and get a year left on your contract," Shanahan said. "If I want to try to get fired, Im not going to call up Dan Snyder and ask his opinion on a player (when) I dont have to. And if he says no, Im not going to go in that direction." But Shanahan again conceded he might not return for a fifth season. "I dont know until I sit down with Dan," Shanahan said. "Then well find out what I think. Ill give him my opinions, and hell give me his opinions. Maybe we just hit it off and everything and I get that 12-, 15-year contract." "Well, maybe three-year," he added with a smile. "Whatever it is. Thats where grown men talk at the end of the year and you find out, Hey, whats the best way to go." Cheap Air Max 97 Gold China . - While he appreciates suggestions from Packers fans of remedies for his sore left calf, Aaron Rodgers is not necessarily going to listen to the advice. Cheap Air Max 97 Yellow China . The same cant be said of last Saturdays 2-2 draw at Olympic Stadium against a very weakened New York Red Bulls side and one which had three stalwarts in Henry, Cahill and Olave back home in Harrison, NJ. http://www.cheapairmax97fromchina.com/ . None of them was better than playing with LeBron James again. Cheap Air Max 97 Brown China . His chance at winning a Stanley Cup in Philadelphia is over. Same with Jeff Carter. And Brian Boucher. Throw in Ville Leino and Dan Carcillo. Air Max 97 Sale Mens . -- Thirty years ago, the Detroit Pistons beat the Denver Nuggets 186-184 in triple overtime, a game that remains the highest scoring in NBA history.GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Six straight losses sent the Minnesota Wild into a downward spiral, the weight of the previous game carrying over into the next. Once the Wild learned how to put games behind them, good or bad, the wins started piling up. Justin Fontaine scored three goals, Niklas Backstrom stopped 39 shots and the Wild won their fourth straight game by beating the Phoenix Coyotes 4-1 on Thursday night. "When we were losing games, we were carrying that baggage into the next game with us," Wild coach Mike Yeo said. "Success can do some damage to you, too, like winning can. Weve been able to put that behind us and go on to the next one and recognize what we have to do." The Wild had been in a rut, plagued by shaky goaltending, injuries to key players and a big hit to their confidence. Once one of the top teams in the Western Conference, Minnesota plummeted down the standings with four straight road losses that led to two more at home to close out 2013. Once the calendar flipped, the Wild found their way again, starting with a 4-1 win over Buffalo. Minnesota followed a home win over Washington with a shootout road victory over the Kings and backed that up with another superb game against the Coyotes. Fontaine scored late in the first period, gave the Wild a two-goal lead on a power play after a strange bounce in the third and closed out his first career hat trick with an empty-net goal. Kyle Brodziak had a goal and an assist, Matt Cook had two assists and Backstrom was superb, winning his third straight start after allowing 17 goals the previous four. The win moved the Wild ahead of the Coyotes for the eighth spot in the Western Conference with 53 points. "We have a lot of young guys following the leadership and were playing the kind of game we need to play," Fontaine said. The Coyotes had their chances. They doubled Minnesotas shot total in the first period and had numerous good scoring chances, including one shot by Lauri Korpikoski that hit the crossbar. Mikkel Boedker was the only Phoenix player to score, doing it on a power play early in the second period, leaving the Coyotes a bit disheartened after their third loss in four games. "We had opportunities to score and didnt score," Coyotes captain Shane Doan said. "Give tthem credit that they found ways to score when they got theirs and we didnt.dddddddddddd In a game like that, you have to put as much onus on the guys trying to score as the guys who are trying to stop them." Phoenix came out firing, outshooting Minnesota 15-7 in the first period. The Wild scored first, though, thanks to a turnover by Phoenix defenceman Keith Yandle. Trying to clear the puck under pressure in front of the crease, Yandle sent it right to the slot, where Fontaine gathered it and beat Mike Smith to the glove side late in the first period. The Coyotes kept up the pressure early in the second period and tied it on a power play when Boedker spun around and slipped a backhander under Backstrom just before he fell to the ice. Phoenix continued to generate nearly twice as many shots, but Minnesota scored the next goal early in the third period. This one came on a defensive miscue as well: Yandle was caught pinching in Minnesotas zone, Brodziak ended up with a partial breakaway and sent a wrister that went off Smith into the goal. Fontaine put Minnesota up 3-1 a few minutes later when he fought off Antoine Vermette and flicked in a one-handed shot as he was going down. Smith had circled behind the goal to play Jason Pominvilles dump-in and had no chance of getting back when the puck caromed off the boards to the front of the goal. Phoenix tried to pick up the pressure, but couldnt get anything past Backstrom and Fontaine closed it out with his empty-netter. "We had a couple little spurts here and there, but to score youve got to go hard to the net, especially when theyre playing real tight," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said. "Their goaltender gives them a (good) game, they play tight and we couldnt do enough to get inside to get opportunities and score on our opportunities." Notes: Phoenix D Oliver Ekman-Larsson returned after missing two games with an upper-body injury. ... Wild LW Zach Parise missed his eighth straight game with a lower-body injury and Mikko Koivu missed his second straight with a broken ankle. They have a combined 23 goals and 39 assists. ... Thursday was the 10-year anniversary of Coyotes G Brian Boucher setting the modern-day NHL record with his fifth consecutive shutout -- against Minnesota. ' ' '