kickoff and Palmer tried to throw long to Housler. But D.J. Sweari

LONDON – Following an early-round win at this years Wimbledon, Genie Bouchard brought a stuffed Cinderella doll to her news conference. A fan had tossed it to her. "I like to think thats me," Bouchard said sheepishly with a smile while looking down at the blonde-haired doll in her hand. "Someone gave me it, because Im a princess." Bouchard was named after royalty: Princess Eugenie, the daughter of Prince Andrew, to be precise. And she admits she does have some "princess-like tendencies" that go beyond just the name. "You can ask my coach or my parents or anyone: I can be a princess," Bouchard admitted eliciting laughs from a throng of reporters. "I mean, theyre not horrible, but I can be moody in the morning. Im not so much of a morning person. My fitness trainer carries my tennis bag around, but thats so I dont get tired, because I want to save all my energy for the match. "I mean, I can demand a few things once in a while, but I do it with love," the 20-year-old said with a big grin. Bouchards Wimbledon campaign has all the elements of a fairytale story. Even a platonic Prince Charming has emerged in the form of an American television star. Jim Parsons, who plays Sheldon Cooper on The Big Bang Theory, has travelled to the All-England Club to support Bouchard. "Its my favourite show," Bouchard explained. "Its a comedy, you know. For me, so many unexpected things, you just burst out laughing. Its a nice way to relax and have a good time. Its less stressful to watch than, say, like a movie on a war or something. Its pretty relaxing, which I love. Jim Parsons character, Sheldon, is my favourite character. Hes so nerdy. I love the character. Hes so smart and set in his ways. "I think the writing of the show is pretty spectacular." Considering how much Bouchard likes the hit sitcom her agent decided to reach out to Parsons last year and invite him to Wimbledon. Parsons was touched, but couldnt attend due to work obligations. However, he started watching Bouchards matches and writing her emails after each one. Theyve become friends through this pen-pal relationship. And now Parsons is finally here in London. "Its a random pairing, right?" Bouchard said again with a huge smile. "Well, its been a year since weve been in contact. Since then hes watched pretty much every match he could watch or else he would follow on live scores. Hes emailed me after every single match Ive played. Hes more positive than all of my team combined. So its a refreshing change to get a nice email with exclamation marks and smiley faces. Im such a big fan of his show. He says hes such a big fan of me. So its really cool that hes here to finally watch me live. "We talk about, you know, the mental aspect in tennis. He says how its similar to him acting. He has to be in the moment on set and all these things. Its interesting to see how similar the mentality is in different careers." WATCH: Jim Parsons explains how he and Bouchard became friends With a Prince Charming on site, Bouchard has lived a somewhat charmed life at Wimbledon this year. A seemingly difficult draw opened up a bit when Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova were eliminated one round before they were to face Bouchard. On Monday, Bouchard was scheduled to play on Centre Court, which has a retractable roof, and was able to complete her fourth-round match while all her rivals sat and waited due to a lengthy rain delay. "Im happy I got the experience of playing under the famous roof," Bouchard quipped that day. "I follow the roof on Twitter (@WimbledonRoof) and hes kind of funny. I hope hes proud of how I played today. He was looking down. Hopefully he enjoyed the match." The rest of the field didnt find it so funny as every other woman in the draw was forced to play on Tuesday while Bouchard rested up. Then in the semifinals, opponent Simona Halep injured her foot early in the first set, somewhat limiting her mobility and contributing to her defeat. Everything seems to be falling into place and a lifelong ambition is within reach. "I started playing tennis at five years old," Bouchard said on Friday. "Soon after, you know, it was my dream to become a professional tennis player. I was very young when I decided I wanted to do it. I was nine. Since that age I dreamt of winning a Grand Slam." On Saturday, Bouchard gets that chance. Standing in her way is No. 6 seed Petra Kvitova, the 2011 Wimbledon champion. But Bouchard is a Wimbledon champion as well. It has been just two short years since the Canadian claimed the junior title here. Bouchard likes the grass, which accentuates her aggressive game. She likes the Royal Box, the tradition and even the strict all-white clothing policy at the All England Club. This is her favourite Grand Slam and Bouchard seems to have the crowd on her side in each match she plays. Considering all of the above, it would be fitting if this was the stage where all her hard work pays off. "Its been a long time in the making, you know, for it to finally come together, all the hard work, the talent I know I have, the effort I put in, you know, for it to produce results on the match court. Thats happened this year, but, you know, its been a long time in the making. I wouldnt say its an overnight thing," Bouchard explained. "Ive just been believing in myself more and more and meeting the challenges I faced. I played on the professional tour for a year and I was improving as I was playing that year; the same this year. So every time I have a challenge, I just try to get better. Its really helped." 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All of 46 seconds into the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2 victory over Alex Ovechkins struggling Washington Capitals, Crosby assisted on Chris Kunitzs goal. GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer knows what his teams personality has become. And it has nothing to do with his side of the ball. "Were a tough, grind-it-out defensive team," he said. That was apparent on the first play from scrimmage against Houston on Sunday, when the Cardinals forced a fumble and returned it for a touchdown. It was a sign of what would come in the second half. The Cardinals turned up the defensive pressure and sent the Texans to their franchise-record seventh straight loss, 27-24 Sunday. Palmer threw two touchdown passes and Arizona held on despite a late fumble. The Texans (2-7) were without coach Gary Kubiak, who collapsed on the sideline against Indianapolis last Sunday night with what was diagnosed as a mini-stroke. Defensive co-ordinator Wade Phillips is filling in as interim coach. "All in all it seems like the same theme," Phillips said. "Team is playing tremendously hard but not enough plays. One play here, one play there, and they really dominated us in the second half on their defensive side of the ball." Arizona (5-4) got off to a quick start when linebacker John Abraham knocked the ball out of quarterback Case Keenums arm and Matt Shaughnessy returned it 6 yards for a touchdown only 14 seconds into the game. The Texans led 17-14 at the break, but managed just 41 yards in the final two quarters "As a defence, we just told ourselves 17 is the max," linebacker Daryl Washington said. "No more points to be scored. Lets play nasty, lets play dirty." Keenum threw three touchdown passes, two on remarkable catches by Andre Johnson. J.J. Watt forced two fumbles, recovering both of them for Houston. The second one set up Johnsons 5-yard TD catch that cut the lead to three with 4:34 to play. "We made good adjustments," Arizona coach Bruce Arians said of the second half. "The running game was kind of gone. We felt if we could get them in a one-dimension game we could get after the quarterback, and we were able to do that." Palmer completed 20 of 32 for 241 yards. Keenum was 22 of 43 for 201 yards no interceptions, but was just 7 for 17 for 42 yards in the second half. Arizona reeled off 13 consecutive points and Palmers 19-yard touchdown pass to Andre Roberts put Arizona up 27-17 with 6:42 to play. The Cardinals, coming off a bye, had trouble holding on. Rashard Mendenhall was stripped of the ball by Watt in a crowd on a run up the middle and the standout Houston lineman recovered at the Arizona 5. On third down, Johnson gathered in Keenumss pass and was able to get both feet inbounds for the touchdown.dddddddddddd He had scored on a similar catch in the first quarter. "Those were two of the best catches I have ever seen in my life," Keenum said. "You cant even describe it. You have to watch it to see how awesome those catches are. " Houston got the ball back with just over two minutes to play but, at third-and-3 at the 35, Keenum threw two incompletions. Jerraud Powers knocked the ball away from receiver DeAndre Hopkins on fourth down to seal the win. After his first-play miscue, Keenum completed 4 of 4 for 44 yards in an eight-play, 49-yard drive. Johnson got his left foot down then barely dragged his right foot inbounds on a 7-yard touchdown catch and it was 7-all. Arizona regained the lead with its only touchdown drive of the first half. Recently signed tight end Jake Ballard had a 15-yard catch, his first reception since 2011, and Rob Housler got his first pro touchdown catch on a 12-yard screen pass to put the Cardinals up 14-7 with 13:57 left in the half. It was Palmers 200th career touchdown pass. But Keenum responded, going 5 for 6 for 55 yards in a nine-play, 80-yard TD drive. Keenum threw 2 yards to wide open tight end Ryan Griffin for the touchdown that tied it at 14-14 with 9:37 left in the half. Arizona was pinned deep in its own territory after the subsequent kickoff and Palmer tried to throw long to Housler. But D.J. Swearinger intercepted, setting up Randy Bullocks 48-yard field goal that gave Houston its first lead, 17-14, with 6:31 to go in the half. Arizona committed another turnover late in the second quarter. With less than a minute left in the half, Watt knocked the ball out of Palmers hands and recovered at the Cardinals 22. Houston couldnt move it from there, and Justin Bethel blocked Bullocks 40-yard field goal attempt. Bethel has two blocked field goals this season. Arizona tied it at 17 on Jay Feelys 35-yard field goal with 6:06 left in the third quarter. Palmers 26-yard pass to Housler gave Arizona a first-and-goal at the Houston 5 in the final seconds of the third quarter. Feelys 21-yarder put Arizona back on top 20-17 entering the fourth quarter. NOTES: The Texans were without running back Arian Foster and wont have him the rest of the season after he decided to undergo season-ending back surgery. During the game, Houston lost starting cornerback Kareem Jackson (ribs), Griffin (concussion) and backup cornerback Elbert Mack (hamstring). ... Arizona lost wide receiver Michael Floyd in the first half with a shoulder sprain. ' ' '