g for its third coach since Nuno Espirito Santo left the team in Novem

CLEVELAND -- Even if he did not have a supermodel spouse, Tom Brady would be living a life to die for. Fame, fortune, championships, leading-man looks and a job that makes him one of the most recognizable American men on the planet. Who wouldnt want all of that?But upon further review, this is one glamour boy who has never been about the glamour. For however many commercial endorsements Brady has, he could have dozens more. He surrendered that marketing battle to his retired rival, Peyton Manning, a long time ago.In other words, Brady is the ultimate grinder, a full-scholarship player who built his legend around a walk-ons approach to success. This was back on display about an hour before his return to the NFL, when Brady, 39, was already breathing hard and working himself into a lather Sunday in the bowels of FirstEnergy Stadium. Outside the New England Patriots locker room, he was pumping his arms and knees while running pregame wind sprints. Pregame wind sprints with a resistance band strapped around his waist and tethered to a trailing team staffer who was providing the resistance.This is the Brady you never see but sometimes read about, the guy who tortures his body and strains his brain to prepare himself for every given Sunday. Its hard work being a franchise player for a four-time Super Bowl winner, even harder when your boss -- in this case NFL commissioner Roger Goodell -- forces you to take an unpaid four-week vacation from a position that requires constant reps in order to survive, never mind thrive.Brady doesnt make it look as easy as it looked Sunday by accident. Of course, the winless Cleveland Browns contributed to the cause, providing less resistance to Brady than that staffer holding the band. But the home teams considerable flaws didnt define Bradys performance any more than the Deflategate suspension will define his career. Bradys 406-yard, three-touchdown debut in the Patriots 33-13 victory was just another reminder that the quarterbacks insatiable desire to be great has always been his most lethal weapon.I want to do the best job I can for the city, for all of New England, and for my teammates, and for my family, Brady said. With all of these players, you put a lot into it and ... you have to make certain choices in your life in order to play this game. You need a lot of support from your family and friends to do that, certainly from our fans.I love running out in front of 70,000 people that are cheering for us. I love running out when weve got 20,000 fans cheering us, and weve got 50,000 against us. Its just fun to run out and play.Brady had a blast at the Browns expense, throwing himself a comeback party that began in pregame warm-ups, when he pumped his fist at the overflow number of Patriots fans who had poured into town. On his first series, Brady completed his first three passes, hit Rob Gronkowski for 34 yards to the Cleveland 2, and celebrated LeGarrette Blounts 1-yard touchdown run around left end by turning toward his bench and pumping his fist even before Blount crossed the goal line to finish the 80-yard drive.Brady threw a 7-yard scoring pass to Martellus Bennett to punctuate his next series and then found Chris Hogan for 43 yards on the following possession to set up his second of three touchdown throws to Bennett. Brady later stepped into a perfect 63-yard heave to a streaking Hogan down the right sideline, defying his age and any notion that his right arm should be rusty, and closed out the first half with these staggering numbers: 18 completions in 25 attempts, 271 yards, two touchdowns.They have a big-time quarterback, said the losing coach, Hue Jackson.A big-time quarterback with a big-time source of extra motivation. Over the years, superstar athletes the likes of Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods have publicly admitted that real and imagined slights have driven them to a higher level of achievement. Asked if the same applied to him Sunday, Brady responded with an artful deflection.This isnt a time for me to reflect, he said. Im just happy we won today. Were not going to win every time we play. Ive got a job to do, and theres no point in looking back at anything, whether we won Super Bowls or lost championship games or the last four weeks. None of that matters.But Aaron Shea, a former Michigan and Browns tight end who is Bradys close friend, said last week that the Deflategate case hurt Tommy a lot more than hell let anyone know and that he feels certain Brady wants to stick it to Goodell by playing 2016 at the highest possible level. If so, Brady has his reasons. Outside the stadium before the game, a group of Browns fans approached a group of Patriots fans on West 6th Street and shouted, Cheaters. A moment passed before a woman in a Brady jersey fired back. Losers, she barked.Asked in his postgame news conference what hed say to those who feel Deflategate would be a stain on his career, Brady said, Ive just moved on, man. Im just trying to play a good game today.He played a hell of a game, too, completing multiple passes to seven receivers. Hogan, the kid from Monmouth, had 114 receiving yards. Gronk checked in with 109 receiving yards and wasnt even the best Patriots tight end on the field. In this rehab start of sorts, Brady looked like he was throwing BP fastballs, nice and easy and right in the heart of the strike zone.The visiting fans chanted his name, and perhaps Brady wanted to reward them for their loyalty and affection. So while holding a 30-7 lead in the third quarter, Brady did something that was downright mad -- he took off and ran with much bigger defenders on his heels.Understand that Tom Brady is in his 16th year as a starter, and though hes thrown for more than 58,000 yards in the regular season, he still hasnt rushed for even 900 (he has 999 if you include the postseason). In fact, when he tried and failed to escape an earlier sack, he moved as if Gronk and Bennett were strapped to his back. But something inspired Brady to take off out of the shotgun on third down at the New England 31, and take off (well, sort of) the old quarterback did. Brady gained 4 yards and a first down the hard way before getting blasted near the sideline, undoubtedly sending a shiver or three down coach Bill Belichicks spine. On cue, a defiant Brady hopped to his feet, planted his left hand on his right shoulder, and dramatically extended his right arm toward the sky to signal a first down.I dont run much, Brady said, so I was a little excited. I was just glad we got the first down.He spent most of his session with the press downplaying any Deflategate-related emotion and channeling questions about him into answers about the team. Belichick? He addressed Bradys effort like hed addressed Jimmy Garoppolos and Jacoby Brissetts in his absence -- as just another day to move on from. Just another day in the grind.If Belichick was moved by his own personal stake in this trip, a return to the city where hed worked five years as a first-time head coach, he wasnt asked about it. Brady was the one and only topic of discussion, and the most interesting thing Belichick had to say of his quarterback was this: I think theres a lot of things he needs to work on.Brady would have it no other way. He left the game with 6:02 to play, shook Belichicks hand, removed his helmet, and hugged defensive coordinator Matt Patricia. Soon enough Brady would be on a bus, and on a plane back home to his near-perfect life, and to a diet, workout regimen, and film study schedule that would leave most men on their knees crying uncle in five days.This is a blue-collar quarterback with a white-collar profile. You saw that first-down run from a lead-footed, 39-year-old man so desperate to win a record fifth Super Bowl ring that hed put himself in harms way with a 30-7 lead over the winless Cleveland Browns?You really shouldve seen him running with that resistance band in the hallway about an hour before kickoff. The scene was a reminder that Tom Bradys career has always been about his heart, not his arm or his brain.Joe Montana Youth Jersey . 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Drew Brees threw a pair of touchdown passes in the first half and the guys on the other side made sure that was enough, sending the Saints to a 17-13 victory over the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday night.MADRID -- Valencia needed to win no matter what to try and change its fortune after one of its worst starts ever in the Spanish league, and it did it with the help of an own goal and a late penalty kick against Alaves on Thursday.Fans breathed a huge sigh of relief at the final whistle as Valencia salvaged the 2-1 victory that halted a four-game losing streak and left the team without a coach and in crisis.Daniel Parejo scored the winner by converting an 88th-minute penalty kick at Mestalla Stadium, moving Valencia out of last place in its first game following the firing of coach Pako Ayestaran.We needed this win, especially at home, Parejo said. We didnt play great football, but we did what we had to do.Valencia opened the scoring with an own goal by V?ctor Laguardia, who headed the ball into the top corner while trying to clear it from the area. Striker Gaizka Toquero equalized off a corner just before halftime to again dim the hopes of the more than 30,000 Valencia fans at Mestalla.Many were already jeering the team when Belgian midfielder Zakaria Bakkali was brought down just inside the area to prompt the penalty that was calmly converted by Parejo, sending Alaves goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco the wrong way.Valencia moved above Grannada and Osasuna, which lost at Espanyol 2-1 earlier.dddddddddddd In the other match of the day, promoted Leganes came from behind to defeat Deportivo 2-1 in La Coruna and jump to 10th place.Real Madrid, which was held by Villarreal to 1-1 at home on Wednesday, led the league by two points from Sevilla. Barcelona was third.It was the first loss for promoted Alaves, which dropped to 12th in the standings. The teams only victory so far came at Barcelona at the Camp Nou two weeks ago.Valencia is looking for its third coach since Nuno Espirito Santo left the team in November 2015. Gary Neville arrived but stayed in charge less than five months before being replaced by Ayestaran. The team is being led by interim coach Salvador Gonzalez Voro.No coach has stayed more than two years at the club since Unai Emery was in charge from 2008-12.Valencia, owned by Singapore investor Peter Lim since 2014, is the last team other than Real Madrid, Barcelona, and Atletico to win the league title, in 2004.---Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/tales-azzoni ' ' '