him. It was an influence that remained with him until the c

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-NFL Custom Nellie Fox Jersey .Y. - Detroit goaltender Jonas Gustavsson has earned NHL first star of the week honours after winning in his first three appearances of the season. White Sox Jerseys China . The home side created most of the chances but struggled to break down Braunschweigs resilient defence, resulting in the Bundesligas 1,000th scoreless draw. http://www.customwhitesoxjersey.com/custom-nellie-fox-jersey-large-71p.html . Halladay signed a one-day contract with the Toronto Blue Jays on Monday that allowed the veteran right-hander to retire as a member of team with which he broke into the majors and spent the bulk of his distinguished 16-year career. Custom White Sox T-shirts . The CFLs leading rusher kept adding to his gaudy numbers this season and scored the winning touchdown with just over two minutes to play. The New Westminster, B.C., native plowed three yards into the end zone for the last score of a heated, see-saw battle between the two teams with the best records in the CFL. Cheap Custom White Sox Jersey . SIMONS ISLAND, Ga. There has never been greater competition for sports-loving eyeballs in bookstores this Christmas, and jammed in amid the glut of cricket memoirs comes Mitchell Johnson: Resilient. Peter Lalor of the Australian ably managed the words.The cover fronts with a close-up of Johnsons face; he looks at once stern and gentle. When you learn his story, that stands to reason. That his name is embossed in gold on a sleeve wrapping a weighty hardcover is less understandable, because Johnson has never pretended to be a stately figure. But when it comes to Australian cricket, alpha showdowns dont cease upon retirement - they extend to autobiographies too.Johnsons journey to Australian fast-bowling royalty - and he does belong there - is genuinely compelling, and never more so than when one contemplates the sheer rapidity of his elevation into the heady world of professional cricket. He literally didnt own a pair of cricket boots when Rod Marsh thrust him into Australias Under-19s team (to the chagrin of many of the other players parents).But like so many modern-day players with stories to tell and sell, Johnson in his memoirs struggles to shine a light on his professional years that hasnt already been shone.Its barely his fault. The ubiquity of media means that many of us are well-acquainted with each stars road. With Johnson, we know about the potential, the pace, the doubt, and the glorious return. At 392 pages, Resilient is nothing if not thorough in its chronicling of each plot point in Johnsons career. However, like so many other books, it does settle into a mechanical rhythm of moving from match to match to match, serving more as a reminder than much else more. This isnt to say there arent some highlights: his account of South Africa away and England at home - especially his 7 for 40 in Adelaide - will provide sweet tidings for Johnsons Australian readers looking for something soothing after Christmas (and the South African series).When you cant bring the matches to life, many ex-players understandably go where punters cant, by turning their autobiographies into titillating tales of the dressing room. To Johnsons great credit, it should be said, Resilient admirably resists joining this race to the bottom. Yes, he covers Homeworkgate and Katich v Clarke, but not gratuitously. It would be incorrect to put this down to any kind of naiveté or aloofness on Johnsons part. While he makes no pretensions to social over-analysis, he does have a discreet sense of old-school decency (as opposed to the chest-beating type), and it emerges in the book. So rather than view Australian crickets great in-house stoushes through the prism of base-level gossip, he places them in an altogether more relevant context: that of Australian crickets struggle for cohesion under Michael Clarkes influence. His notes are diplomatic, subtle, but communicate enough. Upon Ricky Pontings departuure, Johnson writes, When he left he took something with him, and while he describes Clarke as tactically excellent, there is a seismic difference in the superlatives he chooses to use for each captain.ddddddddddddBut where Johnsons cricket yarns might lack mystery, his upbringing does not - at least in a cricketing sense. While Dennis Lillees description of him as a once in a generation fast bowler probably belongs in cricket cliché scrabble, how Johnson arrived at the moment is probably less well known. He was a genuine roughy from the bush, who, at the time of Lillees spotting, claims he didnt even know he was quick. The image he paints of arriving two days later to the Australian U-19 camp in Adelaide, long-haired, clad in a black Slayer T-shirt, owning no cricket kit, illustrates just how naturally talented he must have been. It also leaves you desperate for a picture of Johnson bowling in the nets with said T-shirt and hair. His emergence from the back of Townsville nonetheless provides an instructive backdrop to his entire career. With respect to the concept of lifelong learning, here was a guy who was picking up how to play cricket while competing in the Sheffield Shield. Johnsons rawness of talent and technique lent a youth to him that seemed to remain for his career. To that end, its easy to forget that his formative cricketing years were spent alongside Shield warhorses like Jimmy Maher, Andy Bichel, Michael Kasprowicz, Andrew Symonds, Ashley Noffke and James Hopes. Johnson, who at one stage says that all he ever did was just wang it down - writes with pride about the influence of their old-school values on him. It was an influence that remained with him until the close of his Test career in 2015.The stories of so many champion players tell of being chastened by early and unexpected failure, and Johnsons mid-career walk through the shadows of cricketing decline are surely as dark as any. His description of the relentless carousel of international cricket travel, and the collapse of his body, technique and confidence, does help the reader appreciate the triumph that followed. We all know the Barmy Army song about him, but to properly consider that Johnson often could not rid his mind of it is illustrative of the difficult mental space he occupied for years.The book isnt written completely in Johnsons voice, however. There are welcome flourishes of content from people close to him, most of whom exist outside the insular cricketing sphere. Their inclusion here speaks of a man who never originally defined himself through his performances, but one who nonetheless harnessed his considerable abilities to achieve greatly in an unerringly human way.Mitchell Johnson: Resilient by Mitchell Johnson ABC Books, 2016 A$49.95 ' ' '