any other day," Simpson said Sunday after doing just that.

WELLINGTON, New Zealand -- When rugby sevens was added to the rollcall of sports for the 2016 Summer Olympics, New Zealanders rubbed their hands in gleeful anticipation.Rugby, as a 15-a-side sport, had last been part of the Olympics program in 1924 when the United States defeated France in the gold-medal match. If any nation seemed well placed to benefit from rugbys return to the games after 92 years, even in its compact form, it was New Zealand -- home of the famed All Blacks.By 2009, when the IOC voted to include rugby sevens for the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, New Zealand mens teams had won the world series in eight of its 11 seasons since its creation in 1999. It has won it four more times since, hardening the belief that the gold medal in the mens competition was New Zealands to lose.And there was the exciting prospect also of a gold medal in womens sevens. To some degree these were uncharted waters for New Zealand and most other nations: womens rugby sevens barely existed in an internationally competitive form before it became an Olympic event.New Zealand had a well-established and successful womens rugby team -- the Black Ferns -- who had been almost as dominant in the womens international game as the All Blacks in the mens. But womens sevens was new and while it was expected players from the 15-a-side game would easily translate, it was also recognized new talent was needed.So New Zealand, and many other rugby nations which sensed an Olympic opportunity, sent out a rallying call to its best female athletes. New Zealand Rugby advertised open tryouts and invited the best from other womens sports.The result was a team drawn not just from rugby but from basketball, netball, touch -- rugbys non-contact form -- track and field, softball. It seemed a recipe for Olympic success.But all has not gone quite to plan for the New Zealand women. In the 2014-2015 season, they were clearly the best team in the world but in the season just ended Australia took over as No. 1 by reaching three of the five finals on the world series.New Zealands Sevens Sisters made only two of the five finals and failed to win a title at any tour stop, placing second overall, and dulling the bright confidence that the gold medal was within reach.Countries which had never previously adopted rugby with enthusiasm flocked to the game and sped their development. Nations that had played the game with limited success became more focused and competitive.At the end of the world series, Canada was ranked third in the womens game, Russia seventh and Spain ninth. The field lay more open than most could have expected.New Zealand captain Sarah Goss remains optimistic and says the team is approaching its potential as senior players return from injury and newcomers settle in.Were going to show were a pretty powerful side come Rio, Goss said. Weve done a lot of work and ... by August well come in fighting.Indicative of the women drawn to sevens by its Olympic inclusion is Niall Williams, sister of the All Blacks and sevens star Sonny Bill Williams. Niall Williams, a mother of two, was a touch rugby player before switching to sevens.A lot of skills transfer over from touch but the contact area was the hardest thing to pick up, Williams said. But I do have two big brothers to help out with that.The outlook for the New Zealand mens team is far less favorable than it appeared seven years ago. New Zealands grip on the world series title has slipped.Fiji has won the last two world championship titles and likely will start as favorite in Rio. In all, there were six winners in 10 world series tournaments including New Zealand (with three), South Africa, Samoa, Kenya and Scotland.England, Australia, the United States and Argentina the teams which could finish on the Olympic podium without causing any surprise.The 2016 season has been a tough one for veteran coach Gordon Tietjens, a famously hard taskmaster whose fitness sessions can reduce even the hardest player to jelly. But his program has been hampered by a heavy injury toll and the intermittent availability of Super Rugby players. When he put a call out to All Blacks players to join the team fpr Rio only Sonny Bill Williams and Liam Messam signed up. Williams made the final cut, Messam did not.Sevens has rejuvenated me, Williams said. My sister is in the New Zealand Sevens squad, too, so its massive for our family.Tietjens says sevens is much more globally competitive now, and while it has outstanding athletes such as Williams New Zealands pre-eminence cant be taken for granted.Contrary to perception, theres not massive sevens depth in New Zealand. Weve got a lot of rugby players but not a lot of sevens players, Tietjens said. When you get injuries like we had this year, its horrific.The New Zealand men have been drawn with Britain, Kenya and Japan in Pool C of the Olympics tournament; the New Zealand women in Pool B with France, Spain and Kenya. Kyrie Irving Shoes In Order . Parker had 26 points and eight assists and San Antonio beat Toronto 112-99 Monday night. "We won that game because of Tony Parkers aggressiveness," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "His juice; his aggression all night long. Cheap Basketball Shoes Online . Reassurance came from Paul Tesori, his caddie and close friend whose newborn son is in intensive care in a Florida hospital. "Paul sent me a text this morning, just told me he loved me and wanted to go out and fight as hard as I would any other day," Simpson said Sunday after doing just that. http://www.cheapbasketballshoeswholesale.com/kevin-durant-shoes-clearance.html . Fernandez, coached in Toronto by former two-time Olympic silver medallist Brian Orser, scored 267.11 points and is the first champion to successfully defend since Russias Evgeny Plushenko in 2005 and 2006. Kobe Bryant Shoes For Sale . Vokoun departed practice on Saturday morning after discovering swelling in his thigh. He was taken to a local hospital where the clot was revealed. The club announced the surgery following a 5-3 exhibition loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Chris Paul Shoes Wholesale . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- Aqib Talib swears hes more concerned about the possible punishment Julio Jones could deliver this weekend than any discipline that might await him from NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.The Denver Broncos star cornerback could still face discipline from the league over the shooting in Dallas last summer in which a bullet pierced his right leg even if he wont be charged.Im not really worried about anything except for Atlanta right now, Talib said Wednesday, a day after WFAA-TV in Dallas reported that detectives determined Talib shot himself on June 5, but that he wouldnt face any criminal charges in the case.When I heard that report yesterday, I immediately got on my iPad and started watching Julio Jones, Talib said.Dallas police confirmed the report Wednesday evening in a statement, saying Talibs attorney had provided a letter that stated Aqib Talib admitted he shot himself accidentally.I cannot even worry about it. I got my hands full with enough already. Like I said, its still under review. Im not really going to talk about that right now.Even if he faces no legal consequences, Talib could still be suspended or fined by the NFL, which doesnt require criminal charges or a conviction to mete out player punishment.NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Talibs case is under review of the personal conduct policy.Coach Gary Kubiak said the Broncos are just moving forward, hes playing great, obviously having a heck of a year and (were) expecting him to keep going.Teammates arent fretting either, suggested cornerback Chris Harris Jr.Thats a weird situation, Harris said. You never know whats going to happen. You never know what the NFLs going to do anytime, with any situation. Right now, hes not in jail. So, I mean, what can you do if he didnt go to jail? He didnt do anything wrong.On Sunday, the Broncos (4-0) host the Falcons (3-1), who are coming off a 48-33 rout of Carolina in which Matt Ryan threw for 503 yards and Jones became just the sixth player in NFL history to post a 300-yard receiving game.Talib, who was sidelined for three months after suffering a gunshot wound to his right thigh and calf, has started all four of Denvers games and has three interceptions.Thats one shy of his total from 2015 whenn he earned his third consecutive Pro Bowl berth, but also was suspended for one game for his deliberate eye poke to a Colts tight end, which cost him $323,529.ddddddddddddTalib is making $8.5 million this year and GM John Elway disputed a report last month that the Broncos had talked about trading him.His off-the-field troubles aside, Talib is a locker room leader with a charismatic personality. Kubiak asked him to address the team last weekend on the eve of his return to Tampa, where he began as career.Hes always outgoing, always keeps everybody upbeat, said Harris, who also played with Talib at the University of Kansas.Thats our man, outgoing, talkative. Hes just more of a brother. Hes always had my back. Ill always have his. Hes always been that type of teammate that if you get in trouble or anything, Aqibs going to be right there for you.Talib, who has had firearm incidents in the past, told Dallas police the night he was shot that he was too intoxicated to recall details of the shooting.He required stitches but no surgery and missed the Broncos visit to the White House to celebrate their Super Bowl title.Hes offered few specifics of the shooting, other than to say he feels fortunate to still be playing football and wants to concentrate on helping the Broncos repeat as champions.He returned an interception 46 yards for a touchdown against Andrew Luck in Week 2, his ninth career pick-6, and his fifth for Denver, a franchise record.Last week, he picked off a pair of passes in his return to Tampa Bay, where he played from 2008-12. Those interceptions set up Denvers first two touchdowns in the Broncos 27-7 win.Harris said Talib, whose 33 interceptions are more than any DB in the league since 2008, doesnt appear to be fazed by the specter of impending discipline from the commissioners office.Apparently its not bothering him at all, Harris said. So, if its not bothering him, its not going to bother us, and were just going to keep it rolling.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow AP Pro Football Writer Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton ' ' '