Die Macht » Shi Tingmao at 357.55.The top 18 advanced to Saturdays

The Cincinnati Bengals host the Buffalo Bills on Sunday in what could amount to an elimination game in the AFC wild-card race.The Bills (4-5) and the Bengals (3-5-1) are currently 11th and 13th in the conference standings.With one more loss, Cincinnati wont be able to finish with 10 wins. If Buffalo loses on Sunday, it would have to run the table to finish with 10 victories.Generally, 10 gets you in (the playoffs), Bills coach Rex Ryan said. Its not all the time, but generally thats what happens.Buffalo hasnt won 10 games since 1999, and hasnt had a winning record after 10 contests since 2000. Coming out of the bye week, the Bills are searching for consistency after losing three straight following a four-game winning streak.Our focus has to be on Cincinnati and thats it, Ryan said. You cant worry about getting to 10 wins. Shoot, we have to worry about getting five wins, so I think thats where we have to look at it. We havent earned the right to think about anything further than that.At this point a year ago, the Bengals were 8-1 on their way to an AFC North championship. Cincinnatis impressive mark included a 34-21 win in Buffalo.You dont get qualifiers for that, though, Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said. You dont get to play from the green tees because of the past. We have to play back from the championship tees and move forward.Pro Bowl left tackle Andrew Whitworth doesnt believe the Bengals losing record reflects their ability to win games going forward.I could go back over the last five or six years and as good as people think we have been, there have been a lot of games that we eked out at the end. Another team made a mistake and we got a lucky break that went our way, thats NFL football, Whitworth said, according to the team website. With this team though, the character we have, we can keep our heads down and keep working and turn this thing around.The Bengals are banged up and on short rest coming off Monday nights 21-20 loss to the New York Giants.Cincinnati is playing at Paul Brown Stadium for the first time in four weeks and hasnt won a game since then, despite being outscored by just one point in the last two contests -- including a 27-27 tie with the Redskins on Oct. 30.Our margin for error right now is not very big, Lewis said.A victory could go a long way for the Bengals. They are only 1.5 games back of the Ravens in the AFC North standings, but play four of their final six games against division foes -- including two matchups with Baltimore.Theres still so much to be determined in these last seven games, quarterback Andy Dalton said. We havent lost confidence in ourselves because weve been close in these games.The Bills were hoping to get healthy during the bye week but still have holes to fill in the lineup. They could have as many as five new starters on Sunday.Most of the changes will come on defense. Buffalo signed veteran safety James Ihedigbo this week with Aaron Williams (neck) likely out for the season and backups Duke Williams (who was cut) and Robert Blanton playing poorly.Cornerback Ronald Darby was benched in favor of Corey White in a loss to Seattle last week and could lose his starting job permanently.Pro Bowl defensive tackle Marcell Dareus (groin) is still limited in practice and is questionable. Dareus primary backup, Corbin Bryant (shoulder) is out for the second straight game. Linebacker Jerry Hughes (hand/questionable) was also limited in practice this week.On offense, either Patrick Lewis or Ryan Groy will be the new starting center after Eric Wood (broken leg) was placed on injured reserve.I think the most important player on our offense is Eric Wood, Bills running back LeSean McCoy said. We put a lot of pressure on him to make the right calls and put us in the right protection and right schemes. As a whole, we have to do a better job of that and of knowing ourselves, instead of letting him tell us what to do.Seantrel Henderson could also replace Jordan Mills at right tackle.Henderson has missed the first nine games due to suspension for violating the NFLs substance-abuse policy and his recovery from Crohns disease. Anfernee Simons Blazers Jersey . According to a report from the Vancouver Province, the Lions are expected to replace former DC Rich Stubler with defensive backs coach Mark Washington. Brandon Roy Blazers Jersey . Pirlo limped out of Sundays 1-0 win over Udinese after just 13 minutes. Juventus says Pirlo underwent tests on Monday which revealed he has "a second-degree lesion to the collateral medial ligament in his right knee. http://www.blazersteamofficial.com/Terry-Porter-Blazers-Jersey/ . A lawyer for MLB, Matthew Menchel, confirmed Wednesday the league dropped its case against Biogenesis of America, its owner Anthony Bosch and several other individuals. The lawsuit had accused Biogenesis and Bosch of conspiring with players to violate their contracts by providing them with banned performance-enhancing substances. Zach Collins Jersey . That gave fans outside Joe Louis Arena another chance to ask for autographs from the 19-year-old whose stardom in the NHL has arrived earlier than most expected. Jusuf Nurkic Blazers Jersey . It might not have mattered. While the Dodgers are preparing for the playoffs, the Padres showed their future has promise behind two rookies. RIO DE JANEIRO -- Looking to bounce back from the disappointment of missing out on a synchronized diving medal, Jennifer Abel of Canada led the way in the preliminaries of womens 3-meter springboard Friday.Abel topped the favored Chinese with a five-round score of 373.00 points. He Zi was right behind at 367.05, followed by teammate and reigning world champion Shi Tingmao at 357.55.The top 18 advanced to Saturdays semifinals, where the field will be culled to 12 divers for the final.Abel had a shot at a synchro 3-meter medal, but a botched final dive left the Canadian team less than a point off the podium.Shes looking forward to challenging the mighty Chinese.I know I can do it, Abel said. Ive competed with these girls many times, and I know what Im capable of.The Chinese are hoping for a rebound of their own, having settled for bronze in the mens springboard synchronized event. That cost the diving powerhouse a chance to sweep all eight events.China has won womens 3-meter spriingboard at seven straight Olympics, one short of the eight consecutive titles won by the United States from 1920-56.ddddddddddddHe is taking Abels challenge seriously.All of the divers from other countries are improving really fast, she said. This creates healthy competition, which is a positive thing for us. It gives us the urgency to train harder.A morning practice session was called off so officials could work to clean the green-tinged water. The color appeared closer to normal during the competition but was still a bit murky.Italys Tania Cagnotto, coming off the first medal of her long career, ranked fourth at 347.30, followed by Australias Esther Qin (347.25) and Abby Johnson of the United States (333.60).---Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 . His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/paul-newberry . ' ' '