Releases » oting. New Orleans shot 52 per cent in the first quarte

PITTSBURGH -- The lessons Chuck Noll passed down to his players -- maxims that often applied as much to life as to football -- are tacked on the wall in Mike Mularkeys office. They say things like "stress is when you dont know what youre doing" and "I wasnt hired to motivate players, I was hired to coach motivated players." They ring as true now as they did when Mularkey heard them the first time playing tight end for the Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame coach 25 years ago. Its why Mularkey made sure he had a chance to say goodbye, joining Steelers past and present, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and several hundred friends and family on Tuesday for a funeral mass honouring Noll, who passed away last week at age 82. "Ive gotten more from Chuck off the field as much as I got on the field about how to do things the right way," said Mularkey, now a tight ends coach with Tennessee. "Family was important. Balance in life was important." And that, as much as the record four Super Bowls Noll won while transforming the Steelers from an NFL afterthought into a dynasty during the 1970s is what will resonate for the city he championed and the team he built from scratch. The men he moulded embraced at Saint Paul Cathedral. They clutched programs featuring a picture of a vibrant Noll wearing a polo shirt, shorts and the closest he ever came to a smile while at work. Each vowed to carry on the lessons Noll imparted from his first day of coaching to his waning days. Steelers President Art Rooney II and Hall of Fame defensive tackle Joe Greene were among the pallbearers, a responsibility Greene wished he could have avoided but one he ultimately welcomed as a final gift from the coach who changed his life. "It meant Chuck was thinking of me," Greene said, "and thats special." Noll and Greene will be forever entwined in Steelers history. Noll was a rookie head coach in 1969 when he selected the massive but somewhat unknown Greene in the first round of the NFL draft. It was a pick met with skepticism but one that changed the course of the organization and Greenes life. "If he hadnt chosen me, maybe I wouldnt have been a Pittsburgh Steeler," Greene said. "Maybe I wouldnt have had the opportunity to be coached by Chuck Noll. And that probably would not have fared very well for me." Instead, Noll and Greene served as the core of a team that dominated the 1970s, winning four titles in a six-year span thanks to a seemingly never-ending stream of Hall of Famers guided by a man who made it his mission to ensure they learned more than just Xs and Os. Greene, nicknamed "Mean Joe" for his menacing demeanour on the field, remembers destroying a door one day "when things werent going my way." Rather than let Greene off the hook or rip into the cornerstone of the "Steel Curtain" defence, Noll took a different approach. "Chuck came to the room and knocked on the door and said Thatll be $500 and that was the end of the story," Greene said. Despite rising to the top of his profession, Noll preferred not to bask in the limelight. Its telling that while Hall of Famers like Greene, Blount, running back Franco Harris and wide receiver John Stallworth sat in the pews at the cathedral -- just a few miles across town from where Noll worked at bygone Three Rivers Stadium -- they were surrounded by longtime employees of the organization and friends from all walks of life. Bishop David Zubik, who performed Tuesdays ceremony, was a young priest in the late 1970s when he somehow managed to get Noll to agree to give a speech on leadership to a group of high school athletes. They set it up in the spring of 1979. The speech wasnt until January 1980. Months passed. The season came and went, ending with the Steelers beating the Los Angeles Rams at the Rose Bowl to claim the teams fourth Vince Lombardi Trophy. Two days later back in Pittsburgh, Noll drove himself to the retreat where he found a stunned Zubik waiting for him. Noll delivered as promised, giving a rousing talk to a group of young players that included future Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Marino, then a local prep star. It didnt matter that Noll might have been exhausted. It didnt matter that he had every right to cancel. That simply wasnt Nolls way. He made a promise. He had to keep it. "Thats the thing about coach Noll," Zubik said. "Everybody was important." Its a legacy that will carry on in the city Noll called home and within the walls of the franchise he defined. "Four championships, youve got to feel that," current Steelers centre Maurkice Pouncey said. "We walk by those Super Bowl trophies every day here, and it all started with Coach Noll." Nike Zoom Wholesale .C. United on Saturday night and boost the Unions playoff hopes. 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Parnell blew a save on opening day against Washington and the next day it was revealed he had partially torn right elbow ligament.NEW ORLEANS -- Tyreke Evans looks so comfortable coming off the bench that Pelicans coach Monty Williams chose not to start him when Eric Gordon was unable to play because of his injured right hip. Williams got the result he wanted. Evans had 19 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds, and New Orleans handed the Denver Nuggets their fifth straight loss, 105-89 on Friday night. It was the second straight double-double for Evans, who led the Pelicans to a victory Monday night in Sacramento with 25 points and 12 rebounds. He appreciates the significance of providing scoring off the bench. "Its important," Evans said. "When we come in like that and play together, find each other, move the ball ... I think thats when were at our best." Jrue Holiday had 17 points and four steals, causing two turnovers that led to late fast-break points as the Pelicans slammed the door on Denvers comeback bid. "I just love the way he defends and the way he competes," Williams said. "Its contagious." Anthony Davis added 17 points and four blocked shots despite playing sparingly in the first half because of three early fouls. Wilson Chandler scored 22 points and J.J. Hickson added 16 points and 10 rebounds for the Nuggets, who trailed by 18 in the second quarter but were as close as 93-87 on Quincy Millers 3-pointer with 2:55 to go. Thats when Holiday found Davis for an alley-oop tip and again for a fast-break basket. Holiday followed that up with a short floater and a steal to set up Evans fast-break layup, and New Orleans easily held on from there for its second consecutive victory. A few minutes earlier, Davis briefly prevented Denver from pulling within seven points when he blocked three shots on one possession, the first two by Chandler and a third layup attempt by Andre Miller. "When hes talking on defence and rotating properly, were pretty tough," Williams said. "Our defence is pretty sound." New Orleans blocked eight shots in all and outrebounded Denver 53-42. The Pelicans outscored the Nuggets 48-36 in the paint and outshot them 47.2 per cent to 40.2 per cent. Denver was without starter Kenneth Faried for a second straight game because of his left ankle sprain. That led to a lineup shuffle in which Timofey Mozgov made his second start of the season at centre and Jordan Hamilton started his eighth game at guard in place of a healthy Randyy Foye.dddddddddddd "We talked about just trying to stay together and pulling for each other," Denver coach Brian Shaw said. "This is our team and we have to play with the guys that we have, regardless of whos out, regardless of the fact that it is a tough stretch for us, losing five in a row. "The same way we were feeling about each other when we won seven games in a row, we have to find and generate the kind of energy and effort that we need to correct what were doing right now thats allowing us to lose all these games in a row," he added. "We talk about changing behaviour in order to change results. We have to do that, and that means even if youre not in there, pulling for the guy thats in there in front of you." Ty Lawson had 14 points and 12 assists for Denver. Hamilton added 12 points. Despite a lethargic first half, Denver cut New Orleans lead to 70-64 in the third quarter after an 8-2 spurt that started with Hamiltons 3 and ended with Chandlers 3. Williams called timeout, and New Orleans responded. Al-Farouq Aminus steal led to Holidays 15-foot jumper, then Holiday stole the ball from Lawson and hit a breakaway layup. That sparked an 11-0 run that included Davis alley-oop layup off Evans lob, Aminus jumper and Evans 3. The Pelicans never trailed, thanks to sharp early shooting. New Orleans shot 52 per cent in the first quarter, building a 34-29 lead when Darius Miller hit a 3 as he was fouled and sank the free throw for a four-point play. The second quarter wasnt quite as crisp for New Orleans, and Davis spent much of the period on the bench with three fouls -- but Denver only fell further behind. Ryan Andersons third 3 of the half put the Pelicans ahead 49-31. Lawson had 10 first-half points for Denver, and his four straight to close out the second quarter pulled the Nuggets to 58-45 at halftime. NOTES: New Orleans (13-14) earned its first victory against an opponent that entered with a winning record. ... Anthony Morrow wound up starting for Gordon, who averages 15.4 points. Morrow had eight points. ... Mozgov finished with eight points and nine rebounds. ... Jason Smith missed his third straight game with a bruised right knee. Anderson started for him. ... The Pelicans play five of their next six games on the road, where they are 5-9 this season. ... The Nuggets finish a two-game road swing in Memphis on Saturday night. ' ' '