Defending champion Missy Franklin advanced to the semifinals with th

CARLSBAD, Calif. -- The Miami Dolphins have won four straight games, are above .500 for the first time under rookie coach Adam Gase, and feature a hot quarterback in Ryan Tannehill.Thats quite a flip from a 1-4 start when Tannehill was the target of countless barbs.Everyone criticizes Tannehill, said Hall of Famer quarterback Bob Griese, a Dolphins radio analyst. But as soon as the offensive line got better, the quarterback got better. And as soon as the running game improved, the quarterback got better. When those things happen, you can throw when you want to and not when you have to.Tannehill leads the Dolphins (5-4) against the Rams (4-5) on Sunday in Los Angeles. Miami remained in southern California to practice this week after beating the Chargers last weekend.The play of Tannehill is a big reason Miami is rolling. During the winning run, Tannehill hasnt turned over the ball.I think thats the biggest thing for us right now is taking care of the football (and) not giving the other team opportunities with good field position, and keeping ourselves in the right spot, said Tannehill, whos thrown for 2,117 yards, 10 touchdowns and seven interceptions. If we can continue doing that, I think well continue to win games.The Dolphins struggled at the seasons onset. But they rebounded and that speaks volumes to Tannehill.Im proud of the way that guys have battled and the way we faced adversity throughout our season, the way we stuck together and kept battling, kept staying on track, working to get better week in and week out, Tannehill said. That hunger to succeed -- that hunger to win -- has been huge for us on our team. Im excited about where were at right now.Tannehill is in the right spot more often thanks to his work with Gase. The two consistently worked on various aspects of Tannehills game.Were constantly trying to improve, Tannehill said. Theres always something, whether its feet, moving in the pocket -- whatever it is. Were constantly trying to improve and get better.Tannehill was nearly at his best Sunday when beating the Chargers 31-24. He completed 17 of 24 passes for 240 yards and two touchdowns, posting a 130.6 quarterback rating. It was the second-highest quarterback rating of Tannehills career behind only his perfect mark of 158.3 vs. Houston on Oct. 25, 2015.I think hes done a good job of decision making, Gase said. Receivers and him are on the same page, along with the tight ends. I think the protection, you know the line has done a really good job as far as keeping him fairly protected. I know he takes some shots, but there are a couple of times where he knows hes going to get hit because hes holding onto it. Hes trying to take a shot down the field.Tannehill has been sacked just three times in four games as the unit absorbs Gases offensive system.Its not just me, Tannehill said. Its the O-line giving me time to make good throws, and receivers being in the right spot and making plays on the football. It takes everyone.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFLKevin Durant Shoes Free Shipping . They reached the 100-point plateau for the fourth time in five games, bested the visiting Trail Blazers by 34 in the paint and scored 19 of the final 25 points in regulation. Wholesale Kevin Durant Shoes . Barcelonas entertaining victory ensured the defending Spanish champions retained their share of the league lead with Atletico Madrid two rounds ahead of their meeting in the capital. 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The injury bothered Bledsoe in the Suns victory over the Clippers on Monday and he sat out the teams home loss to Memphis on Thursday night.RIO DE JANEIRO -- Michael Phelps goes for history -- again -- and Katie Ledecky is set up to make some of her own in the Olympic pool.Phelps will be doing double duty Thursday night. Hell swim the 200-meter individual medley final in pursuit of a record fourth consecutive title in the event and return about 30 minutes later for the 100 butterfly semifinals.No swimmer has ever won four golds in the same individual event in consecutive Olympics. Only two athletes, discus thrower Al Oerter and long jumper Carl Lewis, ever have managed the feat.Phelps qualified fourth fastest in 51.60 seconds for the 100 fly. If he gets through to Fridays final, hell also be seeking his fourth gold in a row in that event.Winner of three golds already in Rio, Phelps duels longtime friend and rival Ryan Lochte in the 200 IM. Phelps made a tactical error, though, in the 100 fly heats. He was aiming to get into the second semifinal, which would have given him some extra recovery time after the 200 IM final.But I screwed up, he said. I try not to even think about it because then I get focused on that. But Id like to have those extra seven, eight minutes in between.By competing in the first semi, Phelps has less time to warm down after the 200 IM.Obviously, the first one (200 IM), I need to take care of business, he said. Whatever I can do in the second one (100 fly) just to make it through is what Ill do.Joseph Schooling of Singapore topped the 100 fly heats in 51.41. Hungarys Laszlo Cseh was second quickest in 51.52, while American Tom Shields was third at 51.58. Also advancing were Chad le Clos of South Africa, James Guy of Britain and Santo Condorelli of Canada.Ledecky easily qualified first in the 800 freestyle, with an Olympic-record time of 8 minutes, 12.86 seconds. The 19-year-old American was nearly seven seconds faster than anyone else.If she wins the final on Friday, Ledecky will become the first swimmer since Debbie Meyer in 1968 to sweep the 200, 400 and 800 freestyles.I try not to think too much about the history of anything, said Ledecky, who didnt get to bed until after 3 a.m. after anchoring the U.S. women to victory in the 4x200 free relay on Wednesday. Its all just aabout doing my best every time.ddddddddddddBoglarka Kapas of Hungary qualified second for the 800 free in 8:19.43. Others making the final were Jazz Carlin of Britain, American Leah Smith, Lotte Friis of Denmark and Mireia Belmonte Garcia of Spain, who won the 200 butterfly on Wednesday.Andriy Hovorov of Ukraine was the fastest qualifier in the mens 50 free at 21.72. Two years ago, Russia annexed his home of Crimea and he rejected changing nationality. Helped by funding from Ukraines meager sports budget, Hovorov is in position to win swimmings glamour event.This has all been in my training plan since January, and I qualified with the top result, Hovorov said. Im going to keep it up.A pair of Americans, Nathan Adrian and Anthony Ervin, had the second and third best times in the heats. Adrian, bronze medalist in the 100 free on Wednesday, touched in 21.61. Ervin, the 2000 Olympic champion in the 50, was clocked in 21.63.Also advancing to the semis were defending champion Florent Manaudou of France, Cameron McEvoy of Australia, Vladimir Morozov of Russia, Santo Condorelli of Canada and Bruno Fratus of Brazil.The Iron Lady is chasing her fourth gold medal.Katinka Hosszu of Hungary qualified fastest for the 200 backstroke in 2:06.09. She already has won the 100 back, along with the 200 and 400 individual medleys.Hilary Caldwell of Canada had the second quickest time of 2:07.40. Maya DiRado of the United States, who has won gold, silver and bronze at her first Olympics, was third fastest in 2:08.60.Defending champion Missy Franklin advanced to the semifinals with the 11th-fastest time of 2:09.36. She missed the 200 free final in her only other individual event in Rio.Right now, Im taking it one race at a time, said Franklin, who is struggling to understand her puzzling lack of form this year. My goal is going to be making it into the finals.Franklin earned a gold medal as part of the 4x200 freestyle relay in Rio after swimming in the preliminaries.Kirsty Coventry of Zimbabwe, a two-time Olympic champion in the 200 back, qualified ninth. ' ' '