Hig, Hig hooray!
DJ OUT TO PUT BRONCOS IN A SPIN
PREPARED: Hayden (right) and Von Miller SUPER BOWL champions the Denver Broncos have been promised a brutal clash against a resurgent Oakland Raiders in California today. Both teams have won six and lost two of their opening eight games of the season and sit joint-top of the AFC West. Oakland have not won a Super Bowl since 1983 and have a losing record in every season since the 2002 campaign, when they lost in the showpiece to Tampa. But after a fast start to this season’s campaign, including the emergence of quarterback Derek Carr, many are tipping them for a run similar to the one which saw Denver end last season as champions.
And Raiders cornerback DJ Hayden insists today’s game between the two sides is vital.
He said: “This is the game we’ve been waiting for. This is going to put the stamp on, letting the whole world know what we’ve been working so hard for.
“We’re tied with Denver right now, and we have to get through them to win the division. I’m looking forward to this game and I’m just ready to go out there and just put it on them.”
Meanwhile, Denver’s Von Miller has praised the in-form Carr, who threw four touchdown passes last week.
He said: “Derek Carr is doing everything. The way he is playing right now is not a surprise. I saw it from day one.”
Elsewhere today, Detroit travel to Minnesota, while the Dallas Cowboys face the Cleveland Browns, who are yet to win a game this season.
ALEX MILLER JOHN HIGGINS claimed the China Championship with a 10-7 triumph over fellow former world champ Stuart Bingham.
And the Scot clinched the £200,000 first prize in sensational style.
With the scores locked at 7-7, Higgins rattled in three successive century breaks in the final three frames in Guangzhou.
The Scot built breaks of 134, 100 and 101 just when it mattered most to secure the invitation tournament.
Bingham had stayed with his opponent in the opening stages as they went in at the mid-session interval 4-4.
But four-times world champion Higgins, 41, showed his class.
Bingham, himself world champion in 2015, could only sit in his chair and admire the on-going quality of the Scotsman’s break-building a full 24 years after he turned professional.