Gästebuch » STOPPING THE RUN: The issues with the offense

Some of the sports stories The Associated Press is covering Thursday. A full Sports Digest will be sent by about 3 p.m. All times EDT:- CHASKA, Minn. -- Dustin Johnson says its best to have a short memory at the Ryder Cup. The U.S. meltdown at Medinah four years ago has not been discussed, nor has the two decades of futility against Europe.- CHASKA, Minn. -- Lee Westwood played his first Ryder Cup before some of his European teammates put a golf club in their hands. The Englishman has taken rookies under his wing at the last four Ryder Cups, usually with success.- MIAMI -- A private funeral is held for Jose Fernandez a day after the hearse carrying the body of the star pitcher rode away from Marlins Park with many in the crowd of about 1,000 chanting Jose! Jose!- The four chief contenders for the two AL wild-card spots -- Blue Jays, Orioles, Tigers, Mariners -- play Thursday. In the NL, the wild card-leading Mets are off, giving the Cardinals and Giants a chance to gain ground.- CINCINNATI -- With linebacker Vontaze Burfict having completed his NFL suspension, the Bengals (1-2) will have a strengthened defense when they play the Miami Dolphins (1-2). Game starts 8:25 p.m.- WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court will hear a First Amendment challenge over the governments refusal to register offensive trademarks in a case that could affect the Washington Redskins.- DALLAS -- Ray Rice doesnt begrudge Greg Hardy for getting a second chance to play in the NFL. The former Baltimore running back, however, wishes Hardy did more with his platform to speak out against domestic violence.- ORLANDO, Fla. -- The ACC is moving its 2016 football championship to Orlando. The game had been scheduled for Charlotte, but the league joined other conferences in pulling out of North Carolina because of the states bathroom law.- HOUSTON -- In the lone college football game involving a ranked team, No. 6 Houston hosts UConn and tries to improve to 5-0. Last season, the Huskies handed the Cougars their only loss. Game starts 8 p.m.- SEATTLE -- No. 7 Stanford plays at No. 10 Washington on Friday night, with the Huskies intent on establishing themselves as the Pac-12 favorite.- TORONTO -- Canada can win the World Cup of Hockey in Game 2 while Team Europe tries to force a deciding game this weekend in the best-of-three finals. The Canadians took the opener 3-1. Game starts 8 p.m.- WASHINGTON -- Eighty years after Jesse Owens and 17 other black Olympians from 1936 werent given the same White House welcome as their white counterparts, relatives are honored by President Obama. News conference 12:05 p.m.- TOKYO -- The price tag of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics could exceed $30 billion unless there is drastic cost cutting and several key venues are relocated, a panel says in the latest blow to Japanese organizers. Ted Ginn Jr Saints Jersey . -- Cam Newton pranced into the end zone, placed his hands over his chest and did his familiar Superman pose. Sam Mills Womens Jersey .C. -- Glenn Howard needed an extra end to move into the Masters Grand Slam of Curling final. http://www.shoptheofficialsaints.com/Elite-Bobby-Hebert-Saints-Jersey/ . Emery skated the length of the ice and fought an unwilling Holtby during the third period of the Flyers 7-0 loss Friday night in Philadelphia. He was given 29 penalty minutes, including a game misconduct. But Emery did not face even a disciplinary hearing with NHL senior vice president of player safety Brendan Shanahan because rules 46. Alvin Kamara Youth Jersey .Y. -- Paul Byron and Matt Stajan scored as the Calgary Flames started a five-game road trip with a 2-1 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday afternoon. Michael Thomas Youth Jersey .1 million pounds ($61.2 million) on Saturday, giving the beleaguered English Premier League champions a major lift. MINNEAPOLIS -- Mike Zimmers team lost a second straight game by a double-digit margin, with a depleted offense sputtering badly.The next day he needed eye surgery.The following morning, his offensive coordinator came into his office at Minnesota Vikings headquarters to inform him of his resignation.All this after overcoming the absences of several injured starters to take the NFLs only 5-0 record this season into the bye week.I feel the roller coaster ride, Zimmer said, flashing a smile thats been rarely spotted on his grizzled face lately.Thats the life of a head coach. Even for assistants. Zimmer took some time after a recent practice to recall his second year in the league, 1995, when he was defensive backs coach for a Dallas team that won the Super Bowl trophy.Beaten by then-rival San Francisco in the previous NFC championship game and again that regular season, the Cowboys slumped a bit in December and needed a win and a one-point loss by the 49ers on the final weekend of play to gain home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. Green Bay knocked off San Francisco in the division round, and the Cowboys took down the Packers for the NFC title before beating the Pittsburgh Steelers for the championship.At the end of the year, regardless of what happens, I went in the locker room at the end of the game and said, `My God, that was a long season, Zimmer said. So I get it. Thats just how this thing works. Were not the only team to have ups and downs.Hey, its the NFL.The Vikings (5-2) host Detroit on Sunday, eager to return to raucous U.S. Bank Stadium where theyre unbeaten in three games. The Lions (4-4) know all about those ups and downs, of course, looking back to last years 1-7 start that rendered a 6-2 finish meaningless. This season, every game has been close, winning by four points or fewer each time for a cumulative margin of victory of 11 points. Four defeats, all by a touchdown or less, have come by a total of 18 points.Just take a look at it, and youve always got a chance at this point in time, right? Lions coach Jim Caldwell said. Goals are still in front of you.Here are some key angles to know about the game:MIDSEASON SWITCH: After losing to Minnesota 28-19 in Detroit last year, watching Matthew Stafford take seven sacks, Caldwell fired offensive coordinator Joe Lombardi and both offensive line coaches. Quarterbacks coach Jim Bob Cooter took over the play calling, and Stafford and the Lions wwere far more effective after that.ddddddddddddTheyve kept up that success on offense this season.What we had to do was work extremely hard. You had to little by little kind of piece something new together that we wanted to do, and go from there, Stafford said, recalling the challenge of the change.Though the circumstances are different, the Vikings would love a similar boost for their offense after Norv Turner left and was replaced by Pat Shurmur.Its not on coaches. Were the ones out there. Were the ones that need to play better, tight end Kyle Rudolph said. Moving forward, weve just got to get everybody to do their job. We have the talent and ability to make that happen.PROTECTING THE PASSER: Theres no question about Shurmurs top priority in taking over the offense. Bradford needs better protection than he received the last two games if the Vikings are going to get back on track. Bradford was not only sacked 11 times but hit hard on several other throws, sending him out of sync after playing so crisply and effectively before the bye.I dont think its a good thing, Bradford said. I think weve got to figure out a way to bring that number down.GETTING THERE: Lions defensive end Ezekiel Ansah, who missed three earlier games because of a sprained ankle, is still without a sack. Ansah, who finished 2015 with 14+ sacks, has five sacks in six career games against the Vikings.Maybe the first week or so he got maybe a little bit rusty, but I think without question hes still who he is, Caldwell said.STOPPING THE RUN: The issues with the offense had already been exposed before the loss at Chicago on Monday night, so the ease with which Bears rookie Jordan Howard ran through Minnesotas front seven and secondary was more alarming. Howard rushed 26 times for 153 yards and caught four passes for 49 yards.Thats inexcusable for us on defense, linebacker Chad Greenway said. Thats what we pride ourselves on and have for a long time.STAFFORDS SURGE: Over the last 16 games, mirroring Cooters move into the offensive coordinator role, the Lions are in the top three in the NFL in passer rating, touchdown-to-interception ratio, completion percentage, passing touchdowns and offensive points scored among other categories.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '