ERST LESEN! » he liked from Simmons debut, Lange rattled off: Passin

LANDOVER, Md. -- As if things were not already bad enough for the Minnesota Vikings, what with a four-game losing streak and a depleted offensive line, there sat Jake Long in front of a locker, head bowed, a pair of crutches by his side.Backup Jeremiah Sirles, seated to Longs left, reached out and put a hand on his teammates shoulder, trying to comfort him.Long -- signed last month after the Vikings put two tackles on injured reserve -- was carted off the field after hurting his Achilles tendon on Minnesotas final drive of a 26-20 loss to the Washington Redskins on Sunday, dropping a team that started 5-0 to 5-4 and making its present and future even bleaker.Well get back to the drawing board tomorrow, Sirles said about what will happen to the offensive line now that Long is expected to miss the rest of the season, and see what the plan is going forward.Of immediate concern, in addition to how to replace Long after already having to account for injuries to left tackle Matt Kalil and right tackle Andre Smith, is next weeks game against the visiting Arizona Cardinals.Got a lot of things weve got to clean up, a lot of things weve got to get better at, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. Everybodys frustrated right now. So Id be disappointed if they werent frustrated.The Redskins (5-3-1), meanwhile, get to enjoy this back-and-forth victory -- Washington led 14-0 a minute into the second quarter, trailed 20-14 at halftime, then scored the final 12 points -- before facing yet another team whose season is spiraling out of control: They host the Green Bay Packers (4-5 after losing four of their past five games) next Sunday night.Here is what else to know about Washington and Minnesota:FAT ROBUndrafted rookie Robert Kelley is not letting go of the Redskins starting running back job. He climbed the depth chart in part because former starter Matt Jones had trouble holding onto the football, and Kelley -- nickname: Fat Rob -- heads into next week as the unquestioned No. 1 back. Kelley had 97 yards on 22 carries against Minnesota and hasnt fumbled in the NFL, while third-down back Chris Thompson put the ball on the ground Sunday. Kelley watched the film of his first start, Oct. 30 against Cincinnati, saw cuts he missed and improved. I tried to make sure I didnt make the same mistakes this game, Kelley said. It worked out.SHORT YARDAGEThe Vikings cant believe how much trouble they have in short-yardage situations and will prepare for Arizona knowing they failed to convert twice on third-and-1 against Washington. Weve just got to do better. We went with big people. We went with small people. Didnt get either one. Thats where our toughness needs to take over, tight end Kyle Rudolph said. We cant seem to get that 1 yard.RAZORS EDGESeven of the Redskins nine games this season were decided by one score; theyre 4-2-1 in those. Players said its a sign of resiliency; they wouldnt mind a blowout moving forward, though. If were really going to be a good team, defensive end Chris Baker said, weve got to stick our foot on (an opponents) throat from the beginning of the game until after the game.NO BALANCEIf Minnesota is going to turn its season back around, one key could be figuring out how to run the ball more -- and run it better. Not having Peterson is a big deal, of course, but check out these numbers against the Redskins: 21 carries for 47 yards, a 2.2 average. Sam Bradford threw the ball nearly twice as many times (40) as he handed it off. Its been tough the past couple weeks, but were going to stay committed to it. I know that we believe in the run game, Bradford said. I still believe were best when were balanced.RED-ZONE STUMBLESThe Redskins offense settled for three field goals in four trips to the red zone against Minnesota -- part of Washingtons season-long struggles when it gets close to the end zone. Plus, Kirk Cousins almost got intercepted at the goal line, but linebackers Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr collided and the ball fell between them.---AP Sports Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL---Follow Howard Fendrich on Twitter at http://twitter.com/HowardFendrich Stan Smith Ireland Store . -- Three close looks at the bucket, three misses. Stan Smith Shoes Ireland . All of the scoring came in the final 20:04. Lucic scored on a power play at 15:46 of the third period, when he tipped a shot over Stars goalie Kari Lehtonen for a 3-1 lead. http://www.stansmithsaleireland.com/ . - Blake Griffin had 30 points and 12 rebounds, J. Stan Smith Ireland Online . With Parker having a quiet game for once, Nicolas Batum and Boris Diaw provided the scoring as France won its first major basketball title by beating Lithuania 80-66 on Sunday. It was a victory that ended a decade of frustration for Parker and a talented French generation, which lost the final against Spain two years ago and took bronze in 2005. Stan Smith Ireland Outlet . Speaking Thursday on TSN 1050 Thursday, the Leafs GM also touched on the questions surrounding the teams leadership and the struggles of his big-name free-agent signing. “Its not from lack of effort from the coaching staff. SALT LAKE CITY -- Philadelphia 76ers rookie Ben Simmons, the No. 1 pick in last months NBA draft, battled cramping in both legs during his summer league debut and needed assistance getting off the court in the fourth quarter of a 102-94 loss to the Boston Celtics. Simmons?did not return to the game.The 76ers said Simmons would not play in Tuesdays game against the San Antonio Spurs as a precaution.We might have been able to put him back in, but on July Fourth, we didnt need to create those fireworks, Philadelphia summer coach Billy Lange said. Weve got a long summer league schedule ahead of us, between the rest of this summer league and Vegas. We said yesterday we were going to take it smart from here on out.Simmons said he would make an effort to ward off cramps by drinking more fluids.Thats the worst Ive ever cramped, so Im definitely going to stay on that, he said.In his first NBA appearance, Simmons posted 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists over 23:41 of play. He connected on just two of nine shots but displayed excellent court vision and pushed the ball up the floor after rebounds. Philadelphia was plus-9 in plus/minus when Simmons was on the floor. He committed just one turnover.Simmons, who hadnt played a game since his final collegiate game with?LSU?on March 12, played only short stints at the start of Mondays game. He was seen trying to stretch out both calves in the second half of the 76ers summer league opener at Vivint Smart Home Arena.Im good, Simmons said. Just cramps. ... Its been about four months since I played. Thats the main reason. I havent played in a while.When not hindered by cramps, Simmons showcased the ballhandling and passing abilities that made him the top selection in the draft. He had a particularly good second-quarter sequence with conssecutive highlight-caliber dishes.dddddddddddd The first came when, pushing the ball after a rebound, he threaded a pass to fellow rookie Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot for a layup.Its hard to stop somebody thats 6-[foot]-10 coming at you full speed, Simmons said. As long as everybody else is running with me, I think good things could happen.Soon after, Simmons delivered a spectacular one-touch pass from the high post that fed Richaun Holmes on the blocks for an easy dunk.?Simmons also fed Holmes with an over-the-head no-look feed as part of his passing highlight reel.Oh, [Holmes] was just open, Simmons said. I dont know. He was open and made a play. The big came over trying to block my shot, so I dished it.Asked what he liked from Simmons debut, Lange rattled off: Passing, ballhandling, confidence, communication, swagger, enthusiasm, love for teammates. It wasnt about him. I said that [at Sundays practice], it was the first thing I noticed. He just was excited to be 19 years old and around a bunch of guys and put that [76ers] logo on his chest.The conversation steered to Simmons passing abilities and the notion that he could be a rare breed as a point forward.Lets label it, right? Lange said. Everybody wants to put a label to it. But hes a basketball player. Hes a really good basketball player, and this is summer league, so theres still a long journey ahead. But I think anyone thats watched enough basketball sees a skill set there thats really exciting, and that skill set involves ballhandling, dribbling, driving, passing and looking to score.Simmons was asked what exactly hell take away from his NBA debut, and he deadpanned, I gotta drink more fluids. ' ' '