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RIO DE JANEIRO -- Sonny Bill Williams dedicated a season to prepare for Rio. When the Olympic rugby sevens competition finally kicked off, he spent about eight minutes on the field.Now hell be sidelined for up to nine months with an injured Achilles tendon, ruling him out for the All Blacks in 2016.The highest-profile player in rugbys return to the Olympics after 92 years carried the ball into a tackle early in the second half of New Zealands 14-12 upset loss to Japan on Tuesday, then stayed on the ground holding his left ankle before being helped from the field.A despondent Williams was taken to a hospital and medical tests showed a partially ruptured Achilles tendon, which is expected to keep him on the sidelines for up to nine months.Hes obviously shattered and disappointed, New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens said.Not long after Williams exit, his teammates left the Deodoro Stadium with their heads down, having lost to Japan for the first time in rugby sevens.A two-time Rugby World Cup winner with the All Blacks in 15s, Williams had little impact on the Olympics. His sister, Niall Williams, picked up a silver medal as part of the New Zealand team which lost the womens gold-medal match to Australia the previous night.Devastating for Sonny, to lose him so early in the tournament, New Zealand coach Gordon Tietjens said, added that the shoulder injury to Joe Webber was also a major setback. Both influential players as well, got some outstanding qualities that I needed.The New Zealanders rallied to beat Kenya 28-5, but now face unbeaten Britain on Wednesday in the last Pool C game.Weve just got to get on with it, Tietjens said. The guys bounced back with a lot of character against Kenya.But theyll have to do with one man down in the squad, with only one replacement allowed. Sione Molia was called in to replace Williams.Tietjens said Japan showed against his team and in the narrow 21-19 loss to Britain that the competition was intense for the medals.Theyre a good team. They pushed Britain very closely as well -- perhaps that says it all, he said. There are no given games these days.I knew with Kenya and Britain, there was a chance we werent even going to look at the quarterfinals, so weve got a chance tomorrow to get in there.The New Zealanders were hoping to have Williams back around the team in some way during the Olympics.Hes a great professional. Very infectious. Hes certainly helps the younger players. Hes got a great work ethic, Tietjens said. For that (injury) to happen in the first game of the tournament is devastating.Weve struck an horrendous amount of injuries this year in the world series as well but theres a lot of character in this team, I can assure you.New Zealand Rugby Union chief executive told Newstalk ZB Radio that Williams would be out of action for six to nine months and selectors would have to find a replacement for the All Blacks squad to play in the Rugby Championship.Andre Tippett Jersey . After a replay, the winner will meet Sunderland in the quarterfinals. Sagbo did well to control Sone Alukos right cross and fire past Brighton goalkeeper Peter Brezovan. Aluko was making his first start in four months after recovering from an Achilles injury. Andre Tippett Womens Jersey . The Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling "puts an end to my dreams of being a top player," the 27-year-old Troicki said in a statement. "I worked my entire life for it, and it has been taken away from me in one afternoon by a doctor I didnt know," said Troicki, whose ranking peaked at No. https://www.patriotssportsgoods.com/Womens-John-Hannah-Inverted-Jersey/ .C. -- When North Carolina freshman Ryan Switzer reported to training camp in August he was a little miffed to learn he was third on the depth chart at punt returner. Sony Michel Youth Jersey . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. Tom Brady Jersey . Badenhop was 2-3 with a 3.47 ERA in 63 relief appearances for Milwaukee this season. He is 18-20 in his career with three saves and a 3.CINCINNATI -- Left tackle Andrew Whitworth hardly remembers what its like to play at home.Its been nearly a month since the Cincinnati Bengals (3-5-1) had a game at Paul Brown Stadium. They beat the Cleveland Browns 31-17 on Oct. 23. Theyve been traveling since, with little to show for it other than their frequent flier miles.Four of their past five games have been on the road, and they havent done well, going 1-3-1. They lost at Dallas and New England, beat the winless Browns at home, tied Washington in London, went on their bye, and then lost at the Giants 21-20 on Monday night.Its kind of a blur.Its the weirdest thing, said Whitworth, an 11-year veteran. I know that we have played at home, but I dont really feel like we have. I cant even hardly recall the home games. Every week I feel like Im packing my bags to go somewhere. But its going to be nice to be at home.The endless airports left them not only weary, but fading. The defending AFC North champions are in third place with no margin for error as they host the Buffalo Bills (4-5), another team thats fallen apart in the past few weeks and cant afford to lose any more games, either.The Bills dropped their last three games heading into their bye last week. Theyre scoring plenty of points -- at least 25 in each of the past five games -- but their defense has shown a penchant for making big plays and giving them up. Buffalo has an NFL-high 30 sacks, and also has given up seven passes of 50 yards or longer.The Bengals are trying to reach the playoffs for the sixth straight season and finally win a game -- their streak of 25 years without a postseason victory is the sixth-longest in NFL history. The Bills havent even reached the playoffs for 16 years, the longest active streak in the league.The loser on Sunday will face long postseason odds.We understand the circumstances, Bills quarterback Tyrod Taylor said. We understand that its a must win.Some things to watch on Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium:GET THE QB: While the Bills have been good at getting pressure on passers, the Bengals have struggled to protect Andy Dalton. Hes been sacked 28 times, the third-highest total in the league. Thee Bengals are on track to allow 50 sacks for only the seventh time in their history.dddddddddddd During their final series against the Giants on Monday, the line got overwhelmed and Dalton took back-to-back sacks to end the Bengals final chance. Buffalos penchant for giving up big pass plays has been an issue, and coach Rex Ryan was contemplating changes at cornerback for the game in Cincinnati.RUN, RUN, RUN: The Bills are second to Dallas with 155 yards rushing per game, and they lead the league with 5.28 yards per carry. They have 43 runs of more than 10 yards, also a league high. And its a versatile attack -- Taylor leads the league in rushing by a quarterback with 362 yards. By contrast, the Bengals have struggled to stop the run. Dallas ran all over them in the Cowboys 28-14 win earlier this season, and the Giants ran five straight plays to get a pair of first downs and drain the clock on Monday night.TAYLORS ENCORE: Taylor is coming off his best all-around game and looking to develop consistency. He threw for 298 yards -- his second-highest total in two seasons -- and a touchdown in the loss at Seattle. Hes 12-11 as a starter, with only two wins coming when Buffalo was tied or trailing in the fourth quarter. Taylor is 1-11 when Buffalo trails by four or more points at any time in a game.FOURTH-QUARTER BLUES: Dalton ranks 21st in fourth-quarter passer rating at 85.2. Hes thrown only three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, all of them when the opponent went soft on defense while finishing off a game with a lead. Cincinnati has scored 40 points in the fourth quarter -- its fewest in any quarter -- and has been held to three points or fewer in six of its nine games.HOME FIELD: While the Bengals are happy to be home, its not been much of an advantage lately. Theyre 4-4 at Paul Brown since the middle of last season, including a playoff loss to Pittsburgh.---AP Sports Writer John Wawrow in Orchard Park, New York, contributed to this report.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '