Some of the sports stories The Associated Press is covering Thursday. A full Sports Digest will be sent by about 3 p.m. All times EDT:- LOS ANGELES -- Jon Lester takes the mound for the Chicago Cubs against rookie Kenta Maeda of the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 5 of a tied NLCS. Lester won Game 1, allowing one run in six innings. Game starts 8:08 p.m.- CLEVELAND -- This sports year in Cleveland has been like no other. First, the Cavaliers ended the citys championship drought after 52 years. Now, the Indians are in the World Series for the first time since 1997.- LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The NCAA accuses Louisville of four violations stemming from its investigation into allegations that a former basketball staffer hired escorts and strippers for sex parties with recruits and players.- GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The Packers, trying to get their passing game going with Aaron Rodgers, play the Bears in the NFLs oldest rivalry. Green Bay (3-2) faces a Chicago team that is 1-5 and coming off two tough losses. Game starts 8:25 p.m.- HOUSTON -- As much as Oakland Raiders owner Mark Davis wishes otherwise, a decision on whether to allow his team to move to Las Vegas isnt likely to come soon. Thats not to say it wont happen.- MINNEAPOLIS -- The Minnesota Lynx try to win back-to-back titles and match the WNBA record with their fourth championship, when they host the Los Angeles Sparks in the decisive Game 5 of the finals. Game starts 8 p.m.- BOISE, Idaho -- In the only Top 25 college football game Thursday night, No. 14 Boise State plays BYU. Game starts 10:15 p.m.- TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Texas A&M quarterback Trevor Knight was a redshirt freshman for Oklahoma when he picked apart Alabamas defense in the 2013 Sugar Bowl. He faces the top-ranked Tide on Saturday.- The Cleveland Cavaliers know what it feels like to enter the season as Eastern Conference favorites. They begin this one with an entirely unfamiliar label -- defending champions.- PITTSBURGH -- The Penguins and Sharks meet four months removed from Pittsburghs victory over San Jose in the 2016 Stanley Cup Final. The Penguins are off to a 2-1-1 start while the Sharks are 3-1. Game starts 7 p.m.- NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Why arent more SEC basketball teams in the mens NCAA Tournament? The conferences coaches count the reasons: weak scheduling, backlash for football dominance, poor recruiting, coaching turnover.- NYON, Switzerland -- The Champions League final could be taken outside Europe, the new president of the European soccers governing body tells the AP.- SOELDEN, Austria -- Lara Gut, the first overall World Cup champion from Switzerland in more than two decades, begins her title defense Saturday. U.S. star Mikaela Shiffrin could be her closest challenger. Virgil van Dijk Liverpool Jersey . 9. Price, heading to the 2014 Olympics for Canada, was named the First Star after posting wins in three starts with a 1.00 goals-against average and a .971 save percentage. Mohamed Salah Liverpool Jersey .com) - Christian Ponder will get another chance to prove himself for the Minnesota Vikings, with head coach Leslie Frazier announcing Wednesday that the struggling quarterback will start this weekends game against the Green Bay Packers. http://www.liverpoolgear.us/Authentic-Dejan-Lovren-Liverpool-Jersey/ .ca. Kerry, Just watched the shootout in the Coyotes/Leafs game and I have to ask, why was the James van Riemsdyk goal allowed to count? All of the video replays we were shown on TV were inconclusive about whether the puck had entirely crossed the line or not. Dominic Solanke Liverpool Jersey .Y. - Nelson Mandela will be honoured by the New York Yankees with a plaque in Monument Park. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain Jersey . The team also announced Tuesday that the Braves will wear a commemorative patch on the right sleeve during the season. The patch, shaped like home plate, carries the number 715, Aarons autograph and a "40th Anniversary" banner. Alistair Brownlee knows a thing or two about what makes a great Olympian and insists there is more to Britains brilliance in Brazil than money.Under it all we are actually a sports-mad nation, said the triathlon champion who became the first man to retain his title on Thursday. There is so much that goes on away from the funding. There is a massive sporting heritage and that gets overlooked.The same goes for Yorkshire, the county Brownlee is from and which could lay claim on Thursday evening to athletes who have won four gold medals, four silvers and two bronzes.Day in, day out we see people cycling, cross country races, people running, people swimming. The British support far out-weighed any other countrys support [at the triathlon]. There were easily more British flags out there than all the other flags put together, more Yorkshire flags than any other country.When we race in Leeds or London they have by far the biggest crowds on the circuit and it shows we love it. That has to count for something because it makes our pool [of participants] big.Money makes a difference too, of course. The UKs triathlon governing body was given nearly ￡7.5 million for the years 2013-17 from an overall Olympic payout to British sports just short of ￡274.5m.The money comes from lottery funding and is distributed by UK Sport, which uses a model that cuts investment if a sport fails to meet its targets for excellence.Triathlon has achieved its goal of two medals from Rio with Brownlee and brother Jonny taking gold and silver at Copacabana beach. The support from UK Sport is phenomenal, Alistair said. It allows me to sit down every year and see what I need to get into shape, access to staff, physios, coachhes physiologists, everything.ddddddddddddWe [Britain] have that attitude that the Olympics is everything. To win at the Olympics you have to turn up better than you are the rest of the time and thats a really, really important construct that we get right across so much UK sport.It comes from the funding model and everything else, and there is a great feeling of people doing well.The feelgood factor is particularly strong in Yorkshire. The countys roll of honour for these Games so far includes divers Jack Laugher and Chris Mears, rowers Andrew Triggs Hodge and Zoe Lee, heptathlete Jess Ennis-Hill, cyclists Ed Clancy and Katy Marchant and gymnast Nile Wilson, in addition to the Brownlees.Boxer Nicola Adams, who is assured of at least silver after making the flyweight final, will be added to that list on Saturday.I am very proud to be from Yorkshire and its interesting that there are so many medals across so many sports, Brownlee said. It would be interesting to see if it is relatively good for its size, because its quite a big place.On Thursday evenings standings, Yorkshires tally would have been enough to claim 16th place in the medal table, one place below Brazil and above nations such as Kenya and Canada.We have, like the rest of Britain, a massive sporting heritage which we make use of all the time and has brought us through, Brownlee said.[That comes from] people loving sport and endurance sport, going out on the Dales and out and about on bikes. People [there] love sport and that has been crucial in our upbringing and careers and long may it continue. Cheap Jerseys China NFL Jerseys China NFL Jerseys Wholesale Discount Basketball Jerseys Cheap NHL Jerseys Authentic Cheap Baseball Jerseys Free Shipping Cheapest College Jerseys Sale Cheap Football Jerseys China Nike NFL Jerseys Canada Wholesale NHL Jerseys From China MLB Jerseys Outlet Canada Wholesale NBA Jerseys Canada Store Cheap Soccer Jerseys China Cheap Authentic Jerseys Canada ' ' '