Chat-World » rday was no different than the week before agains

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- The more the Chicago Bears think theyve found answers to their struggles, the more their losses and frustration build.After starting 1-5 for the first time since 2004, the Bears are heading to Green Bay for a Thursday night game with their biggest disappointment still fresh in their memories -- Sundays blown fourth-quarter lead in a 17-16 loss to Jacksonville.I dont know what it is, but I know that there are spurts where we play well enough to win, and there are spurts where it looks like we dont know what the hell were doing, guard Kyle Long said.Theyve done a lot right, but two losses in three winnable games leaves them looking for ways to keep from packing it in early.We know that we can compete against any team, linebacker Willie Young said. Its never a case where we havent had an opportunity to win.Its just closing it out.Quarterback Brian Hoyer has a franchise-record four straight 300-yard passing games, and on Sunday he started to find receiver Alshon Jeffery with more regularity.Jeffery had 93 yards on seven catches, while Cameron Meredith had his second straight 100-yard receiving day.The defense stopped Jacksonville on third down eight out of 10 times and forced two turnovers. Yet they saw a 13-0 lead after three quarters disintegrate.I think our guys can see how close we are, coach John Fox said Monday. Yesterday was no different than the week before against Indy.The Bears lost that one in the final four minutes.I mean, we gave away a couple plays, but all in all were getting better every week and its showing out there, linebacker Danny Trevathan said.Turnovers, execution -- but its just a couple plays here and there that we have to minimize.The Bears defense is hoping to get a major asset back this week.Linebacker Pernell McPhee on Friday became eligible to be considered for activation to the 53-man roster from the physically unable to perform list.McPhee has been recovering from offseason knee surgery.If McPhee is deemed able to play against the Packers, it will be on only two practices since there was no practice held Monday.Hell do some stuff with the training staff and some of the coaching staff, and well just have to get a feel, and make a decision before Thursday, Fox said.The Bears will closely watch several other defensive injuries, including starting cornerbacks Tracy Porter (knee) and Bryce Callahan (hamstring).In addition, guard Josh Sitton was hoping to face his former team after being signed off waivers by the Bears just before the start of the regular season.But Sitton, who already had a shoulder injury, suffered an ankle injury in the fourth quarter against Jacksonville and Fox said he wouldnt have practiced Monday if a practice had been held.Quarterback Jay Cutler (thumb sprain) remains sidelined, as well, but with Hoyer having gone 189 throws without an interception, the Bears have avoided pushing their starter into returning too soon.The Bears havent started 1-6 since 2000.Fox is doing what he can to keep morale high, including citing recent NFL history.You know, a team a year ago, the Kansas City Chiefs, started 1-5 and they made the playoffs, Fox said. So all of those things are possible but if you lay down your sword, not so much.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL Charles Barkley 76ers Jersey . -- Charlie Graham stopped 67 shots as the Belleville Bulls edged the visiting Guelph Storm 6-5 on Saturday in Ontario Hockey League action. Custom Philadelphia 76ers Jerseys . -- Derrick Rose shook off poor shooting early to hit clutch shots late and Carlos Boozer had 20 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 104-95 preseason victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night. http://www.76ersprostore.info/Cheap-Clarence-Weatherspoon-76ers-Jersey/ . Its the second straight game Bell has scored in extra time for Kelowna, which beat the Brandon Wheat Kings 6-5 on Friday, and he now has four game-winning goals on the season. Maurice Cheeks Jersey . Thats about all he can do right now, so hes trying not to think about when he might be able to play again for the Los Angeles Lakers. Joel Embiid 76ers Jersey . The Cleveland Indians, Tampa Bay Rays, and Texas Rangers all won on Sunday meaning the Rangers will host the Rays in a play-in game on Monday. RIO DE JANEIRO -- The winds of change are blowing at the Rio badminton arena. Actually, those are just the gusts from the air conditioning vents: Theyre cold and theyre strong and they could pose a problem for some of the best players on the planet.After all, Olympic glory will be determined by a few feathers -- more precisely, by the flight of the 16 goose feathers stuck to the light, leather-covered round cork of the shuttle.Badminton players call these winds drifts, caused by strong air conditioning and currents that arise when hot, humid air enters from open doors and meets colder air inside an arena.Drifts can swirl in from the side, above and below. They can stop and start or blast away steadily, and do funny things to a badminton shuttle, spinning it out of a rackets path or causing a shot that should have landed in to land out.Simply turning off the air conditioning doesnt work because sweat -- on the racket, in the eyes, on the floor -- can be as big a problem as drifts.No venue is perfect, and theres no way to completely kill drifts, although players change sides during a match to try to compensate. Gripes about drift are part of badminton, even at the last Olympics in England, where the modern version of the game was developed in the 19th century.One complaint in Rio is that the multipurpose Riocentro pavilion where the badminton matches are being held wasnt built with the sport in mind. Dedicated badminton stadiums, like the ones the superstars are used to playing in, usually do a better job dealing with drifts, placing AC vents and doors in a way that minimizes air currents.Players say the drifts in Riocentro change depending on which side of the court they play on. Drifts also vary from court to court, with some saying the middlle of the pavilions three courts is worse than the side courts.ddddddddddddExperience might be the best antidote to drifts.Veteran players, especially those who play the professional tour in Asia, where heat and humidity often mean high AC in the stadiums, tend to handle drift better.They compensate for it, they get used to it, Estonian Raul Must, world No. 45, said after a loss to Jan O. Jorgensen, the world No. 5, from Denmark. The drift made it harder for me. One side, it was slow; the other side was faster. So it can be one meter shorter than what you think on the slow side, and one meter longer on the other side.Others also acknowledged the drifts in Riocentro, but noted that everyone had practiced in the venue for days before the competition started and so knew how to adjust to the bad spots.Perhaps the best strategy for drifts? Just dont think about them.I would be lying if I said it wasnt a factor. It is, but its the same everywhere, Jorgensen said. I dont want to worry about something that I cant control a single thing about.Drift is much more of a factor when top players face each other because the margins of error between the elite are so narrow, said Soren Opti, a 19-year-old from Suriname who was crushed early on by world No. 1 Lee Chong Wei, of Malaysia.The drifts in Rio were tough but by no means the worst hes seen, said Opti, ranked No. 318 internationally.During one tournament in the Dominican Republic, he said, a passing thunderstorm was so strong that rain leaked inside from the arenas roof.When I hit the shuttle, it would blow back at me, Opti said.---Follow Foster Klug at www.twitter.com/apklug ' ' '