of which set up a tying touchdown and the second of which led to a field goal that gave the Broncos a 23-17 lead shortly before Brees and Cooks connected on a 32-yard TD that briefly tied the game

RIO DE JANEIRO -- The medal race at the Rio Olympics will likely remain close going into the final weekend.For second place, that is.The U.S. -- which has left the last five Summer Games with more medals than any other country -- is about to make it six in a row, and the Americans seem like theyll do so emphatically. Through Tuesday, the U.S. had 84 medals, 33 more than China and 34 more than Britain.Take away the games that dealt with boycotts in 1980 and 1984, and the Americans are on pace for the biggest medal-count romp since outdistancing Sweden by 40 medals at the 1948 London Games. Incidentally, the all-time medal-count-margin record is way out of reach, that being the U.S. win by 220 medals at the St. Louis Games of 1904.We are the United States. We come here with an enormous presence and a lot of advantage and privilege, swimming gold medalist Anthony Ervin said after he prevailed in Rio de Janeiro, part of a huge pool medal haul for the Americans. Our staff is unbelievable. The amount of people that help us ... I dont think the other teams are necessarily getting that. It starts there.Theres no shortage of reasons why.Russias Olympic team surely is missing some medal contenders because of the sanctions and fallout that came after a state-sponsored doping program was brought to light. China won 100 medals in Beijing eight years ago and 89 more at the 2012 London Games, though has struggled -- by its recent standards, anyway -- in Rio. Host Brazil has been a non-factor, with just 11 medals through Tuesday evening.Meanwhile, U.S. women have won 41 medals themselves, more than most full national teams. China is second on the womens medal chart with 28 through Tuesday evening.When one of us succeeds, we all try to succeed that much more, Ervin said. When your teammates are doing it, it becomes easier to believe.That sort of thinking isnt confined to swimming, though what happened in the pool certainly set the tone.I think we each feel an enormous responsibility to get things started off right, U.S. swimmer Nathan Adrian said.The U.S. has 33 swimming medals from Rio, took 12 more in gymnastics and were up to 12 in track and field through Tuesday evening -- that number almost certain to rise over the coming days. Fencing delivered four medals and sailing saw Americans take medals after going 0-for-London four years ago. And some chances have slipped away, too, as evidenced by the Americans failing to win a single gold on Monday after winning at least one in every full day of the London Games.The top three medal winners so far in Rio are Americans: swimmer Michael Phelps got six, gymnast Simone Biles and swimmer Katie Ledecky took five apiece.Its very crazy, Biles said. Its been an amazing experience and I dont think I could be more proud.Theres a whole lot of her red, white and blue-clad compatriots who feel the same. Custom Erik McCoy Jersey . Vancouver Whitecaps and Toronto FC failed to make the postseason while Montreal Impact fell at the first hurdle losing heavily to Houston Dynamo in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round. Saints Jerseys China . After a lengthy wait, persistent rain finally forced the postponement of the Nationals game against the Miami Marlins on Saturday night. The teams, and a few thousand fans, waited nearly four hours from the 7:05 scheduled start time before an announcement was made shortly before 11 p. http://www.customsaintsjersey.com/ . It was just business as usual for the Thunder at home. Durant scored 32 points and the Thunder beat the Bulls 107-95 on Thursday night for their eighth straight win. Authentic Custom Saints Jersey . U.S. District Judge Lorna G. 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. Erik McCoy Jersey Large .com) - The game was all punts and field goals before Kodi Whitfields catch. METAIRIE, La. -- The New Orleans Saints, a half-century-old NFL franchise whose early decades were defined largely by bumbling ineptitude, have seen their share of losses marked by unlikely plays and surreal drama.The latest -a 25-23 loss against Denver decided by a blocked extra-point kick returned for a 2-point conversion -- repeated another scenario that has become all too familiar for the Saints in the past decade.It marked the fifth time since 2007 that the Saints (4-5) have rebounded from a start of 1/3 or worse to get to 4-4, only to lose their ninth game. The previous four times it happened -- in 2007, 2012, 2014 and 2015 -- the Saints never got above .500 and missed the playoffs.But the Saints want to believe this time will turn out differently over their last seven games. Some untimely mistakes may have cost them a narrow loss to the defending champion Broncos, but New Orleans players say there remains plenty of evidence that their turnaround has not by any means been derailed.Against the Broncos, the Saints had arguably their best game defensively this season, especially with their pass rush. They had six sacks after getting 11 combined in the first eight games. Cameron Jordan provided consistent pressure and had a team-high eight tackles, including one sack.I thought he played exceptionally well, coach Sean Payton said. It was probably one of his best games of the year. The pressure was significant. I think that really helped us in a lot of ways -- coverage-wise and obviously with the sudden changes that we had.The Saints twice intercepted Trevor Siemian and twice they forced Denver to settle for field-goal attempts after reaching the red zone.Although New Orleanns had four turnovers and a slow start that yielded just three first-half points, Drew Brees was 21 of 29 for 303 yards against the NFLs top-rated pass defense.dddddddddddd Brees was sacked just once by a defense that had 28 sacks in its previous nine games.Brandin Cooks finished with 98 yards on three receptions. But fellow wide receiver Michael Thomas, a rookie second-round draft choice, lost two fourth-quarter fumbles, the first of which set up a tying touchdown and the second of which led to a field goal that gave the Broncos a 23-17 lead shortly before Brees and Cooks connected on a 32-yard TD that briefly tied the game at 23.A No. 1 pick in 2014, Cooks has emerged as the Saints leading receiver the last two seasons. He said he called Thomas, who has been the most productive rookie receiver in the NFL, on Sunday night to check on him.Hes doing good, Cooks said. Stuff happens and you learn from it. As young guys we learn to bounce back. Im going to continue to push him and be there for him.The Saints have a quick turnaround as they prepare to visit NFC South rival Carolina on Thursday night.We lost a game that left a bad taste in our mouth, Jordan said. Its good that we get a fast chance at redemption.The Saints beat the Panthers 41-38 on Oct. 16 in the Superdome.The best thing that can happen for us is the next game coming up in four days, Cooks said. The best thing for this team is to get back to doing what we need to do, especially against a division opponent.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '