Die Macht » Shes a really, really nice filly and shou

BALTIMORE -- The Baltimore Ravens understand just how embarrassing it would be to lose to the winless Cleveland Browns in prime time.They would rather focus on the benefits of a victory, which would thrust Baltimore into sole possession of first place in the AFC North, a half-game ahead of the Steelers.Facing the Browns (0-9) on Thursday night, the Ravens (4-4) have an opportunity to sustain the momentum derived from a win over Pittsburgh that ended a four-game losing streak.I think the fact that (the Browns) havent won yet does add to the challenge for us, because theyre going to be coming in here very determined to win a football game, Baltimore coach John Harbaugh said. Their issues arent our issues. Our issue right now is to build on where were at.Still, the Ravens know a loss to Cleveland would be a severe blow to their reputation.When youre a team thats in front of the division -- and with how the outside world looks at it -- if the Ravens lose this game, it just looks bad, quarterback Joe Flacco said. It looks bad because we lost to a team that doesnt have any wins. Thats the reality of it. It just doesnt look good.Heres something that really doesnt look good: nine straight defeats to open a season. That matches the worst start in Browns history, a dubious mark set by the 1975 squad that finished 3-11.Cleveland has been outscored by 105 points, ranks 31st in total defense and has already sorted through a half-dozen quarterbacks.It gets tougher every week that you dont get a win, veteran tackle Joe Thomas said Obviously, as those loss totals stack up, it is more difficult to be positive.The skid would have never gotten this far if the Browns would have capitalized on a 20-0 lead at home against Baltimore in Week 2. The Ravens rallied for a 25-20 win and now own a 26-9 advantage in this lopsided rivalry.We know how to start games; we have not been able to finish them yet, first-year coach Hue Jackson said. Our motivation is we need a win. We are a 0-9 football team, and we want to get on the other side of the ledger.Some things to know about this AFC North matchup:LET `ER RIP, CODY: Browns quarterback Cody Kessler has shown improvement, but hes 0-6 as a starter. He has excellent accuracy on short throws, but isnt stretching the field with long passes.Jackson wants him to be more of a playmaker.Codys done a good job of distributing the ball and hes done a good job of putting the ball in the right places for the most part. But he knows now that in the NFL you have to take a few more chances to score points because the defenses are too good, the coach said.READY OR NOT: The challenge of playing a game with three days preparation is rarely easy, and this is no exception.You can never get used to it, especially when you play your division rival on Sunday and then have to come back and play another game Thursday, Ravens linebacker Terrell Suggs said.The good news is, theres an extended break before the next game.Its nice once a year, Flacco said, because at the end of the day, if you go out there and do your job you get another little bye week to give your body a rest.CANT STOP NOW: Although the Ravens ended their longest losing streak under Harbaugh by beating Pittsburgh, a defeat will make them just another sub-.500 team.We sit at the top of the division, but one loss and you are out, safety Eric Weddle said. This is a division game, a rival. They were up 20-0 on us and easily could have beat us, so we can look at many factors to remind ourselves that we cant take anything for granted.Said Suggs: You dont want to take any steps backward, especially in the AFC.CENTER OF ATTENTION: Cam Ervings second NFL season has been nearly as rough as his first.The starting center sustained a bruised lung in Week 2 and was ejected on Clevelands opening drive in a 35-10 loss to Dallas last week. Erving got into a tussle with Cowboys defensive end David Irving, who punched him before getting his helmet ripped off.Erving, who struggled at guard last season, hopes to rebound against the Ravens.We teased him. He has fresher legs than anybody, Jackson joked. You cant be throwing helmets. He is looking forward to playing.PURPLE HAZE: The Ravens will have purple jerseys and purple pants, their version of the NFLs color rush.And that, Suggs noted, is one plus to playing on Thursday night.We get to wear the nice flashy uniforms, he said with a smile.---AP Sports Writer Tom Withers in Cleveland contributed.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFLDavid Hale Jersey . -- Arizona knocked off some quality opponents, rolled over a few overmatched ones and grinded out victories even when things didnt go so well. James Paxton Yankees Jersey . In Europe, top teams seem to be largely happy with their squads after spending nearly $1 billion in the off-season. And although English league clubs are unlikely to splash cash in January, Arsenal and Chelsea could be tempted to strengthen their squads with new strikers. https://www.cheapyankees.com/581g-bill-dickey-jersey-yankees.html . No. 13-seeded John Isner and No. 21 Philipp Kohlschreiber were among six players who dropped out of the tournament on Tuesday, joining No. 12 seed Tommy Haas and two other players who withdrew on Monday. Jackie Robinson Yankees Jersey . Aaron Harrison scored a 22 points for Kentucky (6-1), which has won four in a row following a Nov. 12 loss to current No. 1 Michigan State. Julius Randle overcame a scoreless first half and added his sixth double-double in as many games with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Cheap Yankees Jerseys . -- Mike Smith never saw his first NHL goal go in.ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. -- For more than a decade, owner Martin Schwartz has been buying French fillies to win Grade 1 turf races in America. The bloodstock agent Michel Zerolo finds them, Schwartz buys them, and the fillies cross the Atlantic to try to adapt and improve in a whole new racing system. Its no sure thing, this transition. How does it work so often for Schwartz?I have the right trainer, he said.That trainer is Chad Brown, and for the fourth time, Schwartz had the right horse for the Grade 1, $700,000 Beverly D., which he won Saturday with Sea Calisi. The victory was an emotional one for Schwartz. As Sea Calisi neared the winners circle, he pumped his fist in the air and yelled, Yeah! Thats four!Brown trails Schwartz by one in Beverly D. victories but has won the race two years in a row, taking the 2015 edition with Watsdachances. Brown and Schwartz teamed for the first time in the race with Stacelita in 2011, and Schwartz won his first two, with Gorella and Angara, before he had horses with Brown.Aboard Sea Calisi was Florent Geroux, who won the Beverly D. for the first time but seemed to win almost all the races on the Saturday card here. He won five in all, four graded stakes, two of them Grade 1s.I had a good trip, Geroux said. The pacemaker really helped her today. I was able to get over and save ground before the first turn, which was very important.Schwartz and Brown were leaving no stone unturned in the Beverly D. Sea Calisi looked like a Grade 1 horse, but she had never won such a race before Saturday, and in the Grade 2 New York last time, shed raced in a thicket of horseflesh through the homestretch and wound up a tough-luck second.That race was at 1-1/4 miles, and the Beverly D. is at 1-3/16, and Sea Calisi probably is more naturally a 1-1/2-mile horse, and so her connections entered a pacemaker, Elusive Million, who, after a slow start, was urged to the lead by jockey Julio Felix and carved out a fast pace for the distance, 23.71 and 47.68 seconds. That served to spread the field and gave Sea Calisi both more room to operate and a better pace dynamic for her stretch kick.We thought because it was a touch short for her, she needed an honest pace, and the plan came together, said Brown.Eleventh in the early and middle stages, Sea Calisi raced in the clear and near the fence at the half-mile pole before Geroux guided hher outside on the far turn.dddddddddddd He sat on the best horse in the race, had gotten the right setup, and only needed to decide when to pull the trigger. That moment came at the top of the stretch, where Sea Calisi surged mightily, passing most of the field before the stretch call, then moving to the lead in the final furlong.Als Gal, a 20-1 shot, put in a strong bid on the far outside, gaining on the winner over the final furlong before falling a half-length short.We just needed a few more feet, I guess, said trainer Mike Maker.Zipessa, who pressed the quick pace set by the rabbit and took the lead before the far turn, held on very well for third, 1-1/4 lengths behind Als Gal.Having the rabbit in there couldnt have helped, but she ran really well today, said trainer Mike Stidham.Tuttipaesi finished fourth, and Faufiler was fifth, while the two Aidan OBrien-trained 3-year-olds made no impression, with second choice Coolmore 10th and third choice Ballydoyle 12th.Sea Calisi, who was 2-5 early in the betting, paid $4.20 as the heavy favorite and was timed in 1:54.93 for 1-3/16 miles over firm turf.Florent kept her out of trouble and did what he was supposed to do, and she did what she was supposed to do, said Brown. Shes a really, really nice filly and should be undefeated over here stateside with some trouble last time.The 4-year-old Sea Calisi is by the Irish horse Youmzain and out of a German family, her dam a daughter of the stallion Surumu. She had a good overseas record, winning twice in seven starts, and was a Group 2 winner with a third-place finish in the Group 1 Yorkshire Oaks. Sea Calisi won the Sheepshead Bay in her U.S. debut before her tough loss in the New York. Brown said she was likely to make her next start in the Grade 1 Flower Bowl at Belmont.Schwartz had been stewing on the tough New York beat for weeks now, and he felt the pressure of starting a heavy favorite Saturday.Its very difficult to see your horse at a price like that, to be odds-on from the 13 hole, he said. You worry about traffic problems, and youre in the parking lot to start. Its just so much relief, I cant begin to tell you.Its surprising Schwartz had any concern at all. Things always seem to break his way in the Beverly D. ' ' '