Leicesters fairytale year continued after it was ranked as the UKs Greatest Sporting City for 2016, according to research from ESPN and the University of Bath.Propelled by a historic Premier League title for Leicester City FC, the city beat the likes of London and Manchester to the award after it scored highly in the most of the 12 factors fans were asked to identify as key to a great sporting city.The city climbed 17 places from 18th last year and earned a maximum score in five factors -- success, matchday atmosphere, local talent, community and social.Leicester City captain Wes Morgan said: Its hard to explain exactly what impact last season had on this city but just by walking around the streets you can see theres blue in almost every shop window, which just goes to show the support the people of Leicester have given to us.To see 250,000 people turn out for our Premier League trophy parade was a moment I and every person there will never forget and I know the pride the people of Leicester showed at our title win extends across the citys rugby, cricket and basketball teams too.Here at the football club, I know there are lads who regularly attend Tigers games and we often see players from the Foxes and Riders at King Power Stadium, which shows what a brilliant sporting city this is.Im involved in a tattoo shop in the city centre and since we won the league Id say around 70 per cent of the tattoos we do are LCFC-themed. That underlines just how much the people of Leicester love sport and their teams, so its great to see the city recognised for that.Leicester is followed in the rankings by 2015s top two -- Manchester dropping from first to second and London from second to third. Liverpool in fourth and Leeds in fifth rounds out the top five.At the other end of the table, Blackpool ranked bottom for the second year in a row, behind York in 48th, Luton in 47th and Bournemouth in 46th. Full results for the research, conducted in collaboration with the University Bath, are available here.Leicesters City mayor Sir Peter Soulsby said: Leicester Citys success last season has given the whole city a huge boost, and that positivity is clearly reflected in this research. Were obviously enormously proud of our football club, but Leicester is also home to one of Englands most successful rugby clubs, the countrys oldest basketball club, an ambitious cricket club, and a very successful womens hockey club.I think its fair to say that, when it comes to sport, Leicester -- a city of just 330,000 people -- enjoys punching above its weight. Being recognised as the best place in the country to be a fan is a huge accolade, so I am delighted that ESPNs research has confirmed Leicester as the UKs Greatest Sporting City.This year, ESPN also divided the research into individual sports to reveal the best places to be a fan of football, cricket, rugby union and rugby league. On the back of Leicester Citys historic title-winning season, Leicester received the accolade of the best city to be a football fan. Leeds ranked as the best city for both cricket and rugby league fans, while Cardiff is the top town for rugby union lovers.Leicester Tigers director of rugby Richard Cockerill said: This has always been a sporting city, with great local support for all of our teams and sportspeople, and it is good to see that status earning recognition from a wider audience.Our neighbours at Leicester City have obviously enjoyed a memorable year and all of the citys sports have been extremely proud of each others achievements in representing this part of the country in major competitions in the UK and further afield.At Tigers, we have enjoyed consistent success over very many years backed by a very committed and loyal support. It is always our ambition to be at the forefront of our sport while also recognising and cheering the successes for our teams and sportspeople across the county.Wasim Khan, CEO, Leicestershire County Cricket Club, added: The recent successes of Leicester City FC, coupled with the significant progress made by Leicester Tigers and the Cricket Club, further illustrates the heritage and pedigree of sport in the city. The sporting family in Leicester has some of the most passionate and loyal collective fans in the country and this recognition is for them as much as the clubs themselves.As part of the research, ESPN asked fans to rank 12 factors that help make up a great sporting city, in order to provide weightings for each citys results. This year, fans ranked Value for Money as the most important factor, as it received 19% of the vote. A citys Matchday Atmosphere was ranked by 17% of fans as the most important, while Club Success for a citys professional teams received 15% of the votes.Commenting on the research, Professor Thomas Curran, University of Bath, said: It is not easy to earn the accolade of ESPNs Greatest Sporting City, so the city of Leicester deserves all the congratulations it receives. To rank highly, a city must perform well in a variety of key factors which rely on a combination of fan opinion and third party data. To score top marks in five factors is a great achievement.Steven Saunders, Senior Editor of ESPN.co.uk, said: Leicester topping the rankings as ESPNs Greatest Sporting City 2016 is another amazing achievement for the city, especially considering the traditional sporting powerhouses such as London and Manchester that it has beaten to the top spot. Cheap Rangers Jerseys China . MORITZ, Switzerland -- Fog prevented downhill racers from getting their Olympic dress rehearsal. 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Schofield in Manhattan agreed that lawyers on both sides could make their formal requests by Nov. 8. A hearing is scheduled for a day earlier. Jordan Siev, a lawyer for Rodriguez, wrote in a joint letter to the judge from lawyers on both sides that MLB lawyers planned to ask that the lawsuit be dismissed. CHICAGO -- Carson Wentz took some hard hits, showed poise in the pocket and led the Philadelphia Eagles to another victory.Theyre about to find out how they stack up against a playoff contender. But theyre doing just fine so far.Wentz followed up an impressive NFL debut with another solid performance, throwing for 190 yards and a touchdown, and the Eagles beat the Chicago Bears 29-14 on Monday night.It was a cool stage, Monday Night Football, Wentz said. Everythings sweet. But again, it was a football game and we came out with a win.The No. 2 overall pick, Wentz is delivering as advertised so far for the Eagles (2-0).He followed up a strong performance against Cleveland by completing 21 of 34 passes and playing turnover-free ball for the second straight game.But its one thing to do it against the rebuilding Browns and Bears. The schedule gets a little tougher next week when the Eagles host the Pittsburgh Steelers.The Bears, meanwhile, are in danger of seeing their season slip away. Not only did they follow up a season-opening loss at Houston with a dismal performance, they lost quarterback Jay Cutler to a right thumb injury.With that in mind, here are some takeaways from the game.HELPING WENTZThe Eagles arent getting much from their run game, but their defense sure is chipping in.After holding Cleveland to 10 points, that group gave up only one of Chicagos two touchdowns.Theyre playing well together as a team, coach Doug Pederson said. The communication is great. The defensive line is rolling off the ball, getting pressure, making the (opposing) quarterback move off one spot, having to relocate his feet, putting the quarterback in different throwing positions.Then the back end is doing a really nice job in coverage. Theyre just playing together as a unit.AT QUARTERBACKThe Bears lost the game and they lost their quarterback. If Cutler is not available, Brian Hoyer figures to start at Dallas next week.Cutler was seen having his right hand examined on the sideline early in the third following a strip-sack by Destiny Vaeao, though he said it happened sometime earlier in the game.dddddddddddd That play just aggravated it.As if the injury wasnt enough, he also got an earful from injured linebacker Pernell McPhee after an interception late in the third quarter. The two had words after a pass got picked off by Philadelphias Nigel Bradham. Cutler walked to the locker room and did not return.NO GROUND GAINSThe Bears are being hurt offensively by the lack of a running game, whether its because of poor blocking with a line that has just come together or a lack of execution.Their running backs had just 55 yards on 17 carries after going for 61 on 18 attempts in a season-opening loss at Houston.I mean, nothing has gotten going like we planned to, Cutler said. That falls on me. That falls on the rest of the offense. So weve got to take a look at it and whatever is bothering us on offense weve got to get it fixed.TAKE IT AWAYThe Eagles won the turnover battle 3-0, including two fumble recoveries. Bradham helped seal the win with his interception and return to the Chicago 2 right after Philadelphia scored.But another big one came on the strip-sack by undrafted free agent Destiny Vaeao that teammate Connor Barwin said turned the game. The takeaway came with the Bears on the Philadelphia 43.ON THE BRIGHT SIDE?As bad as the Bears have looked so far, things could be worse. Just ask Fox.Well, not as tough as last year because we were 0-3, he said.The Bears dropped home games to Green Bay and Arizona and got shut out at Seattle before beating Oakland at home. That was their lone victory at Soldier Field last season.---AP NFL website: http://www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '