ractice, U.S. captain Maggie Steffens said, but we are darn happy to have it

SEATTLE -- For all the flaws, the Seattle Seahawks are back where they always expected to be.In the postseason and as champions of the NFC West.I think its a huge significance in terms of consistency, Seattle coach Pete Carroll said. Its something that we really do take great pride in because of the implications for the playoffs.Russell Wilson threw three touchdown passes, Tyler Lockett had 130 yards receiving and a score, and the Seahawks won the NFC West with a 24-3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday night.Seattle claimed its third division title in four seasons, assuring itself of at least one home game in the playoffs and keeping the pressure on Detroit in the competition for the No. 2 seed in the NFC and a first-round bye. Seattle also snapped a three-game losing streak to the Rams.Seattle became the first team in the NFL to clinch its division, the result of playing in the NFC West in a season where no one was particularly good. The Seahawks have their shortcomings, which were shown again against the Rams. Seattle simply had more tools than anyone else in the division to overcome their flaws.It wasnt a completely smooth evening for the Seahawks. Richard Sherman was seen yelling toward coaches on the sideline in the third quarter moments before Doug Baldwins 1-yard touchdown catch. Sherman said he was expressing his displeasure toward Carroll with the decision to throw on first-and-goal from the 1, a pass by Wilson that was nearly intercepted.Weve already seen how that goes. Im sure you guys have seen that play enough times, Sherman said.It wasnt an impressive display by Seattle (9-4-1), but was far better than Sunday when the Seahawks were blown out by Green Bay with Wilson throwing five interceptions.Wilson was good enough against the listless Rams. After slogging through the first half, Wilson threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Doug Baldwin late in the third quarter for a 17-3 lead, then put the game away on a 57-yard touchdown strike to Lockett on the second play of the fourth quarter.Wilson finished 19 of 26 for 229 yards, but also threw a careless interception at the goal line midway through the fourth quarter. Seven of those passes went to Lockett, whose previous career high was 104 yards. Luke Willson also had an 8-yard TD catch in the first half.Another mostly forgettable Thursday night game was made at least somewhat more entertaining by the Seahawks and their highlighter green uniforms that drew wild opinions all over social media. The Action Green uniforms had very little action in the first half, before a second-half effort that assured another banner would be raised at CenturyLink Field.A tumultuous few days for the Rams (4-10) after the firing of Jeff Fisher as head coach culminated in their fifth straight loss and first under interim coach John Fassel. The Rams defensive front caused problems for Seattle in the first half but the Los Angeles offense provided zero help.Its just a lesson for me that you always have to be ready to adapt and take on responsibilities that you didnt anticipate, Fassel said. But its an experience that of course Ill never forget.Jared Goff was 13 of 25 for 135 yards before leaving in the fourth quarter to be checked for a possible concussion. The Rams finished with 183 total yards, but 90 of those came in the fourth quarter.QUIET GURLEYLos Angeles running back Todd Gurley was again unable to get started in the run game, continuing a frustrating second season. Gurley was held to 38 yards on 14 carries. He did have a 22-yard run late in the second quarter that set up Greg Zuerleins 36-yard field goal, but it as just his second run of 20 yards or more this season. Gurley had 11 runs of 20 or more yards last year.There is no reason Gurley should get hit the way he gets hit sometimes because we dont set up a block for him, Los Angeles offensive lineman Rodger Saffold said.SACK ATTACKAfter getting no pressure on the quarterback in the past three weeks, the Seahawks rediscovered their pass rush.Seattle had two sacks in the first half and finished with four after the Seahawks had five total sacks in the previous five weeks. Cliff Avril was the main culprit with 1 1/2 sacks, giving him a career-high 11 1/2 for the season.INJURY REPORTSeattle defensive end Michael Bennett suffered neck strain in the fourth quarter on a collision with Gurley, Carroll said. A few plays later, Goff was taken from the game to be checked for a concussion after a sideline hit by Richard Sherman. He was replaced by Case Keenum.Even Seattle punter Jon Ryan got added to the injury list after suffering concussion in the fourth quarter on a fake punt. Ryan ran 26 yards before bobbling the ball and getting hit in the helmet falling to the turf.UP NEXTRams: Los Angeles will return home to host San Francisco.Seahawks: Seattle will host Arizona in its final home game.---For more NFL coverage: www.pro32.ap.org and http://twitter.com/AP-NFLHydro Flask Outlet . The (11-11-4) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 26 points. Fifth place Dallas and sixth-seeded Nashville also have 26 points, but the Stars have three games in hand on Winnipeg while Nashville has two. Swell Scontate . 10 Texas Rangers jersey for one last time. Young formally announced his retirement Friday after returning to Rangers Ballpark, his baseball home for all but the last of his 13 major league seasons. http://www.italiahydroflask.it/ .J. -- New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz will miss the rest of the season after having surgery on his left knee. Swell Italia . Burris threw two TD passes, including a key 15-yard fourth-quarter strike to Bakari Grant that effectively countered a Toronto comeback bid and led Hamilton to a 33-19 victory. Borraccia Hydro Flask Italia . Fred Couples, captain of the U.S. side, put it all into perspective. "We know whos in charge," he said.RIO DE JANEIRO -- Kami Craig felt sorry for Maddie Musselman. She was sure Musselman would be bored while rooming with her on a trip to China with the U.S. womens water polo team.Then she noticed something about the precocious teenager.Just her attention to detail, the 29-year-old Craig said. Shes incredibly organized. I watched her how she unpacked her bag and set things out. ... The way that she handles herself so professionally.Well beyond her years.Musselman, who turned 18 in June, went from long shot for the 2016 Olympics to key contributor for an athletic American squad favored to win a second straight gold medal. Oh, and she managed to graduate from high school along the way, taking online classes between grueling training sessions in Southern California.Before she starts at UCLA in the fall, she strides onto the Olympic stage beginning with Tuesdays opener against Spain.Just to be able to get the experience, to get the opportunity to play at this level has been definitely eye-opening, Musselman said Sunday after practice at the Flamengo Club. Ive learned countless things, countless lessons in the pool and out of the pool, and its just been amazing.Musselman is coming off an impressive scoring spree against Russia, collecting 12 goals as the U.S. swept the three-game series to run its win streak to 16 since a 5-4 loss to Australia on May 31. The 5-foot-11 attacker scored 13 times when the U.S. went 8-0 on its way to the title at an Olympic qualification tournament in the Netherlands in March.Im so excited for her to be here and have the opportunity to compete because shes a really special player, Craig said. Shes fast. Shes got great legs. Shes got an awesome shot and at such young age to have the confidence and step up in the moments that she does is pretty incredible.Musselman, the middle of three daughters for former major league pitcher Jeff Musselman and his wife, Karen, was a swimmer growing up in California and also played soccer. But once she played water polo, she was hooked. Her sister, Alex, also waas into the sport and went on to play for UCLA, adding to the draw.ddddddddddddObviously you want to follow your older sister, a grinning Musselman said, so I was like Ill play water polo, and I fell in love with it.While Jeff Musselman credits Maddies teachers in school for her studious, meticulous approach, Maddie herself said her father plays a key role in her success in water polo.The 53-year-old Musselman was selected by Toronto in the sixth round of the 1985 draft out of Harvard. He made his major league debut with the Blue Jays in September 1986 and went 23-15 with a 4.31 ERA in five years in the majors.When we were going through all (these) different sports trying to find what we love, he was right there with us, saying `Oh, Ive been there, I know what youre experiencing, Maddie Musselman said, and he provided just lessons that we wanted to learn, and just gave us that confidence that you know you might not be good at every single sport, its just finding what you love and playing it.Jeff Musselman said he knows very little about water polo, but compares Maddies situation to joining Toronto when he was 23. Not only was it his first time in the majors, but he made it to the Blue Jays during a successful period for the franchise. He had his best season when Toronto went 96-66 in 1987, going 12-5 with a 4.15 ERA in 68 games.Being around that, I think was very helpful to be able to share my experience, said Musselman, who works for sports agent Scott Boras. You know its the same game, just more people watching.A lot more people in the Olympics, but the U.S. is confident Musselman will rise to the occasion.Her tenacity and her competitiveness is something that we all love to see in practice and compete against in practice, U.S. captain Maggie Steffens said, but we are darn happy to have it on our side when were in competition.---Jay Cohen can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/jcohenap ' ' '