Termine » n the balance?Still, it is played. It is played

The Cincinnati Bengals will be without two of their top playmakers on Sunday against the AFC North-leading Baltimore Ravens, who are looking to snap a five-game losing streak in this divisional series.Receiver A.J. Green (hamstring) and running back Giovani Bernard (knee) were injured in last Sundays 16-12 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Despite those injuries, Ravens head coach John Harbaugh expects another hard-fought game against a rival he has not beaten since Nov. 10, 2013.We respect the Bengals, obviously, Harbaugh said. We have not beat them for a while. It is a big game for us. It is a big challenge for us. They have always been tough for us as long as I have been here. Im sure (they were tough) before that as well. It is a rivalry game, a division game.Baltimore (5-5) has struggled to contain Green throughout his career. In eight games against the Ravens, Green has caught 41 passes for 726 yards with six touchdowns. Cincinnati has won five of those eight contests.The Ravens have a revamped defense that is second in the NFL, allowing 295.1 yards per game.Baltimore could get another boost with the return of linebacker Elvis Dumervil, who has not played since Oct. 9 against the Redskins because of a foot injury.While the Ravens are looking to tighten their grip on first place in the division, Cincinnati (3-6-1) is simply trying to salvage its season. After managing a 27-27 tie against the Washington Redskins in London on Oct. 30, the Bengals lost their next two games by a combined five points.We havent won close games, Cincinnati head coach Marvin Lewis said. Weve had opportunities in the fourth quarter of football games. Weve had leads. Weve had opportunities, and we havent closed the games out.With Green out of the lineup. Baltimore can turn its focus to shutting down Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert, who missed the first six games of the season with an ankle injury. Rookie wide receiver Tyler Boyd also will likely get more targets.The onus will be on Cincinnati quarterback Andy Dalton to get them the ball while facing an aggressive Ravens defense that has 23 sacks and 11 interceptions through 10 games.I feel like it is your typical Baltimore defense, Dalton said. They are big up front, they do a really good job against the run, and they get you in third-and-long situations, so they are good on third down. That is the style, and that is the way I know Baltimore has been for a long time.The Ravens and Bengals have a similar offense. Both teams are able to move the ball, but struggle finding the end zone. Baltimore and Cincinnati are each averaging 19.9 points per game, tied for 25th in the league.The Bengals, however, are just 1-4 on the road this season.We have a lot of football ahead, and we have a big football game for us come Sunday in Baltimore, Lewis said.One of the keys for Baltimore will be establishing an effective running game to wear down the Bengals. Terrance West and rookie Kenneth Dixon have gotten better as the season progressed. However, penalties and late-game deficits has limited their opportunities.Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco, who has also played better over the past three weeks, will also look to take some shots downfield to prevent Cincinnati from crowding the box.We are trying to get everybody involved as much as we can, Flacco said. When you are short on numbers, you obviously cant do as much as you would like to. I do not know if that has had a direct impact on it, but it may have affected it a little bit.Harbaugh is 7-9 all-time against the Bengals. The Ravens have not won an AFC North title since 2012. Cincinnati has won two of the past three division crowns. The importance of this game is not lost on Harbaugh or his players.We want to start fast, but mainly, we just want to play good football -- complementary football, winning football, in all three phases and playing together, Ravens safety Eric Weddle said. If we can do that, well have a good shot. Nike Air Pegasus Mens Sale . -- Former San Diego Chargers safety Paul Oliver was found dead at his Atlanta-area home Tuesday night, and a medical examiner said Wednesday that the ex-player committed suicide. Nike Air Pegasus 31 Sale . It might not have mattered. While the Dodgers are preparing for the playoffs, the Padres showed their future has promise behind two rookies. http://www.airzoompegasussale.com/ . The Oilers come in having lost five in a row (0-4-1) and 16 of their last 20 games, dropping a 2-1 decision to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. Nike Air Pegasus Buy Online . -- The Bishops Gaiters are showing they belong among the countrys top varsity football teams. Nike Air Pegasus 33 Mens . The return match will take place next Wednesday. Udinese leads Fiorentina 2-1 in the other semifinal. Napoli staged a second-half comeback from two goals down after Gervinhos opener and a stunning strike from Kevin Strootman. When you go to a sporting event, what do you think about when the national anthem is played? Do you feel patriotic? Do you feel thankful? Do you think of those serving in the military? Do you think of the War of 1812 and the bombing of Fort McHenry, which inspired Francis Scott Key to pen his lyrics?Do you even know where Fort McHenry was located? Did you even know Francis Scott Key is the author of the Star-Spangled Banner? Do you know who we fought in the War of 1812? Did you know the actual music to the song was adapted from a British song? Does any of this matter?Until a few weeks ago, when San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick kneeled before the anthem at a football game to protest racial injustice in this country, none of that did matter much. We stood, we took off our hats, we contemplated what to order at the concession stand or why Terry Collins would take out Addison Reed for Josh Smoker.That all changed. Suddenly, the anthem means ... something. It has become another way to further divide this country, symbolic, in some fashion, of this entire political season. There seems to be little room for discussion or nuance: Youre either with Kaepernick and others who have followed his lead across different sports, or youre against.Against this background, there was a silly little stunt on Wednesday afternoon following the anthem at the Cardinals-Rockies game in Denver. Cardinals outfielder Jose Martinez and Rockies reliever Carlos Estevez had a post-anthem standoff. To what means and point? I have no idea, though I seem to remember this happening earlier this season in another game. As their teammates dispersed to get ready for the game, Martinez and Estevez remained in front of their dugouts, standing like the Queens Guard in front of Buckingham Palace. At one point, Estevez donned a catchers mask, I guess in case the game started.The delay lasted long enough that the umpires had to tell the managers to get their players off the field.Look, Im sure the two rookies thought they were just having fun. Maybe Martinez, from Venezuela, and Estevez, from the Dominican Republic, were feeling especially appreciative on this night to play major league baseball.Even if that were the case, this is not the time for such behavior. Kaepernick says he has received death threats as a result of his protest. Charlotte was burning. Seattle Seahawks star Richard Sherman had spoken earlier in the day about how players are being misunderstood. I think you have players that are trying to take a stand and trying to be aware of social issues and tryy to make a stand and increase peoples awareness and put a spotlight on it, and theyre being ignored, he said.dddddddddddd Whether theyre taking a knee or whether theyre locking arms, theyre trying to bring people together and unite them for a cause.In the middle of all this, of an issue of vital importance, we get this ridiculousness at a baseball game.I dont mean to sound so harsh. Im sure Martinez and Estevez had good intentions. But that gets to the bigger picture: Maybe its time to stop playing the anthem before sporting events. What impact does the song actually serve if its as ubiquitous as James Taylor playing in the background while youre getting your teeth cleaned? As Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Bob Ford wrote in late August:But it could also be suggested that the national anthem should be bigger than football, too, at least bigger than an August exhibition game of no particular meaning. What exactly about that trivial event is worthy of being introduced by the playing of a song that commemorates a moment in which the nations independence was in the balance?Still, it is played. It is played before nearly every game, in nearly every sport, at nearly every level where there is a public address system. Why is that? Habit is the best answer. That and the unspoken belief that the two minutes it takes to perform the anthem is less trouble than dealing with the blowback were the anthem not played to consecrate each game, no matter how insignificant.Theres a bit of an uneasy relationship sports has developed here, with the anthem, with God Bless America during the seventh-inning stretch, and, related, with the military. Im all for honoring our servicemen and women, but many of the tributes or presentations weve seen (such as the National Guard unfurling a big flag before a game) were actually paid for by the military itself. Which means paid for by U.S. taxpayers. The Department of Defense paid pro sports teams $53 million in marketing contracts between 2012 and 2015. (After Arizona Republicans John McCain and Jeff Flake prepared a report on this, the DOD reportedly banned the practice and the NFL called for teams to stop taking payments.)So maybe a sporting event should simply be a sporting event. If we want displays of patriotism, we should be volunteering in our communities, helping our neighbors and trying to understand the plights of those different from ourselves. Then we can all be proud to stand. 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