Die Macht » limited in practice this week and said hes not

The two most successful players in League of Legends history have stood together on the same stage for the past four years.Lee Faker Sang-hyeok, 20, is always in the center of the photos, the eyes of millions directed at every flick of his mousing wrist and intricate acrobatics of his fingers on the keyboard. He has been called the Michael Jordan of video games and dubbed God in his homeland of South Korea for his unparalleled ability.The second of the pair, Bae Bengi Seong-woong, is often left to one side in pictures in favor of a close-up on the aforementioned God, his teammate on SK Telecom T1. When people bring up the players whove won two world championships, his name is also a footnote, like itd be better for the narrative if there were only one name -- Fakers -- and not two. Bengi, 22, is a goofball compared to Fakers aloof coolness, always making weird faces in the player booth with the lanky mid laner at his side.Over the past four years, theyve been through everything together, from losing their first tournament, to winning the Summoners Cup as rookies in 2013, to watching their original starting five on SK Telecom T1 fall apart after they failed to return to the World Championships in 2014. Even when the conditions have been less than optimal on SKT T1, Faker and Bengi have been together: the superstar and the steadfast sidekick.Bengi: down but not outBengi knows he is not the greatest jungler in the world. Over the past two years, SK Telecom T1 have signed possible replacements for him. In 2015, after a rough previous year, the team decided to bring on a young rookie by the name of Im Tom Jae-hyeon, a specialist on the champion Udyr. It felt like it was the end of the road of for Fakers right-hand man. While the jungle talent in South Korea was getting better by the day mechanically, Bengis development had halted. He reached the peak of his individual abilities, which werent high enough to keep running next to Faker.Before anyone could write a eulogy for Bengi, however, he returned at the end of the year in full force. Tom, who appeared to be on the path to becoming the new SKT T1 jungler, was usurped by the tortoise of the jungle. Where Tom lacked in experience and jungle know-how was where Bengi stood out, being able to trace each pixel of the map to know where to attack and help his team through map vision. Beyond his comfort in the jungle, it was his chemistry, the strong partnership he and Faker had built over the years, that couldnt be instantly duplicated with a faster, more technically sound replacement.The 2015 year ended as it did in 2013: Faker and Bengi, smiling together with the Summoners Cup in their grasp, thousands of cameras flashing to take a picture of the champions. A majority were probably directed at Faker, wanting to get the perfect shot of the man who surpassed all others and was the face of the professional scene. But, truth to be told, to see the entire picture, the whole scope of who Lee Sang-hyeok truly is as a pro-gamer, you have to unzoom your camera to see Bengi beside him, where he has stood for the prodigys entire career in and outside of the game.But the duos glory days seem to be waning. Faker is not as dominant as he once was, and Bengi is benched. Although there are those who still rate Faker as the best currently in the world -- and thats fair, hes the greatest of all time and its not like hes had a bad year -- another has exceeded him in terms of team and individual accolades. Song Smeb Kyung-ho and the ROX Tigers recently got over the hump of being perennial runners-up by winning the 2016 summer split of League Champions Korea. The days of the 2015 Summoners Cup Finals, where the Tigers were the plucky, were-best-friends-and-nothing-can-stop-us underdog and T1 were the undefeated Goliath, are fading into the distance. Back then, the story didnt end well for the power of friendship, and it was the undeniable connection of Faker and Bengi in the middle lane that won the series and championship.Heading into this years world championships, though, SKT T1 is at a crossroads. Kang Blank Sun-gu, the talented amateur from solo queue who joined SKT T1 to kick off 2016 and led the team to win the Intel Extreme Masters World Championship Katowice and the Mid-Season Invitational, isnt performing well right now. His inconsistent jungle play was always fixable throughout the course of the year, but there are no more tests or chances to fine-tune. Its the world championships. You perform or your season is over. Should SKT stick with its shiny rookie or turn to Bengi again, like it has in the past?If Bengi gets to play at the worlds -- the team has used him recently in scrimmages -- this could, like its been said the last few years, be his last go-around with Faker. A last autumn for the two players with the most world championships in history. Faker, the crown jewel, and Bengi, the one who has always sworn to protect him. Its nearly impossible to beat Faker with two hands, but when Bengi is at his best, it feels like Faker is playing with a third hand that can reach all barriers of the map.The sidekicks legacyTo say Bengi adds to Fakers greatness might sound like a slight to the best player to ever download the game, but its true. No player in the world knows Fakers tendencies better than the guy who has played with him for over four years at this point, even in the amateur scene before they debuted as pros. When everyone in the world, from the fans to the players on the opposing side, think Faker is going to go left, Bengi knows hes going to the right. Every single time Bengi has been counted out and had the towel thrown in for him, he has returned when Faker has needed him the most.In a year of uncertainty when everyone from the former SK Telecom T1 left or retired, Bengi was there to be Fakers constant on the field. Anytime Faker has shown a weakness, regardless how irregular and slight, Bengi has always been there to shield him. With Bengi, when the two are playing at their best, Faker as the ace and Bengi as his confidant, God is the perfect League of Legends player.So the next time you look at a photo of Faker hoisting the Summoners Cup or raising his arm victoriously in the air, dont look solely at him. Look at the smiling friend next to him, who helped him become the best the world will ever know. Youre not looking at one legend; youre staring at two. Randy Moss Jersey . Perhaps Carroll was so prepared for a break because he believes there is very little the Seattle Seahawks need heading into the off-season. "I dont see anything that we need to add. We just have to get better," Carroll said. Patrick Willis Jersey . In the lead up - which seemed to begin the moment Mike Geiger blew the whistle in Houston last Thursday night - the Impact rumour mill went into overdrive. 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METAIRIE, La. -- When Saints defensive players gathered for meetings this week, there has been plenty of criticism to go around, defensive tackle Tyeler Davison said.Thats what happens when you give up more than 200 yards rushing and 45 points in a critical home game against a divisional rival -- and fall to 0-3.Its emotional, but when youre in there, were coaching ourselves, coach is coaching us, youve got to check your ego at the door, Davison said.Davison was among several banged-up defensive regulars who missed Monday nights game, but hopes to return this Sunday in San Diego to a unit that appears to need all the help it can get.Its mounting pressure because we havent won a game yet and we need to win one, Davison said. We still believe in ourselves. ... Its not necessarily a panic, but we know that weve got to show up this game.New Orleans is giving up 448.3 yards and 32 points per game, which ranks second to last in the NFL in both categories.After reviewing video of his defenses latest effort, Saints coach Sean Payton didnt mince words -- particularly when it came to New Orleans defensive front against the run.Were late. Were behind blocks. Consequently were on the ground more. Were reaching more. Alignments were poor, Payton said. In general, we didnt play well at all at linebacker and I would say in the front it was very average at best. Its one of those tapes that you want to make sure there are not a ton of copies of, because it isnt real pretty.The secondary had only one regular starter on the field: veteran safety Jairus Byrd, but he struggled. He got caught leaning the wrong way on a couple of running plays that turned into significant gains. He arrived in New Orleans as a high-profile free-agent acquisition three seasons ago, having made a slew of interceptions and several Pro Bowl appearances for Buffalo. He has one interception with the Saints -- and that was last season.With the pressure rising, lineup changes could be in order. Byrds backup has been Vonn Bell, a second-round draft pick last spring.Starting strong safety Kenny Vaccaro, who also expects to play Sunday after sitting out Monday nights loss with ankle soreness, said its apparent coaches want to make sure the best 11 guys are out there.If you have to sit guyys, if you have to rotate guys, whatever that takes, its all about getting the win, Vaccaro said.ddddddddddddIt doesnt matter how much you make. It doesnt matter how many years youve been in the league.Byrd said he has been disappointed by his dip in big plays since his days with the Bills and knows he needs to find a way to make more for a unit that he described as unraveling in its latest performance.You can point to one thing here and there. They all equal losses, Byrd said. Its bigger than just me.The Saints defense has been beset by injuries. First-round draft choice Sheldon Rankins was expected to be a starter at tackle, but wont likely make his debut until midseason because of his broken leg suffered during preseason. Davisons absence on Monday left New Orleans with only three healthy defensive tackles against Atlanta.Thats not very much as far as a rotation goes, Davison said. People dont realize how much of a stamina sport football is, especially at (defensive) line.Dannell Ellerbe, arguably New Orleans top play-making linebacker, has not played yet this season because of a quad injury. He has been limited in practice this week and said hes not sure hell return this weekend. Now middle linebacker James Laurinaitis also is on the injury report with a quad injury, and his participation in Thursdays practice was limited. If hes not at full strength, Craig Robertson, who had been filling in for Ellerbe, could wind up starting at middle linebacker instead.While injuries havent helped, Vaccaro said, the Saints defense has to address problems that have less to do with talent than effort.Everybody needs to take ownership for their mistakes and what theyve done in these past couple games. We need to get better now. I dont care if youre old. I dont care if we dont have any depth, Vaccaro said. If you dont have (talent), you need to make up for it with hard work.Playing hard will erase a lot of mistakes, Vaccaro added. Ive wiped out a lot of plays by running to the ball and it had nothing to do with talent (or) scheme.---Online:AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: https://twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '