Tom Brady conjured a last-gasp Houdini act to save the New England Patriots in a thrilling win over the Houston Texans on Sunday as the Atlanta Falcons preserved their unbeaten record.

Rookie kicker Younghoe Koo missed a last-gasp field goal for the second successive game as the Los Angeles Chargers lost their home opener 19-17 to the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.

Boss Ronald Koeman emphasised it was time for Everton to wake up after the Toffees produced another woeful display on Thursday night.

Atlanta 3 - Everton 0: Everton boss Ronald Koeman could not hide his disappointment following another dismal display in a 3-0 Europa League defeat to Atalanta.

Three people have been arrested in connection with a fire that collapsed an elevated portion of a major road in Atlanta and shut down the heavily travelled route through the heart of the city.

Mauro Icardi and Ever Banega scored hat-tricks as Inter Milan stunned fellow high-fliers Atalanta 7-1 in Serie A to maintain their hopes of Champions League qualification.

The Atlanta Falcons are going to the Super Bowl for the second time in franchise history after they thrashed the Green Bay Packers 44-21 in the NFC Championship game.

There will be a familiar feel to the NFL playoffs next weekend: Every divisional-round game will be a rematch from the regular season, the first time that’s happened in six years.

LeBron James continued his love affair with the Eastern Conference play-offs as the Cleveland Cavaliers booked their place in the final.

Miami Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin has been sacked in the aftermath of their Wembley loss to AFC East rivals the New York Jets on Sunday afternoon.

High profile coaching casualties followed quick on the heels of the final day of the NFL’s regular season as the San Francisco 49ers and the New York Jets parted ways with their coaches yesterday.

Peyton Manning broke Brett Favre’s all-time record for touchdown passes, leading Denver to a 42-17 rout of San Francisco to cap a scintillating Sunday in the NFL.

An embattled NFL, reeling from off-field brutality issues, received more bad news with numerous injuries to key players in the second week of an already tumultuous campaign.

Baltimore Ravens have released running back Ray Rice hours after a shocking video surfaced showing the NFL star punching his then-fiancee.

That saying about the world being a smaller place? Depends on the wifi.

The Green Bay Packers needed their biggest comeback in history on Sunday to somehow keep their play-off hopes alive ahead of the long-awaited return of Aaron Rodgers from injury.

A win over divisional rivals Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday evening saw the Denver Broncos emerge from the toughest part of their NFL campaign relatively unscathed and in poll position in the AFC and will now retain home advantage throughout January’s play-offs.

The Patriots, Saints and Dolphins joined the Kansas Chiefs with their third straight victories of the new season while the New York Giants and Washington Redskins were left wondering where their first wins will come from after embarrassing defeats.

US police have a suspect in custody after reports of gunfire at an Atlanta-area primary school, an official said.

The Atlanta Falcons survived one of the most outstanding comebacks in recent NFL memory, ending the Seattle Seahawks’ incredible season with a 30-28 victory that sets up an NFC Championship showdown with the San Francisco 49ers.

As the NFL heads into December, nearly every division race has an outright favourite.

Atlanta remained undefeated, Tom Brady won the battle of the marquee quarterbacks and Drew Brees had a record-setting day in week five of the National Football League season.

Late field goals kept the Atlanta Falcons and Arizona Cardinals undefeated while Houston won a rout to also stay perfect four weeks into the season.

Hours after his younger brother’s death in a motorcycle accident, Torrey Smith caught six passes for 127 yards and scored two touchdowns to spark Baltimore to a last-play 31-30 NFL win over New England.

Peyton Manning made a sparkling return after a year’s injury absence from the NFL, leading Denver to a 31-19 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in his Broncos debut.

Lazio will invite Paul Gascoigne to their Europa League match against Tottenham in Rome to celebrate the link the former England star created between the two clubs.

We never love referees, we only loathe them and we rarely fully appreciate how much we need them.

Olympic cities are often left with debt and idle grounds. London hopes for better, says Richard Fitzpatrick

LIONEL MESSI scored his fifth hat-trick of the season as Barcelona posted a comfortable win at Malaga.

TOM BRADY threw three touchdowns as the New England Patriots crushed the Philadelphia Eagles 38-20 and Tim Tebow led the Denver Broncos to their fourth straight win in National Football League action on Sunday.

MICHAEL VICK had a rough return to Atlanta last night, suffering a concussion along with defeat as the Falcons beat the Philadelphia Eagles 35-31 in the Georgia Dome on Sunday night.

JASON DUFNER is keen to dispel the funereal air surrounding him following last weekend’s USPGA Championship play-off defeat.

Lee Westwood and the normally cool Luke Donald were fuming last night as their hopes of a first major title were left hanging by a thread.

THE NFL’s oldest rivalry will be played out on its greatest possible stage tomorrow evening as the Green Bay Packers visit the Chicago Bears in the NFC Championship game (8pm, Irish time).

MICHAEL VICK got the better of Peyton Manning as the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Indianapolis Colts 26-24 in gridiron’s NFL, but the match was overshadowed by a sickening injury to Austin Collie.

SUPER Bowl champions The New York Giants shrugged off the latest publicity surrounding absent receiver Plaxico Burress to defeat Washington 23-7 on Sunday.

ARIZONA scored a touchdown off a blocked punt to finish off a wild 30-24 overtime victory over Dallas on Sunday as the NFL produced a flurry of frenetic endings.

THE Arizona Cardinals ended the Buffalo Bills’ unbeaten start to the season with a surprisingly easy 41-17 victory in Week 5 of the NFL.

BRETT FAVRE has returned to his record-setting ways with the New York Jets as Washington rocked old rivals Dallas in the NFL.

WHILE New England try to complete the first undefeated NFL regular season since the 1972 Miami Dolphins, Washington and Tennessee will attempt to simply reach the playoffs.

PEYTON MANNING threw for four touchdowns and the Indianapolis Colts edged Jacksonville 28-25 to deny the Jaguars a share of the NFL AFC South division lead.

NEW ENGLAND’S Tom Brady threw a team-record six touchdown passes and Tennessee’s Rob Bironas kicked a NFL-record eight field goals to spark impressive triumphs on Sunday.