Funkerstation » mer short of the cycle, and drove in three r

HOUSTON -- Brock Osweilers second poor road performance has some wondering if the Houston Texans are having buyers remorse about their new quarterback.But as the AFC South-leading Texans prepare to host the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday night, they insist theyre still confident their $72 million man is the one to lead the team.Brock is working very hard. Hes very prepared, coach Bill OBrien said. I think all of us, including (him), we all have to do a better job.Osweiler is in his first season in Houston after the Texans lured him away from Denver with that huge contract.Hes had an up and down season, leading Houston to three wins at home, but struggling in lopsided losses at New England and Minnesota .He failed to give specifics when asked about areas in which hes looking to improve this week.The most important thing is we need to be more consistent because we are a great football team, he said. We have a great offense. We just consistently have to be that offense.For that to happen Osweiler will have to get receivers DeAndre Hopkins and rookie Will Fuller involved early on Sunday. Houstons offense stalled in Sundays 31-13 loss to Minnesota when Hopkins and Fuller had no receptions by halftime.Both OBrien and Osweiler have talked at length about the importance of getting Hopkins going after the Pro Bowler has been held to less than 60 yards receiving in four games this year after only having five such games all of last season.He and Osweiler connected a few times in the second half last week, including on Houstons only touchdown.It starts with me breaking the huddle and basically just saying to myself: `Is there a way for me to get Hop the ball on this play? Because, like you saw last week, when you throw him the football, good things happen, Osweiler said. Were well aware of that and thatll definitely be a focus.Colts coach Chuck Pagano was very complimentary of Hopkins and understands the challenges the Texans have in getting him the ball since he faces the same obstacles with his receiver T.Y. Hilton.Anytime you got a game-wrecker like him ... hes going to garner the respect and attention of everybody that plays him, Pagano said of Hopkins.Theyre doing a great job of moving him around and trying to get him loose and get him some free access.Some things to know about the Colts-Texans game.RECORD CHASE: Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri sure doesnt look like the NFLs oldest player. The four-time Super Bowl champ has made 38 consecutive field goals and if he extends that streak to match his age (43), Vinatieri will break the NFL record Mike Vanderjagt (42) set from 2002-04. Vinatieri made all five of his attempts in last weeks win, the sixth time hes done that in a regular-season game. Hes also made nine straight from 50 yards or more. The only other kicker with a longer streak than Vinatieris is Gary Anderson, who made 40 in a row in 1997 and 1998.BANGED UP SECONDARY: The Texans played most of Sundays game without three of four starters in their secondary. Left cornerback Kareem Jackson was inactive with a hamstring injury and right cornerback Johnathan Joseph suffered a concussion on Sunday before Houston lost strong safety Quintin Demps to a leg injury. OBrien said Demps and Jackson are day to day, but Josephs status is less certain because he remains in the concussion protocol.SACK ATTACK: The Colts offensive line should be relieved J.J. Watt wont be on the field in Week 6, but dont expect them to rest easy. Andrew Luck has been sacked 11 times in the past two games and has already gone down a league-high 20 times this season. With another strong defense on tap, even without Watt, the Colts know they must play much better. At this rate, Luck would be sacked 64 times this season, an untenable pace. Pagano expects to see a steady progression starting this weekend.Everybody wants to protect the quarterback, Pagano said. Everybody wants to keep their quarterback upright. Were no different than anybody else. Were working extremely hard to do that.CLOWNEY CONTRIBUTING: In his third season, Houstons Jadeveon Clowney is finally starting to show the skills that made him the No. 1 overall pick in the 2014 draft. Clowney, who has shifted from linebacker to defensive end this season, had a career-high four tackles for losses last week and leads the NFL with eight tackles for losses. Hes thrilled to be healthy and contributing after failing to live up to expectations in his first two injury-filled seasons.---AP Sports Writer Mike Marot contributed to this report.---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFL Clearance Sale Shoes Online .com) - Yankee Stadium is the home of the Bronx Bombers, but on Sunday afternoon it will open its gates to host the latest addition of the Hudson River Rivalry. Cheap Shoes China Free Shipping . Louis. To which I would say two things: 1. Where there is smoke, there is or perhaps has been a little fire. Or, in other words, the two teams would appear to have at least spoken. And spoken is defined as one calling the other to inquire, no more, no less. http://www.clearanceshoescheap.com/ . The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive. Cheap Shoes Online Free Delivery . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. Buy Clearance Shoes Online . Barcelonas entertaining victory ensured the defending Spanish champions retained their share of the league lead with Atletico Madrid two rounds ahead of their meeting in the capital. Real Madrid needed a late goal by substitute Jese Rodriguez to earn a 3-2 victory at Valencia to stay in third place and three points behind its title rivals. DETROIT -- Tyler Duffey knew that he needed a clean fourth inning Wednesday night.Not only didnt he get one, he couldnt even get three outs.The Minnesota Twins had just scored five runs in the top of the fourth to take a 5-2 lead over the Detroit Tigers. If Duffey could shut them down in the bottom of the inning, the Twins would have regained the momentum that saw them beat Detroit 8-1 on Tuesday.Our guys scored enough runs in the top of the inning to win the game, Duffey said. I just wanted to protect that.Instead, Justin Upton walked and scored on Andrew Romines RBI single before Kinsler and Maybin hit back-to-back two-out triples to tie the game.I gave it right back, Duffey said. When you are facing that offense, when you miss, they dont. They got rolling, and I couldnt stop it.Twins manager Paul Molitor knew his team was in trouble after the walk to Upton. The Tigers left fielder only has a .296 on-base percentage this year, with 40 walks against 165 strikeouts.When you get a big inning and get a lead, you want your pitcher to go out there and shut them down, Molitor said. That walk was a bad sign, but he still had two outs and could have gotten off the field if he gets Kinsler or Maybin.By the end of the inning, the Tigers led 6-5, and although Minnesota tied the game in the fifth, Miguel Cabreras seventh-inning homer led Detroit to a crucial 9-6 win.The Tigers trail the Blue Jays by one game for the second AL wild card, with the Yankees and Mariners another game back.Cabrera said that, along with his offense, his role as a veteran is to keep the younger players from losing confidence by reading social media.We hear a lot of bad things about how were not going to make it, Cabrera said. Ive been here a lot of years and Ive been through this, but weve got a lot of new guys who think about it and read stuff. I tell them not to worry.This is fun. Weve got a chance to make the playoffs. Thats what you play for.Ian Kinsler had four hits, finishing a homer short of the cycle, and drove in three runs while scoring two.Brian Dozier and Kurt Suzuki homered for the Twins.Shane Greene (5-4) got the win, while Ryan Pressly (6-7) took the loss after surrendering Cabreras homer.Bruce Rondon pitched the eighth for Detroit, while Francisco Rodriguez put up a perfect ninth for his 42nd save.After Anibal Sanchez struck out the side in the first, Kinsler and Cameron Maybin gave the Tigers the lead with back-to-back doubles in the bottom of the inning. Kinslers RBI single in the second doubled the lead.Sanchez retired the first nine batters in order, but Dozier launched his first pitch of the fourth into the left-field stands for hhis 41st homer.dddddddddddd The next three batters singled, with Kennys Vargas driving home Jorge Polanco to tie the game.Suzuki then made it 5-2 with a homer down the left-field line, but the Tigers came back in the bottom of the inning.After Kinsler and Maybins triples, J.T. Chargois replaced Duffey and allowed a tiebreaking single to Cabrera. Sanchez, though, couldnt hold the lead. He walked Byron Buxton to start the fifth and Dozier followed with a double to make it 6-6.Alex Wilson got out of the inning without further damage, and the two bullpens were able to settle the game down until Cabreras homer off Pressly with one out in the seventh.The Tigers added two more runs in the eighth on Kinslers second RBI single and a wild pitch.TRAINERS ROOMTwins: 3B Miguel Sano missed his second straight game with back stiffness. Hes expected back for Minnesotas weekend series against the Mets. . Suzuki left the game in the eighth injury with a lacerated chin after being hit in the mask by a foul tip. Molitor said hes day-to-day, but might see action at DH while the injury heals.Tigers: RHP Jordan Zimmermann threw an 80-pitch simulated game Wednesday afternoon in an attempt to fix his mechanics and get back into the rotation. Due to assorted injuries, Zimmermann has only started twice since June and didnt escape the second inning either time. ... 3B Nick Castellanos (broken hand) batted once against Zimmermann before taking himself out of the lineup. He hopes to be back before the end of the regular season.ODD DEFENSIVE LINEUPZimmermann, who mostly faced September call-ups in his simulated game, didnt get a lot of help from his defense. Instead of one of baseballs best double-play combinations in Ian Kinsler and Jose Iglesias, Zimmermann had his fellow pitchers backing him up. Rookie of the Year favorite Michael Fulmer made a nice running catch on a pop up into shallow right, but Mike Pelfrey, Mark Lowe and Justin Verlander werent impressive as infielders.OLYMPIC WEEK CONTINUESFor the third straight day, an Olympic medalist from Rio threw out the first pitch. On Wednesday, it was New Zealands Nick Willis, who won the bronze medal in the 1,500-meter run. Willis spent his college career at the University of Michigan, and still lives in Ann Arbor.UP NEXTThe teams conclude their four-game series with the Tigers Mike Pelfrey (4-9, 4.76) facing the Twins Hector Santiago (11-8, 4.75). Pelfrey hasnt pitched in a big-league game since July 30 due to a back injury, and is expected to be on a 60-pitch limit. ' ' '