winning quarterbacks ... Cleveland played without starting

RIBEIRAO PRETO, Brazil - Frances team doctor has criticized Bayern Munich for the way the club handled a lingering back injury that ruled star winger Franck Ribery out of the World Cup. Ribery appeared to have made progress from a chronic lower back injury that had plagued him for weeks, only to be ruled out of the competition last Friday when he pulled up in training. It came just three days before France flew to Brazil, depriving coach Didier Deschamps of his most experienced player and most dangerous attacker. "When I examined him and we did tests with the X-ray and scans, I was very reassured. There was no reason why he wouldnt play in the World Cup," France doctor Franck Le Gall said Thursday. "We have some explanations for his pain. However, he didnt find a way ... we didnt find the way for his pains to cease or for him to play through his discomfort." Ribery, who has scored 16 goals in 81 appearances for France, made his last appearance of the season for Bayern as a substitute in the German Cup final win over Borussia Dortmund on May 17, when he came on in the first half and was substituted during extra time. Ribery had been rested following the 4-0 defeat to Real Madrid in the return leg of their Champions League semifinal on April 29, and Le Gall thinks it was too risky for Ribery to play in the Cup final less than three weeks later. "He was out for more or less three weeks and played a match which he probably shouldnt have played because he played through pain," Le Gall said. He said when Ribery joined up with the France team at its World Cup training camp he "was just as much bothered" by the injury as before. Bayern "didnt manage to solve the problem in (those) three weeks," said Le Gall, who estimated that Ribery should be ready to play by mid-August. Le Gall was asked if France had considered treating Riberys injury by injection. It was an option that appeared to be ruled out by the France teams medical staff, even though, Le Gall said, Bayern could be regularly treating its players with jabs. "Franck belongs to a club where for all pathological treatments — twisted ankles, bruising, muscle pains, contractions, tears — there are injections," Le Gall said. "There are 10 per pathology (injury), or 20, 25, 40 per year, or more. So there comes a time when, well ... he (Ribery) has had enough of injections. If for a moment we thought it could be solved that way, we didnt do it, because hes scared of injections." In other injury updates, France striker Olivier Giroud and centre half Laurent Koscielny were earlier cleared to take part in Thursdays training session after sitting out the previous days practice to have some physio treatment. Giroud had some tightness in his left hamstring and Koscielny, his Arsenal club teammate, has some tendinitis in his Achilles. "(Koscielny) has been carrying that for several weeks or perhaps a bit more. Hes played a lot of games this season," Le Gall said. "Hes in great shape but tendons in the Achilles are a bit sensitive. During the competition well probably rest him for one, two, or three training sessions so as not to make the situation worse." Mamadou Sakho has recovered from some bruising to his right knee. "He felt some pain and a kind of locking sensation," Le Gall said. "The scan was reassuring, and he trained normally (on Wednesday). He was more apprehensive than anything." All three players are expected to be ready when France opens its Group E campaign against Honduras on Sunday. While Koscielny is not certain to be selected by Deschamps, Giroud is expected to lead the attack. "Hes fine and we decided that he could take part in training," Le Gall said of Giroud. "I dont have any particular apprehension. If hes training this afternoon it means that we think hes available." Gary Sheffield Dodgers Jersey . Bale has had a successful debut season in Spain, and Ancelotti appears ready to reward him with a starting role on Saturday. Ancelotti says "Gareth had some problems at the beginning (of the season) but when he found good physical condition he scored a lot of goals, he had a good impact on the team. David Freese Dodgers Jersey .Y. - Islanders forward Anders Lee has been fined $2,286 by the NHL for elbowing St. https://www.cheapdodgersonline.com/145h-...ey-dodgers.html. Coming off a 6-0 drubbing at Chelsea on Saturday, Arsenal endured another demoralizing result after rallying for a 2-1 lead -- only to concede a fluke equalizer. Gary Sheffield Jersey . The Calgary skip fell 10-8 to Swedens Oskar Eriksson in semifinal action Saturday and will face Switzerlands Peter de Cruz for the bronze medal (Saturday at 10pm et/7pm pt on TSN2). Manny Mota Jersey . The Blueshirts hope to stay alive once again when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins in Sundays Game 6 battle at Madison Square Garden.Los Angeles, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - James Harden tallied 37 points with eight rebounds and five assists to lead the Houston Rockets in a 99-87 rout of the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday night at Staples Center. Josh Smith and Jason Terry each came off the bench to score 11 points, while Corey Brewer had 10 in a reserve role for the Rockets. Houston center Dwight Howard did not play against his former team due to a right ankle sprain. Carlos Boozer had 18 points with 11 rebounds for the Lakers, who have dropped eight straight games. Los Angeles had not lost eight straight since March 14-27, 2005. The Lakers will most likely be without the services of guard Kobe Bryant for the long term, as he recently suffered a torn right rotator cuff. He will be re-examined Monday before the team decides whether the guard needs potentially season-ending surgery. With Bryants absence, the Lakers will look to see more production out of Nick Young, but that wasnt the case on Sunday. I felt with his body language that I didnt want to play him, Lakers coach Byron Scott said of Young, who went 0-for-2 from the field in just under 8 1/2 minutes off the bench. Harden netted seven points over the first five minutes and Hoouston went up 14-6 on Patrick Beverleys 3-pointer.dddddddddddd Josh Smith hit a 3 late in the quarter to put the Rockets up 15 and they led 30-15 after 12 minutes. Harden notched 13 points in the opening frame. It helps our defensive mentality, Harden said when asked about the teams fast start. Brewers dunk gave Houston its largest lead of the first half, 42-23, with under eight minutes to play. Los Angeles chipped away at the deficit and trailed 52-36 at the break. The Rockets sustained a generous lead throughout the third and led 80-60 entering the fourth. They led by as many as 25 in the final quarter, but the Lakers had one last gasp midway through the frame. Jeremy Lin made two free throws to close a 10-0 run that brought Los Angeles within 89-78 with 5 1/2 minutes to play. Brewer countered at the other end with a 3-pointer to stem the momentum and Houston built another comfortable advantage to close out the game. Game Notes LA fell to 2-14 at home against the Western Conference ... Lin finished with 14 points in the loss ... The Lakers made 1-of-13 shots from beyond the arc ... The Rockets scored 21 points off 21 turnovers. ' ' 't former Heisman trophy winning quarterbacks ... Cleveland played without starting cornerbacks Joe Haden (right shoulder) and Justin Gilbert (concussion) ... Hoyers TD pass was the first Browns passing touchdown since Nov. 16 ... The Browns have lost 11 straight games in December and January. ' ' 'Denvers defence was missing its star on Monday, too. DeMarcus Ware bruised his right leg Sunday during a practice at the Broncos stadium and was replaced in the front-line defence by Quanterus Smith, who had an impressive day that included a sack. ' ' '