Join us » Thibodeau could be heard screaming himself hoar

ENGLEWOOD, Colo. -- John Elway summoned Von Miller to his office on the eve of training camp with three blank boxes left on his offseason to-do list:1. Patch up the pairs relationship frayed by their financial fracas .I wanted to make sure we were on the same page, Denvers general manager said.2. Warn him about higher hopes that accompany mega-deals like his , a $114.5 million contract that includes $70 million guaranteed, a record for a nonquarterback.All of a sudden standards and expectations are going to go way up, Elway said.3. Admonish Miller to treat quarterbacks in the regular season just like he did in the playoffs .The first five years hes done a tremendous job, Elway said, but I really believe that hes just touched the surface and has a chance to get even better.Check, check, check.Miller has an NFL-best four sacks through two weeks, including a sack-strip of Andrew Luck that sealed Denvers 34-20 win over the Colts that was reminiscent of his mammoth hits in the Super Bowl when he snatched both the football and the Lombardi Trophy from Cam Newtons grasp.He also dumped Newton in this years opener, giving right tackle Mike Remmers a painful reminder of that night when Millers two forced fumbles led to 15 points in Denvers 24-10 Super Bowl win.Right now he has to be at the top, said coach Marvin Lewis, whose Bengals (1-1) host the Broncos (2-0) on Sunday. I think hes playing exceptional again. ... Theres not many like him around.Miller was named the AFCs Defensive Player of the Week for his monster game against Indianapolis, when he collected seven tackles and three quarterback hits to go with his trio of sacks and a forced fumble.Miller said its a matter of focusing on his craft after an offseason in which he made 48 television appearances, including Dancing with the Stars, and logged enough air miles to circle the globe almost three times during his contract stalemate.Miller said Thursday that all the hours he spent learning dance moves from his partner, Whitney Carson, helped him get off to his great start this football season.I definitely think some of the practice I had with Whitney is paying off. Ive never put six hours into one thing every single day, Miller said. Not even football. We practice for two hours. Six hours every single day, it made me consistent. It made me have to come to work every single day and be consistent and work on something that I wasnt really good at.So, hes applied that same work ethic to something hes great at -- football.Ive already had agility and flexibility, but I just think the consistent part, Miller said. Im not tackling guys on the dance floor, but the work that you put in to be a great dancer has a direct correlation to the work you have to put in to be a great football player.Although hes still on TV aplenty as the NFLs latest premier pitchman , the only dancing moves hes flashing are the celebration shimmies and shuffles after his sacks.I just made the windows smaller. I just made my views smaller, Miller said. I dont really spend too much time focusing on anything other than my teammates and my scheme. I spend a lot of time with my teammates. I spend a lot of time with Aqib Talib, T.J. Ward. Its like college here for me. I watch film all day, getting extra workouts in, and its all football now. Its not really anything outside of that.Quarterbacks are paying the price.You have to know where hes at because he is a guy who can really change the course of the game with how good he is, Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton said.In his last four games, counting the playoffs, Miller has 21 tackles, including four behind the line of scrimmage, nine sacks, 10 quarterback hits (which dont include his sacks), three forced fumbles, an interception and two pass breakups.And this has come against Tom Brady, Newton twice and Luck.Its very amazing just to see the moves he makes at the line, teammate Bradley Roby said. Its very exciting. I know its intimidating for the other offense to watch because its just like, `How do you stop that?---AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow AP Pro Football Writer Arnie Melendrez Stapleton on Twitter: http://twitter.com/arniestapleton Air Max 200 Dam .com) - Yankee Stadium is the home of the Bronx Bombers, but on Sunday afternoon it will open its gates to host the latest addition of the Hudson River Rivalry. Nike Air Max Billigt . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. http://www.reaairmaxsverige.com/air-max-97-rabatt.html . -- Team after team passed on Andre Ellington in the draft. Nike Air Max 97 Dam Sverige . On Tuesday, Ottawa placed forward Cory Conacher and defenceman Joe Corvo on waivers as trade rumours swirl around the Senators. Beställa Nike Air Max . Ancelotti says Ronaldo has recovered from a hamstring injury but "but he doesnt feel comfortable yet so we wont risk him." Madrid is third in the Spanish league, six points behind leader Barcelona, going into Saturdays game against Valladolid. RIO DE JANEIRO -- The hardest grader in the NBA when it comes to scoring defensive competency was asked, on a scale of 1-to-10, to rate Team USAs smothering of poor China in the teams Rio Olympics opener.Tom Thibodeau predictably played some dancing D of his own and half-answered the question without revealing anything from his report card.Every night you want the bar set high, Thibodeau said. So theres a lot of things we did well, but Im sure there are things that we could do a little bit better. And thats what we want to keep our focus on.When a helpful reporter followed up by suggesting that the Americans had to have registered at least an 8 and a half with the way they tormented China in a 119-62 rout, Thibodeau shot back: I wish I had a professor in school like you.Then the new coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves burst into laughter, realizing that not even he could be this gruff about the resistance witnessed Saturday night at the Carioca Arena 1, where Team USA used its USA used its copious amounts of length, athleticism and appetite for the smear to inflict its biggest of three routs of the young and helpless Chinese in a span of two weeks.It was good, Thibodeau said as he strode off, smiling as broadly as youll ever see him smile after a basketball game.It was, of course, more than good. It was also just the latest illustration of the pride these 12 Yanks, who have been together for a whopping 21 days, take in keeping the ball out of their own basket, which is a refreshing and distinctive approach for a program more commonly expected to put on a show at the other end..The storied collection of groundbreaking superstars who would ultimately become synonymous with the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 remain the one and only Dream Team. The group of avengers in 2008 that won back the gold for the chagrined United States, after a string of the most humbling defeats imaginable, will forever be remembered as the Redeem Team.The gold-medal-winning squad that conquered London in 2012 didnt really have a nickname -- There was no moniker; we just went out and defended our title, USA Basketball chairman Jerry Colangelo conceded the other day -- but the 2016ers are certainly establishing a reputation.Even if it doesnt exactly inspire anything catchy.Its an All-Star team that, without an obvious T-shirt slogan, legitimately would have you believe that defense is actually, um, fun.Yes! Torontos DeMar DeRozan exclaimed.Said center DeMarcus Cousins. Thats our identity. Thats something thats preached on the daily. Thats something weve accepted as a team.Its getting harder and harder to dismiss the sincerity of such sentiments when you see Team USA, no matter whos on the floor, playing as aggressively as possible, whether by extendding the defense farther than any mortal national team can, or by regularly snuffing out the other teams spirit on those rare occasions when it does get to the rim.ddddddddddddThe cynic could justifiably say that the Americans are getting too much praise when they really havent played anyone this summer beyond a solitary exhibition against aging Argentina in Las Vegas, but the suspicion here strongly continues to be that it wont matter even when the foes get tougher.Their defense is so good, says international hoops veteran John Cox, star of the Venezuelan team that next must face the suffocation head-on Monday night in the teams second Group A date.They can switch at every position, Cox said. Theres not really another team in the Olympics who can do that. Even their bigs can move their feet with our guards. That is why they are special.With a 29-point halftime lead, Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski trotted out an all-new starting lineup just to see what sort of havoc a fresh fivesomes feet could wreak. Out went Kyrie Irving, Klay Thompson, Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Durant and Cousins; in went Kyle Lowry, DeRozan, Jimmy Butler, Paul George and DeAndre Jordan.When they came in, it looked like there were seven guys on the court, Krzyzewski said. Their lateral quickness is so good.I like the fact, Coach K continued, that we dont play the score. We just play the play.One reason for that, perhaps, is that Thibodeau, in his role as Krzyzewskis defensive coordinator, never stops barking instructions from the bench. Even when Team USA was tossing out a 30-10 gem in the first quarter that seriously made an 80-point victory feel within reach against the lonely Yi Jianlian & Co., Thibodeau could be heard screaming himself hoarse all the way up in the new buildings top deck, where the worlds media was seated.Another factor, according to DeRozan: Were kind of challenging ourselves to play this hard.You go all out, DeRozan added, [because] you know youre not going to play a large amount of minutes to where you get fatigued.With the bonus of 31 assists on 38 made baskets -- plus France looking like zero threat to join Spain in holding at least a sliver of hope for playing the United States close after it was blasted in its opener by Australia -- Day 1 of the 2016 Games was pretty high-grade stuff.The competition will eventually get tougher, realistically as soon as Wednesday when the gritty Aussies take their swing, but havent you already achieved something if you can make Thibs borderline gush?Its the willingness to play for each other, on both sides of the ball, that makes this so special, Thibodeau said. ' ' '