half, Molitor said.SANOS TRANSITIONThird baseman Miguel Sano made a key play in the seventh to prevent the Rangers from tying the game. With two on and two out, Ian Desmonds grounder took an awkward bounce and hit Sano in the chest, but he recovered to throw Desmond out at first. Molitor said its sti

ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Falcons are the NFLs top-scoring team, because of quarterback Matt Ryans recharged passing attack.Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers are right behind.Ryan and the Falcons will face the Rivers-led Chargers on Sunday in a showdown of the leagues top scoring offenses.The Falcons (4-2) have had good balance and a surprising downfield passing attack while averaging 33.2 points per game.They also lead the league with 441.5 yards per game, almost 40 more than the second-place Saints.San Diego (2-4) is averaging 28.8 points despite ranking only in the middle of the pack in total yards (355.2).Perhaps the biggest surprise is Atlantas NFL-best 30 passes of at least 20 yards.Ryan has 15 TD passes with only three interceptions while leading the NFL with 2,075 yards passing. He already is closing in on his 2015 total of 21 TD passes.Julio Jones, averaging 21.2 yards on his team-leading 31 catches, says defenses still dont respect Ryans arm strength.They dont think hes going to throw the ball down the field, Jones said Thursday.Weve got to continue to make them pay. They underestimate us ... Were making believers out of a lot of people now that were going to throw the ball down the field. Matt has been phenomenal this year with deep balls.Jones said second-year offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan is letting it loose.If we see something in the game and we tell him, he dials it up, Jones said. Theres no second-guessing. He believes in us and we believe in him.The Chargers snapped a three-game losing streak with last weeks 21-13 home win over Denver.Winning against Denver was big, Rivers said. We needed to feel whats its like to finish out a game and win ... so were coming to Atlanta with a ton of confidence. We know were playing a good team. ... We know theyve got a heck of an explosive offense and were excited about the challenge.Here are some things to watch when the Chargers visit the Falcons:OLD FRIEND: The Chargers will face defensive end Dwight Freeney, who played with San Diego during the 2013-14 seasons. Freeney has three sacks for Atlanta. Hes still going, Rivers said. He still rushes the passer, has his spin move and is doing his deal. Hes certainly always a guy youve got to be aware of.BACK IN BLACK: The Falcons will wear their black throwback jerseys in what they say will be a blended 1966 replica uniform that pays tribute to the first Atlanta team. The original 1966 uniform included a red helmet, but the Falcons will stay with their black helmets. The helmets will feature the original Falcons logo used from 1966 to 2003.The Falcons will wear white pants, though Ryan said receiver Mohamed Sanu pushed for black pants to match the jerseys. We wore that my rookie year, Ryan said. ... I like those as well.ROAD WOES: The Chargers have lost 10 of their past 11 road games going back to the final game of 2014. Now they face tough tests at Atlanta and Denver. The Chargers can help their chances in the AFC West by winning on the road after beating Denver at home on Oct. 13.FIND THE BALL: The Falcons forced six fumbles the past two weeks, but had no recoveries. Coach Dan Quinn said thats the next step for his defense.Our mindset defensively is definitely improving, Quinn said. He said recovering fumbles is a mix of luck and a real technique.HUNTING FOR TDS: Tight end Hunter Henry is looking to become the first Chargers rookie to score touchdowns in four straight games since Paul Lowe and Don Norton did it in the franchises inaugural season of 1960 in Los Angeles. Henry has 19 catches for 310 yards and three scores.The Chargers tight end tandem also includes veteran Antonio Gates, who needs five touchdown catches to tie former Chiefs and Falcons star Tony Gonzalez (111) for the NFL record for tight ends.---AP Sports Writer Bernie Wilson in San Diego contributed to this report.---AP NFL websites: www.pro32.ap.org and AP NFL Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/AP-NFLCheap New Balance Shoes Australia . Speaking to the Chicago Tribune at baseballs Winter Meetings in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, Boras called the former home of the Expos a "tremendous environment" for baseball. Cheap New Balance Shoes . -- Nate Robinson has played for seven teams, so beating one of them is no longer a rare occurrence. http://www.cheapnewbalanceaustralia.com/ . "Thank you for the warm welcome," Beckham said on an 80-degree February morning. In this case, it was soccer weather. The sport moved a step closer to returning to South Florida on Wednesday, when Beckham confirmed he has exercised his option to purchase a Major League Soccer expansion franchise in Miami. New Balance Australia Sale . -- Los Angeles Lakers guard Jordan Farmar will be out for roughly four weeks after tearing his left hamstring. New Balance Australia Online .Y. -- Leading 3-0 with only 11:25 left, the Colorado Avalanche committed a seemingly meaningless penalty to give the New York Islanders a power play.MINNEAPOLIS -- After a disappointing bullpen session, Kyle Gibson watched Shin-Soo Choo drive his second pitch into the left-center seats.This could be a long one today, Gibson remembered telling catcher Kurt Suzuki.Gibson recovered and pitched into the seventh inning Sunday in the last-place Minnesota Twins 5-4 win over Cole Hamels and the first-place Texas Rangers.Gibson (2-5) won his second-straight start and came within one out of completing seven innings in consecutive outings for the first time this year.Brian Dozier drove in two runs and scored a pair, and Gibson outshined Hamels (9-2), who allowed five runs and 10 hits while walking three in four-plus innings. Hamels had won a Rangers record nine consecutive road decisions.Gibson gave up four runs -- two earned -- and five hits in 6 2/3 innings with six strikeouts.Choo drove in three runs. He led off a game with a home run for the third time this year, a drive into the left-center seats. Gibson then retired eight straight batters, a stretch he repeated later in the game.Baseballs a humbling game, Gibson said. Right when you think you get where you need to be, somethings going to happen. But Im still always working, always trying to get better in the bullpen and work on things in between starts.Dozier hit a two-run triple in the third and scored on Robbie Grossmans single for a 3-1 lead. Elvis Andrus singled in a run in the fifth, but the Twins opened a 5-2 lead in the bottom half when Max Kepler singled in a run and Eddie Rosario hit into a run-scoring forceout against Tony Barnette.Choo hit a two-run double in the seventh off Ryan Pressly. Kintzler pitched around Robinson Chirinos two-out double in the ninth for his fourth save in as many chances, retiring Choo on a game-ending groundout.Gibby got stronger and got deep inn the game for us, Pressly had a little trouble there with command but got out still with the lead, and then Fernando (Abad) and Kintzler finished it up, so nice way to come back and win the series today, manager Paul Molitor said.ddddddddddddPITCHING MOVESKevin Jepsen was designated for assignment, and with Glen Perkins recovering from season-ending surgery, Kintzler and Abad appear to be the primary contenders for closer. Molitor said it was a tough decision to part with Jepsen, who played a big role in Minnesotas surprise winning season last year. I think hes going to find a home somewhere and help somebody out here in the second half, Molitor said.SANOS TRANSITIONThird baseman Miguel Sano made a key play in the seventh to prevent the Rangers from tying the game. With two on and two out, Ian Desmonds grounder took an awkward bounce and hit Sano in the chest, but he recovered to throw Desmond out at first. Molitor said its still too early to evaluate Sanos transition to third base, but so far Ive been pleased overall.TRAINERS ROOMTwins: 3B Trevor Plouffe was scratched before the game with sore ribs. ... INF Eduardo Escobar is day to day with a hamstring injury. General manager Terry Ryan said he isnt expecting a DL stint. ... Trevor May, who hasnt played since June 9 because of back spasms, was back in the clubhouse. Molitor said May wasnt activated Sunday because he was coming off pitching in back-to-back games in his minor league rehab assignment.UP NEXTTwins: Minnesota opens a three-game set against Oakland, with Ricky Nolasco (3-6) set to make his team-leading 17th start. Nolasco is 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA in three career starts against the Athletics. ' ' '