Clan-Members » ipate as a neutral athlete.Stepanova and her husband hav

BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Ravens and Philadelphia Eagles have veered in different directions after starting the season with three straight wins.Employing a first-year coach and a rookie quarterback, Philadelphia couldnt sustain its early success.Carson Wentz threw five touchdown passes and no interceptions in helping the Eagles open with victories over Cleveland, Chicago and Pittsburgh.He has since been picked off 12 times, with only eight TD passes. Thats just one reason why Philadelphia (5-8) has lost six of seven, including four in a row.Self-inflicted wounds and self-inflicted penalties have (prevented) us from maybe winning a few more games, coach Doug Pederson said.The Ravens followed their 3-0 start with four straight defeats, but have rebounded to remain in the thick of the playoff chase. Baltimore (7-6) will win the AFC North if it defeats Philadelphia on Sunday, Pittsburgh on Christmas Day and Cincinnati in the finale.The Steelers game doesnt happen unless we win this game, Ravens safety Eric Weddle said. The Steelers game is on the backburner right now. Its all about Philly.Baltimore is on the rebound after losing at New England 30-23 on Monday night. The Ravens fell into a 23-3 hole before getting back into the game by taking advantage of two turnovers by the Patriots, but the overall performance of the team was disappointing following three wins in four weeks.Obviously, we werent good enough to beat the Patriots, Weddle said. Thats really what the reality comes down to, but that doesnt mean that our ultimate goal to win the division and get in the playoffs isnt attainable.Some things to know about the first meeting between Baltimore and Philadelphia since 2012:FIRING AWAY: Wentz is 74 passes away from breaking Donovan McNabbs team record for attempts in one season.Despite Pedersons desire to call a balanced game, he has relied more on the pass. Wentz has thrown 44.7 passes per game over the last seven after averaging 30.8 in the first six.I think its putting him in a tough situation, Pederson said. I would love to be able to manage it and lean on that offensive line more with the run game. Obviously, were going against a tough run defense this week, and yet we still have to be patient with that to help our quarterback.NEED TO RUN: Like the Eagles, the Ravens have all but abandoned the run recently.Joe Flacco threw 52 passes against the Patriots, while the running game generated only 42 yards on 14 attempts.There is no doubt we are going to have to run the ball, Flacco said. We have to be able to hand the ball off and get yardage out of it because then it is going to get the play-action game going a little bit more and make it that much better.Baltimore owns the 28th-ranked rushing attack. Terrance West has the teams lone 100-yard game, against Oakland in Week 4.NO SACK ATTACK: The Eagles have only eight sacks in the last seven games after getting 20 in the first six games.Philadelphia has proven pass rushers with big contracts putting no pressure on quarterbacks. Fletcher Cox leads the way with 5 1/2 sacks, but he went eight straight games without one. Brandon Graham has two in the last 10 games and Vinny Curry has 1 1/2.Youve got to be careful with judging it only on sacks, but sacks do affect the game, defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz said. Not only do you stop drives and get them for lost-yardage plays, but there is a high incidence of quarterbacks either getting tipped balls or throwing when theyre getting hit and youre getting interceptions or fumbles. Those are the plays that weve been missing.SMITH NEEDED: The Ravens could be without standout cornerback Jimmy Smith, who sprained an ankle against the Patriots.With Smith out, Tom Brady torched Baltimore for 406 yards and three touchdowns.Were not worried about who is going to play or who is not going to play, Weddle insisted. Well play with the guys we have out there.If Smith cant go, that will put additional pressure on rookie cornerback Tavon Young, who knocked away two passes and had four solo tackles against New England.Its really important that Tavon is focused and ready to go, coach John Harbaugh said.HAPPY RETURNS: Michael Campanaro will likely return kicks for the Ravens, who cut veteran Devin Hester on Tuesday.Activated from the practice squad Wednesday, Campanaro has five career punt returns for an average of 13.2 yards and is averaging 26.3 yards on three career kickoff returns.Lardarius Webb is also an option for returning punts, though hes the starting safety.---AP Sports Writer Rob Maaddi in Philadelphia contributed.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Buy Shoes Black Friday . "Trying to breathe," he said with a grin. Bernier stopped 42 of 43 shots on Monday night, including all 22 in a hectic middle frame, his heroic performance propelling the Leafs toward an undue point in their final game before the Christmas break. China Shoes Black Friday . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. https://www.cheapshoesblackfriday.com/ . Tests earlier this week revealed a Grade 2 left hamstring strain for Sabathia, who was hurt in last Fridays start against San Francisco. Its an injury that will require about eight weeks to heal. He finished a disappointing campaign just 14-13 with a career-worst 4. Shoes Black Friday Deals 2020 . Note: The Calgary Flames announced Tuesday that Sean Monahan would not be made available to Canadas World Junior team. Discount Shoes Black Friday . -- Matt Kuchar and Harris English ran away with the Franklin Templeton Shootout, shooting a 14-under 58 on Sunday in the final-round scramble to break the tournament course record. COPENHAGEN, Denmark -- Top officials of the IOC and other sporting bodies would be banned from being members of anti-doping agencies under new proposals for tackling drugs in sports.Leaders of 17 anti-doping organizations met in Copenhagen this week to consider ways of fixing a global anti-doping effort that has been deeply damaged and to ensure that the disturbing events of recent years are not repeated.Among the groups aims was to remove the fundamental conflict of interest that exists when anti-doping decisions are controlled by sports organizations -- a shot at the current ties between the World Anti-Doping Agency and International Olympic Committee.The president of WADA is Craig Reedie, a senior IOC member from Britain whose dual role has come under scrutiny during the scandal over state-sponsored doping in Russia. Reedie served as an IOC vice president and member of the policy-making executive board until his term expired during the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. He is now a regular IOC memberThe Copenhagen summit proposed a rule that would forbid officers, directors, employees and all decision-makers of anti-doping bodies from also holding a top position in any international federation or major event organization.The Institute of National Anti-Doping Organizations said the proposal would prevent the inherent conflict of interest that exists when a sports organization is tasked with both promoting and policing itself.The IOC set up WADA in 2009 and provides 50 percent of the agencys funding, with national governments covering the other half.IOC President Thomas Bach has proposed making the anti-doping system independent from sports organizations and called for the creation of an independent agency to carry out global drug testing. The IOC has scheduled a meeting for Oct. 8 to consider ways of improving the international system.The exposure of widespread doping in Russia has led to a crisis in confidence in the entire global anti-doping fight. IOC members blamed WADA for not acting early enough to deal with evidence of Russian ddoping, while the IOC was accused of being soft on Russia by not banning the country entirely from the Rio Games.ddddddddddddThe anti-doping leaders meeting in Denmark represented countries that included the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany and Britain.They said WADA should be strengthened and given the independence and authority to impose sanctions for large scale subversions of the anti-doping system, such as the state-backed system in Russia. WADA currently has had no power to impose sanctions against a sport or a country, leaving that to the IOC and other bodies.WADA must have authority and capacity to investigate and to impose proportional sanctions and consequences for all instances of code non-compliance, the officials in Copenhagen said in their final statement.They also expressed unequivocal support for the completion of the investigation into Russian doping by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren. His report detailed manipulation of drug samples at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games, as well as cover-ups of doping tests across dozens of summer and winter sports.The leaders called for increased protection and support for whistleblowers, including Yulia Stepanova and her husband, Vitaly, who helped expose the doping culture in their homeland.All relevant organizations should do everything in their power to protect and ensure safety, security and sustainable future for Yulia and Vitaly and the other whistleblowers, the statement said.The IOC rejected Stepanovas bid to compete in the Rio Games after the IAAF recommended the 800-meter runner be allowed to participate as a neutral athlete.Stepanova and her husband have been living in the United States. She said recently that she fears for her safety and has switched residences after hackers breached a WADA database that records her whereabouts.Bach said in Rio that the IOC was not responsible for dangers to which Mrs. Stepanova may be exposed. ' ' '