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NASHVILLE, Tenn. Ondrej Palat Lightning Jersey . -- Tennessee left tackle Taylor Lewan has made no secret of his desire to be considered the NFLs best at his position, the kind of reputation built by playing well against the top pass rushers.Not only has Jack Conklin been one of the leagues most impressive rookies, hes already considered one of the leagues top right tackles.Lewan and Conklin, along with the rest of the Titans, have allowed just 18 sacks, fifth fewest in the NFL, after allowing Tennessee quarterbacks to be sacked a league-worst 54 times in 2015.Their protection of Marcus Mariota will be tested heavily Sunday when Von Miller and his NFL-high 13 + sacks and the defending Super Bowl champion Denver Broncos (8-4) visit looking to pad their league-leading 36 sack total.Theyre unbelievable pass rushers, and theyre great football players, not just pass rushers, Lewan said Wednesday. Having this opportunity is huge, and its awesome. I cant wait.Mariota missed four games as a rookie after being hurt in the pocket. Through the 12 games he played in 2015, he was sacked 38 times. This season only Oakland (12) and the Giants, Pittsburgh and Washington (all tied with 16) have allowed fewer sacks than Tennessee. The Titans also rank seventh allowing a sack per pass attempt on 4.7 percent of passes.The quarterback has noticed how much less he finds himself scrambling away from pass rushers.Those five guys up front have done an incredible job, Mariota said. As we go forward, we can always improve in certain areas. I can always get the ball out quicker, throw the ball away, but those guys up front have done a great job and have made my life a whole lot easier.Improving the offensive line had been at the top of Tennessees to-do list in recent years, and first-year general manager Jon Robinson made the key moves to set up this unit.Robinson signed veteran center Ben Jones away from Houston to anchor the middle, then traded back up to No. 8 overall to take Conklin out of Michigan State. Conklin has started every game at right tackle, helping bookend the line opposite Lewan.He doesnt look like a rookie, Miller said on a conference call. He doesnt look like a rookie for sure -- very athletic. He has all the abilities to be an elite tackle in the National Football League.The Titans have protected Mariota so well that theyve now kept him from being sacked at all in four of their last eight games. That has coincided with Mariota throwing at least two touchdown passes in each of those games, with Tennessee going 5-3 in that span.Broncos coach Gary Kubiak is very familiar with Jones, having coached the lineman in Houston. Kubiak also credits Mariotas improved play with helping the Titans quarterback avoid some sacks.Obviously, as coaches, you try to protect your quarterback as best you can, Kubiak said. At the same time, as quarterbacks play more and more, they can protect themselves, too. I think all those things go hand-in-hand, but you see how much more comfortable he is and, obviously, theyre very good up front.Conklin watched Miller earn MVP honors at Super Bowl 50 in February and now is preparing to face the linebacker who has posted double-digit sack totals in five of his first six seasons. Yes, Conklin says that feels a little weird. The rookie insists hes over being star struck this deep into the season.What we focus on is everyones just another player, Conklin said. If we stop focusing as much of who they are and just what we have to do on each play, it takes a little bit away from it.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL.---Follow Teresa M. Walker at www.twitter.com/teresamwalker Nikita Kucherov Lightning Jersey . Argentina winger Ezequiel Lavezzi and France midfielder Blaise Matuidi scored, with star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic setting up both despite having a poor game by his high standards. Forward Eduardo gave Ajaccio the lead in the sixth minute after being set up by right winger Benjamin Andre, and the Corsican side looked comfortable in the first half, with the lively Johan Cavalli causing problems with his probing runs from midfield. Custom Tampa Bay Lightning Jerseys .com) - The red-hot Los Angeles Kings will try to extend their winning streak to a season-high seven games when they visit the Edmonton Oilers for Sundays clash at Rexall Place. http://www.lightninghockeystore.us/Nikita-Kucherov-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. USA Swimming and the United States Olympic Committee announced Thursday that 12-time Olympic medalist Ryan Lochte will be suspended 10 months, making him ineligible to compete in the 2017 world championship, as part of his punishment for the gas station incident that overshadowed the second week of the Rio Olympics.Lochte will also not receive the $25,000 bonus the USOC awards to Olympic gold medalists (Lochte was part of the 4x200 relay that won gold in Rio) and will not be eligible for his monthly USA Swimming stipend of $3,250 during the suspension. He could lose as much as $100,000 because?USA Swimming has awarded a $75,000 gold-medal bonus at past Olympics.Contacted by ESPN, USA Swimming said the organization does not disclose the bonuses paid for gold medals.The other individuals involved in the incident, Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger and Jimmy Feigen, have been suspended four months and will also not be eligible for athlete funding during their suspensions. Lochte, 32, will also be required to complete 20 hours of community service. Bentz, 20, will be required to complete 10 hours because he was out of the Olympic Village after the curfew that had been established for swimmers under the age of 21.Lochtes lawyer, Jeff Ostrow, made a statement to USA Today Sports regarding the penalties.We accept the decision and believe it is in everyones best interest to move forward, he said. Ryan is grateful to be a member of the U.S. Olympic Team and USA Swimming. He recognizes his lapse in judgment, and is looking forward to continuing his training, volunteer work with kids, and resuming his swimming career next year with an eye toward representing his country at the 2020 Olympic games in Japan.That said, in my opinion, while the collective sanctions appear to be harsh when considering what actually happened that day -- Ryan did not commit a crime, he did not put the public safety at risk, and he did not cheat in his sport -- we will leave it to others to evaluate the appropriateness of the penalties.Lochte said after competing in Rio that he plans to swim at least through the 2020 Tokyo Games. The suspension means his next potential major international meet would be the 2018 Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo. His next world championship would come a year later in South Korea, when he would be 35 years old. Lochte struggled to swim to his potential in 2016. Plagued by a groin injury at Olympic trials, he made the U.S. team in only one individual event, the 200 individual medley. He finished fifth.His 10-month suspension is longer than the six months Michael Phelps was sidelined after his drunk driving arrest in November of 2014. That punishment also prevented Phelps from competing on the 2015 worlds team, a decision that prompted a handful of frustrated U.S. swimmers to approach USA Swimming about reinstating Phelps, but that did not happen. U.S. Olympic sources said Thursday there was much internal debate about the length of Lochtes suspension, with some suggesting 10 months was too short and others insisting just the opposite. USA Swimming and the USOC worked jointly on the decision.Each of the athletes involved signed an agreement that outlined the sanctions. In an interview that appeared Tuesday in the Austin American-Statesman, Conger, a junior at the University of Texas, voiced his displeasure with the ultimate decision, insisting all he did wrong was urinate publicly at the gas station while he was excessively intoxicated.I was pretty upset. I do not agree in any way with these sanctioons, Conger told the newspaper. Martin St. Louis Lightning Jersey. . But I thought it was best for myself, my country, my friends and my family especially just to put an end to this, regardless of whether I thought the consequences were fair or not.The suspensions will have no bearing on the collegiate eligibility of Conger or Bentz, who swims at the University of Georgia.Lochte, the second-most-decorated male swimmer in history after Phelps, sparked international headlines when he said individuals with a police badge pulled over a taxi carrying him and the other U.S. swimmers and cocked a gun to his head demanding money early on the morning of Aug. 14. Brazilian police later said the swimmers had vandalized the station and were confronted by armed security guards when they tried to leave.The back-and-forth drama of what really happened became a major storyline of the Rio Games, overshadowing the Americans dominance in the pool, where they won 33 medals, the most since 1984 and in all arenas, where the U.S. won 121 total medals. No other country won more than 70.The story was particularly troubling to Brazilians, who felt that it cast a negative light on Rio and the Olympics at a time when the country was eager to prove it could host the Games without incident. In the closing days, many American athletes were booed during their competitions.While Lochte returned to the United States the Monday after the incident, Bentz, Conger and Feigen were left in Rio to handle the fallout. Bentz and Conger were pulled off a U.S.-bound plane and questioned about the incident. Feigen had to pay $11,000 to avoid charges before his passport was returned and he could depart Brazil.Lochte later apologized for his immature behavior to NBC Nightly News and admitted that he overexaggerated the story about what happened at the gas station that night. The other swimmers have since shared their version of the events that night with stories that differ from Lochtes original account.As we have said previously, the behavior of these athletes was not acceptable. It unfairly maligned our hosts and diverted attention away from the historic achievements of Team USA, USOC CEO Scott Blackmun said in the statement announcing the penalties. Each of the athletes has accepted responsibility for his actions and accepted the appropriate sanctions. We look forward to focusing our energy on the Paralympic Games and the incredible men and women representing our country in Rio.As part of their punishments, Lochte, Bentz, Conger and Feigen will not be included in the U.S. Olympic delegation that will visit the White House later this month. They will not have access to U.S. Olympic training centers during their suspensions and will not be invited to USA Swimmings year-end Golden Goggles celebration in New York in November.In August the Rio police officer in charge of the investigation recommended that prosecutors present charges against Lochte for filing a police report. His lawyers have insisted he did not provide false information to police.Since the Rio Games, Lochte has lost four endorsement deals; Speedo, Gentle Hair Removal and Airweave terminated their deals with the swimmer, while Ralph Lauren said it wouldnt renew Lochtes deal that ran through this summer. He has since signed a new endorsement deal with Pine Brothers throat drops. He is preparing to appear on Dancing With the Stars, which premieres on Monday night. ' ' '