812 total) with six total TDs (four rushing, two receiving) over the past six games. The

Despite making the playoffs for the first time since joining Major League Soccer, Montreal Impacts 2013 season ended with a massive letdown. It wasnt just the 3-0 loss at Houston in the Eastern Conference Knockout Round that hurt; it was the manner of the defeat and the total loss of discipline. As the team prepares to head to Orlando for the final stage of their training camp, there is a different feel around the Impact squad following the appointment of new head coach Frank Klopas to replace the fiery Swiss manager Marco Schallibaum. "Frank is settling in. He has put certain messaging and systems in place," Impact sporting director Nick De Santis said on TSNFC this week. "We made the right decision to move forward and go in a different direction and up until now, we have a very good relationship with Frank. We know what he wants and he knows what we want." "If we go back to that game in Houston, the result, the actions by certain players can give you an idea of what went on for the last two months, the last 10 games of the season. It was very frustrating." "In my position and in Joeys (Impact president Joey Saputo) position, the easiest thing to do was to reconfirm Marco because we set out our objectives at the beginning of the season and we met those objectives – being in the playoffs, winning the Canadian Championship – but when you are making decisions of what is best for the club going forward and whats best for the players, we felt that we needed to go in a different direction." With just over three weeks until the Impact open up the 2014 season, and after a quiet offseason in terms of player signings, De Santis says the club is still looking to add "one or two pieces" to the team. It seems the club is close to announcing the signing of young Uruguayan striker Santiago Gonzalez, who De Santis first met in Argentina on a scouting trip in November. "I managed to see him in my last trip to Argentina and watched him live," De Santis told TSNFC. "Hes a young player but a player with certain qualities that I think can help our team get better up front. Were still dealing with a few issues but were hoping that is something that can get done, hopefully even before we get to Orlando on the weekend." While Montreals squad hasnt seen as many additions as most teams across MLS, De Santis believes some of the players they have retained from last year will be in a better position to produce top quality performances on a consistent basis. "Hernan Bernadello played half a season last year and I think now you can say that hes basically a new addition because the first six months was an adaptation period. With him now being with the team from day one, he will bring a lot more to the table. We have Nelson Rivas healthy and hopefully we can manage him well and he can give us a good amount of games because when he is on the field feeling well physically and with his head in the right place, he can be a dominant defender in this league." On Monday, the Impact announced the return of Argentine midfielder Andres Romero, who joins the team on loan from Brazilian club Tombense for the second successive season. Romero showed glimpses of his ability in 2013, scoring two goals in 30 regular season appearances, but De Santis expects there is much more to come this season from the former Argentina U20 international. "Were happy that Romero is back because he is another player that showed very good signs in certain moments," said De Santis. "When his wife gave birth to twins, she went back to Argentina and thats when we saw his consistency level had gone down. We just want to make sure now that hes in the best environment for him to be as consistent as possible." With other teams getting much stronger during the offseason, the Eastern Conference will be a fierce battleground in 2014. Repeating the accomplishment of making the playoffs will be a difficult task for Montreal, but with the core of a squad that led the East on a number of occasions throughout the first half of the 2013 season, the Impact feel they are well positioned to hit the ground running when their season opens in Dallas on March 8. Jordan Pickford England Jersey . As for regular Olympic spectators, theyre being warned that most travel insurance policies wont cover acts of terrorism or war. The Games in southern Russia, which run from Feb. 7-23, are being staged amid unprecedented security and under global warnings of danger. Harry Kane England Jersey . 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He hit a brilliant pitch to 5 feet and made the putt after Slumans birdie attempt rolled just wide.(SportsNetwork.com) - Peyton Manning and the dark of night? Thats as scary as it gets for the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals inched closer to what would be an ongoing franchise-record fourth consecutive postseason berth in Week 15 when plenty of money signs were flashed but none coming from the player most associated with the overbearing gesture, Johnny Manziel. The Cleveland rookie quarterbacks first career NFL start was as dismal as it gets and the Browns were whitewashed, 30-0, by the AFC North-leading Bengals. But if Jim Ross was getting ready to broadcast the Bengals next game, the famed wrestling announcer might say: Business is about to pick up. Cincinnati can clinch the playoff spot with a win over the AFC West champion Denver Broncos on Monday night, and it can earn the AFC North crown with a win coupled with losses by the Steelers, who play Kansas City on Sunday, and the Ravens, who are at Houston. Were still in control of everything, said Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton. We know these next two games are going to be big. The way our division is going, everyone keeps winning. We know what were facing. What their facing is the Boogeyman on Monday Night Football, along with the stark realization that Manziel will be turning into Manning over a one-week span. Thats the equivalent of a basic arithmetic test followed up by one on advanced calculus. Its going to be a big shift, safe to say, Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis admitted. Its a challenge. (Manning) gets everyones attention in this building right away. The player he is, how he carries himself, how he runs things on the field -- its going to be a great challenge for us. Challenge may be an under statement because the Bengals have never beaten Manning whether he was in Indianapolis or Denver, compiling an 0-8 mark when the five-time MVP is lined up opposite them. If that wasnt daunting enough, the game is also going to be played after sundown and thats never a good thing for Cincinnati. The Bengals have played twice in primetime so far this season, getting blown out both times, a 43-17 setback at New England in a Sunday night game on Oct. 5, and a 24-3 drubbing at the hands of the Browns while Brian Hoyer was still in charge on Thursday, Nov. 6. Since Dalton took over the Bengals in the 2011 season Cincinnati is playing .250 football (2-6) under the national spotlight, a sharp contrast from its 37-16-1 mark over that same span during day games. I have no idea, defensive end Wallace Gilberry said when asked about the teams struggles at night. I guesss were afraid of the dark.dddddddddddd Add in the three playoff losses since 2011 and the Bengals are a downright dismal 2-9 when the spotlight is focused squarely on them and Lewis team is tired of hearing about it. It is annoying and its our job to make it unannoying, safety George Iloka said. If we lose this game, the talk will come back again. But thats (the medias) job to do. And if we want to silence the critics, weve got to put up or shut up. Thats how it goes. It might be annoying, but thats on us. Silencing anyone on Monday is going to be a daunting task. Manning and the Broncos offense have taken a step back from their historical 2013 performance, perhaps the best statistical season in NFL history. That said, when you look up, the numbers remain staggering as Manning is third in the AFC with 4,143 passing yards and even better with 37 TD passes (second in the NFL) and a 106.4 passer rating (tops in the conference). The veteran now has an NFL record 14 career 4,000-yard passing seasons and headlines an offense that is fifth in the NFL in both yards (400.7 yards per game) and points per game (29.1). If anything the group has become more well-rounded in recent weeks because of the emergence of the ground game and C.J. Anderson, who is averaging 135.3 scrimmage yards per game (812 total) with six total TDs (four rushing, two receiving) over the past six games. The receiving threats, meanwhile, remain as good as any in football led by Demaryius Thomas, who has 1,389 receiving yards and leads all AFC receivers with 41 TD catches since entering the league in 2010. His running mate, Emmanuel Sanders, has a career-high 1,261 yards and seven TD catches over his past nine games. The Cincinnati defense looked like world-beaters against Manziel but has taken a significant step back overall without Mike Zimmer, now the head coach in Minnesota. The Bengals D entered last weeks contest 25th in the league and are now 20th after dominating Manziel. The 25 number is probably more indicative of where Cincinnati belongs because facing a QB who isnt ready to play in the NFL is an anomaly and certainly not what the Bengals will be up against on Monday night. We have to get through this game before we have any opportunities at January, Lewis said. Its been (a playoff mentality) for the last seven weeks. Preparation and how you go about it, and the confidence of knowing what to do and how to do it allows you to play fast. Thats the most important thing, for us: to play fast, to play physical, to play smart. ' ' '