2daysagoBritney Spears makes 'X-Factor' departure officialBy Courtney Hazlett, TODAYBritney Spears made official what scores of outlets were {keyword} over recent days: that she'll be leaving "The X-Factor" after just one season on the show.Jason Merritt / Getty Images fileBritney Spears.The singer released a statement to The Clicker, saying, I ve made the very difficult decision not to return {keyword} , , , People.com5297,5


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Hello. And Bye.

Justin Smith hasn't played in nearly a month, but the San Francisco 49ers believe their anchoring defensive lineman will be ready for Saturday night's divisional playoff game against the Green Bay Packers.
"God willing and the creek don't rise, he's going to play," 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh said Wednesday, via Steve Corkran of the Contra Costa Times.

"I said, 'Hey, this is 30 more minutes of unbelievable practice against the national champions,' " Martin said later that night. "And we have no run game, and we're down 28-0. It's better than we can ever prepare you."It couldn't get any worse for the No. 1 team in the nation Monday at Sun Life Stadium, which lends itself to the argument that the Irish only can get better from there, at least as far as producing a championship-level performance when needed.Golson, the first-year starter who improved noticeably as the year progressed, wasn't the problem against the marauding Crimson Tide. That's something. But in 2013, he'll have to be among the solutions if Notre Dame wants to repeat a title-game-worthy regular season and earn a spot in Pasadena, Calif., for another shot at hoisting a crystal football.Here's a look at a handful of players who will be critical in 2013 to recapturing 2012's enchantment:Everett Golson, QBGolson's first year as a starter ended with 12 touchdown passes {keyword} against six interceptions and a 131.01 efficiency rating. Alabama's AJ McCarron was the nation's leader at 175.28. Maybe the comparison is tenuous, but it's what's available: Golson, as probably everyone would admit, has a ways to go."If we got this far with an inexperienced Everett, how far can we get when we get him (more)?" Martin said. "He did a lot of great things (against Alabama) and managed the game and gave us a lot of chances to move the ball. I'm saying, keep it going and don't take our foot off the gas."His best days came against two overmatched teams: Boston College and Wake Forest. Against good teams (Stanford, Oklahoma, Alabama, arguably USC), he merely wasn't bad. Now there wo {keyword} phasized for months, and his season featured enough breakout components (45 tackles, 51/2 tackles for a loss, five pass breakups) that performance isn't the issue. It's that the Notre Dame defense loses its emotional fulcrum in linebacker Manti Te'o, a cult of personality almost, and that's a gaping hole. A 340-pound nose guard can plug gaps, that's for certain.


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